Posted on 10/26/2007 9:00:59 PM PDT by topcat54
Replacement theology has become dispensationalism's latest prophetic boogeyman. If you want to end a debate over eschatology, just charge your opponent with holding to replacement theology. What is “replacement theology,” sometimes called “supersessionism,” and why do dispensationalists accuse non-dispensationalists of holding it? Here’s a typical dispensational definition:
Replacement Theology: a theological perspective that teaches that the Jews have been rejected by God and are no longer God’s Chosen People. Those who hold to this view disavow any ethnic future for the Jewish people in connection with the biblical covenants, believing that their spiritual destiny is either to perish or become a part of the new religion that superseded Judaism (whether Christianity or Islam).1
“Replacement theology” is dispensationalism’s trump card in any debate over eschatology because it implies anti-semitism. Hal Lindsey attempted to use this card in his poorly researched and argued The Road to Holocaust.2 He wove an innovative tale implying that anyone who is not a dispensationalist carries the seeds of anti-semitism within his or her prophetic system. This would mean that every Christian prior to 1830 would have been theologically anti-semitic although not personally anti-semtic.
As Peter Leithart and I point out in The Legacy of Hatred Continues,3 it’s dispensationalists who hold to a form of replacement theology since they believe that Israel does not have any prophetic significance this side of the rapture! Prior to the rapture, in terms of dispensational logic, the Church has replaced Israel. This is unquestionably true since God’s prophetic plan for Israel has been postponed until the prophetic time clock starts ticking again at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week which starts only after the Church is taken to heaven in the so-called rapture. Until then, God is dealing redemptively with the Church. Am I making this up? Consider the following by dispensationalist E. Schuyler English:
An intercalary4 period of history, after Christ’s death and resurrection and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, has intervened. This is the present age, the Church age. . . . During this time God has not been dealing with Israel nationally, for they have been blinded concerning God’s mercy in Christ. . . . However, God will again deal with Israel as a nation. This will be in Daniel’s seventieth week, a seven-year period yet to come.5
According to English and every other dispensationalist, the Church has replaced Israel until the rapture. The unfulfilled promises made to Israel are not fulfilled until after the Church is taken off the earth. Thomas Ice, one of dispensationalism’s rising stars, admits that the Church replaces Israel this side of the rapture: “We dispensationalists believe that the church has superseded Israel during the current church age, but God has a future time in which He will restore national Israel ‘as the institution for the administration of divine blessings to the world.’”6
Dispensationalists claim that their particular brand of eschatology is the only prophetic system that gives Israel her proper place in redemptive history. This is an odd thing to argue since two-thirds of the Jews will be slaughtered during the post-rapture tribulation, and the world will be nearly destroyed. Charles Ryrie writes in his book The Best is Yet to Come that during this post-rapture period Israel will undergo “the worst bloodbath in Jewish history.”7 The book’s title doesn’t seem to very appropriate considering that during this period of time most of the Jews will die! John Walvoord follows a similar line of argument: “Israel is destined to have a particular time of suffering which will eclipse any thing that it has known in the past. . . . [T]he people of Israel . . . are placing themselves within the vortex of this future whirlwind which will destroy the majority of those living in the land of Palestine.”8 Arnold Fruchtenbaum states that during the Great Tribulation “Israel will suffer tremendous persecution (Matthew 24:15–28; Revelation 12:1–17). As a result of this persecution of the Jewish people, two-thirds are going to be killed.”9
During the time when Israel seems to be at peace with the world, she is really under the domination of the antichrist who will turn on her at the mid-point in the seven-year period. Israel waits more than 2000 years for the promises finally to be fulfilled, and before it happens, two-thirds of them are wiped out. Those who are charged with holding a “replacement theology viewpoint” believe in no inevitable future Jewish bloodbath. In fact, we believe that the Jews will inevitably embrace Jesus as the Messiah this side of the Second Coming. The fulfillment of Zechariah 13:8 is a past event. It may have had its fulfillment in the events leading up to and including the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Contrary to dispensationalism’s interpretation of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus' disciples warned the Jewish nation for nearly forty years about the impending judgment (Matt. 3:7; 21:42–46; 22:1–14; 24:15–22). Those who believed Jesus’ words of warning were delivered “from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). Those who continued to reject Jesus as the promised Messiah, even though they had been warned for a generation (Matt. 24:34), “wrath has come upon them to the utmost” (1 Thess. 2:16; cf. 1 Thess. 5:1–11; 2 Pet. 3:10–13).
