mkgal1 said:
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Based on commentaries in the Geneva Study Bible - it seems that there was already a "two people of God" theology (prior to Darby splitting from Newton).
Quoting from linked article: The
Geneva Bible’s notes on
Romans 11:25 and
11:28 jump out as being light years ahead of their time
with regard to the future prophesied for the Jewish people. It is amazing to think that these notes could have been written just 43 years after Martin Luther first posted the 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, officially (albeit unwittingly at the time) launching the Reformation.
There is a direct link between modern Dispensational Theology, and modern Zionism.
Orthodox Jewish Zionist Samuel Untermeyer, helped C.I. Scofield get the Scofield Reference Bible published.
And the rest is history.
.
Makes me feel blessed I never got entangled in that "spider web" doctrine.
Give me Preterism any day of the week.....
THE TRUE "REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY/SUPERSESSIONISM" OF THE BIBLE
The Preterist Archive of Realized Eschatology
G-I-G-O What Christian Zionists Get Wrong About Israel
Steve Lumbley: G-I-G-O What Christian Zionists Get Wrong About Israel (2017)
Christian Zionist’s (hereinafter referred to as CZ’s) often accuse me of teaching
replacement theology, a term which is intended to have the same effect as the word
racist. It is an attempt to stop the discussion right then and there. No more discussion is needed if you are a
replacement theologian. You are so obviously wrong and deluded we’re done with this conversation.
In reality, I don’t know anyone who teaches replacement theology as it is commonly defined by CZ’s. That definition always includes the idea that God is “finished” with the Jews, whatever that means. Perhaps some taught that in the past. Men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Catholic Church, were vicious in their denunciation of Jews and viewed them as mortal enemies of the church. Other than a few radical fringe groups like white supremacists I know of no one today who believes Jews should be denounced and marginalized in that way. Any person or group that denies Christ can be considered an enemy of the gospel but we as Christians are to love our enemies and reach out to them with truth.
When confronted with the replacement theology accusation I often answer the question with a question. I’ll ask this – has the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant.
Astonishingly, many CZ’s answer that question with a resounding no! According to many of them the New Covenant has not replaced the Old Covenant, or it only applies to the church, or it hasn’t been fully implemented, or it doesn’t apply to the Jews, or it was never offered to the Jews, or it is in effect but will be supplanted by a temporary return to the Old Covenant for the sake of bringing Jews to Christ.
Therefore if CZ’s begin with the premise that the New Covenant does not replace the Old Covenant at least as it applies to the nation of Israel or the Jewish people, if they read the Old Covenant promises and prophecies as if the New Covenant doesn’t really exist, that faulty premise leads them to a false understanding of the modern nation state of Israel as well as a false understanding of the true Israel of God. Garbage in – Garbage out.
So, let’s begin with this. No, I do not believe that God is “finished” with the Jewish people. I believe they have every opportunity to be reconciled to God as does every man, woman, and child on this planet be they Jew or Gentile. But in order to be reconciled to the Father the Jewish people must come through the cross of Christ just like everyone else. God is no respecter of persons. No ethnic or national identity, no biological birthright will ever bring reconciliation between God and man. And the method that God has chosen to bring both Jew and Gentile to the cross of Christ is the preaching of the gospel.
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:11-14
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1Co 1:21-24
It is clear from these scriptures and many others that the only New Covenant method of bringing men to reconciliation is the preaching of the gospel and that applies to both Jew and Gentile. There is nothing in scripture to suggest that the New Covenant was not applicable to the Jewish people. If there were, the apostles certainly wasted their time by taking this gospel to the Jew first and then the gentiles.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16
If Jews were still to be saved by some application of the Old Covenant, why did Peter bother to preach the gospel on the day of Pentecost? (Acts 2) Better yet why did God save 3,000 souls that day by the power of Peter’s proclamation?
If there were to be some other method of bringing Jews to Christ, why did Stephen dispute with the men of the Synagogue of the Freedmen? (Acts 6:9) Why did they bring him before the Jewish scribes and elders with false accusations of blasphemy? Why did Stephen continue to proclaim the gospel while being stoned to death for his trouble? (Acts 7)
Indeed why did Paul or any of the apostles endure the trials and tribulations they incurred primarily from the Jews. Why bother with all that if God would eventually save them all by some other means?
Even so, many CZ’s in our day say God will use some other method to bring Christ to the nation of Israel. Some believe it will happen only after the modern nation of Israel is facing defeat at the hands of anti-christ. Some are convinced that after 2/3rd’s of Israel is destroyed the remaining Jews will somehow turn en-masse to Christ and be saved. The obvious question here is why hasn’t that happened before?
When Jerusalem and the entire nation of Israel was destroyed in 70 AD was there any national repentance and turning to Christ? How about the holocaust of the 1940’s? Did Hitler cause Jews to turn to Christ? How about any of the tribulations Jews have faced down through the centuries? None of those things have brought Jews to Christ because those are not the methods ordained by the Father to reconcile them to the Messiah.
Yet during all those tribulations and more, Jews have been coming to Christ through the preaching of the gospel. For over 2,000 years and still today Jews are coming to Christ through the same gospel message the apostles preached. There is no other means by which men can be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Some CZ’s insist that Jews will be saved when they see Christ return in glory. They use the prophecy of Zechariah.
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zec 12:10
There are several problems with that particular interpretation the first of which is salvation comes by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). If physically seeing him is to bring salvation, God becomes a respecter of persons and a liar. He would be allowing Jews salvation by sight, giving Jews an opportunity afforded no other group of people in all of history.
And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they. Acts 15:7-11
Peter preached the gospel to the household of Roman Centurion Cornelius, a gentile (Acts 10). He saw the Lord pour out the Holy Spirit upon them and he concludes that God desires to save Jews and Gentiles both by that method, the preaching of the gospel.
Finally we know that God will not bring salvation to the Jews at some future time by
looking upon him because according to the Apostle John, Zechariah’s prophecy was fulfilled at the cross. Writing about what he had personally witnessed at Calvary, John said;
And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” John 19:35-37
John quoted Old Covenant scripture as proof that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled these Messianic prophecies.
Not one of his bones shall be broken was a fulfillment of David’s Messianic Psalm 34:20. It also fulfilled the symbolism of the Passover lamb (
Exodus 12:46 &
Numbers 9:12)
And they shall look upon Him whom they pierced fulfilled
Zechariah 12:10.
Therefore
Zechariah 12:10 is not some far off future promise of salvation by sight. It was a messianic prophesy fulfilled by Christ at the cross, witnessed and testified to by John so that the Jewish people would know that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
I began by stating that CZ’s read scripture as if the New Covenant didn’t exist.
In part 2 of this series we will see how scripture itself interprets prophecy in light of the New Covenant.