Posted on 11/08/2023 12:11:15 PM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
Note: The following is a most relevant open letter, which is important to all within the Body of Christ to read. Our prayer is that you will read carefully and understand God’s Holy View of Israel in these end times when the Jewish people are again beginning to suffer hatred throughout the world.
Dear Brother or Sister in Christ,
If you are a member of a Catholic or mainline denominational church, you have probably been taught something called replacement theology (and perhaps you don’t even know it has that name). Replacement theology leads those who have adopted it to believe that Israel is no longer God’s people and that the modern regathering of the Jews in their historical land is theologically meaningless. Please know this is an error, and I write this letter to alert you to it so you can study God’s Word and reach your own conclusion.
Replacement theology, sometimes called supersessionism or fulfillment theology, is a doctrine stating either that the Church took Israel’s place as God’s people when Israel rejected Jesus as its Messiah or that the “old” Israel was set aside in favor of a “new” Israel, the Church, upon Jesus’s first coming. No matter how it got there, the Church is now God’s people and the beneficiary of the promises God made Israel in the Old Testament. Consequently, Jacob’s blood descendants have no unique destiny, and modern Israel’s existence has no significance. Because replacement theology is often woven into otherwise sound teachings on redemptive history, many believers aren’t even aware that it is a separate doctrine with its own name.
Nonetheless, replacement theology is enshrined in Catholic dogma and runs rampant in mainline denominations, even among those that otherwise take the Bible seriously.
Replacement theology raises troubling implications about God’s character, not the least of which are: if God revoked his promises to Israel, what keeps him from revoking them again, and does God really change not (as Malachi 3:6 says)? Many who have been taught replacement theology have not considered these implications. Perhaps you have, too, but have dismissed them out-of-hand or rationalized them away, possibly because they are too dreadful to imagine. Unfortunately, ignoring the implications does not make them go away.
Rather than addressing these (and other) broader implications, this letter will instead tackle the assumption that lies at the very heart of replacement theology: did Israel really forfeit its blessings? Did God really forsake or move past Israel? Fortunately, if you read the Bible without bias, it gives a clear answer.
One point is worth making before proceeding: I don’t have the ability or the moral duty to force you to reject replacement theology. Only the Holy Spirit can convict. All I can do is call relevant scripture to your attention and invite you to check it out yourself. That is what I will now do.
To keep this letter short and clear, I will rely only on two passages: Isaiah 6 and Romans 11. (If you are a Reformed believer, you tend to read Revelation figuratively because you have been taught that it is “apocalyptic literature.” I will, therefore, deliberately avoid Revelation’s many passages affirming Israel’s destiny, knowing that you will be unwilling to read Isaiah and Romans figuratively.) I will cite the King James Version, but any good version will do.
Isaiah 6 contains the well-known “Here I am. Send me” passage in which Isaiah volunteers to convey a message God has for his people:
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isaiah 6:8-10).
God informs his people not only that they are hardened (deaf, blind and without understanding), and he is the one hardening them, but also that he has hardened them to delay their repenting and being healed. Note that God does not tell them why he wants a delay.
When the disciples ask Jesus why he speaks “to them” in parables in Matthew 13, he quotes this passage of Isaiah 6:
“He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive” (Matthew 13:11-14).
Paul also quotes this same passage of Isaiah 6 in Acts 28, reminding the local leaders of the Jews that they are hardened.
“And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Acts 28:24-27).
Paul then discloses the reason why God hardened Israel, delaying its repenting and being healed:
“Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it” (Acts 28:28).
According to Paul, God hardened Israel so the Gospel could be taken to the Gentiles.
However, Isaiah 6 continues after the passage quoted in both Matthew 13 and Acts 28. God has more to say to Isaiah about his people. Returning to Isaiah 6, after hearing God’s decree against his people, the prophet begs God for an answer in verse 11, and God gives it to him:
“Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in [the land] shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof” (Isaiah 6:11-13).
God promises that he will lift Israel’s partial hardening during or just after a widespread devastation. This may be a great war, even a nuclear war, given the extent and degree of damage. However, it may be a direct act of God, acting in wrath. Only he knows.
