# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S358 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 358 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS Israelite: An Old Testament believer in Yahweh (the LORD), the God-of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hebrew: Used by Israelites in the Old Testament to identify them- selves to non-Israelites. Jew: This term indicates an ethnicity and/or an adherent to Ju- daism (which is not the Christ-centered faith of the Old Testament). Israeli: A citizen of the 1948 state of Israel, which is not the same as the Israel of the Old Testament. Modern-day Israelis are sometimes called “secular” Jews. Discussion Questions 1. Does God really have a separate plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles? (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 10:12—17) Answer: No, God has only one plan for the Jews as well as the Gentiles, and that is faith in Christ as the way to salvation. 2. Why are these distinctions between Israelite, Hebrew, Jew, and Israeli important? (Rom. 4:12, 16; Gal. 3:29; Phil. 3:3). Answer: The Left Behind interpretation of the Bible understands these terms to be synonymous. It contends that since Abraham was a “Jew” and an “Israeli,” the promises that God made to him do not find their fulfillment in Christ and the church but rather in ethnic Jews and especially the 1948 state of Israel. Paul teaches, however, that Israelites and Hebrews are the spiritual forefathers of all who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. People may no longer say, “We have Abraham as our father” (Luke 3:8), for there is only one way to the Father and to eternal life, and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). 3. What is the relationship of the Old Testament nation of Israel to the New Testament church? (Rom. 3:21-30; Gal. 3:26—-29) Answer: The promise given to Abraham (e.g., Gen. 12:2-3) is fulfilled in Jesus. Those who are in Christ—both Jews and Gen- tiles—are the sons and daughters of Abraham. It is not possible to claim God’s favor on the basis of an ethnic relationship with Abraham (Luke 3:8), for this ignores the only name given by which people may be saved (Acts 4:12). 4. In the Left Behind view of the Old and New Testaments, the Old Testament—especially its promises about the end times—should be used to interpret the rest of Scripture. But how is a person di- rected to read the Old Testament? (Luke 24:44; John 5:39; Col. 2:16-17) Answer: The Old Testament needs to be read in light of the per- son and work of Jesus Christ. The New Testament functions as the definitive interpretation of the Old Testament (see 2 Cor. 1:20). 5. What are the dangers of the Left Behind understanding of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments? Answer; First, such an understanding implies that there are dif- ferent plans of salvation for different groups of people, which is contrary to Scripture. Second, if modern Jews and Israelis had a covenant with God distinct from that of the church, then there would be no reason for the church to preach Christ to them. This stands in opposition to Christ’s mandate to proclaim the one Gospel to all people. Third, God’s love shows no partiality or fa- voritism, but remains the same for all people (see Acts 10:34; Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 3:21~30). 6. But what about Romans 11:26, where Paul says that “all Israel will be saved?” Answer: As the CTCR explains on page 39 of its 1989 report on The End Times: In summary, “all Israel” consists of the groups mentioned in [Romans 11] v. 25, the believing part of the Jews and the “full num- ber of the Gentiles.” “All Israel” is the whole olive tree consisting of the natural branches (Jews who believed), the wild olive branches (Gentiles who believe), and the regrafted branches (Jews who will believe). These constitute the “all” in verse 32 [and in verse 26]. 2007 Convention Workbook “All Israel” is made up of “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord” (10:13), the elect of the Jews and Gentiles, the “New Israel” (Rom. 4:11-12, 16; 9:24; Gal. 3:26-29; 6:15-16).? Study Four: Israel and the Land The Promise of the Land The creation of the 1948 state of Israel is important to the Left Behind view—so important, in fact, that it is sometimes referred to as “the super-sign of biblical prophecy.” Left Behind sees this his- torical-political event as the definitive sign that planet Earth is liv- ing in the last generation before the rapture of the church. Left Behind’s understanding of the role of the land of Israel requires study of scriptural prophecies concerning ‘“‘the land.” Discussion Questions 1. What is the promise God makes to Abraham? (see Gen. 1 1:30—12:7, especially 12:2-3) Answer: The promise that God gives to Abraham is three-fold. First, he will be the father of a great nation. Second, he will be blessed by God in order to become a blessing to “all the families of the earth.” Third, God will use the land to convey the first two blessings. .To whom does the land belong? (Deut. 6:10-11; 1 Kings 21:1-16; Ps. 24:1) Answer: The land belongs to the LORD, not to the people of Is- -rael. He owns the land and they are only tenants. The land is there- fore to be used as God dictates, not according to the whims of people. . What is more important than the promise of the land? (John 8:31-42; Acts 3:25-26; Gal. 3:7-9, 14) Answer: Receiving the gifts promised to Abraham based on faith in Christ is more important than inheriting the physical land of historical Israel. Faith in Christ makes someone a child of Abra- ham, not the land inheritance. . How does Jesus speak of the future of Jerusalem and the temple? (Luke 19:41-44) Answer: When Jesus speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in these verses, He makes no reference to it ever being re- built, or to the restoration of the land inheritance of the people. . Where and what is the temple of God today? (Matt. 12:6; John 2:12-22; Heb. 10:18; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; | Pet. 2:4-10) Answer: The new temple is Jesus Himself. His sacrifice on the cross on our behalf is fully sufficient for all people of all times and places, so that no further shedding of blood is necessary. Through the means of grace, the Holy Spirit now dwells in be- lievers so that their very bodies are God’s temple. Built together of all Christians, the church is also called God’s dwelling place or His temple (see also Eph. 2:19-22). . What will follow Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost? Is it a re-establishment of the land of Israel? (Matt. 24:30-31; Luke 21:25—28; Dan. 7:13-14) Answer: No. The next great event in God’s plan of salvation that Christians look forward to is the coming of Jesus Christ in His glory on the Last Day. . What is the nature of the promise of the land? (Gen. 17:1-7; Gal. 3:14, 29) Answer: The land is only a means by which God’s promise of blessing to all the families of the earth was to be carried out through Abraham and his descendants. And, it is a means to a greater end: the coming of Jesus Christ in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4). . What is the land of inheritance for the Christian? (Heb. 3:11-4:12; 11:8-16; 2 Pet. 3:8-13; Rev. 21:1)