The following articles are printed with the permission of Christian Friends of Israel:  https://www.cfi.org.uk/

1. Has the Church replaced Israel in God's purposes?

2   Brief facts about Israel

In 1948, against earlier expectation, and after nearly two thousand years of exile, the nation of Israel was reborn. In 1967 it regained its sovereignty over its ancient capital Jerusalem. Over and over again the Old Testament prophets tell us that the history of the Jews will be unlike the history of any other people, and that towards the end of time, after great suffering, they will return to the Promised Land, where they will become the centre of hostility. This hostility will affect the whole world. Eventually God will reconcile them to their Messiah, cleanse them from their sin, judge the nations who have hated them, and make them a blessing to all peoples (Isaiah 43:49; Jeremiah 30-33; Ezekiel 36-39; Zechariah 12-13, etc). We shall see that the New Testament confirms this Old Testament promise. Events this century seem to be fulfilling these prophecies. But many Christians have been taught that God’s purposes for Israel were finished when they rejected Christ, so that the Church is now the true Israel. A superficial reading of the New Testament has led many to give the answer ‘Yes’ to the question at the head of this article – “HAS THE CHURCH REPLACED ISRAEL IN GOD'S PURPOSES?” They would rightly note the following New Testament teaching:

Through the preaching of the Apostles in the power of the Holy Spirit Gentiles were brought to Christ and so became spiritual descendants of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-9). Even though they were not physically circumcised, they became what Paul calls the ‘circumcision’ (Philippians 3:2-3; Romans 2:25-29; Colossians 2:11, etc). By this Paul meant that the gospel had cut sin from the heart. This is the true “circumcision of the heart” that matters in God’s eyes. Even the Hebrew Scriptures give the same teaching (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 9:26; Ezekiel 44:7ff). The Gentiles were grafted into Israel so that the Church began to inherit the many spiritual blessings that God had promised Israel of old. (Romans 11:17-19). The Apostle Peter uses the ancient titles given to Israel and applies them to the Church:

You are a Chosen People, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People belonging to God… 1 Peter 2:9. (Compare these titles with: Isaiah 43:10&20; 44:1-2; 61:6; Deuteronomy 4:20; 7:6; 14:2 and many others.) The New Testament, especially the Apostle Paul, makes it quite clear that the way of salvation is by ‘faith’ and not the works of the Jewish law. He tells us that this is also the teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) and is not a new teaching that begins with the New Testament. (Romans 2-4 and the whole of the letter to the Galatians.)

DOES ALL THIS MEAN THAT ISRAEL WHO REJECTED JESUS HAS

LOST ITS PLACE IN GOD'S PURPOSES?

This is the question that so exercised the mind of Paul in his letter to the Romans (Romans 2:28-3:4; 11:1, 11). Many Christian people give the answer “Yes” to this question. However, Paul’s answer is a very definite “No”. It is true that the Church, being grafted into Israel, does inherit much that was purposed for Israel but that does not mean that Israel is now cast aside.

WHY NOT?

FIRSTLY, God cannot cast off the very people through whom His word and salvation have come to the world.

SECONDLY, it was Jewish rejection of Jesus that gave us the cross by which we are saved.

They were disobedient for our sake!

WHAT ABOUT THE LAND:

DOES GOD STILL HAVE A PURPOSE FOR THAT?

Then the Lord will scatter you among the nations, from one end of the earth to the other.

There you will worship other gods – gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your

fathers have known. Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the

sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing,

and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both day and

night, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and

in the evening, ‘If only it were morning!’ –because of the terror that will fill your hearts

and the sights that your eyes will see. (Deuteronomy 28:64-67 NIV)

Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and

gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been

banished to the most distant lands under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will

gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your

fathers, and you will take possession of it. (Deuteronomy 30:3-5 NIV)

These are the principles laid down in the book of the Law and therefore do not refer only to this or that event in the history of Israel. They describe God’s dealing with Israel in all its history. They are expounded and applied over and over again in the Hebrew prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zechariah, etc.). Indeed, they are a major theme of most of the prophets. It may be objected that this principle of regathering is usually linked, in the prophetic writings, to Israel’s repentance and spiritual return to the Lord. Indeed, just before the words of Moses quoted above, Moses tells the Israelites that the restoration to the Land is bound up with their return to the Lord. It is true one cannot separate the return to the Land from the return to the Lord. Some Christians interpret this to mean that the Jews must accept Christ before God will restore them to their land. They conclude then that the present restoration to their ancient country is purely of man’s doing and has nothing to do with God’s special purposes for Israel. How are we to respond to this?

Firstly, we need to know that in the past 1,500 years, Christendom has been guilty of the terrible persecution and murder of millions of Jews. This has surely hidden the real Jesus from them.

