Are the biblical Israel and the modern state of Israel the same?
I never thought I’d be asking this question in 2026. Let me state this question differently: Are the modern state of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu and the biblical Israel under King David two distinct entities with no connection between them?
Of course, many centuries separate the two bodies called “Israel.” Yet, why should a doubt be raised whether Jewish people descended from Abraham and his offspring now residing in Israel are not the same?
When one fantasizes that the Israel of the Hebrew Scriptures no longer exists and has been replaced by the New Testament Church, that person has transformed modern-day Israel into a shell of its former self. This Christian belief is called “replacement theology.” I view this newly rendered Israel as a “phantom Israel.”
Replacement theology is the primary source of the mystification of Israel. Those who redefine biblical Israel into a spiritual Israel need to have their view of a shadow Israel demystified.
Kirk Cameron’s Bizarre Views on Israel
In a recent YouTube video from the messianic ministry, First Fruits of Zion, the podcast host Jacob Fronczak discusses Christian celebrity Kirk Cameron’s views on the modern state of Israel. In brief, Cameron questions whether the ancient nation of Israel and the modern Jewish state are identical. Several evangelical pastors, such as Andy Woods, and other scholars have astutely responded to Cameron’s misguided view on Israel.
The Promises to Abraham Are Meant ONLY for the Patriarch
As an example of Cameron’s baffling position on Israel, he maintains the blessings promised to Abraham apply ONLY to the patriarch, but NOT to his descendants. The former TV star appears to be wearing foggy lenses when he suggests the nation of Israel does not appear in the establishment of God’s covenant with Abraham, “And I will make of you a great NATION, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (Genesis 12:2 ESV) (bold font added by author).
If Israel is not the nation promised to Abraham, according to Kirk Cameron, who is the nation God promised would come forth from Abraham? Could it be Edom or Turkey? Perhaps the nation God promised to the patriarch is Great Britain. I’ll let the reader answer this question.
Residents of Afghanistan are fleeing their war-torn country to escape a repressive Taliban rule. A recent earthquake decimated the population of Haiti. Unexpected forms of Covid-19 threaten to infect more Americans. Residents of US cities are at one another’s throats over issues like masks and vaccinations used to prevent the spread of Covid. Even churches divide over being compliant with government orders to close their doors to curtail potential virus contamination. Climate control remains a hot topic for those who believe our environment is crumbling due to human indifference and mismanagement of our resources.
No wonder people inquire whether we are teetering on the brink of Earth’s final days. Recently, someone asked me if we are experiencing the last of the birth pangs Yeshua mentioned as portents of His return (Matthew 24:7-8). Is this the end? Can we look at current events as guaranteed signs of the final moments of the last days?
In 2006, I delivered a message on the questions Christians raise when we face troubling situations. Surprisingly, the list of disturbing signs of the last days was not too different 15 years ago. Devastating earthquakes. Powerful hurricanes. The predicted economic collapse of the stock market. Ongoing, persistent poverty. Increasing wars and terrorism. Political upheaval. Lack of trust in our news sources. False teaching among evangelicals. The moral corruption of our trusted leaders. Continual skirmishes in Israel. Not much has changed.
Again, I raise the questions on everyone’s mind, “Are the events mentioned above indicators of the final days? Are we in alignment with the Scriptures, or are we interpreting the Word of God the way we want out of sheer panic?
I felt it would be timely to revisit this message and apply its relevance to 2021 as we rush towards the dawning of 2022.
Israel as the Centerpiece in the End Times
In his book, The Will to Live On, Herman Wouk tells the story of a meeting he had with Israel’s first president David Ben-Gurion. Wouk writes in his book, “My wife Sarah and I visited Ben-Gurion’s house in the Negev desert. And the next day we traveled to Sde Boker or “the fields of mourning” kibbutz, in a command car escorted by a jeep with a mounted machine gun.” Wouk writes, “For back in 1955 when this took place, this little country was being harassed by terrorists from Egypt and Gaza.”
“When we were leaving, Ben-Gurion came out with his straight Zionist line. “You must return here to live. This is the only place for Jews like you. Here you will be free.”
And Herman Wouk said, “Free? Free with enemy armies with their leaders threatening to wipe out the Zionist entity? Free?”
And Ben-Gurion said, “I did not say ‘safe,’ I said ‘free.'”
In the light of recent rocket attacks on Israel (2006) launched by the terrorist group Hezbollah and hundreds of thousands of Muslims protesting against Israel in the streets of Baghdad, in Tehran and Libya, the Jewish nation is not in a safe situation.
America’s support for Israel is bringing our country deeper into the crosshairs of Islamic terrorists.
