Jesus Messieh Fellowship

Light To The Nations

Replacement Theology, Truth Or Antisemitism

By Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor

Perhaps no subject will generate more hatred and heat in the endtimes than the subject of REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY.  At one end of the polarity are the Jews and dispensationalist and at the other end is Jesus and those who believe the Church is the Israel of God.

Now what is the Church?  It is the Lamb's Bride!  How did John see this in symbolic figure?  He was led away to a high mountain and there he saw the New Jerusalem.  It had twelve gates and on them the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.  And under this city he saw 12 foundations and in them the names of the Apostles.  What is seen here is the Israel of God founded and built upon the 12 Apostles.  All of this is Jewish, the gates and the Apostles.  But how do the Gentiles get into this city, into this Bride, this Israel of God and made one with all those seen on its interior whose names are in the Lamb's book of life?  The Church is not a Gentile bride.  The Gentiles were grafted into something Jewish and that is the whole olive tree revelation of Paul in Romans 11.

Is God finished with the Jews?  No!  Are there some Jews who cannot be saved?  Yes!  Who then will be saved among the Jews?  Isaiah told us and Paul quoted him in Romans 9:27, ...a remnant!  Not all Israel will be saved only a remnant will be saved and this is the "all" of Israel that God considers his Israel.  You will notice please that in the Romans 11 account, the unbelieving and blaspheming antichrist Jews are broken out of the olive tree and AFTER this the Gentiles are grafted in.  This took place historically between the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and the bringing in of Gentiles in Acts 10.  Between these two chapters there were a lot of Jews who elected to cast themselves away and NEVER to believe in or to receive Jesus Messieh as their personal saviour.  It is not Paul who damned them.  It is not the Gentiles who damned them.  It was God himself who elected not to allow antichrist Jews into the Kingdom of God.  They, like the Gentiles must come by the way of the new birth.  In effect this was saying to all Jews: YOUR NATURAL BIRTH IS WORTHLESS IT CANNOT SAVE YOU!  You must be born again and born of God.  The true New Testament Church was Jewish in its beginning and it remains Jewish regardless of how many Gentiles come into it.  Regardless of what any gainsayer says or claims, God foresaw that only a remnant of Israel would be saved in order for Isaiah to prophesy it.  And God in is infinite wisdom and in his foreknowledge determined to then replace those Jews who would not believe and be saved by bringing forth the mystery that was hid from ages, that he would take out of the Gentiles a people for his name sake.  Anyone who knows anything about "name-sake" children know they are either replacement children because of infertility, because a husband died before siring a male child, or adopted for what other reason and added to the family.  Gentiles are "name-sake" children and they are brought over into the family and the Israel of God by adoption and conversion.  In the case of the New Testament Church, these Gentiles replaced Jews who denied the name of Jesus Messieh and would not come under his throne and or his family name.  Until a person sees the truth and the revelation of this, they will not appreciate and will hate Acts 2:38 at and in which we are shown how the family name is taken and adoption occurs.  All Gentiles who go down in the name of Jesus Messieh with faith in the finished work of Calvary and who are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise are the seed of Abraham and "name-sake" replacements of all those Jews who refused to have Christ to rule over them.  Replacement theology is a fact of Scripture.  All Jews are admonished that if you are going to be saved, in the remnant, then you must be born again of water and Spirit.  If not, God will adopt a "name-sake" Gentile to replace you!

The remnant of Israel will be the only Jews saved. All Jews must get into that number.  Will they?  No, there remains after 2,000 years a large contingent of antichrist Jews who would love nothing better than to blot the name of Jesus out from the earth.  They believe it, teach it, and it is contained in their writings.

Talmudic Jews are very clear in their position, they believe Jesus was a false prophet and that he is now in hell, so the ideas of the New Covenant replacing the Old and the Church replacing Pharisee Judaism to them is a religious usurpation and a fraud.  

They believe that God will yet revisit those of Talmudic Phairseeism heritage and restore to them exclusively the complete nation, the temple, and the Law.  This hope is centered in the arrival of an endtime Messieh who they believe will first destroy Christians out of Israel and the world.  This Messieh will then turn to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the Temple.  This temple revivalism and rebuilding the *image* like unto the first temple will set the spiritual climate for a new priesthood of Talmudic Rabbis where they will once again allegedly make *contact* with God through animal sacrifices.

