Romans Chapter 11, Replacement Theology, The olive tree, John Piper, Israel's future, remnant Israel, Hebrew Roots movement, Israel and the Church, eponym, Separation Theology, Remnant Theology,

Romans 11
Israel's Promises, Position, And Future
Replacement Theology; Israel's transgression, acceptance,
and fulfillment; The lump and the olive tree; Loss of
Ministry of Israel and the Church; The Fullness Of The
Gentiles; All Israel Will Be Saved; Davidic Covenant; God
never changes; Square Circles; remnant Israel; Israel and
the Church
Springtime background, JLK

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Romans Outline
• Sinners All, 1-3
• Salvation is by grace alone, 3:21-5
• Sanctification, our walk, 6-7
• Sovereign security and assurance, 8
• Salvation, privileges, position, promises of
Israel, 9-11
• Service to God, 12
• Submit to Authorities for God, 13
• Stick to essentials, liberty in nonessentials, 14
• Serve each other, singing rejoicing, 15:1-19
• Saints to visit, 15:20-16:27
3

Romans 11, Israel's Promises, Position, And
Future
• 1) Romans 10:1 - Brothers and sisters, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that
they may be saved."
2) Romans 11:1 - I say then, God has not rejected
His people, has He? May it never be!
3) Romans 11:26 - All Israel shall be saved!
• NAU Zechariah 12:10 "I will pour out on the house
of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will
look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will
mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and
they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter
weeping over a firstborn.

Romans 11:17 http://www.shasta.edu/faculty-articles.html
Israel, the Church & the Olive Tree
George Gunn
• “ What comes next in the
• Book of Romans, may be considered a very lengthy digression in the remainder of chapter 3
• through then end of chapter 8, in which Paul discusses soteriological matters. This is the answer
• to the plight of humanity introduced in chapters 1-2. But once he has concluded this lengthy
• soteriological section, Paul, in 9:4-5, resumes his answer to the question of Israel’s advantage,
• and he completes the list he had begun in 3:1-2. In all, Paul’s list of advantages to the Jews
• consists of nine features.
• 1. Scripture, 3:2
• 2. The Adoption, 9:4
• 3. The Glory
• 4. The Covenants
• 5. The Law
• 6. Temple Service
• 7. The Promises
• 8. The Forefathers, 9:5
• 9. The Messiah
• It should be noted that, while some of these nine features touch on soteriological themes, they are
• not all soteriological in nature.” http://www.shasta.edu/faculty-articles.html
5
http://www.shasta.edu/faculty-articles.html
Romans 11:17, Israel, the Church &
the Olive Tree, by George Gunn

Replacement Theology, Its Origins, Teachings and Errors
By Dr. Gary Hedrick, President of CJF Ministries
• (With Minor Editing By Rabbi Loren)
http://jeremiah111.org/Replacement%20Theology/replacement_theology.htm
• “Perhaps Martin Luther articulated this position most
eloquently when he wrote: “For such ruthless wrath of
God is sufficient evidence that they [i.e., the Jewish
people] assuredly have erred and gone astray. Even a
child can comprehend this. For one dare not regard God
as so cruel that he would punish his own people so long,
so terrible, so unmercifully … Therefore this work of
wrath is proof that the Jews, surely rejected by God, are
no longer his people, and neither is he any longer their
God” (“On the Jews and Their Lies,” Trans. Martin H.
Bertram, in Luther’s Works [Philadelphia: Fortress Press,
1971], p. 265).”

Replacement Theology, Its Origins, Teachings and Errors
By Dr. Gary Hedrick, President of CJF Ministries
• “…Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, was a
supersessionist. Near the end of his life, he said that synagogues and
Jewish schools should be burned to the ground, Jewish people run out
of their homes, their prayer books and Talmudic writings burned, and
the rabbis forbidden to preach or teach on penalty of death (“On the
Jews and Their Lies,” Trans. Martin H. Bertram, in Luther’s
Works [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971], pp. 268-271). Luther also
declared that Jewish people in Germany should be confined to their
own homes and neighborhoods - a plan the Nazis implemented
literally when they quarantined Jewish families in ghettos in Poland
and other places before shipping them to the death camps for
extermination. One historian writes: It is difficult to understand the
behavior of most German Protestants in the first Nazi years unless one
is aware of two things: their history and the influence of Martin
Luther. The great founder of Protestantism was both a passionate
anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in absolute obedience to political
authority. He wanted Germany rid of the Jews. Luther’s advice was
literally followed four centuries later by Hitler, Goering, and Himmler
(William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich [New York:
Simon & Shuster, 1960], p. 236).”

Who is the remnant of Israel and what is
their destiny? Pre-Trib Perspectives
• Who is the remnant of Israel and what is their destiny?
• Paul in Romans 11:5 says, “there has come to be at the present time a
remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” Paul speaks of the
remnant of Israel, which are Jewish believers in Jesus as the Messiah.
Earlier he spoke of a remnant of Jewish believers in the days of Elijah
(Rom. 11:2–4). Thus, the remnant of Israel refers to the Jewish
believers within Israel throughout history even though the nation as a
whole rebels against God and reject Jesus as the Messiah. During the
tribulation the Lord will begin to save an increasing percentage of Jews
as they come to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. This means that by the
second coming of Jesus the entire nation will have come to faith in
Jesus and those who have not will have been purged so that “all Israel
will be saved” (Rom. 11:25). The millennium begins with 100 percent of
the Jewish nation [I might add, gentiles also Mat 25], for the first time in history, as
believers in Jesus as their Messiah. Throughout the millennium, those
mortals born to Jews will all [I might disagree and include Jews in Rev 20:8] become
believers in Jesus as their Messiah and the entire nation will be the
believing remnant. Maranatha! Pre-Trib.org

Romans 11:6, Grace
• Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer
on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no
longer grace.
• Philip Yancey says, “Grace means that God
already loves us as much as an infinite God can
possibly love.”
• Acts 15:11 …we are saved through the grace of
the Lord Jesus…
• Romans 5:15, 1 Corinthians 15:10, James 4:6, 1 Peter 2:24, Gal. 2:21,
2 Timothy 1:9

Romans 11:12, Israel’s
Transgression And Fulfillment
• NAU Romans 11:11 I say then, they did not stumble so
as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their
transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to
make them jealous.12 Now if their transgression is
riches for the world and their failure is riches for the
Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
• Romans 8:28 was in affect in the first century, and
always. God took the horror of the cross and turned it
into "riches for the world and Gentiles.”
• But what would've happened if the Jews had accepted
Jesus as their Messiah/King?
10

Romans 11:11-12
If The Jews Had Accepted Their Messiah
• Vern Peterman speculates on that; “But if the Jews had
largely accepted Christ as their Messiah and King, there
would not have been the body of believers known as ‘the
Church’, nor the books from Acts to Revelation as we
have them, nor the Rapture of the Church, nor the gospel
of grace. Even the gospels would each have been written
differently. These were all added because the Jews
largely rejected Christ as their King and Messiah…
• The gospel of the kingdom, preached by Christ during His
first coming, will be preached again during the coming
Tribulation period, not only to the Jews, but also to the
Gentiles (aka ‘nations’; Greek: ethnos), and then Christ will
return to establish His kingdom…”
http://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/messages/?series_id=57&series_page=40

• NAU Romans 11:12 … their transgression is riches for
the world…how much more will their fulfillment be!
• I understand "their transgression,” they crucified
Christ, but Jesus said in, Matthew 23:39 …from now
on you will not see Me until you say…
• But how can replacement theology explain "their
fulfillment” when they say God has no future plan for
Israel.
• NAU Romans 11:15 For if their rejection is the
reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead? 12

• Dr. Gary Hedrick writes, “If the Jewish nation has no future in God’s
plan, as the supersessionists claim, then what is the future “fullness”
of Israel that Paul mentions in verse 12? And when, exactly, will the
nation be resurrected (“life from the dead”) and “accepted” by God
(verse 15)? Paul can’t be talking about the Church in this passage
because the Church has never died - and never will (John 11:26). The
only reasonable answer is that Paul is referring to a yet-future
resurrection and restoration of Am Israel (the “people of Israel,” a
collective term for the nation), as prophesied in passages like Ezekiel
37:1-14. It doesn’t mean they will automatically be saved simply
because they are Jewish; rather, it means that the majority of Jewish
people who are living at that time will recognize Yeshua of Nazareth
as their Messiah and receive Him as Savior (Zechariah 12:10, Romans
11:26).”
13

Romans 11:15, “life from the dead”?
• NAU Romans 11:15 For if their rejection is the
reconciliation of the world, what will their
acceptance be but life from the dead?
• NAU Ezekiel 37:14 "I will put My Spirit within you
and you will come to life, and I will place you on
your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD,
have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.’”… 28
"And the nations will know that I am the LORD who
sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their
midst forever."'"

Romans 11:16, The Lump Is Holy
• NAU Romans 11:16 If the first piece of dough is holy,
the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches
are too.
• Professor George Gunn says, “…At Pentecost
(Shavu‘ot) a small portion of a lump of wheat dough
was pinched off, formed into a loaf, baked and
presented to the priests. Paul’s argument is that
national Israel, despite their current unbelief,is still to
be considered “holy.”…”

Romans 11:17
Romans 11:17 But
if some of the
branches were
broken off, and
you, being a wild
olive, were grafted
in among them
and became
partaker with
them of the rich
root of the olive
tree,

Romans 11:17, The Olive Tree
• NAU Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches
were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were
grafted in among them and became partaker with
them of the rich root of the olive tree,
• branches?
• wild olive?
• the rich root?
• the olive tree?

