This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program originally aired on Feb. 2, 2022. To listen to the program click HERE.
Sam Rohrer: Hello, and welcome to our Stand in the Gap Today bimonthly Israel update. Here we focus on God’s plan of redemption for mankind. We talk about that a lot, and we start right there in Genesis 1:14 and 15, where God promises the devil there in that garden that God Himself would send a Redeemer one to crush his head. Then in Genesis 12:3, a verse we emphasize a lot, God further unveiled His plan of redemption by telling Abraham that from Him would come a great people, a nation through which all the people of the earth would be blessed again by this same Redeemer. Then later God further unveils His plan by covenanting with Jacob, changing his name to Israel, and being even more precise about His divine plan.
You know, and then the balance of Scripture systematically unveils God’s promise to Jacob, Israel devoting nearly 30% of all the Scripture to prophecy surrounding the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, the Jews and Jerusalem, God’s appointed capital of the world there in Jerusalem, and His overall plan of redemption, as it continues to be worked out according to God’s plan.
And we believe it’s our duty and interest as believers in Jesus Christ to understand God’s plan, how He’s been working it out, where we are in that process, and to also note the challenges that arise against God’s plan as outlined in the Word of God.
So today, rather than highlighting any number of key headline events like we normally do on this program concerning Israel, and I’m going to mention just a couple, we could, for instance, just came out, confirmed this morning, matter of fact, that two weeks ago an Israeli air force drill simulating in their words, “a massive attack on Iran’s nuclear program.” That was a practice run. Or that yesterday, our own US State Department announced that Iran is literally weeks away from having enough nuclear fuel to power an atomic bomb.
Now that’s interesting because these events, as we talk about a lot, all portents an imminent military conflict in the Middle East around which there is a lot of biblical prophecy, and all of this is within the backdrop of a building Russia, Ukraine, NATO conflict, and an imminent, perhaps even later this month, military action by communist China against Taiwan. So there’s a lot we could say, but today I only mention these just to keep in our mind’s eye the fact that Israel, the Middle East, and God’s plan of redemption is increasingly on the stage as it unfolds here before us.
But today I want to welcome in for the first time, first time guest, Dr. Ed Hindson. He’s the Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity and distinguished professor of religion at Liberty University. Dr. Hindson holds earned doctorates from West Minister Theological Seminary, Trinity Graduate School, University of South Africa as well. He’s the author of over 40 books ranging from Philistine archeology to Puritan theology to biblical eschatology. So he is a student of Israel and prophecy, and he is going to walk with Gary Dull and me through the theme we’ve chosen for today. And that is this, replacement theology, it’s implications to Israel, to prophecy, and to God’s plan.
Now I’ve chosen to address this issue because as a religious view, this view diminishes the importance of Israel, the Jewish people, and Jerusalem, and therefore argues against considering the importance of Israel today, being really much anything different than any other nation in the world. So in that light, we’re discussing it today as a part of our Israel update. And with that, let me welcome to the program right now, Dr. Ed Hindson. Ed, thank you so much for being with us today.
Ed Hindson: It’s all right, Sam. It’s a delight to be with you, and it is an important topic because it affects how Christians, churches, and denominations think about the relationship between Israel and the church and what is really going on in the world today, whether it has any biblical precedent or not.
Sam Rohrer: It does, and so that’s why I wanted to have you here with us. You know, one of the philosophies, and I’ve already set it up, has become known as replacement theology. It’s embraced by at least a segment of the church, and today’s program we want to address this with you and ask you to walk through it with us, but let’s go here first if you don’t mind. In the interest of defining the terms and getting us all on the same page, would you first define what is meant by replacement theology and if there are any other terms which are similarly used to describe the same concept, lay that out for us right now? Could you do that, please?