Quotes from the Babylonian Talmud (Soncino Edition):

When Messieh comes he will destroy the Christians (Sanhedrin 99a).

Jesus was a bastard born of adultery (Yebamoth 49b).

Hatred of Christians commanded in Psalms 139:21 (Shabbath 116a).

The Divine Presence rest only upon Jews (Berakoth 7a).

Christians and animals grouped for comparison (Orach Chaiim 225,10)

Christian Churches are places of idolatry (Abhodah Azarah 78).

Quote From Rabbi Michael Higger:

"A model ideal state will gradually spread its teachings and influence (This is religious system based upon Talmudic interpretation of the Old Testament), from nation to nation.  The people of Israel will thus conquer the nations of the earth.  All other people will be known by their detestable practices and idolatry (They call worship of Jesus Idolatry).  They will be destroyed and will disappear from the earth before the ushering in of the ideal era.  To understand the Rabbinic conception of an ideal world it will help us if we can imagine a hand passing from land to land, country to country, marking righteous or wicked on the foreheads of each one of the inhabitants of the earthly globe (The JEwish Utopia by Rabbi Michael Higger).

This is replacement of Christians by persecution by a world-ruler-murderer under the reign and in the person of a Jewish Messieh.

Quote from Sandra S. Williams (The Origins of Christian Anti-Semitism):

"When one considers that the pillars on which Judaism stands are God, Torah, and Israel, an attack upon any one of them would be considered anti-Jewish.  In Romans 10:4 Paul declares that "Christ is the end of the Law" and this can be interpreted as the end of the history of Israel as the people of God.  This was to bring about, beginning from the second century onward, the replacement theory in Christian theology, which essentially states that the Church has now replaced Israel as the Chosen people of God, and this has been one of two greatest obstacles in the Christian's understanding of the Jews."

The above statement by Ms Williams is not clear about several issues which I will speak about shortly.  She does make a surprising confession:

"It is only fair to mention that from the days of Paul onward, there was considerable anti-Christian hostility from among the orthodox Jews because of the claims of Christianity.  Because the rapidly growing Church was becoming a real threat to Judaism, fear and hatred of Christianity would not be surprising.  It is quite possible that the Jews may have aided and even instigated the early Roman persecution of the Christians in the first few centuries."

Messianic Believers in the Judaism of Jesus Messieh believe that the Messianic Judaism of Jesus stands upon God, the New Covenant, and the remnant of the Israel of God who came into the Kingdom from all of the twelve tribes.  We hold that an attack upon any one of these is considered anti-Christ or anti-Messieh.  So, naturally the issues and arguments are similar and must be viewed in light of each other's claims.  As long as there is religious freedom and both views can be taught publicly, then people can choose for themselves what they want to believe.

There is an old Messianic parable that a bundle of tares, a stack of stubble, and a pile of chaff, were arguing about the ownership of a field.  The tares said the field belonged to them.  The stack of stubble said the field belong to them. And the pile of chaff said the field belonged to them.  The argument went on and on with no side conceding. Standing to one side was a sheaf of wheat that had been harvested from the field and which was listening to all the arguments.  Finally the tares, the stubble, and the chaff asked the wheat its opinion. The wheat said to them all:  You can argue all you want about which of you the field belongs to but we shall all see who it belongs to when the owner arrives.

Thus, when Jesus called the New Testament believers *wheat* we shall see who Israel, Jerusalem, and the world belongs to when the owner arrives!  We shall see who will be destroyed at his coming (2Thes 1:8, 2:10). In the mean while the tares, the stubble, and the chaff, will go on fighting and arguing with one another, killing one another, and creating for themselves a future hope that will all be dashed when they are gathered and burned (Matthew 13:40).