Romans 11:17, George Gunn
Israel, the Church & the Olive Tree
• “Romans 11:17 (“You … were grafted in among them”) is widely
misquoted and misunderstood resulting in a faulty understanding of
the relationship between Israel and the church. Romans 11:11-24
speaks about God’s faithfulness to His promises. It is given as both an
encouragement to believing Jews and a caution to believing Gentiles not
to despise the Jews. There is also an important practical application
from this passage: If God is faithful to His promises to Israel, then we
should not lose heart in thinking that he will fail in any way to fulfill His
promises to us. Faulty conclusions about the meaning of Romans 11:17
include the following: “A transfer of covenant privileges from Israel to
the church.” 2 “Gentile Christians must remember that they are
grafted into a Jewish faith, and that when they are grafted into the Old
Testament people of God, they accept not only Israel’s spiritual history
as their own but also Jews as in some sense their siblings….”3
1
8

• MacArthur Study Bible page 1714, (11:16, 17)
identifies;
• (broken) branches; “the patriarchs descendants: the
nation of Israel.”
• wild olive branches: “Gentiles”
• the root; “the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”
• the olive tree: “the place of divine blessing; God's
covenant of salvation made with Abraham (Genesis
12:1-3; 15:1–21; 17:1–27).

• “The Gospel Of God's Grace”, by Alva J. McClan page
201-202, identifies;
• (broken) branches; “the patriarchs descendants: the
nation of Israel.”
• wild olive branches: “the whole church…Gentiles”
• the root; “Abraham is the root, for ”salvation is of the
Jews" (Jn 4:22)….The Jew is the stalk.”
• the olive tree: “the place of favor or privilege… Jews
are Jews in this olive tree.”

• Bible Knowledge Commentary, page 484, (11:16, 17)
identifies;
• branches (both before and after breaking); “the lump and
the branches represent the people of Israel”
• wild olive branches: “Gentile Christians”
• the root; “the first fruits and the root represent the
patriarchs of Israel or Abraham personally… The root of the
tree is the source of life and nourishment to all the branches
and Abraham is the father of all who believe”
• the olive tree: “Paul’s second illustration was that of a tree:
If the root is holy, so are the branches."

• Nelson Study Bible page 1900, (11:16, 17)
identifies;
• (broken) branches; “the Jews, the branches of
God’s vine.”
• wild olive branches: “Gentile Christians”
• the root; “”
• the olive tree: “Israel, those who inherited the
promises of Abrahamic covenant.

• Professor George Gunn says, “… Three parts of this olive tree
are distinguished from each other: the branches,
representing national Israel; olive shoots grafted in from a
wild tree, representing believing Gentiles; the root or lower
portion of the tree,representing the position of privilege and
administrative responsibility into which God places his
mediatorial representatives on the earth. Unbelieving
national Israel was described as branches of being used as
God’s mediatorial agent in the world. Some of the original
branches, however,remained; these were the remnant of
Jews who believed in the Messiah and were subsequently
incorporated into the church….”

Romans 11:17, Root
• Paul Cohen of Ariel Ministeries says, “The
“root” is the covenants and promises of God”
• Full Interview with Paul Cohen | Ariel
Ministeries
• http://impactshow.com.au In this interview with Paul Cohen, Jad Letcher
asks the following questions: - Have you observed a decline of interest in
the prophe…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_NECFJySwI
25

Romans 11:20,
Loss Of Ministry (benched/sidelined)
• NAU Romans 11:20 Quite right, they were
broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by
your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;
• The Jews boasted of their privileged position
(John 8:33)
• The church in America is full of unbelief now.
• KJV 1 John 5:16 …There is a sin unto death…
• God will eventually in the ministry of the
church at the rapture.

Romans 11:21,
• NAU Romans 11:21 for if God did not spare
the natural branches, He will not spare you,
either.
• Not with loss of salvation for it is impossible
that God would break his promises, to Israel
or the church (Romans 8). Yet, the privilege
of serving as God's ambassadors can be
forfeited.
• A benched ballplayer is still on the team but
he is not in the game.

Romans 11:23
• NAU Romans 11:23 And they also, if they do
not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted
in, for God is able to graft them in again.
• If God was not going to keep his promises to
Israel it would make no sense to include this
verse.
• NAU Matthew 23:39 "For I say to you, from
now on you will not see Me until you say,
'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME
OF THE LORD!'"

Romans 11:25
The Fullness Of The Gentiles
• NAU Romans 11:25 For I do not want you,
brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-- so
that you will not be wise in your own estimation--
that a partial hardening has happened to Israel
until the fullness of the Gentiles [the full number] has
come in;
• <4138> πλήρωμα pleroma
• Meaning: fullness, a filling up
• Origin: from 4137 [plero,w]
• Usage: all...contains(1), fulfillment(2), full(2),
fullness(10)…

Romans 11:25
The Fullness Of The Gentiles
• NAU Romans 11:25 …that a partial hardening has
happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles
has come in;
• This verse, and many others in Romans make
absolutely no sense if you are in that group of
people who think that Israel is the church.
• God has hardened the church until the church
comes in??? Why? Makes no sense at all.
• John 6:44

Romans 11:25
Grammar And Punctuation Are Important
• KJV Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should
be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part
is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in.
• KJV Romans 11:25 …brethren, …ye …be ignorant…
• KJV Romans 1:13 …I would not have you ignorant,
brethren,…
• KJV Romans 1:13 …I would not have you, ignorant
brethren,…

Romans 11:26, All Israel Will Be Saved
Rabbi’s Son Became A Christian
• A Jewish businessman in Chicago sent his son to Israel for a
year to absorb the culture. When the son returned, he said,
"Papa, I had a great time in Israel. By the way, I converted to
Christianity.” "Oy vey," said the father. "What have I done?"
He took his problem to his best friend, Ike. "Ike," he said, "I
sent my son to Israel, and he came home a Christian. What can
I do?” "Funny you should ask," said Ike. "I too, sent my son to
Israel, and he also came home a Christian. Perhaps we should
go see the rabbi. So they did, and they explained their problem
to the rabbi. "Funny you should ask," said the rabbi. "I, too,
sent my son to Israel, and he also came home a Christian. What
is happening to our young people?" And so they all prayed,
telling the Lord about their sons.
• As they finished their prayer, a voice came from the Heavens:
"Funny you should ask," said the Voice. "I, too, sent my Son to
Israel . . .

Romans 4:11-18
Romans 2:28, 4:11-18,
9:6, 11:4,7,26,28, Gal
2:12,14,6:16. Eph 3:6,
4:17, Jer 31:34, Rev
2:9, 3:9
Who Is A
True Jew?
3
3
spiritandtruth.org
• DLK adds, 4 ways to
become a Jew=
birth, marriage,
slave, adoption

Romans 11:26,
All Israel Will Be Saved
• NAU Romans 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved;
just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME
FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS
FROM JACOB." 27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH
THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”
• NAU Isaiah 27:9 Therefore through this Jacob's
iniquity will be forgiven; And this will be the full
price of the pardoning of his sin: When he
makes all the altar stones like pulverized chalk
stones… 34

Romans 11:26,
All Israel Will Be Saved
• NAU Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the
LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will
write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34…declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and
their sin I will remember no more."
• NAU Isaiah 59:20 "And a Redeemer [this is Christ] will come to
Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,"
declares the LORD. 21 "And as for Me, this is My covenant
with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and
My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart
from your mouth…says the LORD, "from now and forever."
35

Romans 11:27, Davidic Covenant
• NAU Romans 11:27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM,
WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”
• Only use in Romans of the word “covenant”.
• NAU Psalm 89:3 "I have made a covenant with My
chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish
your seed forever, And build up your throne to all
generations." Selah… 34 "My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. 35 "Once I have
sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. 36 "His
descendants shall endure forever, And his throne as the
sun before Me. 37 "It shall be established forever like the
moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah. 36

• NAU 2 Samuel 7:8 …David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, “… I will make
you a great name…10 "I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and
will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed
again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, 11 …My
people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also
declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. 12 "When your
days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your
descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish
his kingdom. 13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish
the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 "I will be a father to him and he will
be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity [this is a son of David, but not Christ], I
will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him…16 "And your house
and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be
established forever."'"
3
7

• NAU Isaiah 55:3 "Incline your ear and come to
Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make
an everlasting covenant with you, According to
the faithful mercies shown to David.
• [Hebrews 8:8-13, Acts 13:34, 15:16, Romans
1:3, 2 Timothy 2:8, Revelation 3:7, 5:5, 22:16]
38

Romans 11:28, Replacement Theology
NAU Romans
11:28 From the
standpoint of the
gospel they are
enemies for your
sake, but from the
standpoint of
God's choice they
are beloved for
the sake of the
fathers;

Romans 11:28
Enemies For Your Sake
• Israeli Postmen Refuse to Distribute Missionary Leaflets; Postal
workers in Ashkelon refused to distribute some 35,000 leaflets
from a Christian missionary group to addresses in the city, the
Israel Broadcasting Authority reported. The leaflets, in Hebrew
and Russian, were produced by a group calling itself The Baptist
Congregation, and called on people to turn to the organization and
“the path of Jesus” to help solve problems in their lives. According
to the IBA, numerous postmen in the city have said they find the
leaflets offensive and do not wish to distribute them. -
www.jpost.com, 26 May 2015
• Midnight Call, Inc. “This short report vividly demonstrates the
words found in Romans 11:28, “As concerning the gospel, they are
enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are
beloved for the fathers’ sakes.” 40

Romans 11:29, God never changes
• NAU Romans 11:29 for the gifts and the calling of God
are irrevocable.
• God never changes, he keeps his promises, and His
standards never change
• James 1:17 …the Father…there is no variation or
shifting shadow.
• Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie…

Romans 11:33, Square Circles
• NAU Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable
His ways!
• C. S. Lewis said, “Can a mortal ask questions which
God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should
think. All nonsense questions are
unanswerable. How many hours are there in a
mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the
questions we ask- half our great theological and
metaphysical problems- are like that.”

