The idea of constructing a third Jewish temple is a topic of current interest. Many believe that the nation of Israel has plans to do just that, building it on the temple mount after removing the Islamic holy place currently located there. Along with this would be a re-institution of Old Covenant animal sacrifices. Thanks to the Dispensational teachings of John Darby and Cyrus Scofield, millions of Christians believe all of this must take place before Jesus returns and support Israel in this matter, believing them to be “God’s chosen people.” Did Jesus have anything to say about these things?

To arrive at an answer, here are three questions we need to answer.

1. Why did Jesus prophesy the destruction of the Temple, which took place in 70 AD?
2. Why did Jesus say, if this temple, meaning his body, were destroyed, he would raise it again in three days?
3. Why did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman that all true believers would worship God in spirit and truth without regard to a physical location?

Why the Temple Was Destroyed

Just before his crucifixion, Jesus prophesied the complete destruction of the Jerusalem and the temple.

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Mark 13:1–2 (NKJV) 

This in itself was shocking enough to his disciples, but the reason for this happening was even more startling. Our Lord provided this rationale in parabolic form.

Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” 45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. Matthew 21:33–46 (NKJV)

The descendants of Abraham, except for a relatively few godly men and women, were rebels against God from start to finish.

Their history as a nation begins, in a sense, at the miraculous Exodus from Egypt. Their forty years of desert wandering after leaving Egypt and entering Canaan contained numerous examples of idolatry and rebellion against God. At one point, God was ready to destroy them and start again with Moses, but Moses interceded on their behalf. (Exodus 32:11) After they conquered Canaan, at the end of Joshua’s life, that great leader prophesied their future apostasy, despite their protests that they would be faithful to God.

But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” Joshua 24:19–20 (NKJV)

Israel was part of the Old Covenant. As such, they were not able to keep God’s commandments, because no one can.

There is not one single righteous person apart from our Lord. (Romans 3:10) It is only through Jesus that anyone can be saved. (Philippians 3:9) The temple and sacrificial system were instituted as pictures of the perfect temple and sacrifice that was to come, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, through his incarnation and offering of himself upon the cross as God’s Lamb.

The blood of animals could never remove sin – not then, not ever. Those sacrifices merely postponed judgment until the arrival of the Messiah.

But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Hebrews 10:3–4 (NKJV)

When Jesus arrived, John the Baptist announced to the Jews and the world that God’s Lamb had come at last.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 (NKJV)

Jesus came to fulfill Isaiah 53, but the Jewish leaders did not receive him or believe in him.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:10–13 (NKJV)

Only a remnant of people among the Jews were able to recognize and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Jewish leaders put him to death, which was a horrible irony. The most privileged people in the world, the descendants of Abraham, whom God had chosen to husband the Scriptures and provide the human lineage of the Messiah, chose to murder instead of worship him. As a result of their horrible betrayal, those Jews who refused to later repent at the preaching of the gospel were sentenced to pay for their monumental sin.

All the postponed judgment for Israel’s continual disobedience came upon that generation, embodied in the grisly destruction of the city and temple.

Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. Luke 11:47–51 (NKJV)

In addition, the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a most surprising group of people – the elect in Christ, otherwise known as the body of Christ, the one new man in Christ, and the church. Paul called this a mystery – something hidden beforehand, but later revealed by God.

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, Ephesians 3:1–6 (NKJV)

This people is composed of born-again individuals from every ethnic group, including the Jews. 

Jesus Is the New Covenant Tabernacle of God

The New Covenant made the old one obsolete and no longer valid. It has been replaced by something infinitely superior.

In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:13 (NKJV)

When Jesus became a human, he also became the true tabernacle of God on the earth, replacing the temple building as the abiding place of God’s presence.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt [Greek: skenoo - tabernacled] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NKJV)

The Greek word for “tabernacled” used in the above verse is the same root word for “tent of meeting” employed by the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, which was used by Jesus and the apostles. The apostle John understood, when he wrote his gospel, that Jesus carried God’s presence with him, making the Old Covenant temple obsolete. This was not apparent to the apostles until after the resurrection, but by the time of Stephen, it was clearly understood. 