Ed Hindson: The idea there is that in the plan of God, Israel had disobeyed, rejected the Messiah and therefore come under the judgment of God and that God’s promises for the kingdom then pass from Israel to the church. The church replaces Israel, ultimately in the plan of God. There are various forms of replacement theology, some more spiritualized, some more political, but the ultimate idea was the church is the new Israel of God. And a lot of this started way back. Initially, the early Christians and the early church fathers were convinced Christ would return one day to literally set up a kingdom on earth. They saw the Roman empire as the enemy, that God would deal with them. And in 325 AD when Constantine professes to become a Christian and Christianizes the Roman empire, this becomes a game changer. And within a hundred years, Augustine is trying to figure out if the Roman empire is no longer the enemy, then the empire is actually blessing and funding the church. So the church must be the new kingdom of God on, earth cetera. And in the meantime, Israel physically had been destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.
So if you were living in the Middle Ages, there’s no Israel on a map, and there’s no hope that they’re ever going to go back unless you understood the prophecies in the Bible, that they would one day return. So it was fairly easy for Christians to make that leap. God’s finished with Israel. The church is the new Israel of God. The blessings that were to come to Israel are now out to come to us, et cetera. And then you have within the Catholic church, the Pope views himself as the vicar of Christ on earth. I’m the agent to bring in the kingdom, et cetera. So you have various approaches to this, various ways to make this happen, but ultimately what we would call replacement theology, church replaces Israel, pretty much dominated all the major Christian denominations all the way through a good part of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Sam Rohrer: All right. And with that, Ed, it brings us right up to a break, and that really sets us up well for going into a further explanation, ladies and gentlemen, in the next segment, as we look at what more at the origin. We’ve already had some indication of why and when it was, but we’ll build that out a little bit more and much important to do that. And we’ll also begin to identify really the why more so, and then some of the key concepts that underpin this concept that is called today replacement theology. Our special guest is Dr. Ed Hindson, Dean Emeritus at the School of Divinity at Liberty University, and he will be back with us. Our theme today, replacement theology, its implications to Israel, to prophecy, and God’s plan.
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Sam Rohrer: While our theme today is surrounding our bimonthly Israel update focus, but as I said in the first segment, rather than highlighting headline news of the day which we often do, trying to look underneath a broader view of Israel. The reason we focus on Israel was because we believe the Bible’s emphasis on Israel because God’s emphasis on Israel is so clear and recurring, but see, that’s not the case with all views. So that’s what we’re going through today, and our theme is this, replacement theology, its implications to Israel, prophecy, and God’s plan.
Throughout Scripture, there is a repeated recognition of the greatness of God, god’s promised plan of redemption, as it is realized through the coming of the Redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We know that. We talk about that here. Yet at any given point in time through history, the people of faith of those days could not always explain how God would work out His promise of redemption, and our special guest Dr. Ed Hindson alluded to that in the last segment. Now those before Christ coming had to look ahead by faith. Those alive at the time of Christ, even his disciples didn’t understand what was fully happening, even though Christ was right there in their midst, and so the Lord Jesus had to unveil Himself and His plan rather slowly to them. And they had to accept what He revealed, again by faith.
Now we, in our day, we look back to what God said what happened way back, and we have a more complete knowledge with many parts being fulfilled, so we can see much more clearly than those who went before us. Yet, as we look around, we also look ahead because we’re not done with this whole process called life and to what Scripture says, so we must do so, again just like everyone else, by faith.
And there’s a verse that comes to my mind when I think of this. The apostle Paul talking to the Corinthians in First Corinthians 13:12 said, “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then,” talking about time to come, “face to face. For now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.” I’m just saying that to underpin the fact of where we are.
Ed, if we can, go back. You had laid out in the last segment the definition, and you talked a little bit about origin of this thing called replacement theology. Summarize and put together some parts maybe you didn’t build out before we go into some key concepts of what it contains, relative to the origin, where it began, who was involved, and more importantly, the why. Puts that together first, establish that before then Gary comes back with another question to you.
Ed Hindson: All right. It starts out in early medieval Catholic theology, and you got to remember, at that time they are the only major church. So eventually they outlaw premillennialism as an option. Premillennialism is the idea that Jesus would have to come back pre, before you have a literal kingdom on earth. We have a spiritual kingdom. Jesus rules from heaven in the hearts of believers, but He’s not sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem, ruling the world with a rod of iron as He’s pictured in the book of Revelation. So premillennialists, we believe you’re not going to have a kingdom on earth fully until the king comes. Postmillennialism was an opposite view that said, we have to bring in the kingdom. If we can spread the Christian message and influence and law, we can literally Christianize society and literally bring in a kingdom on earth.