In 2006 Yemenite president Ali Abdullah Saleh said, “I hope all countries bordering Israel will join the war. Arab countries should allow the transfer of weapons and people to Lebanon and Palestine. Every Muslim has the individual duty to fight on this front.”
Here is another disturbing quote that exposes radical Islam’s hatred of Israel, spoken 15 years ago by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, “Everyone realizes the attack on Lebanon was a Zionist-American operation. It is the first step towards taking control over the Middle East and over the entire Muslim world. Bush and his American partners will be considered just as responsible and accountable for these events as the evil and depraved leaders of the Zionist regime.”
On the positive side, the Los Angeles Times took a poll on August 2, 2006. According to the census, most Americans—59%–consider Israel’s bombing campaign in Lebanon in self-defense justified. Albeit, Americans are divided about how closely we should align ourselves with the Jewish state. The time will come when we will have no other choice but to get involved. And the question is: Will America stand by Israel, not if, but when the whole world turns against Israel?
After reading multiple blogs on ScriptureSolutions, the user is made aware of how important Israel is in understanding the timeline of the last days. Bible students who omit Israel as a primary focus before the return of Yeshua will experience frustration trying to stitch together the events of prophetic history.
Fifteen years ago, I studied the tower of Babel to gain insight into humanity’s aversion to God and His decision to make Israel His elect nation. It may come as a surprise to realize the events at the ancient tower of Babel connect to the biblical timeline of Israel’s history leading into the modern era.
The World’s Relationship with God in the End Times
Is the world safe anymore? Where is all this conflict heading? What’s the bigger picture?
Genesis chapter 11 is the story of the tower of Babel. This account provides us with a picture of a world bigger than Israel and the United States. At the tower of Babel, a spiritual energy emerged that changed the course of history. After the Flood of Noah, the remainder of the human race gathered together at the famed Tower of Babel. This remnant of humanity conglomerated in one place in defiance and arrogance against the Creator God.
The modern person must know this same spirit, according to prophecy, will be unleashed again in the last days. As the world once attempted to evict God from His Creation symbolically at the tower of Babel, we will try again at the end of time.
Yes, Israel is crucial to interpreting end times prophecy. Israel is the centerpiece of the prophetic stage before the return of Israel’s Messiah. With Israel, God’s focus is primarily national. However, His intention has always been to bless the global community through Israel. Yet, before the coming of the awaited Redeemer, the international scene will take once more turn for the worst as we see at Babel.
Of course, how the world either draws close to God or shuns Him will affect how the nations treat Israel. Before God blesses the planet Earth through Israel, the world community must first acknowledge the God of Israel. Sadly, this realization will become a lost commodity at the end times. The farther society runs from God and renounces Israel, the more unsafe the world becomes.
Any environment becomes unsafe when humanity wants nothing to do with the Creator. Signs exist today that the same spirit of detachment from God witnessed at the Tower of Babel makes its presence known once again.
What are the signs of a world where safety in God is missing?
I could not contain my excitement when I entered Bible College in Dallas, Texas in 1971. I looked forward to learning New Testament Greek, studying the Jewish Scriptures and the New Testament, and researching multiple schools of theology. Attending Bible College was a dream come true. And it was, for the most part.
I devoured every class offered in Bible and theology. I signed up for Leviticus and Hebrews to better understand the connection between the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant.
Hermeneutics or Biblical Interpretation was one of many required courses. My professor was a graduate of the Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). Yet, he took pride he had rejected the dispensational theology he learned at DTS. In other words, he became a replacement theologian. He did not affirm God has a plan for the nation of Israel other than the need for individual Jewish people to accept Yeshua.
As the professor unraveled his theology in class one afternoon, he proudly announced he is a spiritual Jew. In fact, in an arrogant tone, he declared he was a “true Jew.” I almost fell out of my chair. I did not believe my ears.
According to the teacher, God wiped His hands of the nation of Israel. Presently, the Lord formed a “new nation of Israel” made up of Gentiles removed from Jewish tradition and culture.
Photo courtesy of Photo by Raimond Klavins from Unsplash
According to my professor, God has no interest in the physical land of Israel or in preserving the Jewish nation as He promised to Abraham. All the references to the land and the Jewish nation in Scripture are realized in the Church. I was nauseous. I wanted to bolt from the classroom.
I ended up in my car after class, trembling and shaking. Questions bombarded my brain. Was God lying to Abraham about the Jewish nation to issue from his loins? Can God be trusted not to give mixed messages in His promises? Do my Gentile brothers in the Lord truly know what is contained in the Jewish Scriptures? What does replacement theology do with the many prophecies that guarantee the nation of Israel possession of the land forever? Was I in the wrong faith? How could I look at these Texas Christians and think of them as Jewish?
