Worlds Collide: The Church's Forthcoming Encounter With The Controversy Of Zion
The issue of Israel at the end of the age may well determine who is, in fact, the Church... and who isn’t. - Art Katz
Since the events of October 7th, 2023, Israel has once again found itself squarely at the center of a burgeoning global controversy. And while the state of Israel has long been a target of their Arab neighbors for their alleged “Zionist occupation,” the growing phenomenon of anti-Zionism seems to have drawn the entire world into its orbit. For example, “Free Palestine” rallies have become a staple of college campuses across the U.S., while major cities all throughout Europe are ablaze with anti-Zionist protests - many of them unapologetically calling for the annihilation of the Jewish people. Of particular interest is the fact these protests target all Jews - not just the ones in Israel - and have little to do with championing Palestinian rights. They're simply campaigns for genocide. But why? Just what is it about this people, whose presence accounts for just .02% of the global population, that stirs up so much rage amongst the nations? It's all part of a mystery the Scriptures refer to as the controversy of Zion.
But what’s perhaps even more troubling than the wave of antisemitism sweeping the nations is the Church’s reaction to it. Following the events of October 7th, a large segment of the Body has taken the opportunity to very loudly remind everyone that - according to their view - the modern state of Israel has nothing to do with the Israel of the “Old Testament” and that Zionism is, in fact, unbiblical. While these individuals would certainly agree the attack on Israel was horrific and unwarranted, they're ultimately responding to another segment of the Church who views the events unfolding in the Middle East within a prophetic context. Nonetheless, their conclusion is that national Israel is a non player in God's redemptive plan, and that Zionism is simply another form of racism that should be opposed by all Christians.
These ideas are connected to a larger system of Biblical interpretation called Supersessionism - the belief that the Church has superseded Israel within God's plan. Supersessionism, also known as replacement theology (or sometimes fulfillment theology), came into being during the late first century, and has experienced tremendous popularity amongst the Church over the past two thousand years, remaining especially strong even today. But what this viewpoint fails to understand (among other things) is the Lord's ongoing election of Israel and the Jewish people, as well as the everlasting covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But it's high time for the Church to recalibrate on this issue. The time is quickly approaching when the entire world - including the Church - will be confronted with one of the most consequential - not to mention controversial - issues they will ever have to face:
Zion.1
For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the controversy of Zion.
- Isaiah 34:8
The Ancient Conflict
So what exactly is this controversy, and why is it so important? To answer those questions, we have to go all the way back to the book of Genesis. After the fall, God stepped in to reveal His plan to redeem the world. God would send forth His Son, born of a woman, to reverse the curse of death and crush the head of the serpent. But this wouldn't happen immediately. A long line of patriarchs would precede His appearance on the world stage, and the remainder of Genesis focuses on this lineage. But what's critical to understand is that the very passage that foretells of Satan’s (or the serpent’s) demise also predicts an ongoing conflict between the offspring of Eve and the offspring of the serpent; the Hebrew word for offspring - zera - can be both singular and plural. So while the passage is ultimately referring to a showdown between Jesus and Satan, it also alludes to a continual hostility between those who follow the Lord's will versus those who inevitably fall prey to Satan’s wicked deceptions.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
- Genesis 3:15
And in the very next chapter, we see this enmity on full display. In a fit of jealousy, Eve’s son Cain murders his brother Abel. The war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman was on - but it wasn't over; God would provide another offspring. The narrative then continues to reveal the descendants within the Messianic line, all the way down to a man named Abram (later renamed Abraham). However, it's here that something new enters into the equation: Land. Not only do we find out the seed of the Messiah would continue through Abraham’s line, but over the next several chapters, God promises Abraham that his descendants (through Isaac, and eventually, Jacob) would become a great nation and inherit a specific tract of land in the Middle East; and not coincidentally, that land would stretch from the River (Euphrates) to the Sea (Mediterranean).2
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…”
- Genesis 15:18
And over the course of the remainder of Genesis, the promise of the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is repeated no less than seven additional times. Moreover, God promised that this nation (Israel) would inherit the land forever. At least three of the instances of the land promises in Genesis specify the eternal nature of the inheritance. This promise is also repeated several times to Moses before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan. Nevertheless, there are some who would object, saying the land promises were completely fulfilled upon the Israelite’s entry into the land. However, it must be stated that the largest portion of land that Israel ever possessed came during the reign of King Solomon, and it was significantly smaller than what had been promised to Abraham. Furthermore, even if Israel had possessed the entire borders of the land at any point in history, this still would not qualify as a complete fulfillment, as Israel’s modern borders are significantly diminished, and the terms of God's covenant stipulate that Israel will get the full borders of the land forever.3
“And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
- Genesis 17:8
What this means then, is that if the land were to be wrested away from Jewish ownership - or worse yet, if the Jewish race were to cease to exist - God's faithfulness, and even His sovereignty, would be negated. This is the reason why, throughout history, the nations have raged against the Jewish people. From the herdsman of Gerar in Genesis 26, Haman in the book of Esther, all the way down to Hitler and the Third Reich, Satan has used human puppets (the seed of the serpent) as pawns in a very real spiritual war in his attempt to usurp God's throne. And this war isn't over yet. In fact, Scripture clearly states this present age will not end until a final, cataclysmic battle over the issue of the Jew and the land occurs. And brothers and sisters, the war drums are beating.
