Today’s Devotional – March 14th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian! Part 1)
By admin On January 14th, 2021.
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Today’s Devotional – March 14th
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Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian!
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Part 1
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“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly;
neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Romans 2:28, 29.
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One day, a certain radio Christian talk show host was criticizing a notable but, “far-out” evangelist for applying an Old Testament book to the Church, calling this evangelist guilty of subscribing to, “Replacement Theology”.
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And he spoke as if it was a foregone conclusion that such, “Replacement Theology”, is cursed by God!
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And of course, his listeners seemed to agree with him on this subject!
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announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public-Domain (2)
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Now, just what is “Replacement Theology”?
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Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE CHURCH IS NOW ISRAEL?
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Yes, just what is the definition of, “Replacement Theology”?
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Well, Replacement Theology is a theologian-concocted term to describe those who believe that the Church is now New Testament Israel.
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And so, Replacement Theology is the derogatory tag placed upon those who spiritualize the portions of the Bible which speak of Israel, now applying them, as far as possible, to the Christian Church.
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But Replacement Theology is not a term found anywhere in the Bible.
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ABOVE PHOTO: audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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BUT WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
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What is very puzzling is this: with all the Bible passages which speak of the New Testament Church as now being “The Israel of God”, it’s baffling why this talk show host was so confident about his hardline stance against so-called, “Replacement Theology”! (see Galatians 6:16 for, “The Israel of God” reference)
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Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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EXPLORING THIS SO-CALLED DOCTRINE
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And so, this article will attempt to explain why Christians should be very nervous about using this derogatory name, “Replacement Theology”, to discount and demean those who believe the Church is spiritual Israel.
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In other words, is it biblical to hang this derogatory title around the necks of those who believe that the New Testament Church (made up of both Jews and Gentiles), is now also part of the Commonwealth of Israel?
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Or rather, are they actually transgressing the Bible by condemning those whom they say are “guilty” of subscribing to so-called, “Replacement-Theology”?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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But where did this “Replacement Theology” church-doctrine come from, any way?
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And why did it rise to popularity?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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WHY THE SHIFT IN OUR BELIEFS?
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Yes, where did this “Replacement Theology” church-doctrine come from?
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Well, it first began to gain popularity after the Jews pronounced “Israel” as once again becoming a nation, back in 1948.
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Prior to that, most theologians subscribed to the idea that the Church is the true modern-day Israel.
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But after national Israel once again became a physical nation in 1948, then the theological community began to re-think their stance about Israel being the Church.
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Declaration of State of Israel 1948 – Wikimedia – public domain
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RADIO & TV MINISTRIES
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And over the decades theologians and Bible teachers have increasingly condemned the belief that the Church is the “Israel of God”. Galatians 6:16
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And with the rise of Christian TV and radio, this condemnation is now being repeatedly emblazoned into the audience’s consciousness, day and night by many mainstream Bible prophecy ministries!
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Announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE STRAW MAN PLOY
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And what has further fueled the negativity of this Israel-being-the-Church doctrine, is that some notoriously apostate ministries have also embraced this idea regarding the Church-being-Israel.
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And this has only further confused the issue.
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Simply put, if those so-called, “cults” and “wackos” believe that the-Church-is-now-Israel, then who would ever want to be lumped together with them, by also believing in “Replacement Theology”!?
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Straw man (or lady) – Wikipedia – Share-alike or GNU Free Documentation License
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NO TRACE FOUND IN THE BIBLE
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But one big problem with Replacement Theology is, that this name is found absolutely nowhere in the Bible!
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Well, just get your Strong’s Concordance out, and try to find this non-biblical name, “Replacement Theology”.
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You simply won’t find it! Because it’s not there! Some fearless theologian dreamed-up the name, emboldening most other theologians to follow his heretical leading!
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No-Page svg question mark on book – Wikimedia – share-alike license
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A DOCTRINE FROM THE CARNAL HEART
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And furthermore, there is absolutely nowhere in the Bible that forbids the Christian from interpreting the Bible spiritually, when it comes to Israel!
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Nothing!
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So, the name, “Replacement Theology” is not found anywhere in the Bible. Nor does the Bible offer any validation for condemning those who spiritualize away the types and shadows found in Scripture, concerning Israel!
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In other words, it is a totally man-made, man-fabricated doctrine! Nowhere does the Bible say that we must only regard Israel as literal.
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Book of Isaiah – cropped image – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License
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BIBLE: A SPIRITUAL BOOK
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Let’s repeat this statement: Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we must only regard Israel as literal.
As a matter of fact, there is much in the Bible which says just the opposite!
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But this notion of demanding that Israel is not the Church has no doubt been fostered by those in the Church who cannot see the spiritual nature of the Bible!
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Listen… “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.”
1st Corinthians 2:14.
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So, this verse reveals that those who are yet in their carnal nature, cannot fully comprehend the spiritual and allegorical nature of the Bible.