The Olive Tree
• NAU Judges 9:9 "But the olive tree said to them, 'Shall I leave my
fatness with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over
the trees?‘
• NAU Isaiah 24:13, 17:6 Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of
an olive tree, Two or three olives on the topmost bough, Four or five
on the branches of a fruitful tree, Declares the LORD, the God of
Israel.
• NAU Jeremiah 11:16 The LORD called your name, "A green olive tree,
beautiful in fruit and form"; With the noise of a great tumult He has
kindled fire on it, And its branches are worthless.
• NAU Hosea 14:6 His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the
olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
• NAU Romans 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and
you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became
partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

Numbers 23:19, God Will Do It
• NAU Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor
a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He
not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
• What God says He will do! it's a done deal.
• In the USA, where morality is relative and truth is subjective,
Christians should know God is immutable, He never changes
and His promises will be kept. Our eternal security is kept by
Him, and He is able. God has not only made great promises to
us, His promises are eternal and unalterable., and as certain as
He is trustworthy.
• NAU Jeremiah 1:12 Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen
well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.“

Numbers 23:19, God Never Changes
• Numbers 23:19 …Has He said, and will He not do
it?...
• God never changes and His standards never change
• James 1:17 Every good thing given and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or
shifting shadow.
• Romans 11:29 for the gifts and the calling of God
are irrevocable.

• NAU Romans 11:1 I say then, God has not
rejected His people, has He? May it never be!
For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of
Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
• Ezekiel 37:28 has this to say, “And the heathen
shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel,
when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of
them for evermore.”
49

Romans 11:11-13, Gentiles" as a
eponym for the Church
• Paul Henebury says, “Paul in Romans 11 uses the
term "Gentiles" as a kind of eponym for the Church.
For instance, in 11:11, 12, 13, and especially 11:25
he is pointing out that God has deliberately turned
to the Gentiles in this era. Israel as a nation is
judicially blinded (11:7-10, 25, and 32), and although
there will always be a saved remnant even in the
Church (11:5), the fact remains that the Church is
predominantly Gentile in complexion. But Paul says
that God will once again turn to Israel (11:24), once
"the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (11:25b).”
50

John Piper, replacement theology
• “…The Background of John Piper
• John Piper was born in 1946 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has received
degrees from Wheaton College (1964-1968) in philosophy and literature and a
bachelor of divinity at Fuller Seminary (1970). He studied at the University of
Munich (1971-1974) and received a doctorate degree in New Testament
Studies. He was the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church for 33 years, retiring
in 2013 to pursue writing and a speaking ministry. He is the author of many
books and a popular speaker.
• Although a Baptist (only in ecclesiology), he is a strong Calvinist and a
Reformed theologian. He holds to a continuation view, in which the spiritual
sign-gifts, visions, and prophecy are all to be sought and practiced today. He
holds to “double predestination”, the view that God elects some to salvation
and others He elects to damnation (reprobation). He holds a post-millennial
view of prophecy. Concerning Israel, he holds to a supersessionist view
(replacement theology view), teaching that the church replaces Israel and that
national/ethnic Israel will not inherit the land promises of the Old
Testament….”
53

Replacement Theology,
John Piper, and Israel
• http://assemblyhub.com/replacement-theology-john-piper-and-israel/
• An Examination of “Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East” by John Piper
• In 2004, Dr. John Piper preached a sermon at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, entitled “Israel, Palestine,
and the Middle East.” This message unfairly argued that the Jewish people and nation of Israel do not have a right to the
land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This sermon, now in print form, has been a standard apologetic for Replacement
Theology advocates for the past ten years.
• It has made its way onto the internet and has been used by many anti-Semitic and anti-Israel websites to argue that the
Jewish people do not have a biblical right to the land of Israel. The purpose of this article is to rebut some of the
viewpoints of Piper’s article.
• The Background of John Piper
• John Piper was born in 1946 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has received degrees from Wheaton College (1964-1968) in
philosophy and literature and a bachelor of divinity at Fuller Seminary (1970). He studied at the University of Munich
(1971-1974) and received a doctorate degree in New Testament Studies. He was the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church
for 33 years, retiring in 2013 to pursue writing and a speaking ministry. He is the author of many books and a popular
speaker.
• Although a Baptist (only in ecclesiology), he is a strong Calvinist and a Reformed theologian. He holds to a continuation
view, in which the spiritual sign-gifts, visions, and prophecy are all to be sought and practiced today. He holds to “double
predestination”, the view that God elects some to salvation and others He elects to damnation (reprobation). He holds a
post-millennial view of prophecy. Concerning Israel, he holds to a supersessionist view (replacement theology view),
teaching that the church replaces Israel and that national/ethnic Israel will not inherit the land promises of the Old
Testament.
• Israel: The Land and the People
• What does the Bible say about Israel? It clearly teaches that God chose Israel from all the peoples of the world to be His
own possession. We read, “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the
people who are on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6). Concerning the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in a portion of
54

Romans 9:27, 11:26, All Israel will Be
Saved
Doctor Woodhead: Theology in Perspective
• Romans 11:25-26
• 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (KJV):
• Zechariah 12:1-8 actually describes a battle that is the fifth of eight stages that comprise the Campaign of Armageddon.
This takes place in the future and begins with the sixth bowl judgment during the middle of The Great Tribulation
(Revelation 16:12-16
• Jerusalem Will be a Cup of Reeling
• Zechariah 12:1-3
• 1 The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth
the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him: 2behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling
unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem. 3And it shall come to
pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it
shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it (ASV, 1901).
• Roman Destruction of Jerusalem by David Roberts Cir 1850
• God begins this oracle by stating that this particular message that is about to be delivered is heavy, or a “burden” (in
Hebrew massa). That is, it is important and burdensome to be given, and to be heard. It is not pleasant but must be
heeded in the same seriousness in which it was given. This is the second such massa in this book. The first encompassed
chapter 9:1 through chapter 11:17. The first one graphically depicted Israel’s rejection of her Messiah and the rise of the
worthless shepherd, which will be the Antichrist. His rise to power must precede Israel’s deliverance. God will use him to
plunge the Nation Israel into its most severe time of testing foreseen by the prophet Jeremiah as the “Time of Jacob’s
Trouble,” (Jeremiah 30:5-7). The prophet Daniel was given a revelation regarding this time as well; he recorded, “And at
that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time
of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). Daniel finished this verse by stating that the
55

Are Israel and the Church distinct in Bible
prophecy?
2 Samuel 7, Davidic Covenant
• Ron Rhodes on the Church Replacing Israel
• The Christ in Prophecy Journal, By Nathan Jones
• Are Israel and the Church distinct in Bible prophecy?
• On our television program Christ in Prophecy, we asked this question of Dr. Ron Rhodes, the founder and director of a
ministry called Reasoning from the Scriptures, located in Frisco, Texas. His ministry specializes in defending Christianity
against Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, the cults, world religions, and about any group that teaches false doctrine. He is a
seminary professor and an excellent writer who has written more than 70 books! His latest one is titled, The 8 Great
Debates of Bible Prophecy.
• Ron Rhodes on the Church Replacing Israel
• Understanding whether the Church has replaced Israel or not is very important to the interpretation of Bible prophecy. It
is important because Bible prophecy is intimately related to the Biblical covenants, such as the Abrahamic Covenant in
Genesis 12 and the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. These are unconditional covenants.
• What I mean by Non-Conditional Covenant is that there is nothing that Israel has to do in order for God to fulfill His
covenant promises. If it was a conditional covenant then Israel would be responsible to do this in order for God to do
that. But, that is not what those covenants are. Instead, those covenants are unconditional covenants where God
promises to do certain things for Israel, and Israel doesn't have to do anything in return. They are unconditional.
• Now, here's the question: "Is God telling the truth? Is God a promise keeper?" If you answer yes to those questions, you
have no choice but to accept the reality that God has made unconditional promises to Israel, and they will be fulfilled.
• Here is something really important. There are a lot of people that argue that the Church fulfilled the promises that were
made to Israel. They often go to the New Testament to prove their claim.
• Okay, I am game to go into the New Testament. Let's look at the book of Acts. Even in the book of Acts you've got the
Church that is mentioned 19 times and Israel that is mentioned 20 times. Israel and the Church are still distinct in the
book of Acts.
56

