Main Menu PFRS Home Doctrinal Studies Progressive Dispensationalism Introduction PD Summary Pro-Disp 101 Pro-Disp 102 PD In Depth Kingdom Hope in the OT Kingdom Hope in Psalms Kingdom Hope in Gospels Kingdom Hope in Parables That Prophet The Abrahamic Covenant Heaven Destiny Origin Israel's Role The Mystery Revealed Paul & the Mystery Church in the OT - I Church in the OT - II Church in the OT - III Kingdom Hope in Hebrews Daniel's 70 Weeks Jesus & David's Throne Excessive Dispensationalism Dispensationalism's Future PD Debate Intro: Couch vs. Warner I. Opening - Warner I. Rebuttal - Couch I. Response - Warner I. Closing - Couch II. Opening - Couch II. Rebuttal - Warner II. Response - Couch II. Closing - Warner |
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Dispensationalism > & Israel's Division Copyright © Tim Warner
Dispensationalists mistakenly think that God's program for Israel was suspended on the Day of Pentecost, and "the Church" was begun. Many non-dispensationalists think God's program for Israel was cancelled completely, by Israel's rejection of Jesus as Messiah. Both are wrong. When Jesus came, a prophesied change occurred within the nation of Israel. This was the direct fulfillment of a prophecy given through Moses. When the Law was given, Moses prophesied that another 'prophet' like him (Moses) would come bringing a new Law (Torah). Moses was God's prophet, delivering God's words to Israel. But, another prophet, like Moses, would come, bringing a new Law. Israel would forever be divided between those who would listen to "that prophet" and those who would not. Those who would not listen to "that prophet" would be cut off from Israel. Deut 18:15-19 The Jews of Jesus' day were keenly aware of this prophecy, since they revered Moses. When John the Baptist came preaching, the Jews thought that maybe he was "that prophet" of whom Moses spoke. John 1:19-21 John 6:14 Jesus identified himself as "that Prophet" when he rebuked the scribes and Pharisees in John 5:46,47, "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" In Peter's second sermon, He also identified Jesus as "that prophet," and reminded the residents of Jerusalem that those who refused to listen to "that prophet" would suffer the wrath of God. Acts 3:20-24 The judgment predicted on those of Israel who would not hear "that prophet" was twofold. It included their being broken off from the people of God, as Paul plainly describes in the parable of the Olive Tree in Rom. 11, and it also included the destruction of Jerusalem predicted by Daniel and Jesus (cf. Dan. 9:26 & Luke 19:41-44). The
Division of Israel Begins Matt 3:7-12 John was referring here to Israel being separated into two camps. In verse 10, John spoke of the 'axe' being used to chop down those trees of Israel that were not bringning forth fruit. Notice in verse 8, he equated those who were truely coming to be baptized by Him as bearing fruit, and the Pharisees and Sadducees as bearing no fruit. So he refused to baptize them. He used another analogy in verse 12. The 'fan' that he spoke of was a tool used by those working on the threshing floor. Wheat was beaten or ground to remove the chaff from the kernels. Then the wheat was tossed into the air and the evening breeze would carry the chaff away, while the much heavier wheat kernels fell back to the floor. John used this analogy to depict what Christ was about to do with Israel, separate the wheat from the chaff. Beginning with John's preaching, Israel had to choose between hearing "that prophet" who brought the new Torah, or insisting on following Moses only and rejecting "that prophet." As you know, MOST of Israel rejected Jesus. But, Jesus' disciples and a number of others heeded "that prophet." By their acceptance or rejection of "that Prophet," Israel was forever split into two camps. The believing camp who followed Jesus received the New Covenant, promised to Israel in Jer. 31:31-34. The unbelieving camp was "cut off" as Peter said in his sermon above. In Peter's other great sermon in Acts 2, speaking to the "men of Israel," Peter pleaded with them to "save yourselves from this untoward generation" (Acts 2:40). He knew from both Old Testament prophecy, and Jesus' predictions in Luke 19:40-44 & Luke 21:12-24, that Jerusalem and the Jewish people were about to be destroyed, because they refused to listen to, and crucified, "that Prophet." This was fulfilled in AD70, when the Romans destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem. God hardened the hearts of the majority of Jews in order for His plan to go forward. Jesus HAD to be rejected by the leadership in order to be crucified. Their rejection of Jesus was also part of God's plan for the Gospel going to the Gentiles. This hardening of the majority of Israel was actively going on all during Jesus' ministry. In fact, Jesus spoke to the crowds ONLY by parables in order to keep them in the dark. Mark 4:9-12 Mark 4:33-34 The parables were used by Jesus as a double-edged sword. They were illustrations for the disciples, that Jesus used to convey His points, and then explained them to them in plain language when they were alone. But, they were also used to CONFUSE the