Did The Church Replace Israel?

Many Christians believe that the Church replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. Perhaps not so much in American Christianity, but throughout the world that belief is widely held. It might seem logical, since Israel rejected their Messiah, and insisted that Jesus be crucified on a cross like a common criminal. But what does God have to say about Israel?  

This question lies at the heart of amillennialism, a widespread belief about the end times that rejects the concept of Christ returning to establish a 1000-year kingdom on earth. They believe that Christ’s second coming will institute the final judgment and initiate the eternal kingdom. In that line of thought there is no room for the restoration of Israel as the prophets of old foretold. So they believe that all of Israel’s promises and blessings were transferred to the Church. In other words, the Church replaced Israel.

Paul anticipated this question and addressed it at length in Romans 11. He was probably motivated by the fact that he, himself, was a Jew, and he wanted his fellow Jewish brethren to understand that their calling and their place in the heart of God was not forever forfeited. But he also wanted the Gentile Church to not become arrogant, thinking that they permanently replaced Israel as the branches of the olive tree. God turned Israel over to disobedience so that He could have mercy on them, just He had mercy on the Gentiles (Rom 11:31). Furthermore, Paul says that God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable (Rom 11:29). Only if the sun and moon cease to shine, declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me” (Jer 31:35-36). God is not fickle, like humans tends to be. He did not retract his gifts and calling from Israel and give them to someone who might appreciate them more.

The restoration of Israel in the Millennial kingdom is foretold over and over in the Old Testament prophecies. Whenever the Day of the Lord is mentioned, it included invasion of the holy land by the nations, ransacking and destruction of Jerusalem, and great loss of life in a massive war (Zech 14). That correlates to Revelation 17, the battle of Armageddon, where it is prophesied that an alliance of ten Arab nations will invade Israel, and then be defeated by Messiah at His second coming.

But the restoration of Israel is also included in the prophesies of the Day of the Lord (especially Jeremiah 31-33). The remnant that survives the cataclysmic destruction of Armageddon will stand in awe of their Messiah. They will believe in the one they rejected (Zech 12:10). In that sense they will all be saved (Rom 11:26). Their land will be restored and their temple rebuilt, by King Jesus. God’s glory will once again be bestowed upon Israel, and they will be a blessing to the nations.

Daniel's Legacy

The prophecies of Daniel were incredibly accurate in predicting the future that lay ahead for the Jews in Babylon.  So accurate, in fact, that many scholars cannot believe that the real Daniel wrote them in Babylon, in the 6^th century BC. They suggest that someone else, in the first or second century BC, must have written them. Those scholars simply do not have much faith that God could use a God-fearing man to foretell His plans and purposes, in order to guide and inform His chosen people.

Daniel is not only renowned for his prophecies, but also for his righteousness, faithfulness, prayers, and trusted leadership. His amazing stories of faith, alone, would be an honorable legacy. But his prophetic visions and interpretations are perhaps his greatest legacy.

Three visions, in particular, played a prominent role over the years as I re-examined prophecy. First, Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a statue, representing five nations (chapter 2). Second, Daniel’s own vision of the five beasts (chapter 7), corresponding to the vision of the statute. The third vision is the vision of the seventy weeks (chapter 9), but I will discuss that vision in a separate article, “The Tribulation Hoax”.

Let’s consider, ever so briefly, the visions of the statue and the beasts. They both prophetically foretell four kingdoms which would be oppressive world-rulers (Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome). Each of those kingdoms would have a great impact upon the Jews over the next 600 years. But both of these dreams also predict a fifth nation, one which would rule in the distant future (compare Rev 17:10, “five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come”). Why this fifth nation receives so little consideration is beyond my understanding. It is haplessly misinterpreted, leaving its profound impact upon the end of the age woefully mired in a fog of ambiguity.

This fifth nation is America. In the statue vision America is prophesied by the feet of iron mixed with clay, and its description is far more detailed than the other four kingdoms. And it was the feet of the statue where the great rock struck. That rock represents a kingdom that will never be destroyed, a repetitive theme throughout Daniel’s writings. In the vision of the beasts, it is once again easy to identify the first four – same four as the statue. History has a way of clearly interpreting prophecy. But a fifth beast is uniquely envisioned by a little horn, a new nation, that rose up amongst ten horns, European countries that emerged from the old Roman empire. The little horn subdued three of the ten horns (i.e., England, France, and Spain) and became very powerful. Once again, this little horn is discussed at length (7:20-25).

The feet of clay and iron and the little horn are identical to the seventh head of the beast prophesied in Revelation 13. They are all three prophecies of America, the world-dominating nation of the last days. The importance of this identification is twofold. First, history confirms prophecy – we are in the last days. Secondly, we are warned that America will be destroyed – in the beast vision (Dan 7:11, 26) in the statue vision (Dan 2:34), and confirmed in Revelation 17 and 18. Accordingly, we need to prepare for great turmoil and distress. The destruction of America will surely happen – concurrent with the eighth beast rising up, before the battle of Armageddon, and before the rapture at the second coming of Christ. Jesus said, “Be ready, be prepared, don’t be caught unaware.”