Replacement Theology is the idea that the Church has replaced Israel.

It says Israel rejected Jesus; so all of God’s covenants, promises and blessings that were destined for Israel have been transferred to the Church.

I was away from my computer and unable to keep up with current events for a few days, so I decided to discuss one of the most important reasons why I believe Replacement Theology is wrong.

In Rom. 11:16b-27, Paul used the Olive Tree to represent Jews and the Wild Olive Tree to represent Christians.

The root of the Olive Tree represents the beginning of the Olive Tree (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

As the Olive Tree (Israel) grew, it put on branches (some lived; some died).

Living branches represent later generations of believing (spiritually alive) Jews (such as King David, Isaiah, Daniel, Mary, Peter, James, John, etc.) that grew out of the root.

Dead branches represent later generations of unbelieving (spiritually dead) Jews (such as Ahab, Caiaphas, some members of the Sanhedrin, etc.).

Below are my comments on Rom. 11:16b-27.

Rom. 11:16b “If the root be holy, so are the branches.” 

Paul wrote about two parts of a tree: the root and the branches. If the root is holy (Paul means set apart by God, not morals), the entire tree is holy (the entire tree is set apart by God). If Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were set apart by God, the Jews that came after them were set apart by God.

Rom. 11:17 “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;” 

Notice that Paul wrote about removing some (or part, not all) of the branches of the Olive Tree (Israel). Notice that he said nothing about destroying or replacing the root and the fatness of the Olive Tree. The unbelieving Jews are removed, but the believing Jews and the root and the fatness of the Olive Tree remain.

Paul referred to the Christians in Rome (Gentiles) as a wild Olive Tree. He said if they are grafted in among the branches that are not removed in such a way that they are nourished by the root and the good part of the Olive Tree

Rom. 11:18 “Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.”

Christians shouldn’t speak against Israel. Christians are not natural branches on the Olive Tree. Christians are not natural descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The root didn’t originate with Christians. The root brought forth Jesus. Jesus brought forth Christians by grace through faith.

Rom. 11:19 “Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” 

You will argue that the unbelieving Jews were broken off to make room for believing Gentiles.

Rom. 11:20 “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:”

Right! Some of the Jews were broken off because of their unbelief, and Christians were added because of their faith. So, don’t be seized with pride. Show respect for God. He didn’t add Christians to the Olive Tree because they are worthy. He added Christians to the Olive Tree because they accepted Jesus as their Saviour.

 Rom. 11:21 “For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” 

 Paul wanted the Romans to understand that if God didn’t spare the unbelieving Jews, they need to get their relationship with Him right or He won’t spare them.

 Rom. 11:22 “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

Notice two characteristics of God: Goodness and severity. God’s judgment of those that continue in unbelief is severe, but His judgment of those that continue in faith is good. Those that don’t accept His grace through faith will be cut off.

Rom. 11:23 “And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.”

Paul returned to the dead branches that were broken off. If the unbelieving Jews will become believers, God is able to graft them back onto the Olive Tree (restore them). Messianic Jews are being grafted back onto the Olive Tree today.

Rom. 11:24 “For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?”

This means if God can take unnatural branches from the Wild Olive Tree (Gentiles) that are not descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and graft them onto the good Olive Tree (Jews), it is reasonable to believe that He can easily put the natural branches back onto the good Olive Tree (restore the unbelieving Jews).

Rom. 11:25 “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

God doesn’t want ignorance in the Church that will cause members to fall into a trap of their own making. The blindness of Israel is temporary. It will end when the times of the Gentiles end (at the Second Coming of Jesus).

Rom. 11:26 “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:” 

This means: Because of what Paul has already said, the Gentiles in Rome should know that Israel as a whole (the Jews that believe in the God of Abraham) will be saved. This will fulfill the prophecy that a Deliverer (Jesus) will come out of Israel (a Jew) and save the Jews that turn from their unbelief (Isa. 59:20).

Rom. 11:27 “For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” 

 Paul reminded everyone that God made a covenant to take away Israel’s sins, receive the Jews as His people and to be their God (Jer. 31:33). He went on to add that “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11:29).

God promised that He would never go back on His covenant with Israel. All of Israel will be saved (not replaced) when their Deliverer takes away their sins.

In conclusion, the root or the beginning of the Olive Tree (Israel) was Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and the root was never replaced, nor was the fatness of the tree, nor were the good branches.

The only thing that was replaced was the bad branches (the spiritually dead, unbelieving Jews).

It would make no sense to graft branches from a Wild Olive Tree (Gentiles) onto a dead root and trunk (Israel). Branches will live if they are grafted onto a living root and trunk, but they will die if they are grafted onto a dead root and trunk.

The bottom line is that the Olive Tree was trimmed, not replaced, which means Replacement Theology is wrong.

Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com

 

On May 14, 2018, the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Jews were rejoicing in Jerusalem (dancing, praising God, etc.) and the Palestinians were rioting in Gaza (about 60 killed, more than 2,000 wounded, etc.).

A Christian friend called and asked, “What is the big deal?”

The big deal is that God has a plan for Jerusalem; and Satan is using Turkey, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinians and others to try to stop it.

The Bible mentions Jerusalem more than any other city on earth (over 800 times).

Prime Minister Netanyahu quoted Zech. 8:3 at the U.S. embassy Dedication Service. Here is Zech. 8:2-8 and what I think God said:

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zech. 8:2-8 KJV).

This has not been fulfilled. God’s jealousy means God doesn’t intend to let Satan have Jerusalem (Jesus was presented to God there; Jesus suffered and died at there; Jesus ascended into heaven at there; Jesus is coming back there; the Church began there, and more).

God’s plan calls for Jesus to dwell in Jerusalem (on the Temple Mount), for Him to rule and be worshiped there, and for His Word to go forth out of Jerusalem during the Millennium (Isa. 2:1-2; Psa. 132:13; Isa. 2:3). Satan wants to stop this.

Satan wants to be worshipped. He doesn’t want Jesus to dwell in Jerusalem, be worshiped and the Word of God to go all over the world. Satan doesn’t want to be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3).

To fulfill His plan, God said He would bring the Jews back to Israel from other countries. He would cause Jerusalem to be rebuilt as a dwelling place for Jews of all ages. He said the return of the Jews and the rebuilding will be marvelous in the eyes of the Jewish people (thus the rejoicing). But that is just a foretaste of the future because all Israel will be saved and He will be their God.

About 2% of the Jews are Messianic Jews and, as far as I know, they understand God’s plan. Some of the Jews are religious, but they wrongly think they can go back under the Law (rebuild the Temple, resume the animal sacrifices, etc.) and fulfill God’s plan. The remainder of the Jews are secular (not religious) and they have other ideas about what the nation should be doing.

Jerusalem occupies a unique position in two Bible timelines: the beginning and the end of the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) and the beginning and the end of the “seventieth week of Daniel” (the Tribulation Period; Dan. 9:24-27).

The “times of the Gentiles” began with the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in Old Testament times (Dan. 1:1-2; 2:31-45) and they will end when Gentiles can no longer influence the events in Jerusalem (at the Second Coming of Jesus (Zech. 14:1-4; Luke 21:24).

The “seventieth week of Daniel” (Tribulation Period) will begin when the Antichrist confirms a worthless treaty with Israel and many others for seven years of peace in Jerusalem and the Middle East (Dan. 9:27), and it will end when Jesus comes back to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-4).

The existence of Jerusalem was necessary to fulfill all of these prophecies plus another very important one, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12:2-3).

Dr. John Hagee delivered the closing benediction at the U.S. embassy service. Among other things, he said, “It was You oh LORD who gathered the exiles from the nations and brought them home again. It was You who made statehood possible. It was You who gave a miraculous victory in 1967 when Jerusalem was reopened to worshipers of all faiths.

“Jerusalem is the city of God.  Jerusalem is the heartbeat of Israel. Jerusalem is the place where Abraham placed his son on the altar of the Temple Mount and became the father of many nations. Jerusalem is where Isaiah and Jeremiah penned principles of righteousness that became the moral foundations of western civilization. Jerusalem is where Messiah will come and establish a kingdom that will never end.”

He added, “Let the word go forth from Jerusalem today that ‘Israel lives.’ Shout it from the housetops that ‘Israel lives.’ Let every Islamic terrorist hear this message: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it be heard in the halls of the United Nations: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it echo down the halls of the presidential palace in Iran: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it be known to all men that ‘Israel lives’ because He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.”

Just prior to Dr. Hagee’s words, Prime Min. Netanyahu told the gathered dignitaries they had come “at a time when Israel is a rising power in the world.”

That reminds me of something Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Matt. 24:32-33).

The fig tree (Israel) is putting forth leaves. It is a rising power. The U.S. has moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Two more nations (Guatemala and Paraguay) followed suit before the week was over.

On Monday, May 14, 2018, Gaza was in turmoil. Hamas terrorists and Palestinians were being killed. Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan recalled his ambassadors from the U.S. and Israel.

On Wednesday, Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan said, “We will continue to be with our Palestinian siblings not only with our hearts, but with all our resources.” He added, “We will never allow Jerusalem to be stolen by Israel.”

On Thursday, a Turkish newspaper with ties to Mr. Erdogan was calling for the creation of an Islamic army to attack Israel, and Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Palestine will be liberated from the enemies and Jerusalem will be its capital.”

God’s kingdom on earth is approaching. The Jews are rejoicing. Satan is raging. Israel’s enemies are deceived. Jerusalem is a burdensome stone.

Israel is not trying to steal Jerusalem from the Palestinians. Satan is trying to steal Jerusalem from God. And He has already assured us that we win.

Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com