Romans 11:33, Our Multi-
Directional Genetic Code
• “Have you ever heard the palindrome "Madam, I'm Adam"? With a palindrome, the letters are
exactly the same whether you read the sentence from left to right or from right to left.
• Chemical structure of DNABut did you know your genetic code is a different kind of palindrome
that conveys one series of messages when it is read from front to back and a different series of
messages when it is read from back to front? Other meaningful information can even be found in
overlapping portions of the genome! Think about your genetic code as if it were a novel. It would
tell one story when read from front to back, an additional story from back to front, and many
other stories as you read overlapping messages of the code!
• Evolutionists find this very troubling. After all, their whole theory depends on random mutations
resulting in improvements. But as scientists at the FMS Foundation point out, this multi-
directional coding makes it impossible for a random "typo” to benefit one code without disrupting
the others. This fundamental problem, they said, has been overlooked until now. "The bottom
line," they conclude, "is that overlapping codes cannot arise by any natural process – they must be
very carefully designed."
• Yes, evolutionists must come to grips with the fact that the genetic code was designed. Chance
mutations would only destroy the code. While evolution can't even begin to account for the
genetic code found within every cell of your body, it was an easy task for our Creator!
• Notes: "Scientists Discover Astounding DNA Complexity," Chris Rupe, Dr. John Sanford and Chloe Pappano, FMS Foundation, 2014.
http://media.wix.com/ugd/a704d4_43295b5fe0e548f69dca984314e4f925.pdf Illustration: Chemical structure of DNA. Courtesy of Madprime. (CC0 1.0 Universal Public
Domain Dedication)
58

The Olive Tree
(the Spiritual Commonwealth of Israel)
• THE OLIVE TREE, ANTI-SEMITISM AND BIBLE PROPHECY
• imagesDr. Thomas S. McCall
• http://doctorwoodhead.com/the-olive-tree-anti-semitism-and-bible-prophecy/
• At a convention of the Pre-Trib Study Group in Dallas, Dr. John Walvoord presented a paper on the Pre-Tribulation
Rapture and Premillennial teaching, including the history of doctrines throughout the Church age. I was very much
struck by something that Dr. Walvoord said as he analyzed the transition from widely held pre-millennial views of the
early church in the first three centuries to the predominantly amillennial, postmillennial or anti-millennial views that
developed afterwards, and it centered around Augustine.
• Latent Anti-Semitism Caused Amillennialism
• I appreciated especially what Dr. Walvoord said, as quoted from the audio tape of his message, in his analysis of what
happened in the case of Augustine:
• “Augustine arbitrarily made the millennium non-literal, while everything else was literal. Now as far as I’ve been able to
find out, there has never been a book on doctrine that explains this. But there is possibly an explanation. In the first
two centuries the church was largely Jewish in its background. They were the evangelists, and they were the apostles.
But as the gospel grew, the church became largely Gentile. And, of course the millennium is a time when the Jews are
prominent, and it could be that there is a latent anti-Semitism here that they were quite unconscious of, that made them
question whether Israel is going to have a literal future like it says. And that, of course, would lead to a non-literal
millennial kingdom. In any case, that’s what happened, and the Roman Catholic Church became amillennial, and the
Protestant Reformers like Calvin, Luther and others went back to Augustine rather than to the Bible, and adopted
amillennialism. They brought in, though, a lot of other things that were important, like “every man a priest” and
“interpret the Bible yourself,” and so on, very important doctrines that have been the bulwark of Protestantism. But, it
wasn’t until the 19th and 20th Centuries when the Bible Conference movement began, and people began to ask what
does the Scripture actually say? It was not until then that premillennialism became a prominent feature in the church–
59

Romans 11:16-18, Root
• The “root” is the covenants and promises of God
• Full Interview with Paul Cohen | Ariel
Ministeries
• http://impactshow.com.au In this interview with
Paul Cohen, Jad Letcher asks the following
questions: - Have you observed a decline of
interest in the prophe…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_NECFJyS
wI
60

Rom 9:4, Part 2 in a series on Covenants and
Dispensations
By WILLIAM D. BARRICK, Th.D.
61

Part 2 in a series on Covenants and
Dispensations
• http://dispensationalpublishing.com/dispensational-theology/defining-and-identifying-the-biblical-covenants-with-
israel/
• Part 2 in a series on Covenants and Dispensations
• By WILLIAM D. BARRICK, Th.D., Contributing Author, (Read Part 1)
• Biblically, what comprises a covenant? According to Thomas R. Schreiner, “The substance of the covenant was a pledge
to be faithful to covenant obligations”[1]. Thus, both the covenant Maker (God, the Sovereign Lord) and the covenant
recipients (vassals) have obligations to fulfill. The first obligation of the recipient consists of identifying himself or herself
with the Lord of the covenant by displaying attributes that demonstrate that they belong to Him as His people. The
Apostle Paul referred to the six Israelite covenants when he identified the Israelites as those “to whom pertain the
adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises” (Rom 9:4, bold emphasis
added). The following chart identifies five key elements with regard to each of these six covenants:
• Biblical-Covenants-Chart
• Note that all five elements appear in relationship to the original covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant. God unilaterally and
unconditionally proclaimed the terms or stipulations for each of the covenants since He is the sovereign Lord and King.
“But,” someone might ask, “what is a covenant?” In the Biblical context a covenant consists of God’s declaration
regarding His relationship to and plan for His chosen people. Specifically, God reveals—by means of the contents of the
Israelite covenants—how He intends to full His kingdom and redemption programs on earth and in history. His
programs’ purposes are fivefold: (1) to reveal Himself, (2) to glorify Himself, (3) to conform His people to His kingdom
program, (4) to redeem mankind from sin, and (5) to restore His fallen creation.
• In regard to the conditionality of the Biblical covenants, even the Abrahamic Covenant includes a condition—obedience.
Abraham had to leave Ur of the Chaldeans. Such conditionality does not mean that God will not fulfill His covenant. He
will never fail to fulfill His covenants—their ultimate fulfillment is never in jeopardy. The real issue has to do with whom
or with which generation He will fulfill His covenants.
• An added theological aspect of the Biblical covenants involves their theocentricity (being centered and focused on God).
As we study Scripture, each covenant can justifiably be associated with a particular attribute of God’s character.
62

Rom 9:4, Part 2 in a series on Covenants and
Dispensations
• Divine attributes having a secondary association or even a tertiary association with
a covenant.
• Abrahamic Covenant: God is good (or kind), the source of all blessing (Ex. 1:20; 18:9;
cf. Gen. 15:13–16).
• Mosaic Covenant: God is righteous and the source of all righteous laws, judgments,
statutes and decrees (Deut. 4:8; 32:4; Ps. 119:137–138).
• Priestly Covenant: God is holy and calls His people to holiness through the activities
involved in sacrifice and priesthood (Num. 25:10–13; Ezek. 48:11).
• Deuteronomic Covenant: God is faithful to fulfill His promises, of which the land
promise attains prominence for Israel (Jer. 32:41; cf. 2 Cor. 1:18–20).
• Davidic Covenant: God is sovereign and intends through the greater “Son of David”
to fulfill the Creator’s original intent regarding man as vice-regent over the earth
and its creatures (Ps. 2:4–9; 8:6; 22:28; 72:8–11; 110:2; cf. Gen. 1:26, 28).
• New Covenant: God is forgiving (or merciful). His final covenant focuses on this
significant aspect of His redemption program (Jer. 31:34; Eph. 4:32; cf. Ps. 32:1–2;
Matt. 9:2–6; Luke 24:46–47).
63

The Church Is The Bride Of Christ
• Pre And Post Rapture Believers
• Q. Re: Your commentary on Revelation 7: 9 – 17. What is the scriptural substantiation
for: (1) your separation of believers into two classes, pre-rapture and post rapture, and
(2) the notion that the Church will enjoy greater blessings and rewards in Heaven than
the post rapture believers? We know that faith alone is the only requirement for entry
into Heaven and He makes no distinction based on when one came to the Lord.
• A. My Scriptural substantiation comes partly from Rev. 7:9-17 itself. These believers are
not called either Kings or Priests, but serve God day and night in His Temple. They won’t
live in the New Jerusalem with the Church because there is no Temple in the New
Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22).
• In addition, only the Church is the Bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). Only the Church is seated
on His Throne with Him (Ephes 2:6). Only the Church is the joint heir with Christ in His
inheritance (Romans 8:16-17). Only the Church will be seen as the example of the
incomparable riches of God’s grace (Ephes. 2:7).
• The Age of the Church will end at the Rapture, prior to the beginning of Daniel’s 70th
Week. Rev. 7:9-17 takes place during the 70th Week. Your comment that the Lord
makes no distinction as to when one comes to Him is only correct during the Church
Age. Just as there were believers before the Church was born, so there will be believers
after the Church is gone. But neither of these groups is part of the Church, and neither
will enjoy the blessings set aside for the Church.
• http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/pre-and-post-rapture-believers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