At issue here is replacement theology and who really is the *wheat* of God.  Were several things of the Old Testament replaced?  Was the Law itself replaced by the New Covenant?  Did the Messianic Judaism of Jesus replace all other Judaisms as the Kingdom of God?  Did Jesus restore and set up the Davidic Kingdom as the New Testament Church?  Was that Kingdom made up first of Messianic Jews and later by Gentiles converted to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus?  Did the New Covenant replace the Old as the binding and last Testament of God?  Was racism replaced by graceism?  Was salvation by faith and grace and not by Law and race?  Is God finished with Israel?  Our enemies say we of *Replacement Theology* claim this.  Let us state what we believe.

We quote Romans 9:27--"Though the number of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved."  We believe that remnant is a Messianic Remnant!  A remnant that will convert to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus from all of the twelve tribes.  So that these of the twelve tribes become the Israel of God of the New Covenant. We teach this Israel of God replaced Talmudic Phariseeism and all other Judaisms as the people of God. Should not they who are saved replace those who are lost?  If those not the remnant are lost, then they are lost Israel.  They who are saved by entry into the Messianic Judaism of Jesus are the saved Israel.  Who then is the Israel of God but they whom God accepts?  

The invitation to receive the destiny of the Messianic hope was given to all of the twelve tribes 2,000 years ago the same as it is being given today.  They who reject it identify themselves as not a part of the remnant who will be God's Israel.  Gentiles are grafted into that Israel and we become one sheepfold, one body, and one faith.  

We must ask ourselves a few questions to understand replacement theology:  Did the sacrifice of Christ replace animal sacrifices?  Did the New Testament Priesthood replace the Levitical priesthood and Rabbinical authority? Did The Church replace the Temple on Mount Moriah?  Did Jesus move the throne of David from old nationalistic Israel into the New Testament Church and he reigns now as Lord? Did the New Covenant Passover (the Lord's Supper) replace the old Passover?  Are unbelieving Jews cut off out of the olive tree of New Testament Judaism and into the tree where they were cut out they are replaced by Gentile converts to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus?  When Jesus returns is he coming back for the Church as the Israel of God or is he coming back to give the still unbelieving Talmudic-Pharisees the world to rule during the Millennial?  Who is the Israel of God, that is the question?  And, should we not ask ourselves if God cares to bless the large number who will not be in the remnant?  Why would God care to bless those whom he called children of the devil?  It is false and wrong to preach, teach, or assume that God is going to place on flesh and blood divine favor when these are never going to be saved and in the end they will dance in the streets at the death of the two witnesses.

The issues are not correctly put down upon paper by many Jews and Dispensationalist for a person to make a decision of faith.  But we shall attempt to do so here and we believe the conclusive proof is that the Messianic Judaism of Jesus identified from all of the twelve tribes and as the Church, replaced all other Judaisms in existence in the days of Jesus.  Further, we believe the evidence will prove that neither the Pharisees or the Saducees were orthodox and so any claim that Jesus, the Apostles, or the Apostle Paul attempted to replace orthodox Judaism by rejecting Pharisee and Saduceeism is false.  These sects were not orthodox they were only two denomination-daughters of many in that day which had several false teachings and practices that are not supported by the Law at all but were developed in Mystery Babylon as the traditions of the Elders.  And, it must be pointed out early on that the Messianic Hope throughout the Old Testament clearly pointed to a time of reformation and a time of complete change in religious customs and legislation.  Moses predicted this revolution of religious change and reported that when the time would come, whosoever did not believe that prophet would be destroyed from among the people (compare Deut 18:15 Acts 3:23).  And so, believer would replace unbeliever in that day, with the unbeliever cut off and severed from the promises and blessings of Abraham.

 Dispensationalist seem to think that the Jews are correct to wail and lament that it is a false doctrine to teach that the Church replaced those cut off.  So within dispensationalism they have created a false doctrine that unbelieving Jews are not cut off when they rejected Jesus and refused to live according to his teachings.  The whole argument of a postponed Kingdom and the alleged future time of Jacob's trouble as being the seven years of tribulation when God returns upon the Jews is false.

Replacement theology is a scriptural fact.   God is still sending out the message to Jews to convert to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus.  For everyone that says no, the Lord Jesus will reach a Gentile who will say yes, convert them to his Messianic Judaism as *Jews by choice* and replace them.

To read more on this subject read the following:

Response to a claim against replacement theology

Vendyl Jones modern Gentile Pharisee Talmudic antichrist

Email Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor