I was intrigued by a recent Prophecy News Watch article titled: “The Battle for Israel Is Now Being Fought Inside the Church.” Of course, the mainline denominations have become increasingly anti-Israel. This isn't surprising given that for centuries they have accepted the tenets of Replacement Theology, believing that God long ago rejected the Jewish people.
The article correctly described the premillennial beliefs of those it described as “evangelicals.” However, not everyone in this group sees Israel’s rebirth as a nation as the first step toward the Lord restoring the kingdom to the nation at His Second Coming.
Sadly, the battleground is no longer between mainline denominations and evangelicals, but it’s rather inside the walls of churches that profess to be Bible-believing.
The Roots of Antisemitism
Amillennial beliefs have surged in recent decades in churches that profess belief in Scripture's inspiration and inerrancy. It’s not uncommon for statements of faith to include strong language affirming Scripture as God-breathed while also proclaiming an end-of-the-age Second Coming as the very next event on God’s prophetic calendar.
The most popular no-Israel belief of our day is that of Dominion Theology, which teaches that the church will change the world and bring millennial conditions to the world before Jesus’ return to earth. The aforementioned Replacement Theology remains a close second in popularity among “evangelicals.” Those in the Covenant Theology camp believe it was always God’s intention for Israel to transition to the church.
The dismissal of Jesus’ thousand-year reign from Mount Zion, as common in all these variations of Amillennialism, has long been a breeding ground for antisemitism, and today is no different. Pastor and author Gary Hamrick described it this way in an article on the Harbinger’s Daily website.
We’re seeing pastors today who refuse to support Israel because they’ve been influenced by Replacement Theology’s faulty interpretation of Scripture, and there are terrible repercussions for giving place to this damaging theology.
When the church entertains the idea that God has somehow replaced His covenant with the Jewish people—it provides fuel for the fire of those who would do Israel harm.
Make no mistake—this is a spiritual battle. Satan incites antisemitism, and antisemitism is satanic. And no one bears more responsibility in the fight against antisemitism than the church.
It’s not that all those who ascribe to a no-Israel view of future Bible prophecy have ill feelings toward Israel or the Jewish people. They do not. However, there has been a repeated cause-and-effect pattern throughout church history as the teaching that God has rejected Israel has provoked hatred for the Jews. As Pastor Hamrick stated, it’s “a spiritual battle,” and it’s behind today’s resurgence of antisemitism.
Why Does It Matter?
Sadly, the battle extends beyond just hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people. In many cases, amillennial beliefs chip away at Scripture's authority in other areas far too important to ignore.
It’s no accident that churches in mainline denominations, long steeped in Replacement Theology, are the most prone to acquiesce to the world’s woke agenda. If God’s Word doesn’t really mean what it says about Israel, then alternative views of other passages become more inviting and eventually accepted.
As I studied and wrote my latest book, Irrevocable: The Case for Israel, it became far more than an assembling of irrefutable evidence pointing to Israel’s future restoration as a kingdom. It also became a means to highlight the wonders of God’s unfailing love to His people, whether to the Jews or to us as New Testament saints.
Why is Israel so key to our faith? In my book, I emphasize that those who erase the nation from Bible prophecy also...
Erase much of what the Bible says about Jesus' future exaltation.
Skew what Scripture says about God's redemptive plans for humanity.
Fail to fully grasp the depth of God's steadfast love (chesed) for all His people.
Lack the perspective needed to understand what's happening in our world now.
The surging tide of antisemitism prompted me to start writing a book defending Israel’s place in Bible prophecy, which I do from cover to cover. In the end, however, it became a way to proclaim God’s mercy toward all His people and thus the saving message of the cross.
Irrevocable: The Case for Israel is available for purchase on the Westbow Press website and on Amazon. Please note that Westbow offers free USPS shipping within the United States.
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