Posted on 03/04/2024 4:04:09 PM PST by grumpa
The biggest error of dispensationalists is the confusion over who is Israel. The New Testament uses the term “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). How is this different from Old Covenant Israel? Answer: The Israel of God is no longer ethnic Israel. Believers in Christ, that is the church (including both Jewish and Gentile believers) are the new spiritual Israel through faith—the Israel of God.
Jesus told the Jewish leaders of his day that the blessings of the covenant kingdom were being taken from them and given to another group—obviously Christians (Matthew 21:33-45). The text says that the Jews knew he was talking about judgment against them. Jesus put an exclamation point on the coming wrath against the Jews in Matthew 23:29-39 in which He declared that ALL THE RIGHTEOUS BLOOD EVER SHED ON EARTH would be judged against THEM (Old Covenant Israel) in THEIR GENERATION.
The Old Testament, beginning with Deuteronomy 28-32, and reiterated numerous times by the prophets, foretold an END to Israel. “THE TIME OF THE END” (Deuteronomy 31:20, 29; Daniel 12:6, 9) would be when the Jews would become so unfaithful that God would take VENGEANCE (Deuteronomy 32:35, 43) and DESTRUCTION (Deuteronomy 28:61-64) on them. This would happen when the “power of the Holy people would come to an end” (Daniel 12:7 and the burnt offering ceased (Daniel 12:11). This was fulfilled in history in AD 70 when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed.
Their rights to the kingdom of God were always conditional and would be forfeited for unfaithfulness (Deuteronomy 28:1, 9, 15, etc.) in the last days (Deuteronomy 32:29). In Luke 21:22, speaking of his generation, Jesus said that the DAYS OF VENGEANCE had arrived. In Luke 9:41 Jesus proclaimed his Jewish contemporaries to be the faithless and twisted generation prophesied in Deuteronomy 32:5. Paul, in Romans 11:11-13-26, emphasized the importance of this. The Gentiles were grafted into the line of God’s people, and the unfaithful were “broken off.” Only a remnant (Romans 11:5) who accepted Jesus maintained the covenant lineage through faith (Romans 4; Galatians 3:26-29). Thus, salvation is now open to all who believe (John 3:16; Romans 1:16). There is no longer a distinction between Jew and Gentile (Romans 10:12; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). This is not “replacement theology” but rather “inclusion theology.”
God’s people are now SPIRITUAL Israel and specifically not fleshly Israel of the Old Testament. “Not all Israel is Israel.” The New Testament reiterates this in different ways in numerous passages, which you can read for yourself: John 1:11-13; Romans 2:11-29; 9:6-8; Galatians 3:6-8, 29; 4:22-31; 6:14-16; Ephesians 2:11-3:13; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:11; 1 Peter 2:9-10 (ref. Exodus 19:5-6).
In Ephesians 2:14-18 we see this statement by Paul, “For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. . . . For through Him we both have access to one Spirit to the Father.” Thus, the two covenants became ONE. As put by the Reformation Study Bible, “Christ offered in his own body the final sacrifice to which the temple’s sacrifices merely pointed. The ceremonial laws of the Old Testament that separated Jews and Gentiles are no longer appropriate after their fulfillment in Christ.”
Biblical Judaism ended in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed. At that time animal sacrifices for sin ended and the priesthood ended forever. The genealogical records were also destroyed. Interestingly, DNA testing shows that the genetic identity of modern Jewish populations is not the same as biblical Judaism.
The old covenant vanished away, replaced by the new covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13), through the perfect sacrifice of the Lamb at the end of the ages (Hebrews 9:1-28). The New Covenant in Christ is eternal (Isaiah 9:6-7; Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 5:13; 11:15; 14:6; etc.).
