LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 350

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350 THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

returning to the land was fulfilled with Israel’s re-birth as a nation
in 1948. At that time the prophetic fuse was relit and now history
is racing toward the end, and at an accelerated pace. For this reason
the current events in the nation of Israel are of vital importance for
followers of the Left Behind series.

So what about the church? According to Left Behind, as an al-
ternate plan or as a parenthesis, Christ established the church be-
cause Gentiles believed what the Jews rejected. This is the “Church
Age,” or sixth dispensation, and it must end with the rapture before
God can re-establish His primary work with the Jews and bring
about the culmination of history—the seventh dispensation,
Christ’s reign on earth.

A biblically based response to the future of the Jews, however,
is to join the apostle Paul in his earnest prayer for the salvation of
his Jewish kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom 9:1-3). There al-
ways has been and always will be a remnant of Jews who are saved
(Rom 11:5). It is not as though the rejection of some of the Jews
serves no purpose. On the contrary, because the Jews were broken
off in unbelief, the Gospel has gone to the Gentiles, who through
grace now partake of its blessings and join with Christian Jews to
constitute the Israel of God, the church of Jesus Christ (Rom
11:11-16). In Romans 11 Paul defines this relationship between
Jews and Christians when he distinguishes between natural
branches (the seed of Abraham according to the flesh) and foreign
branches (Gentiles) who have been engrafted into the same tree.
There is certainly a difference in their respective histories and ge-
nealogies (not all are natural branches), but in Christ both Gentile
and Jewish believers are now the seed of Abraham (Rom 11:17—24).

The Bible does not support the teaching that God has a special
plan for bringing Jews to faith in Christ. This is because when it
comes to God’s plan of salvation there is no difference between Jew
and Gentile, Israel and the church. Rather than teaching that these
are two separate communities with two different futures, the Scrip-
tures testify to a continuity between the old and new covenants and
thus to a continuity between Israel and the church. Put another way,
Old Testament Israel is a type and precursor for the church, for it is
prophesied in the Old Testament that God’s redemptive purpose in-
cludes Gentiles (e.g., Gen 12:3; 22:18; Is 49:6). Therefore, the
church is not an interruption in the redemptive plan of God, but the
fulfillment of His eternal purposes.

Perhaps the root of the Left Behind interpretation of the Bible is
this misunderstanding concerning the relationship between Israel
and the church. The authors’ confusion lies in their belief that the
Old Testament promises given to Israel have not been fulfilled in
the church. That is to say, LaHaye and Jenkins teach that God has
two distinct plans, one for Israel and another for the church. In their
view, each has a distinct identity and destiny, with Israel’s on earth
and the church’s in heaven.

The Left Behind series embraces this belief because it under-
stands the following terms as being synonymous: Israelite, Hebrew,
Jew and Israeli. In their literature LaHaye and Jenkins make state-
ments like this: “God promised the land to the Jews when they came
out of Egypt.” “Beginning with Abraham the Lord promises to bless
the Israelis forever.” However, biblically, theologically and histor-
ically these four terms—lIsraelite, Hebrew, Jew and Israeli—each
have different definitions. Unpacking the terms, while a somewhat
challenging and complex task, yields important insights.

First, an Israelite is an Old Testament believer in Yahweh, the
God who revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and who
in subsequent historical events confirmed His promise to send the
Seed (Christ) who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15). Sec-
ond, the term “Hebrew” is often used by Old Testament Israelites
to identify themselves to non-Israelites. Joseph, for example, de-
scribes himself as a Hebrew to both Potiphar and Pharaoh and Jonah
describes himself as a Hebrew to the sailors on the boat. To this ex-
tent, the terms “Israelite” and “Hebrew” are synonymous in the Old

2007 Convention Workbook

Testament. These believing Israelites (or Hebrews) are the spiritual
forefathers of all who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Rom 4:12,
16).

The term “Jew,” however, is more complex because the term has
both racial and religious connotations. Hence, there are people who
consider themselves both Jewish by race and Christian by faith.
These people often refer to themselves as Messianic Jews who em-
brace Jewish ethnicity along with faith in Jesus Christ (e.g., “Jews
for Jesus,” or participants in “Apple of His Eye,” an LCMS min-
istry to and for Jews).

Whereas the term Jew can simply identify a person’s race or eth-
nicity, it may also define someone who is neither an Israelite nor a
Hebrew, but rather a person who is an adherent of the religion called
“Judaism”—which is distinct from the Christ-centered faith of the
Old Testament. Adherents of Judaism profess allegiance to the Old
Testament, but they also embrace, to some extent, the Mishnah, Tal-
mud and other ancient rabbinic writings. Belief in these documents
promotes an interpretation of the Old Testament that is not consis-
tent with the Christ-centered, grace-based teaching of the New
Testament. Modern-day Judaism varies widely in religious commit-
ments and beliefs. Several of the more prominent branches
of this religion include Hasidic, “orthodox,” “conservative,” and
“reformed.”

Fourth, an Israeli is a citizen of the 1948 state of Israel who may
or may not identify with the religion of Judaism. These people are
sometimes referred to as “secular” Jews.

In view of these four definitions, it is accurate to speak of cer-
tain people who are alive today as Jews and Israelis. But it is inac-
curate to say that there are any Israelites or Hebrews living today.
Yet this inaccuracy pervades the theology of Left Behind, and by
failing to make this distinction the authors identify modern-day
Jews and Israelis as the Old Testament recipients of God’s
promises. Yet the Bible teaches that the promises made to Israelites
and Hebrews in the Old Testament find their fulfillment not with
Jews or Israelis, but rather with Christ and his church.

Therefore, in contrast to the theology of Left Behind, in the
present age God does not have two different plans, one for Jews and
one for the church. Rather, the New Testament consistently speaks
of there being one true vine or one foundation or one way or one
olive tree. These are symbols portraying the unity within the one
elect people of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles, who by
faith are declared to be children of Abraham, who “‘s the father of
all who believe” (Rom 4:11).

Similarly, Paul uses expressions such as “one new man” (Eph
2:13-16), “heirs together with Israel,” and “members together of one
body” (Eph 3:46) to emphasize that God has taken Jews and Gen-
tiles and made them one in Christ. John the Baptist preached, “Do not
begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell
you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham’”
(Lk 3:8). From a New Testament perspective, the true descendants of
Abraham are not present-day Jews or Israelis, but rather believers in
Jesus. “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:29).

The promises of inheritance that God gave to Abraham were
made effective through Christ, Abraham’s true Seed (Gal 3:16). All
spiritual benefits are derived from Jesus, and apart from him there
is no participation in the promises made to Abraham (Gal 3:26-29).
Since Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, all who
bless Him and His people will be blessed and all who curse Him
and His people will be cursed (Gen 12:3; Gal 3:7-8). These
promises are not directed toward any particular ethnic group. The
church, and not Jews or Israelis, is the true Israel of God (Rom
2:28-29; Phil 3:3; Gal 6:16).

According to Scripture, salvation is neither earned nor deserved.
Nor is it based upon ethnic descent or natural birth (Jn 1:13; Lk 3:8;
Eph 2:8~9). Apart from Christ there is no special divine favor upon