“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45 which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, 46 who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. 47 But Solomon built Him a house. 48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest? 50 Has My hand not made all these things?’ 51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, 53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” Acts 7:44–53 (NKJV)

God used the tent in the wilderness and the physical temple building as pictures of the heavenly reality of his presence and throne. Nevertheless, it was never the Lord’s intention that physical structures of any kind would be his ultimate dwelling place. From the beginning, his plan was to tabernacle among men. (Revelation 21:3) This was accomplished when Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to God’s right hand.

Our Lord sent his Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe in him.

Paul wrote:

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 (NKJV)

Peter agreed:

Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 1 Peter 2:4–7 (NKJV)

Knowing that the nation of Israel as a whole would utterly reject and murder him, Jesus mysteriously told those unbelievers that, if they destroyed his body, the true temple of God, he would raise it again in three days.

So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. John 2:18–22 (NKJV)

Putting this together, it is clear that Jesus is himself God’s final temple. Those who are included in his body, the church, share in the glorious privilege of “housing” God.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:16–20 (NKJV)

Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God spoke beforehand. To go back to the Old Covenant picture after the New Covenant fulfillment has arrived would be a blasphemous transgression.

Paul wrote:

For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” Galatians 2:19–21 (NKJV)

It is understandable why Jewish people who reject Christ would want to rebuild the temple and re-institute animal sacrifices, but it is inconceivable that anyone who understands the New Covenant would support such a move!

New Covenant Worship Is Not Connected to Any Physical Location

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that New Covenant worship would not be connected to any building or place.

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:19–26 (NKJV)

Our Lord openly admitted to this woman that he is the Messiah, something that had been reserved to a precious few people. He also told her that the temple was, as of that moment, obsolete – “the hour is coming, and now is…”

There will never again be a time when true worship will revert to a temple built with human hands. 

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:22–23 (NKJV)

A Reconstruction of a Physical Temple Is Part of an Antichrist Agenda

The Jewish people, except for that remnant who confesses Christ, remain adamant in their repudiation of their Messiah. This, by definition, makes them “antichrist.”

Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:22–23 (NKJV)

Israel’s leaders insist, however, that they are God’s chosen people, using misguided Christians indoctrinated into Dispensationalism to affirm that claim, but that cannot possibly be the case. There is only one New Covenant chosen people, those who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. This group includes Jews and Gentiles.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3–6 (NKJV)

A third physical temple would be a further repudiation of Christ and the New Covenant. If such is ever constructed, it will not be to honor the one true God, but it will be for antichrist.

I suppose that some will label me antisemitic for what I have written, but that would mean that the Bible is antisemitic, as were Jesus, John, Stephen, and Paul. None of them were, and neither am I. I do not hate the Jewish people or Israel, but I will not affirm them in their rebellion against God. Neither should you. The most loving thing we can do for anyone who is alienated from God is to call him or her to repent and to affirm that only through faith in and allegiance to Christ can anyone be saved. May our Lord draw many more people of Jewish descent into his kingdom. Amen.

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When I first embarked on my current quest to discover who is the true Israel, one of the major questions that needed to be answered is: “What defines Jewishness?” Interestingly, Jewish rabbis and those who lead the state of Israel differ greatly on the answer, as you will discover if you watch the video interview of Rabbi Shapiro below.

The most obvious answer, perhaps, is that a Jew is someone biologically descended from Abraham. Modern genetics confirms that most people who claim biological Jewish descent have genomes that trace back to the area occupied by ancient Israel, at least on the paternal line. So we can establish some sort of theoretical Jewish descent based on DNA, even though it is impossible to prove one’s lineage directly from Abraham genealogically since all records were destroyed when Jerusalem and the Temple were leveled in 70 AD. Also, without our being able to identify and examine Abraham’s bones, we cannot definitively establish who are his modern descendants using the science of DNA.

Grok AI breaks down what is commonly accepted as the various Jewish lineages living in modern Israel below.

The percentage of Jews living in modern Israel who are Ashkenazi (typically defined as those with origins in Europe, the Americas, Oceania, South Africa, or similar classifications, often excluding or separately noting post-1989 immigrants from the former USSR) is approximately 32%.

