Erase & replace: The lie of Replacement Theology — And the attempt to write Israel out of God’s plan

The October 7, 2023 Attack and Its Aftermath

When Hamas launched its brutal October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, massacring 1,200 people and taking 263 hostages, it ignited a global firestorm. But, ironically, not against the evil of Hamas, who savagely targeted children, raped women, and unspeakably mutilated human beings and more.

Instead, the evil perpetrated on innocent Israelis oddly fanned the flames of antisemitism and anti-Zionism. And within parts of the Church, a resurgence of an old theological error emerged: “Replacement Theology,” or “Supersessionism” -  the idea that the Church is now the “new Israel,” that ethnic Israel has been erased and replaced by the Church, and no longer has a unique role in God’s ongoing purposes.

According to this view, Israel is just another nation no different from Britain, Bahrain, or Brazil.

Is Israel Just Another Nation?

But is this true? Is God finished with Israel?

Today, Israel is a modern, secular state. It is a vibrant democracy - the only one in the Middle East - that allows for freedom of speech and religion and the preaching of the Gospel - and it is located in a very tough neighborhood. 

But like every democracy, Israel is not perfect. It has flaws. Not every policy is sound, nor every decision made by the present ruling government, led by the prime minister, beyond critique.

This is important to underscore because it is not a sin to criticize Israel.

It is not a violation of the biblical principle, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” One is not “cursed” simply for raising concerns, criticizing, or calling for a course correction. One example, is my own strong disagreement with Israel’s immigration policies toward Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah - and I’ve written about it openly.

But there is a vast difference between criticizing government policy and hating Jews based on their ethnicity, or promoting the malicious lie of anti-Zionism - that the Jewish people have no historical or legitimate connection to the land of Israel. 

Or, without using bullets and missiles, to promote a theology that erase and replace ethnic Israel and rule out a future restoration of the nation of Israel with unique identity, role, and purpose.

Does God Still Have a Plan for Israel?

Which brings us back to the deeper question: Does God still have a plan for Israel?

The key word here is God. Has God chosen this particular, flawed ethnic group (flawed, in the same way that each of us are) for a divine calling and purpose?

Take Ezekiel 37, for example. It outlines a two-fold prophetic vision: First, that God would regather the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth to reconstitute them as a nation. Second, that a future spiritual awakening would follow.

So, is the modern State of Israel - established on May 14, 1948 - a fulfillment of that prophecy? Or is it a prophecy still in the process of being fulfilled? Is God at work? Is there a divine plan unfolding?

That depends on, God. If Israel remains God’s chosen people (which does not mean His favorite nation, but rather a people chosen for a unique purpose), then that is God’s choice, not ours. And that choice is not subject to the latest viral video on TikTok, polls, or likes on an Instagram post.

Some might ask: Why does this even matter? 

The answer is simple: If Israel has been chosen by God for divine purposes, then it matters to God. Which means the issue of Israel is not primarily about politics or ethnicity - it is about God, Himself and His unfolding plan in human history.

Historical Attempts to “Erase and Replace” Israel

If that’s true, it helps explain the persistent, dark, and demonic attempts throughout history to “erase and replace” ethnic Israel: from Pharaoh to Babylon, from Haman to Hitler, from Hamas to the chants on U.S. campuses: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

What ethnic Israel has revealed - both in history and today - is that there is a battle raging, and it is an affront to God Himself! That there is a darkness behind the darkness that is at play.

I’m convinced: Israel is the test of our time, and followers of Jesus must lead with clarity, courage, truth, and conviction. But how? The only authority to lead is with the Word of God!

And that is the purpose of this article - for God’s Word to speak for itself - both in the immediate context and across the broader biblical narrative. Understanding Scripture in context provides clarity for sound doctrine, reveals the course God intends for our lives, and, when needed, brings course correction.

The New Covenant: Foundation of the Jesus Movement

Speaking of context - a good place to start (though not the only place) is the ground floor of the Jesus movement on Passover (Nisan 14), when Jesus took the third cup in the Passover meal known as the cup of redemption, and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matt. 26:27–28)

What is the “New Covenant” that Jesus guaranteed with His life?

It is a covenant that God promised to Israel, and into which the world is invited through Christ. This covenant includes, at minimum, a fourfold promise:
(1) the guaranteed offer of forgiveness of sins (Heb. 8:10–12);
(2) the indwelling Spirit transforming us from the inside out (2 Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:26–27);
(3) the preservation, restoration, and salvation of Israel (Jer. 31:31–37; Rom. 11:25–29; Mark 12:25); and
(4) the Second Coming of Jesus, when God’s glory will fill the earth (1 Cor. 11:23–26; Jer. 31:31–37).

When we celebrate the New Covenant in what we call Communion, we “proclaim His death until He comes” - reminding us that the New Covenant promised to Israel cannot be separated from the person and work of Jesus Christ: past, present, and future.

The Disciples’ Expectation of Israel’s Restoration

There’s more.

After Jesus gave His life on the Cross, on Passover, the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world, proving the Exodus out of enslavement to sin, He resurrected from the dead and appeared in bodily form for forty days, speaking about “things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”

The disciples then asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

It was such an appropriate question, since the disciples had been following Jesus in the first place because He is the Son of David - the Messiah - who would sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. And earlier He promised, “You who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

Note: they did not ask, “Will You restore the kingdom to the church?” Because Israel is not the church!

Throughout Acts, the term Israel appears 30 times, while ekklesia ('church') appears 23 times (Acts 7:38, where Stephen uses ekklesia to refer to the congregation of Old Testament Israel) - and Israel never means the church! Israel means the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the church is not Israel.