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around…”
- Zechariah 12:2
Supersessionism And The Church
Given the emphasis the Bible places on the issue of Zion, one might think the Church would be the first to stand with Israel and the Jewish people. But unfortunately, the last two thousand years have revealed that, the majority of the time, the opposite is true. But why is this so? The answer lies all the way back in the late first century, where two major events transpired. The first was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D., and the second was a door of faith being swung wide open to the Gentiles. As the Church rapidly blossomed into a Gentile dominant entity, many ideas began to develop about Israel and the Jewish people, most of them negative. And it wasn't long before punitive Supersessionism, the idea that the Jewish people had been permanently cast aside by God due to their rejection of Jesus, arose. The destruction of Jerusalem and scattering abroad of the Jewish people further solidified this idea in the minds of the early Church. And it was out of this theological construct that blatant, often hostile antisemitism reared it's ugly head within the Church.
“The people Israel was precious before the Church arose… but the people (the Jews) were made void when the Church arose.”
- Melito, Bishop of Sardis (165 A.D.)
In his infamous Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Justin Martyr established what would become one of the core tenets of replacement theology: that the Church is the “true” Israel. Within his dialogue with Trypho, Justin confidently declares that God calls the Church Israel and that the Church is “the true Israelatic race.” Hippolytus of Rome would build upon this foundation of Supersessionism, stating that the Jews alleged rejection by God was “everlasting.” Origen, one of the most popular early Church fathers, further widened the chasm between Jews and the Church by declaring the Jews deserved their punishment because they had killed “our Jesus.” But perhaps the most notorious offender within the early Church was St. John Chrysostom. In his collection of discourses referred to collectively as Homilies against the Jews, he stated that the Jewish people were “a great rubbish heap of harlots,” calling their festivals and practices “a disease” that the Church must distance themselves from.4
“They (Jews) live for their bellies, they gape for the things of this world, their condition is not better than that of pigs or goats because of their wanton ways and excessive gluttony.”
- John Chrysostom (380 A.D.)
With the Christianization of the Roman Empire, a slew of legal restrictions began to emerge against the Jews. In 315 A.D., Emperor Constantine published the Edict of Milan, which not only forbade Jews from living in Jerusalem, but also included capital punishment for any Christian who converted to Judaism. Church restrictions on social gatherings between Jews and Christians also arose during this time. For example, the Council of Nicaea officially separated the celebration of Easter from the Passover holiday, and shortly thereafter, Christians were actually forbidden from celebrating Passover at all. And not long after that, Christian Emperor Constatius forbade intermarriage between Christians and Jews. The cancer of Supersessionism and the dehumanization of the Jewish people by the Church-State merger would result in numerous synagogue burnings and violence against Jews throughout the Empire. By the 5th century A.D., the idea that the Church had replaced Israel had become synonymous with Christianity. St. Augustine, perhaps the most beloved of the Church fathers, cemented it as Church doctrine.
“The Christian people then is rather Israel… But that multitude of Jews, which was deservedly reprobated for its perfidy, for the pleasures of the flesh sold their birthright, so they belonged not to Jacob, but rather to Esau…”
- St. Augustine (415 A.D.)
