Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
Friends - 2011-05-29
I came across this article yesterday on the Net. Marie and I concur. Trust you too might obtain insight, motivation and something to share - Jim & Marie
TITLE: THE SIN OF ANTISEMITISM WITHIN THE CHURCH Subtitle: Even Though "Replacement Theology" Is Believed And Taught By Many Genuine Christian Brethren, We Must Strongly Disagree With The Position! In case you may not be familiar with the term "replacement theology," it refers to a doctrine first formulated within Roman Catholicism that states the Church has replaced Israel and God will never again favor them because of their sin. (Moslems have now adopted the doctrine and claim that they have replaced both Israel and the Church!) This belief was carried over into early Protestantism and is still held by many godly men today. But we must insist that the position is not only illogical according to Scripture, but has been rendered totally impotent by Israel’s rebirth as a modern nation—and their miraculousdeliverance to date.
We often receive email from those who disagree with our position on Israel and unfortunately many share a common thread: a thinly veiled hatred for Jews and "Zionism." Most try to justify their disdain by pointing to the numbers of Jews involved in New World Order-related positions of power and influence, such as banking and critical government posts. And there is no denying that in spite of their relatively small population numbers, Jews hold an inordinately large percentage of such sensitive positions. But can this not be at least partially attributed to their innate genius as a people and not necessarily political subterfuge? Even though it is obvious that some Jews are evil and up to no good, this is equally true of all other groups of people and to denounce an entire race because of the sins of a few is decidedly unchristian. We need to face an unpleasant truth—the "bottom line" reason behind most anti-Semitism is not necessarily attributable to their forefather’s rejection and murder of Jesus Christ, but to the hellish supernatural hatred of them by Satan himself! Even a cursory examination of the facts will reveal that no other explanation makes any sense in light of the constant and never ending struggle these poor people face, just to try survive and live at peace in the world. Most WASP’s (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) have European roots, but are we blamed for atrocities committed by the various nations of origin? No! But the connection between Jews and Israel is another story, because the world knows of the historical and unshakeable bond that exists between all true Jews and their ancient homeland. So when modern day Israel is forced to take drastic measures in response to those who actively seek her extinction, all Jews around the world are forced to shoulder part of the blame because of their political/religious sympathies toward Zionism—the movement to restore Israel as a sovereign nation among equals. Yet no other ethnic group on the face of the earth has a more legitimate claim to their land than do the Jews—attested to by ancient manuscripts containing detailed land entitlements many centuries older than the Moslem faith now held by those who adamantly insist that the land belongs to them instead. And to show how petty and ridiculous the so-called "Palestinian" claims really are, many different writers have observed that up until Israel was reestablished as a nation, the Arabs and other Moslems of the area cared little for the land or for Jerusalem—the city that now all of a sudden has become the "third holiest site of Islam." This ages-old feud between distant cousins continues to produce childish behavior on both sides, but like them or not—Israel’s claim to the land is far stronger than is the case with those who dispute it.
So what about the theological position that says God has permanently cast Israel aside? We acknowledge the fact that God has moved Israel aside and "grafted" the Church into the olive tree where the natural branches were broken off—to use the apostle Paul’s illustration of Romans 11. The Church today has become spiritual Israel and, as such, receives blessings formerly enjoyed by that nation and people. But for the life of me I cannot understand how otherwise good and godly men can overlook the fact that the root of that olive tree is still alive and supporting the Church, which is comprised of both wild branches (Gentile believers) and the natural branches (saved Jews) grafted back into it. It is my understanding that grafting desired shoots into hearty roots (often that of a briar), which sustain the somewhat delicate plants, is the way that most varieties of expensive roses are developed in nurseries. And as rose growers can tell you, very often when the rose graft dies the briar sprouts and grows! In no way does the graft overpower the root and change its essential characteristics. It started out a briar and remains a briar—tenaciously so! In like manner spiritual Israel is the root to which the Church has been grafted and when the Gentile "wild branches" (along with the natural branches—saved Jews) of the Church are removed at the rapture, the natural olive tree is going to grow again. While the grafted elements are in place and healthy, all necessary nutrients are supplied by the root and no natural growth is experienced. But when the graft is removed, these same nutrients are once again utilized to produce new growth consistent with the nature of the root. And it seems fairly obvious to me that the Holy Spirit used Paul’s illustration of grafting to establish this fundamental point!