Why do I share this story? Truly, my encounter with this professor who espoused Replacement theology set me on a lifetime journey of disproving this teaching that is harmful to a proper understanding of God’s commitment to Israel. Hence, I have undertaken this series of articles on the use of Matthew 5:5 or the third beatitude by replacement theology advocates to remove Israel from the proper focus of God’s eternal plan for His cherished people.
Since Yeshua quoted Psalm 37:11 in Matthew 5:5, the Bible student must grasp the context of this Psalm to comprehend how Jesus was using this passage. In the last article, we looked at five themes of Psalm 37. Now we will dig into the passage itself as it leads up to verse 11, “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace” (ESV).
Was Jesus removing the land of Israel promised to the Jewish people and handing it off to the “meek”? Of course, the meek, according to RT, refers to Christians. However, since followers of Jesus are a spiritual people whose citizenship is in heaven, the “land,” according to RT, now refers to heaven, not the geographical strip of land in the Middle East adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea.
After studying ReplacementTheology since 1971, I have concluded this is not a study of an impractical issue but a defense of the truthfulness of God’s character. Can His word be trusted? My concern in every article I have written and every sermon I taught on this subject is the veracity of God’s character and His word in light of the shadow cast by RT on the Church. This same burden drives my passion for writing this series of articles.
When I picture an Evil Empire, Darth Vadar, Star War’s devious leader of the Dark Side, prowls across my mind. Throw in a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers clashing with Rebel Alliance combatants, and we have an accurate description of an Evil Empire.
But the modern nation of Israel as the “new Evil Empire”? No way! Yet some Christian leaders are accusing the Jewish nation of playing the role of ambassadors for the Dark Side in the Middle East.
This article was originally written for The Messianic Times in 2007. Since the accusation of Israel as an apartheid nation continues in some evangelical circles, I thought it would benefit the readers of Scripture Solutions to take a look at the issue once again.
My major concern is not only with the politics involved in the incrimination of Israel but also with the fact this indictment stems from anti-Israel evangelicals.
I presume some evangelicals cited in this article have either changed or eschewed their position or doubled down on their viewpoint. It is not the purpose of this reprint to update the negative views held by these evangelicals towards Israel. This piece is a reflection of what was taking place 14 years ago among Christian leaders in their perspective on the modern state of Israel.
One further observation. Many of the links included in the first article are no longer operable. So I have deleted them from the text and retained the links that are still active.
What Christian leaders would possess the chutzpah to assign this sinister caricature to the Jewish state?
An evangelical call to unmask the so-called Evil Empire
Rev. Donald Wagner, director for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Chicago’s North Park University, addressed the National Middle Eastern Presbyterian Caucus (NMEPC) held in Birmingham, Alabama in June 2006. Though Wagner offered his remarks on Father’s Day (June 18, 2006), his vilification of Israel could hardly have pleased the Heavenly Father, the Holy One of Israel.
Wagner, the founder of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, referred to Israel as part of a “globalized empire” that employs such things as “weapons and the international media for its gain.”
Appealing to an evangelical audience, the Chicago professor challenged his listeners, “We have to unmask the face of the evil empire.”
Wagner, who had recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land declared, “It is time that we start using the word apartheid. In fact, it is worse than apartheid.”
Other Christian leaders have unfortunately provided the fodder for Wagner’s biting words towards the Jewish nation.
Jul 30, 2021
Posted by Scripture Solutions on Jul 30, 2021 | Comments Off on Did Jesus Give Away the Land of Israel to Christians? (Matthew 5:5) Part 2
Photo courtesy of Photo by Raimond Klavins from Unsplash
Introduction
It is next to impossible to not know what the heartfelt cry, “Stop the Steal” refers to. In the aftermath of the November 3, 2020 presidential race, there are a great number of Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen; thus the declared winner of that contest, Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Along with the questionable belief that the election victory of former President Dοnald Trump was pilfered from the former POTUS, we find various conspiratorial assumptions fermenting among a select segment of his support base. According to some conspiracy subscribers, as reported by Joel Lawrence from Center for Pastor Theologians, God has promised to give President Trump another four years in the White House and the “Deep State” has been working to thwart the will of the Lord (“Faith, Apocalypse, and Nationalism: Why Evangelicals are Vulnerable to Conspiracy Theories”, Center for Pastor Theologians, 01/25/2021).