These supersessionist ideas would go on to have even more violent consequences. During the First Crusade, Jews became a secondary target for Christians traveling through Europe on their way to the Holy Land. Forced to convert to Christianity upon pain of death, over twelve thousand Jews were massacred in the Rhine Valley alone at the hands of Crusaders riding under the banner of Christendom. Historians now commonly refer to this dark period of history as “the first Holocaust.” Europe would go on to remain a hotbed of violent, antisemitic activity, and not even the Protestant Reformation would slow it down. In fact, it was Martin Luther himself who famously called upon Christians everywhere to destroy Jewish homes and set synagogues ablaze “for the honor of God and Christianity.” In his collection of writings, “On the Jews and Their Lies,” Luther referred to the Jewish people as a “damned, rejected race,” stating that “Next to the Devil, a Christian has no more bitter and galling foe than the Jew.” The seeds of the Holocaust had been planted. Now, all that was needed was for someone with enough power and influence to carry out the ideas already present within the hearts and minds of the people; even the Church.
“To sum up, dear princes and nobles who have Jews in your domains, if this advice of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this insufferable, devilish burden - the Jew.”
- Martin Luther (1543)
The Mystery Of Israel
While it wouldn't be fair to suggest that everyone who holds a supersessionist viewpoint is hostile towards Jewish people, it must be stated that the most fundamental belief of replacement theology is that the blessings originally promised to national Israel have now been transferred to the Church (of which Jews can join if they'd like). Even the “softest” form of Supersessionism, commonly referred to as economic Supersessionism, holds that because Jesus “fulfilled” the Law, Israel and the Jewish people no longer have a unique role within God's redemptive plan. In this view, Israel’s purpose was simply to act as a placeholder for the Church. Therefore, its practical role has now been fulfilled. For this reason, adherents to this form of Supersessionism often refer to their belief as “fulfillment theology,” as its much more palatable to suggest that Israel’s role has been fulfilled rather than replaced. But regardless of what one chooses to call it, the inescapable fact is, that just like any other form of Supersessionism, the core belief remains the same: The promises God made to Israel and the Jewish people now belong exclusively to the Church.
I ask, then, has God rejected His own people? By no means! God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.
- Romans 11:1-2
Anticipating the confusion that would permeate the Church on this issue - a Church that was rapidly filling up with swaths of Gentile converts - the Apostle Paul issued a stern warning about arrogance towards the “natural branches,” that is, the Jews. Using the analogy of grafting wild branches into an olive tree, Paul describes Gentiles as branches that have been, by the grace of God, grafted in amongst the natural branches. But if they were to grow prideful and arrogant regarding their new status, he says, they would be cut off, just as some of the natural branches had been. Anticipating the Gentile rebuttal that the vast majority of the natural, Jewish branches still remain in unbelief, Paul proceeds to tell them something of tantamount importance; Israel’s hardening is only temporary. Once the full number of Gentiles comes into the fold, he says, a remnant of Jewish people will come to faith, and the nation of Israel will be restored. Because it's the same undeserved grace that brought salvation to the Gentiles that will bring Israel back in! Paul also reminds the Gentile dominant Church that if the Jewish nation hadn’t given Jesus up to crucifixion in the first place, salvation would never have come to them!5
Now if their (Israel’s) trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
- Romans 11:12
While the Supersessionists of today would reject the idea that their viewpoint is antisemitic, the fact remains that the seedbed of their construct requires them to believe that the New Testament redefines the promises made to national Israel. This would be similar to your parents promising to get you a new car when you turned sixteen, only to have them give it to the neighbor's kid for their sixteenth birthday instead! Moreover, Supersessionism inherently creates a negative view regarding the idea of an ongoing centrality for the nation of Israel within God's plan. After all, it would be unfair for God to single out a particular ethnic group for Divine promises, they would say. But while God certainly doesn't show any partiality salvifically, it's completely within His prerogative to elect a single nation to mediate salvation history - and that’s exactly what both the Old and New Testaments testify to! However, it was that very nation that stumbled and rejected Him - what a scandal indeed! That’s why Paul describes Israel’s future restoration in light of their present unbelief as a mystery. And it's this mystery that will be the litmus test for the hearts and minds of the Gentile Church leading up to the return of Jesus.6
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
- Romans 11:25
However, it must be stated this mystery is hardly a New Testament novelty. An overwhelming amount of passages in the Old Testament unambiguously predict a time when Israel will be the center of the Messianic Kingdom, having had the Lord’s Spirit put within them and regenerated into an all holy nation. But there's also no shortage of passages describing Israel’s disobedience and punishment either. One of the hallmarks of replacement theology is the allegorizing of the positive passages about Israel in order to apply them to the Church, while sadly retaining a literal view of the negative passages concerning Israel's disobedience and punishment. However, it's the “until” passages scattered throughout the Old Testament that shed light on the mystery that's revealed in the New Testament. These passages all speak of God temporarily abandoning Israel due to their rejection of Him… until they repent and seek Him. Then, these passages continue, He’ll return to fulfill all of His covenantal promises. Not coincidentally, Paul carries forward this same “until” in his warning to the Church regarding the future restoration of Israel. To drive his point home, he concludes by quoting Isaiah 59:20-21, confirming a day is indeed coming when the Lord will wipe away all of Israel’s sins.7
