In the prophetic plan of God, does the Church replace Israel?

This is an often taught but erroneous doctrine that is making its rounds in prophetic circles. This view teaches that all the covenant promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament are conditional. Advocates of this doctrine believe that because Israel failed, and rejected the Messiah, God has taken the Kingdom away from them. Instead, He has given the Kingdom blessings to the Church. So, the Church is literally the Kingdom of God on Earth today, and we can claim Kingdom authority. 

Sometimes, there is confusion between the unconditional prophecies of the Old Testament and the conditional prophecies. God said to Abraham, “I will bless you unconditionally. I will make a great nation of you, a great name, and a great people, and you will be a blessing to all nations” (Genesis 12:1-3). God cut the covenant with Abraham. The power of God, represented by fire, moved between the pieces of the animals when they cut that covenant in Genesis 15. God did it while Abraham was asleep in a trance. God was saying, “I will keep this covenant. I will make this happen.” It is an unconditional covenant. The promise to give the land to the nation of Israel is an everlasting promise — a covenant — of God. 

If the promise of the everlasting covenant of the land to Israel were not everlasting, then we would have cause to wonder if we, in the New Testament, can depend upon the promise that everlasting life is indeed everlasting, or if it is conditional as well. Of course, we know that everlasting life is an unconditional promise of God. Likewise, the Bible makes it very clear that God has not cast away His people Ismael. 

“I say, then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I am also an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people whom he foreknew...,” Romans 11:1.

As Paul writes about his burden for Israel in Romans 11, he says, “Yes, they have rejected the Messiah. Yes, they are under the judgment of God. But God has not abandoned them. God has not cast them away. God forbid,” Paul says. In Romans 11:11, he says, “Have they stumbled, that they might fall, and never get up again? No, not at all.” Their temporary blindness (Romans 11:25) is to provoke them to jealousy, while God gives His blessing to the Gentiles.

Paul sees the distinction between the Church and Israel. God is blessing the Church in the New Testament age, so that Israel will ultimately see that they have missed the blessings of God. They have been provoked unto jealousy that will ultimately and irresistibly draw them to the Savior. That will convince them Jesus Christ really is their Messiah and Lord. In Romans 11:25, Paul said this would go on until the “fullness of the Gentiles” has become complete. God is still in the process of building His Church today. In the process of building that Church, many Gentiles will come into the family of God. Some of the Jewish people will come into the family of God as well. They will come to believe that Jesus indeed died on the cross for their sins. 

The Scripture says it is all according to the grace of God, who calls Jew and Gentile, Black and White, male and female, Arab and Israeli. He calls every one of us to put our trust in Jesus Christ, because only Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins. Only Jesus shed His blood for us. Only Jesus rose from the dead. And only Jesus is coming again to take us home to the Father’s house.