From these alleged concerns comes the cry, “Stop the Steal!” In the January 6th insurrection of our nation’s capital, we heard the cry repeatedly among those who stormed our nation’s treasured buildings and from those who protested “peacefully” outside. Joel Lawrence traces some of the roots that led to the “Stop the Steal” protest:
According to the Presidential narrative, this vast conspiracy involved Hugo Chavez, Dominion voting machines, Republican governors and Secretaries of State, Democratic poll workers in largely African American cities, Antifa, and countless others. These theories thrived in an environment of conspiracy, eventually leading to an attack on the United States Capitol, in which five people lost their lives and the safety of legislators were threatened.
“Faith, Apocalypse, and Nationalism: Why Evangelicals are Vulnerable to Conspiracy Theories”, Center for Pastor Theologians, 01/25/2021
The important takeaway is that President Trump, along with an extensive team of lawyers and advisors claimed without evidence in court, the 2020 vote for the president was rigged. Despite the data to the contrary, a majority of Trump supporters still aggressively believe the election was poached from the 45th president.
The steal of the identity of the nation of Israel
This author does not hesitate to apply the term “steal” to the teaching among conservative replacement theologians who profess the nation of Israel has been replaced by the church. Essentially, Replacement Theology(RT) maintains the Church or even Jesus is the “new Israel”.
If Jesus or the Church is the “new” Israel, God’s chosen nation has been replaced by a greater spiritual reality. Therefore, the status of Israel is reduced from a people who are the “elect of God” to a community “abandoned by God” when it comes to His national promises to the Jewish people. If this teaching is not true, then these academics, pastors and theologians are guilty of stealing the rightful God-given identity of Israel and misapplying this divine status to the Church.
The root of this thinking is the misunderstanding of the election of Israel. The chosen status of the Jewish people has been misread by the Jewish nation’s detractors and supporters in several ways:
1) Many believe chosenness implies the Jewish people are superior to other peoples. Since ethnic or racial superiority is contrary to biblical truth, the Jewish people have disqualified themselves to be divine representatives on earth. This responsibility, according to RT advocates has been transferred over to the Church. This erroneous impression of Israel’s runaway self-importance and superiority is absent from traditional Jewish teaching. if anything, God’s election of Israel calls for the nation to have a greater moral and spiritual responsibility before God and man.
2) Others wrongly maintain Israel’s election grants divine approval of all Israel’s decisions and actions when it comes to the Palestinians. A simple perusing of Israel’s 73-year history demonstrates the nation’s constant examination of its relationship with the Palestinians. On several occasions, Israelis have taken to the streets in protest of the IDF’s actions towards their Arab neighbors. The Jewish nation displays little evidence their concept of chosenness provides them a free pass when it comes to unfair treatment towards those who oppose the establishment of the Jewish state. Once again, anti-Israel evangelicals are grossly mistaken to try to belittle Israel’s elect status because of the Jewish state’s perceived or actual mistreatment of other peoples. When necessary, Israel has proven time after time its willingness for self-examination and self-correction in regards to the Palestinian people.
3) Israel’s election, according to some Christian Zionists, is an alternative for Jewish people needing to believe in the Messiah Yeshua. Christian Zionists who hold to this viewpoint believe are truly supportive of Israel. Yet they are not true to the divine plan for the Jewish nation which includes accepting Yeshua as the promised Messiah. Backing the nation of Israel by Christian Zionists is greatly appreciated by the Jewish nation. However, these well-meaning Christians are pilfering from Israel the blessing of finding redemption in Yeshua.
Due to this fallacious grasp of the election of Israel, many evangelical theologians are susceptible to eliminating Israel from God’s eternal plan for the nation. One of the ways this depreciation pans out is through the teaching Israel has been replaced by the triumphant Church that DID accept Yeshua as Messiah. I often wonder if we applied these same tests of moral superiority and unchecked behavior to evangelicals, how well our elect status would hold together? Church history-both ancient and modern-is filled with numerous occasions when the Church has behaved in ways that betrayed its elect status. Yet to select evangelical scholars, the moral test only applies to Israel.
in contrast, the Apostle Paul warns Gentile Christians, “do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you” (Romans 11:18–21 ESV).
The steal of the land once promised to the people of Israel
RT advocates the Old Testament land promises no longer describe a geographical space. The nation Israel failed to enter into the physical and spiritual rest to be found in the Promised Land. Presently the land promises have been overhauled. These Christian academics teach the spiritual rest Israel was to experience in the physical land of Israel can now be encountered in the promised spiritual rest in Jesus minus the possession of the land. Some Christian thinkers have added the land of Israel was merely a shadow of the ultimate eternal rest experienced in heaven or in Yeshua.
In the opinion of this author, the belief system of Replacement Theology is a “steal” of Israel’s rightful place in biblical theology. Once God made time-tested promises to Israel regarding a people, a land and a channel for blessing to others. Now these promises have been reinterpreted and confiscated from the Jewish people by replacement theologians.