And so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob;” “This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”
- Romans 11:26-27
For The Sake Of His Name
Nevertheless, Supersessionists will still insist all of the promises to national Israel were fulfilled in the person of Christ. However, if they were being honest, it would be more accurate for them to say they believe they were dissolved in Christ, as a future, literal fulfillment of the land promises to national Israel is not something Supersessionism will tolerate. But if we are to take God's promises literally, which is surely how the original audience would have understood them, then we should also expect a literal fulfillment, no matter how far fetched it might seem. Because anything short of a literal fulfillment of all of God's promises to Israel and the Jewish people would make God either a liar, or a failure. To put it lightly, there's something incredibly important at stake as it pertains to the fulfillment of God's word. Which is why He emphatically states time and time again throughout the Old Testament that it would be impossible for Him not to fulfill His sworn oath.
Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.”
- Jeremiah 31:35-36
Nevertheless, the question remains, how could a people who gave up their own Messiah to His death, and who continue to reject Him to this very day, be deserving of blessing? This is the number one objection by Supersessionists in regards to a future, literal fulfillment of God's promises to national Israel. And while they would not object to individual Jewish people coming to Christ and being absorbed into the Church, the idea of outstanding promises on a national level to a people still living in rebellion is anathema to them. However, in believing this, Supersessionists miss a critical point; God isn't going to fulfill His promises to Israel for their sake; He's going to do it for His. God makes it very clear that Israel hasn’t done anything to deserve this blessing. In fact, they've done everything not to deserve it. Throughout the book of Ezekiel, God recounts Israel’s obstinacy and rebellion, reminding them how they’ve profaned His name amongst all of the nations they were supposed to take His word to. Yet, God declares, He will act for the sake of His name, cleansing Israel of their sin and bringing them into the land He promised to them. Forever.8
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
- Ezekiel 36:22
But what exactly does the fulfillment of the land promises have to do with God’s name? After all, per the terms of the covenant God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai, the Jewish people would be subject to curses, or chastisements, if they were disobedient. These chastisements included being expelled from the land, scattered amongst the nations, taunted, derided, killed, and dehumanized. In other words, everything that’s happened to the Jewish people over the past two thousand years. But given the fact they’re still in disobedience, why should we expect God to give them the land? In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul explains the answer: The Mosaic Law, which came 430 years after God's promise to Abraham, has no bearing on Israel's inheritance of the land! In other words, the unconditional promises God made to Abraham aren’t contingent upon Israel’s obedience, but rather, on God's desire to show mercy to whom He will. And because Jesus met the righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law (which is the true meaning of Jesus fulfilling the Law), it's completely within His prerogative to impute that righteousness on whom He will as well. Furthermore, because God's reputation depends on bringing to pass exactly what He promised - a promise, I might add, that’s violently contested by the powers of the air - the salvation of Israel is inextricably linked to God’s holy name.9
“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
- Isaiah 43:25
As stated earlier, anything short of the complete fulfillment of God's promise to Israel and the Jewish people would negate His sovereignty. Therefore, the survival of the Jewish race is of tantamount importance, and it's the reason why Satan has repeatedly used human pawns over the course of world history in an attempt to annihilate them. God is staking everything on getting that people in that land forever. But only by having an eternal righteousness can the Jewish people inherit the land in an eternal way. This, Paul explains, is why the Law came into the equation; to show that the inheritance comes not by the Law, but by faith. And it's for this very reason that national Israel is at the center of God's ongoing plan of redemptive history. You see, the controversy of Zion has everything to do with what one believes about their own depravity, as well as God's grace. Israel rejected Jesus, sure; but do we believe we’re any better? By definition, grace is undeserved. So by creating a geopolitical controversy (one that's as equally controversial inside the Church as it is outside of it), God is able to display exactly what unearned, unmerited, and entirely underserved grace actually looks like in front of the entire globe! Which is why Scripture explicitly states that at the end of the age, the nations will know Jesus as Lord precisely because of His eschatological deliverance of Israel. Oh, the deep things of God!