What sayeth the Scriptures? Romans chapter eleven begins with Paul asking, "Hath God cast away His people?" His answer was emphatic: "God forbid!" Verse 5 goes on to point out that "at this time (the Church Age) there is a remnant according to the election of grace." During this age of grace, the remnant of elect Jewish believers is comprised of those natural branches grafted back in because of their belief in Christ (verse 23). But do not be confused by the point that they are part of the graft—the Church—because Israel under the Law (Judaism as God intended it and as was practiced by Jesus Christ)is still the spiritual root upon which the Church is grafted and through which it is nourished.
Someone has aptly said, "The Old Testament is the New concealed, and the New Testament is the Old revealed!" God has made unconditional promises to Israel that have not yet been fulfilled and He must do so in order to maintain His Personal Holiness and Righteousness.
Look at Romans eleven, verses 11 and 12, where we find the following:
"So I ask, Have they stumbled so as to fall—to their utter spiritual ruin, irretrievably? By no means! But through their false step and transgression salvation [has come] to the Gentiles, so as to arouse Israel [to see and feel what they forfeited] and so to make them jealous. Now if their stumbling—their lapse, their transgression—has so enriched the world [at large], and if [Israel’s] failure means such riches for the Gentiles, think what an enrichment and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement" (Parallel KJV/Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
Notice that Paul flatly states that Israel has not suffered eternal spiritual ruin and will be fully reinstated at some time in the future. Other Bible teaching makes it clear that this reinstatement will occur at some point prior to the millennial reign of Christ.
Then when we pick up the narrative again at verse 25, Paul says:
"Lest you be self-opinionated—wise in your own conceits—I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] untilthe full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant—My agreement—with them when I shall take away their sins. From the point of view of the Gospel (good news) they [the Jews, at present] are enemies [of God], which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point of view of God’s choice—of election, of divine selection—they are still the beloved [dear to Him] for the sake of their forefathers. *For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable—He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call. Just as you were once disobedient and rebellious toward God but now have obtained [His] mercy, through their disobedience, so they also now are being disobedient (when you are receiving mercy, that they in turn may one day share the mercy [through you as messengers of the Gospel to them] which has been shown to you). Thus through the mercy you are enjoying, they may now also receive mercy. For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all [alike]" (Parallel KJV/Amplified Bible, (*) and emphasis mine).
*God made unconditional covenants with the forefathers of the nation of Israel—covenants promising such things as their possessing all of the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and this is yet unfulfilled. He has promised them that their Messiah will rule and reign over them from Jerusalem, seated on the throne of David during a "golden age" we call the millennium and this certainly has not been fulfilled.
It is apparent from their writings that many of the early Church fathers who held to the replacement position were influenced by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D.70. And it was a generally accepted opinion among them that Israel would never again exist as a nation. Edward Gibbon, the author of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," dogmatically declared that the Jews, their nation, and their worship had been forever banned from Jerusalem and its environs! Martin Luther, the catalyst behind the Protestant Reformation, was of the same opinion and overtly anti-Semitic in some of his views. And, sad to say, this mind-set has been passed on to others in the Church through their teachings. So for the better part of 2000 years, the deplorable situation of the Jews in and around Jerusalem tended to reinforce this belief, but in 1948 miracles began to happen—miracles that are stupendous, but yet obviously not fully understood or appreciated by all believers in Christ. On May 14, 1948 Israel came back from among the dead, as it were, and became a nation once again—an event totally unparalleled in all of human history! Think about it—the Jews had not enjoyed the benefit of being a complete nation and governing themselves since before 500 B.C.!!! Judea, under the Maccabees, gained a brief time of independence at about 100 B.C., but was soon conquered by the Romans. Over 2500 years of political and economic non-existence were ended on that fateful day in 1948—something no other defunct nation has ever achieved, before or since! And then, shortly after their political rebirth, it was decided that their ancient Hebrew language should be revived as well. Hebrew had not been spoken by anyone other than a very few over the intervening years and to attempt to make it the official language of the nation was a daunting task! (And while we are on the subject, we need to understand that Hebrew was not spoken by the public and only understood by a few scholars at the time of Christ. Aramaic and Greek were the languages of the common folk, with Latin being the official language of their Roman conquerors). But Hebrew is now the official language of Israel and in reviving this "dead language," another notable miracle took place, because it had never been done before and certainly not on a nation-wide scale! Latin, for instance, has ceased to exist as a spoken language and been relegated to academia, where it is still employed in such things as scientific nomenclature.
