I have received much criticism over my understandings of Israel and the Church. I have been accused of "blurring" the lines between them. So, today, I'd like to tackle this topic head on, in the hopes of clarifying what I believe the Bible says.
There are a couple of ways in which the definitions of Israel and the Church can be "blurred." The first comes from doctrine known as "Replacement Theology." According to this theology, Israel has been so rebellious that God is basically done with Israel and the promises given to Israel are now given to the Church. Israel is viewed as having turned her back on God and having rejected God to the point of no return. This philosophy has led to various Christian organizations saying that unbelieving Israel is no longer God's chosen people and that the nation of Israel today should not be given any rights to the land.
But this theology ignores the many Bible passages that say that there will always be a remnant that remains faithful to God and that one day God will restore Israel.
Isaiah 40:1-2 (KJV)
1
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
2
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
Romans 11:26 (KJV)
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:
The scariest thing about this theology is that if it is true, no one can have any confidence that God will not revoke His promises again. What if the Church, overall, becomes so bad that in its need of punishment God revokes His promises of salvation to the Church? Obviously, this theology is Biblically unsupportable and I do not subscribe to it. This kind of blurring between Israel and the Church is just plain wrong.
The second way of "blurring" the lines between Israel and the Church is to recognize that Israel is and will forever be the people of God, and that the Church must become a part of Israel in order to participate. This is the type of "blurring" that I do believe in. Let me explain. The opposing camp to Replacement Theology is Dispensationalism. While this theology has some merit, it also fails in that it believes that Israel and the Church are forever separate entities, that each people group has its own separate part in God's plan.
Initially, Israel was God's chosen nation.Then, both the Replacement Theology camp, as well as the Dispensationalists, believe that when God was rejected by the religious leaders of Yeshua's day, the Church became His people. The Dispensationalists differ from the Replacement people in that they believe this situation (a Church age) would continue until the Rapture, the time when the Church would be rescued from the Tribulation. During the Tribulation Israel would again believe as stated in the Bible.
Many in this camp believe that the end of the Church age can be demonstrated in Revelation 3:22. Whether or not this is the case, there is a massive body of prophecy in the Old Testament where the Church is never mentioned. This seems extremely odd in light of the fact that the Church is supposedly so important. Also, the prophecy in the Old Testament, although not complete without Revelation, does cover history from the time of ancient Israel right through to the end of time. See Daniel 12 for example. So the absence of the Church is very telling.
In the Old Testament there is always only Israel.
Jeremiah 31:33 (KJV)
33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Here we see that the New Covenant is not with an entity called the Church, but rather with the house of Israel.
Zechariah 14:16-17 (KJV)
16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17
And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
The Millennial Kingdom, the thousand year reign of Yeshua here on earth, is characterized by all the nations going up to Jerusalem to worship at the Feast of Tabernacles.
Isaiah 2:3 (KJV)
3
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Another picture of the Millennial Kingdom in Isaiah demonstrates that the Word of the Lord and the Law will go forth from Jerusalem and other nations will desire to go up to the house of the God of Jacob (Israel).
These examples run throughout the Old Testament. They are not hard to find. Then there is an interesting passage in Acts that speaks about the Israelites of Moses' day.
Acts 7:38 (KJV)
38
This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
In this passage the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was giving a history of Israel to the people who were going to stone him. He called the people of Israel, "the church in the wilderness." Obviously, in the mind of this early Christian, the Church could not be separated from God's people, the people of Israel.
Ephesians 2:12-14 (KJV)
12
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
When we become believers we become a part of the body of Messiah. Jews and Gentiles are made one, not two separate entities. While we remain ethnically Jew or Gentile, as believers we are one, which is the true Israel (all believers in Yeshua). This does not mean that unbelieving Israel is no longer important, but rather has not yet entered into salvation.
Paul describes what had occurred in Romans.
Romans 11:17-19, 23-24 (KJV)
17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in,
23
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
God is the root. The original olive branches are the Jews. The wild olive branches that are grafted in are the Gentiles, but not all the original branches are broken off, only those in unbelief. Eventually, the original branches will be grafted back in.
It is time for the Church to see Israel as its natural sibling and to be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the promised people of God. There is a difference between Israel and the Church, but not as much as some believe. Some "blurring" is essential.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Return to Bondage
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we come to salvation in Yeshua, we truly become new creatures. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and the orientation of our lives turns God-ward. Those who have experienced this will testify that there is nothing like it in the entire world. Yet, we still live in the world and have battles to fight, both worldly and spiritual. It is in the spiritual battles where eternity is impacted, where Satan fights most fiercely, and where in some ways we are blinded. It is through the Bible that we receive our sight and our instructions for the battles ahead. Therefore, it is essential that we understand as best as we can those instructions.
We're going to again look at a passage in Scripture that has traditionally been interpreted as a warning to Christians not to attempt going back to Jewish ways. Yet, as we will see, this traditional interpretation does not fit the context of the passage.
Galatians 4:1-11 (KJV)
1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Verses 1-3 continues an analogy from chapter 3 of Galatians where it is learned that believers in Yeshua are children of Abraham. Prior to salvation, however, these children were in "bondage under the elements of the world." Traditionally, this has been interpreted as being in bondage to all the minutiae of the Laws of Judaism and/or the works based philosophies of paganism. There is a contrasting between law and grace. In other words, now that these Galatians are saved they are under grace and no longer subject to law.