And even good people like Jonathan Edwards, leaned toward postmillennialism. Others took what’s called an amillennial view or antimillennial view. The millennium’s not literal. It’s simply spiritual and figurative. There never will be a literal kingdom on earth. So how people view the kingdom of God has a lot to do with where they end up in the whole area of replacement theology and whether or not God has as a plan and purpose for Israel in light of a future kingdom.
Gary Dull: Dr. Hindson, again, it’s a delight to have you with us today, and we appreciate your knowledge and understanding of Scripture, particularly as it relates to prophecy. And as we look at this concept of replacement theology, I’m wondering if you could identify for our listeners some of the key concepts of this modern day view of Israel and really what is at the root of replacement theology that should be of great concern to all of us as believers?
Ed Hindson: Well, I think the root of some of it is an antisemitic bias against the Jewish people, and that comes out in some of this statements that are made. Israel has sinned against God. They deserve the judgment of God, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Now even the apostle Paul who said, “Yes, they’ve been blinded in this temporary age, but God has not finished with them.” Romans 11. “Has God cast away His people?” Paul comes back with a very strong, “God forbid. They have stumbled, but not that they should fall.” That ultimately God’s plan for Israel has not been abandoned, but His plan for the church is that He would call people to salvation from both the Jews and the Gentiles. And you have that emphasis then throughout Scripture, proclaim the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. So how we view what the church is, how the church relates to the kingdom, how it relates to Israel, is all a factor here.
Replacement theologians love Galatians 6:16. “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule even to the Israel of God.”
And they try to say, “Well there, see, he’s calling the church at Galatia, the Israel of God.” But not really. Throughout the epistle, he makes a clear distinction between the Jews, the church, and the place that God has for the Israel of God. God has not abandoned the remnant of true believers in Israel, and there are still true messianic believers today who are Jewish citizens in Israel, Israeli citizens who are convinced Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
So this has a lot to do with how you view Christ as the king, how you view where we are in history. A lot of replacement theology teaches that we’re already in the millennium, that Satan is already bound by the power of the cross, and that the binding of Satan as described in Revelation 20, “No, that’s already taken place,” they say. Well, if it has, why did Jesus own brother James say in James 4:7 to believers, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”? Why did Peter say, “Satan wanders about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”? Et cetera.
If you read the New Testament, it’s pretty obvious the early Christians did not believe Satan was already bound after the cross, that they were still dealing with spiritual conflict with the prince of the power of the air, et cetera. So how we understand what God is up to today, what Satan is up to, how we approach our understanding of the kingdom of God and the place of Christ as king and His place as Lord of the church has a lot to do with this.
Now that doesn’t mean that people who take a different view within the Christian community are not real Christians. They are, and they’re very concerned that we understand the spiritual implications of Christ’s Lordship and authority over the church. But at the same time, if you just push Israel off the scene, then you’ll hear people say things like, “Wow, the people in Israel today are not real Jews. They don’t really connect to the people of ancient Israel.” Well, the DNA says they do. It’s going to be a pretty tough sell to tell Jewish people they’re not Jews. Today, half the Jews in all the world live in Israel. That has not happened for 1900 years since the Romans chased them out of there. So it’s obvious God is up to something significant bringing His people historically back to the land in the last days, I would believe, to set the stage eventually for the coming of Christ.
Gary Dull: So in reality, Ed, would you agree with me that when it comes to this idea of seeing what replacement theology is, the concept of really understanding the Word of God from the literal perspective is a key here in seeing what God planned for Israel truly is biblically speaking?
