Pitfalls Of Dispensationalism

Calvary Chapel ^ | David Guzik

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Every idea in theology can be misunderstood and badly applied. The same is true of the biblical distinction between Israel and the Church.

Dispensationalists rightly believe that God has a continuing role in His plan for Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But some take this truth much too far…

Often those in this error have been so zealous to encourage and bless the Jewish people that they forget salvation is only in Jesus Christ. This is true for both Jew and Gentile. Jesus will not rescue anyone who consciously rejects Him and His offer of salvation.

By staying biblically grounded, we can avoid such errors and rightly divide His word of truth.

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TOPICS: Theology
KEYWORDS: calvarychapel; covenantal; dispensationalism; eschatology; theology

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Some dispensationalists are so zealous to divide between Israel and the Church that they think the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels was only or mostly for Israel, and not for the Church. Some try to explain that the Sermon on the Mount was for Israel, not the Church, so we don’t have to be all that concerned with it. We must avoid this error.

Yikes. 🫤 No wonder some get in a tizzy over reminders like “blessed are the peacemakers” “pray for those persecute you, do good to those who hate you” - they don’t think it applies. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[imabadboy99]

John 14:6
King James Version
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

[Jim W N]

Jesus will not rescue anyone who consciously rejects Him and His offer of salvation.

Really? So says David Guzik.

That is EXACTLY what Jesus rescued me from. And many more as well.

"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13.

God's word puts no David-Guzik-type qualifications or conditions on being saved.

He also seems to have a distorted view of how because of Jesus Christ and the cross, the Old Covenant of the law was replaced by the New Covenant of grace (Hebrews 8:5-13).

[LouAvul]

Yes, once upon a time, Israel was chosen as God's people:

Deut 14:2: For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Israel's relationship to God was conditioned upon their obedience. If they fell away, which they inevitably did, He was going to destroy them Himself:

1 Kings 9:6,7: But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

Again:

Deut 4:25,26: When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

For example, at Kadesh Barnea after the multitude followed the faithless spies' negative report, God was going to destroy them.

Num 14:11,12: And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

Again, after Korah and company were destroyed,

Num 16:41-47: But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation (viz. the entire nation of Israel), that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.

Warned by Joshua

Josh 23:11-13: Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

Josh 23:16: When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

1 Kings 14:15-16: For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger. And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin."

Israel exists only as a nation and a political entity which is a staunch ally of the United States. But the only way anybody will be a child of God is through Jesus Christ.

John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John the Baptist even stated this: think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matt 3:9-12)

The entirety of the Old Law was fulfilled at the Cross of Christ. The Old Law was thereby abolished, as was any notion of Israel being anything special to God.

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace (Eph 2:15)

The only Jews who will be saved at the end of time will be those who renounce religious error and are faithful Christians.

The ridiculous dispensational nonsense that circulates among "Christians" is derived from twisted interpretations of Revelation as something to be fulfilled in the future. Yet Revelation very plainly sets forth the events were contemporary to the readers.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Again,

Rev. 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rom 10:1-9: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

[dadfly]

humm. this quote is a bit off, imho.

‘Some dispensationalist’s are so zealous to divide between Israel and the Church that they think the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels was only or “mostly” for Israel, and not for the Church.’

not ‘only....’ that’s a red herring in the article, but the word mostly? that word is justified by scripture.

for example:

Mar 7:26-29

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

so properly, Jesus’ message was to the Jew and, thank God, applicable to the Gentile. but “first” to the Jew. those Christians who try to merge or replace God’s purposes for the Jew, as a people, with the Gentile in the Word are completely missing it.

[Pres Raygun]

I concur and so did Paul, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith” Romans 1:16–17, LSB. The first Christians were Jews and even most of Paul’s Gentile converts were Gentiles who had first joined the synagogue as believers in the God of Israel. While it is true that most Jews in the time Christ rejected Christ, it was still Jews who had faith in Christ before an appreciable number of Gentiles believed, hence Paul indicating that faith in Jesus was passed from Jews to ‘Greeks’ when he said, ‘from faith to faith’ in Rom 1:17.

