26. Replacement theology – Beware of this fallacy! (Part 2 of Israel series)

Have you ever heard these statements before?
1. Jews and Israel are not the same.
2. True Israelites have always been converts.
3. Followers of Jesus are the true children of Israel.
4. Names of the 12 tribes have been changed in the NT.

I came across a video recently that had gone viral and thought should expose this fallacy (a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments.) These statements sound more like “Replacement theology” or “Fulfillment theology”, also called “Supersessionism.” –  The proponents of this doctrine believe that the Christian Church has superseded the nation of Israel, assuming their role as God’s covenanted people.  They also teach that the universal Christian Church has replaced ancient Israel as God’s true Israel and that Christians (including gentiles) have replaced the biological bloodline of ancient Israelites as the people of God. Falsely claimed to have originated with Paul the Apostle, supersessionism has formed a core tenet of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches. The proponents of this theology have unwittingly sown the seeds of Anti-Semitism. In the book ‘The hidden root cause of Holocaust’ by Colonel John T Sommerville, he wrote: ‘Where did this ongoing hatred for the Jew come from and how did it start? The answer is short! It is because of a doctrine called “Replacement” theology.’ – (Page 12)  This teaching was the  primary reason for the  persecution of Jews at the hands of Christians throughout Church history and specifically the “pogroms” (organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, in particular that of Jewish people) that happened in eastern Europe and Russia. Infact the reason they were persecuted in the countries where they were in exile was because of their monotheistic belief and their unwillingness to mingle with others. Moreover, they were affluent and others were envious of their prosperity. Accusing them to be Christ killers was only an excuse to  justify the atrocities committed against them when in reality both Jews and Gentiles  were guilty in having killed him. Though the Jews were guilty of a greater sin because they knew God’s word, but still the Bible never states they have been replaced by the Church!

The subtlety with which this fallacy was presented in this video was so evident from the sequence in which the four statements were made as they tried to prove that the Jew and the nation of Israel were no longer relevant but the Church!  They first stated that “Jews and Israel are not the same” because the ten lost tribes cannot trace their ancestry and the term “Jews” actually refer only to two tribes. But they’re no longer relevant because “true Israelites have always been converts” which means that the  “followers of Jesus are the children of Israel” and the proof is that the “names of the 12 tribes have been changed in the New testament”. Some statements sound true in a spiritual sense while others sound true in a physical sense ! Only if they are true in both senses, can it be said to be absolutely true! Let’s consider the four statements-

1. Jews and Israel are not the same – Note that they didn’t say “Israelites” rather “Israel” because every Jew is an Israelite but every Israelite is not a Jew! Hence the mention of the nation of  “Israel”  which they allege is not purely Jewish because the ten lost tribes cannot trace their Jewish ancestry and moreover they say that the term “Jew” actually refers only to the two tribes, thus bringing to question the legitimacy of the current state of Israel.  The term “Jew”  first appears in the book of Esther (2:5) after two southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin) were exiled to Babylon, where they were addressed together as “Jews” though it was derived from the name of the predominant tribe of Judah. However, the name stuck to mean all Israelites in the new testament. Even Jesus used the term  “Jews” to collectively refer to all the descendants of Jacob and not just two tribes when he told the Samaritan woman: “Salvation is from the Jews.” – (John 4:22)  The “Jews” are the people and “Israel” is their land but this false doctrine separates the two, denying the Jew their claim to the historical land which was promised to the physical descendants of Jacob. “Your name is Jacob but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel … The land I gave to Abraham and Issac, I also give to you and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” – (Genesis 35:10-12)

Undoubtedly, Israel is the homeland of all the 12 tribes, and they have the right to return whether a practising Jew or not!  The  Knesset passed the Law of Return in 1950 which states that  every Jew is eligible to immigrate to Israel, and receive an Israeli citizenship. This law, however, proved to be controversial  because of the question: “Who is a Jew?”  According to the halakhic (the body of Jewish law supplementing the scriptural law) definition, a person is Jewish if their mother is Jewish, or if they are converts to Judaism. It’s interesting to note that even converts to Judaism are considered as Jews! So only those who can prove their Jewish descent or their conversion to Judaism can  make the Aliyah (the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the historical and geographical land of Israel ).  All Jews who have returned to their homeland are called Israelis but not all Israelis are Jews because it includes Arabs, Bedouins and Druze who are citizens of Israel being a secular nation. However, “Israel” is not just the name of a nation but of its patriarch Jacob whose descendants were first called “Hebrews” and later “Israelites”  before being called “Jews”. Therefore in a physical sense, the terms “Jews” and “Israel” can be used  synonymously because it is the name of an ethnic group as well as of their nation. The name of the nation was derived from its people  because they were a group of people at first in Egypt, before they became a nation in the promised land. Then to say that “Jews and Israel are not the same”, is being racist because they would not say that of any other nation! Even in a spiritual sense, there is no difference between a true Jew and a true Israelite because Jesus used the term synonymously when he called a Jew by the name Nathanael, a “true Israelite”!