crowds, particularly the leadership of Israel. Jesus spoke to them in "riddles," just as Isaiah prophesied. Why? "That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them." As you can see, this division of Israel, and hardening the leadership, was a part of God's plan to bring about the crucifixion. God was not caught offguard by the Jews rejecting His Son. He planned it. Peter acknowledged both God's sovereignty and Israel's stubbornness in the crucifixion of Christ, in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. We should not assume that God blinded the nation of Israel, and then damned them to hell with no opportunity to repent. Yes, God blinded them. But after the crucifixion He opened up the Gospel to ALL the Jews, INCLUDING those who were formerly blinded during Jesus' ministry. Peter's first sermon on Pentecost was to the nation of Israel. And 3000 Jews were saved that day in downtown Jerusalem. Acts 2:22-24,36-39 Here, Peter was addressing Jews of Israel (vs. 22) and also those of the Diaspora who had travelled from foreign lands for the feast of Pentecost (vs. 5). Many of these Jews had been in Jerusalem only 7 weeks earlier for the Passover, and had been part of the mob that cried "away with him, crucify him." They had been blinded by "the determinate council and foreknowledge of God," and had crucified Jesus. But, it was all according to God's plan. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit convicted them through Peter's preaching, and 3000 were saved in one day! You didn't think this was just because of Peter's great preaching, did you? Peter preached again a little later, and 5000 more were saved. In fact, when you get to Acts 21, the Jerusalem church had grown to many thousands of believing Jews! Not bad for a "blinded" nation! To
the Jews First, then to the Gentiles Acts 3:24-26 Peter's point here is that the covenants were Israel's. They should embrace them despite the fact that most of the nation was being cut off because they refused to listen to "that Prophet." Yet, Peter reminded them here that the covenant God made with Abraham also concerned the Gentiles. All nations would be blessed through the 'seed' of Abraham. Peter let them know that the opportunity to embrace the covenants given to Israel dependeded on their listening to "that Prophet," and that the opportunity they were afforded was given to them FIRST, before the Gentile nations would embrace the blessing of Abraham. It was only fitting that the natural sons should embrace the covenants first. Paul wrote that the Gospel was "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16, Rom. 2:9,10). This is borne out historically in the Gospel accounts. When approached by a Gentile woman, Jesus said to her, "I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matt. 15:22-28). In Matthew 10, Jesus sent His disciples out preaching, telling them NOT to preach to the Gentiles, but ONLY to Israel. This was because the New Covenant was specifically promised to Israel (Jer. 31:31-34). Israel had to be offered the covenant, and given the opportunity to receive it first. Israel was divided, part rejecting the new covenant, and part accepting it. Paul was a Jew. He was of the portion of Israel that believed, and received the new Torah of "that prophet." Yet, he lamented the fact that most of his nation was blinded, and did not receive the New Covenant. This is the theme of Romans 9, where Paul speaks of "election" of a remnant of Israel, and the rest of the nation being blinded. Rom 9:1-18 In the bold part above, Paul was making the point that only a portion of Israel received the promises. Contrary to what many think, he was not referring to Gentiles becoming "Israel." Gentile believers are NOT "Israel." When he said, "they are not all Israel who are of Israel," he was saying that not all of those who descended from Jacob (whom God renamed "Israel") are the true "Israel." Only a remnant of those descended from Jacob were the true "Israel." In other words, Paul was limiting "Israel" to ONLY those Jews who listened to "that prophet," and received the New Covenant. Then he said, "but in Isaac shall thay seed be called." This is a referrence to God's promise to Abraham. Remember, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. But, both of Abraham's physical descendants did NOT inherit the promise. The promise proceeded through Isaac only, not Ishmael, even though both were the physical seed of Abraham. Paul used this as an example of the current situation. Israel was divided into two camps, the believers and the unbelievers. Paul was likening the unbelievers of Israel to "Ishmael" and the believing remnant to "Isaac." Next, he used Jacob and Esau as another example of the same point. Both were physical sons of Isaac, but only Jacob received the promises. Paul then went on in the rest of the chapter to speak of God's election of the believing remnant of Israel, and his blinding the larger part of the physical seed of Jacob. Paul argued for God's justice in doing so. Sometimes when Paul spoke to the Gentile believers, he did so, not from the perspective of being a generic "Christian," but from the perspective of being part of