[boatbums]

So, what do you do with all the passages that speak exactly of God's purposes for the nation of Israel in the end times? Things that have not happened yet and God RESTORES Israel as His wife (e.g.; Jeremiah 31; Isaiah 6; Isaiah 54; Isaiah 62; Hosea 2)? Is it all just "allegory" and God was just playing a joke on the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Does God not honor His UNCONDITIONAL promises:

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name: “Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”

This is what the LORD says “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:35-37)

See more here The Wife of Jehovah and the Bride of Messiah.

[Lee N. Field]

See more here The Wife of Jehovah and the Bride of Messiah.

Don't see any trinitarian issues with that?

[ealgeone]

So, what do you do with all the passages that speak exactly of God's purposes for the nation of Israel in the end times?

*****

That's the $64 question isn't it!

Kinda hard to ignore Israel becoming a country again in 1948.

Has to be for a reason.

[Glad2bnuts]

The people of Judah rejected Christ, Jesus is God. God did not reject them, they rejected their own God. They now pervert their own religion, following not the Torah, but the Babylonian Talmud. The Star is of Remphan. The Kabbala and the star go hand in hand. The Hebrews will be welcomed when and if they accept Christ as King and Savior. It really is that simple. It is the job of Christians to witness and try and reach these people. It is not “Our” job to kow tow to them. JMO .. I don’t hate them, I just see them as blind. When the blind follow after the blind, both fall off the cliff.

[Glad2bnuts]

The Rothschilds, the UN and the The throne of Britain made that happen. If they were called back, they would surely follow the Torah, not the Talmud.

[Cronos]

Dadfly, you object to the quote’s suggestion that some Dispensationalists view Jesus’ Gospel teachings as “only” for Israel, calling it a red herring, but defend “mostly” as accurate, implying Jesus’ primary mission was to Jews, with Gentiles as secondary beneficiaries. This reflects Dispensationalism’s core tenet of a strict Israel/Church distinction, where God’s purposes for ethnic Israel (e.g., covenant promises, future restoration) are separate from the Church’s role.

Scripture shows this “mostly” is wrong.

Matthew 28:19–20: Jesus commands, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The Great Commission universalizes Jesus’ teachings, applying “all” He commanded to all nations, not “mostly” to Jews. The Gospels’ teachings (e.g., Sermon on the Mount, Matt 5–7) are for all believers (John 17:20, “those who will believe in me through their word”).

John 10:16: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Jesus’ mission includes Gentiles from the outset, aiming for one unified people, not a Jewish priority with Gentile afterthought.

Luke 24:46–47: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Jesus’ message is for “all nations,” starting with Jews but not limited to them (Acts 1:8).

Romans 1:16: Paul declares the Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” The priority (“first”) is chronological and missional (Acts 13:46, Jews hear first), not a restriction of Jesus’ teachings to Israel.

[Cronos]

Dadfly, you then bring up Mark 7:26–29 to argue Jesus’ message was “first” to Jews, with Gentiles receiving “crumbs.

Let’s look at the KJV text

“The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.”

Where was Jesus when He said this??

Jesus is in the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon (Mark 7:24). A Syrophoenician woman, a Gentile, seeks healing for her daughter. Jesus’ initial response, prioritizing the “children” (Israel) over “dogs” (Gentiles), tests her faith. Her humble reply prompts Jesus to grant her request, commending her faith (v. 29; cf. Matt 15:28, “great is your faith”).

The “children” are the Jews, God’s covenant people (Exod 4:22), to whom the Messiah was promised (Isa 9:6–7). This priority fulfills prophecy (Zech 9:9), not a restriction of His message’s scope.

The woman’s faith overcomes the initial barrier, showing Gentiles are included in God’s plan (Isa 49:6, “a light for the nations”). Jesus’ healing (v. 29) prefigures the Gospel’s universal reach (Acts 10:34–35, “God shows no partiality”). The “crumbs” metaphor isn’t a diminishment but a humble acknowledgment of God’s grace extending beyond Israel (Ps 117:1).

Jesus responds to her faith (Matt 15:28), not ethnicity, aligning with salvation by faith for all (Rom 3:28–30). This foreshadows the Church, where Jew and Gentile are one (Eph 2:14–16).

