About Replacement Theology: Romans 11:25-32

okay so let me tell you what we're doing tonight what this is gonna be tonight let me start by saying this I believe that God has a future plan for national Israel that is people who are blood descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob that he has a plan for them and it's a plan for prosperity in their future and for a big massive prosperity like nothing they've ever experienced before but many people have been taught otherwise in fact after the teachings I've been putting online over the past few weeks talking about Israel and what God's doing and has done through Israel and his plan as Romans 9 through 11 I've had some people contacting me saying you know you mentioned Old Testament prophecies about Israel that aren't fulfilled which ones are you talking about Mike cuz I don't know what you mean because they haven't been taught this stuff before so here's my thought my thought was this let's take the concept of God's future unfulfilled yet to be fulfilled plans for Israel and let's go through the scriptures that talk about them let's do it systematically let's get biblical about the issue is the thing let's establish those things my goal here is not to attack people usually conversations about what we're gonna talk about Israel having a future versus a replacement for y'all theology or supersessionism which no one knows what that means right so it's the same thing supersessionism is another word for replacement theology the idea that Israel has been basically superseded by the church the church now replaces Israel which is a really convoluted confused kind of thing anyways Israel in the church are not identical things and one does not replace the other but what happens is people tend to start by talking about how which group is anti-semitic that is up being the debate which groups anti-semitic yet there's a bunch of Christians just sitting on the sidelines going can we just ask what the Bible says instead of arguing about who's anti-semitic and so I'm not gonna attack any side or the other we're gonna say what does the scripture teach on the issue we're not also I'm not advocating an entire system of eschatology or in times I'm not advocating I'm just talking about one issue Israel just tonight just Israel it's too much to get into everything let's just talk about Israel we're just gonna ask what is the biblical case and we'll do that sort of in three different ways one we'll start by going through Romans eleven the rest of Romans 11 that actually talks about God's plan for Israel that lays out the specific details to will then move over to Old Testament yet to be fulfilled prophecies will actually look at them in context and say why should I believe that this is something that still has to happen that'll that'll be what we'll do second and then the third thing is we'll look at some information from Jesus and a little bit in the book of Acts as well because I think some things that Jesus says and then Peter says actually in acts really connects all this stuff together in a way that it just makes me smile because it all fits you know it all fits together well so if you're looking for background the previous studies in Romans 9 through 11 that we've done especially the past two weeks I've talked a lot about Israel God's plan for Israel the what happened to Israel how they were there's a partial blindness for a season all this sort of thing I would say go back and watch those videos I'm not gonna go back and reteach the same material I want to move forward and teach you stuff I haven't shared with you in the past several weeks yet so let's start with Romans 11 picking up where we left off in verse 24 so Romans 1124 that's what we're starting and it says for if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature and we're grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree this is this is really we talked about this grafting concept last week about how we're Gentiles the I'm a Gentile anyways grafted into this olive tree which is Israel relating to the promises of Israel there's there's a mixture of concepts that's there of course but but I'm the wild one grafted in and if I as a wild as a Gentile can be grafted into these truths these promises basically the Messianic deliverance and salvation that comes through Jesus if I can be grafted into this then how much more natural is it for a Jew to be grafted into back in even if they previously rejected Messiah how much is it just this easy simple connection thing that happens when when a Jew comes to Jesus in this beautiful way so far from suggesting that it's impossible Paul is saying it's natural you know it's a natural thing for there to be this messianic reception amongst the Israelites or amongst Jewish people it's a beautiful thing beautiful things so the grafting in here that he's talking about in context of Romans 11 and I encourage you to do your own study here and read it but the context is this this grafting in is the these branches were broken off meaning the majority of Israel rejected Messiah so they're being grafted back in is what the majority of Israel receiving Messiah that's the contrast that we're getting here let's continue reading and he'll explain more in verse 25 for I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part has happened to Israel until and I would underline that word until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in so there's a danger in Romans 11:25 as he's coming to the conclusion of his teaching on Israel the danger is that you will think we're better than the Jews basically the irony is this is the Gentile now taking the place of some of the Jewish people which they took in the past thinking were better than the Gentiles and we look at them and we're like those Pharisees self-righteous dissing that this and that and then we look over at the Jewish people and say oh they would never