Posts
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Jesus- The True Israel
http://exiledpreacher.blogspot.com/2009/11/jesus-as-true-israel-in-gospel.html
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Support for Israel
I have heard so many times the statement being made that we as a nation must support the nation of Israel because they are God's chosen people and that our own survival as a nation depends directly on how we support the nation Israel. But is that statement or idea true? Is it supported by scripture?
The proponents of the idea derive their evidence from the promise of God made to Abraham, the father of Israel. "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you."
But aren't we blessed through Christ? (Ephesians 1:3-14) Are nations not blessed as they follow Christ and not just because they support national Israel? Would Christ bless that unbelieving nation if he were to walk there now? Did he not curse them?
(Compare Isaiah 5:7 to Matthew 21:33-43 context [Lk 20:9-19; John 15:1-10]; Acts 3:17-23)
So who should our nation support/bless? Who are Abraham's true descendants according to the scriptures? (Rom 4; Gal 3-4)
I don't want anyone to think I'm against ethnic Israel. I think we should be loving them to Christ just like we should for every ethnic group but let's not deceive ourselves to think they are God's chosen people today just because they were His chosen before calvary. All of true Israel was redeemed on that day through that blood. Sure more have been added all through history since then. Our purpose today is be loving peacemakers for Christ. We are his ambassadors to them and the world to convince them that they can be at peace with God and with their neighbors as they learn the forgiveness that comes through Christ. We are never told to support huge zionist political movements but we should be supporting vast missionary/ambassador movements that can help change lives and thereby change nations. Don't be deceived. The US government will never have the solution to the middle east problems. Only Jesus can make people willing to forgive one another and live together in peace. When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we must have a missionary movement in mind. True peace can only come through Jesus-the prince of peace.
The proponents of the idea derive their evidence from the promise of God made to Abraham, the father of Israel. "I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you."
But aren't we blessed through Christ? (Ephesians 1:3-14) Are nations not blessed as they follow Christ and not just because they support national Israel? Would Christ bless that unbelieving nation if he were to walk there now? Did he not curse them?
(Compare Isaiah 5:7 to Matthew 21:33-43 context [Lk 20:9-19; John 15:1-10]; Acts 3:17-23)
So who should our nation support/bless? Who are Abraham's true descendants according to the scriptures? (Rom 4; Gal 3-4)
I don't want anyone to think I'm against ethnic Israel. I think we should be loving them to Christ just like we should for every ethnic group but let's not deceive ourselves to think they are God's chosen people today just because they were His chosen before calvary. All of true Israel was redeemed on that day through that blood. Sure more have been added all through history since then. Our purpose today is be loving peacemakers for Christ. We are his ambassadors to them and the world to convince them that they can be at peace with God and with their neighbors as they learn the forgiveness that comes through Christ. We are never told to support huge zionist political movements but we should be supporting vast missionary/ambassador movements that can help change lives and thereby change nations. Don't be deceived. The US government will never have the solution to the middle east problems. Only Jesus can make people willing to forgive one another and live together in peace. When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem we must have a missionary movement in mind. True peace can only come through Jesus-the prince of peace.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Dispensation NOT
I have found it difficult to discus "Replacement Theology" with dispensationalists due to their own strict separation of the church from Israel thinking. In their minds they are two completely separate entities. In the scriptures however they have been combined. I will attempt to demonstrate how this took place.
First of all, the promises to Israel in the covenants were never meant for the unbelievers of that nation. Only curses pertain to unbelievers. Blessings are for believers only. However, these lines are blurred somewhat in ancient Israel because God is merciful and gracious. "All" the promises made to the Old Testament saints will be fulfilled to those saints, however, those promises can not be fulfilled under the conditions of the Old Covenant. Those saints must come into the New Covenant under the blood of Christ to receive their everlasting promises. That happened when Christ redeemed Israel on the cross. He fulfilled their hopes of redemption. It was a redeemed Israel that the Holy Spirit came to at Pentecost fulfilling the New Covenant promise of God to send His Spirit. Obviously not all ethnic Israel was saved nor did they all receive the Holy Spirit. Only the remnant was saved. Many more were added after Pentecost but the majority remained unbelieving. The believers were still Israel even after 70AD. Only the unbelievers were cut off (Acts 3:23) from Israel. Most of their religious and political leaders had rejected Jesus and they were therefore cut off from Israel. (John 11:49-53)
Then come the gentile believers who we learn from Romans 11:17 were grafted in "among" the believers of Israel. Notice in this passage that only the unbelievers are broken off and believing gentiles "replaced" the unbelievers of Israel. The tree is still Israel even though now it has masses of believing gentiles (perhaps even as many as the sands on the seashore). But it's still Israel! Israel was never rejected or set aside as some say. It still exist in exile (we are aliens and strangers in this world) in a spiritual form for now until Christ returns but when he returns all the promises to all the saints including the "former" Old Testament saints will be fulfilled in Christ's Kingdom on the renewed earth.
