THE CHURCH DID NOT REPLACE ISRAEL

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Replacement Theology has gained popularity, even among Evangelicals. I am convinced that Satan knows his fate, and because his time is short, he is desperately trying to confuse the Church. Many believe that the Church will go through the Tribulation, or at least part of it. There are several views on when and if the Rapture will occur, which is understandable for those who fail to keep the Church and Israel separate. The Tribulation is God's judgment on the stewards of the fifth dispensation (the Law).

Here are some differences between the two:
*Not every Jew will be saved, but every member of the Body of Christ is.
*Israel began with Abraham, while the Church began on the day of Pentecost.
*God's program for Israel is centered in Jerusalem, while the Church began there.
*Israel longs for Christ's first appearing, while the Church longs for His second.
*Israel was revealed in the Old Testament, while the Church was not.
*Israel will offer animal sacrifices during the Tribulation; the Church has never offered them.
*Israel needs a physical temple; Christians are the temple.
*Israel has a priesthood; Christians are all priests.
*The fifth dispensation consisted of Jews and Gentiles; the sixth, Jews, Gentiles, and Christians.
*The Jews required circumcision while the Church does not.
*Unbelieving Jews were children of Abraham and of the devil. Christians are children of Abraham and God.
*One became a Jew by birth, while one becomes a Christian by the new birth.
*Apart from during the Church Age, believing Jews are not part of the Body of Christ.
*For Israel, God was in the temple; for the Christian, God is where two or three are gathered in His name.
*God's reward for the Jew is in this world; His reward for the Church is above.

Paul taught that Israel had been partially blinded so that Gentiles could be saved. Our salvation has two purposes. One, that God's redemption through Christ would be available to all mankind. Two, that the Gentiles being accepted by God, would provoke Israel to jealousy, that they might repent and be saved (Romans 11:8-26). Israel has not been replaced by the Church; the Church is being used of God to change the hearts of the Jews so that they might come to know Christ. If one fails to understand that the Church does not replaced Israel, then the Tribulation becomes God's judgment upon the Church. The promise to the Church of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:10) and numerous passages telling the Church that Christ will return for it, have to do with comfort and not of warning (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; and 1 John 3:1-3). Christ is our blessed hope. He "paid it forward" at the cross. The sixth dispensation has no judgment for sin. Praise God.