receive look at their hearts are hard and their eyes are blind and we're just getting kind of feeling good about ourselves and so we've sort of switched places if that's the case well we need to look at is I was blind but now I see you know in this same vision of Christ Q come upon anybody anytime so don't be wise in your own opinion we don't want to have a non-jewish pride anymore than have a Jewish pride or any other kind of pride in any sort of pride parade of any kind is pretty much a bad idea you could be having proud pride about your culture like I'm Irish yay good for you like this there's nothing actually to be arrogant about or self-righteous about in these in these things so don't be wise in your own opinion but but let's look at this that blindness here the mystery that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in what is the fullness of the Gentiles in context of Romans 11 it is the gospel going out to the Gentiles in large numbers of Gentiles receiving the gospel so the fullness is this idea that eventually you'll get to the end of this season this time where there's lots of Gentiles receiving them the Saviour that then when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in what happens next what based on verse 25 seems to be happening after the fullness of gentle the Gentiles comes in well the blindness on Israel is lifted blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in so the blindness is lifted we've already seen from Romans 11 not 10 and 9 all three chapters that this blindness is a rejection of the gospel of Christ so if this blindness is lifted what are we seeing a reception of the gospel of Christ of Messiah that they're receiving this so this is this is in context a large number of Jewish people in some future time receiving Messiah have we seen this happen yet I don't I don't think so in history not quite so look back a few verses to Romans 11 verses 11 and 12 so just backing up a few verses two verses 11 and 12 and keep in your mind this idea of the fullness of the Gentiles fullness fullness fullness that concept I say then have they stumbled that they should fall certainly not that's Israel it's not all over for them to stumble but not not a complete destruction but through their fall to provoke them to jealousy salvation has come to the Gentiles now if their fall is riches for the world and their failure or their lack riches for the Gentiles how much more their fullness so as is this contrast like they're lacking right now because of rejecting largely rejecting the gospel that's their lack and how much more would their fullness be and yet there's this time where the Gentile fullness is coming in and then the Jewish fullness will come in so it's if we're talking about revival gospel revival there will be tent meetings or something every revival going on in large part that word fullness is referring to a big work of gospel reception among Gentiles and then a big work of gospel reception among among the Jewish people as well I don't know if that bothers you something is wrong with you like this concept bothers you have large numbers of people getting saved then you got to take a look in the mirror there and consider this now all of this that I'm saying it flows very naturally right into verse 26 verse 26 it says and so all Israel will be saved as it is written the deliverer will come out of Zion and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob now this is where the the the supersession store replacement theology this is how they would handle this verse they would say I think and I'm trying to represent them correctly here that they would say that the word Israel in verse 26 is referring to some sort of other thing than national Israel ethnic Israel but I think I mean the bloodline right it's referring to something other than that but there's a problem with that if you think Israel in this passage just means church or just means Jew and Gentile everyone who believes in Jesus then how is it that in verse 25 one verse before that it clearly didn't mean that so let's just be consistent right I'm Paul is not gonna use the word Israel to mean two totally different things one verse after the next let's just read verse 25 and 26 for I do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in there's a contrast between Israel and the Gentiles two different people groups Israel's not just the church right we're talking Israel versus Gentiles then in verse 26 so all Israel will be saved it's the same Israel in verse 25 does that make sense this is just really 101 Bible study techniques right here like you just read it as it is then of course the deliverer will come out of Zion and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob that concept turning away ungodliness from who Jacob right Jacob Israel this is again the nation this is the people this is a prophecy of Jewish revival it's quoted from Isaiah 59 verse 20 in particular is quoting from the set to agent which is really the Greek translation that they were using in the first century times anytime you read a New Testament use of quoting of Old Testament passages it's gonna be written in Greek in new it's written in Hebrew in the old so they're not always perfectly translated I should say maybe well translated but it may not be perfectly the same in your Old Testament verses versus the new that's a translation issue largely but this is a prophecy of Jewish revival now what's interesting is it on your homework here's your homework assignment if you want to read isaiah 59:2 starting in verse 20 and just keep on reading right on through verse chapter 59 through chapter 60 61 and 62 of Isaiah and see how this is talking about this great revival of blessing and God's work in Israel it's just very consistent so Paul in the passage where he talks about all Israel he then mentions this passage in the Old Testament which speaks of these things this spiritual blessing