This figure comes from a representative 2019 study/sample of the Israeli Jewish population (cited in sources including Wikipedia’s Demographics of Israel page, drawing from academic analysis), which broke it down as:

• • • About 44.9% Mizrahi (grandparents born in Asia or North Africa),
    • 31.8% Ashkenazi (grandparents born in Europe/the Americas/etc.),
    • 12.4% “Soviet” (post-1989 immigrants from the ex-USSR, many of whom are ethnically Ashkenazi but often tracked separately),
    • 3% Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews),
    • 7.9% mixed or other.

I suppose the above figures are correct, but it is not that important. Being unable to nail down genetically those who are biological descendants of Abraham does not really pose a problem, however, because a more legitimate claim to Jewishness, according to Rabbi Shapiro, comes from being a follower of the Jewish religion, something that transcends nationality, ethnicity, and genetics.

The video below is a brilliant presentation of what a Jewish rabbi says it means to be a Jew and how different that is from Zionism. I suggest you start at 3:36. It is long but well worth watching. I noted some interesting places in the video as follows.
3:36 - What is a Jew?
36:40 - Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.
Other quotes: Zionism is antisemitic and anti-Jewish.

One can be a religious Jew from being born into a practicing Jewish family or by choosing to convert to Judaism. In the Old Testament, several women in the line of Jesus the Messiah were non-Israelites who converted.

This method of identifying one’s Jewishness is more easily defined and provable, but it is not what the state of Israel accepts. Israel permits people who are atheists but have a Jewish background to be allowed to return to the land. Israel is a secular state caring little for the Jewish religion.

New Covenant Jewishness

Now let us examine how our Lord Jesus and Paul defined Jewishness, which is far more important for gaining a New Covenant perspective.

When the Jewish Pharisees attacked Jesus’ authority and credibility, a discussion of origins ensued. This discussion began after Jesus promised those who believed in him that obeying his words would set them free. 

They [the Pharisees] answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” John 8:33 (NKJV)

The first issue that Jesus addressed was their claim never to have been in bondage. Then he progressed to the second point, their claim to be Abraham’s offspring.

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” John 8:34–38 (NKJV)

All are guilty of sin; therefore, all are in bondage. Their refusal to acknowledge their sin was central to their larger problem of refusing to recognize Jesus’ messianic claims.

Next Jesus acknowledged their genealogical link to Abraham, but denied their deeper connection to him by saying that spiritually they have another father.

The Jewish leaders denied Jesus’ claim, emphatically asserting, “Abraham is our father.” (John 8:39) To this Jesus replied:

...“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” John 8:39–41 (NKJV)

Here the Pharisees insinuate that Jesus is the illegitimate child of Mary while at the same time insisting that not only is Abraham their father, but so is God. This set up Jesus to deliver his final judgment in this matter.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” John 8:42–47 (NKJV)

Despite their being genetically descended from Abraham, our Lord declared that they were not spiritual descendants of Abraham, “not of God,” and were the offspring of Satan.

Biological descent now means nothing when it comes to the kingdom of God. The only criteria for judging if one is part of the true Israel of God is whether one confesses that Jesus is Lord and is born again.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NKJV)

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. Galatians 6:15–16 (NKJV)

Paul addresses the issue of who is the true Israel in several places in his letters. It was a contentious issue in his day, as it continues to be today.

The devil resists the truth of what Christ accomplished because he wants to keep us in the dark. The truth sets people free.

God called Paul to be an apostle to the Gentiles. I think it is quite impossible for us with a Gentile background to understand the shock to his system when God gave him that assignment! The Jews despised the Goyim. Paul, being an arch-Pharisee, would have embodied that sentiment; yet, our Lord Jesus immediately tasked him to take the gospel to the nations! I imagine it took Paul a little while to work out the theology of it all, which may account for his years of separation before the launching of his apostolic ministry. 

Paul knew that he would encounter violent opposition from the Jews for preaching Jesus and including the Gentiles in God’s great plan of redemption. He knew because he had been a persecutor himself. He knew their mindset, their theology, their self-righteous indignation, and their willingness to use violence. Nevertheless, he resolutely determined to obey the Lord by taking the gospel to the world at large.

