Israelolatry?

This post may seem provocative to some and perhaps it is. My chief concern here is to warn of the prevalent idolizing (Israelolatry) of the nation of Israel, which leads to a low view of the Church and seems to dominate much of Christianity. Now I also understand that many that uphold Israel do not make the mistake of making it an idol. This is by no means is directed at them but it is a reminder to carefully watch yourselves. I've seen many go off the deep end when it comes to this issue.

One of the sad things about this Israelolatry is that it tragically leads to a minimizing of the Church. We believers should be grieved and angered by such a thing. For the Scripture says this about the Bride of Christ: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" ( Eph. 5:25-27). Oh such love from Christ for His people- both Jew and Gentile!

 It saddens and angers me to hear things like, "the gospels are for the nation of Israel only" and "the book of Matthew should not be applied to the Church since it is for Israel." Come again? Where in the texts do we find such notions? Rarely when these statements are made is there any Scriptural evidence presented (you won't find any either since that very idea is absent from the gospels themselves). What lies under such statements is a theological lens that has national Israel at its center and reads all of Scripture through that very scope. And no matter how much the texts speak for themselves, that lens is very difficult to remove, and statements like "but the Abrahamic Covenant was made with Israel and it is unconditional!" seem to suffice for some.

We'll get to the Abrahamic Covenant but let's go back to the Garden of Eden for just a minute. What we find is that our federal head- Adam transgressed the covenant God made with him (Hos. 6:7) and plunged all of humanity into sin, death and under the wrath of God, so that, all mankind is born in this condition (Rom. 5:12-21). Amazingly we find God loving His people and providing a promise of the Messiah, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15), and a temporary atonement until the arrival of the Messiah, "And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).This was chiefly about salvation and not some piece of land; this promise of a Savior was for all mankind (not limited to any race of people) and it was given long before a nation of Israel ever existed.

Now what Abraham and the covenant that bears his name? Something to quickly point out- Abraham was not Jewish(there was no such thing at that point in history). He was most likely pagan (Jos.24:2). So up to this point there is no emphasis on an ethnic Jewish people. Why? Because it's not about one ethnic people but all mankind (Jew and Gentile). It inlcudes the Jewish people that certainly played a big part of God's redemptive plan but is not primarily about them and a piece of land. When one examines Scripture as a whole we see how Paul (a Jew) understood the Abrahamic Covenant: "Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed.' So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith" (Gal. 3:8-9). Here the Apostle takes the Abrahamic Covenant as a whole ( he seems to take Gen 12:3 and 18:8 and bring them together) and applies it in the way it was intended- a promise of justification that includes Jew and Gentile. Nowhere do we see Paul emphasizing a piece of land for national Israel. We do find him applying the Abrahamic Covenant in the realm of salvation for all nationalities.

Most importantly the covenant made with Abraham is centered on Christ and all that are in Him. It is not chiefly about "Israel," nor even Gentiles, though it includes both. The Abrahamic Covenant centers on one person- Jesus Christ- the fulfillment of the promise of a savior given back in Gen. 3:15. This is how we should understand that covenant: "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many, but referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' who is Christ" (Gal. 3:16). And this is why we are Gospel centered and not land centered. There is no room for Israelolatry. We can't take what is Christ's and give it to "Israel." They, like Gentiles, partake of His blessings and promises through repentance and faith in Him (Matt. 3:1-2).

How about the land? Without going into much detail on this issue, the New Testament has not left us silent on this: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Heb. 11:8-10). Abraham was a wanderer and was looking forward to the place of rest where he would dwell permanently with God. And  this wasn't just limited to Abraham: "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city" (Heb. 11:13-16 see also Heb.12:28). 


There is much more that can be said on this topic but I just wanted to give a few brief statements. There is no room for Israelolatry. Is what I am presenting "replacement theology?" No, this is fulfillment theology. Christ is the true Israel of God and all in union with Him consist of God's "chosen people." When people toss out the "replacement theology' accusation, it presupposes the idea that it was about national Israel to begin with. It was never about ethnic Israel and the only "replacement theology" going on is the replacing of God's plan for all mankind (Ge.3:15) with Israel. Soli Deo Gloria!

For His Glory,
Fernando