First of all, the promises to Israel in the covenants were never meant for the unbelievers of that nation. Only curses pertain to unbelievers. Blessings are for believers only. However, these lines are blurred somewhat in ancient Israel because God is merciful and gracious. "All" the promises made to the Old Testament saints will be fulfilled to those saints, however, those promises can not be fulfilled under the conditions of the Old Covenant. Those saints must come into the New Covenant under the blood of Christ to receive their everlasting promises. That happened when Christ redeemed Israel on the cross. He fulfilled their hopes of redemption. It was a redeemed Israel that the Holy Spirit came to at Pentecost fulfilling the New Covenant promise of God to send His Spirit. Obviously not all ethnic Israel was saved nor did they all receive the Holy Spirit. Only the remnant was saved. Many more were added after Pentecost but the majority remained unbelieving. The believers were still Israel even after 70AD. Only the unbelievers were cut off (Acts 3:23) from Israel. Most of their religious and political leaders had rejected Jesus and they were therefore cut off from Israel. (John 11:49-53)
Then come the gentile believers who we learn from Romans 11:17 were grafted in "among" the believers of Israel. Notice in this passage that only the unbelievers are broken off and believing gentiles "replaced" the unbelievers of Israel. The tree is still Israel even though now it has masses of believing gentiles (perhaps even as many as the sands on the seashore). But it's still Israel! Israel was never rejected or set aside as some say. It still exist in exile (we are aliens and strangers in this world) in a spiritual form for now until Christ returns but when he returns all the promises to all the saints including the "former" Old Testament saints will be fulfilled in Christ's Kingdom on the renewed earth.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Unbelieving Jews are NOT the People of God
Acts 3:17-23 is very clear. Any Jew or Israelite who has rejected Jesus Christ the Messiah has been "completely cut off from among his people". They are not God's Chosen People if they reject Christ.
Israel was never rejected or set aside as some say. Israel was redeemed by Christ on the cross (John 11:49-53). The living believers of redeemed Israel are where the church began. It was still Israel. Even after the destruction of the physical nation of Israel the believers of Israel were still Israel (in exile). It was no longer based on physical birth for citizenship. Citizenship was based in Christ- the true Israel. We believing gentiles came in through Him as Romans 11:17 talks about how we have been grafted in "among" them.
This is not meant to say that the Jews in present day Israel can not become the People of God again. As soon as any of them repent and humbly ask God to forgive them through Jesus' blood, He will instantly assign them a place again among the people of God. He wants to save anyone who will recognize Him and choose to love Him.
Israel was never rejected or set aside as some say. Israel was redeemed by Christ on the cross (John 11:49-53). The living believers of redeemed Israel are where the church began. It was still Israel. Even after the destruction of the physical nation of Israel the believers of Israel were still Israel (in exile). It was no longer based on physical birth for citizenship. Citizenship was based in Christ- the true Israel. We believing gentiles came in through Him as Romans 11:17 talks about how we have been grafted in "among" them.
This is not meant to say that the Jews in present day Israel can not become the People of God again. As soon as any of them repent and humbly ask God to forgive them through Jesus' blood, He will instantly assign them a place again among the people of God. He wants to save anyone who will recognize Him and choose to love Him.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Dispensationalism's Eclipse of Christ
http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/06/dispensationalism_and_the_ecli_1.php
Monday, August 3, 2009
Israel and Typology in Matthew’s Gospel
Israel and Typology in Matthew’s Gospel
by Nicholas T. Batzig 7 March 2009 3 Comments
It is probable that the whole of Matthew’s Gospel is a typological fulfillment of Israel’s history. This means, of course, that all of Christ’s life is the chronological anti-type of Israel’s experience. Here is a brief explanation:
Matthew opens with the words: “The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Why only mention David and Abraham? Simply put, they were the two Israelitish covenant heads who were organically related to Christ. Jesus did not come from Moses’ seed, but he did come from Abraham and David. Note also the way that Matthew mentions David first, then Abraham. As the genealogy unfolds he starts with Abraham, moves to David, goes through the exile and finally comes to the fulfillment of the promises. This structure sets the grid for understanding Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew could have chosen to take the genealogy back to Noah and Adam (as Luke chooses to do) but it appears that he wanted to stop at Abraham to explain the Israel/Christ typology. This is further developed by the reference to Hosea 11:2 in Matthew 2, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Then by the baptism, the temptation in the wilderness, the Sermon on the Mount, the feeding of the multitudes, the references to David and Solomon, the pronouncement of ‘woes’ on the leaders of Israel, and His death on the cross (i.e. the great exile).