When the Judaizers confused the new converts with Jewish legalism, Paul laid out his arguments to the contrary, many of which have been preserved in the New Testament.

Modern Dispensationalism is another version of Jewish legalism that continues to try to undo the finished work of Christ in bringing Jew and Gentile together in one group.

The epistles to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians contain some of Paul’s best work in this area. I will quote some verses from these letters below with commentary so you can see how perfectly Paul’s words agree with Jesus’. We will start in Romans.

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Romans 2:28–29 (NKJV)

These words of Paul agree with Jesus. Jesus agreed that the Pharisees were descended biologically from Abraham, but in the more important spiritual realm they were not his children. Paul contrasts that which is of the flesh (from natural birth) with that which of the Spirit (by supernatural birth). This agrees with what Jesus told Nicodemus.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:5–7 (NASB95)

Unless a biological Jew (or Gentile. It is the same for everyone.) is born again, he or she no part in God’s kingdom.

Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Galatians 3:7–9 (NKJV)

Here Paul insists that only those who believe in Jesus and confess him as Lord are reckoned to be sons of Abraham, the true Israel of God.

This includes both natural born Jews and Gentiles. Conversely, those Jews who refuse to confess Christ are no longer considered children of Abraham.

Only those of faith are sons of Abraham.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26–29 (NKJV)

Here he reemphasizes that both Jews and Gentiles become sons of God and part of Abraham’s seed through faith in Christ.

The word “seed” is singular, indicating that our inclusion in God’s promise to Abraham becomes ours by our being placed in Christ, the promised seed.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:14–22 (NKJV)

In this beautiful and rich passage, Paul affirms that Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ are made one, coming together in Christ to form a “new man,” the body of Christ, the church. Together we both have equal access to the Father via the Spirit. We are indwelled by God’s Spirit and have become a living temple housing God’s presence. 

The New Covenant, therefore, eliminates the distinction between Jew and Gentile, which Dispensationalism insists still exists. This shows that Dispensationalism is a distortion of the gospel and denial of this fundamental New Covenant truth. I

Most of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day completely rejected Christ’s messianic claims, choosing Barabbas the murderer and insurrectionist (death) instead of choosing their Messiah, who is Life. They put our Lord to death by the hands of the Romans, as Jesus prophesied they would, and continue in their rebellion to this day, except for those elect Jews who confess Christ. The Talmud says that Jesus was a blasphemer who is eternally boiling in excrement. There is no real Judeo-Christian unity. The Jewish religion is hostile to Christ and Christianity.

Through their rejection of Jesus, the Jews ceased to be Jews in any spiritual sense, according to both Jesus and Paul.

They still call themselves by that name, but are not. This brings to mind Christ’s words in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, where he called those Jews who persecuted the church a “synagogue of Satan” who falsely claimed to be Jews. His promise to that church is that eventually those persecutors will one day admit that Jesus indeed loves his church.

Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Revelation 3:9 (NKJV)

If my words seem inflammatory, remember, I am quoting Paul and Jesus. Forcefully making my point about what defines Jewishness has become necessary because of the Dispensational heresy that insists that modern Jewish people still have a claim to the title “God’s Chosen People” and have a destiny in God separate from the church. Both of these are allegations are untrue.

There is only one “chosen people,” the elect. There is only one group of blessed people in the end, the church.

Only by repenting and confessing Christ can anyone, Jew or Gentile, be included in God’s kingdom purposes which are bound up in his church through which God will be glorified forever.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21 (NKJV)

Please do not regard this article as antisemitic. I do not hate Jewish people. On the contrary, it is loving to help people be delivered from a delusion that has the power to send us to hell.

It is a false hope to think that Jews by virtue of their Jewishness, whether through genetics or religion, are on good terms with God and, perhaps, have a separate plan of salvation.

There is no such thing, as the early Jewish church proclaimed.

...let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10–12 (NKJV)

Our prayer is that those who are genetically descended from Abraham and practice the Jewish faith will one day have their eyes and hearts opened to behold their Messiah King so they too can become part of God’s one new man in Christ! They will be most welcome!

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