Replacement Theology
Physical
Replacement Theology?
.
The
Church has not replaced Israel in God’s plan - that is a spiritual replacement
theology. When a non-Jewish person believes in Christ, that person becomes a
spiritual child of Abraham. However, it is illogical to think that such
non-Jewish believer has suddenly also become a biological descendent of Jacob. Some
people erroneously think that ten of the tribes of Israel are lost. Some
non-Jewish people would like to physically replace these ‘lost’ Jewish tribes,
but such a physical replacement theology is impossible. Descendants of Jacob
are Jews; all other people are non-Jews. The idea that some of the tribes of
Israel are lost is false — and so too are ideas built on this false foundation.
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In 722-721 BC, the Assyrians took the
northern kingdom of Israel captive.
Are the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of
Israel lost?
Are Judah and Benjamin the only tribes of
Israel that still exist?
The Myth of the Ten Lost Tribes
I make use of the following remarks of Malan (2016):
o There never was a
rigid division between the two and the ten tribes of Israel.
During the 250 years
of its existence, the northern ten-tribe kingdom of Israel was ruled by 19
apostate kings.
Whenever a
God-fearing king ruled in Jerusalem, like in the days of king Asa (cf. 2 Chronicles
15:9),
many Israelites migrated to the southern kingdom of Israel.
o In 722-721 BC, many
Israelites were taken captive to Assyria, but the largest part of the nation
remained in Samaria.
In 612 BC, Assyria
was defeated by the Babylonians and then incorporated into the Babylonian
Empire.
When the Babylonian
exile of the southern kingdom of Judah occurred, Israelites became integrated
within the larger Babylonian territory.
o
During
and after the Babylonian captivity, early in the sixth century BC, the term
‘Jew’ (derived from ‘Judah’) became established as a synonym for ‘Israel’ or
‘Israelites’.
In Ezra and Nehemiah,
the terms ‘Jew’ and ‘Israel’ are used interchangeably to describe the same
people (cf.
Ezra 6:8, 16-17, 21; Nehemiah 1:6; 4:1).
The Tribes of Israel in the New Testament
The New Testament contradicts the idea that
some of the tribes of Israel are lost.
The parents of John the Baptist knew they
were of the tribe of Levi.
In fact, Elizabeth was of the daughters of
Aaron (Luke
1:5).
The prophetess Anna spoke of Jesus in
Jerusalem — and Anna is of the tribe of Asher.
When Jesus commenced his public ministry,
everyone knew which parts of the land belonged to Zebulun and Naphtali (cf. Matthew 4:12-16).
These tribes are not lost.
At his second coming, when Jesus will sit on
his glorious Davidic throne, the twelve apostles will sit on twelve thrones,
judging the ‘twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).
The apostle Barnabas knows he is from the
tribe of Levi even though he was born in Cyprus (Acts 4:36).
Similarly, the apostle Paul knows he is from
the tribe of Benjamin even though he was born in Tarsus (Acts 22:3; Philippians
3:5).
Paul testifies of the
hope in the promise God made to the fathers, ‘to which the twelve tribes
hope to attain’ (Acts
26:6-7).
And the half-brother of Jesus writes an
epistle to “the twelve tribes in the dispersion” (James 1:1).
Not one tribe is lost.
More than seventy years ago, God started to
bring Israel back to her covenanted land (cf. Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 37).
The coming King will reign over all the
tribes of Israel, not just a northern or a southern kingdom (cf. Ezekiel 37:22).
During the Tribulation Period, 144,000 Jews —
12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel — will proclaim the gospel of
the kingdom to all the nations (cf. Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:1-8).
During the second half of the Tribulation
Period, the twelve tribes of Israel will be persecuted like never before or
ever after will be (Revelation
12:1-6, 13-17; cf. Matthew 24:15-28).
When Christ returns to the earth, not only
will He raise up the tribes of Jacob, but these tribes will be part of His
inheritance (Isaiah
49:6; 63:17).
Christ will rule as king over the house of
Israel and all the nations (Psalm 2:8; Luke 1:32-33).
(By the time the Millennium starts, the
Church will have become the wife of Christ and she will reign under and with
her Husband.)
During the eternal order, the twelve gates of
the New Jerusalem will have inscribed on it the names of the twelve tribes of
the sons of Israel (Revelation
21:10-13).
Concluding Remarks
Many people erroneously think that the Church
is now a spiritual Israel.
The Church has not replaced Israel in God’s
plan; that is a spiritual replacement theology.
When a non-Jewish person believes in Christ,
that person becomes a spiritual child of Abraham.
However, it is illogical to think that such
non-Jewish believer has suddenly also become a biological descendent of Jacob.
The true Israel, the Israel of God, is
comprised of those descendants of Jacob who believe in Yeshua the Messiah.
Some people erroneously think that ten of the
tribes of Israel are lost.
Some non-Jewish people would like to
physically replace these ‘lost’ Jewish tribes, but such a physical replacement
theology is impossible.
Descendants of Jacob are Jews; all other
people are non-Jews.
The idea that some of the tribes of Israel
are lost is false — and so too are ideas built on this false foundation.
Sources Consulted
Fruchtenbaum, A.G., 1989, Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, Ariel Ministries, Tustin.
Ice, T., 2017, The Case for Zionism: Why Christians Should Support Israel, New Leaf Press, Green Forest.
Kaiser, W.C., 2017, Jewish Christianity, Lampion Press, Silverton.
Malan, J.S., 2016, ‘Lost Israeli Tribes in Africa?’, Available at: https://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Engarticles/AfricanJews.htm
Scholtz,
J.J., 2019, God se raadsplan in Christus, FaithEquip, Amsterdam.
https://faithequip.co.za/boeke/koop/
https://faithequip.org/physical-replacement-theology/
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