Is Israel Still the Promised Land?

TomL wrote:Not replacement theology, but fulfillment theology. God intended since before the foundation of the world to send Christ, as he did. Now it is those who are in Christ that are God's chosen people, not those in Israel.

Israel is not God's center-piece of history, Christ is.

God has not cast away His people, the Israelites
Romans 11:1
The last verse of Romans chapter 10 points clearly to Israel’s rejection of God and rejection of God’s gospel. The Israelites have rejected God (Rom. 10:21). Thus, the logical question is this: HAS GOD REJECTED THEM? "Has God cast away His people?" The answer is a strong NO: God forbid! May such a thought never enter our minds! Perish the thought!

Paul’s main argument in this chapter is made up of two parts: 1) ISRAEL’S REJECTION IS NOT TOTAL BUT PARTIAL. The great majority of Jews have rejected God’s gospel as found in the Person of Jesus Christ, but not all of them have. There was a remnant of Jews who trusted Christ, and Paul was part of this remnant (v.1). The key verse is Romans 11:5. 2) ISRAEL’S REJECTION IS NOT PERMANENT BUT TEMPORARY. The nation will not always reject God. There is coming a great future day when the nation will be saved (verses 26-27). Both of these key ideas are found in Romans 11:25: "that blindness IN PART (PARTIAL) is happened to Israel, UNTIL (TEMPORARY) the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." The blindness is not total blindness and it is not permanent blindness! There are some Jews who see very well today! (They know Christ as their Saviour, and whereas once they were blind, now they can see!)
There is coming a future day when the nation Israel will see and recognize Christ as their Messiah and Lord (Zech. 12:10).

Paul offers himself as the number one proof that God has not cast away His people: "For I also am an Israelite (and God has not cast away me!)." Paul was a saved Jew who had come to Christ and who would never be cast out (John 6:37). Notice carefully that the end of verse one defines an Israelite very specifically. An Israelite is one who is physically and literally a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and who has come out of one of the 12 tribes (in Paul’s case, the tribe of Benjamin, compare Phil. 3:5). This is important because there are those today who wrongly teach that anyone who is saved and part of God’s church is a true Israelite (even saved Gentiles). This is not true. God has not changed His definition of what a true Israelite is. An Israelite by believing on Christ can become a member of the Church, but becoming a member of the Church does not make a person an Israelite. A person is born an Israelite; a person is born again into the church.

Not replacement theology, but fulfillment theology. God intended since before the foundation of the world to send Christ, as he did. Now it is those who are in Christ that are God's chosen people, not those in Israel.

Israel is not God's center-piece of history, Christ is.

Replacement Theology: Is Israel Still the Promised
Land?

Is Israel Still the Promised Land--promised by God to
Israel in perpetuity?

There is a doctrine today called "Replacement
Theology" that states that the nation of Israel is no
longer God's chosen people; that Israel has been
replaced by the Christian Church. If this is true, how
do you explain the miraculous re-birth of the nation of
Israel after some 1,900 years--and its survival against
overwhelming odds?

As God's Word promised the nation of Israel: "I will
bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant
lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and
live in them again. They will plant vineyards and
gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their
wine" (Amos 9:14 NLT). Israel has been back in their
land as a nation since 1948--the land promised to them
by God.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament, "I ask
then, 'Did God reject his people [Israel]? By no means!
I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham ...
God did not reject his people.... [for] God's gifts
and his call are irrevocable'" (Romans 11:1-2; 29
NIV).

While the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ as
their Messiah, God has not done away with his chosen
people. As God's Word also says, "Israel has
experienced a hardening in part until the full number
of Gentiles [non-Jews] has come in. And so all Israel
will be saved" (Romans 11:25-26, NIV).

A Warning: God also promised the nation of Israel: "I
will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you
I will curse..." (Genesis 12:3, NIV).

Note: See, "ISRAEL: God's Center Piece of History" at:
http://www.actsweb.org/daily.php?id=1854

The short answer is "no."

Please see: http://wayoftruth.motion-forum.net/t206-our-support-for-israel

To suggest that Israel is the promised land and that the Jews are God's chosen people, ignores the full ramifications of several events including the death of Christ, and the destruction of the temple.

The kingdom of God, established by the obedience of Christ even unto death, is totally, 100% spiritual. No physical land needed.

Is Israel Still the Promised Land?
American Christians have always been supportive of Israel, and find Bible-based reasons for that position. Yet Mr. Obama took advantage of major speech opportunities [several months ago] in both India and Indonesia to criticize Israel for building apartments for their citizens in Jerusalem, their own capital city. Speaking before an audience of Muslim leaders in Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, he said, "This kind of activity is never helpful." Ken Blackwell, of the FRC, said of his actions in this regard, "I believe he is the most anti-Israel president in U.S. history." And the adverse side is that Jakarta, where he spoke to the Muslim audience, is a city no Israeli is allowed to enter. Blackwell made this comment: "When was the last time any U.S. president condemned Russia, England, Cuba, China or any other country for building homes for their citizens in their capital city? The answer is never."
Abraham Lincoln's words are still valid today. "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." (1881)
This applies to our nation's relations with Israel, and particularly with the capital city, Jerusalem. Again and again God has spoken of His love and His concern for Jerusalem ... "Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen to put my name there" (I Kings 11:36). "In Jerusalem I will put my name" (II Kings 21:4). "I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there" (II Chronicles 6:6). "In Jerusalem shall be my name forever" (II Chronicles 33:4). "I am returned into Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem" (Zechariah 8:3). "They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord" (Jeremiah 3:17). And, of course, there is always before us the words of Psalm 122:6: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee." And that relates to the promise God made to Abraham, "And I will make of thee a great nation ... and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Genesis 12:2-3).

We cannot fail to recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever." We are constantly witnessing the attacks of our president on the nation Israel, and on the city of Jerusalem. Like Jefferson, we should tremble for our country as our president continues to act contrary to God's desires for His beloved Jerusalem.
The American News Commentary, Vol. 15 No. 20,
November 17, 2010, (c) 2010. To Subscribe
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