Featured Spiritual Israel, Christian Israel.....instead of Replacement Theology

I am not a big fan of R. Scott Clark, but his explanation of Covenant Theology not being Replacement Theology is correct. It is hard to replace something that never has been replaced.

 

That is the exact reason I left his thread and will not comment further. I really have no business derailing a Dispensational thread when I do not subscribe to it.

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I'm glad that you, John, agree with my understanding. The Apostles make it very clear that the OC Scriptures were fulfilled by Jesus & the formation of the Church which at first comprised only Israelites from every nation under heaven. These would have included the dispersed tribes.

Zechariah prophesies that after the Shepherd is struck, 8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one–third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one–third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
One third of the Israelites will be delivered from the AD 70 tribulation - believing Israel will continue as prophesied also in Rev. 7, concerning the 144,000. These already are members of the Church, along with already dispersed believing Israelites & believing Gentiles.

Israelites & Jews are of course welcomed by the Gospel - there is NO ongoing rejection of Jews as "Christ killers." No justification for persecution. They are needy sinners who are welcomed by the Gospel of their Saviour God.

As you agree, this is not replacement theology. Nor is it antisemitism. The Church continues as one redeemed people of God practising spiritual worship with none of the trappings of OC worship. At Jesus' return, the NH&NE will be the blessed eternal home of all the redeemed. All to the glory of God.

There is just no place in Scripture prophecy for a very imperfect millennial dispensation, centred on earthly Jerusalem, with a temple & animal sacrifices for sin.

Whether there will be a Jewish revival before Jesus returns is in God's hands. I don't see it in NC prophecy, nor do I see any significance in the return to the land.

 

Don't do that. Do not take a previous agreement of mine with a post of yours, then elaborate on your original idea and say I agree with your further explanation. That is unethical. You are now proclaiming replacement theology and I heartily and deeply disagree with it.

 

John, replacement theology comments aside, I agree with you. This is not an ethical way to make a point.

 

Thank you.

On the dispensational thread, I agreed with a statement of his that was not, in and of itself, replacement theology. I'm sure he did not mean to be unethical, but he added a lot in this post that I do not agree with, and it's a shame he did that.

 

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Sorry about that.

If what I wrote above is considered RT then that is certainly NOT what I understand RT to be, which is a rejection of the Jews, & replacement by a largely Gentile Church.

God's judgment of this generation that rejected their Messiah was completed in AD 70. From Pentecost on, they have been welcomed by the Gospel. They were & are free to repent, as Saul & many priests & others did, & continued to observe OC customs.

However, within a few generations converted ethnic Jews would intermarry in the Lord with fellow believers & lose the Mosaic distinctives. God knows who they are, but it is very clear that Jew & Gentile, even in the first century, were one people of God in Christ.

Believing Jews have ALL the promises of God as have all members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Whether they continue to observe Jewish customs Is for their conscience - all converts should be encouraged to be faithful family members, as far as is consistent with their faith.

 

Actually both replacement AND enlargement were involved. I really don't know what the big deal is about the 'replaced' part, there is indeed a 'replacement theme' found in the scriptures.

Remember this?

The enlargement

 

Apology accepted.

Replacement theology does not depend on whether one loves or hates the Jews. One may love the Jews and accept them as God's people and still believe that the church replaces Israel. A typical statement of replacement theology is, "It is very doubtful, however, whether Scripture warrants the expectation that Israel will finally be established as a nation, and will as a nation turn to the Lord" (Berkhov, Systematic Theology, p. 699).

This is clear both from Luke's history in Acts, and Paul's theology, which said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). However, it is not replacement theology, which is about the nation of Israel, regardless of whether Jews believe or do not believe.

Again, replacement theology is not about believing Jews, but about the OT prophecies concerning the Jewish nation. A literal interpretation of prophecy says that all unfulfilled prophecies concerning Israel are yet future, but replacement theology says no, the church has replaced Israel, so all of those prophecies are fulfilled in the church.

 

It would seem (at least to me) that BOTH covenant and dispensation theology in some manner “replaces” political/social Israel.

Dispensation would do it for a “time of the Gentiles,” and those of us who are premillennial adhered to the Gentile as grafted into the believing Israel.

Covenant has no literal return of the Jews as a nation, and therefore replaces the nation with the church.

What is the Scripture statement is both a covenant approach AND the dispensation approach.

If one disregards one or the other, more likely there is some area of Scripture that has been taken from the assigned area and made to fit another.

 

I am currently at Beef O' Brady's stuffing my face. It is build-a-burger Monday. That said, I will have to provide back up for my assertion later.

Covenant Theology begins with the Covenant of Works which Adam broke in the garden. Beginning in Genesis 3:15 we see the revealing of the Covenant of Redemption (also called the Covenant of Grace). This covenant is actually the New Covenant revealed in types and shadows in the Old Testament. While God did establish His covenant with Abraham, that covenant did not supersede the promise of Genesis 3, that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. The church does not replace Israel, the church has always been. God has always had one called-out people on the basis of faith. This is not replacement, it is the continuation of God's people of faith. Yes. God established a special relationship with Abraham and his natural descendants, but that relationship was after the Genesis 3 promise.

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