Replacement Theology

 By Anthony F. Buzzard

So-called “Replacement Theology” is not wrong provided that one takes into account God’s own exceedingly important proviso as detailed by Paul in Romans 11. Paul tells us there that God sees a future for a collectively converted remnant of all Israel (meaning in this case Israelites, whom today we call Jews).

But Jesus expressly said that unbelieving Jews, those who rejected him as Messiah and continue to do so today, would have the Kingdom of God removed from them and that the Kingdom would be given to a nation bringing forth the fruit of the Kingdom. That is indeed a replacement of one group by another. In that sense replacement is biblical, as based on the words of Jesus (Matt. 21). But if any form of “replacement theology” sees no further place for the present physical and national Israel at all, ever (as Paul very clearly does in Rom. 11), then replacement theology is in error. Nevertheless, we must not throw away the obvious biblical teaching that true New Covenant Christians now become spiritual Jews and the Old Testament focus on Israel turns into a New Covenant focus on the international spiritual Israel — the international Church (“the Israel of God,” Gal. 6:16: those who belong to the commonwealth of Israel in Eph.      2:12-20). In the Church there is no national Jew or Gentile, but all are one in Christ. “If you are Christians, then you are Abraham’s seed” (Gal. 3:29: a group which in Old Covenant times meant only the physical descendants of Abraham). The national, now largely unbelieving Israel of the Old Covenant has been replaced by the international Israel of God under the New Covenant, in which ethnic identity in the natural sense does not count.

Again, “If you are Christians, then you are the seed of Abraham” is the core truth of the New Covenant Church. This means that it is quite unbiblical to apply the blessing/cursing passage in Genesis 12:1-3 to unconverted Jews today! The point is a simple one: “He who blesses you will be blessed and he who curses you will be cursed” applies now, in view of Galatians 3:29 just cited, to the international Church! A gigantic misunderstanding has been built on a false premise here. Genesis 12 has been taken to refer today to the issue of approving and assisting Jews in the Middle East. We all hope for the best for all Middle Eastern nations and indeed every nation on earth. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. But to use Genesis 12:1-3 as a justification for present political policy to Israel is quite wrong. Paul has defined the seed of Abraham in Galatians 3:29. He does not mean Jews who have not accepted Jesus as Messiah.

Of course, Jews, as well as anyone else, are free to accept the true Jesus Messiah at any time. Paul went out to save as many as he could in his day. Yet he described Israel as a group as currently “enemies of the Gospel” (Rom. 11:28). They had killed their Messiah, not accepted him. But Paul clearly affirmed the vast quantity of prophecy which promises a collective conversion of the nation of Israel at the second coming, when as a group, at least a remnant (Mic. 2:12) will welcome Jesus, the Messiah who “comes in the name of the Lord God” (Matt. 23:39).