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56 results for “Not all Israel”
Clear searchElection within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation
What Does "They Are Not All Israel, Which Are of Israel" Mean? Election within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation Romans 9:6 is often used as a definition of spiritual Israel:…
Read article →What 'yea and Amen' in Christ means for Israel and the covenants
Do All God's Promises Transfer to the Church? What "yea and Amen" in Christ means for Israel and the covenants Paul makes one of the most comprehensive statements about the promises of God: "Fo…
Read article →Why Israel's failure cannot make the word of God fail
God's Unfailing Faithfulness Why Israel's failure cannot make the word of God fail Israel's history presents a severe test of theology. God chose the nation, gave it His law, sent it prophets, and brought the Messiah throug…
Read article →One Messiah, one gospel, and God's continuing purpose for Israel
…nshaken Truth of God's Promises One Messiah, one gospel, and God's continuing purpose for Israel This series began with a question: has the Church permanently replaced Israel in the purpose of God? The answer cannot be reached by asking whether Christ fulfils the promises. He doe…
Read article →Unity in Christ and distinction in God's purpose
Are Israel and the Church Really the Same? Unity in Christ and distinction in God's purpose The New Testament teaches a unity so profound that it would have startled the ancient world. In Christ…
Read article →Regathering, national rebirth, and the spiritual renewal still to come
The Restoration of the Nation of Israel Regathering, national rebirth, and the spiritual renewal still to come Israel's history contains both judgement and preservation. The Jewish people were conquered, exiled, dispersed a…
Read article →Fulfilment in Christ, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and Israel's future mercy
Does the New Testament Reaffirm Israel's Promises? Fulfilment in Christ, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and Israel's future mercy The Old Testament repeatedly promises Israel preservation, regathering, cleansing, the kingd…
Read article →The LORD, Zion, and the meaning of Beulah in Isaiah 62:4–5
Is Israel Married to the Land? The LORD, Zion, and the Meaning of Beulah in Isaiah 62:4–5 “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou sh…
Read article →What God's faithfulness to Israel means for everyone who trusts His promises
No Shadow of Turning What God's faithfulness to Israel means for everyone who trusts His promises This series has examined covenants, prophecies, apostles, thrones, tribes, branches, seeds, kingdoms, and the difficult words upon which the…
Read article →A sign of Israel's renewal, not Israel's disappearance
Why Did Jesus Choose Twelve Apostles? A sign of Israel's renewal, not Israel's disappearance Jesus did not choose twelve apostles because twelve happened to be a convenient number. He could have appointed seven, seventy, or any other numb…
Read article →Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing
Are Abraham's Seed and the Israel of God the Church? Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing Galatians contains two of the strongest arguments for identifying the Church as Israel. Fir…
Read article →The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor
Are Gentile Believers Grafted into Israel? The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor Romans 11 pictures Gentile believers as branches taken from a wild olive tree and grafted into a cultivated olive…
Read article →Conditional blessing, irrevocable promise, and fulfilment in Christ
Has God Abandoned Israel? What Do the Covenants Say? Conditional blessing, irrevocable promise, and fulfilment in Christ Israel broke God's law, rejected the prophets, and nationally refused its Messiah. Jeru…
Read article →Defining the position before testing it
…nceal important differences. Many Christians accused of teaching that the Church replaced Israel would reject that wording. They believe that the Church is the fulfilment, continuation, or expansion of Israel rather than its substitute. The discussion should therefore begin with…
Read article →The question reaches beyond prophecy to the faithfulness of God
Israel and the Church: Why This Series Matters The question reaches beyond prophecy to the faithfulness of God Has the Church replaced Israel in the purpose of God? Some Christians answer ye…
Read article →The wicked husbandmen, the fruit-bearing nation, and what Jesus said afterwards
Was the Kingdom Taken from Israel? The wicked husbandmen, the fruit-bearing nation, and what Jesus said afterwards Few statements of Jesus appear to support supersessionism more directly than Matthew 21:43: "Therefore…
Read article →What Jesus promised the apostles about Israel's future
Twelve Thrones and Twelve Tribes What Jesus promised the apostles about Israel's future Peter once asked the question which many faithful disciples have quietly wondered: what will those who sacrifice for Christ receive? Jesus answered with a promise larger than…
Read article →A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God
No Holy Land? Covenant Discipline, Gentile Blessing, and Israel's Future A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God Michael Horton's essay, “No Holy Land: Does Israel Still Have a Biblical Claim on the Middle E…
Read article →Circumcision of the heart and the identity of Paul's inward Jew
…d Jew Paul's description of the inward Jew is often treated as a decisive redefinition of Israel: "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the hea…
Read article →Israel's Messiah, Israel's Scriptures, and a gospel for the world
The New Testament Is a Very Jewish Story Israel's Messiah, Israel's Scriptures, and a gospel for the world To many Jewish people, Christianity appears thoroughly foreign. Its historic centres became Rome, Constantinople, Canterbury…
Read article →El, the Exodus, and the God Who Came from Sinai
Did Israel Invent Yahweh? El, the Exodus, and the God Who Came from Sinai Yesterday I found myself discussing claims about the origins of Israel’s God with my son. He seemed to regard the essent…
Read article →Why the Trinity is not polytheism—and why Christians confess one God
Not Three Gods Why the Trinity is not polytheism—and why Christians confess one God The Trinity is often rejected before it is accurately defined. “The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the H…
Read article →A history of interpretation, polemic, and forgotten tension
…ly Church A history of interpretation, polemic, and forgotten tension Supersessionism did not appear in one moment through one theologian. It developed as the Church became increasingly Gentile, separated socially from Jewish communities, interpreted the destruction of Jerusalem…
Read article →How Christians can think politically without surrendering conscience to a package deal
Your Party Is Not Your Church How Christians can think politically without surrendering conscience to a package deal Political parties do not merely ask for our votes. Increasingly, they offer an entire i…
Read article →Governmental restraint, the final ten kings, and the preparation of the temple
What Restrains the Lawless One? Rome, Israel, and a Working Theory While researching The Kingdom Still to Come, my premillennial sequel to my rapture book, I have been revisiting Paul’s account of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonia…
Read article →A forensic reading of Christ's Olivet Discourse
…c reading of Christ's Olivet Discourse "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light... And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,…
Read article →Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require
…pensationalism Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require Dispensationalism is often criticised by slogans before it is defined. It allegedly began with John Nelson Darby, turns the Church into God's failed contingency plan, ignores the…
Read article →Ezekiel 20, child sacrifice, and the judgement of being given over
Did God Give Laws That Were Not Good? Ezekiel 20, child sacrifice, and the judgement of being given over “I gave them also statutes that were not good.” Those words in Ezekiel 20:25 can sound startling when read alone.…
Read article →The divine identity of Jesus across the Gospels
Not Just a Prophet The divine identity of Jesus across the Gospels Islam honours Jesus in ways which Christians should acknowledge accurately. The Qur'an calls Him the Messiah, describes Him…
Read article →Seth D. Postell, Eitan Bar & Erez Soref · Messianic biblical theology · 2017
…s, and commandments as a coherent witness whose goal is found in Yeshua. Their Jewish and Israeli setting makes the discussion especially valuable, while the book's clarity opens questions about law, grace, Messiah, and Christian obedience to readers without specialist training.…
View recommendation →Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem
…the New Testament Tribulation Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem The seven-year Tribulation is sometimes dismissed as an interval invented to make a prophetic chart work. That criticism begins at the wrong end of the Bible. The case d…
Read article →Isaiah, John, and the Divine Identity of Jesus Christ
…hn, and the Divine Identity of Jesus Christ If YHWH alone is Creator, Saviour and Lord of all, what are the New Testament writers saying when they place Jesus within that identity? Isaiah does not leave Israel searching for a greater God behind the God who speaks. The One who com…
Read article →Matthew, the Hebrew word almah, and a sign whose meaning reaches beyond Ahaz
Does Isaiah 7:14 Really Prophesy a Virgin Birth? Matthew, the Hebrew word almah, and a sign whose meaning reaches beyond Ahaz Matthew says that the conception of Jesus by the Holy Ghost fulfilled Isaiah's word…
Read article →The covenant son and the sacrifice that points to Christ
Isaac, Not Ishmael The covenant son and the sacrifice that points to Christ Did God choose Isaac or Ishmael? This is not a tribal debate. It is a covenant question. The answer does not require host…
Read article →Why a loaded label does not settle the question
Secret Rapture—or Biblical Distinction? Why a loaded label does not settle the question “The secret rapture is unbiblical.” The phrase is repeated so often that it can sound like an argument. It is not. Pretribulationists do not claim that Christ descend…
Read article →The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery
…the elect. The sequence appears plain: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light... And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,…
Read article →The positive argument of the whole series, brought together
…gument of the whole series, brought together The case for a pretribulation rapture should not rest upon one disputed word, one prophetic chart, or one passage made to carry more than it says. It is a cumulative and comparative case: which timing best explains all the biblical dat…
Read article →Divine judgement, the character of God, and the promise of escape
…e judgement, the character of God, and the promise of escape The claim that the Church is not appointed to wrath is sometimes answered too quickly. Christians plainly suffer. Jesus promised tribulation in the world. The apostles endured imprisonment, violence, loss, and martyrdom…
Read article →Creation, judgement, and the coming reign of Christ
…'s Picture and its accompanying video gave me food for thought. The artist's worldview is not my own, and I would not arrive at all the same political conclusions. Yet art can disturb assumptions which have become too comfortable. It can make us look again at something we had cea…
