Nov 4, 2026 Posted by Scripture Solutions on Nov 4, 2026 | 0 comments

Have the Jewish Scriptures Become Second Class Among Christians Part 4

Introduction: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Twelve years before I arrived in Southern California, the Brooklyn Dodgers also relocated to Los Angeles. After 68 seasons in Brooklyn, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles on October 8, 1957. The baseball New York Giants also relocated to the Golden State after the 1957 season, becoming the San Francisco Giants to keep the historic Dodgers–Giants rivalry intact. 

The Brooklyn Dodgers were renamed the Los Angeles Dodgers. Obviously, the LA Dodgers remained the same team as the Brooklyn Bums, as they were referred to. Now, Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers fans share the same proud history. They both can brag about World Series wins in 1956, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1981, 1988, and so on.

Whether the World Series championship rings were won in NY or in LA, ALL Dodger fans celebrate these victories and the players who are part of the Dodger legacy.

When it comes to the connection between the nation of Israel and the New Testament Church, some replacement theologians argue the Jewish nation and the multi-ethnic Church are the same team. These Christian influencers advocate that the Church today is the “new Israel” or a “spiritual Israel.”

According to Replacement Theology, the Church is a spiritual entity that has superseded the physical nation of Israel and is now the newest version of Israel. To the supersessionist mindset, former Israel failed God as His chosen instrument. Hence, God moved His team from an ethnic, religious body of Abraham’s descendants to a spiritual body connected to Abraham by faith, NOT by nationality.

In the last two posts of this series, I want to focus on the thinking that has turned the Israelite Dodgers into the Universal Dodgers in the minds of many replacement theology advocates.

It boils down to hermeneutics, the art of applying interpretive skills to biblical passages, especially about God’s relationship to Israel and the Church. In previous posts, I defined hermeneutics and shared a few dynamics. In this post, I continue to flesh out key hermeneutical considerations that clarify the concerns about the Church’s relationship to Israel.

Is Israel the same entity as the Church, but now designated as a “spiritual Israel”? Or are they two distinct bodies of people, unified through the worship of the God of Israel?

Let’s find out.

An Essential Hermeneutical Map to Interpret Scripture

I have to initially ask: “Does Replacement theology (RT) grow out of the text of the Tenach? Another way to formulate my concern is to inquire whether Replacement theology is a top-down theological system. In this scheme, a student starts with a premise that he imposes on the biblical text.

In contrast, when an interpreter has consistent principles of biblical interpretation, he respects the text and lets his interpretation reflect it. An expert theologian begins with one premise: theology grows out of the biblical text, and is not forced onto a passage.

Therefore, every learner of Scripture must keep a few hermeneutical essentials in mind.

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