CHRISTIAN NEWS SERVICE (March. 21, 2014) — The great battle facing the Christian church today is the one that has to do with truth; the truth of God’s word. Paul warned
Malcolm Hedding
that the latter day church would give in to error and compromise and what he called “doctrines of demons”. (1Timothy 4:1) This in turn will attract the unseen and unrecognized judgment of God in that He will confirm them in their error by sending them what scripture calls a “strong delusion.” The present assault against the believing church in this regard is by those who are peddling the errors of Dominion Theology, Replacement Theology and Fulfillment Theology; all of which disinvest the Jewish people of a future in the land of Canaan meaning in turn that their modern day restoration to the Holy Land holds no biblical significance and indeed is a travesty of justice and righteousness and must therefore be reversed. Every smear possible and available, including the apartheid one, is thus employed to delegitimize Israel and discredit those Christians who stand with her. In addition an international campaign to encourage economic boycotts, sanctions against Israel and disinvestment from Israel is also aided and abetted by many of these Christians.
Replacement theology has largely been discredited today because there are just far too many Christians of renown, both past and present, who reject it. This error seeks to undermine the Abrahamic Covenant by asserting that a major component of it, having to do with the land of Canaan, has been annulled. It is an argument largely based on speculation and silence that just cannot be supported from the scriptures. However, a more sinister but equally fallacious theology is now been propagated by the Israel haters and that is, Fulfillment Theology. Its goal is the same as that of Replacement Theology, and indeed Dominion Theology, and that is to reject any assertion that Israel’s modern day restoration enjoys biblical credentials. Indeed it affirms that to believe that the Jews enjoy any support from the scriptures in this regard is to support racism because God loves all people the same and no longer has a chosen role for the Jewish people. All of this is of course nonsense but sadly it is taking root in the evangelical church and thus giving rise, as its predecessor did, to anti-Semitism.
Fulfillment theology, as propogated by a new “breed” of evangelical Christians, also has a specific goal in mind and that is to not only delegitimize Israel, but also to discredit Christian Zionists. This attack against Christians who believe that Israel’s modern day restoration is evidence of God’s faithfulness to His 4000 year old covenant with Abraham is being led by Palestinian Christians who have found allies with some prominent Christian leaders from the west including American mega church pastors and theologians. The public catalyst for this attack against Christian Zionists is the so called Christ at the Checkpoint Conference held bi-annually in Bethlehem and sponsored by the Bethlehem Bible College. In the name of peace, social justice and unity they have also seduced well meaning evangelicals, who name themselves as Christian Zionists, into attending and supporting this conference. David Brog, the Executive Director of Christians United for Israel, recently produced a well written and well resourced paper documenting this carefully crafted attack against Christian Zionists. The truth is, these Christian Zionist attendees are naive and gullible as they have achieved nothing, but on the contrary, by their attendance at this Checkpoint Conference have given legitimacy to an agenda designed to actually discredit them and smear Israel. Deception is a terrible thing and we must all guard against it. Our only protection is the Word of God and, while we will not divide on non-essential matters, we will divide on great foundational truths like the efficacy of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Bible in this regard states that, ” there must be divisions among you so that those who are approved may become evident.” (1Corinthians 11:19)
As for Fulfillment Theology it teaches that all the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are fulfilled in the person and ministry of Jesus. For those subscribing to this nonsense, this includes the promise to Israel of the land of Canaan. The subsequent result of this teaching is that once again Israel’s present day restoration enjoys no biblical significance and that those, like Christian Zionists, who do happen to see biblical significance in Israel’s rebirth as a nation are deluded, in error and constitute an obstacle to peace.
In support of this position they will refer one to the life of Jesus whereby He, like Israel, came out of Egypt, spent forty days in the wilderness and climbed a mountain from which He expounded the Law. The truth is Jesus was not representing the nation in Himself but indeed validating His messianic credentials since Moses had stated that God would raise up a Prophet “like unto Himself” who would speak to and save the nation. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Jesus was this Messiah Prophet and His likeness to Moses confirmed this. Israel was thus given a “rule of thumb” by which to recognize her Messiah. All of this has nothing to do with changing the promises and very essence of the Abrahamic Covenant and those who make such wild claims are arguing from silence. Fulfillment theology is nothing more than a theory that has no biblical basis and the fact that theologians of note propagate it does not make it right or true. In fact the same people that propagate this deception also claim that Jesus was a Palestinian. He was not but they seek to strip away His Jewishness so that they can turn Him into spiritual revolutionary who subscribes to their wayward liberation theology.
Fulfillment theology is the brother of replacement theology and both are deceptions. Both are at the root of historical anti-Semitism and thus both are implicated in the murder of the Jews throughout the centuries, and both gave rise to the Holocaust and Apartheid. This is undeniable. This theology has birthed bad fruit and its source is demonic. I will have nothing to do with it and I strongly urge my Christian Zionist colleagues to stand up and be counted on this issue. Fellowship in Christ is based on biblical truth and I will not be a part of a system where bitter and sweet water comes from the same source! (James 3:10-12).
About Malcom Hedding
Rev. Malcolm Hedding is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister and church planter. He is considered a leading theologian in the Christian Zionist world today, having served for 11 years as Executive Director for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). His long years of involvement in this sphere, beginning in 1976, have earned him much respect and the esteem of his peers within the Jewish and Christian world.