| Introduction to Dispensationalism | | The Salvation of Mankind, and the Governance of Mankind | | The Believer and the Ten Commandments of Moses | | Israel is not the Church | | The Church is not Israel, and is not Heir to the Promises | | Dispensationalism as a Hermaneutic |
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The Church is not Israel, and therefore, not the Heir to the Blessings, Promises or Prophecies God has Made toward Israel In His Revealed Word
This error, known, among other names, as "replacement theology" in that the Church is said to "replace" Israel, and is become heir to the promises which God made to Israel.
Although doing grave damage to the reasonable interpretation of prophecy, this doctrine does not normally present such a grave danger to the purity of the gospel message. It is important that dispensational theologians not only articulate their doctrine, but appreciate that some aspects of dispensational theology are more critical than others.
Nevertheless, great violence is done to prophecy, and to a sane and rational understnding of God's unfolding plan for humanity, when the church is made heirs to the promises God has made to the nation of Israel. Moreover, there is indirect damage to the doctrine of grace and the gospel by the concession of replacement theology
The promises made to Abraham stand as surely today as they were understood by Abraham in the day that God made His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-21). The convenant was a unilateral covenant. God had bound Himself by His word, and His character. After the covenant had been ratified, Abraham could have raised his fist to the heavens, and cursed the holy name of God until the moment of his last breath. It would not have affected the promises God had made to Abraham and his seed. God was bound by His unconditional promise.
If God cannot be taken at His Word in His promise to Abraham, He can no more be taken at His Word in His promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. The promises of eternal security, such as John 10:27-30, and Paul's teaching on the sealing of the Spirit, are rendered meaningless in the face of a God who can reneg on his word!
We therefore believe that the promises and prophecies concerning Israel in Scripture will be literally fulfilled in Israel (Ezekiel 37-39; Daniel 9:24-27; Romans 11:1-25; 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 11-12). Accordingly, we reject the teaching that the prophecies made to Israel have been reduced to some "spiritual" or metaphorical meaning of a battle between good and evil in which the church is engaged.
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The Church is not Israel, and is not Heir to the Promises |
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