coming upon them as well as blessing in the land in the land verse 27 it says for this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins this is again quoting from Isaiah 59 it quoted verse 20 and now it's quoting verse 21 except that in phrase when I take away their sins is not found in that passage Isaiah 59 verse 21 so let me give you a short version of a commentary debate that goes on why is Paul quoting this that's not actually found in the text of the Old Testament I mean he's not just it's not just slightly worded differently the phrase when I take away their sins nothing like that appears in that passage of Isaiah 59 verses 20 and 21 so what's Paul doing here well there's really two options that are promoted one of them is that he's actually quoting isaiah 27 verse 9 from that also from the Septuagint so he's jumping chapters earlier now this they could do you can actually take passages we do this as well you take one concept from one place in the Bible another concept another place in the body when you put them together right for God so loved the world that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly like I combined these ideas I've totally pulled them you know and smash these two different verses together John 3:16 Romans 5:8 you know and I've smashed them together but but the concept makes sense it's I'm teaching something true but here's what I think he's actually doing here's another option he's not quoting I think Isaiah 27 9 the Septuagint I think what he's doing is he's trying to paraphrase what Isaiah 59 is about in general so Isaiah 59 leading up to verses 20 and 21 it talks about how Israel is dealing with their sins and their transgressions are too much for them and then God comes and delivers them from their sins and so he's reminding us of this as a good teacher he's like saying look what this is my covenant with them right when I and then he looks back up at the whole passage in 59 and says when I take away their sins guys don't lose the point there is a time where God's gonna remove the sin from Israel bring salvation to them and the same time will be this prosperous blessing so I hope that I hope that makes sense I I just like pausing sometimes as we go through when the New Testament quotes the Old Testament and you look at the Old Testament you go wait how are you quoting this because sometimes they're paraphrasing sometimes they're drawing multiple quotes together and I want to train you so that you don't get stumbled by this idea instead you're actually looking for it you're actually going I understand what's going on here so let's read again verse 28 concerning the gospel Romans 11:28 concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the father's this is again talking about Israel now again in verse 25 26 27 we're talking about Israel Israel Israel this is national Israel the whole time that's why in verse 28 he says concerning the gospel their enemies obviously this is first century unsaved Jewish people because he's not talking about Jews that are saved that are your enemies or the church is your enemy that's not what it's saying there this is talking about unsafe first century Jews who Paul still considered to be Israel this is consistent so they're considered enemies for your sake this is because of course they're they're opposed to the gospel they're they're against it they're rejecting it but concerning the election there beloved for the sake of the fathers now here's another example actually of the word election where you can't really take that word and put the doctrine of election into the passage because in this case it just again it just means choosing but God's election or election who's choosing of them is about choosing a nation a whole group of people to accomplish a purpose at some point and why are they precious why are they considered beloved because yet their descendants will be inheriting these wonderful promises in the future the future of these people is determined and so their beloved for that sake God's God's Perez preservation is on Israel his hand is upon them to carry them through to get them through hard times because there is yet a glorious future so the the election their beloved for the sake of the fathers the father's there we're talking about Abraham Isaac and Jacob these are the father's let me read to you Genesis 17 verses 7 & 8 this is what God spoke to Abraham it says and I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an ever lasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you also I give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession and I will be their God now just in casually reading the passage you just if you were a descendant of Abraham you'd be thinking I think I think I'm supposed to be living in the land at some point right I think there's something supposed to be happening here this is just how you would take the passage this covenant is repeated to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob it's not repeated after that it's carried to Jacob that's why the namesake is Israel Jacob Israel before these people that would inherit this promise then in verse 29 I feel like Romans 11 is so clear it's so clear when you just study in context verse 29 says this for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable why say this here because God has promised them something and then Paul goes and he can't take it back he can't take you back he's not going to take it back he cannot lie he made an unconditional promise about the land it wasn't if this then this it was like I'm going to do this this is going to happen now there were later things the law came later and introduced curses and blessings and all that sort of thing but it doesn't you might quote what would Paul says in Galatians and apply to this situation he goes the law which came 400 years later does not uh no the Covenant God made a promise I'm gonna do this the law