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Nicaea icon – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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So the remaining question today, is this: Just why do so many Christians continue to hold fast to this idea, that the-Church-is-now-Israel, which their detractors condemn them as being, “Replacement Theologians”?
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Question Marks-At a loss svg – Wikimedia Commons – share-alike license
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APOSTLE, PAUL: THE GUILTY ONE!
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Well, of course, the leading proponent and chief culprit of the “Replacement Theology” movement is none other than the apostle, Paul, himself!
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Yes, Paul is the guilty one!
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This is because Paul is by far, the biggest “violator”, when it comes to subscribing to the concept that the Church Elect is now spiritual Israel!
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Just listen to Paul…
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly;
neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly;
and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
Romans 2:28, 29.
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So here, Paul is showing himself to be a “Replacement Theologian”.
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Yes, by saying that every true-worshipper of God is now a true Jew, including Gentiles, definitely makes Paul guilty of “Replacement Theology” (if this were a true biblical name (which it’s not!))
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Paul persecuted by Pharisees & Sadducees – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain
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CHURCH NOW THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL
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But Paul doesn’t stop here!
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No, just listen to this next passage…
“That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise,
having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off
are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For He is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in His flesh the enmity,
even the law of commandments contained in ordinances;
for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”
Ephesians 2:12-15
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Now this has some difficult language in it. But basically this is saying that the blood of Jesus now makes us Gentiles at oneness with Israel, through the atonement of Christ on the Cross!
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In Christ, we are now one!
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Brooklyn Museum – What Our Lord Saw from the Cross – James Tissot
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NOW WE ALL ARE ONE IN CHRIST
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And now, we Gentile Believers also belong to the “Commonwealth of Israel”, alongside every true Jewish worshipper of God!
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Yes, by Christ’s blood, both Jew and Gentile Believers alike, now belong to the, Commonwealth of Israel!
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And so, it is passages like this which cause us so-called, “Replacement Theologians”, to cling tenaciously to the idea that we are the true, “Israel of God”! And as this passage reveals, we true worshippers are no longer strangers from the “covenant of promise”.
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And so today, the Bible makes it clear that there is absolutely no difference between Jew and Gentile, according to this passage.
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“For I could wish that myself were accursed…for…my kinsmen”
Romans 9:3
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Now, should Christians have a yearning in their hearts for “Israel-after-the-flesh”? (1st Corinthians 10:18)
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Of course they should! And even though we know that God will never re-institute His sacrificial system in the nation of Israel over there in so-called, “Palestine” (or any other nation), our prayers and hope is for the Salvation of each and every Jew!
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And it is really disingenuous for the apostate church-world to call us by their unbiblical derogatory tag, “replacement theology”, and make the false claim that we hate the Jews or are anti-Zionists! Just because we understand that the Bible is a spiritual Book, filled with shadows, types, proverbs, and allegories. Of course, true worshipers of God have a great and prayerful desire to see every ethnic Jew come to Salvation in Christ!
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Paul had a great self-sacrificial love for his fellow kinsmen, and so should we!
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Paul persecuted by Pharisees & Sadducees – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain
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And so, O Seeker of Truth, do these aforementioned passages (Romans 2:28, 29 & Ephesians 2:12-15) begin to make sense, as to why so many Christians are “guilty” of clinging to the doctrine that we, the Church, are now the true “Israel of God”?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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But these above passages (Romans 2:28, 29 & Ephesians 2:12-15) are just two passages among many other similar passages from Paul’s epistles, which speak of the New Testament Church as being of the commonwealth of Israel.
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.
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TO READ PART 2, CLICK HERE…
March 15th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian! Part 2)
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to study the Bible for my own self, and not lean on the arm of flesh. Let me not be afraid to stand alone. Let me not be afraid of angry faces when I do take my stand, independent of the multitudes…
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “November 22 – (The Greatest Jig-saw Puzzle Ever!)“, or you can also read… “January 24th (The True Message of Revelation!)”, or you can also read…September 13 (“Do Replacement Theology Christians Hate Jews?”)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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WINE-CUP IN HER HAND
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As you can see, this Mystery Harlot, the Pleiades Constellation, has a cup of red wine in her hand. This actually is a single red star. But it only confirms that we are seeing this constellation correctly.
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And by the way, this entire cluster of stars reminds us of a cluster of grapes, does it not? Yes, this was the forbidden tree in the garden! This was the forbidden fruit which the serpent (Satan) convinced the woman to drink! And so, this Pleiades harlot-woman is a symbol of Eve, as she convinced her husband to eat of that fruit.
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Concord Grapes – cropped image – Share-alike License – Wikipedia
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The Pleiades: The Captive Angel & Mystery Harlot Constellation
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW:
“March 15th (Paul the Ultimate Replacement Theologian! Part 2)”
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Paul persecuted by Pharisees & Sadducees – www.thebiblerevival.com – US Public Domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH
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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #73 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING, FORMER CEO OF FAMILY RADIO…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain