I don’t know where you’re getting that the Jews aren’t God’s chosen people. What exactly do you think God is telling Abraham in Gen 12:2-3? Also Gen 27:29, Num 24:9?
In Deut 7: 6-8 these words: "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
The main reason The Trib comes about after the Rapture is because there will be terrible times for Israel. Why it’s called “the time of Jacob’s trouble”. The main reason for the Trib is Israel will finally recognize Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). Israel will be regenerated, restored, and regathered (Jeremiah 33:8; Ezekiel 11:17; Romans 11:26).
You are right at the end…perfect theology is not needed for salvation. That is through one man who gave his life for ALL of us to have a way to be redeemed. We had no other way as we were dead in our transgressions. We needed a perfect lamb who was blameless of sin. God delivered. ✝️
Because they aren't Christians and the old covenant no longer exists.
I encourage you to read Christian leaders on this topic before the Scofield Bible was published.
I will do my best to summarize why the idea that the modern nation of Israel is (a) a prerequisite to Christ's return; (b) has any connection to the nation of Isreal pre 70 a.d., and (c) that modern ethnic jews will receive any special treatment after Christ return is not supported by the scripture and was completely anti thetical to Christian belief until the the turn of the 20th century. It is these ideas asserted in the Scofield Bible that has popularized the radical support for the modern nation of Israel among American protestants.
But this is a long and hotly contested theological issue in today's Church largely because today's Church is led by weak effeminate and heretical men such as Andy Stanley. I will do my best to summarize the main counterarguments. But the best counterargument is for 1900 years no Church leader believed what modern protestants believe about ethnic jews.
Preliminary I would point to that the West at the turn of the 20th century was far more Christian than we are today and since the adoption of dispensationalist teaching the Church has gradually strayed farther and farther away from Biblicial teachings and has let secularism run amok.
Let's discuss
(b) first because this topic is confusing for people and it ties in directly with
why the modern ethnic jews are not God's chosen people.
God held two covenants with the Hebrews. Spiritual (the promised Messiah) and physical (the promised land). The physical covenant was fulfilled through Joshua. "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." (Joshua 29:14).
After Joshua, it was up to the Israelites to keep the promised land. They could only do this through upholding God's law.
God keeps his promises, as you say "salvation comes from the Jews" and it did. Christ was born, he was crucified and resurrected. "By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:13). Thus, God's spiritual covenant with the people of Israel -- the jewish people had been fulfilled. And, "Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." (Galatians 3:7-9). It was not the blood of Abraham that was special it was his faith and now Christians, those with the faith of Abraham are the true sons of Abraham.
Are there ethnic Jews who are God's chosen people? Of course, just as there are anglo-saxons, greeks, africans, chinese, etc etc. But they are God's people because of their faith not their blood.
Christ even destroys the temple and Jerusalem and puts Judea to the sword for rejecting him in Luke 21: 5-38. (Woe to the pregnant mothers). This is significant and requires some understanding as to how God was worshipped under the old covenant to fully grasp -which again is replaced with the new covenant (meaning the modern jews worship a false God because they have rejected Yaweh) -- regardless the main point here is that without the temple jews cannot follow the law of the old testament, without the documents that detailed the geneology of the tribe of Levi no priest could even be appointed. Both were utterly destroyed by Titus as prophized by Christ.
Readings of the account of Josephus with respect to Titus sacking Jerusalem is quite eye opening as Jesus was seen in the clouds in 70 a.dd. and I encourage everyone to read them. Many of the Roman soldiers at the sacking of Jerusalem had an "oh crap that Jesus guy was actually the son of God" moment.
Now this is not to say that the Jewish people did not play a significant role in the founding of the Church -- of course, almost all early Christians were Jews but the vast majority of the Jews rejected Christ. "..I will curse those who curse you." The Christian Jews (chosen) the ethnic Jews (cursed).
That's enough rambling about point (b). (
a) prerequisites to Christ's return.
The teaching that the modern nation of Israel is a prerequisite to Christ's return is an idea that comes solely from the Scofield Bible and is largely based on the wrong teaching of a silent rapture or secret rapture where Christ returns "like a thief in the night" and the saints are ascended into heaven followed by a time of tribulation. Of course, 1 Thessalonians 5:1 is talking about the '"day of the Lord" coming like a thief in the night. Meaning you won't expect it.
This is additionally accompanied by an idea that Jews will receive a second chance during this time of tribulation to accept the Messiah. This idea was popularized during my lifetime with the Left Behind Series.
I will say at the outset that disagreements over eschatology don't matter. What matters is that we agree that Christ is coming to the world in the last days.
Having said that, the secret or silent rapture belief has led to some pretty disastrous consequences for the Church as this hopeless escapist eschatology of most modern cultural Christianity leads to the neo-gnosticism we see today where Church leaders believe Christians are not called to be spiritual warriors and rule our nations in God's name. Instead, to meekly suffer in silence and watch as the nation rots and crumbles around you. And if you search for any historical Church teachings on this subject you will find very little because again it was asserted in the Scofield Bible (which was published and funded by a zionist jew).
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). How can this be the last day but also have seven years of tribulation before the final battle? Put simply the secret rapture is not supported by the Bible.
And there are not prerequisites which govern the day of the Lord.
(c) second chances for ethnic Jews
No Biblical evidence exists for the idea that ethnic jews get a second chance. You are either washed in the blood or you are getting cast into the lake of fire.
This is a long post and formatting is not great on rivals. But I enjoy theological debates.