Secondly, although Israel’s return to the land is usually linked to their return to the Lord it must not be interpreted to mean that God’s purposes are conditional on good behaviour. (If they were there would be no hope for any part of the world, or any hope for any of us personally – it is by grace that we are saved.) Jeremiah 31 is one of those many marvellous passages that speak of Israel’s restoration and then towards the end of the chapter we read these words:

Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be

searched out will I reject the descendants of Israel because of all they have done, declares

the LORD. (Verse 37)

It is true, as we have seen, that the full blessings of the covenant were dependent upon Israel’s behaviour but the fulfilment of His purposes through them and their land is not dependent upon them at all. These purposes extend to the end of time and belong to God’s sovereign purposes that cannot be thwarted by man’s folly. (Romans 3:3-4) Thirdly, in the prophetic writings, repentance does not always precede restoration to the land. In some passages it appears as if repentance precedes restoration to the land (e.g. Deuteronomy 30), but in other passages (e.g. Ezekiel 36) repentance appears to follow restoration to the land. The truth is that return to the Lord and return to the Land belong to one great movement in God’s sovereign purposes. We cannot say that one must come before the other. Actually there is in Israel today a great searching of the Scriptures and a growing expectation of the coming of the Messiah. Also, for the first time in 1900 years, there is a rapidly growing group of Jews who do believe in Jesus. Although they are still a relatively small group, and many are persecuted by some members of the ultra-orthodox community, they can no longer be ignored as insignificant. But now to a very important question: does the New Testament have anything to say about the principles of scattering and regathering that Moses spoke of or do these principles apply only to Old Testament times? In Luke 21:20-24 we read:

When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is

near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains and let those in the city get

out... FOR THIS IS THE TIME OF PUNISHMENT IN FULFILMENT OF ALL

THAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN... They will fall by the sword and be taken as prisoners to

all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles UNTIL THE TIMES OF THE

GENTILES ARE FULFILLED.

This passage tells us that the coming scattering of Israel is the true fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. We therefore conclude that these Old Testament prophecies cannot have referred only to the Babylonian exile hundreds of years before Christ! That means that the Old Testament prophecies about the restoration after exile must also refer to events after Christ as well as events before His time on earth. This is confirmed by the last words in the above quote which show us that the coming Jewish exile from Jerusalem is not forever. There is also another very interesting word from our Lord found in Matthew 24:34-35:

I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have

happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Only if these decrees (the decrees that govern the heavens and the earth) vanish from my

sight will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me. Only if the

heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out

will I reject the descendants of Israel because of all they have done.

The Greek version of the Old Testament is called the Septuagint, and it was widely used by the Jews at the time of Jesus. The Septuagint word for ‘descendants’ in Jeremiah 31 is the very same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 24, and which in the New Testament is translated ‘generation’ from the Greek. In the Greek it is the word ‘genea’ and literally means ‘family’, ‘race’ or ‘generation’. It seems to me that Jesus is doing what He does over and over again in His teaching, namely quoting or paraphrasing the Old Testament Scriptures. In this particular case in saying, “this generation will not pass away”, He is confirming the promise given through Jeremiah, that in spite of all the Jews have done wrong, God will preserve them to the end of the world. Jeremiah makes this prophecy in the context of God’s pledge to bring the Jews back to the Promised Land near the end of the age and Jesus sets His seal on it.

BUT WHY SHOULD THE LAND BE SIGNIFICANT IN GOD’S PURPOSES? In the original creation, God placed man in a particular relationship with nature. Man’s sin not only broke the relationship between himself and God, but also between himself and the land. “Cursed be the ground because of you”. Man was expelled from the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life. At the end of the Bible in Revelation 22 we read of Man restored to the Tree of Life. Surely the process of Israel’s expulsion from, and restoration, to the Promised Land are signs of God’s final purposes in redemption. These include His purpose to redeem nature from the curse brought upon it. Genesis 3:17-19 tells us of the severed connection between man and nature which God wishes to heal. (See Romans 8:19-22) As we said earlier, this means that God not only needs a Chosen People to represent in special intensity, all mankind, but also a Promised Land to show His concern for all lands. Over and over again the Scriptures teach us that when the Jews are away from their land it will turn into a wasteland but when they return the desert will bloom again, bearing witness to that great re-creation of nature at the end of the age!

WHAT ABOUT JUSTICE FOR THE PALESTINIAN ARABS?

1. The Middle East conflict is not just between Israel and the Palestinians, but has always been between Israel and the vast Muslim world, i.e. before there was a problem of“occupied territories” or refugees.

2. The majority of Israeli Jews are of Middle Eastern, not European descent.

3. Arab Nationalism and the PLO have always claimed that the Palestinians belong to the one ‘Arab Nation’ that covers the whole Middle East. (See the PLO Covenant)

4. The Arabs have 20 states of their own. It is absurd then to claim that the Jews are to blame for the fact that the Palestinians have no homeland. All the Jews have ever wanted is just one little one for themselves. (Most Arab nations remain violently hostile to Israel’s very existence).

5. The Arab nations are much larger than even the USA and have long-term oil supplies. Israel is as small as one of the small states of America. It is about the size of Wales and has had no oil.