certainly was there to show that a property of man show the fallenness of mankind through Israel as well but yet this is the gift and calling that's irrevocable now you may have read Romans 11:29 and thought it applied to gifts the God's given you in your life or a calling that God's given you in your life but let me say this before we apply it there we need to apply it to Israel we have to say no no this is about Israel he's quoting this specifically about Israel unconditional promises to that nation so that's that's that's the point it seems to seal the deal this verse in context is about Israel's future in particular the people in verse 28 who are enemies of the gospel they yet have a glorious future according to an irrevocable promise from God that's the context of the passage so this seems this seems to me to seal the deal verse 29 and 28 and 27 and 26 and 25 and 24 23 22 21 and kind of going backwards all the way back it seems to seal the deal about this glorious thing for for Israel and it kind of excites me I'm kind of happy about it I just like seeing God do anything I mean it's neat to see but then you can apply it to you and you could say you know what it God's grace upon Israel is a reflection of His grace upon me Oh No now I feel pretty good about God enduring with them through their hardships and their rebellion and their betrayal and their whatever you name it whatever they've done that I've done then you can apply it to you but verse 29 is not about every single thing God ever calls anyone to do like he called King Saul to be king of Israel than he rejected Saul later so this is not saying every single time God calls somebody it's a permanent call they can't you know like your pastor like embezzles from the church and cheats on his spouse and then you're like he's like but the gifts in calling or irrevocable so you can't fire me it's like yes a week yeah look by you know that's that that would be taking a verse out of context the primary application here is Israel and you can apply it to it to some other things as well of course secondarily then in verse 30 as we continue it says for as you were once disobedient to God yet now have obtained mercy through their disobedience that that's a summary of how Jewish rejection of the gospel led to Gentile reception of the gospel they disobeyed and so the gospel goes out to the Gentiles so we've obtained mercy through their disobedience verse 31 even so these also have now been disobedient that through the mercy shown to you they also may obtain mercy this is a future prediction of the mercy of God falling upon Israel in the same sense in which it didn't when they did not receive Christ like there's like there's a parallel largely Israel rejected Jesus well largely they will receive him that's what I'm reading in the text the job for us now is to outreach to the Jewish people and the Palestinians to outreach to the Canadians right and the Texans and the Californians to the Chinese and the Japanese and and the Taiwanese and I can't think of any other nations I saw like my geography is not very good so we our job obviously is outreach to everybody but as we our reach to the Jewish people I can't help but be kind of excited for what God's future plan is for those people and to know that their reception of Jesus brings in some pretty interesting and wonderful things this takes us back to the idea that we're to try to make them jealous provoke them to jealousy now what that phrase provoke them to jealousy seems a little weird we usually think of jealousy as a negative thing in this case it means when you look at someone and you go I want that and that that's that's what we want we want to say look at the love I have for you look at the change Jesus has made in my life I'm worshipping your Messiah don't you want that and and to try to try to share that linear verse 32 he says for God has committed them all to disobedience that he might have mercy on all this is the end point we evening together everything he said now in Romans Jew and Gentile all under condemnation so God can show how gracious he is he shows how gracious he is and that yeah we don't deserve the land any more than we deserve Jesus we don't deserve anything and God's grace and mercy is the thing that gives us everything we have in life it is all by His grace it is all by His mercy nothing I've nothing I've earned I have nothing I've earned it's all been given to me by grace so God is this just seen as this glorious God of grace and mercy which we will understand so much more when we stand before him and see his holiness realize our own fallenness and realize what it meant for him to send his son to die on the cross to pay for what we've done so now what I want to do is this I want to move away from Romans 11 not now having said all that and answer some other questions specifically let's look at some of the Old Testament prophecies that are not yet fulfilled not yet fulfilled like what is it as you read in the Old Testament that says this still has to happen like this to hit this hasn't happened yet so we're gonna look at that I've already shared with you Genesis 17 there's other Genesis 13 other places like God's promises to Abraham we could speak up but but let's look at Isaiah chapter 2 so please turn to Isaiah Isaiah chapter 2 and we're gonna look at verses 1 through 4 and I want you to try to try to notice as I'm reading through it the specific things that are supposed to happen according to the prophecy it says the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house pardon me shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it this this language is it this isn't really a debate the mountain of the Lord's house we're talking about Mount Zion we're talking about where the temple is we're talking about Israel is to be established above the other hills or the other mountains the other the other nations and their authority structures