Ed Hindson: Exactly. So in amillennialism, a lot of it is not taken literally. It’s taken only symbolically, so that the binding of Satan is symbolic, and if you’re not careful, eventually the return of Christ is symbolic. I’ve heard people say, “What do you mean He’s going to bind Satan with a chain? Do you think it’s a literal chain that could actually hold Satan?” No, the symbol of the chain may simply represent the power of God to restrain Satan. But then the question comes up is the abyss literal? Are the thousand years literal? And because we’re way beyond a thousand years of church history, both amillennial and postmillennial perspectives had to abandon that a long time ago. “Ah, you can’t take the thousand years literally.”
Well, He says it six times in Revelation 20. A thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years. You think He’d want you to understand it’s a thousand years, and it begins with the binding of Satan. It ends with the loosing of Satan. So if he’s already bound, then when’s he going to be loosed if the binding has already occurred? And in Revelation 20, where Satan is bound, that follows the return of Christ to earth at the battle of Armageddon in chapter 19. Jesus has to come back first before Satan is bound, before He initiates His literal kingdom on earth, and again, amillennial postmillennial replacement perspectives, 10 to one would say, “Well, you can’t take all that in order.” Well, why is it written in order with a series of sequences in the book of Revelation? This happened and then this and then that. There are 1200 and’s in the book of Revelation, more than any book in the Bible. The little Greek kai linking together all these events moving from one to another to another to another, ultimately to a climax.
Sam Rohrer: And with that, Dr. Hindson, thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, stay with us because we’ll continue this very, very insightful discussion of replacement theology and its implications to Israel, to God and to prophecy and His plan. We’ll come back, and we’ll build out a little bit more now the implications of what we are talking about. The implications are really extraordinary.
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Sam Rohrer: Our focus today on our Israel update is, as I said at the beginning, we’re not following the headline news and connecting at the prophecy as we normally do. We’ll come back and we’ll do that a couple weeks from now and so forth, but today we decided to go a different direction because how we view Israel, generally on this program I say, we talk about this regularly because all through the Scripture, God emphasizes Israel and the Jewish nation of Israel and the geographical nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem and His capital city, which He will make their Jerusalem. We do that because we believe the Bible lays that out, but there are some views. And we’re talking about it today.
There’s a view called replacement theology. We’re trying to present that today in our special guest Dr. Ed Hindson, who is the Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity at Liberty University is with us, and he has been in this space writing and speaking for a long, long time. And so I ask him, and I’m really glad that he’s with us today to help try to make this as simple as possible because as we say underlying, well, our worldview is what we end up talking about. Our worldview affects how we approach life. A biblical worldview determines one way. A non-biblical worldview is another, and with views and choices come consequences. So that’s the underlying piece of what we’re talking about.
Now, as you’re saying, any belief system considering that or any philosophy, any religion, we have to start with defining the terms. We talk about that a lot. We did that at the beginning. Then we understand in every case that the considerations in the applications of the concept as defined by those definitions then shapes the argument. And that’s why we say over and over again, a biblical worldview starts with the nature and the role of God as Creator and Judge, Redeemer, King. The nature and the role of man. Sin and depravity. The reality of a real life devil, that he fights against God and His plan. And all of this is seen as we walk through history in regard to the view of Israel, back then, now, and in the future. So all of that, just being established again.
Dr. Hindson, before you actually begin some implications, I want to build this out a little bit here today. 21st century Christians, we’re talking to now Christians in this age. You’ve talked about those in the past. They had a view. There’s a view now. But how one views Israel today, have you been able to discern or observe any age related or generational differences perhaps in people as it relates to this view of replacement theology and the view of Israel? You’re dealing with students all the time. So I know you’re dealing with that age, but have you noticed anything specifically that you can note here right now?
Ed Hindson: Oh yeah, absolutely. Especially as we are now 22 years into the 21st century. People need to understand time is moving on quickly, and the 20th century world that most of us grew up in almost doesn’t even exist anymore. The mindset of the millennial generation has a lot of biblical ignorance, so they know a few things about the Bible, enough to be dangerous, a lot of theological ignorance, putting it together logically and consistently. And you’ve got to remember for them, 1948, the end of World War II, the Holocaust, and then the birth of the nation of Israel in one literal day, as Isaiah predicted it would happen, for them that’s almost like ancient history. They’re very disconnected from that. You had that controversy this week with Whoopi Goldberg saying, “The Holocaust was not about race,” et cetera, and had to finally take her words back. And now she’s been put on leave for a couple of weeks, et cetera, and she’s older. She should have known better, but the younger generation didn’t live through that time.