“And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate My holiness before their eyes.
- Ezekiel 36:23
God's Eternal Purpose
Given the depth of what God has invested in His redemptive plan for Israel, one might think the Church would be united on the issue of Zion. However, history, as well as the present, sadly proves otherwise. But if God is going to reveal His glory and display His character through Israel, then at some point, the Church will need to have the veil removed from their own eyes if they’re going to be an effective witness to the nations. Writing to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul touches on this very issue, explaining that God intends to display His wisdom to the powers and principalities through the Church. This, he says, is in accordance with the eternal purpose of God. But if God’s plan of redemption for the nations revolves around the salvation of Israel, then it's clear that God also intends for the issue of Zion to be front and center in the hearts and minds of the Church! Moreover, if God wishes to use this understanding to display His wisdom through us, the Church, to the powers of the air, then that puts us squarely at the center of a very real spiritual war. No wonder Satan has worked so hard to keep the Church’s eyes closed to God’s purpose for Israel!10
So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord…
- Ephesians 3:10-11
And in the very next chapter of Ephesians, we see yet another “until.” Except this one has to do with the maturity and unity of the Church. Paul tells us that God has given us the fivefold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers) for the equipping and building up of the saints until the Church is both fully mature and united. Which means that not only do we have the promise that the Church will come into full maturity, but it also means there’s a day coming when the Church will be united on the issue of Zion. Paul concludes his letter to the Ephesians by highlighting the importance of obedience unto sanctification, so that the Church can be presented to the Bridegroom at the end of the age without spot or wrinkle, holy and unblemished. This, of course, presumes that before that time comes, the Church will indeed have spots and wrinkles. But God has a certain way of ironing out wrinkles in His people that aren’t always pleasant. Which means that in order for the Church to reach full maturity and unity, it’ll be necessary for us to take up our crosses. Because at the end of the age, the Church will follow in the footsteps of her Master.11
“The veil needs to come off of the Church's eyes before it will come off of Israel's. We have not adequately seen His eternal purposes.”
— Art Katz
Scripture reveals that this present age concludes with a global martyr witness by the Church. Revelation unambiguously describes an uncountable multitude of martyrs comprised of every tribe, tongue, and nation coming out of the Great Tribulation (the three and a half year period prior to the return of Jesus), also known as Jacob’s trouble. But why exactly are they being martyred? Chapter 12 gives us the answer. When Satan is cast out of heaven at the onset of the Tribulation, he immediately targets Israel and the Jewish people in a final, cataclysmic attempt to thwart God's promises. But there's someone standing in his way. The text says that the earth, or the inhabitants of the land, are there to absorb the onslaught of the dragon’s assault. But who are these individuals from the nations who are standing in the gap on behalf of Israel? The very next verse reveals the answer: Those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. What we're looking at then, is a Church compromised of every tribe, tongue, and nation who’ve reached full maturity and unity laying down their lives on behalf of the Jewish people. Because the last day’s Church will finally understand what's at stake as it pertains to Israel and the vindication of God's holy name; which is exactly what Jesus predicted.12
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
- Matthew 24:9
When Jesus says that His followers will be killed for His name’s sake, He's not saying Christians are going to be killed for telling people that Jesus loves them and has a great plan for their life. What He's saying is, that in the last days, Christians are going to be put to death because of their stance with Israel. Furthermore, Jesus goes on to say that it's during this period of global martyrdom that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. But the point that must not be missed is that these two things are inextricably linked. That’s because the issue of Israel is the issue of the Gospel. “But they continue to reject Christ!” the Supersessionists will cry. “They have to believe first!” But those who would offer these objections fail to remember the foundation of the Gospel: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And the corporate Church will be putting that message on full display in front of the entire globe. And it's this demonstration of the Gospel, coupled with its proclamation, that will be the catalyst for both the completion of the Great Commission, and the Church’s calling to provoke the Jew to jealousy. In their darkest moment, the Jewish people will witness a Church, who have for so long been their adversary and abuser, bearing their burden. And that, my friends, is a Church that has picked up their crosses to follow their Master, walking in humility, maturity, and unity.13
Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.
