As we approach Jesus Second Coming, many people have come to believe dispensational theology which I will attempt to show is at odds with Jesus’ own words and the New Covenant in general. This is Part 3. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 by clicking on the links.
Dispensationalists like to point to the following verses to contend for their belief that God is going to eventually save the people of Israel.
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved...” Romans 11:25–26a (NASB95) From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:28–29 (NASB95)
“All Israel” in Romans 11:26 is thought by many to mean all those Jews who are alive at that time, at least those present in the environs of Jerusalem when Christ appears. It is indeed possible that Christ will appear to many descendants of Abraham in a special way at the very end, as seems to be indicated by Zechariah.
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 (NASB95)
However, Paul made it clear earlier in his letter to the church in Rome that only a remnant of those descended from Abraham will be saved, those foreknown by him, the elect from among the Jews.
And as Isaiah said before: “Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed [remnant], We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.” Romans 9:29 (NKJV) I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew... Romans 11:1–2a (NASB95)
Nowhere does Paul indicate that the entire nation will be saved, except potentially in Romans 11:26. However, we cannot interpret that verse in such a way that would undo what he stated previously, that only the elect remnant will be saved. The Holy Spirit does not contradict himself. In addition, we cannot redefine Israel in a different way than Paul already did. The Israel of God now consists of both Jew and Gentile who have reborn of the Spirit. (Romans 2:29, Romans 9:6, Galatians 3:29, and Philippians 3:3)
It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. Romans 11:5 (NLT)
God’s plan is to save a remnant from Israel, as he is doing from all mankind. This agrees with the larger idea that Christ redeemed those whom the Father chose from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to be a part of his Body, the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles.
God’s focus in the end times is on Christ and his bride, the church, which is composed of people drawn from every people group on the earth.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” Revelation 5:9–10 (NASB95)
This new creation people is much grander than the Old Covenant nation of Israel.
God has enlarged the narrow Old Testament concept of the kingdom of God under monarchs such as David and Solomon. God’s focus now is King Jesus, the Lord of all, who will reign from the heavenly Jerusalem over a recreated earth, with the Bride, the church, at his side.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7 (NASB95)
Paul taught that the Old Jerusalem of his day was still in bondage because it refused to recognize Jesus as Messiah.
Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. Galatians 4:25–26 (NASB95)
Jesus said that the Jewish religious leaders of his day were of the devil.
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (NASB95)
John the Baptist and Jesus called them a “brood of vipers.” (Matthew 3:7, Matthew 12:34, and Matthew 23:33) John told them not to count on being physical descendants of Abraham. God is only interested in those who demonstrate the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, those who are born again. He warned them that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from “stones.” (Matthew 3:9) The new birth transforms any people, no matter whether Jew or Gentile, into spiritual children of Abraham, the only kind of children God accepts. God will take anyone who responds to the gospel and declares allegiance to King Jesus and is fashioning them into a spiritual temple made of living stones.
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB95)
The Book of Revelation reveals that Jesus called those Jews who do not accept his lordship as the “synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews but are not.” (Revelation 2:9) Paul wrote that the only true Jew is one who is spiritually circumcised through the new birth. (Romans 2:28-29) All others are imposters.
Talmudic Judaism has turned its back on the God of the Bible and his Messiah.
Please do not think that I am antisemitic or against Jewish people. I simply do not accept that they are the “good guys” any more than I think any other nation should be thought of in that way. Talmudic Jews, who believe that they are destined to rule the world, think of Gentiles, goyim, as mere chattel to be used by them. They are no different from followers of Islam or communism, the Mafia, cartels, or globalists, who all desire to rule the world and exploit or even destroy anyone who gets in the way. The United States, my own homeland, which is supposedly a bastion of liberty and justice for all, over the years has acted in self-centered and tyrannical ways, using its money, power, and influence to get our way in the world. No one can claim the moral high ground from which to judge others. However, it is important that we view the Jews no differently than any other people group, in view of the New Covenant.
God loves Jews and wants to save them through the gospel, but they are not a “special” people with an elevated status. At the foot of the cross, the ground is level.
At this moment, all believers are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:5–6 (NASB95)
Our destiny as the bride of Christ, composed of Jews and Gentiles is to co-rule with him. (Revelation 21:2)
If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 2 Timothy 2:12 (NASB95)
To believe that the Jews will be elevated to a special status over Gentile believers is a corruption of the gospel’s clear teaching about “one new man” in Christ and is to be rejected. Instead, we are to understand that the mystery is that God will reveal his splendid wisdom through the church, not the nation of Israel.
By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, Ephesians 3:4–11 (NASB95)
God’s eternal purpose is bound up in Christ and the church, not the nation of Israel, whose time of importance has passed.
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Footnotes * "Dispensationalism, Its History & Framework (Part 1)" by Jon Brodhagen. If you wish to read more about Covenant vs. Dispensational Theology, click here and here. If you wish to learn more about an alternate view of the end times, I recommend Harold Eberle's book, Victorious Eschatology.