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Mark 7:26–29 doesn’t restrict Jesus’ teachings to “mostly” Jews. The “first” priority is time related —Israel hears the Gospel first (Acts 13:46)—but the message is universal (Mark 16:15). The woman’s inclusion shows Jesus’ mission transcends ethnicity (John 12:32, “I will draw all people to myself”).

Dispensationalism’s focus on Jewish priority misreads this as a separate program, ignoring the unified Gospel (Gal 1:6–9).

[Cronos]

Dadfly, you claim Christians who “merge or replace” God’s purposes for Jews with Gentiles miss Scripture’s intent, implying a Dispensationalist distinction where Israel retains a unique role (e.g., future restoration, millennial kingdom) apart from the Church.

This dispensationalist view of yours is rebukes by scripture

Galatians 3:28–29: “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” The Church inherits Abraham’s promises (Gen 12:3) through faith, not ethnicity (Rom 4:16–17).

Romans 9:6–8: “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise.” True Israel is defined by faith in Christ (Rom 2:28–29, “A Jew is one inwardly”).

Ephesians 2:19–22: Gentiles are “no longer strangers… but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” The Church is God’s temple, uniting Jew and Gentile (Col 3:11).

Romans 11:17–24: Gentiles are grafted into Israel’s olive tree, with unbelieving Jews broken off but able to be grafted back through faith (v. 23). This is one people of God, not two programs. “All Israel” (v. 26) is saved through faith in Christ (Rom 10:12–13), not a separate national destiny.

Acts 15:13–18: James cites Amos 9:11–12, showing David’s tent (Israel’s hope) rebuilt in the Church, including Gentiles. The Gospel fulfills Israel’s purpose (Acts 13:47).

Dispensationalism’s distinction fragments God’s plan (Eph 1:9–10), ignoring Christ’s unification of all (John 10:16). Mark 7:26–29 shows Gentiles sharing Israel’s blessings through faith (Rom 15:27), not a secondary role.

[Cronos]

The Dispensationalist claim that Jesus’ teachings were “mostly” for Israel overlooks the Gospels’ universal scope:

Matthew 8:5–13: Jesus heals a centurion’s servant (Gentile), praising his faith above Israel’s (v. 10). He declares, “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham… in the kingdom” (v. 11), showing Gentile inclusion.

John 4:7–42: Jesus engages a Samaritan woman, leading her village to faith (v. 39–42, “Savior of the world”). His mission transcends Jewish boundaries (John 3:16).

Mark 11:17: Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:7, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations,” affirming a universal purpose.
Luke 2:30–32: Simeon calls Jesus “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel,” balancing both from His birth.

Jesus’ priority to Israel (Matt 15:24) fulfills prophecy (Rom 15:8) but prepares for the universal Gospel (Acts 1:8). His teachings are for all (Matt 28:20), not “mostly” Jews. Dispensationalism’s restriction misreads the Gospels’ intent (John 20:31).

The Gospels are universal (Matt 28:19; John 10:16), not restricted by a Jewish priority. The Church fulfills Israel’s promises (Gal 3:29; Rom 9:6–8), uniting all in Christ (Eph 2:14–16). Dispensationalism’s Israel/Church split lacks scriptural support, fragmenting God’s plan (1 Cor 1:10). The Bible’s clarity lies in Christ’s fulfillment (Luke 24:44), not divided purposes

[Cronos]

Boatbums, these Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in Christ and His Church, which includes both Jews and Gentiles as the true Israel (Gal 6:16; Rom 9:6–8). This interpretation doesn’t negate God’s promises but affirms their completion in the New Covenant, avoiding the fragmentation of Dispensationalism’s Israel/Church distinction.

The New Testament consistently interprets Old Testament promises as fulfilled in Christ (2 Cor 1:20, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him”). The Church is the continuation of Israel’s covenant, uniting all who believe (Eph 2:14–16; Gal 3:28–29). Prophecies about Israel’s restoration often use marital imagery (e.g., God’s “wife”) but are fulfilled spiritually in Christ’s relationship with His Church (Eph 5:25–32), not a literal ethnic nation.

