REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY NEEDLESSLY REPELS ZIONIST EVANGELICALS
24 March, 2014
“Israel is losing its grip on evangelical Christians,” headlines Ha’aretz. It says rising evangelical criticism of Israel and new attention to the Palestinian perspective is “promising a new struggle for the hearts and minds of younger members of America’s largest pro-Israel demographic group.” Israeli propaganda oracle CAMERA says: “This movement is moving evangelicals away from their historic position of support for Israel toward unreflective support for the Palestinian cause.” Such defection occurs largely because evangelical organizations such as World Vision International and the Telos Group are taking large numbers of evangelicals and their leaders to Israel’s West Bank to meet with Palestinian Christians and hear first-hand their accounts of hardship and persecution under Israeli rule.
Evangelical defection from Zionism is progressing largely among a minority of evangelicals who advocate replacement theology. (See Soros Funds Palestinian-Friendly Evangelicals) But replacement theology, by its unscriptural removal of national Israel from her unique destiny in God’s plan of the ages, needlessly arouses evangelical hostility. Pro-Zionist evangelicals correctly take to heart the apostle Paul’s command to the church that it must never “boast against the (Jewish) branches” (Rom. 11:18), asserting that God has transferred all covenant promises and blessings to the church. Paul also affirms: “The adoption and the glory, and the covenants and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises” still apply to the Jewish nation for the sake of a Jewish remnant whom Christ foreknows will repent at His return (Rom. 9:4). At that time, Paul continues, “The Redeemer shall come from Zion, and shall turn ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:26) Until that time, Paul tells the Gentile church, “Be not high minded, but fear… for God is able to graft them in again.” (11:20,23)
Thus, there is in replacement theology a built-in offense to those who literally interpret Scripture, making it much harder for Zionist evangelicals to accept the great amount of anti-Zionist truth that adherents of replacement theology possess. Offended by what they believe is a satanic attempt to sabotage Christ’s glorification through restoration at His Second Coming of a repentant Jewish remnant, such evangelicals will also not listen to “satanic, anti-Semitic lies” against Israel, even from Palestinian Christians.
A true Biblical perspective would make it much easier for evangelicals to transition into realization that it is not anti-Semitic, unbiblical or cursed to not only criticize Israel’s injustices against the Palestinians but acknowledge the much larger threat posed by Jewish supremacist control worldwide.
Steps to Unite Pro-Zionist and Anti-Zionist Christians
Here are my suggestions on how an evangelical-friendly, anti-Zionist theology can be created.
First, replacement theologians must accept the Biblical fact that God’s plan of the ages, as described by a multitude of specific Bible prophecies, is an unfolding futurist one. Such prophecies cannot possibly have been fulfilled by the events of 70 A.D. with destruction of Jerusalem. (See A Simple Chronology of Last Days Events)
Second, replacement theologians must accept the Biblical teaching that God has a separate national, covenantal, and even territorial agenda for believing Jews that will be fully realized at the end of the church age. This does not suggest such a destiny can circumvent Jewish salvation through Christ alone, nor does it mean that nation of Christ-rejecting Jews have divine right to occupy Palestine today (See List of Conditional Occupation Verses). It does mean Jesus has a unique plan to be glorified through the Jews, even through their apostasy. That plan is intended to reveal Christ’s staggering love and willingness to forgive and save not only Jews but all who come to Him. Through the Jewish remnant, He will reveal His mercy in a manner and magnitude second only to His willingness to suffer and die at Calvary to redeem all men. Jewish rebellion and apostasy will not frustrate Christ’s will that a remnant of Jews bow the knee to Him at His coming. In my article “Does Christ’s New Covenant Replace the Old?” I confirm to a much greater degree that such is the authentic Biblical perspective.
If these two changes are made among replacement theologians, pro-Zionist evangelicals will be much more inclined to view the burgeoning movement of evangelical friendliness toward the Palestinians not as heresy but as a form of Christian activism and social service that should be heard. With anti-Zionist revolt among evangelicals growing rapidly, it is vital this movement not be stereotyped in the minds of fellow evangelicals as intent on spiritually throwing out Jews in God’s plan. Adherents of replacement theology must be open to change and the indisputable fact that there exists in their doctrine needless offense that must be abandoned and replaced with Biblical truth already dear and nonnegotiable to millions of pro-Israel evangelicals. Such potential allies are precious and must be enlightened to the Zionist and Jewish supremacist threat if civilization is to be saved.
Creating Evangelical-Friendly Anti-Zionism
Estimates run as high as 70 million evangelicals in the world. Dr. John Hagee claims to speak to 99 million in each of his broadcasts on Trinity TV network. If only a minority can be persuaded that anti-Zionism has no quarrel with the Biblical fact of God’s continuing destiny for the Jews, such enlightenment carries enormous potential to hold back Babylon the Great in our time. (See ‘Babylon the Great’ is Israel) However, if replacement theology leaders cling to the unbiblical notion that they can continue to “boast against the branches,” as a way of minimizing the church’s regard for Israel, a tremendous opportunity will be lost, very likely never to come again. Such a failure would be especially tragic since uniting pro-Zionist evangelicals with anti-Zionists is very largely as simple as both sides just returning to the Bible.
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