Louis Lapides
Thus, the geographical promise of the land of Israel made to the Jewish nation has been transformed into a spiritualized improvement. The spiritual rest in the Son of God appeals especially to those evangelicals who have bought into a Gnostic dualism in which the material world is inferior to the transcendent reality of heaven. If the material land promises now refer to Jesus or heaven or the Church, then the Old Testament promises to the Jewish people are null and void or unnecessary. We now have the greater spiritual reality that the land promised to Abraham pointed to.
This present series of articles focuses on the use of the third beatitude to disparage God’s promises of the land to Israel. The misapplication of the third beatitude is a prime example of how RT theologians have no qualms about deploying New Testament passages to support their theological system that supplants or steals God’s blessings from the nation of Israel.
Photo courtesy of Photo by Raimond Klavins from Unsplash
Most evangelical supporters of the modern state of Israel MUST become familiar with the biennial conference Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC). This symposium is organized by Palestinian Christian pastors and leaders in conjunction with Bethlehem Bible College, a non-denominational Evangelical school located in the West Bank and a source of anti-Zionist propaganda. The major mission of this controversial forum is stated in the “About” Section of the CATC website, “We are a community of evangelical Christians who believe that following Jesus with integrity means that our lives are formed by our love for God, the teaching of the Bible and a fearless life of discipleship in the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
On the surface the Christ at the Checkpoint mission statement appears acceptable. The commitment to apply Christian principles to navigating and addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is appealing to Christians who want to reflect the principles taught by Jesus. To clarify their viewpoint regarding the Middle East conflict, the CATC “About” field continues, “We feel compelled to address the injustices that have taken place in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, particularly the Palestinian lands under occupation.”
However, after listening to the CATC talks posted online, one notices the lecturers are quick to condemn the Jewish state, but are strangely quiet about the atrocities committed by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza. Dexter Van Zile, a writer for C.A.M.E.R.A. (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis), reflects in an article about the CATC gatherings, “all the problems and suffering associated with the Arab-Israeli conflict are placed at the feet of Israel, America and the West while the misdeeds of Palestinian leaders are ignored.”
The Role of CATC in Denying God’s Promises of the Land to Israel
Ahmad Al-Bazz
In this article the alleged injustices occurring in the Palestinian territories will not be addressed. Rather, our goal is to deal with the underlying agenda of CATC in questioning and opposing any theology that advocates a divine plan for Israel’s future.
CATC’s adversarial position concerning theologies that are supportive of Israel is stated as follows ” . . . we reject theologies that lead to discrimination or privileges based on ethnicity. Worldviews that promote divine national entitlement or exceptionalism do not promote the values of the Kingdom of God because they place nationalism above Jesus.” Any attendee at CATC is soon made aware the majority of speakers do not believe the God of the Bible has a plan for the nation of Israel that includes both the title and possession of the Promised Land.
In contrast, one who maintains God DOES have a future plan for Israel believes the divine program for the Jewish nation has NEVER been based on ethnicity. The Lord’s planned blessings for Israel is founded solely on His elective choice as seen in Deuteronomy 7:6-8:
The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping rthe oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deuteroomy 7:6-8 (ESV)
The true intent of the CATC conferences can be missed in the slew of many messages that obfuscates their agenda. From the One for Israelwebsite this intention is spelled out:
The conference claims to be “theology in the service of peace and justice” but its true purpose is to fundamentally change the way that Evangelicals in the West read the Bible in order to fundamentally change their political stand regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict-and through them, to affect their political leaders. Instead of reading the Bible in its historical and cultural context in order to understand what the inspired prophets and apostles communicated as the Word of God, organizers of CatC want us to read the Scriptures only “in the shadow of the occupation”, that is, filtered through the Palestinian Arab’s POV and political aspirations.
Of course, the leaders involved in CATC will demonstrate a desire for Israel and the Jewish people to experience salvation through Yeshua. Still, the denial of God’s promises of the land to the nation of Israel lies at the heart of the CATC agenda.
The Role of CATC in Altering the Fingerprint of the Nation of Israel
It is tempting to only see CATC as an evangelical effort to right injustices and to take a stand for the oppressed Palestinians. Yet we must keep at the forefront the deeper aim of CATC as stated by a One for Israel position paper: “to sway Evangelical believers worldwide away from belief in the eternal promises of God to Israel by slandering the Jewish people and delegitimizing the Jewish state . . . “
The Jewish News Syndicate chimes in with a similar understanding of the theological underpinnings of this evangelical anti-Israel effort, “CATC includes a heavy emphasis on replacement theology, which teaches that the Christian church has replaced Israel or the Jewish people regarding the plan, purpose, and promises of God. Adherents of the theology believe that the Jews are no longer God’s ‘chosen people’.” Those who hold to any form of replacement theology are asking its adherents to believe the fingerprint of Israel in the Jewish scriptures has been altered. Like a thief who uses acid or a surgical technique to change his fingerprints, these RT theologians have attempted to file off the fingerprint of Israel from Old Testament promises so that the nation’s identity is replaced with that of the Church.