Israel will be above those things and verse 3 many people shall come and say come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob he will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth of the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between nations there'll be this sense where God is ruling other nations through his his central authority in Israel and rebuke many people they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks meaning they'll take weapons of violence and turn them into other uses because there's no point for war anymore nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore now win in Israel's history did this happen I mean have to be after Isaiah so you can't look at the pinnacle of the Peace of Israel in Solomon's time and think that that was some fulfillment of this this is this is after Isaiah and I'm going probably not in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple destroyed the people murdered in mass killed now that's certainly not a fulfillment of this and it hasn't happened since then this is imagine this imagine what watered-down meaning you'd have to have to say that this has already happened like what do you think it means like the nations will come to Israel like is that just visitors on airplanes coming to like tour the land or but it says that basically God's gonna be ruling the nations of the world through Israel look located specifically out of Jerusalem like what is that how do you see the thing is you have to symbolize this and and spiritual eyes this to the point where it's like it doesn't almost mean anything and then I've a problem with that personally there's other passages in Isaiah that can be can be looked at as well Isaiah 11 Isaiah like I said 59 through 62 I recommend reading that but I want to move to some other prophets as well so let's look at Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 31 Jeremiah 31 and I think this is even more clear Jeremiah 31 starting in verse 35 it says thus says the Lord who gives Sun for a light by day the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night who disturbs the Seas and it's waves roar the Lord of Hosts is his name so to set up this this statement it reminds us that God has set the Sun that set the time cycles the ordinances the moon and stars and all that then it says in verse 36 if those ordinances depart from before me says the Lord then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever not a temporary casting off but a permanent cessation thus says the Lord if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done says the Lord this seems pretty obvious to me if if and it gives these hypotheticals that are impossibility x' if this hypothetical thing that's never gonna happen happens okay then I'll cast off his room if the if the Sun explodes and disappears fine then you can say I've cast off Israel if time stops functioning properly then you can say I've cast off Israel forever but until then you cannot say this and then it specifically says at the last verse I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done says the Lord meaning as a consequence of their sin their sin will not annul my plan for them not that there won't be punishment or them God dealing with them for their sins that will happen so whatever argument or justification somebody can give for Israel having no future as a nation I think it fails when compared to this passage because it says in verse 36 they shall not cease from being a nation before me forever a nation a national identity as Israel not just a spiritual I honestly don't know how else to interpret this I want to be fair and I want to look for another option another way of interpreting it but if I interpret this and water this down in some sense don't I have to be consistent and treat the rest of the prophecies in the Bible that way as well but when Jesus came didn't he fulfill pretty literally the prophecies about him it seems like a very literal fulfillment so I think I should be looking for you know if the plain sense makes sense seek no other since that that's a good rule of thumb let's turn to Ezekiel you guys having fun good stuff good stuff all right Ezekiel 37 Ezekiel 37 while you're on your way there let me just tell you this the context of Jeremiah that passage comes right after the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31 of the new covenant that God will make with Israel with all of all of us I mean ultimately we come into that same covenant we're grafted in but but it comes after so in other words it's like when they receive this Messiah this new covenant then there'll be this fulfillment of these things as well I'll explain more of that in just a moment once we get to act okay so Ezekiel 37 verse 21 it says then say to them thus says the Lord God surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations wherever they have gone and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land and I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel and one king shall be king over them they shall no longer be two nations nor shall they ever be divided into into two kingdoms again that's like the northern southern division that happened after Solomon's death they shall not defile themselves any more with their idols nor with their detestable things nor with any of their transgressions but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them and they shall be my people and I will be their God now you might go well that could refer to almost any regather in of Israel with a revival and a restoration spiritually that's true but let's keep reading verse 24 David my servant shall be king over them now Ezekiel writes long after David's death David my servant shall be king over them and they shall all have one Shepherd they shall also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do them then they shall dwell in the land that I've given