In fact, there’s a name for this thinking and it’s called Replacement Theology.
That belief has Satan’s fingerprints on it and stands in contradiction to God’s word, a Virginia pastor warns.
“It’s a wrong idea. It’s bad doctrine. It’s demonic,” Gary Hamrick, senior pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, said on Washington Watch Thursday.
Replacement Theology asserts that promises made to Israel in the Bible are now fulfilled in the Christian church as opposed to Israel itself. The view holds that Jewish people have been rejected by God due to their rejection of Jesus Christ and that the Church has taken their place as God’s chosen people.
“It’s basically the idea that the Church has replaced Israel in terms of all the promises of the New Testament and that God is done with Israel, that God only used Israel to accomplish the purpose of bringing a Messiah onto the world scene," Hamrick told show host Tony Perkins. "I don't believe that's biblical at all."
Replacement Theology goes hand-in-hand with the struggle for many Christians to follow the biblical call for support of the nation of Israel, Hamrick said.
Harvard’s Institute of Politics takes an annual political pulse of Americans ages 18-29. This year’s results found they’re much more concerned inflation, health care and housing than the well-being of Israel.
In fact, Israel’s war with Hamas ranked near the bottom of that age group’s concerns, ranking ahead of only student debt.
Support for Israel was in decline before the Hamas attacks, a 2019 Gallup poll found.
Replacement Theology influenced Hitler
It’s an idea that’s been around for hundreds of years and has been supported by some leading theologians, including Martin Luther, whose writings sadly influenced Adolph Hitler’s position on Jews.
“Martin Luther, as wonderful as he did many things, including the Protestant Reformation, he wrote some pretty anti-Semitic things, and he bought into the whole replacement theology doctrine. Hitler actually quoted Martin Luther in Mein Kampf as part of his reasons why he should exterminate the Jewish people on the planet because they are useless now,” Hamrick said.
Hamrick cites Ezekiel 37 as proof that God is not done with Israel. Verse 21 is just part of Ezekiel’s prophecy: “I take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land,” it says.
Paul’s writings in Romans also counter the Replacement Theology argument, Hamrick said.
“He wrote in Romans 11, 11 verse one, he said, has God cast away his people? And he answers it. He says, ‘Certainly not.’ God is not done with the Jewish people, but this (Replacement Theology) has taken root in a terrible way.
“This is why many pastors, unfortunately, are not supporting Israel in the war against Gaza and what's happened since Oct. 7. So now you have Protestant pastors who are saying, ‘Well, God is done with the Jewish people; He's done with Israel, and so we're not going to get behind Israel. We're not going to support their right to the land,” Hamrick said.
Look at the language, too
The political creation of the state of Israel in 1948 shows that God still works on behalf of the nation, Hamrick said, but further proof comes in the revitalization of the Hebrew language.
“For all intents and purposes, it was extinct rather than being in print and in scriptures. It wasn’t the common, spoken language,” Hamrick said, noting that began to change when the language became emphasized by certain prominent Jewish families.
“It’s totally a God thing. It’s the revival of a people group. When you look at how God brought the people back together, the revival of an ancient language, this is clearly prophetic. God is not done with the Jewish people and to say otherwise is anti-Semitic,” Hamrick said.
