My chief concern with this post is to warn Brethren in Christ against the prevalent idolizing (Israelolatry) of the earthly nation of Israel, which only leads to a low view of the Church and of the Gospel itself.
I understand that many who uphold Israel don't make the mistake of making it an idol, so this is not addressed to them. What this is; however, is a reminder to carefully watch yourselves, if you're one who holds him/herself out to be a follower of Christ because I’ve seen many go off the deep end when it comes to this issue!
One of the sad things about Israelolatry is that it tragically leads to a minimizing of the Church. We believers should be grieved and angered by such a thing. For the Scripture says this about the Bride of Christ: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” ( Eph. 5:25-27).
This great love, the love of God, the love that is seen through the love Christ has for His church, is a love for His people. Who are His people? His people are every man, woman, boy and girl who is in Christ. There is not a Jewish church. There is not a Gentile church. There is only ONE church, ONE faith, ONE spirit, ONE baptism, and ONE Lord (Jesus Himself) Who is the Head of that church! (Gal. 3:27-28). We come to the Father through Him - and only through Him!
It both saddens and angers me to hear things like, “the gospels are for the nation of Israel only” and “the book of Matthew should not be applied to the Church since it is for Israel.” Come again? Where in the texts do we find such notions? Rarely when these statements are made is there any Scriptural evidence presented (you won’t find any either since that very idea is absent from the gospels themselves). What lies under such statements is a theological lens that has the national Israel at its center and reads all of Scripture through that very scope. Dispensationalists are one such group who, in the name of "Christianity," attempt to propogate such false teachings - teachings that Charles Spurgeon referred to as a "faulty and pitiable translation of the sacred book!" And what's more, no matter how much the texts speak for themselves, the faulty lens of Dispensationalism is very difficult to remove, and so, statements from Dispensationalists like “but the Abrahamic Covenant was made with Israel and it is unconditional!” seem to suffice for some...sadly in error. We’ll get to the Abrahamic Covenant but let’s go back to the Garden of Eden for just a minute.
In the Garden of Eden, what we find is that our federal head, Adam, transgressed the covenant God made with him (Hos. 6:7) and plunged all of humanity into sin, death and under the wrath of God so that all mankind is born in this condition (Rom. 5:12-21).
Amazingly we find God loving His people and providing a promise of the Messiah, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15), and a temporary atonement until the arrival of the Messiah, “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21).This was chiefly about salvation and not some piece of land; this promise of a Savior was for all mankind (not limited to any race of people) and it was given long before a nation of Israel ever existed.
So, what about Abraham and the covenant that bears his name? Something to quickly point out here that's vital to your understanding is this: Abraham was not Jewish (there was no such thing at that point in history). He was pagan (Jos.24:2). So up to this point there is no emphasis on an ethnic Jewish people. Why? Because it’s not about one ethnic people but all mankind (Jew and Gentile). It inlcudes the Jewish people who, yes, played a big part of God’s redemptive plan, but it's not primarily about them and a piece of land. Of that fact, the bible settles it, or, if you believe the bible, it should.
When one examines Scripture as a whole, we see how Paul (a Jew) understood the Abrahamic Covenant: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:8-9).
What the Apostle does, as should we, is to take the Abrahamic Covenant as a whole (taking Gen 12:3 and 18:8 and bringing them together) by applying it in the way it was intended- a promise of justification that includes Jew and Gentile. Nowhere do we see Paul emphasizing a piece of land for national Israel. What we do find is that Paul applied the Abrahamic Covenant in the realm of salvation for all nationalities.
Brethren, the point that far too often goes overlooked, which is the main point, is that the covenant God made with Abraham is centered on Christ and all that are in Him. It's not chiefly about “Israel,” nor even Gentiles, though it includes both. You see, the Abrahamic Covenant centers on one person- Jesus Christ- the fulfillment of the promise of a Savior given back in Gen. 3:15.
This is how we should understand that covenant: “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). And this is why we must be Gospel-centered and not land-centered. Biblically, there is no room for Israelolatry! We can’t take what is Christ’s and give it to “Israel.” They, like Gentiles, partake of His blessings and promises through repentance and faith in Him (Matt. 3:1-2) - not through being Jewish, not through keepign the Torah, and not through some extra-biblical favortism.
How about the land? The New Testament has not left us silent on this: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:8-10). Abraham was a wanderer and was looking forward to the place of rest where he would dwell permanently with God. And this wasn’t just limited to Abraham: “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:13-16 see also Heb.12:28).
The bible could not be any clearer - the land of promise was a heavenly one, not a patch of dirt in the middle east. And, even if we're addressing a temporary land promise issue, the land of canaan, that promise was fulfilled in Joshua's day already. Again, that was temporary, not eternal - and its the eternal city that we should be considering here - the "New Jerusalem." Look up "New Jerusalem" if you'd like to know where you can find it on a map, and who will be a citizen of that city.
Brethren, for Christian thought and theology, there is no room for Israelolatry. Is what I am presenting what some falsely asset is “replacement theology?” No, what I'm presenting is fulfillment theology. Christ is the true Israel of God and all in union with Him consist of God’s “chosen people.” When people toss out the “replacement theology’ accusation, it presupposes the idea that it was about national Israel to begin with. It was never about ethnic Israel. The truth is, that the only “replacement theology” going on is the replacing of God’s plan for all mankind (Ge.3:15) with Israel, by those who would, in error, teach such nonsense. As to current events: regardless of the horrific and evil actions of Hamas, and regardless of the right for the earthly nation of Israel to defend itself, regardless of the current chaos and claims of so many who say that "Israel is not occupying the land, but owns the land," the fact is that God is the One Who owns the land, and the people in it! He is sovereign, and as such, He commands all to repent and to believe the gospel. When that happens, regadless of in whose heart it happens, that person becomes a citizen in the same eternal kingdome over which Jesus Christ rules and reigns - the Israel of God.
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