Additionally, would anyone be so brash as to try to deny that God has intervened on behalf of modern Israel in giving her one military victory after another against impossible odds? Quite frankly, I challenge a genuine Christian to look me straight in the eye and claim otherwise! Humanly speaking, there is no way that tiny nation should have survived any one of the wars waged against them by their Arab neighbors of the Middle East—let alone four of them between 1948 and 1973! The 1948 war for independence pitted some 45 million Arabs against approximately 64,000 Jews—Yet, when the dust settled about two years later, Israel had won an astounding victory. They were outnumbered militarily 40 to1, by population 100 to1, by equipment 1000 to1 and in land area 5,000 to1, but they came out on top.
In the Sinai War, Israel did not wait to be attacked and on October 29, 1956 launched her own preemptive strike. By the time the action ceased on November 5, the Arabs had lost between 2-3 thousand men killed and 5,600 taken prisoner. Israel lost 171 dead, 600 wounded, and only 4 taken prisoner.
The "Six Day War" began on June 5, 1967 and ended June 10th. In only six days, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan were defeated—with Egypt taking the brunt of it. Russia had poured multiplied billions of dollars worth of military hardware into these countries and backed them with their own technicians, but Israel all but completely destroyed their combined air forces on the first day! Then in the days that followed, they systematically humiliated not only the enemies surrounding them, but Russia as well in that their technology was proven inferior. Egypt suffered huge losses with seven divisions totaling between 80,000 to100,000 men being completely routed or killed. Their entire force of 600-700 tanks supplied by the Soviets was destroyed, but Israel lost only 679 killed and 2,563 wounded.
The "Yom Kippur" War of 1973 was, in many respects, the most astounding of all in that Israel was caught totally off-guard and came closer to defeat than had been the case in any of the other wars. On Saturday (The Jewish Sabbath—and in this case the holiest day of the year—the Day of Atonement, in which observant Jews fasted for a full 24 hours), Israel was simultaneously attacked by Egypt from the South and Syria from the North in what turned out to be the largest conventional war in terms of armored forces since WWII. Some 5000 tanks were employed on both sides—a force larger than Hitler had used in invading Russia and more than the total numbers owned by Britain and France combined! Over a million men entered the fight—838,000 Arabs against 275,000 Jews. But even though Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel at the time, feared during those dark days that they would be defeated, when it was all over Israel had once again snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat. But they paid a much higher price in terms of lives, losing over 4,000 soldiers in battles that cost their enemies over 15,000 casualties.
And at this very hour, she is teetering on the brink of yet another war and her enemies are doing everything in their power to try to influence world opinion against her. Are Christians going to be deceived into believing that these people—although blinded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and most of them secular to the core—are damned of God as a nation, never to be blessed again? As Paul says, "God forbid!" Brothers and sisters in Christ can and do disagree on many doctrinal issues—but I find it totally unbelievable that a genuinely born again, blood washed child of God could be so blind as not to see Jehovah’s hand of protection and intent at work where His unfaithful Old Testament wife is concerned. Just look at the evidence, because it speaks for itself!
If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.
We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order—Kingdom of Antichrist—in their daily news.
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