to Jacob my servant where your father's dwelt and they shall dwell there they their children and their children's children forever and my servant David shall be their prince for ever moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them I will establish them and multiply them and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore my tabernacle also shall be with them indeed I will be their God and they shall be my people now if you go this is this is just Israel as in the church but look at verse 28 as it you keep going it says the nation's also that would be Gentiles will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel when my sanctuaries in their midst forever this seems to defy any any spiritualization of Israel here we're talking about a literal land where it's the promise of the father's comes to the children and it's forevermore the place is the very land of Israel where their father dwell the duration is forever that's in verse 25 26 twice in both those verses also in verse 27 and 28 forever forever forever it says it again and again David is ruling now you can say well obviously Mike that's just silly if that's your Bible study method fine my Bible study methods not to ignore things that I think are silly but to let the text speak because David's alive still its eternal life and so of course we're going to see him and meet him again this is entirely possible to happen as well and I do think so and I have opinions about when and where and all that kind of stuff but tonight we're focusing on just one thing so so David is ruling there and there's a differentiation between the nation's the Gentiles and Israel national Israel so we don't have a mix of the two in this point not a significant mix anyways not that there couldn't be some Gentiles in Israel obviously so there I think are some pretty powerful passages that I honestly can't think of one legitimate way to interpret them apart from seeing a real national future for Israel and there's many more but that's a good good selection now if you would let's look at the words of Jesus because Jesus said some stuff that I think relates to all this stuff that we've read in Romans 11 and that we've read here in in these passages and I think it ties it together in a beautiful way so Luke 21 Luke 21 is where you're gonna look look at Luke 21 verse 20 we'll read 20 through 24 and the context is Jesus warning them about the destruction of Jerusalem I believe the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem Jesus is warning them about so let's let's read this in in verse 20 of Luke 21 it says but when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then know that it's desolation is near then let those who were in Judea flee to the mountains let those who were in the midst of her depart and let not those who are in the country into her for these are the days of vengeance that all the things which are written in the prime that all things which are written may be fulfilled but woe to those who are pregnant into those who are nursing babies in those days for there will be a great distress in the land and wrath upon this people and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled I do think that the context is 70 AD I think this there's a repetition of this thing like this in another future time but I think the context of this particular statement is 70 80 but notice the word until Jerusalem in verse 20 for Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled let me ask a question what happens when the dryn Jerusalem is no longer trampled by Gentiles is it a completely vacant and nobody's there or B the Jews are in charge which one do you think is implied by it not being trampled by the Gentiles I think the strong implication is that Jerusalem would be inhabited and controlled by non Gentile Jews by Jewish people I don't see another option for this that's that's from a statement here of Jesus now and I'll turn to Acts chapter 1 look at verses 6 & 7 in Acts chapter 1 here we are after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ Jesus he spends you know 40 days traveling doing whatever it was he did her in the 40 days we know some of the things he did we don't know a lot of it and then as he's about to depart in Acts chapter 1 verse 6 it says therefore when they come together they asked him saying Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel now now that we've read all these prop promises that have yet to be fulfilled about Israel do you understand why they had such strong expectation and they're thinking Jesus is it now are you gonna restore the kingdom to Israel I mean they're being oppressed by the Romans and all that is it now and he says to them you silly fool there is no more Israel no he doesn't say that he says to them it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father has put in his own Authority they are not rebuked they are not corrected in the sense of no I'm not gonna restore Israel that's not gonna happen he actually implies to them it's just a matter of time but I'm not gonna give you the information about win so the win isn't for you to know okay you focus on and he goes on you focus on preaching the gospel that's your that's your thing preach the gospel into all the world that's what he tells them I think that's pretty interesting the implication is that it's going to happen and they certainly would have been thinking about a literal Israel not a spiritualization or something like that now turn to Acts chapter 3 and in acts 3 I think maybe Peter had more information and later on in Acts the Holy Spirit had been come upon them and they've been spending time in prayers many times studying the word spending time doing lots of stuff like that and he goes on he's preaching now certainly preaching with a power that they did not previously have so in Acts chapter 3 verse 17 Peter is speaking now the first messages and acts all go out to Jewish