The land promises to Abraham were fulfilled in Joshua 21:43-45; 23:14-15 (cf. 1 Kings 8:56). The promise of a return to their homeland in Jeremiah 16:15 was fulfilled at their return from the Babylonian captivity in 539 BC. The promise of restoration for Israel in Ezekiel 37:26-27 was ultimately fulfilled in the first century with the everlasting New Covenant of Christ (Hebrews 13:20). The sanctuary of Ezekiel 37:26-27 was replaced by Jesus per Revelation 21:22. Similarly, the promise of restoration in Zechariah 8, 10 was fulfilled in Messiah: Zechariah 12:10; 13:7-9 (ref. Mark 14:27); Zechariah 14:8 (ref. John 4:17; John 7:38, and Revelation 21:6).
Dispensationalists, who teach that the land promises to ethnic Israel are forever, and that the temple will be rebuilt complete with animal sacrifices are reading something into the text that is not there. Worse, they are denigrating the finished work of Christ (Hebrews 10:10).
In Matthew 21:18-22 Jesus curses the fig tree. The Old Testament metaphorically identifies the Israel with a fig tree (Jeremiah 24; Hosea 9:10). Matthew 21:12-17 confirms this metaphor by linking the curse on the fig tree with the cleansing of the temple. This was a PERMANENT CURSE against Old Covenant Judaism (“may no fruit ever come from you again” per Matthew 21:19).
Old Covenant Judaism is not a “branch.” Rather, it is a DEAD TREE: “The axe is already laid at the root of the tree; therefore, every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “ (Matthew 3:10)
The modern state of Israel is not biblical Judaism and has nothing to do with the promises to Israel. Israel today is not even a religious state. So, 1948 has nothing to do with Bible prophecy. That date was supposed to mark the beginning of the end of all things, and in one generation (40 years, thus by 1988) the culmination of all “end-times” things would happen. But 1988 has come and gone. The tribulation/rapture/end-of-the-world theology has proven to be a cruel hoax. Dispensationalism, however, has reached its own end time. Having been born in 1830 with John Nelson Darby, dispensationalism died in 1988. Like my father used to tell me about a dead snake that is still writhing—it’s dead but it just doesn’t know it yet.
https://prophecyquestions.com/prophecy-questions-specifically-for-dispensationalists/
How are we going to get people to support Armageddon if they read what you wrote?
grumpa back as the accuser of the brethren!
Not that this will change your mind, but allow me to offer a Pascal’s Wager alternative.
There are two possibilities: one is that present-day Israel is the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, and the other is that it is simply a political unit that happens to consist mostly of Jews.
This leaves four options.
1) Israel is a political unit, and I don’t think of it as the fulfillment of prophecy. I happen to be correct, and not out of God’s will.
2) Israel is the fulfillment of prophecy, and I think of it that way. I happen to be correct, and not out of God’s will.
3) Israel is a political unit, and I think of it as the fulfillment of prophecy. I happen to be incorrect. I am not necessarily out of God’s will, since I still think of the church as being grafted to the vine, and by supporting a political unit of Jews I am not blaspheming God’s people.
4) Israel is the fulfillment of prophecy, and I think of it as a political unit. I happen to be incorrect. I also am outside of God’s will, since I do not support the fulfillment of His prophecy, and I am not standing with those who are the apple of His eye.
Of the four above options, #4 has the greatest risk for the least reward, while #3 has the least risk for the greatest reward. I am better off assuming Israel is the establishment of God’s chosen people in the fulfillment of prophecy, even if I were to find out as I enter the pearly gates that I was incorrect, since I would still be able to enter.
Not a fan of Hal Lindsey I see …
Excellent repurpose of Pascal’s Wager!
You are saying that faith in Christ is not enough for salvation. One must have faith in Christ PLUS support Israel.
Salvation is thru YESHUA alone.
Yes, thru YESHUA alone. Not a Preist or Pope or Mary. This is more of a rewards issue.
Covenantal theology is the foundation for a whole lot antisemitism
Yes, I bring it up because Protestants are always brow-beating Catholics for the Eucharist or Sacrament of Penance. “You don’t need that for salvation!” Then these Dispensationalists talk as if “But you need to support Israel.”
Although I don’t know why you bring up the pope. We Catholics keep telling you Prots, we don’t worship the pope or Mary.
Do you belive Mary is sinless, and that she was born imaculate?