In Palestinian replacement theology, some of their theologians see the land of Israel as a type of heaven and not a geographical destination; many opt for a replacement theology in which the Church is the spiritual “New Israel”. A growing number of New Testament theologians hold the promises given to Israel are now fulfilled in Jesus. He is the goal of the Old Testament prophecies and He is the “new Israel”.
The variations of Replacement Theology are manifold and cannot be covered in this piece in their entirety. Yet the essential conviction of RT that replaces the nation Israel with the NT Church and the land with spiritualized interpretations will be discussed throughout this article. In addition, every attempt will be made to address the passages cited by Replacement Theology that are used to diminish the commitment of the God of Israel to His nation.
The perspective on Israel by CATC organizers is well stated by Palestinian Salim Munayer, head of Musalaha a non-profit organization which works towards reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. In response to a concern about God’s promises of the land to Israel, Munayer responded,
“CATC interprets them via a new “theology of the land”. This theology teaches that “the blessing of the Promised Land has been stretched over the whole earth.” God has gifted every people with a homeland, on condition that they behave morally. The Jews behaved immorally and lost their land to the Palestinians. If the Jewish people will become moral, God will let them share the land with the Palestinians (italics mine).
The Role of Christians in Grasping Israel’s Role in God’s Plans
Most non-RT scholars will argue against the general theological statements which support the stance God has replaced Israel with the Church. Yet when texts used by RT proponents to support their theology are carefully examined, we discover the tedious work of exegesis of these verses has oftentimes been neglected. Two results are noticed:
RT is built on a foundation of poorly interpreted biblical texts.
Throughout the Tenach God is inflating Israel like a giant balloon with blessings and promises concerning the future of the nation. To defend the position that sees the continuation of God’s promises to Israel, the proponents take into account the many texts that support this position.
For example, according to Psalm 2:6 and Zechariah 14:6-7 the Messiah will rule from Jerusalem during the Messianic kingdom. The nations of the earth will come to Zion to worship the Messiah King of Israel (Isaiah 61:10). Because of God’s commitment to Israel, the nation is preserved by Him throughout the ages. In the Hebrew scriptures and post-biblical history, the “balloon” nation almost floats above all attempts to wipe them out by the enemies of God’s chosen people.
In contrast, Replacement theologians use their anti-Israel doctrine to deflate the special position Israel has in the Word of God. These advocates fail to interact honestly with the many Old Testament passages that reinforce God’s continued relationship with Israel.
For instance, most conservative biblical scholars view Ezekiel 37:1-14, the Valley of the Dry Bones, as a prophecy of the regathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and the ensuing spiritual regeneration of the Jewish people. RT interpreters view Ezekiel 37 as referring to the gathering of redeemed people-Jews and Gentiles-into the church. The latter interpretation ignores the details of these fourteen verses in favor of a general interpretation that is indifferent to the specifics of the prophecy. Ezekiel 37:12 declares to a scattered Israel throughout the earth, “And I will bring you into the land of Israel.” Where is this geographical location God promises to bring the replacement “new Israel” (the Church) to?
By the time we get to the NT, these RT teachers have redefined Israel or ignored the promises God gave to the Jewish nation. This is because these scholars have built their theology on poorly interpreted passages from the Hebrew Bible regarding Israel.
RT often overlooks the entire scope of OT prophecies about Israel.
RT maintains if an OT prophecy regarding Israel’s future is not mentioned again in the NT, the passage is to be ignored. Oddly, these neglected specifics of OT prophecies about Israel form the greatest argument against Replacement Theology.
It is true Ezekiel 37 is not mentioned in the New Testament. However, where does it teach in the New Covenant scriptures that Ezekiel 37 is no longer applicable because the text is not mentioned in the NT?
The NT does not mention God’s covenant promise to Noah in Genesis 9:11 to never destroy the earth with a worldwide flood again. Because this commitment to Noah is NOT repeated in the NT, does that mean God can once again destroy the earth with a universal flood?
The “Israel” of RT is an Israel devoid of the important connection to the Hebrew roots of the nation. Israel has become gentilized and christianized according to these scholars. It is an Israel unrecognizable to the Old Testament student and to the majority of Jewish people.
However, the most confusion initiated by Replacement Theology is seen in the way they interpret many passages in the NT about Israel. One important passage often misinterpreted by RT is Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (ESV). This is not a text most Christians would associate with a denial of God’s promises of the land to Israel.