In summary, Jesus, the Son of Abraham, is therefore the true Israel. He goes down into Egypt, comes up from Egypt, passes through the waters (see 1 Cor. 10:1-2 for a reference to the crossing of the sea as baptism), goes into the wilderness, goes up on the mountain to deliver the law, miraculously multiplies bread from heaven, parallels the life of David and his mighty men when he walks through the grain fields on the Sabbath with His disciples, parallels the life of Solomon with His wisdom and His entry into Jerusalem on a lowly animal, parallels the ministry of the prophets by pronouncing ‘woes’ on the rulers of Israel, and is finally cut off (i.e. exiled)from the land of the living, at the cross, on account of disobedience–i.e. He is made a curse because of the disobedience of His people.
This is some of the strongest evidence that Jesus was the true Israel, God’s Son who obeyed in every way that Israel disobeyed, and who, by His obedience merited the blessings that Israel forfeited by its disobedience. I would also suggest that Matthew’s purpose, as so many have argued, was not to write to a Jewish audience so as to win them to faith in Christ, but it was to show that Jesus is the true Israel. Now, I know that some may disagree with this and may chalk it up to being something fanciful or allegorical, but the evidence is there, and unless it can be clearly refuted ought to be given serious attention.
by Nicholas T. Batzig 7 March 2009 3 Comments
It is probable that the whole of Matthew’s Gospel is a typological fulfillment of Israel’s history. This means, of course, that all of Christ’s life is the chronological anti-type of Israel’s experience. Here is a brief explanation:
Matthew opens with the words: “The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Why only mention David and Abraham? Simply put, they were the two Israelitish covenant heads who were organically related to Christ. Jesus did not come from Moses’ seed, but he did come from Abraham and David. Note also the way that Matthew mentions David first, then Abraham. As the genealogy unfolds he starts with Abraham, moves to David, goes through the exile and finally comes to the fulfillment of the promises. This structure sets the grid for understanding Matthew’s Gospel.
Matthew could have chosen to take the genealogy back to Noah and Adam (as Luke chooses to do) but it appears that he wanted to stop at Abraham to explain the Israel/Christ typology. This is further developed by the reference to Hosea 11:2 in Matthew 2, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Then by the baptism, the temptation in the wilderness, the Sermon on the Mount, the feeding of the multitudes, the references to David and Solomon, the pronouncement of ‘woes’ on the leaders of Israel, and His death on the cross (i.e. the great exile).
In summary, Jesus, the Son of Abraham, is therefore the true Israel. He goes down into Egypt, comes up from Egypt, passes through the waters (see 1 Cor. 10:1-2 for a reference to the crossing of the sea as baptism), goes into the wilderness, goes up on the mountain to deliver the law, miraculously multiplies bread from heaven, parallels the life of David and his mighty men when he walks through the grain fields on the Sabbath with His disciples, parallels the life of Solomon with His wisdom and His entry into Jerusalem on a lowly animal, parallels the ministry of the prophets by pronouncing ‘woes’ on the rulers of Israel, and is finally cut off (i.e. exiled)from the land of the living, at the cross, on account of disobedience–i.e. He is made a curse because of the disobedience of His people.
This is some of the strongest evidence that Jesus was the true Israel, God’s Son who obeyed in every way that Israel disobeyed, and who, by His obedience merited the blessings that Israel forfeited by its disobedience. I would also suggest that Matthew’s purpose, as so many have argued, was not to write to a Jewish audience so as to win them to faith in Christ, but it was to show that Jesus is the true Israel. Now, I know that some may disagree with this and may chalk it up to being something fanciful or allegorical, but the evidence is there, and unless it can be clearly refuted ought to be given serious attention.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)