For the disciples, it was never a question of if Jesus would restore the Kingdom to Israel - but when Jesus would restore the Kingdom to Israel.

Jesus could have said at this juncture, “Israel will never be restored - there is a change of plans” (after all, He never misled the disciples). But He didn’t. Instead, Jesus simply told them it wasn’t for them to know the times or seasons and redirected their focus to the immediate mission: to receive the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses “to the ends of the earth.”

Later, in Acts 3, after Pentecost, Peter addresses his fellow Israelites, urging them to repent and turn to Jesus, “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ… whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets.” (Acts 3:19-21)

The restoration of all things - what things? 

The restoration of ethnic Israel as a nation, with the Davidic King reigning! (Isaiah 11:11–12; Ezekiel 36:24–28; Ezekiel 37:21–22; Isaiah 59:20–21; Jeremiah 31:31–34). 

The prophets foretold it, the disciples knew it, and the early church preached it. 

It’s not a matter of if, but when.

Romans 9–11 and Israel’s Future

Romans 9–11 is all about ethnic Israel and anticipates questions about Israel’s future such as: Has God's word failed since many Israelites rejected the Messiah? (Romans 9:6) Has God rejected His people, Israel? (Romans 11:1) Did Israel stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? (Romans 11:11) What is the future of Israel in God’s plan? (Romans 11:25–27)

It is an incredibly important passage for the church at a time when the world is gradually turning against Israel and the Jewish people, and support for Israel is declining among young evangelicals. (I know of two prominent evangelical 'Bible-teaching' churches, just in California, that, when preaching through the book of Romans, completely skipped these very chapters!)

We need to turn the volume up on Romans 11:29, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:1 declares in no uncertain terms that God has not rejected His people: “Has God rejected His people? By no means!” (Romans 11:11) Based on the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31–34 - which itself expands on the promises God made to Abraham and David - Romans 11:26 declares, “All Israel will be saved.”

Perspective: Romans 9-11 was written by Paul, an apostle and authoritative witness to the person and work of Jesus, who, along with the other apostles, laid the foundation of the church. There is no one more qualified to understand God’s unfolding plan - in and through Israel - and the Messiah of Israel - and to rightly interpret the Scriptures!

The Error of Replacement Theology

What supersessionists have mistakenly concluded is that while there is unity in salvation among Jews and Gentiles in Christ, they have excluded the guaranteed promises for Israel in the future.

They have “erased and replaced” ethnic Israel in God's plan and promises.

Or to put it differently: in promoting the truth of Galatians 3:16 that those who put their faith in the promised “Seed” (Jesus) are children of Abraham, they claim that the physical descendants of Israel are no longer relevant in God’s redemptive plan.

These ideas don’t just miss the mark: they contradict the heart of God’s revealed plan throughout Scripture.

Three Perspectives on Replacement Theology

1. Biblical Evidence: Replacement Theology stands in direct opposition to a vast and unmistakable witness of Scripture. It threatens to unravel the coherence of God’s Word by adopting an interpretive approach that compromises both His authority and the clear, intended meaning of the text. Consider this: in the New Testament alone, the term Israel appears 73 times, and without exception, it refers to ethnic, national Israel. To reinterpret Israel as something other than God’s chosen, physical people is to embrace a flawed method of interpretation (hermeneutic) - one that distorts God’s promises and leads believers away from the faithfulness of His covenantal plan. Such a path is not only theologically unsound but risks misguiding the church away from the very truth God desires us to hold.
   

2. Misinterpretation of Galatians 6:16: Supersessionists often point to Galatians 6:16, which refers to the “Israel of God,” to claim that believing non-Jews are now the “Israel of God.” Hence, that the church is the “new Israel.” However, Paul actually uses the Greek word kai (“and”) to distinguish all believers in Jesus from the “Israel of God,” who are Jews following the Messiah - the faithful remnant within Israel - embraced both in their heritage and in the body of Christ. Paul is recognizing “an Israel within Israel,” which he identifies in Romans 11:5 as the faithful “remnant.”
   

3. God’s Faithfulness: Replacement Theology places a liability on the character of God by undermining His faithfulness to keep His promises. God cannot cancel His character nor His covenants! "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." Replacement Theology would be more accurately called “Divorce Theology.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

God’s Covenants with Israel Are Guaranteed

Based on the authoritative Word of God - Israel is never going away!

“If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant …If My covenant for day does not stand, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant.” (Jeremiah 33:20-26; 31:35-36)

Trusting God’s Word Today

I mentioned earlier that rediscovering the foundation of the Jesus Movement is vital. Just as essential, however, is returning to Genesis 3, where the serpent asked, “Did God really say…?” This question undermined trust in God’s clear command and led to the fall of humanity.

Today, we face a similar crossroads: “Did God REALLY SAY that Israel is His chosen, His firstborn, called for a divine purpose—that all Israel will be saved?”

It is the plain meaning of Scripture.

God has guaranteed both Israel’s national restoration and Israel’s salvation in the Messiah.

Leading with Biblical Conviction

Let us lead therefore with Romans 11:11:
“I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”

Let us lead with Romans 1:16-17:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Romans 1:16 is written in the present tense which means that if the Gospel is still the power of God “unto” salvation and is still for “all who believe,” then the Gospel is still “to the Jew first” (“first” does not merely speak of sequence but priority).

Let us lead with Acts 3:19-21:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

Let us lead with the spirit of Romans 12:9 and 12:21:
“Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” courageously exposing the dark forces of antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

After all, Jesus is returning to Israel to reign and will defend Jerusalem against the nations that seek to destroy her (Zechariah 14:1-4).