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.