this special remnant of Israel. He recognized that being a Messianic believer had a certain advantage. Rom 3:1-3 Paul's point here was that being a Jewish believer is adventageous in a certain way. That SOME of the Jews did not receive the New Covenant DOES NOT make the promise void. It merely excludes from the true "Israel" those who rejected it. He was implying that, just as the promise to Abraham went through Isaac, bypassing Ishmael, and then from Isaac through Jacob, bypassing Esau, the promise continues in the believing REMNANT of Israel - the Messianic believers of the first century - and bypasses the unbelieving majority of Jews. Paul made the same point in Rom. 11. Rom 11:1-5 Paul thought of himself not merely as a generic "Christian," but as a Messianic Jew. Verse one demolishes the ant-dispensationalists claim that God is finished with Israel. But it also destroys the dispensationaists claim that God has set aside Israel. Notice that Paul counters the claim that God has cast away His people, Israel, by appealing to the fact that He (Paul) was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. He then goes on to explain that a remnant of Israel was NOT cast off by God, but continue in the covenant relationship with God. Paul gave an Old Testament example from Elijah's day to show that this was really how it has always been with Israel. The majority of the nation has always been in unbelief. That is how it was in the wilderness, when Israel refused to go into the promised land. Paul continued with the Olive Tree parable, a milestone passage that explains the continuity between the nation of Israel and the Church better than any other passage. Rom 11:13-29 There is a clear continuity here between the natural branches before and after Christ. The 'Olive Tree' was in existence long before Christ came. In fact, Paul borrowed this parable from Jeremiah 11,12, where the good olive tree was Israel, and the wild trees were the gentiles. Jer 11:16-17, 12:1,2 Jeremiah was contending with the Lord here, because God was judging Israel harshly. As a good olive tree that God had planted, He was now breaking off the branches and burning the tree. This was in referrence to God's judgment on Israel during the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah reasoned that God's judgment was too harsh. After all, He had planted the other trees as well (the heathen nations), yet He seemed to prosper them and not judge them nearly as harshly as He was judging Israel. This is the parable that Paul brings into Romans 11, but with a new twist. Once again, the branches were being broken off from Israel. These branches were the Jews who did not listen to "that Prophet." But, as is apparent, SOME of the natural branches remained in the olive tree. These are the Jews who listened to "that Prophet," like the disciples, and all of the Jews who were saved in Acts 2, and even Paul himself. Then, Paul speaks of branches from the wild trees being grafted in AMONG the natural branches. These are the Gentiles, who believed the Gospel after Israel had largely rejected Jesus. Notice the definate continuity between the Old Testament and New Testament saints implied by this passage. The Olive Tree was in existence before Jesus came. It contained many branches. The tree remains even after SOME of the branches were broken off, and others grafted in. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he did so from this same perspective. Yet, much of Ephesians was designed to show Gentile believers that they (the wild branches) have become EQUAL in Christ to the Messianic believers (the natural branches). This does not mean there are no DISTINCTIONS, only no DIVISIONS or DISPARITY between the Jewish branches and the Gentile branches. Eph 1:11-13 Notice the distinction in verses 12 & 13 between "we" who are identified as those who "first trusted in Christ," and the "you also" who later "believed" and who were later "sealed." In these verses, when Paul spoke in the first person plural, he was including himself in those who "first trusted in Christ," (the Jewish remnant). When he switched to the second person plural in vs. 13, he was speaking of the Gentile believers of Ephesus. There is a clear distinction here between the Jewish remnant (the remnant of Israel drawn by Jesus {as per John 6}, and who believed the Gospel) and the Gentiles of the Ephesian church, who were included in Christ after most of Israel had been blinded, and had rejected Him. How do we reconcile then the fact that Paul spoke of Israel being blinded "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in," yet thousands of Jews being saved in Acts? Simply because God instigated the INITIAL blindness in order to carry out His plan. However, once the leadership of Israel committed themselves by crucifying Jesus, and persecuting the Church, they had begun down a road that was very hard to turn around. Pride took over. Paul says that the Gospel going to the Gentiles provoked Israel to jealousy (Rom. 11:11), and the Jewish nation could not turn back to Christ, because of a self-imposed 'blindness.' Instead, unbelieving Israel began to persecute the remnant of Faith. Gal 4:21-5:1 |