Why, then, did Jesus and Paul’s quotations from Isaiah 6 stop short of verses 11-13? The answer is that they were speaking in the First Century. Isaiah 6:11-13 would be fulfilled in the future. They were only talking about Israel’s hardened condition in those days and not about when it would someday repent. Remember, Jesus was only answering a question from his disciples as to why he was teaching in parables, and Paul was only making the case for taking the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Now, let’s look at Romans 11, in which Paul answers the question his earlier chapters in Romans begged: if Christ is the answer and the law is not, what about the Jews, to whom God had given the law? Has God turned his back on Israel?
“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal” (Romans 11:1-4).
The answer is an emphatic “God forbid!” God will save an elect remnant of Israel, and God will save them by grace, not the law. To keep the Gentiles from feeling superior to the Jews, Paul goes on to say:
“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:11-15).
Then, after describing how the holy firstfruits of a lump of dough renders the whole lump holy, how a holy root can render the entire tree holy, and how branches grafted onto a holy tree become holy, even branches that had previously been cut off, Paul reveals a mystery in verse 25:
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).
Though he does not outright quote Isaiah 6:11-13, he affirms the promise God made in those verses to end Israel’s hardening. The mystery Paul reveals is that the partial hardening of Israel’s elect will end when the “fulness of the Gentiles be (has) come in.”
It is important to note that none of these passages are talking about the Church. God has never hardened the Church. He has only hardened Israel, and only temporarily, for the express purpose of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles and building a Church that encompasses all peoples, nations, and languages. This he did at Israel’s great expense, but he will resurrect and magnify Israel because of it. Consider the supreme irony: God hardened Israel to benefit the Gentiles, and so many churches have returned their thanks to Israel by teaching replacement theology.
God’s reply in Isaiah 6 and Paul’s teaching in Romans 11 raise two questions: when will this widespread devastation occur, and when will the fulness of the Gentiles come in? The Bible gives no clear answer; God wants us to depend on him alone for the timing.
However, we can be sure of this – God will restore the elect of his people Israel. That unambiguous Biblical truth, stated explicitly both to Israel in the Old Testament and the Gentiles of the Church in the New Testament, exposes replacement theology as bad doctrine. Now, it’s up to the Holy Spirit and informed believers to purge the Church of this sad error.
If replacement theology now troubles you as much as it does me, please do me a favor. Consider giving a copy of this letter to a brother or sister who has been mistaught. You will be helping them and doing a good work for God’s kingdom.
Perhaps so, but that’s not the same thing as saying that Judaism is capable of giving salvation.
The single most loving thing the Christian can do is try to win the Jew to Christ so they can become part of the people of God for eternity.
Thanks for posting the message.
I believe that Israel (the one in the OT) and the Jews are still part of God’s plan.
Not real sure how much it matters, since I am NOT God.
I don’t believe the Bible teaches infant baptism. Again, I don’t know what difference it makes EXCEPT …. actually, that makes something of a difference.
As an adult believer in the Lord Jesus Christ I was baptized in …. Believer’s Baptism.
IOW this is a command of Christ.
BTW don’t be a Jew-hater. (I speak to everyone, not to the thread starter.)
“The Covenant with Israel stands.”
It does. Read Romans Chapter 11. Paul makes 2 points abundantly clear.
1. I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin (vs1)
2. Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring! (11 and 12)
Israel will be saved after they are regrafted. If in fact they also join the Gentiles in obedience to Christ.
I wonder if the Holocaust and event today with Hamas have any bearing on the fact the Jews are outside the Will of God?
Congratulations on completely missing the point.
Pope Terry James’ authority to definitively declare something as error is what, again?
That’s right. He has none.
He ... and you ... reject Bergoglio’s claim to authority ... then Pope Terry James arrogates that same authority to himself.
It’s a real problem for Protestants ... in reality, none of you have authority to declare ANYTHING erroneous. Go ahead and express your own beliefs ... I might even agree with them ... but don’t presume to dictate them to anybody else.
