Inside View Mar/Apr 2024
October 7, 2023, was a wake-up call for many Christians unfamiliar with Israel’s role in God’s plan of redemption. Those who think God has…
REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY
Paul: God Has Not Abandoned Israel!
Throughout the ages, some Christians have claimed the negligible number of Jewish people who possess…
Facing Replacement Theology
Have the blessings God promised to the Chosen People of Israel been redirected to all believers in the church? Will the…
Inside View Jul/Aug 2022
Have you heard that Jesus was the first Palestinian? Perhaps you’ve heard Jesus was the great-grandfather of the Palestinian people or, more shocking…
Coming Home
For millennia, the Jewish people have held a hope in their hearts, a dream embodied in the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.” That dream is “to be a free nation…
The Confusion Cure
I once heard a preacher say if you summed up the Bible in a few words, those words would be from a garden (Gen. 1—2) to a city (Rev. 21—22) with a cross in between…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2020
The Bible teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7). It also warns us not to be wise in our own eyes but to fear God (3:7)…
Israel & the Church
We believe the unconditional covenant God made with Abraham is still in force today, and God will not cancel it. God made the unconditional covenant with Abram (Abraham), recorded in Genesis 15…
Who is a Jew?
For centuries, Jewish people have been asking themselves, “Who is a Jew?” Today a new wrinkle has developed, and it involves Christians…
Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2018
“You are the ammunition for Hamas’s guns; you are the warheads for its missiles,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the UN General Assembly when it recently condemned Israel for…
Inside View May/Jun 2018
Nowadays, trying to discern between truth and fake news is a full-time job. Such is also the case with the distinction between Israel and the church. I believe God’s Word clearly teaches Israel is not the church, and the church is not Israel…
Understanding the Kingdom
The topic of the Kingdom of God dominates Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels. Yet throughout church history, an amazing disunity has characterized the interpretation of…
How to Spell Blessing: Israel
We live in a world of widespread redefinition. Some people view the practice as a positive modification to an old, outdated understanding of certain terms and practices, while others…
Q: What does the phrase Israel of God mean?
Israel of God refers to Jewish people who received Christ as their Savior and consequently belong to the church. It does not refer to the entire church. The phrase appears in Galatians 6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision…
The Great Invalidation
“Next year in Jerusalem!” As they have since the Jewish people were scattered around the world in AD 70, these words will ring out on the evening of April 10 at the close of Passover seders everywhere. Yet, if the United Nations…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2017
Following the UN Security Council’s vote condemning Israel’s presence in eastern Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his resolve by going to the Western Wall to light the second candle of…
Still Dreaming
To some, it may have seemed like an odd pairing. But not to Natan Sharansky. As he sat with Martin Luther King III on a Sunday morning in Jerusalem, he felt like they were colleagues sharing the same goals Being with King in Israel…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2016
It is common to cross paths with Christians who don’t believe the Jewish people today are God’s Chosen People. They fail to see how Israel fits into God’s plan for this world…
The Sense of Plain Sense
Another way in which I was subjected to the attitude of Replacement Theology was through the teaching that all of the Old Testament had been nailed to the…
Inside View May/Jun 2016
Jewish people often ask us, “How long have there been Christians who support Israel?” Over the years, we have come to appreciate their question because Christians, more than any other group, have persecuted and tortured the Jews for two millennia…
From the Editor May/Jun 2015
Many years ago I had a wonderful friend who truly loved Jewish people. She was a devout Christian who had come to Christ later in life from a Greek Orthodox background and…
Israel: Forever a Fact
On the cusp of a national election, the air is filled with promises. But when the election cycle ends and the ballots are tallied, we learn which promises have a shot at being kept…
The Art of Reframing: Palestinian Liberation Theology
Since Israel’s rebirth as a nation, violence against the Jewish people living in the land has continued with barely a lull. Israelis have lived through three wars of survival, two intifadas…
Dr. Ateek’s Rose-Colored Glasses
Naim Ateek is not a large man. He is slender, around 5 feet 7 inches tall, with white hair and a self-effacing, gentle look about him. He is not loud or aggressive, and he would…
Pushing the Anti-Israel Agenda
The “empire” is dying, according to Phyllis Bennis. When Bennis says “empire,” she is not referring to the massive Roman Empire that once ruled Europe and the Middle East…
Evangelicals Against Israel
A mere decade ago, Christian Zionism was seen as an emerging force in American politics. As if out of nowhere, a block of 50 million to 100 million friends of Israel were poised to…
Christian Anti-Zionism: On the Wrong Side of History, Justice, and the Bible
In June 1982, Israel decided enough was enough. After setting up new headquarters in Lebanon in the early 1970s, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat launched…
What Christian Anti-Zionists Teach
Christian anti-Zionism is gaining strength both in America and abroad. Its teaching turns the world against Israel as God’s Chosen People, casts Israel as the aggressor rather than the victim…
Inside View Nov/Dec 2013
Every time I visit Israel, I see the modern miracle of the Jewish people. No other nation has ever been exiled and returned to its homeland to become a nation again. First the Jewish people returned…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2013
Israel’s enemies are at it again. The latest attack comes from the Church of Scotland in its document The inheritance of Abraham? A report on the ‘promised land,’ which refutes Israel’s…
Ties That Bind
Have we forgotten, or pushed out of mind, a phrase often quoted and fondly embraced in other days? I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse…
The New Anti-Semitism
Since the birth of modern Israel in 1948, a new form of anti-Semitism has emerged. Rather than attacking the Jewish people directly, it claims to oppose only Zionism…
Jesus the ‘Palestinian’
In some Christian circles, the theological justification for gaining freedom from Israeli “occupation” is Christian Palestinianism, a form of liberation theology that emphasizes…
10 Errors of Christian Palestinianism
What’s wrong with Christian Palestinianism? A great deal. Here are 10 of its most obvious errors: 1. It blames Israel for much of the conflict between Israel and the Arabs…
Palestinian Liberation Theology
Scripture says people of all ethnicities become one in the body of Christ. Sadly, a new doctrine is building a wall between brothers, rather than tearing one down.