2. True Israelites have always been converts –  That would be like saying all true Christians have always been converts to Christianity but we know that’s not true since there are many true believers among Christians. As mentioned earlier, Nathanael, was a Jew and not a convert and looking at him, Jesus said, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” – (John 1:47)  True Israelites are not necessarily converts but everyone who embraces the truth, whether Jew or Gentile. So its really a matter of the heart ! Any Israelite circumcised in the heart could be reckoned as a Jew and vice-versa!  ‘A man is not a Jew if he is one outwardly nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No , a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.’ – (Romans 2:28-29) Having said that, God is still dealing with the nation of Israel who are circumcised only in the flesh  because  of God’s eternal covenant in the flesh with Abraham despite the old Mosaic covenant  being annulled! “My covenant in your flesh  is to be an everlasting covenant.” – (Genesis 17:13) Those who have not understood this have become  conceited! ‘I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be CONCEITED. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved … as far as the election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs …’ – (Romans 11:25-28) Abraham has both physical descendants (circumcised only in the flesh) and spiritual descendants (circumcised in the heart) but the latter hasn’t replaced the former!  Both Jews and Gentiles who are circumcised in the heart are spiritual Israel and reckoned as the spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7) However, a remnant from the rest of his natural children too will be saved! (Romans 9:27, 11:26)

3. Followers of Jesus are the true children of Israel –  If followers of Jesus alone are the true children of Israel, then it implies that Jews are no longer the legitimate  “children of Israel” and therefore have no claim to  the promised land but the Church! Hence the next statement that the 12 tribes are Christians who will be allotted the land! Then why is God gathering the Jews back to Israel, if they have been replaced by the Church? Because Jesus cannot be revealed unless the Jews have been gathered back to Israel. All of Joseph’s brothers who sold him  were with him when he made himself known to his brothers. (Genesis 45:1)  Therefore, God is gathering the Jews from the nations since the start of the 20th century. But some say that God’s dealing in the NT is mainly with the Church. Yes! But to be precise,  God’s dealing in the NT became mainly with the Church, only from  the time of Christ’s death and resurrection. Until then, the OT law was in effect even during the ministry of Jesus until it was annulled by his death.  We also see God dealing with the Jews first in the book of Acts. The 120 disciples in the upper room were all Jews. The 3000 who were added to the Church on the day of Pentecost were all Jews or converts to Judaism. The gospel had to be preached first in Jerusalem and Judea before being preached in Samaria and the ends of the earth. As the gospel spread, the Jews hardened their hearts because Gentiles were being included, and therefore Paul had to walk out of the synagogue in protest and preach to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:46-51, 18:6) Then on the vineyard was handed over to the Gentiles to produce fruit in keeping with the prophecy of Jesus.  (Luke 20:9-17)  Paul’s arguments with the unbelieving Jews to convince them the true essence of Judaism has been taken out of context to mean what he didn’t intent – to replace them! Or else why did he ask: “Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! .. If their transgression means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!” – (Romans 11:11-12)

4. Names of the 12 tribes have been changed in the NT – Let’s fact check this claim!! Before Jacob’s death, he said to Joseph, “Your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine …” (Genesis 48:5) So Joseph received a double portion of the inheritance because Ephraim and Manasseh were substituted in his  place thus making in effect 13 tribes, which meant one had to be excluded while dividing the land! So when Joshua alloted the land, Levi was excluded for they were scattered in Israel as prophesied by Jacob (Genesis 49:7). But in the book of Revelation, the tribe that was excluded was Dan as they do not figure in the list of those who were sealed: “144,000 from all the tribes of Israel” – Revelation 7:4-8 (To say that the 144,000 are Christians and not Jews is ludicrous! The reason why the advocates of replacement theology teach that the 144,000 are Christians is because they reason that the ten lost tribes cannot trace their ancestry and therefore can’t accept the truth that 12,000 from each of the ten lost tribes can be traced by God. That’s the fallacy of replacement theology! What the Bible says has to be understood literally, unless it makes no sense and has to be understood  figuratively ! When Scripture says “from all the tribes of Israel”, that’s what it means unless it makes no sense!) Dan was excluded probably because they have a history of idolatry!  Moreover they didn’t take possession of the land alloted to them by Joshua, instead they went to the north and took possession of a land not alloted to Israel and killed a peaceful and unsuspecting people. (Joshua 20:47, Judges 18:29-31) However, in the vision Ezekiel saw of the new temple, the tribe of Dan also was given an allotment but not Levi ( Ezekiel 48:1).  To say that the Names of the 12 tribes have been changed in the NT just because the name of one tribe  doesn’t figure in the list is a lie! And to say that the 12 tribes are Christians who have been assigned to the different tribes is the heights of absurdity! If it is true, then only 144,000 Christians are going to be saved! When James addressed the 12 tribes scattered among the nations, he was literally addressing the jews and not the spiritual tribes of  Christians. 

The truth of the matter is that Israel has not been replaced by the Church as replacement theology advocates, but rather we have been grafted in, despite being wild olives!  ‘If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches … if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again … how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!’ – (Romans 11:17-24) Both natural and grafted branches will exist side by side and the Church shares a common destiny with the nation of Israel. Though many Christians believe this to be true, yet they believe that God’s dealing with the nation of Israel is in a pause till the second coming of Christ when the clock starts to tick once again and God will start dealing with the nation of Israel again. But the prophecies concerning the nation of Israel in the books of the prophets were far from complete at the time of Christ’s death and they are now being fulfilled before our very eyes even through the Church age. Moreover, their story of survival, the last 2000 years and the formation of the nation and return of the diaspora all bears witness to God’s dealing with the nation of Israel because of his eternal covenant with Abraham. Amen.