I remember as a kid, we would constantly see on television things about the Holocaust, things about World War II, things about Israel going back to the land, et cetera. That was just on secular TV. Now far removed from that, you have a different attitude. Millennials don’t take things literally in general. That’s why they like movies like The Matrix. You can jump in and out of reality all the time, or a movie will start out in the 21st century and the next thing you know, the character’s in the 18th century, and they’re jumping back and forth through time warps or whatever. Well, for them, that becomes a kind of a view of their reality.
So to place the Bible into specific historical context is not something they’re used to doing. And when they look at the nation of Israel, and they hear there’s conflict in crisis in the Middle East, if all you’re hearing is one side playing victimization all the time, then the millennial generation tends to feel sorry for victims. So that’s how you get their support. And there has been a shift, not just in the denominations of Christianity in general. Some of that replacement theology’s always been there, but it hasn’t been predominant in the general evangelical culture as it is today. And the attitude then is if Israel does anything to defend themselves against attack, then they’re the perpetrator. They’re the problem. And there’s this kind of demonization of Israel and the people of Israel, and too many times the younger generation falls for that.
I tell people if you really want to get a handle on this, go to Israel. Make a trip over there. See it firsthand on the ground, boots on the ground. And you’ll see where the tension is and where the problems are and the people that are trying to resolve those things and live peaceably with one another.
But yes, there’s been a great shift there. And then as more and more of that kind of thinking has influenced a lot of young pastors today, they’re suddenly not giving a message with the kind of certain sound previous generations did. Their attitude is, “God is not a nationalist. You shouldn’t have an American flag in your church. You certainly shouldn’t have an Israeli flag in your church, et cetera. Israel’s just another nation like everybody else. They have no unique distinction. The fact that so many of them are there, well, that’s just an accident of history.”
Really? If the signs of the times in the Bible were that in the last days, Israel would have to go back to the land, and they have. That there’d be a crisis in the Middle East that would eventually lead to conflict. And it’s going on all the time. There would have to eventually be a global economy that could be easily controlled with a marker or an insignia. There have to be weapons of mass destruction that bring about the kind of destruction that’s described in the book of Revelation and a move toward global governance. My goodness, all of those things are happening right now. They’re like flashing red lights to get our attention.
I think God is saying, “How many more things do I have to allow to happen before you finally figure out we’re moving toward a destiny that I have predetermined that eventually sets the table for the coming of Christ?” Now we don’t set any dates. We don’t run ahead of God, but at the same time, we don’t walk around blindly saying, “I don’t see any indication we’re moving closer to the end.”
Well, I do. I think it’s very obvious that we are running out of time with the Christian consensus in America. It is eroding away as it already eroded away in Europe, as it already has eroded away in many other parts of the planet. Yes, God is still at work, good things are still happening in certain places, but the American influence on all of that is not what it once was. Now, I think it can be still reversed, that we can still change the trend, but the way it’s going right now under the current administration, I don’t see them standing up for Israel at all costs.
Gary Dull: Well, you have said a mouthful there, and I appreciate everything that you’ve explained. I know down through the years I’ve been talking to different people as to why replacement theology seems to be growing today, and I think that you’ve given us a good synopsis of that. And by the way, in our church, we have both the American flag and the Israeli flag up, Dr. Ed, just to let you know where we stand.
But in light of all this, you know, there’s a clear indication in Scripture that times of great judgment from God on sin like during the flood of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Great Tribulation, always removes the righteous from that particular judgment. And so I’m wondering in just a few minutes here that we have in this segment, if you can present some basic reasons why you believe the church will not go through the tribulation period and yet the fact that there will be many people saved during the tribulation. Can you bring that together, please?