The Facts and Flaws of Covenant Theology Conclusion
What does God say about Israel’s future? If the New Testament teaches ethnic Israel has a future, then Replacement Theology is untrue. While on Earth, Jesus established that He was premillennial…
The Facts and Flaws of Covenant Theology Part Four
Most Replacement theologians use a particular set of verses to argue that God no longer views the Jewish people as His Chosen People and has replaced Israel with the church…
The Facts and Flaws of Covenant Theology Part Three
If Replacement Theology is true, then certainly God has an opinion about it—one He states clearly and teaches visibly in Scripture. Conversely, if it is not plainly taught, then Replacement Theology…
The Facts and Flaws of Covenant Theology Part Two
Covenant Theology is the dominant theological system of most mainline Protestant churches and maintains that God has replaced the Jewish people with the church. On the basis of two or three “covenants”…
The Plague That Will Not Go Away
A grisly discovery was made in Norwich, England, recently. Seventeen Jewish skeletons, apparently from the same family, were found at the bottom of a medieval well. Archaeologists theorize the Jews were forced down…
The Facts and Flaws of Covenant Theology Part One
Covenant Theology is the dominant theological system of most mainline Protestant churches. It is a system of theology that interprets the Bible’s philosophy of history through the lens of two or three…
Connecting the Dots
Nehemiah had his work cut out for him. God had promised to return the Jewish people to their land after their captivity in Babylon. And true to His Word, God brought Nehemiah…
Replacement Theology: The Black Sheep of Christendom Conclusion
When the reformers separated from the Roman Catholic Church, they brought with them Replacement Theology. Furthermore, they built their eschatology (doctrine of future things) and ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) on the idea…
Why Christians Should Be Zionists
Today Zionism has become a dirty word. Yet if any people should be Zionists, it should be Christians. Here’s why.
Replacement Theology:
The Black Sheep of Christendom Part Three
Until the fourth century, Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire. Although Replacement Theology had overtaken the church and metastasized into anti-Semitism, the church had no authority to do anything…
Replacement Theology: The Black Sheep of Christendom Part Two
The church is not Israel, and Israel is not the church. However, more and more Christians today fail to see the distinction. They have been so indoctrinated into Replacement Theology…
Replacement Theology: The Black Sheep of Christendom Part One
Replacement Theology crept into the early church and altered many things. In fact, you may unknowingly be living with some of those changes in your church today.
We Answer to a Higher Authority
Christian Zionists have a deep commitment to Israel. Learn what motivates their love and how they are perceived by the Jewish community.
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2009
“Our goal has never been peace,” a Fatah official admitted on Palestinian Authority (PA) TV. “Peace is a means; the goal is Palestine,” meaning the conquest of Israel. “It has been said…
Imperishable Remnants
There was never a time when all of Israel rebelled against God. A remnant has always been faithful. Today twin remnants form a marvelous union of grace.
The Trouble with Preterism
Has all prophecy been fulfilled? Preterists say yes, God has done it all. Such skewed theology is not only bad for Israel, it’s bad for the church as well.
From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2008
Widespread “Israel at 60” celebrations in Jewish communities this year are reminders of the certainty of God’s promises to the Jewish people. Christians who have been participating in these events realize they are expressing…
Men Who Believed
Replacement Theology, which strips Israel of God’s promises, has been around a long time. But in every generation, there also have been men who believed, long before 1948, in Israel’s national restoration.