Chajin said nothing about salvation being dependent on one’s view of the Jew’s or modern day Israel. Both of you are putting up an unnecessary straw man!
Both those who believe in a restored Israel and those who believe that the Church has replaced Israel have a place in the Church. However, I have sat through classes on Revelations being taught by those with the replacement view. They have to resort to a lot of “spiritualized” interpretations during the description of John being transported to Heaven during the end times.
Dispensationalism is not dead.
I suggest that people spend some time following Amir Tsafarti. He is a Christian Jew who lives in Israel.
https://t.me/s/beholdisraelchannel
His web page posts pictures and videos about what is going on in present day Israel. He posted several videos of Israeli forces occupying Hamas sites and singing about looking forward to the coming of the Messiah.
I’m a Messianic Jew, thank you for clarifying what was said.
Yes. Early church fathers, far wiser than I, said so.
The Bible says no such thing.
—> Then these Dispensationalists talk as if “But you need to support Israel.”
I do not know of any dispensationalist who claims supporting Israel is necessary for salvation.
As Gary North pointed out, people know which side their bread is buttered on. They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo that maintains their income. Why rock the boat that's keeping your family afloat?
For example, Dallas Theological Seminary, the flagship of the flagging dispensational subculture, declared its own irrelevance to real-world issues in 1973. The de-facto deity of the USA -- what five black-robed miscreants think or feel on a given day -- enforced unrestricted human sacrifice on all fifty states.
And DTS was silent.
Even though Roe v. Wade happened in their own back yard, under their noses -- THEY HAD NOTHING TO SAY.
Guys who preach optimism and Christian responsibility find themselves without a pulpit.(1) Denied access to the Wheaton Mafia, the mainstream evangelical press. Which DTS does train competent hacks to write for.
If you truly intend to study, teach, and preach the Kingdom of God, much of your education will be self-education. Reading everything you can get your hands on from the new kids on the block. Trying the new paradigms out.(2)
The linked document was my lifeline during my own decade-long session of rewiring my mind along Kingdom-honoring lines. It lived in the pocket of my suitcoat and got re-read many times. Gary North basically argued that you can't get training in the new paradigm (Jesus is Lord over the vast universe AROUND us, as well as the half-vast "universe" inside us) from folks who've bet the farm on the old way of thinking.
~~~
(1) The closest Christian Reconstructionist church I'm aware of is about 100 miles from where I sit. The founding pastor planted this new church in the middle of the Bible Belt, rather than trying to work with an existing church. He explained, "It's easier to give birth than it is to raise the dead."
(2) My favorite denomination, Every Nation International, likes to plant churches on college campuses. One of their highly-trained and highly-motivated campus missionaries tried to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to a notable Baptist university -- but gave up after banging her head against the wall there for months. The kids just could not grasp the idea of a relevant public Christian faith -- and kept wanting to scoot off and have some more "personal devotions" whenever a challenging real-world question arose.
Click HERE for that essay on self-education.
However, the statement that the current Jewish people are not the descendants of the Biblical Jewish people is untrue. There are plenty of historical documents that show a continuity of the Jewish people following the destruction of the Second Temple. Some claim the term, Jew, is a relatively recent invention. Yet among the first English translations of the Bible, such as the Geneva Bible (Puritan) and the Douay Rheims Bible (Catholic), both of which date to the late 16th Century, you will find that term used to describe the Jewish people. DNA evidence indicates that while the exiles did intermarry with other Mediterranean peoples, notably Greeks and Italians, the closest paternal DNA for Ashkenazi (Eastern and Central European) Jews are other Jewish groups like the Sephardim. After other Jews, the next closest genetic matches are Palestinians, Lebanese, and other people who have lived in the Holy Land for many centuries.
You must ask yourself why God has chosen to preserve national Israel. It is rather hard to find Galatians, Visigoths, Picts, Scythians, Hittites, and other nations contemporary with Biblical Israel. We have the statement of the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:25-26 (NKJV) "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved." While the church is God's primary vehicle since Pentecost, He has not abandoned His original people. Before the end of the world, the Jewish people will collectively recognize Jesus as their Savior.
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