Before critics of replacement theology throw stones, they need to take a look at their own prophetic system and see its many lapses in theology and logic.
Read Part Two of this article...
2. Hal Lindsey, The Road to Holocaust (New York: Bantam Books, 1989). The address for Bantam Books is 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York.
3. Gary DeMar and Peter J. Leithart, The Legacy of Hatred Continues: A Response to Hal Lindsey’s The Road to Holocaust (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1989).
4. Inserted into the calendar.
5. E. Schuyler English, A Companion to the New Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), 135.
6. Thomas Ice, “The Israel of God,” The Thomas Ice Collection: www.raptureready.com/featured/TheIsraelOfGod.html#_edn3
7. Charles C. Ryrie, The Best is Yet to Come (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1981), 86.
8. John F. Walvoord, Israel in Prophecy (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1962), 107, 113. Emphasis added.
9. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, “The Little Apocalypse of Zechariah,” The End Times Controversy: The Second Coming Under Attack, eds. Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2003), 262.
Our civilization is breaking down and we are becoming more primitive, hence the more overt forms of Satanic evil (Rom.1:23-32)
But the world is becoming more Christian.....?
Talk about deception!
I don’t know Hank’s qualifications, and it isn’t pertinent to what I was posting about. My comment was that it was no big deal he lost a lawsuit he had filed against someone for slander. Slander is extremely difficult to prove.
The link you posted did.
But now that you mention it, that is another good reason.
No, it isn't. Slander cases are extremely difficult to win. Otherwise, every political candidate or other public figure would be constantly suing someone because they knew they could win.
Hank's business practices and the manner in which he wrestled control of CRI are not shining examples of good Christian ethics. Go to the Walter Martin website and find out why Hank Hannegraff is not a man to be trusted.
I went to that site and didn't find anything negative about Hank there. (Of course, I didn't spend hours searching it either.) Please post the link to the specific page you are expecting me to look at, and please make it a page that has actual evidence, not accusations.
Nobody does because he doesn't have any.
Prove it. You should be able to prove when Hank graduated, from where and with what degrees. (Or if he didn't get any degrees.) Otherwise, you are just slandering and are in sin.
Otherwise, you are just slandering and are in sin.
I did prove it. So now who's guilty of slander?
I certainly don’t support her politics, religion or philosophy.
However,
she made a flat statement abt what von Braun said to her.
As a shrink watching that video, she was exceedingly believable on that topic.
She certainly believed what she was saying
And, the first 2 predictions hve come true.
Thx
Yes sir.
Thx.
Sorry, my friend, but that is what you are doing. The entire context is Sarah's desire to have a child. There is nothing sexual within that context.
No demonstrating that it was, that God had revived it.
But you have yet to point us to a passage in the Bible that says that.
Eisegesis and arguments from silent are not the way to do theology. It’s the dispensational method.
Try again or repent of your slander.
Dan. 9:24, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
The passage breaks down into 70 discrete time periods called weeks. There is no mandate that they be consecutive in time. What the first passage does say is that at the end of the first discrete period, 69 weeks, these events occur:
shall Messiah be cut off;
the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;
at the end thereof shall be with a flood (overflowing);
and at the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Dan. 9:25-26, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
In the last time period (one week)these events take place:
he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week;
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease;
and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation;
and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Dan. 9:27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
“But the text does not say that without adopting the unnecessary dispensational reading.”
No, that is the plain reading of the text, otherwise you end up with only 69 time periods or the forced reading of the time periods having by necessity to follow chronologically.
I have looked all over the internet and through his books for any information about his educational background. He doesn't seem to have one. He was ordained to the ministry by (dispensationalist) Chuck Smith, who at the time did not require ANY formal theological education for ordination (Calvary Chapel does now but not then).
There is nothing anywhere that suggests that Hannegraff even has an undergraduate degree.
Try again or repent of your slander.
Show me a link to any site which shows that Hannegraff has ANY formal theological training, or repent of YOUR slander.
“Are you saying that Jesus was just treating His hearers as misbehaving children? “Go away and don’t bother me.”