In contrast to popular belief, Matthew 5:5 has become one of the major New Testament passages used by Replacement theologians to prove the New Testament does not teach the land of Israel is promised to the Jewish people.
Some biblical scholars who have bought into Palestinian replacement theology contend in this verse Jesus is removing the land of Israel from the Jewish nation and giving the land-figuratively-to His followers-the Church. In essence, Yeshua is universalizing the Abrahamic promises to Israel to spread out over the entire gentile world and is excluding Israel save for the Jewish believing remnant in Yeshua.
Since Matthew 5:5 is not only in the famed Sermon on the Mount and one of the first times Jesus supposedly refers to the land of Israel in His teaching, one can see why understanding this passage is so essential.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
In the film documentary American Gospel writer and director Brandon Kimber shares a sampling of the messages coming out of the Prosperity Gospel movement. In one video segment Pastor Joel Osteen punches out a message in which he asks, “Who told you you can’t accomplish your dreams? God has His plans for you. Your destiny is calling out. It’s time to start living large.” In another sermon Osteen counsels, “I’m asking you to feel good about who you are.”
The focus of Osteen’s message in these video slices is not fixed on the person of Jesus. Rather the youthful Osteen concentrates on self-fulfillment and the belief God will enable us to realize the American Dream of prosperity and accomplishing our personal plans and goals. A message like this often latches on to Jeremiah 29:11 as a passage that guarantees God will enable you to attain your hopes and dreams.
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay
As we dive deeper into the Jeremiah passage, we learn the prophet’s message has little to do with actualizing one’s private ambitions. Jeremiah is not promising modern Christians that God will grant His children all aspects of the American Dream.
When Jeremiah 29:11 is misapplied in this manner, the intent of the text is tossed aside to make the words of the prophecy fit an entirely different situation. Then the Scriptures become a source text for people to quote as they wish depending on the situation. Rather than allow the Scriptures to shape our spiritual values and our attitudes towards materialism, we bend the Word of God to our own aspirations as demonstrated in the aberrant teaching of the prosperity huckster Joel Osteen.
Furthermore, in the American Gospel Dr. Julius Kim, Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California notes the harm done when the central focus on the New Testament message becomes self-fulfillment, healing and prosperity,
“We’re seeing a church in America that is becoming ultimately Christless. When we believe in a gospel thinking it is all about us, we miss Jesus’ words entirely.”
Dr. Julius Kim, Westminster Seminary California
In fact, the recipients of Jeremiah 29:11 would have been aghast at how this prophetic promise has been misunderstood and misused by modern followers of God. Sadly, the reason why the prosperity gospel is so popular is that most Bible teachers and pastors refuse to correct and call out these questionable teachers.
Today, many Christian leaders succumb to the immaturity of Christians who come out in droves to hear a carnal prosperity message. Somewhere along the line these neophyte believers were taught incorrectly. As a result, their hearts are more fixed on God’s blessings, rather than on God Himself. Once a follower of Yeshua locks into a lifestyle of seeking gifts over and above the gift giver, they are ripe for deception.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Introduction
Prior to my acceptance of Yeshua as Messiah of Israel and Redeemer, I embraced several Eastern faiths. I was hunting for a connection to God. To find true peace, some paths required I subjugate my cravings that were in the way of experiencing inner tranquility. Eventually, I was no longer bothered by material things I could not afford or the circumstantial setbacks I experienced. Maintaining my inner calm became a greater priority than getting rattled by temporary frustrations.
Soon I embarked into the world of New Testament Christianity. The evangelical sphere I observed split into two avenues. One lane beckoned me to take the words of Jesus seriously when He called His followers to a life of self-denial. This road involves serving God and others even in the midst of difficult times. In the course of enduring life’s obstacles with God’s strength, the follower of Yeshua finds divine peace and joy.
The other route I encountered was the prosperity gospel. In this scenario suffering should NOT be part of the believer’s life. Rather, this scheme teaches God has promised His children a lifestyle of self-fulfillment, physical health and material wealth. The message is positive and promises the Christian freedom from suffering.
The question must be posed: Which path is the one that most aligns with the teaching of Scripture?
Understand the priority of pursuing God’s kingdom over material blessing
Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay
According to Matthew 6:33, Jesus taught His disciples, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” “All these things” refers to the preceding verses in which Jesus describes the concern of God for our material needs-food and drink plus clothing. Jesus does not declare God will provide His followers mansions, several luxury cars in our garage and extravagant vacations. In contrast, because we can trust God to meet our basic needs, we are freed up to seek His kingdom as a priority.
