The Jews are STILL the chosen people and it's dangerous to say that they are not; it lead to such things as the Inquisition and the Holocaust. Pauls said in Romans 11 they were, and yet many Christians apply an allegorical interpretation of the text, when it is not allegorical. Israel=Israel, not the Christian Church.
2006-12-27 05:02:29 · 20 answers · asked by . 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I think you pretty much answered it there yourself. But I'll add this. Antisemitism is a very subtle and evil spirit that has crept into the church. The church is much less Antisemitic now than it was during the Crusades. The Church used to persecute and murder Jews in the name of Jesus. I personally believe that all such things are demonic in nature, and that anyone who truly loves God and His Son Jesus Christ, will also love the chosen people of God which is Israel. I have posted recently how that God is not finished with His chosen people, this is examined in Romans 11. We Gentiles have been privileged to be grafted into the family of God, and we should not boast ourselves against the branches (read Romans 11 to understand the symbology of this language). But it should be noted that with the rise of islam around the earth, and the rise of ungodliness in once predominantly Christian nations such as in the US and England, Antisemitism is coming to the forefront again. I am convinced that this is leading into the great tribulation that is prophesied of in the book of Revelation.
2006-12-27 05:57:29 · answer #1 · answered by firebyknight 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Replacement Theology teaches that the Church is the replacement for Israel, and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian Church, not in Israel. So, the prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are "spiritualized" or “allegorized” into promises of God's blessing for the Church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries, and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God, and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1900 years?
2006-12-27 05:10:18 · answer #2 · answered by Red neck 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
The churches that follow Replacement Theology believe that, because of the Jews' rejection of Jesus, gentile believers have inherited all of the promises given to the Jews through Abraham. There are many theological and contextual exceptions to this; foremost, one must believe that all of God's promises to the Jews are conditional (in fact, only SOME are conditional).
Replacement Theology undoubtedly has its roots in anti-Semitism. It is a complete heresy and should (MUST) be discarded completely.
Peace.
2006-12-27 05:15:33 · answer #3 · answered by Suzanne: YPA 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
What a great question....But you may not like the answer..... The original promise to Abraham was that through the seed of Isaac ALL the nations of the earth would be blessed. True to the prophecy, the relationship God had with ancient Israel produced the messiah, and the royal heir to the throne of the Kingdom of God. Every one now benefits, (if they just take the opportunity).
The opportunity for a special relationship with God is now open to anyone who wants to exercise faith in the ransomer Jesus Christ.
That said....look at the destruction of Israel by the Roman Army in 70CE. So terrible was that destruction that Josephus (Jewish historian) reports that over 1.1 million people were killed! almost 100,000 were taken captive. Many of those taken captive were tortured and killed on the road.....and the rest were hauled all over the then-known world to be made slaves. VERY IMPORTANT POINT: all Jewish records and genealogies were then totally destroyed. No "Jew" today can prove he is related to Abraham, and yet the ancient record is intact that Jesus is the messiah.
After WWII and the Nazi persecution of the Jews, the UN and the world leaders set up a secular nation of Israel. This is not the "Kingdom" of Israel. It is a secular nation and does not represent the throne of God. It has nothing to do with any Bible restoration prophecy. People today think it is according to prophecy, but they are seriously mistaken.
Any restoration prophecies that really pertain to literal Israel were fulfilled long ago when they were released from Babylonian captivity. Any newer prophecies are fulfilled in a new Israel which is not the literal nation of Israel, but rather a spiritual nation of people made up of every nation and tongue today, including some who are jewish in origin. This is what Paul refers to. Israel is included in those blessed just as Paul describes in Romans 11. "By their false step there is salvation to people of the nations"....
The new Jerusalem is a heavenly one. For Spiritual Israel the capital city is a heavenly government ruled by the resurrected Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ, near the end of his lfe, stood on the hill overlooking Jerusalem and the temple....looked down at it and condemned their relationship with God.
Now....looking at the modern situation...it gets very interesting....you see there are a great many Christian Zionists who think that Israel is still favored by God and they feel the Israelites have a god-given right to Palestine....these people have HUGE pull in the affairs of the governments which support Israel. Believe it or not this Zionist movement will do anything to prevent the current peace efforts from proceeding because they do not want Israel to loose any of their "god-given" land. (The peace plans or "road map to peace" calls for them to loose some)
These people interestingly think they are going to be raptured off the world scene so they do not have to deal with any of the nasty results of their meddling. The Christian Zionists are sadly mistaken and bad things will come from their involvement.....(They already have).
Going on.....ponder this....just 3 days before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.....the United States and Israel walked out of the UN conference on racism...they turned their backs on the world community who had passed a resolution that stated that Zionism equals racism. This conference was planned for years......the Arab community for years planned to present this resolution at this very conference......I wonder.....Could it be.....that this was in fact the TRIGGER for the attacks on the WTC in New York and the pentagon? Were these Al Khada terrorists poised and waiting for this walk out? I say this is a possibility, but what do I know? This presents the question.....If the US was not so motivated by Christian Zionists and their political influence, would there have been an attack?
2006-12-27 05:20:17 · answer #4 · answered by fasteddie 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes. the children of Israel are still the chosen people of God, yet the message the angels brought at the birth of Jesus was for "all people" and "all nations." The New Testament clearly teaches that all those who are "in Christ" are now chosen to become the children of God. So, while the book of Revelation lays out that God still has some special plans for the nation of Israel, it is also clear that his major purpose--sending the messiah through the line of Abraham and David--has already been accomplished--the beginning of that promise has already been fulfilled.
2006-12-27 05:08:50 · answer #5 · answered by happygirl 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I don't think the holocaust had anything to do with theology. Whatever claims were made regarding religion, it was not genuine. However, your point regarding the theology is true. There is no reason to believe the Christian Church replaces Israel. In fact, when the NT was written, it was written mainly by Jews who generally continued to see themselves as Jews. The distinction came later.
2006-12-27 05:10:05 · answer #6 · answered by Boilerfan 5 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I'm not sure the Jewish doctrine of "chosen people" was explicitly behind the holocaust, but religious sectarianism certainly is.
The bottom line is that any theology is bad, some are just worse than others.
2006-12-27 05:04:43 · answer #7 · answered by STFU Dude 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They think because the Jewish leaders at the time assisted in the Killing of Jesus that God could love them no longer. Wrong. The Israel people are still God's chosen. He has placed blinders on them so the gentles could know Christ.
2006-12-27 05:38:19 · answer #8 · answered by Alex 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As I now understand and believe, the Jews lost that esteemed placement with the coming of the Messiah and non-support of said character. The chosen folks moniker was passed to Christians as Jesus came to fulfill the law; regardless of what Paul said--he was wrong.
2006-12-27 05:11:32 · answer #9 · answered by Sick Puppy 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I agree fully, I recommend Romans 11 for everyone who thinks the saved Isreal is a "spiritual Isreal" Romans 11 makes it perfectly clear this Isreal that is Chosen is the same Isreal that doesnt accept the Gospel... they do not accept the Gospel because God hardened them to it for OUR sake.... but His promise to them is still good.
2006-12-27 05:11:36 · answer #10 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