- John 15:13
A Calculated Offense
As this present age continues to race towards its appointed end, the controversy of Zion will only continue to escalate. And the closer we get to the 70th week, the harder the hearts and minds of the Church will be pressed on this issue. We can see it happening even today. A threshold was crossed on October 7th, and it's one we won't be coming back from. And before this is all over, every one of us will have to decide where we stand on the issue of Israel. That's because the Lord intends to use this controversy as a litmus test to gauge each person’s heart posture; because your heart posture towards Israel, He says, reflects your heart posture towards Him. In Joel 3, God reveals that at the final judgement, those who opposed Israel during their final trouble were actually opposing Him. And this is the same prophecy Jesus imports in Matthew 25 to explain the sheep and the goats judgement. Notice though, there’s only two groups of people: those who stood with “the least of these” (Jews), and those who did not.14
“The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
- Matthew 25:40
But why is Zion the litmus test? Simple. Because the issue of Zion is offensive. But make no mistake; it's a calculated offense. That's because at the very heart of the controversy of Zion is the issue of election - the issue of God’s prerogative to show mercy on whom He will. And He demands the nations submit to His sovereignty. Nonetheless, there are sure to be those within the Church who unwittingly stand opposed to the Lord on this issue. That's why God has predestined a sort of “deathbed repentance” for the remnant of Israel. It's the parable of the laborers in the vineyard; are we going to take offense at what the Master chooses to do with what's rightfully His? After receiving the Father's grace and mercy, are we going to scoff at the idea of Him showing the same undeserved grace to others? Or do we perhaps condemn ourselves, revealing that we believe we actually do deserve it? Are we going to take the position of the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, becoming bitter at the thought of the Father welcoming back His wayward son? And if the Father rejoices over finding one lost sheep, what does it tell us about the heart posture of the other ninety-nine if they're not just as equally overjoyed? This is an issue that’s sure to separate the wheat from the tares.15
“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to Me? Or do you begrudge My generosity? So the last will be first, and the first last.”
- Matthew 20:15-16
In fact, it's hard to imagine that this controversy isn't part of the great falling away that both Jesus and Paul warned about in the last days. The so called Great Apostasy and the Great Tribulation go hand in hand, as it were. Further, Paul explicitly warns of a strong delusion that Satan will use to accomplish this amongst the professing Church. And brothers and sisters, that very delusion is beginning to sweep the nations today. Because keeping the veil over the Church’s eyes concerning Zion is the only thing that can prevent the Church from mobilizing in a united front as we approach the last days. Therefore, keeping the Church from understanding what the prophetic Scriptures reveal about their forthcoming encounter with Zion is a high priority for Satan. The downfall of the devil is in the details, as they say. Nevertheless, the prophetic Scriptures also reveal that, despite Satan's best efforts, the veil will come off the Church’s eyes. And when Israel is put to flight in that final, cataclysmic assault, someone will be there waiting for them; when worlds collide, and the Church comes face to face - and eye to eye- with the controversy of Zion.16
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.
- Isaiah 52:7-8
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersessionism
Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-21
Genesis 13:14-17; 17:4-8; 26:3-5; 28:13-14; Exodus 3:7-8,17; 6:1-6; Deuteronomy 1:7-8
When a Jew rules the World, chapter 9 - Joel Richardson
Romans 11:1-36
Romans 2:11-12; Exodus 19:5-6; 33:16
Isaiah 2:2-4; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Jeremiah 31:31-40; Micah 5:1-4; Hosea 5:15 - 6:2; Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 32:15-18
Ezekiel 20:1-49; 36:20-38; 39:7, 25-29; Isaiah 48:9-11
Galatians 3:15-29, Matthew 5:17
Ephesians 2:11-3:12
Ephesians 4:11-13; 5:22-27
Revelation 6:9-11; 7:9-14; 12:7-17; Isaiah 52:7-8
Matthew 24:9,14; Romans 5:6-8
Joel 3:1-4; Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 20:1-16; Luke 15:1-32; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Matthew 24:10; 2nd Thessalonians 2:3, 9-12
Great piece, thank you!
Thank you, Andrew! Excellent!