Looking into the passages you, boatbums, post:

Jeremiah 31:31–34, 35–37

Jeremiah prophesies a new covenant, restoring Israel after exile, with God’s law internalized and sins forgiven. Verses 35–37 emphasize God’s irrevocable commitment to Israel’s existence as His people, tied to creation’s stability. This was fulfilled as we see in the New testament

Hebrews 8:8–13: The New Covenant is fulfilled in Christ, who “has obtained a more excellent ministry, because he is the mediator of a better covenant” (v. 6). Jeremiah 31:31–34 is quoted, showing the Old Covenant is “obsolete” (v. 13), with Christ’s sacrifice forgiving sins (Heb 10:17–18; Matt 26:28).

Romans 11:26–27: Paul cites Jeremiah 31:34 and Isaiah 59:20, applying the New Covenant to “all Israel” saved through Christ, the Deliverer. This includes Jews and Gentiles by faith (Rom 9:6, “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”).

Galatians 3:29: “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” The Church inherits Israel’s covenant as Abraham’s seed through Christ (Gal 3:16).

God’s promise that Israel won’t cease as a nation is fulfilled in the Church, the eternal people of God (1 Pet 2:9, “a holy nation”). The “descendants” are those of faith (Rom 4:16–17), not only ethnic Jews. Creation’s stability underscores God’s faithfulness, realized in Christ’s eternal kingdom (Luke 1:32–33).

Jeremiah 31 doesn’t predict a future ethnic restoration but the New Covenant in Christ (Luke 22:20). The Church, uniting Jews and Gentiles, is God’s “nation” (Matt 21:43), fulfilling the covenant’s permanence.

Isaiah 6 predicts judgment and a remnant, fulfilled in Christ’s first coming and the Church’s mission (Acts 13:47). No future ethnic restoration is implied; salvation is through faith (Rom 10:12).

Isaiah 54’s restoration is the Church, not a future Jewish nation. The marital imagery symbolizes Christ’s covenant with all believers (2 Cor 11:2), not an ethnic Israel.

Ephesians 5:25–32: The Church is Christ’s bride, fulfilling marital imagery (cf. Rev 19:7–9). God as “husband” is realized in Christ’s union with believers (John 3:29).

Galatians 4:26–27: Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1, applying it to the “Jerusalem above,” the Church, which includes Gentiles as Abraham’s children (v. 28). The “barren” woman is the New Covenant, fruitful through Christ (Gal 3:29).

Isaiah 62’s “bride” is the Church (Rev 19:7), not ethnic Israel. The “new name” (v. 2) applies to believers (Rev 2:17), uniting all in Christ (Col 3:11).

Hosea’s marital restoration is fulfilled in Christ’s covenant with the Church (Rev 21:3), not a future Jewish nation. Jews and Gentiles are God’s people through faith (Rom 10:12).

2 Corinthians 11:2: Paul likens the Church to a betrothed bride, fulfilling Hosea’s imagery (cf. Eph 5:32).

John 3:29: Jesus is the bridegroom, with believers as His bride (Matt 9:15).

Romans 9:25–26: Paul quotes Hosea 2:23, applying it to Gentiles called “my people” through Christ, alongside believing Jews (v. 24). The Church fulfills Hosea’s restoration (1 Pet 2:10, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people”).

Jeremiah 31:35–37 “nation”. is God’s covenant people, redefined through faith in Christ (Rom 9:6–8, “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”). The Church is this nation (1 Pet 2:9; Matt 21:43, “The kingdom of God will be… given to a people producing its fruits”).

Galatians 3:16–17: The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Christ, not altered by the Law (v. 17). The Church inherits this “irrevocable” promise (Rom 4:16).

Romans 11:28–29: “As regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” God’s promise endures, inviting Jews to faith (v. 23, “If they do not persist in unbelief”), not a separate national program

[boatbums]

No, I don't. A whole lot of future prophecy must be ignored or allegorized in order to insist that the nation of Israel and the Jews have no future in God's plan. This is why Dispensationalism makes sense. Nobody denies that right now in the "church age", believing Gentiles are grafted into the vine along with believing Jews. But to insist that God's unconditional promises to Abraham and his PHYSICAL descendants are moot or changed is to call into question the character of God and THAT causes major issues with the Trinity.

For example, if the time of the Tribulation described in the book of Revelation is all allegorical and there won't be 144,000 (12,000 each from the 12 tribes of Israel) who go into the world to preach the gospel of Jesus as Messiah, then what do you think it is talking about? Why specifically are the 12 tribes of Israel mentioned if it's Jews AND Gentiles? God doesn't waste words.

