Replacement Theology and the Test In Our Time
In our time, the world is being tested. The prophets speak of a time when the nations will turn against Israel, and if you read ahead, it does not end well for them. This was largely the case in Europe in the 1930's and this test has emerged once again in our time.
For years, many Christians have believed that their theology is derived straight from the Bible. But study outside the lines, and it becomes apparent that much of Christian doctrine rests on centuries of inherited interpretations¹.
And many of those interpretations were shaped by anti-Jewish biases.
As political and cultural tensions rise, these age-old assumptions are resurfacing. They’re not hiding anymore. They’re increasingly showing up in political speeches, social-media reels, and Sunday morning sermons.
The same ideas that helped catalyze some of the darkest moments in Western history are once again moving in the collective psyche.
And at the center of it all is the idea known as Replacement Theology.
Replacement Theology Is Thriving
Replacement Theology isn’t a fringe or cult idea. It has existed in every denomination of Christianity, some more than others. But now it sits unchallenged in mainstream society.
I’ve watched it surface in conversations. Often, it is subtle, inadvertent assumptions by well-intended people. But it's there nonetheless.
Over the last several years, I've also watched the rapid re-emergence of socially acceptable antisemitism. As effectively and viciously as Hamas entered Israel on October 7th, Replacement Theology has begun its own insurgency in both the political left and right.
As usual, politicians have learned to pluck these chords, and many Christians, primed by inherited theology, have been swayed with surprising ease.
Some Christians can be found standing with movements openly hostile to Israel, apparently unaware, or unwilling to acknowledge, where this road has led in the past.
And it always leads to the same place: betrayal. Expulsion. Pogroms. Shoah.
How did we get here again?
The Core of Replacement Theology
Replacement Theology is deeper than it seems. In practice, it is a replacement of all things Jewish: the steadfast observance of commandments, the venue, the days of worship, and the covenants.
Simply, it is the idea that G_D has revoked His promises to the Jewish people and reassigned them to the Church.
If true, it would mean G_D went back on His word, an unsettling idea to say the least.
But, we should ask, has Israel been replaced? And, do the Jewish people still have a role in the redemption?
Has Israel Been Replaced?
In a previous article², we unpacked the definition of “Israel” as used in the Bible.
Context matters.
Sometimes it refers to all twelve tribes, sometimes specifically to the ten northern tribes.
But the covenant is straightforward and consistent. Though it is reiterated, expanded, and renewed, it remains anchored in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And through them, the promises are passed down to their descendants, forever.
Leviticus says it explicitly:
“Yet, even then… I will not reject them… annulling My covenant with them.” - Leviticus 26:44
Failure is Part of the Plan
Israel's worst failures were anticipated and accounted for. Not once does G_D suggest that He fully abandons the Jewish people.
Deuteronomy states it plainly:
For your G_D is a compassionate G_D, who will not fail you nor let you perish; G_D will not forget the covenant made on oath with your fathers. - Deuteronomy 4:31
Israel is disciplined, like a child, but never abandoned.
Can a woman forget her baby,
Or disown the child of her womb?
Though she might forget,
I never could forget you.
- Isaiah 49:15
Paul argues that even Israel’s failures are part of the greater plan.
“…by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles…” - Romans 11:11
The conclusion: G_D did not revoke His covenant with the Jewish people. Which means we must now confront what that implies for Gentiles.
Do the Jewish People Still Have a Role in the Redemption?
In a word, yes.
However, many Christians have grown up with this simple storyline:
The Jews rejected Jesus.
G_D moved on.
Christians became the chosen people.
This belief has had the luxury of time. A centuries-long process has overwritten virtually everything in the Bible to conform to this theological conclusion.
Now, the truth takes effort, humility, and the will to recover.
New Covenant?
Even the primary “New Covenant” passages, like Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36, say something very different.
First: the covenant is not entirely new. It’s a renewal and expansion, not a replacement.⁶
Second: the covenant was explicitly made with the tribes of Judah and Israel:
“I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah… I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” - Jeremiah 31:31, 33
There is no spiritualizing of this truth.
The Messianic Kingdom
The prophets describe the Messianic age as a time when Gentiles return with the Jewish people to Zion, as guests.
There, they will 'grab a hold of the tzitzit of a Jew' (Zechariah 8:23), and learn to observe certain holidays, including Shabbat⁷.
Therefore, Jewish identity is central to the promises of G_D and the final redemption.
Be Humble
The Apostles faced an unprecedented challenge of integrating Gentiles into a Jewish covenant framework³.
What they did not envision was the eventual scenario, our current reality, where Gentiles not only separated from Israel, but also evolved into a rival religious identity that often turned hostile.
Paul's words to his Gentile audience say⁴: If you're a Gentile and you were grafted in, great! But don’t be arrogant, lest you be cast off.
Humility is the safeguard.
And now, once again, the world is being tested.
The Final Test
Replacement Theology didn’t show up overnight. It came through edits, councils, creeds, commentaries, and quiet rewrites over the centuries.
Now it’s resurfacing in plain sight. What was once subtle church doctrine is now a cultural crescendo.
Replacement Theology is matchstick theology. And history has the receipts.
The world is being tested once again.
Where do you stand?
Notes:
¹ Lost in Translation - The Problems With Sola Scriptura
³ The Roots of Gentile Inclusion: Noahide Laws and the Jerusalem Council
⁴ (Romans 11:18)