The two-edged sword of Replacement Theology

The majority of Christians believe in Replacement Theology – the majority of Evangelicals and charismatics also. It may surprise you to know that many Christians who love Jewish worship music or who staunchly believe in future prophetic events for Israel are also ‘practical Replacement Theology’ adherents.

Can anything good come out of Samaria?

Circa 150 A.D. a Samaritan believer in Yeshua named Justin Martyr was one of the first theologians to push Replacement Theology. The Samaritan community Justin was raised in was shot through with anti-Semitism for many centuries. As the Book of Ezra tells us:

Justin hewed the pillars of Replacement Theology in his “Dialogue With Trypho, A Jew” (see The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1975; ed. Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson, Vol. I, chapters 29, 120, 123-124, 135):

For more in-depth information on Justin’s teachings, see Israel the Key to World Revival by Avner Boskey, chapter nine, How Have We Robbed God?  Replacement Theology and You (available at https://davidstent.org/books/ ).

Justin believed that, when the majority of Israel’s spiritual leaders rejected Yeshua’s Messiahship, this was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ – and that God then rejected the Jewish people. In spreading this ‘fake news,’ Justin violated the word and heart of God as expressed throughout the Bible:

Justin Martyr and the Replacement theologians who followed him may have delighted in Jesus’ great passion for the Church, but they were blind in not recognizing Messiah’s great passion for His own Jewish people.

By trumpeting an unbalanced focus on Israel’s judgment while ignoring God’s undying commitment to and covenant with His Jewish people, Replacement Theology has missed the heart of God in these matters.

Robbing the God of Israel and the Israel of God

To appropriate Israel’s chosen status is to steal the Jewish people’s God-given promises. To rob the Jewish people is to rob the God of the Jews. This is of course a violation of the Eighth Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal!” (Exodus 20:15). Stealing from the Jewish people brings a curse on the thief according to Genesis 12:3, even if that thief is a Christian thief. Theft, like all sin, needs to be confessed according to 1 John 1:9. But after confession comes restitution – what John the Baptist called “fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:7-9).

Boasting in the breeze, swinging in the wind

In Romans 11:17-24 the Apostle Paul explains that all non-Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua are actually grafted into a pre-existing Jewish olive tree of faith. He rings out a prophetic warning to Gentile believers down through the corridors of time, warning them not to boast against the Jewish people, their national and prophetic calling, and their amazing Last Days restoration. To boast against the Jews is to separate oneself from the Jewish tree of faith. It is literally to cut oneself loose from the place of blessing and stability. A tree not connected to its own roots will eventually wither and die. This is Paul’s warning: “Do not be conceited, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Romans 11:20-22).

Avoiding the Scriptures about Jerusalem’s restoration

Over the past forty years I have watched a growing awareness among some believers that End Times events will have a focus on Jerusalem. I have also seen a blossoming appreciation of God’s passionate love for His bride. Yet I have not always seen these two streams come into a biblical balance regarding the Jewish people’s central place in this jigsaw puzzle. The Scriptures let us know beyond any doubt that:

Most of the teaching I have heard about Israel strays from these central biblical truths.

When there is no awareness of the need to focus on Israel in the here and now, and when the subject of the Jewish people is taught without passion or biblical depth, then one can say that these above-detailed expressions can be called ‘practical Replacement Theology.’

Making room for Jewish roots but having no time to focus on real Jews

I and my Lady Rachel have a deep love and appreciation for music and especially for Jewish music. I grew up immersed in Yiddish culture (theater, choir, literature and folk songs). My whole family loves art and theater, and is actively involved in encouraging such expressions. So we have been encouraged to see Gentile believers embrace Jewish modes of worship. These would include Jewish-sounding music, banners with Jewish themes, Jewish dancing in worship, focus on the Hebrew language, and the perfume and shades of meaning that the study of the Hebrew Scriptures can sometimes bring to biblical studies, etc.

The Apostle Paul prophesied about how the Jewish roots of the faith would bring blessing and encouragement to many non-Jews. Gentiles in Messiah have become partakers with the Jewish believers of the rich sap and root of the Jewish olive tree (see Romans 11:17).

But I have also noticed that all too often, for some Gentile believers, these new and Jewish expressions are both the beginning and the end of the story.  These appreciative manifestations for Jewish things often do not cross over the line and lead to activity dedicated to Israel’s restoration. A healthy appreciation for the Jewish roots of our faith should lead to the following:

Connection with Jewish things is not primarily meant to give us a happier and more prosperous life in Gentile suburbia. The priority focus here is meant to enfold our hearts with God’s purposes in blessing and restoring His Jewish people spiritually and physically – and all the more so as we see the Day drawing near.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Removing the Jewish people from Jewish promises

The final point to be considered here concerns a way of interpreting the prophetic scriptures. Many of the biggest serial offenders on this point are well-known teachers and leaders. In this form of Replacement Theology, scripture passages which specifically refer to the prophetic future of Israel are reinterpreted, with Gentile believers deftly inserted in place of the Jewish nation. These passages are then presented with gusto as offering a brilliant future for Gentile believers, even though the actual prophecies in question specifically refer to the Jewish people and to their own Promised Land of Israel. This usage is by far the most common example of ‘practical Replacement Theology.’

Here are a few common examples:

The amount of examples here could go on for a long time. Suffice it to say that such ‘practical Replacement Theology’ teaching is widespread, and most people who teach such things may not even be aware of how this approach twists the Scriptures and distorts the heart of God’s message written there about Israel.

It is wonderful and edifying to apply scriptural principles from the Word of God to whatever situation we are facing. At the same time, when the text or passage actually refers to the Jewish people and we avoid that contextual reality in our sharing, there arises a problem called ‘patent infringement.’  It is honorable, indeed essential, that we all should remind our listeners that these promises will find their completeness and essential fulfillment when they are fulfilled for the Jewish people. Let us ‘walk the line’ here, and make the crooked paths straight.

How should we then pray?

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

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