No, what I’m saying is I will do it in my time, not yours, as in “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power”, just be patient!
Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed.
There is also nothing anywhere that suggests he doesn't. Why not leave it at that instead of slandering?
Show me a link to any site which shows that Hannegraff has ANY formal theological training, or repent of YOUR slander.
It is not slander to point out that you have been unable to prove your negative claims about someone. In fact, we are called by scripture to confront a brother/sister in sin.
Repent.
Let me answer your two question regarding the beginning of the Millennium and the binding of Satan. I have noticed topcat's reference to Matthew 12 regarding the binding of the "strong man." I'll begin there. Everyone should refer to verses 22-30.
First of all, you need to note and understand the context of the discussion. A demon-possessed man had been brought to the Lord and had the demon cast out of him. The Pharisees had claimed that the Lord was doing it by the power of Satan. You need to understand that the Lord immediately begins a discussion about kingdoms, speaking, as fact, about the existence of Satan's kingdom. Now, understand this and consider it very carefully:
Secondly, you need to ask yourself if this kingdom is in fact the Millennial reign of Christ. For that, you need to note via Revelation that this kingdom is bracketed by two resurrections.
Jesus said:, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
We stand in the kingdom of God, the millennial reign of Christ, where the Lord reigns in the midst of his enemies and will do so until all enemies are in subjection to him. To me has been given a portion of that which is the Lord's to be in stewardship over. I rule and reign with Christ. I'm sorry if you feel you must wait to reign. You might end up missing the boat completely.
I'm unfamiliar with any Scripture about this. It does make sense logically. Is it a belief based on the period between the Crucifixion and Resurrection?
Thanks for the reply. I believe we probably hold pretty similar views about the end times. I just haven't explored this in great detail.
FWIW, sometimes we get caught up in thinking demonic activity always has to be like the little girl in the exorcist. I see a great deal of the perversion we are now normalizing as a result of demonic influence. The lines between good and bad are becoming so blurred it can't help but benefit satan.
If you are willing to ignore the plain "literal" reading of the text, sure, why not.
Seriously, there is no contextual or logical reason to place an arbitrary gap anywhere in the text. Why not place one between each of your "discrete time periods"?
What the first passage does say is that at the end of the first discrete period, 69 weeks, these events occur:
As I said, the plain reading of the text is that a number of events happen after the 69th week. What come after 69? 70.
The only reason to insert an arbitrary gap is because otherwise it does not fit your preconceived theology.
Here’s the text in question. I want you to demonstrate from the text why we ought to insert a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks, and why the phrase "And after the sixty-two weeks" is not referring to the whole of the 70th week.
26 " And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."The plain reading without question links the cutting off of Messiah with the destruction of the city and sanctuary in the same timeframe.
If you still believe in a gap, please point to the exact place in the text where you think the gap is required.
So true. And to think Paul wrote those words 2000 years ago.
So tell me, why do you think so many pastors and radio/TV prophecy preachers are so bent on telling us that we are living in the "terminal generation" and that Jesus will probably return before we wake up tomorrow? Why is the bogus "rapture index" on the web so popular?
You would think that after 2000 the folks in the Church would get a clue that it isn’t about us. And it certainly isn’t about modern Israel, Russia, Iraq, and Iran.
***The occult and horror movies and books desensitize the culture into accepting deviance as normal and we think the demonic isn’t as operative today as in the time of Christ? Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mgabe, Rwanda, Sudan, Islam, abortion, homosexuality, and we think the demonic isn’t operative?***
We are Calvinists and are suppose to be a bit more thoughtful than to cave into the pop psychology of the likes of Bob Larson, James Dobson, etc. And, a part of that thoughtfullness is to not blame demonic activity for the sins of men. Men are homosexual, for instance, because the Lord has given them over to their own sinful lusts (Romans 1). For that matter, all sin is under restraint from God if and until he lets men have at their lusts. Ultimately we are required to believe the word of God. And demons are, right now, reserved under everlasting chains in darkness awaiting their judgment: 2 Peter 2, Jude.
Now, I don’t know, really, what weight you put into those verses, nor how much demonic activity you believe is allowed given the current state of the demonic, but it is not very Calvinistic to assert a desensitization in culture when men have ALWAYS been depraved and it is only by the grace of God that we were not as depraved as we could be.
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