Read article →Michael Brown, 2 Thessalonians 1, and the public vindication of the saints
…Brown therefore concludes that the Church receives deliverance at Christ’s public return, not in a prior rapture. This is a serious argument. It deserves something better than an appeal to a disputed Greek meaning, an ingenious rearrangement of the sentence, or a refusal to accep…
Read article →Eitan Bar · Biblical and historical polemic · 2019
…out sufficient knowledge of their Jewish setting. His command of Hebrew, familiarity with Israeli life, and experience discussing Yeshua with Jewish people bring valuable context to questions about messianic prophecy, the New Testament, and rabbinic interpretation. The book is mo…
View recommendation →An unrequited love for the historic Church
Standing at the Door An Unrequited Love for the Historic Church I do not stand outside the historic Church because I despise her. I stand outside because I love much of what I find within her, yet cannot call every later development apostolic. There is a part…
Read article →Four popular claims tested in context
…ill find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them" (Surah 7:157, Pickthall). That is not a minor claim. If Muhammad was genuinely foretold in the Bible, Christians must face the evidence. A prophecy does not cease to be true because its fulfilment is unwelcome.…
Read article →How the Law reaches its goal and appointed end in Christ
…aw was always moving? Does end mean fulfilment, completion, or abolition? The question cannot be answered by replacing the word end with a more comfortable word and moving on. Paul speaks positively about the Law: it is holy, just, and good; it bears witness to the righteousness…
Read article →The event is explicit; the real dispute is its timing
…the earth. Christians may disagree seriously about the second question. The first should not be controversial. Paul describes the event directly. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dea…
Read article →History, heresy, and the temptation of private Christianity
…ssed. He speaks often of leaving this world, seldom of bodily resurrection, and hardly at all of the local church. Baptism and the Lord's Supper seem peripheral. Ordinary Christian service appears dull beside the latest prophetic timetable. Other believers are divided into those…
Read article →Jesus and the fountain of living water
…he body's need. It is the ache of the soul when the things we hoped would satisfy us have not done so. Success can distract it. Pleasure can briefly numb it. Religion can cover it with activity. None of these can give life. On the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles…
Read article →A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation
…inies, Christians enjoy seven years of safety, and Jewish people are abandoned to an unparalleled holocaust. He then appeals to John 5, Daniel, Matthew 24, Romans 8 and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 to reject the system. Some of his criticism is directed particularly towa…
Read article →Sources behind Qur’anic narratives
Revelation or Reception? Sources behind Qur’anic narratives The Qur’an did not emerge in a cultural vacuum. It appeared in a world alive with biblical names, Jewish interpretation, Christian preaching, sectarian disagreement, devotional legend and stories carried a…
Read article →The Messiah cut off before the Temple fell
The Daniel Dilemma The Messiah cut off before the Temple fell Islam calls Jesus the Messiah. It also denies that He was crucified. Centuries before Muhammad, however, the book of Daniel described an anointed figure who would be “cut off”, followed by the dest…
Read article →How the Lord knows His own—and how their lives bear His name
…y from which He came to deliver us? These questions are often answered in opposite and equally dangerous ways. One answer makes our conduct the foundation of our acceptance with God, leaving tender believers to wonder whether they have ever done enough. The other treats a verbal…
Read article →Which Gospel does the Qur'an affirm?
The Injeel Problem Which Gospel does the Qur'an affirm? Islam says that Allah gave Jesus the Injeel. It was a true revelation from God. It contained guidance and light. The Qur'an claims to confirm it. The People of the Gospel are told to judge by what God revea…
Read article →The near was real. The far is still coming.
…use it assumes that a prophecy must belong entirely to one historical moment. Isaiah does not always speak that way. He addresses actual kings, actual invasions, actual sins and actual deliverances. Yet, within those same prophetic settings, his language can open onto a horizon t…
Read article →Christianity, Islam and the verdict of the evidence
…ed the transmission of the Bible, the missing Islamic Injeel, the Qur’an’s miracle claim, alleged prophecies of Muhammad, the covenant line through Isaac, Daniel’s cut-off Messiah and the Qur’an’s relationship to the religious stories of late antiquity. The individual questions m…
Read article →Born, begotten and firstborn in the eternal identity and saving work of the Son
…as begotten when He rose from the dead, did He only then become the Son of God? Yet John called Him God’s “only begotten Son” before the cross and presented Him as the eternal Word who was already with God in the beginning. I knew those truths could not contradict one another, bu…
Read article →Earth-dwellers, heaven-dwellers, and the literary structure of the Apocalypse
…s often stated as though silence alone proves a rapture between chapters 3 and 4. It does not. A word count cannot establish a doctrine which the narrative never supports. The silence is nevertheless significant when placed within Revelation's wider literary movement. The churche…
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