Ed Hindson: Well, I’m convinced that God will come to rapture the church home to heaven before He declares war on the world because the judgements of God in the book of Revelation, seals, trumpets, bowls, are all described as the wrath of the Lamb, Christ, or the wrath of God, the Father. Well, the church is not the object of the wrath of Christ and the wrath of God.
First Thessalonians 5:9. “For we as believers are not appointed unto wrath but to obtain salvation.” I don’t think the imagery of the church through the tribulation is to beat the sin out of her, to get the bride ready to go to the marriage, that that works at all. Beat up the bride of Christ and then take her to the marriage in heaven. I think the symbolism doesn’t work. I think Jesus loved the bride, died for the bride, gave Himself for the bride, and is coming again for the bride.
Also, as you read the book of Revelation, after the letters to the seven churches in chapters two and three, the church is not clearly identified throughout the book of Revelation from chapter four through chapter 18. She’s not there because she’s been removed. When she appears again in chapter 19, the bride of Christ is in heaven at the marriage. So I think it’s very obvious that at some point, no matter how people want to understand the timing of the rapture, there has to be a time when the dead believers’ bodies are raised and the living are caught up.
Sam Rohrer: Okay, and Dr. Ed, I’m going to have you hold it right there. You have not completed your thought. Ladies and gentlemen, he will complete that thought, very, very important, as we conclude the program talking about right now, what difference does this all make? Well, you’re hearing all of this, and you say, “Wow, does it make a difference?” Yeah, it should. And we’ll talk about what some of those distinctions and differences should make.
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Sam Rohrer/l As in all presentments of truth, be that preaching from the pulpit or presenting a biblical worldview in light of headline news in the culture of our day, like we do here regularly on Stand in the Gap Today or on Stand in the Gap TV, or frankly when truth is taught by parents to their children or by teachers to students in the classroom, the question we should regularly consider, and it’s something we’ve talked in depth about with our good friend, Dr. George Barna, and that is, we try to conclude by saying, “All right. Well, if what I am talking about is worthy of the time to talk about it, then there’s got to be a question. What difference does it make?”
And if there is value to that, we should say, “Well then, so what?” And connected to that very clearly is if I have heard truth, and truth is what it is, now what do I do with it? Do I hear it, just walk away or does it change my life?
All right, Dr. Ed Hindson, let’s go back to you. As you were laying out that last question there about why God takes the church out before the time of wrath, you were not able to finish that, but conclude your thoughts if you have any, and then walk that into the answering this question. In consideration of this concept of replacement theology, we’ve been talking about it, what difference does it make? What difference should it make for a professing Christian today in regard to the fact that God is not done with Israel and His promises to Israel? Well, okay, put that in perspective. Work this out because what difference does it make?
Ed Hindson: Okay, great questions. I wrote a whole book, Can We Still Believe in the Rapture? Harvest Host Publication. Look it up on the internet, and you can get all of those answers in great detail. The point I think first of all is to understand if we take First Thessalonians chapter four seriously, there has to be a time the dead are raised and the living are caught up. Critics of the rapture will say, “Well, the word rapture’s not even in the Bible.” Well, the word Bible’s not in the Bible. The word trinity’s not in the Bible. The word Sunday’s not in the Bible. The concepts are there whether the English word is there or not. The Greek word for rapture, harpazo means snatched away, caught away quickly, suddenly. Jesus said He would come like a thief in the night to take the bride home. I think the idea of the rapture is clearly in the Bible.
The only real debate is when will it occur? Before tribulation, after tribulation, during tribulation? Before the millennium, after the millennium, or at the end of time? If you’re a believer, you cannot go on and say there will never be a rapture. There has to be a rapture. The question is simply when. Those of us that believe it’s before the time of tribulation, believe it’s because of the special relationship the bride of Christ has to the Savior. Those that are in Christ are those that are raised. And those that are caught up is how it’s generally translated in most English Bibles. If it’s true that the bride is caught away to heaven, then is God’s plan for Israel then going to be fulfilled? And does that relate to the prophecy of the 70 sevens in the book of Daniel, the ninth chapter? Are there seven more years left in God’s timetable for Israel? And does that ultimately then end with the return of the Messiah to reign and rule as King?