[boatbums]

We're seeing 2000 year old prophecies being fulfilled in our lifetime! It seems pretty clear to me that God STILL has a plan for the nation of Israel. Why else did He specifically state:

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name: “Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.” (Jeremiah 31:36)

[boatbums]

Yes, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah when He came 2000 years ago - just as the prophet Isaiah said they would - and because of this, we Gentiles, as the "other" sheep and along with the believing Jews, are welcomed into the plan of salvation. But God has not forgotten His promise to Abraham. That Israel STILL exists as a nation is proof He isn't done with them.

I don't "kow tow" to them nor do I follow them, but respect and love the Jewish people as chosen of God through His promise to Abraham and my older brothers in the faith of Abraham. Their Holy Scripture (Old Testament) is part of the Bible I honor as God's inspired word. I used to wear of Star of David necklace to remind me that I was a "by faith" child of Abraham and also to have opportunities to share the gospel with Jewish people I encountered. Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 11 about this:

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, remember this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either.

Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut from a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into one that is cultivated, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”


Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience, so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you. For God has consigned everyone to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.

[boatbums]

You are certainly entitled to your own opinion, Cronos, but I disagree and have explained why repeatedly. You belong to the Roman Catholic church and their teaching is that THEY have replaced Israel in God's plan - they don't even accept those outside of the Catholic church. You make void the unconditional promises God made to Abraham and his physical descendants of not only the Messiah but a nation, a promised earthly land, that will eternally be theirs. You say the "Church" inherits the promises God made INTENTIONALLY to Abraham and his physical descendants. I think you are wrong.

Israel is called the "wife of Jehovah" and He "divorced" them because of their spiritual adultery. But He will take them back again:

So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion. And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.” (Hosea 2:19,20)

The church (the Bride of Christ) was never unfaithful. It is presented as a virgin, clothed in pure white robes. Now, if as you contend, they are the same, then explain God's promises:

For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol. Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days. (Hosea 3:4,5)

Then you have to explain all the prophecies John was given in the book of Revelation. That kind of destruction has never happened before. Jesus has not returned yet to defeat the Antichrist, the Beast and the False Prophet nor has He cast Satan bound into the bottomless pit for 1000 years. Jesus is not yet ruling with a rod of iron on this earth for 1000 years. There has not yet been the Armageddon battle, the new heavens and the new earth, etc., etc. You may see these things as allegory, but I believe in the literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of Scripture unless it is clearly allegory, metaphor or figures of speech. Do you accept Revelation in your Bible?

You reject "Dispensationalism" but you don't even know what it is. What it is not is the idea that God had different ways for people to be saved. It has ALWAYS been His grace through faith. Scripture upholds that truth repeatedly.

Dispensational theology teaches that there are two distinct peoples of God: Israel and the Church. Dispensationalists believe that salvation has always been by grace through faith alone—in God in the Old Testament and specifically in God the Son in the New Testament. Dispensationalists hold that the Church has not replaced Israel in God’s program and that the Old Testament promises to Israel have not been transferred to the Church. Dispensationalism teaches that the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament (for land, many descendants, and blessings) will be ultimately fulfilled in the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20. Dispensationalists believe that, just as God is in this age focusing His attention on the Church, He will again in the future focus His attention on Israel (see Romans 9–11 and Daniel 9:24).

Dispensationalists understand the Bible to be organized into seven dispensations: Innocence (Genesis 1:1—3:7), Conscience (Genesis 3:8—8:22), Human Government (Genesis 9:1—11:32), Promise (Genesis 12:1—Exodus 19:25), Law (Exodus 20:1—Acts 2:4), Grace (Acts 2:4—Revelation 20:3), and the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4–6). Again, these dispensations are not paths to salvation, but manners in which God relates to man. Each dispensation includes a recognizable pattern of how God worked with people living in the dispensation. That pattern is 1) a responsibility, 2) a failure, 3) a judgment, and 4) grace to move on. (What is dispensationalism and is it biblical?)

Paul certainly spoke about God's overall plan and used the word:

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (Ephesians 1:7-12)

See also Ephesians 3. One day, we will all find out the truth and we will know "even as we are known". Have a good weekend.