In contrast, many prosperity gospel preachers encourage the Christian to seek “these things” first and then once the person is wealthy and healthy, he or she can experience the kingdom of God. In this world of promised prosperity God exists for me and my needs.
As a result, the Christian enmeshed in this teaching no longer becomes more like Jesus, but he or she is transformed into a materialistic person with skewed priorities. It is my observation this prosperity-focused movement has ignored a lack of spirituality that has crept into the Body of Messiah. The reason? The focus of this teaching is on the believer’s selfish desires and not on establishing the priority of the kingdom of God.
Grasp the true meaning of happiness defined by Scriptures
In no way am I promoting the idea the follower of Yeshua cannot find lasting happiness in this earthly world. My concern is determining what exactly is the happiness God wants for us.
Sadly, some faith teachers offer little qualification of what prosperity and happiness means. The unsuspecting Christian is led to believe that the promised happiness is defined by the materialistic pursuits of our contemporary culture, not by the Word of God. For this reason, believers are open targets for erroneous thinking about what true happiness is.
It is a fair question to ask ourselves, “Is my contentment based on the secular American Dream or by a blessedness defined by Scriptures?”
After all, fulfilling the American dream does not always bring us lasting enjoyment. According to Jonathan T. Pennington, in The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, he observes, “Wisdom literature such as Psalms and Proverbs often depicts the foolishness, shortsightedness, and ultimately short-lived and destructive nature of ungodly pleasures that promise no lasting happiness” (pg. 295). If we are deadset on grabbing our “best life now,” how are we any different from the unbeliever who cherishes the same pleasures? Does God bring us into a relationship with Him so we can scarf up all the material benefits we can fit into our earthly suitcases? Where is the discernment to see material blessings are a by-product of seeking God and not the goal of seeking God (Matthew 6:35-34)?
Later in this blog post we will gain more insight into the enjoyment we can expect from the Lord. For now let us be cautious to not allow secular thinking define for us what is lasting happiness.
Zero in on the place of blessing during our times of hardship
We should not overlook the future aspect of the blessings God wants to give us. Pennington frames this concept from the New Testament where God is “bringing His kingdom from heaven to earth, vanquishing His enemies and establishing justice and peace between people and all of creation” (Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, pg. 296). In other words, there is a “not yet” aspect of God’s promised blessedness.
Hence, we await the coming of God’s kingdom to grant us lasting happiness on earth, not only in heaven. Jesus describes the “not yet” aspect of spiritual joy on earth in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Mathew 6:10).
Why speak a prayer about the future coming of God’s kingdom on earth if we believe the kingdom has come with all its blessings right now? In other words, how can we receive our best life now if God tells us the “best life” is ahead of us and awaiting the Second Coming?
Often the blessings we receive from God in this world are found in the midst of suffering and brokenness. In a strong sense, the follower of Jesus lives in a paradox: we encounter loss, longing, suffering and even persecution along with spiritual happiness, joy and peace. Paul writes, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ [Messiah] you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). The inclusion of suffering in the spiritual life is also described in Phillipians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ [Messiah] Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [Messiah]”.
What we need is a more balanced approach to what it means to find happiness that is not tied into grabbing as much of the American Dream as possible.
To establish the basic tenets of the health and wealth message, the faith teachers gravitate towards biblical passages like Jeremiah 29:11. In this series of articles we have been focusing on understanding the context and audience of this often misused Scripture verse. We must ask, “Who is this promise addressed to? What exactly are the plans God has for His people? How should a modern follower of Jesus apply this verse to their lives?”
Normally, Scripture Solutions focuses on biblically related topics. But since Christian denominations like the Presbyterian Church of the USA has delved into the Israel bashing business, this website must respond to these Christian attacks on Israel’s legitimacy.
Zionism Unsettled Booklet Cover
In the booklet Zionism Unsettled published formerly available in the store on the PCUSA website, we find a map of Israel/Palestine that has been used by Israel’s critics to demonstrate how Israel has slowly taken over the territories allotted to the Palestinians. Consequently, the resulting map shows a disappearing Palestine from 1946 to the present. But this map is a distorted representation of the history of the land of Israel especially as it relates to Arab inhabitants within the land.
On page eight of Zionism Unsettled, the composers of this booklet, the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the PC, includes the disappearing Israel map with a caption of which I will quote in part,
The inexorable expansion of Israel control over former Mandate Palestine is, by now virtually complete. Fully half the population within this land area is not Jewish. For Israelis committed to the principle of the Jewish state, the ovulation issues poses a demographic threat to the ethno-religious character of the state. Palestinians are faced with the prospect of, at best, second class status in a state that classifies them as outsiders, and, at worst, deprivation in isolated enclaves without autonomy or self-determination.