However, this contrast of law and grace goes too far. The meaning of "elements of the world" is somewhat uncertain. While it could refer to aspects of the Oral Law (man made traditions) that the Jews observed that were burdensome and were not to be imposed on these new believers, it cannot refer to the Law of God, since the Law handed down to the Jews through Moses came directly from God, not the world. Also, the majority of believers in Galatia were not Jewish, but Gentile. They would not have been in bondage to any Jewish anything. So, it is likely that the "elements of the world" is referring to some pagan aspect of religion that they would have seen as foundational.
Verses 4-7 speaks about the salvation that these Galatians had experienced. Then in verse 8 Paul asked the question (my paraphrase), "How can you Galatians, who were once unbelievers who served false gods, want to return to those weak and beggarly elements, now that you've been saved?" The tie in between verse 3 and verse 9 are those "elements of the world." In verse 9 Paul called them "weak and beggarly." It should be obvious that these elements cannot refer to the the Law of God since Paul would never refer to the Law of God in that manner.
Romans 7:12 (KJV)
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Verse 10 describes what the "elements of the world" caused the Galatians to do before they were saved and what things they wanted to either go back to or to continue in, i.e. the observing of "days, and months, and times, and years." Bible commentators have been quick again to say that this list is referring to the observance of the Sabbath, the New Moons, and the Feasts of the Lord. But since these are tied into the "elements of the world" Jewish practices cannot be the intended problem since they come directly from the commands of God and not the world. Also the observance of "times" was strictly forbidden in Scripture.
Deuteronomy 18:10 (KJV)
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Although it is unclear about what these particular practices were, they were of obvious pagan origin. They have nothing to do with authentic Jewish practices commanded in the Bible.
Paul then remarked sadly in verse 11 that he was afraid that he had labored in vain over these believers.
When we are saved we are new creatures. This means that we should leave sin behind. Too often, however, we try to retain those sinful things that God hates. This really is the message of Galatians 4:1-11, the leaving behind of sin or the relying on those things that come from tradition, but are contrary to the Word of God. This is what the Galatians were doing. It has nothing to do with putting aside the Law of God in favor of lawlessness. Grace is not the opposite of Law, but its compliment. We are saved only by grace, the Law cannot save us, but God still expects us to be righteous and to follow His commands.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we come to salvation in Yeshua, we truly become new creatures. We are filled with the Holy Spirit and the orientation of our lives turns God-ward. Those who have experienced this will testify that there is nothing like it in the entire world. Yet, we still live in the world and have battles to fight, both worldly and spiritual. It is in the spiritual battles where eternity is impacted, where Satan fights most fiercely, and where in some ways we are blinded. It is through the Bible that we receive our sight and our instructions for the battles ahead. Therefore, it is essential that we understand as best as we can those instructions.
We're going to again look at a passage in Scripture that has traditionally been interpreted as a warning to Christians not to attempt going back to Jewish ways. Yet, as we will see, this traditional interpretation does not fit the context of the passage.
Galatians 4:1-11 (KJV)
1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Verses 1-3 continues an analogy from chapter 3 of Galatians where it is learned that believers in Yeshua are children of Abraham. Prior to salvation, however, these children were in "bondage under the elements of the world." Traditionally, this has been interpreted as being in bondage to all the minutiae of the Laws of Judaism and/or the works based philosophies of paganism. There is a contrasting between law and grace. In other words, now that these Galatians are saved they are under grace and no longer subject to law.
However, this contrast of law and grace goes too far. The meaning of "elements of the world" is somewhat uncertain. While it could refer to aspects of the Oral Law (man made traditions) that the Jews observed that were burdensome and were not to be imposed on these new believers, it cannot refer to the Law of God, since the Law handed down to the Jews through Moses came directly from God, not the world. Also, the majority of believers in Galatia were not Jewish, but Gentile. They would not have been in bondage to any Jewish anything. So, it is likely that the "elements of the world" is referring to some pagan aspect of religion that they would have seen as foundational.
Verses 4-7 speaks about the salvation that these Galatians had experienced. Then in verse 8 Paul asked the question (my paraphrase), "How can you Galatians, who were once unbelievers who served false gods, want to return to those weak and beggarly elements, now that you've been saved?" The tie in between verse 3 and verse 9 are those "elements of the world." In verse 9 Paul called them "weak and beggarly." It should be obvious that these elements cannot refer to the the Law of God since Paul would never refer to the Law of God in that manner.
Romans 7:12 (KJV)
12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Verse 10 describes what the "elements of the world" caused the Galatians to do before they were saved and what things they wanted to either go back to or to continue in, i.e. the observing of "days, and months, and times, and years." Bible commentators have been quick again to say that this list is referring to the observance of the Sabbath, the New Moons, and the Feasts of the Lord. But since these are tied into the "elements of the world" Jewish practices cannot be the intended problem since they come directly from the commands of God and not the world. Also the observance of "times" was strictly forbidden in Scripture.
Deuteronomy 18:10 (KJV)
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Although it is unclear about what these particular practices were, they were of obvious pagan origin. They have nothing to do with authentic Jewish practices commanded in the Bible.
Paul then remarked sadly in verse 11 that he was afraid that he had labored in vain over these believers.
When we are saved we are new creatures. This means that we should leave sin behind. Too often, however, we try to retain those sinful things that God hates. This really is the message of Galatians 4:1-11, the leaving behind of sin or the relying on those things that come from tradition, but are contrary to the Word of God. This is what the Galatians were doing. It has nothing to do with putting aside the Law of God in favor of lawlessness. Grace is not the opposite of Law, but its compliment. We are saved only by grace, the Law cannot save us, but God still expects us to be righteous and to follow His commands.
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