“Please know this is an error” is something no Protestant has the authority to say. Try instead: “Please know that I disagree with this, and here’s why.” It’s consistent with your doctrine of private interpretation of Scripture.
GOD judges Israel, but only he can. Others who do itare punished very severely.
Who comes up with these loony ideas anyway?
1 Quadrillion Percent!
Messianic Judaism is true Judaism.
We have quickly reached the point (pun not intended) where we are close to debating How Many Ducks Can Stand on the Head of a Pin(head)
Right.
Do you believe Jews must accept Christ to make it to Heaven?
Absolutely yes.
But you didn’t answer my question.
No, sir, we have not. Your comment appears intended to stifle discussion, rather than further it. Is that the case?
To the point, the question of private interpretation vs. authoritative definition of doctrine is very important.
Simply put: Who is this Terry James creature, and what gives him the authority to tell ANYBODY: “Your beliefs are error”?
He has no such authority, and it’s incredibly arrogant for him to assume it.
The same applies to folks on this forum. We’d have a lot more in the way of fruitful discussion around here if we’d humbly discuss what we believe ... and why ... instead of arrogantly presuming to dismiss others’ beliefs as heresy and them as heretics.
I have a family member who believes this, and it has utterly poisoned him. It now has developed into a vicious hatred of Israel and of Jews.
I disagreed 100% and assured him that the today’s State of Israel in God’s eyes is the same one as when He drew up the Old Covenant with Moses, Abraham and Isaac.
= = =
As I recall, the OT Jews dissed God quite a few times. God dealt with them. They suffered from it. They remained Jews.
God fulfilled his promises to Israel in Jesus Christ.
Romans is crystal clear that (a) God only has one family, not two (or any other number), and (b) the believing Gentiles are grafted into that family in place of the unbelieving. Why is there really any argument over that?
No matter how it got there, the Church is now God’s people
One family, not two. God's people encompass both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. Read the New Testament.
and the beneficiary of the promises God made Israel in the Old Testament.
Certainly not! Those promises, from the Church's point of view, are typological. They point to bigger things. The real "land of milk and honey" is heaven, not a tract of land in the eastern Mediterranean. The real "exodus" is the believer's conversion from sin and death to life and faith in Christ. And so forth.
It doesn't follow that the original promises, to the original people to whom they were made, in the original sense in which they were understood, are any less valid. The gifts of God are without repentance.
Consequently, Jacob’s blood descendants have no unique destiny
It's settled Catholic doctrine that the conversion of the Jews is one of the events that herald the Second Coming. Obviously they have a unique destiny, or they wouldn't be here. (Ever met a Hittite? Me neither.)
and modern Israel’s existence has no significance.
I think we should be careful about equating "Israel" in Scripture with "Israel" on the (present-day) map. "Israel" in Scripture always included all twelve tribes. "Israel" on the map today doesn't, and probably can't.
Does modern-day "Israel" have prophetic significance? Maybe, watch and see.
Articles like these amount to elaborate strawman arguments, at least as far as Catholics are concerned. Maybe they are more meaningful against, e.g., dominionist Presbyterians. Maybe not, I don't know.
One thing that has bothered me over the years is, while I still espouse the KJV, is the Chain Reference version of the KJV that I own. In it, Old Testament passages are summarized at the beginning of each chapter, and in almost every case Israel and Judah is replaced by the Church in the Psalms, Proverbs, and many of the prophetic books.
This is especially troubling because those passages deal solely with Israel and/or Judah, not the Church, yet the promises given to Israel and Judah are ascribed to the Church, and that's wrong.
More people need to awaken to this heresy.
You asked: “Thus Christians should have no special care for Israel then, right?”
Everyone who is not a Christian needs to equally come to Christ, with no exceptions, to be in Heaven.
This applies to all faiths, or lack, thereof.
Christians need to have “special care” for everyone not a Christian.
What churches still teach replacement theology?
To my knowledge, it’s just Lutherans and its spin-offs: Methodist and Presbyterian. Maybe Church of Christ. Probably also the Episcopal.
So I do not see the Jews as being replaced; only that the new covenant was established and that all people are now invited.
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