The Israel Test :: By The Gospelist

Pastor Jack Hibbs recently wrote an excellent article against Replacement Theology in the Harbinger entitled “The Israel Test.”

The Israel Test: A Revealing and Dividing Line in The Modern Church – Harbinger’s Daily

I would like to expand on his work.

First, the church was commanded by Jesus to ‘Keep watch.’  It is not possible to keep watch if you are blind.  If you have allegorized Scripture to the point where you do not understand much of it, you will be an ineffective watchman.

Replacement Theology is false doctrine.  It interferes with our mandate to keep watch.  Ditch it.

The only people who are zealously following Christ’s command to keep watch are those who are called ‘Dispensationalists.’  We may get a little overzealous at times, but that just means we are excited about Christ’s return.   Unless someone is claiming a special download from God, criticism from fellow Christians who do not believe we are nearing the end of the church age should be kept to a minimum.

Most of us understand that we are theorizing about what is coming.  Many of us have different frameworks of understanding, based on Scripture, regarding how things will progress.  We should be building on each other’s observations until God’s unfolding plan causes these frameworks to merge or fall apart.

It is the Dispensationalists who are standing on the wall, watching the movements of the enemy, and pointing out their observations.  Some become dogmatic and get angry when you disagree with them, but that is just an indication of their own weak faith and sinful nature.

Despite these failings, we must not abandon the mandate to keep watch.

Second, we were warned in the Parable of the Ten Virgins that the church would be asleep prior to the rapture.  That means, as Christ’s nearness approaches, there will likely be no churches that are proclaiming that Christ is right at the door.

Jesus said all the virgins would be asleep just prior to calling the church home.  Since Jesus was talking to the men who would one day pastor his church, it is not beyond the pale to view the ‘virgins’ as pastors who are present just prior to the rapture.

If President Trump can bring down the current corrupt world system, that may lead people to believe that we are heading into a new utopian era.  If God allows this to occur, any talk of the rapture will be rejected, and even the watchmen may fall into a deep sleep.

Unfortunately, if God allows Trump to be successful, Satan is not going to kick the ground in despair and take his ball and go home.  He will insert a new system very quickly, so we will need to be careful not to let the world lull us to sleep.

We now find ourselves in a time when it is nearly possible for one man to control all buying and selling worldwide.  That fact alone should keep the church awake and make sure it has sufficient oil until the midnight call rings out.

The decline of Western Civilization, also known as ‘Christendom,’ should also sound the alarm bells.  We know there is a great falling away from the faith that is coming.  Europe and most other Western Civilizations have mostly abandoned the faith, and the United States is not far behind.

The number of people who have a Biblical worldview is declining precipitously.

We are told that the foolish virgins did not bring enough oil for their lamps.  That oil is the Holy Spirit who testifies about Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins.  The number of churches that preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus is few and far between.

It is clear that God has not opened the minds of many churches, or their pastors, to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45-47).  That is one of the most terrible signs of the last days of the church age.

We cannot afford to fall asleep at this time no matter how wonderful the future may appear to be.

Regarding the nation of Israel, the Apostle Paul has already informed the church of God’s relationship to the nation of Israel in Romans Chapter Eleven.  Let’s briefly review:

• Has God abandoned his people? By no means (Romans 11:1)!  This means that Replacement Theology is false doctrine.
• Did Israel stumble over the stumbling stone (Christ) as to fall beyond recovery (Romans 11:11)? Not at all!  Not sure what is unclear about this.
• The church (wild olive shoot) must not boast over the broken branches (Israel) (Romans 11:18). So, knock it off.
• The church was told not to be arrogant (toward Israel) but be afraid (Romans 11:19). So, knock it off.
• For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either (Romans 11:21) (If God lied to the nation of Israel about their eventual salvation, a salvation which He repeatedly proclaimed through the Old Testament prophets, He lied to us about our salvation, too.)

The intellectuals of the faith, who use nuance to convince us that God has abandoned the nation of Israel forever, had better start considering the kindness and sternness of God.

They are failing the Israel Test.

Finally, our primary concern as Christians is the proclamation of the Gospel.  We watch for the signs of Christ’s return, not only to warn others, but to help determine how much time we have to proclaim Christ.

After the rapture occurs, God quickly turns his attention to Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.  The prophecy of Daniel (9:24) kicks in, and the Book of Revelation quickly comes to life.

Spiritual blindness is a malady that is devastating, and it currently infects much of the modern church.

When Jesus told the disciples several times that he was going to Jerusalem and would be mistreated and put to death, the disciples probably thought he was speaking in allegory.  When it actually happened, they were taken by surprise and went scrambling around like the foolish virgins in turmoil.

Spiritual blindness leads to confusion, and God is not the author of that disorder.  When Christians stubbornly cling to false doctrine, it weakens our message and causes many to turn away.

The ‘daze’ of deception are (sic) upon us.  It is time to send a clear message to the world.  Our first message is the Gospel.  After that is spread worldwide, we need to teach those who love God to obey everything that Jesus commanded.

One of those commands is to keep watch.

If you, as a professing Christian, do not understand the role that Israel and the Jews play in that mandate, you are being disobedient and are probably even now in a deep sleep.

The Apostle Paul warned the church not to be ignorant of the mystery of the rapture (Romans 11:25).

Paul told the church not to be ‘conceited,’ so it is time for ‘Replacement Theologians’ to repent.

The Israel Test is really easy.  There is no excuse for failing it.

www.gospelist.net

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