Replacement Theology
• QUESTION FOR THE DAY
• Dear Compass,
• God has many promises in the Old Testament that were written to the Jews that I had always taken to mean that they
applied to the Church as well. But in studying the Old Testament promises, I found that there are some that are specifically
for the Jews in the end times (Ezekiel 36, 37; Jeremiah 31:23-40). Have I been wrong in assuming that promises in the Old
Testament also apply to the Church?
•
ANSWER:
• Yes, you have been assuming wrong. But you are in good company. There are many well-known Bible teachers, who are
probably Christians, who wrongly teach the concept that the Church has inherited God's promises to the Jewish people. This
is referred to as "Replacement Theology." Those who believe Replacement Theology believe God finished dealing with Israel
at the Cross. They believe that when Jesus comes back, there is no reign of Christ on Earth for a thousand years—even
though the Bible specifically says (five times) that He will reign.
• Rev. 20:2 . . . bound [Satan] for a thousand years;Rev. 20:4 . . . reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
• Rev. 20:5 . . . the thousand years were completed.
• Rev. 20:6 . . . reign with Him for a thousand years.
• Rev. 20:7 . . . the thousand years are completed,
• But realize that there ARE applications in the Old Testament for the Church. Even though we live in a time when the Holy
Spirit lives "IN" a saved-by-faith person (versus a time before the Cross when the Holy Spirit did NOT live permanently in a
saved-by-faith person), most of God's principles and promises taught in the O.T. still apply.
• All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness —
2 Timothy 3:16All means all! :-)