6. The cause of the Palestinian refugee problem was war. The wars were started by the vast and wealthy Arab nations with the sole intention of wiping Israel off the map. During these wars some Palestinians Arabs suffered, but it was Arab nations which initiated the wars.

7. There is no other nation in world history that has survived such overwhelming danger and hatred as Israel today. Even though they may react violently and unjustly towards the Arab rioters in their midst, I doubt whether any other nation would act with more restraint, given only a fraction of the danger to its very existence. (If it were to withdraw to its pre-1967 boundaries it would be only nine miles wide at its middle populated area.)

8. Although God may indeed judge unjust Israeli actions, other nations will have to face similar judgement for far, far greater injustices committed with much, much less excuse. (One has only to consider Israel’s neighbours to realise this, never mind much of the rest of the world.)

POSTSCRIPT

1. LIBERAL THEOLOGY

The extraordinary history of Israel challenges the liberal belief that the Bible is simply an ancient source book of religious attitudes. In the history of Israel we are brought face to face with the Living God who really does act within the history of nations, sifting the consciences of all peoples.

2. TRIUMPHALIST THEOLOGIES

These see a particular ‘Christian’ group as having special light so that it is not just another humble denomination but God’s specially favoured group. The continuing remarkable history of the Jews demonstrates that God is working His purposes out in other ways as well, and their group is not as special as they like to think. When, as the Bible promises us, Israel does eventually return to its Messiah it will not only mean a great repentance for them but also for the whole Church. We have failed to heed the warning that Paul gives us in Romans 11 when he tells us we must not be conceited about Jewish unbelief. In fact he tells us that we must make them envious. Our failure to listen to Paul's warning is due to our shallow understanding of the very nature of the Atonement in God’s eternal purposes. It is this more than anything else that puts a barrier between Jesus and His ancient people Israel. However, God is surely working His purposes out in most wonderful ways. With or without the Church He will bring Israel back to Himself. When that great day comes may we be those who will be found, not working against Him, but with Him. His glorious plan is to re-unite heaven and earth through His unworthy, but chosen people Israel when they are brought back to the Messiah, and so, in union with a renewed Church, finally fulfil their destiny.

CFI Communications, PO Box 2687, Eastbourne, BN22 7LZ

Tel: 0845 230 3067 (local rate) or 01323 410810 • Fax: 01323 410211

Prayerline: 0845 230 3068 (local rate) or 01323 439840

email. info@cfi.org.uk • website. www.cfi.org.uk

Registered Charity no. 1101899

BRIEF FACTS ABOUT ISRAEL

NATIONHOOD  AND  JERUSALEM

Israel became a nation in 1312 BC, two thousand years before the rise of Islam. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of themodern State of Israel. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BC the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 CE lasted no more than 22 years. For over 3,300 years Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, andArab leaders did not come to visit. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. KingDavid founded the city of Jerusalem.Mohammed never came to Jerusalem. Jews pray facing Jerusalem.Muslims pray facingMecca.

ARAB AND JEWISH REFUGEES

In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee fromArab lands due toArab brutality, persecution and pogroms. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees fromArab lands is estimated to be roughly the same. Arab refugees were intentionally not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vastArab territory. Out of the 100million refugees sinceWorldWar II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples’ lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than Wales.

THEARAB – ISRAELI CONFLICT

The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won. Fatah has not removed the call for the destruction of the State of Israel from its constitution. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.

U.N.   RECORD ON  ISRAEL  AND  THE  ARABS

Of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97were directed against Israel. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel. The U.N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians. TheU.N.was silentwhile the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

PALESTINIAN  HISTORY

The official Palestine Ministry of Information has undertaken a complete re-write of the history of Jerusalem. It is described as “an old Arab city built 5,000 years ago over (Al Dohor) hill known today as Al Tur, overlooking Silwan village south-east of Al-AqsaMosque”. The chronology of the city begins:

JebusiteArabs 4500BC

Canaanite Arabs 2500 BC

Israelites (when conquered byKingDavid) 1000 BC.

Under ‘TheWesternWall’we find:

“The Al-BoraqWall: It is part of the exterior facade of the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque. ‘AIBoraq’ is the name of the creature on which Prophet Mohammed made his ascension to heaven and whichwas tied to thiswall,which is called by Jews the ‘Wailing Wall’. “Some Orthodox religious Jews consider it as a holy place for them, and claim that the wall is part of their temple which all historic studies and archaeological excavations have failed to find any proof for such a claim.” “In order to undermine the foundations of Al-AqsaMosque, the Israeli government has converted it into a religious shrine for Jews, prohibiting non-Jews to enter it, except for a limited number of tourists”.

CFI Communications, PO Box 2687, Eastbourne, BN22 7LZ

Tel: 0845 230 3067 (local rate) or 01323 410810 • Fax: 01323 410211

Prayerline: 0845 230 3068 (local rate) or 01323 439840

email: info@cfi.org.uk  •  website: www.cfi.org.uk

Registered Charity no. 1101899