What is Replacement Theology?
Replacement Theology is a church doctrine that concludes the following three points. First, all of the blessings and promises, including God’s salvific plan given to Abraham and his descendants, are now passed on to the Church because the Jews rejected Christ. Second, the Jewish nation is forever damned for the sin of crucifying Jesus. Third, all divine covenants with the Jews are therefore broken, and God has no plans for a national Israel . The error of this interpretation is explained in detail below. Although God has given His authority and blessings to the Church to evangelize the world, He has not forgotten Israel . The Jews and their nation were never damned, as the Replacement Theologians would have the world believe. Many Replacement Theologians believe that since the Jews rejected Jesus and told Pilate to crucify Him, all of Abraham’s blessings and promises belong to the Church. All that remains for the Jews are divine curse and God’s judgment. They believe that He has no fur
For a full treatment on Replacement Theology, we suggest Zola’s book Broken Branches: Zola on Replacement Theology. It is inexpensive and a contains appropriate Scripture references. In brief, replacement theology states that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s dealings with man, and Scripture should be read this way. One has to shut his eyes to the prophetic fulfillment of the Jews returning to the land, and a thousand verses of Scripture having to do with the end times and God continuing to deal with the Jews. The doctrine seems to serve anti-Semitic preferences making the Jews and Israel (and finally the Scriptures) virtually irrelevant. For an in-depth discussion, see this article by Tom McCall from the Levitt Letter. For an in-depth discussion about Progressive Dispensationalism, a related doctrine, see this article by Todd Baker from the Levitt Letter.
Replacement Theology was introduced to the Church shortly after Gentile leadership took over from Jewish leadership. What are its premises? 0. Israel (the Jewish people and the land) has been replaced by the Christian Church in the purposes of God, or, more precisely, the Church is the historic continuation of Israel to the exclusion of the former. 1. The Jewish people are now no longer a “chosen people.” In fact, they are no different from any other group, such as the English, Spanish, or Africans. 2. Apart from repentance, the new birth, and incorporation into the Church, the Jewish people have no future, no hope, and no calling in the plan of God. The same is true for every other nation and group. 3. Since Pentecost of Acts 2, the term “Israel,” as found in the Bible, now refers to the Church. 4. The promises, covenants and blessings ascribed to Israel in the Bible have been taken away from the Jews and given to the Church, which has superseded them. However, the Jews are subject to