So the implications, why does it matter? If you’re post-millennial, you’re going to believe that sooner or later we have to bring in the kingdom one way or another. There are even people today that are starting to call for the violent overthrow of the American government so we can bring in the kingdom of God? Oh, that’s, Jesus said, “No. Put up your sword. We’re not going to fight to get this done. We are going to trust the Father to bring this to pass,” et cetera.
The amillennial view is the kingdom is only spiritual. Therefore, we shouldn’t worry about political issues. We shouldn’t worry about earthly kingdoms. And yet Paul tells you to honor the government, pray for the king, et cetera. He realizes that Christians are citizens of a spiritual kingdom living under the authority of earthly political kingdoms. And we’re not yet in the full kingdom of God in the sense of the reign of Christ on earth. When Jesus comes back to reign and rule, then you have a kingdom of peace and righteousness and justice.
So the answer is not in political leaders. The answer is not even religious leaders. The real answer is the King must come back in order for the kingdom to become a full reality. In the meantime, we live out its spiritual principles to make a difference. Jesus said at the end of Matthew 24, “Keep watching for me to come. Be ready for me to come,” and in verse 46, “keep serving until I come.” So just because you believe Jesus is coming back one day doesn’t mean we sit around and do nothing and wait for Him to come. No, our marching orders are very clear in the Bible. Go into all the world. Preach the gospel. Make disciples of all nations. Spread the good news that the Son of God is the sinless Savior who died for our sins, who rose from the dead, and who offers us the gift of eternal life if we’ll put our faith and trust in Him.
So when we look at that at promise of the first coming of Christ, that would lead to His death and resurrection, and those prophecies over a hundred of them were literally fulfilled, that ought to give us the hope and the understanding the prophecies of the second coming will also be literally fulfilled. In the meantime, in the church age, we have the opportunity under the grace of God and the power of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, to go out and make a difference in this world. It does matter what we believe because that influences what we do, and how that action takes place will have a great impact on our view about Israel and God’s plan and purpose for Israel in the last days.
I think we have to learn to love the people of Israel, whether they convert or not in our lifetime, that we respect them and understand their right to exist as a people. Yes, we would like to see them come to the same understanding that the real Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth who came to declare that about Himself and made it clear that, “Yes, I am that one.” And all of His disciples were convinced, “He is indeed the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world.” And as a result, we as Christians have a message of hope then to declare to all people, Jew and Gentile alike.
Sam Rohrer: Dr. Hindson, fantastic because I sense within your voice, the same thing that we share, anticipating the soon return of Christ because we can see God’s prophetical clock moving along as it is, does not cause one, a true believer to sit down, ladies and gentlemen, and twiddle our thumbs because it’s just going to happen, but no, the motivation to declare the gospel and to share the good news in a day when there’s not much hope. That’s the motivation that what we’re talking about here should do.
Ed, we’re about done here. Is there a website? You referred to a couple of books that you’ve done. Is there a website you want to direct some of our listeners to that they can read more about some of the things we’ve just talked about here today?
Ed Hindson: Sure. If you go to the website of our telecast, thekingiscoming. You have to put the word “the” in there. Thekingiscoming.com. The whole thing will come up, and we have literally scores and scores of messages, articles, and information available there. I’ve written over 50 books, and many of those are highlighted there as well. That’ll help you really wrestle with these questions about Bible prophecy in the future. Thekingiscoming.com.
Sam Rohrer: And with that ladies and gentlemen, we are at the end of today’s program. I really pray and trust. We’ve put a lot of prayer into this program, hoping that this sometimes what can be confusing or complex can be made simple. It is very practical. It really does make a difference what we believe the Bible says literally and what it says about Israel and what our response is to that.
Dr. Ed Hindson, thank you so much for being with us today. God bless you. Thank you, Gary. And thank all of you who are listening for being with us today. And again, join us tomorrow. Right here. We’ll be back with a very, very powerful program and until then, stand in the gap for truth, wherever you are.
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