• Replacement Theology
• Its Origins, Teachings and Errors
• By Dr. Gary Hedrick, President ofCJF Ministries
• (With Minor EditingBy Rabbi Loren)
• These are challenging and confusing times. With all the numerous and varied “winds of doctrine” that are blowing around us these days, many Christians find it difficult to discern the difference between truth and error. Here at CJF Ministries, one error we frequently encounter is Replacement Theology. Actually, it’s nothing new: in fact, it’s been around for centuries. Some of its roots are traceable to the writings of
some of the Early Church fathers. And even today, oddly enough, this pernicious error is taught as a fact in many Bible colleges and seminaries worldwide. So let me ask you - how much do you know about Replacement Theology? If you were called upon to refute it, could you?
• Definition
• Replacement Theology - reduced to its simplest form - teaches that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. The term “Replacement Theology” is relatively new and unfamiliar to many people (in some cases, even those who believe in it). Among theologians, the older and more widely used term is “supersessionism.” The Church“supersedes” Israel. Its proponents teach that God has set aside Israel and made
the Church “new Israel,” the new and improved people of God. There are many variations within the broad spectrum of Replacement Theology, but two of the main approaches are these:
• 1. Israel’s role as the people of God was completed (economic supersessionism). This is the kinder and gentler way of stating the basic thesis of Replacement Theology. It says that once the Messiah came 2,000 years ago, Israel’s mission was completed. A transition occurred at that point, and the Church took over as the people of God and became the focal point for the outworking of God’s plan and purpose in
redemption. God is no longer working administratively through ethnic Israel.
• 2. Israel’s place as the people of God was forfeited (punitive supersessionism). Other Replacement theologians are more straightforward and actually say that the supposed replacement of Israel was a divine judgment on the nation for its rejection of the Messiah in the first century. This is what some writers have called “punitive secessionism.”
• Perhaps Martin Luther articulated this position most eloquently when he wrote: “For such ruthless wrath of God is sufficient evidence that they [i.e., the Jewish people] assuredly have erred and gone astray. Even a child can comprehend this. For one dare not regard God as so cruel that he would punish his own people so long, so terrible, so unmercifully … Therefore this work of wrath is proof that the Jews, surely
rejected by God, are no longer his people, and neither is he any longer their God” (“On the Jews and Their Lies,” Trans. Martin H. Bertram, in Luther’s Works[Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971],p. 265).
• Common threads that weave their way through the numerous variations of supersessionism are (1) that God is finished with Israel as a nation, and (2) that the promises He made to Israel in the Old Testament have been inherited by the Church.(However, most Replacement theologians are reluctant to say that the Church - which is largely in apostasy today - has also inherited the curses and judgments that God
pronounced on Israel for her apostasy.)
• One defender of Replacement Theology writes: “The Jewish nation no longer has a place as the special people of God; that place has been taken by the Christian community which fulfills God’s purpose for Israel” (Bruce Waltke, “Kingdom Promises as Spiritual,” in Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives onthe Relationship Between the Testaments,Ed. John S. Feinberg [Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1987] p. 275). This
is how one evangelical theologian summarized the essence of supersessionism in a paper he presented at the Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting a few years ago: “The issue is whether national Israel as an administrative structure is still in the plan of God” (“A Future for Israel in Covenant Theology: The Untold Story” by R. Todd Mangum,Instructor in Historical and Systematic Theology at Biblical
Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania [November 16, 2000], p. 20.
• TheologicalBasis
• Replacement Theology is closely associated with Reformed (or Covenant) Theology, the brand of theology historically linked to John Calvin (1509-1564)and the Protestant Reformation. Reformed/Covenant Theology, in turn, is closely associated with amillennialism, an eschatological view with a spiritualized (rather than literal-historical) interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures. The natural affinity these views (that
is, Replacement Theology and amillennialism) seem to have for each other is understandable because Replacement Theology relies so heavily on a non-literal and allegorical interpretation of the biblical promises to Israel.
• Although many of the early Reformers and Puritans - including even Calvin himself - wrote about the nation of Israel one day being restored by the grace of God and experiencing a national regeneration, that is an increasingly marginalized, minority view in Reformed Christianity today (which is ironic, since we have seen the amazing rebirth of the nation of Israel, just as the Word of God predicted!). And even among
those who allow for an end-time work of the Spirit of God among the Jewish people, there is still a reluctance to acknowledge that God is not finished with His people Israel as a nation, or to acknowledge the prospect of a future Kingdom on the Earth.
• This view stands in contrast to the teachings of Dispensational Premillennialism, which affirms the continuing role that Israel plays (in tandem with the Church)in the outworking of God’s plan of redemption.
• HistoricalRoots
• Elements of Replacement Theology can be traced as far back as Marcion (A.D. 160), who carried on a theological crusade to purge the Church of what he perceived to be dangerous Jewish errors and influences. Later, many of these same anti-Judaic sentiments found their way into the thinking (and writings) of the Early Church fathers. Irenaeus (c. 180), for instance, wrote, “The Jews have rejected the Son of God and
cast Him out of the vineyard when they slew Him. Therefore, God has justly rejected them and has given to the Gentiles outside the vineyard the fruits of its cultivation” (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, [1885-1887],Volume 1, p. 493).
• Over time, statements like these became the basis for full-blown anti-Semitism in some sectors of Christianity. Anything Jewish was renounced as an attempt to subvert and “Judaize” the Church. Teachings like chiliasm (millenarianism), for instance, were denounced as “Jewish fables.” The Early Church, whichwas clearly and undeniably Jewish, was described as “primitive,” unenlightened, and beset by erroneous
notions that were carry-overs from ancient Judaism.
• By the seventh century, Jewish people who came to faith in the Messiah were required to denounce their Jewish ancestry and heritage before they could be baptized. Professor Paul Halsall of Fordham University cites the following Visigoth profession from c. A.D. 680-687: “I do here and now renounce every rite and observance of the Jewish religion, detesting all its most solemn ceremonies and tenets that in former
days I kept and held. In future I will practice no rite or celebration connected with it, nor any custom of my past error, promising neither to seek it out or perform it. In the name of this Creed, which I truly believe and hold with all my heart, I promise that I will never return to the vomit of Jewish superstition. Never again will I fulfill any of the offices of Jewish ceremonies to which I was addicted, nor ever more hold
them dear. I altogether deny and reject the errors of the Jewish religion, casting forth whatever conflicts with the Christian Faith, and affirming that my belief in the Holy Trinity is strong enough to make me live the truly Christian life, shun all intercourse with other Jews and have the circle of my friends only among honest Christians. With them or apart from them I must always eat Christian food, and as a genuinely
devout Christian go often and reverently to Church.I promise also to maintain and embrace with due love and reverence the observance of all the Lord’s days or feasts for martyrs as declared by the piety of the Church,and upon those days to consort always with sincere Christians, as it behooves a pious and sincere Christian to do. Herewith is my profession of faith and belief as given by me on this date …”
(“Professions of Faith Extracted from Jews on Baptism,’ from the InternetMedieval Sourcebookcompiled by Professor Paul Halsall of Fordham University [www.fordham.edu/halsall/sources/jewish-oaths.html]).
• The incredible irony here is that only a few centuries earlier, the Church had been almost exclusively Jewish! The Messiah was Jewish; the writers of the Bible were Jewish; the apostles were Jewish; the earliest Christians were Jewish; the first congregation was Jewish (located in Jerusalem); and the first missionaries were Jewish!
• In fact, a council of Churchleaders - including Paul, Barnabas, Peter and James - was convened at Jerusalem (Acts 15) so the leaders of the new and growing Messianic Movement (known first as “the sect of the Nazarenes,” Acts 24:5) could decide upon what conditions non-Jews would be admitted into the fellowship of the saints! But here, within just a few generations, the shoe was already on the other foot! Non-
Jews were in control of the Church now. Jewish doctrines (the earthly Kingdom in particular)were considered erroneous and even seditious. And non-Jewish Churchleaders were laying down the terms for Jewish believers in Jesus who wished to be baptized.
• ExegeticalProblems with Supersessionism
• Did the sins of the Jewish nation result in her rejection? Paul’s answer is found in Romans 11: I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham,of the tribe of Benjamin.God has not cast away his people whom He foreknew (vv. 1-2, NKJV). I say then, have they [Israel]stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provokethem to jealousy,
salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! (vv. 11-12, NKJV). For if their being cast away is the reconcilingof the world, what will their acceptancebe but life from the dead? (v. 15, NKJV).
• If the Jewish nation has no future in God’s plan, as the supersessionists claim, then what is the future “fullness” of Israel that Paul mentions in verse 12? And when, exactly, will the nation be resurrected (“life from the dead”) and “accepted” by God (verse 15)? Paul can’t be talking about the Church in this passage because the Church has never died - and never will (John 11:26). The only reasonable answer is that Paul
is referring to a yet-future resurrection and restoration of Am Israel (the “people of Israel,” a collective term for the nation), as prophesied in passages like Ezekiel 37:1-14. It doesn’t mean they will automatically be saved simply because they are Jewish; rather, it means that the majority of Jewish people who are living at that time will recognize Yeshua of Nazareth as their Messiah and receive Him as Savior
(Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26).
• They will be saved in the same way believers from all ages and generations have been saved; that is, they will be saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8-10). The problem with saying that God rejected His people Israel is that the term “rejection” implies permanence and finality. Paul’s forceful statements in Romans 11 probably indicate that people were claiming, even in his day, that God had “cast away” His people
Israel (v. 1). They were saying that Israel had “stumbled’ and “fallen” from her former position (vv. 11-12). Paul rejected any such notion (“Certainly not!” in verses 1 and 11). Then he goes on to say that even if we insist on saying that they were rejected, then we are forced to the conclusion that the rejection is only temporary. Even if we insist on saying that they didstumble and fall, then it must also be said that their
fall brought salvation to the rest of the world (Gentiles) - and Israel’s fall, too, is only temporary because they are destined to be restored one day to a position of “fullness” (v. 12).
• The “fullness of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:25) refers to the time when the full number of non-Jewish believers has been added to the ranks of the Church and the last person has been saved. Likewise, the “fullness” of the Jewish people (v. 12) refers to the time when “all Israel shall be saved” (v. 26). As we saw earlier, that means the Jewish people en masse will recognize and receive their Messiah, Yeshua of Nazareth.
There may be some dissenters - and their probably will be - but the Holy Spirit of God will do a powerful work among the Jewish people, and multitudes of them - the vast majority of them - will come to faith in the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth.
• The truth is that God is no more finished with Israel than He is finished with the Gentiles. Neither one has been replaced by the other; and God’s plan for both remains intact, in spite of their failures. This is really the crux of the issue. Replacement Theology says that Israel was rejected by God and that the rejection was permanent and irrevocable; however, we say that God’s calling on Israel was permanent and
irrevocable, in spite of her many sins and shortcomings (Romans 11:29)
• What Did the Apostles Believe About the Millennium?
• Another problem for supersessionism and amillennialism is that these views are not in harmony with the teachings of the Apostles and the Early Church. Almost without exception, Church historians agree that chiliasm, an early form of premillennialism, was the position of the Early (Jewish) Church. Inhis classic, encyclopedic History of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff wrote, “The most striking point in the
eschatology of the ante-Nicene Age [A.D. 100-325] is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism, … a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas,Papias, Justin Martyr,Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius …” (Scribner, 1884; Vol. 2, p. 614).
• What’s interesting about this admission is that it comes from someone who was neither evangelical nor premillennial. Schaff, in fact, was himself an ardent supersessionist! He wrote, “The carnal Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament is a diabolical perversion. The Christians, and not the Jews, are the true Israel of God and the righteous owners of the Old Testament Scriptures” (Ibid., Sec. 167, “Barnabas”).Yet
as a student of history and as a scholar, he had to acknowledge that chiliasm was “prominent” in the Early Church,even though he himself despised it.
• It should be noted that Papias (who believed in a future, earthly Kingdom) was a disciple of Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of the Apostle John who actually penned the passages in the Book of Revelation about the Millennial Kingdom. Premillennialism, then, may be the only eschatological system with an unbroken link directly to the author of the Apocalypse. This means that amillennialism represents a
departure from what the Early Church believed. Augustine (354-430), author of City of God, a 22-volume defense of his theological views, proposed ideas similar to what we know as amillennialism (Books 15 to 19). However, even Augustine started out as a premillennialist! It wasn’t until later in his life that he decided that the prophecies about (and promises to) Israel should be interpreted symbolically and applied
to the Church,rather than being interpreted literally and applied to Israel.
• The StickingPoint: Messiah’s Millennial Monarchy
• Evangelicals have been busy for years trying to hammer out an understanding between premillennial dispensationalists and adherents of Reformed/Covenant Theology. Dispensationalists who have been actively pursuing this agenda (and making concessions to the opposing view) are known as “progressive dispensationalists.” The one point, however, that continues to be a fly in the ointment of reconciliation is the
Millennial Kingdom. Even Covenant theologians who allow for an end-time mass conversion of the Jewish people still have difficulty accepting Israel’s role in a future, literal Kingdom on the Earth. This shows just how diverse amillennialism and premillennialism are and how difficult it is to bridge the gap between them without seriously compromising one or the other.
• Why Is This Error Dangerous?
• Is Replacement Theology really worth arguing about? Or is this discussion much ado about nothing? One reason it’s important to call attention to questionable theology, no matter how deeply entrenched it may be in traditional Christianity is that sooner or later, bad theology always leads to bad practice - and in this case, it already has! Replacement Theology has provided the basis for all sorts of mischief,
persecution, and atrocities against the Jewish people throughout Christian history.
• For example, Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, was a supersessionist. Near the end of his life, he said that synagogues and Jewish schools should be burned to the ground, Jewish people run out of their homes, their prayer books and Talmudic writings burned, and the rabbis forbidden to preach or teach on penalty of death (“On the Jews and Their Lies,” Trans. Martin H. Bertram, in Luther’s
Works[Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971], pp. 268-271). Luther also declared that Jewish people in Germany should be confined to their own homes and neighborhoods - a plan the Nazis implemented literally when they quarantined Jewish families in ghettos in Poland and other places before shipping them to the death camps for extermination. One historian writes: It is difficult to understand the behavior of most
German Protestants in the first Nazi years unless one is aware of two things: their history and the influence of Martin Luther. The great founder of Protestantism was both a passionate anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in absolute obedience to political authority. He wanted Germany rid of the Jews. Luther’s advice was literally followed four centuries later by Hitler, Goering, and Himmler (William L. Shirer, The Rise
and Fall of the Third Reich [New York: Simon & Shuster, 1960],p. 236).
• No one is suggesting that anyone who believes in Replacement Theology is an anti-Semite or would agree with Luther’s statements. That would be an unfair characterization - and it certainly is not the case. It is important, nevertheless, to examine the implications and ramifications of any position, including Replacement Theology: and it is an incontestable fact that ideas similar to those of Replacement Theology
have inspired some horrible atrocities against the Jewish people.
• We’re Making Progress!
• As we observed earlier, the term “Replacement Theology” is relatively new, and is generally avoided by adherents of supersessionism. As far as they are concerned, they’re simply espousing traditional theology - and in a sense, they are! Supersessionist ideas have been widely accepted in mainstream Christianity since the third century or so, as mainstream Christianity was gradually losing its original Jewish character.
The Gentile powers-that-be in early institutional (Eastern and Western) Christianity wanted to distance themselves from Christianity’s Jewish origins. And they did!
• The good new is that slowly but surely we’re making progress in our battle against Replacement Theology. Everywhere we go, all over the world, (even Arab countries!), we find believers who acknowledge Israel’s unique and ongoing place in God’s plan of the ages, and who are anxiously awaiting that Golden Age when, for the first time, “they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the Earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).
• Most Baptists today are premillennial (except for the most liberal Baptist denominations), as are many Bible churches, particularlythose associated with IFCA (Independent Fundamental Churches of America) International and similar groups of independent churches. There are even premillennial Presbyterians! Our ranks are growing with every day that passes. Much of the opposition comes from the more liberal,
mainline denominations and their seminaries. And it’s not merely coincidental that these are the same churches and institutions that are aligned with the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian World and National Councils of Churches.
• If you’d like to know if your churchleaders believe in Replacement Theology, ask them! If they are not familiar with the term, be patient because it’s entirely possible that they have never heard it before, even if they attended seminary. Also, it’s not likely that they’ve ever knowingly aligned themselves with any view that’s anti-Semitic, anti-Judaic or anti-Israel. This may all be new to them! Ask them, very humbly and
sincerely, if they believe that God rejected Israel when Israel rejected His Son in the first century and that as a result, He has no future plan or purpose for the Jewish nation. They may reply that yes, of course, Jewish people can be saved and join the Church- and to them, that means God has a plan for the Jewish people. However, that’s not what we’re asking. We want to know if they believe that God is no longer
dealing with the Jewish nation - and don’t be surprised if the answer, ultimately, is in the affirmative. After all, as we saw earlier, this has been the predominant view of mainstream Christianity for centuries - roughly since the time of Augustine, in fact. Sadly, this view has become normative in much of the Church,including many denominations and their seminaries.
• Let’s not be afraid to challenge theological tradition when it’s wrong. It’s our responsibility to proclaim and defend the premillennial hope of the Church- and the nation of Israel - in these days of widespread error and apostasy. We should encourage our premillennial Bible colleges and seminaries to take a stand on Replacement Theology and challenge them to produce graduates who are knowledgeable about the
historical and theological issues Replacement Theology encompasses. There’s a lot we can do, and we should be doing all we can!

