A Tale of Four Brothers

Imagine for a moment that you had two sons, who we’ll call Jacob and John. Jacob and John are stubborn, strong-willed, and resistant to punishment, so when they hit their teenage years, there’s a lot of chaos in the house. Sometimes you have to punish them severely, and on at least one prior occasion you …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 7: A Call to Brotherhood

Realizing the extent to which the Gentile inclusion in God's Kingdom was prophesied is obviously a severe, perhaps even a mortal blow to Dispensationalism, insofar as that system depends on an assumption that the Church is a peculiar “not-Gentile, not-Jewish” entity never spoken of in the Old Testament. Obviously, the Tanakh speaks of both Jew …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 6: The Two Prophecies

It's not hard to understand the confusion of Jews, both in Yeshua's time and long after, over how the all-too-often hostile Gentiles fit (if at all) into God's plan. This is because there are not just one, but rather two consistent yet seemingly contradictory threads in Biblical prophecy. On the one hand, the prophets decreed …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 5: Olive Tree Theology and the Mystery of the Gospel

I would love to say that the Lord dropped this theology into my lap in the form of two stone tablets, but the truth is that I stand on the shoulders of giants. David H. Stern, to whom most branches of the Messianic movement are deeply indebted, first developed the kernel of this Adoption Theology1 …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 4: Gentile Inclusion Was Prophesied

The Church has been an almost wholly Gentile institution for so long that it’s easy for Christians to forget that in the beginning, the followers of Yeshua were all Torah-observant, traditional Jews operating in a wholly Jewish context. Indeed, Christian commentaries on the book of Acts often seem bemused or exasperated that there was ever …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 3: God’s Sons

The Scriptures have always been consistent in calling Israel God’s son, “even my firstborn” (Exo. 4:22). Note that calling someone one’s “firstborn” implies that there would be other children. As we noted earlier in this chapter, Hosea 11:1 says, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 2: Defining Our Terms

This part is going to be a bit dry, but necessary, I think. Historically, the teaching of the Church regarding the Jewish people is known as Supersessionism, also known as Replacement Theology (which, despite the distaste for the term that some Supersessionists have, is a pretty apt translation of the term’s root supersede) and Fulfillment …

Neither Dispensationalism nor Supercessionism, Part 1: Introduction

Adoption has always played an important role in my life. My youngest brother is adopted. He has a lot of special qualities and relationships unique to him in my family. Where the rest of us are dark-haired and have a lot of British in our blood, he’s a proud, red-headed Irishman. Where the rest of …