Religion and Politics: Who’s in the Game
An interesting contest seems to be heating up as the world paves a road to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The religious left has felt compelled to issue a series…
Two Great Days, Two Great Doctrines
If you’re interested in learning the exact differences between Israel and the church, this amazing outline is just what the doctor ordered.
At the Beginning
Some people don’t believe the church began at Pentecost. But it certainly did. And its birth is the result of a single, major event that changed history forever.
The EC and Israel
Historically, church saints have looked to God to take them up to meet the Lord in the air at any moment (1 Th. 4). Furthermore, said theologian David L. Larsen, “Neither John…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2007
Reports from many areas of our worldwide ministry indicate a resurgence of an errant teaching best described as Replacement Theology. Deviating from a literal interpretation of God’s prophetic Word, Replacement…
It’s All or Nothing
In 1960 Christian entertainer Pat Boone wrote lyrics for the theme song of a movie based on Leon Uris’s popular novel Exodus. Exodus told the epic story of the Jewish…
The Importance of a Literal Interpretation
Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation. When most readers open a newspaper or book, they assume the author intends for them to understand what he is saying. They also instinctively…
Beyond the Veil to the Future
The definitive New Testament chapter on the identification of Israel and the prophetic destiny and relationship of Christians to the Jewish people is chapter 11 of the book of Romans. God spelled…
The ‘Main Thing’ is Israel
My youngest daughter has just completed her sophomore year at a secular university. It took her almost the entire two years to find a church where she could worship that did not consider…
The Roots of Replacement Theology
What in the world happened to make Christians believe they are the “new Israel”? The answer does not flatter the early church.
Who is Israel?
To whom does the term Israel refer? Many Christians today claim the word Israel in the Bible refers to the church because the church, they say, has replaced Israel in God’s…
How Anti-Semitism Corrupted the Church
Anti-Semitism is one of Satan’s biggest tools. Unfortunately, the church has not been immune to his handiwork.
The Essentials of Dispensationalism
What makes a dispensationalist? Dr. Charles Ryrie, former president of Philadelphia Biblical University, professor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary, and author of more than 30 books, answers this question in a newly…
For the Glory of God
You don’t need to be a theologian to understand Dispensationalism. You only need to grasp some of the important points explained here.
Bulldozing Caterpillar
The Church of England’s vote to divest from companies doing business in Israel is causing a stir, even among Anglicans. But it has made a few things crystal clear.
The Anti-Nazi Voice of Courage
The Lord always has His remnant. In the evil days of King Ahab, He had Elijah and 7,000 people “whose knees have not bowed to Baal” (1 Ki. 19:18). And in the evill…
New or Déj à Vu?
Europe is again becoming a dangerous place for Jewish people. It’s the same old anti-Semitism, but with a slightly new and frightening twist.
A Lawyer Looks at God’s ‘Contract’ With Israel
What do words like inheritance, descendants, and forever mean to you? They mean a great deal to God. More, in fact, than most people realize.
The MBB’s ‘Dirty Little Secret’
It was a meeting like the hundreds of others we have experienced over the course of twenty years. My brother Emir was gently debating another Arabic Christian…
Presbyterians Come Out of the Closet
Yes, it is true that the Presbyterian Church (USA) manhandled Israel at its 216th General Assembly last summer. Not that the denomination has been soft on…
Backlash
When the hierarchy of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) declared that it wanted to send a “strong message” to the international community to convey…
Defining Differences
Premillennialism: The prefix pre means “before.” Premillennialism is the view that Christ will return to earth before the Millennium or Kingdom of God. He will establish a literal, political Kingdom of God on earth…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2003
Many Jewish people assume that, as Bible-believing Christians, we direct our attention to the New Testament to the exclusion of the Old Testament. They are unaware that our keen interest in studying the Bible…
From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2002
The leader of a Jewish organization recently asked me about the puzzling lack of support for Israel within mainline Protestant denominations. I explained that the root of the problem is theological. A significant and disturbing development…
The Zion Connection: The Biblical Mandate
When God called Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldees, He was demanding that he strip himself of his identity. Abram was to leave all that made him who he was—his family, his possessions, and the land that he had known as…
Combating Anti-Semitism in the Church
There is nothing new in the current outburst of global anti-Semitism. It has been around for many centuries. In fact, it had its beginnings with Satan after God called the Jews to be a people…
Christian Reconstructionism
During the 1960s a new movement began within the sphere of Reformed or Covenant Theology. That movement has been called by three different names: Reconstructionism (because it advocates the reconstruction of society)…
The Major Issues Related to The New Covenant
In the previous article it was noted that, although the Old Testament promised the New Covenant specifically to the literal nation of Israel, the Church also has a relationship to the New Covenant…
The High Priest Covenant of The Savior
The streets of Jerusalem were deserted. A quiet hush had fallen over the city which on other days was bustling with activity. Families had gathered in their homes to commemorate the Passover.