• Replacement Theology
• Its Origins, Teachings and Errors
• By Dr. Gary Hedrick, President of CJF Ministries
• (With Minor Editing By Rabbi Loren)
• “For example, Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, was a supersessionist.
Near the end of his life, he said that synagogues and Jewish schools should be burned to the
ground, Jewish people run out of their homes, their prayer books and Talmudic writings
burned, and the rabbis forbidden to preach or teach on penalty of death (“On the Jews and
Their Lies,” Trans. Martin H. Bertram, in Luther’s Works [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971],
pp. 268-271). Luther also declared that Jewish people in Germany should be confined to their
own homes and neighborhoods - a plan the Nazis implemented literally when they
quarantined Jewish families in ghettos in Poland and other places before shipping them to the
death camps for extermination. One historian writes: It is difficult to understand the behavior
of most German Protestants in the first Nazi years unless one is aware of two things: their
history and the influence of Martin Luther. The great founder of Protestantism was both a
passionate anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in absolute obedience to political authority. He
wanted Germany rid of the Jews. Luther’s advice was literally followed four centuries later by
Hitler, Goering, and Himmler (William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich [New York:
Simon & Shuster, 1960], p. 236).”

Rom. 11:6, "What is grace?, by Matt Slick
• What is grace?
• by Matt Slick
• Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is where God shows us mercy, kindness, and patience instead of the judgment that we deserve for sinning against him. God's grace cannot be earned
by our actions or sincerity. It cannot be lost by our rebellion or sin. Grace is based on the character of God and not on our sincerity, performance, or ability to keep the law of God. Otherwise,
grace would not be grace.
• Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
• Gal. 2:21, "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
• 2 Timothy 1:9, "who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all
eternity."
• If it were not for God's grace, we would not ever be saved from his righteous judgment. It was the grace of God that worked in Christ who bore our sins in his body and the cross (1 Peter 2:24),
so that we might be forgiven andjustified by faith (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). Because of God's gracious kindness to us all who put their trust in his work on the cross will receive forgiveness, salvation,
regeneration, and the eternal love of God. Again, God's kindness to us is based on his character not on ours. His grace to us is completely and totally an act of his free will and not based on any
ability, merit, or performance of our own.
• God's grace is manifested to the unbelievers also. Ultimately, all people deserve the judgment of God because all people have sinned (Romans 3:23). But, God does not execute his judgment
upon all people right away. Instead, he is exceedingly patient and kind towards them. Please consider what Jesus said regarding loving our enemies even as God loves the unrighteous.
• Matt. 5:43-48, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45 in order
that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 “For if you love those
who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47 “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the
same? 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
•
• False Religious Views of Grace
• Roman Catholicism
• Meriting Grace to attain eternal life: Catechism of the Catholic Church 2010, "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and
justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase
of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God's wisdom. These graces and goods are the
object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.”
• Meriting Grace to attain eternal life: CCC 2027, "No one can merit the initial grace which is at the origin of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit, we can merit for ourselves and for others all
the graces needed to attain eternal life, as well as necessary temporal goods.”
• Mormonism
• Saved by grace alone is evil: "One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone
is all that is needed for salvation” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.206. See also The Book of Mormon Student Manual Religion 121 and 122, 1996, p. 36).
• Justification by faith alone is evil: "The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith Alone has exercised an influence for evil. The idea upon which this pernicious doctrine was founded was at
first associated with that of an absolute predestination, by which man was foredoomed to destruction, or to an undeserved salvation,” (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, 1984, p. 432).
• Christian Science
• Grace is spiritual understanding: "Philosophical links, which would unite dead matter with animate, Spirit with matter and material means, prayer with power and pride of position, hinder
the divine influx and lose Science,— lose the Principle of divine metaphysics and the tender grace of spiritual understanding, that love-linked holiness which heals and saves,” (Miscellany, p.
206).
• Grace is understanding God: "All this is accomplished by the grace of God, — the effect of God understood,” (Christian Science vs. Pantheism, p. 10).

Rom 11:6, What is grace?, by Matt Slick
• “Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is where God shows us mercy, kindness, and patience
instead of the judgment that we deserve for sinning against him. God's grace cannot be earned by
our actions or sincerity. It cannot be lost by our rebellion or sin. Grace is based on the character of
God and not on our sincerity, performance, or ability to keep the law of God. Otherwise, grace
would not be grace.
• Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer
grace."
• Gal. 2:21, "I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ
died needlessly."
• 2 Timothy 1:9, "who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity."
• If it were not for God's grace, we would not ever be saved from his righteous judgment. It was the
grace of God that worked in Christ who bore our sins in his body and the cross (1 Peter 2:24), so that
we might be forgiven and justified by faith (Rom. 3:28; 5:1). Because of God's gracious kindness to
us all who put their trust in his work on the cross will receive forgiveness, salvation, regeneration,
and the eternal love of God. Again, God's kindness to us is based on his character not on ours. His
grace to us is completely and totally an act of his free will and not based on any ability, merit, or
performance of our own….”

Romans 11:8, Jesus is God
• Today is April 16, 2013, Verse of the Day -- John 10:30 (Jesus said) I and the Father are one.
• THOUGHT FOR THE DAY, Jesus is God.
• MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY
• Toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem (John 10:22-39), Jewish leaders asked Him
point blank, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly" (v. 24). Jesus, in no uncertain terms,
answered that he was more than the Messiah, He was God! To this they "took up stones to stone Him" (v. 31).
• At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the
portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will You keep us in suspense? If
You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's
name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.My
Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the
Father are one." The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from
the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for
blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God." Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in
your Law, 'I SAID, YOU ARE GODS'? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be
broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am
the Son of God'? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me,
believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father." Therefore they were
seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp. —John 10:22-39The Greek word translated "one" in this verse is
neuter: "one thing," not "one person." In other words, Jesus did not say that He and the Father are identical, but rather, He
and the Father have essential unity together, that He enjoys exact unity of nature and actions with His Father. The Jews
clearly understood this and tried to stone Him for blasphemy.. . . God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to
hear not, down to this very day. —Romans 11:8

Romans 11:8 TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
Ears To Hear
• TODAY'S CREATION MOMENT
• FLAGELLUM FASCINATION
• inHumans
• Listen
• Luke 8:8
• “And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.”
• The electron microscope was developed over 80 years ago and enables us to probe the secrets of God’s creation. One of the most surprising
discoveries shows an incredible similarity between those little whips called flagellum – which some microbes use for swimming – and the inside of your
ear!
• The electron microscope has shown that there is but one master pattern for all flagella. These tiny threads are always made up of a pair of fibers
surrounded by nine protein fibers running inside a tube. It is thought that the contraction of these protein fibers causes the flagellum to move. But
though these tiny structures are identical, different creatures use them in different ways.
• Inside your ear and the ears of all vertebrates are tiny, hair-like structures that come together in a point, something like an Indian tepee. Each of these
structures has on it one projection exactly the same as the microbes’ flagellum. But in this case, its purpose is not to move, but to be moved by sound
waves. These structures are hooked up to nerves, and their purpose is to detect sound waves. They are so sensitive, they can provide your brain with
many different kinds of information, all of which you finally hear as sound!
• Have you used this generous gift of hearing to hear the Word of God today?
• Notes: Margaret Helder, Ph.D., “Marvellous Evidence of Design,” Creation Ex Nihilo, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 14-17. Photo: Physical model of a bacterial
flagellum. Courtesy of Alan Wolf. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Romans 11:11-12
If The Jews Accepted Their Messiah
• “…Jesus was offering Himself to the Jews as the King of the Jews, as the deciding question as to whether a Jew will enter
the coming kingdom. If the Jews had largely accepted Him as their Messiah and King, there would still have been the
crucifixion, burial, and the resurrection, the ascension, and the seven year Tribulation, ending with Christ’s second coming,
in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.
•
• Brace yourself for this next statement:
•
• But if the Jews had largely accepted Christ as their Messiah and King, there would not have been the body of believers
known as ‘the Church’, nor the books from Acts to Revelation as we have them, nor the Rapture of the Church, nor the
gospel of grace. Even the gospels would each have been written differently. These were all added because the Jews
largely rejected Christ as their King and Messiah.
•
• Romans 11:11-12 (NASU; see also Ephesians 3:1-10)
• I say then, they [Israel] did not stumble so as to fall [permanently], did they? May it never be! But by their transgression
salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their
failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
•
• The gospel of the kingdom, preached by Christ during His first coming, will be preached again during the coming Tribulation
period, not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (aka ‘nations’; Greek: ethnos), and then Christ will return to establish His
kingdom:…”
• Vern Peterman
• The Sermon On The Mount
The Context: Matthew, History & Jewish Culture

