The reaction of many people on social networks to the criminal activities of Hamas in Israel gave me some thoughts that I want to share. I have Christian friends, pastors who love God’s Word, who understand that Israel is God’s people. And they have friends, usually believers, who, in the comments of their publications, begin to reassure them in a similar way: “Why are you so obsessed with this Israel? We are citizens of the kingdom! Why are you posting about these horrors? These wars are all worldly, it is a multitude of unsaved sinners. But our thoughts are set on heavenly things. Taking a position is unspiritual.”
And then there are believers who say we cannot judge. But Scripture directly exhorts us to ponder and judge. It says, “He who is spiritual judges all things.” (in the Estonian Bible: “a spiritual person understands everything”). And it uses the same word that Yeshua used when he said, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” But it’s important not to take words out of context. To judge is to make a decision. It is not in our power to judge these lawless people. But we have the right to discuss and draw our own conclusions. Yes, the Lord will judge everyone. But this does not mean that we should close our eyes, ears and mouth like those monkeys: “We see nothing, we hear nothing, we say nothing to anyone.”
The doctrine of the seven mountains is a perverted doctrine of the kingdom
Where did some of the churches that have a huge influence on the new generation because of their media advances get the seeds that will one day bear terrible fruit? We’ll find out. First, what is the kingdom of God? It is the establishment of God’s rule on earth. In some church circles, the idea that we already live in God’s kingdom is spreading today.
I believe this with all my heart because Yeshua said that the Kingdom of God is within us – we learn to live our lives according to God’s rules, thereby expanding His Kingdom around us. But this idea found a false continuation in Western Christian circles. Its essence is as follows: if the Kingdom of God already exists within the church, then we must establish it not only in the spiritual sphere, but the Lord Himself will establish it through us in all the different spheres.
There is a doctrine of the so-called seven mountains (spheres) that the church must climb to establish the kingdom. They are religion, family, education, government, media, art, entertainment and business. Of course, God sovereignly raises one or another of His people into each of these spheres. But this teaching says that the church should dominate them. This idea, beautiful on the one hand, contains the thought: “We as the Church will absolutely establish this Kingdom on earth.”
Why is Kingdom Now a false teaching?
This theory, also called the “Kingdom Now” theory, is not about the spiritual influence of the kingdom that we spread as a fragrance, but about the power of the Kingdom. But influence and power are not the same thing. When we influence through preaching, personal example, prayers, when we show the spiritual power of the Kingdom over demons and curses, that is the power given to us. We are not trying to influence demons or diseases, but society. But in this theory we are talking about the government of the church.
Why is this idea problematic from a New Testament perspective? If the Kingdom has already arrived, then everything that is currently happening in Israel is not part of the picture of the end times, it is not a clash of two kingdoms (physical wars are a manifestation of spiritual warfare). In this theology, the eschatological picture of Matthew 24 and Luke 21 very subtly eliminates Israel.
This doctrine of creating a kingdom with one’s own forces was also characteristic of the Catholic Church at one time – the fusion of state and religion. But this new version sounds like this. All the confusions and great tribulations that Yeshua taught were characteristic of the Jewish people of the first century. When the temple was destroyed, a great earthquake is said to have occurred. Of course, some of these words of Yeshua are literally referring to the first generation of believers who saw the destruction of Jerusalem. But this prophecy extends to the end of time.
Apologists for this theory are extremely uncomfortable seeing the Jewish people as important in God’s plan, and very uncomfortable seeing the upheavals taking place in the world, which I believe are the fulfillment of Yeshua’s words. And so they say, “We focus on the kingdom. We are not looking at these issues. We just look to the Lord.”
The defenders of this false kingdom idea have a very good start – spreading the kingdom and God’s presence. This is a deep and important idea. But to close our eyes to truth and justice so as not to see suffering, and to maintain the idea that all confusion is none of our business, is an extremely shameful attitude. God save us from this!
Where did it come from? Origen, Eusebius and Constantine
The idea of establishing a kingdom before the coming of Yeshua is very old. He was born on the 3rd-4th. century AD. There was a man named Origen, revered by some as one of the Church Fathers. But he was excommunicated twice for heresies. He saw the revelation of the Kingdom and the final establishment of the church in this way – not with Yeshua’s coming to Jerusalem, but through the Church itself.
It was Origen who introduced the method of allegorical interpretation of Scripture, in which the direct reading of the text is excluded from consideration and everything is understood exclusively spiritually. Why did he develop this method? Because when we read the Scriptures in its context, we see the end-time suffering and confusion of Israel and the nations. And the presence of the Jews confused his ideas. Just as today, Israel is a stumbling block to the ideas of those who profess the Kingdom Now idea.
Origen developed an allegorical method of interpreting Scripture and stigmatized those who restored its original meaning. His student Eusebius Pamphilus (Eusebius of Caesarea), the first church historian to describe the first four centuries of the church, adopted these same ideas. And he was an influential friend of Emperor Constantine. And these ideas became relevant under Constantine, who was the first Christian emperor. The kingdom come! But who was the obstacle to this idea? Direct reading of the Bible text and Israel, that is, the Jews.
It is for this reason that Constantine, as the initiator of the Council of Nicaea in 325, condemned the Arian heresy and established theses about the nature of God’s unity, gave the bishops the idea that the church could no longer celebrate common holy and theological ideas with the Jewish people – “those Jewish bastards who crucified our Christ “.
The New Origenes and How to Counter Them
Now this story is repeating itself. We have the new Origenes and Eusebius who claim that the Kingdom of God has already fully revealed itself, and perhaps, of course, the Jewish people have some meaning, but God himself will deal with them later. This is false teaching. I believe in establishing the Kingdom of God in relationship with the Jewish people. The Jewish people are the key to unlocking the doors of the kingdom. Because everything happens in Israel.
It is important for us to remember Yeshua’s conversation with his disciples in Acts 1. After He had taught them about the Kingdom for 40 days, they had only one question: “Will you restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time?” And He answered: “Times and seasons are not known to you.” Yeshua essentially said, “I will establish the Kingdom of God, and Israel will play a huge role in it.” It is important for us to stay true to what Yeshua taught.
It is also important to remember the conversation between the archangel Gabriel and Miriam, where he says that Yeshua will “rule over the house of Jacob forever”. This is very important because often in Christian theology Jacob is a cunning deceiver, we as the church are descendants of Israel and Jacob are physical Jews who have lost their spiritual birthright. Yes, the Lord will come back and question the gender of Jacob who drove him out. However, this verse stands out to the church practicing replacement theology because they cannot relate to James.
If a Christian believes that God has ended the relationship with Israel by canceling their destiny, that means that they automatically believe that God is unfaithful to Himself and His Word. And it follows that man believes that Satan has won in his plans. If we believe that Israel is excluded from God’s plans, it means that we believe in Satan’s victory. God save us from this!
Shimon Pozdyrka, rabbi of the Messianic community “Bnei Brith Hadasha”, Chişinău.
Source: ShomerTV / kemokiev.org
Source: https://ieshua.org/komu-i-chem-meshaet-izrail-v-tserkvi.htm
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