audiences this is to a Jewish audience the later messages out go out more often than not to a Gentile audience but they're really ones are all Jewish so verse 17 of Acts 3 says yet now brethren I know that you did it in ignorance as did also your rulers he's talking about them rejecting and crucifying Jesus but those things which God we're told by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer he has thus fulfilled repent there but therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus Christ who is preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began now here's what I'm hearing Peter say to them he says guys turn to Jesus Jewish people turn to Jesus because when you all turn to Jesus Jesus gets to come back and then the stuff that's yet to be fulfilled the restoration of all things as spoken by the prophets that stuff gets to happen it seems to me my conclusion is this is that when Israel turns to Christ for salvation they will also enter into these unfulfilled promises that we read about in the Old Testament this is my opinion I think it's based on Scripture I think it seems very consistent with the Scriptures here let me read to you again what he tells them verses 19 starting in verse 19 Acts 3 repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out now if it was to a Gentile audience I think we would have stopped there but he continues so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus Christ Messiah who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began so the the way to kind of get it clear in your mind is Israel's blessings as as inheriting a land and having you know physical prosperity in the land that's not the same as salvation right any Jew can get saved at any moment whether or not this is going on but it seems that when Israel largely receives Christ when there's this big influx is revival in Israel that that's also when the huge prosperity of the land will also take place so they'll come together the revival of the people as you know physically as well as spiritually will come together that that's what I'm understanding from the text now let me give you guys a few other things to consider replacement theology now some people don't like the term replacement theology that the church replaces Israel and it's more nuanced than that and I'm not trying to I just I don't want to take 20 minutes to explain the nuance of it to you guys the point is is that nobody remembers the term supersessionism so I use the term replacement let's see let's go remember the other one come up with a better name if you don't want to be used have to be called that so replacement theology it seems to to give Israel the curses and give everybody else the blessings Israel's in destruction God's done with you you rejected Messiah that's it end of story and then the blessing somehow our spiritual eyes and then given to a largely Gentile Church and that that doesn't seem to be quite right replacement theology doesn't make a lot of sense of Israel being back in the land today how is it that after all this time they're back in the land I mean if God really drove them out and cast them off forever well then it how did they squiggle back in there how'd they sneak back in how they become a nation again why is there a shekel why is there a bunch of a bunch of people speaking Hebrew in the Land of Israel all of a sudden like what's going on if God you know opens doors and no one can close them and close those doors and no one can open any blesses and you can't curse and curses and you can't bless and then what's going on are we looking at God continuing the work nationally through Israel I think we are I think we are people like me would have looked crazy a hundred years ago when Israel wasn't a nation and it didn't seem very realistic to think they ever could be but yet there were people like me preaching that just does it in the text man it's got to happen and I want to stay on that side Helen I like being those people that look crazy and end up being right I think replacement theology tends to mishandle really specific promises for an earthly Kingdom located in Israel with Jerusalem as its capital I think that that it causes you to look at those passages and all of a sudden use a whole different way of Bible study than you ever use anywhere else and I think that seems unfair to the text I've heard of the Bible we don't interpret the prophecies of Jesus this way that we're already fulfilled so it just seems inconsistent and if we take those promises to be less than they appear then what does that do to the way you study the rest of the Bible like Jesus is coming back well it says he's coming back but you know that's a spiritual terminology what it really means is you know is it do I just I can't just take it as its face value I think at that point it starts to get a little sketchy I'm also Romans 11 verses five and six let me just remind you to look back on that where it says that that all this stuff is by grace not by works Israel no they don't deserve to be back in the land any more than I deserve Jesus but but they're sustained by grace the same as I am and that's kind of one of the points he's making through the through the chapters of Romans 9 10 and 11 they're sustained by grace there is one thing that might might trip you up as you're as you're studying the Bible and you look at passages that say things like in Galatians or Philippians or revelation how it talks about there's there's there of the synagogue of satan' they're not really Jews that's what it says in to the letters in Revelation to the churches but it doesn't say this about every Jewish person does it there are some Jews who are not true Jews just like there are some Christians that aren't really Christians right that's what it's saying so obviously there are some Jews that aren't really Jews in that sense of a fullness of what it means to be Jewish and that's what Paul gets