replacement theology and the rapture

REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY AND THE RAPTURE

What does the replacement theology and the rapture have in common? It fairly debunks the replacement theology, I think. The Jews were the focus of God’s plans in the Old Testament, the Age of Law. God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and they were to live by them. But that was impossible for them to do as we all know. The law only incites you to sin more, it is only to point out to you what sin is in your life.

Since the Jews did reject Jesus when he was crucified, God did replace them with the Gentiles temporarily. That started the Age of Grace which we are living under now which commenced on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus had told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father and to be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now, Acts 1:4&5, KJV. They were all assembled together, all the disciples and others, 120 in all, in an upper room, on the day of Pentecost. Suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house. There appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance, Acts 1:15 and Acts 2:1-4. Everyone in the whole town, even people from other towns and nations, heard about this amazing phenomenon and talked about it. So they were there on the Day of Pentecost when Peter preached his first sermon filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with other tongues so everyone could understand in his own tongue! See Acts 2:5-40. Verse 41 says 3000 were saved and baptized that day. These people fellowshipped together and shared as needed. In verse 47 it says “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the CHURCH daily such as should be saved.”

The church is never mentioned in the Old Testament. The first mention of it is in Matthew 16:17 and 18 after Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Peter, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it’”. Peter in both the Aramaic and the Greek means rock. Even his death on the cross would not prevent Jesus from building his church as that one event began the church. In Colossians 1:24 Paul speaks of the church, Christ’s body; “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you (the Colossians), and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his BODY, which is the CHURCH.”

Everyone is included in the church, Jews also. But God had a special plan for doing it this way, Isaiah 55:8&9; “ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”.

But God has not abandoned his chosen people, the Jews. In Genesis 13:15 the Lord made an everlasting covenant with Abraham; “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” Paul speaks a lot about God not abandoning his people in Romans 11. Verse 2 says, “God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew” . Then Paul gives an example of the prophet Elijah when he made intercession to God for Israel as he thought all the other prophets were killed and he was alone. God told him that he still had a remnant. So also at this time according to God’s election there is a remnant and the rest are blinded; given a spirit of slumber, eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear. God is sovereign by his election or plan and not man’s works. The Jews have stumbled over Christ by seeking to gain righteousness on the basis of works. Jesus made an end of the law by keeping it perfectly during his sinless life, Matthew 5:17, and then gave his life in payment for the penalty of sin and the broken Law, Ephesians 2:14-16; “ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one (Jews and Gentiles) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

Paul tells in Romans 11:25 why the Jews were given this spiritual blindness; “ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in”. Then the rapture will take place; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as the one who holds back the power of lawlessness until he is taken out of the way. Since the Holy Spirit indwells all Christians (the CHURCH); they are removed at the rapture. Many people think of Revelation 4 where John is taken up into heaven as being the rapture, I do not. Verse 1 says:...... “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” John is talking about what must take place later. In the first 3 chapters of Revelation John talks about churches and their problems that were alive at that time which are representative of our problems now.. The church is never mentioned again. Then God is dealing with unrepentant people and the Jewish nation.

However, the Holy Spirit is still working here during the Tribulation, how else would unrepentant people come to the Lord. The nation of Israel will repent at the end of the Tribulation with great mourning, see Zechariah 12:10-14. Chapter 13:1 reveals that the nation will also be cleansed of their sins and impurity. Romans 11:26 says that all Israel will be saved.

God has not abandoned his people, the Jews. They were just set aside til the full number of Gentiles came to the Lord, then they will be saved. We Gentiles should be grateful for this very unusual plan of God to include we Gentiles in his Kingdom. But we must not become conceited and think that we have replaced Israel as the rejection of Israel was to make God’s salvation available to us. Then hopefully the Jews would be jealous and want it too, see Romans 11:11-24.
A Good Day to You from the Merry Heart