Speaking at a four-day conference on the book of Romans at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas this week, Nicholas Thomas "Tom" Wright criticized what he called a "totally unbiblical idea, namely that the present modern-day state of Israel is somehow a fulfillment of prophecy."
On the eve of America's midterm elections, he called the belief "dangerous" to the extent that it dictates Christians' political views.
Dr. Alex McFarland says Wright has been right on many issues.
"He has been a defender of the resurrection of Jesus, and in many ways, Tom Wright has been a pretty conservative defender of the Christian faith," he notes.
But on this issue, McFarland says Wright is wrong.
"The rebirth of Israel, May 14, 1948, I think that is an incredibly powerful fulfillment of prophecy that in the last days, God would regather the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland," he submits.
On "Exploring the Word," McFarland and co-host Bert Harper lead a daily, Bible-centered radio discussion focused on biblical teaching, theology and answering listeners' questions about the Christian faith.
In McFarland's view, abandoning the Abrahamic covenant — God's promise to Abraham that He would make him the father of a great nation, give his descendants a land of their own and bless all nations through his family (Genesis 12, 15 and 17) — is to call into question the character of God.
While many American evangelicals view Israel's existence as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, Wright considers that interpretation an unwarranted reading of Scripture. He argues that God's promises to Abraham find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and God's claim over the whole world, not in the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
"It's said to be an everlasting covenant, and everlasting means everlasting," McFarland summarizes. "The perpetuity of the Abrahamic covenant is based on the promises and the faithfulness of God."
He says Wright appears to subscribe to the alternative, replacement theology — the belief that the Christian church has replaced Israel as the people of God and inherited the promises and blessings God made to Israel in the Old Testament.
McFarland says that theology was cobbled together before the nation of Israel was established to try to support various prophetic passages in the Bible. Because Christ was rejected by the religious hierarchy and largely by the Jewish people, proponents of the theology believe the Jews forfeited the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.
Replacement theology predates the modern state of Israel by roughly 1,800 years.