into when he says earlier in the chapters Romans 9 10 11 he says not all not all Israel there are not all Israel who are of Israel and he says gives a case for that but he doesn't mean here there's no such thing as Israel or you're the new Israel forget them he's just saying not every descendant of Jacob is like really a full-blood not even full blob of full heart Israelite is the idea that's the concept there and if you see it as a limiting to a group within a group rather than as a separation like there's a whole new group coming forget the old one we're just going to call you by a new name you Gentiles are now Israel that that's not the case and what what should our attitude be then towards modern-day Israel this is kind of I feel like I have to talk about this because all this being said what should I say about Israel there's all these complicated and even politically hot issues about Israel and the Palestinians and the stuff that goes on here and there and I think here's what I'll say in general our attitude should be a hopeful attitude we should have hope towards Israel but not hype towards Israel I'm not gonna act like everything they do is right I mean have you read the Bible do you think everything that they do is perfect and right but I will not pretend that God doesn't have these promises for them and that there isn't sort of a general stance of blessing those who bless you curse those who curse you that I want to have a general positive stance towards Israel as a nation just like if somebody came and invaded some other rightful nation I would I would not be okay with that you know I do think that this is this tends to skew me towards a more of a positive direction but I definitely cannot approve of everything that's done Tel Aviv I mean Jerusalem might be one of the most religious places in the world but Tel Aviv is one of the most ungodly secular places on planet earth right now it's pretty intense it's liberal and it's all kinds of it's a whole different different world in tel aviv than it is in israel it's more like Long Beach like San Francisco than anything else so so we want to be wise and we don't have to think oh well there are the people of God so therefore whatever they're doing is good or something like that like no I mean obviously you guys aren't following Jesus you're not following Messiah but I'm hopeful about God's a future for you and I'm careful about coming against something that God might be doing in your people and so I just want to be wise um you don't have to take a stance on every little issue as a Christian but I think in the big picture we can take a stance and say oh well God's clearly gonna do this when is it gonna happen seems to be that it's gonna happen when they turn to Christ but the fullness of it will happen are we seeing seeds of it now I don't know maybe maybe there's more there's more save Jewish people in the Land of Israel now than ever before that's just a reality and that's beautiful that's really good I like that right but I've never seen leaders make more fools of themselves godly men then when they try to predict the future based on their observations of the present I know what'll eventually happen but I don't know when you know I want to remember what Jesus said to them he says what it's not for you to know the times or the seasons so I'm gonna leave you there with a big I don't know we will we'll continue now moving as we go through the rest of Romans 11 next week into Romans 12 it starts to get very practical very much into like the Christian daily life and how we how we live out this life how we exercise our gifts what's your gifts prophecy we're gonna talk about prophecy we're gonna talk about wisdom or just all these different types of giftings that that God has given people we'll talk about all that we'll talk about making our lives completely given to the Lord we'll talk about what it means to that God's ways are past finding out all that kind of stuff I'll get into it all starting next week but I want to pray and then I want to take any questions that you guys that you guys might have maybe Jim pushback or some challenges or you want some clarity on something let's pray father God we thank you for your promises that um that you fulfill that when you have gracious promises promises that are on on Grace and not works that's irrevocable and that's that's what we have in Christ in Christ we are secure we're safe we are saved and your love and your patience towards Israel is nothing less than a reflection of your love and patience towards all people we pray Lord that you would bless Israel with the knowledge of Messiah that there would be a revival continued and growing exponentially revival in the land and that we would see the issues between Jews and Palestinians resolved by the Grace and the gospel of Jesus Christ Jesus is the one that can unite and we do pray for that it would it's impossible with man but with you Lord it's possible so we lift them up Lord God we do pray for your will in those people and for your blessings absolutely Lord but we also pray this we pray that that our hope and our love and our outreach to Israel does not become some sort of hindrance in our love and our outreach to to those who oppose Israel or we want to stand between you and in the world and bring people to Christ and so give us wisdom in that in Jesus name Amen [Music] we will see [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Mike Winger

Views: 26,814

Rating: 4.6032519 out of 5

Keywords: Israel, Israel in prophecy, unfulfilled prophecies about Israel, Romans 11, is replacement theology biblical, supersessionism, what the Bible says about modern Israel, should Christians support modern Israel, all Israel will be saved, what is God’s plan for Israel, Mike Winger, BibleThinker, Israel’s future, Zionism

Id: 4kp_C0RuLMg

Length: 49min 23sec (2963 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 29 2017