Romans 11:17-19, What Does The Bible Say? Israel And
The Church, A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
• What Does The Bible Say? Israel And The Church
• Saturday, May 3rd, 2014Church
• Featured
• Israel
• Prophecy
• This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series What Does The Bible say?
• A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
• Someone wrote to ask my opinion about several theories he has read concerning the relationship between the Church and Israel. He asked, “Are the two really the same or are they supposed to be different?” Here’s my response.
• The misguided effort to blend the Church and Israel into one entity continues. First it was “Replacement Theology”, the false teaching that because of their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, God has no more use for Israel. Instead He has transferred to the Church all of
the promises He had formerly made to them. According to this view, the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was nothing more than an accident of history, not the fulfillment of prophecy. They say the only future for Israel is through the Church.
• The Hebrew Roots movement takes a different road to reach the mirror image of the same destination. They claim the Gentile church has gone way off the track, having been contaminated with Greek and Roman paganism. They advocate a return to the Jewish roots of
the Church by keeping the Law, the dietary restrictions, the Feasts of Israel, etc. like the original disciples did. In other words to become Torah observant. They say the only future for the Church is through Israel.
• Then there’s the view called “Remnant Theology” that distinguishes between “national” Israel and “spiritual” Israel which they call “remnant Israel”. According to this view “remnant Israel” is a spiritual body just like the Church. They interpretRomans 11:17-19 to say
the Church has been grafted into “remnant Israel” and they are now one and the same.
• These positions all disregard the fact that in creating His Church God took some who were formerly Jews and some who were formerly Gentiles and made one new man out of the two (Ephes. 2:14-16). Being made new means neither group remains as they were. Paul
clarified this in Galatians 3:28 when he said in the Church there is neither Jew nor Gentile. Yes, we’re all Abraham’s seed but that doesn’t mean we’re all Israel. In Genesis 12:3 God said that all the families (clans, tribes) of the earth would be blessed through Abraham.
• The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that no matter how some people try to redefine things, Israel and the Church are separate entities in God’s view, and were never intended to become one. Comparing the two we can see that each has a different origin, a
unique purpose, and a separate destiny. For this reason, some scholars have labeled the following comparison of Israel and the Church “Separation Theology”.
• A Different Origin
• Israel came to be through a sovereign act of God, creating a nation out of the direct descendants of Abraham (Genesis 12:2). Later He narrowed this down to include only those who came through Isaac, (Genesis 26:3-5) and Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15). Theirs is a national
covenant conditioned upon obedience (Exodus 19:3-6).
• The Church consists of individual members from every nation, tribe, people, and language who have been adopted directly into the family of God, based on our personal belief that Jesus died for our sins and rose again (John 1:12-13, Galatians 4:4-7, Romans 10:9-10).
Ours is a personal covenant conditioned upon on faith.
• You could say that God’s position with Israel is based on a national religion, but His position with the Church is based on a personal relationship.
• A Unique Purpose
• God gave Israel a four fold mission. They were to be a repository for His word (Isaiah 42:9), writing down the things He said to them, whether as history or prophecy, and preserving their accuracy. They were to be His witnesses to an unbelieving world (Isaiah 43:10).
They were to be a display of His splendor (Isaiah 49:3); in them He would be glorified. And finally, they were to be the channel for the Messiah, through whom He would bring His salvation to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:5-6).
• The purpose of the Church is to be a demonstration of the incomparable riches of God’s grace in ages yet to come, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephes. 2:7), and to make known God’s manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the Heavenly
realms according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephes. 3:10-11).
• A Separate Destiny
• Israel was given a homeland on Earth with geographic boundaries as an everlasting possession (Genesis 15:18-21). The Millennial kingdom on Earth is all about Israel and that’s why we have to look in the Old Testament for descriptions of life on Earth during that time.
Passages like Isaiah 2:2-5, Isaiah 35, Isaiah 65:17-25, Ezekiel 40-48, and Micah 4:1-8 tell of an Israel restored to a position of preeminence among the nations of Earth, and of the promised land turned into a rich garden paradise where God Himself will once again dwell
among His chosen people forever, just like He promised (Ezekiel 43:7).
• The Church has no home on Earth. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20), and our Millennial home is the New Jerusalem, an enormous entity that’s too large to fit on Earth, but will be located in Earth’s proximity (Rev. 21). John described it coming down out of heaven
after the Second Coming, as beautiful as a bride on her wedding day. Nearly 1400 miles in length.width, and height, it will be two thirds the size of the moon and made of the purest gold and precious gems. This is the place Jesus has been preparing for us and to which
He will take us so that we might also be where He is. If it were not so He would have told us (John 14:2-3).
• Even when Israel receives the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31), there will still be a temple, a Levitical priesthood, daily sacrifices for sin, periodic Holy Days, and other requirements (Ezekiel 40-46). In the New Jerusalem there is no Temple (Rev. 21:22) and there are no
additional requirements.
• After the Second Coming only the believing remnant of Israel will be left to dwell in the promised land on Earth. Together with resurrected Old Testament believers, they will constitute national Israel.
• At the rapture, the Church will depart the Earth forever to take up residence in the New Jerusalem.
• Two Parables
• Finally, in the Lord’s teaching on the Kingdom parables, Israel is represented by the treasure in the field who when a man found it, He sold all he had and bought the entire field just for the treasure (Matt. 13:44).
• In Exodus 19:5-6 God said to Israel,
• Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession (Hebrew: my peculiar treasure). Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
• At the second coming the Lord will become the King of the whole Earth (Zech 14:9), having given His life to redeem it. But His main purpose in doing so will have been to restore Israel, His treasure on Earth.
• The Church is represented by the Pearl of Great Price, who when a man found it, he sold everything he had to acquire it (Matt. 13:45).
• Oysters are not kosher (Lev. 11:9-12), so pearls are not prized in Israel as they are among the Gentiles. Pearls are formed when a grain of sand gets inside the oyster shell and becomes an irritant. The oyster secrets a smooth milky substance that hardens around the
grain of sand and stops the irritation. When the oyster is harvested the pearl is removed from its natural habitat and placed in a fine setting to become an object of adornment.
• Jesus purchased the Church on the cross, and it took everything He had. Just before the end times judgments begin, He will remove us from our natural habitat and place us in the New Jerusalem, a priceless setting, to become His object of adornment.
• In summary, the Bible is quite clear in portraying Israel and the Church as two separate entities. We’re both part of His kingdom, but our origin, our purpose, and our destiny require that we always be seen as distinct from one another.
• Please Don’t Misunderstand Me
• None of this is intended to convey the idea that the Church shouldn’t be concerned about Israel, or interested in its history and future. Quite the contrary. God had Israel write the Bible to teach us (Romans 15:4). Events in Israel’s history were recorded as admonitions
to us upon whom the fulfillment of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11).
• Israel’s Messiah is our our Lord and Savior. He was born in Israel and spent all His earthly life there. The New Testament was written by sons of Israel. It’s by observing the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel that we become aware of the impending
fulfillment of New Testament prophecies concerning the Church. Aside from Israel itself, no group on Earth has a greater interest in the history and future of Israel than the Church.
• The Church is not Israel and Israel is not the Church, but Israel and the Church are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is the Kingdom of God. That’s the way God sees us, and that’s what the Bible says. 05-03-14
• http://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/the-bibles-authority/bible-say-israel-church/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gracethrufaith+%28GraceThruFaith%29

Romans 11:19-24,
Pride, Loss Of Ministry
• Today is September 17, 2013, Verse of the Day -- Romans 11:20 Do not be conceited, but fear;
• THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
• Pride leads to destruction.
• MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY
• In Romans 11, God admonishes the Gentile believers to be wary of repeating the sin of the Jews—
which was boasting of their privileged position (vv. 18-21). In the midst of this admonishment is this
"do not be conceited" statement. Although it's easy to pass over this phrase, it truly is something all
Christians need to think about. Every Christian who totally understands his/her position in Christ
must be careful not to fall into the "I'm there, you're not" trap.
• Yes, we will go to heaven (1 Peter 1:9). Yes, our sins are behind us (Colossians 2:14). Yes, God will
love us no matter what we do (Psalm 103:12). obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation
of your souls. —1 Peter 1:9 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees
against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross. —Colossians 2:14
• As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:12
• But God also warns us that He is both kind and severe:
• Behold then the kindness and severity of God —Romans 11:22And if we act conceited, a form of
pride, we set the stage for future embarrassment.
• Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. —Proverbs 16:18

Rom 11:25, Partial Hardening Of Israel
• Today is January 22, 2014
•
Verse of the Day -- Romans 11:25
•
. . . a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
•
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
• Very few Jews turn to Jesus, for now . . .
•
MINI BIBLE STUDY FOR THE DAY
• God's plan for the Jews during the Church Age is that very few will trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This "hardening" is
both partial and temporary. There are some whom God allows His Holy Spirit to indwell, but they are few and far between.
This hardening (Greek = "dullness") will end when Jesus returns to the earth and they realize that He was their Messiah, sent
from God but crucified by them.
• . . . they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him . . . —Zechariah12:10 It is always amazing to
listen to Israeli guides while visiting Israel. By Israeli law, every group or bus must have a government-licensed guide. Guiding
is one of the premier jobs in the whole country. But to qualify, you have to have a special license that is equivalent to a two-
year college degree in the U.S. On Compass trips, these guides constantly quote both OT and NT Scripture as fact and know
their Bible as well as any good Bible teacher in the U.S. They point out where Jesus did miracles, walked, lived, and died. Yet,
when asked who they think Jesus was, they say only that He was a good man, or a prophet.
• . . . Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. —John 3:3

Romans Chapter 11, Replacement Theology, The olive tree, John Piper, Israel's future, remnant Israel, Hebrew Roots movement, Israel and the Church, eponym, Separation Theology, Remnant Theology,

Romans Chapter 11, Replacement Theology, The olive tree, John Piper, Israel's future, remnant Israel, Hebrew Roots movement, Israel and the Church, eponym, Separation Theology, Remnant Theology,

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