This article responds to the book Exploding the Israel Deception written by Steve Wohlberg.
In a previous article we looked at Wohlberg’s book End Time Delusions and noted he was a Seventh-day Adventist. This was an important observation because the Adventist movement arose in the 19th century through an interest in the return of Jesus Christ. Adventists are still heavily focused on prophecy and we often find them promoting their teachings in prophecy forums. It’s important to understand that their belief system relies heavily on Ellen G. White to interpret Scripture.
Once again, this is not a personal attack on Wohlberg. However, the teaching that the church has replaced Israel, or that the church is fulfilling God’s promises to Israel is contrary to Scripture. People like to call it different things, but essentially, it is Replacement Theology.
Adventist Doug Batchelor provides the Foreword for Wohlberg’s book. Batchelor informs us that “as a Jewish Christian” he is “deeply concerned about the “distortions regarding modern Israel and prophecy.” He believes we are deceived in teaching that Israel is still prophetically relevant. In reality he’s concerned as an Adventists rather than a Jew. Yet there are many Jewish Christian writers and teachers who reject Replacement theology (Michael Rydelnik, Michael Brown, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, David Baron, Mitch Glaser etc). It ultimately has nothing to do with being Jewish, but what Scripture teaches us.
Batchelor claims the disciples misunderstood Jesus’ teaching. He claims they were looking for a literal kingdom (they were) but that Jesus’ first coming was to establish a “spiritual kingdom.” While this can be a complex subject, we respond by saying that the spiritual and physical kingdoms can co-exist. In fact Adventists teach a post-millennial physical-spiritual kingdom on this earth.
Jesus made an offer of a literal kingdom to the generation of His time. The “gathering” mentioned in Matthew 23:37 was the one promised in the Old Testament (e.g., Deut 30:2-4; Isaiah 11:10-12, 27:13). After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days teaching the disciples about the kingdom (Acts 1:3). Just before His ascension, the disciples asked Him when the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Had they misunderstood Jesus’ teachings, He would have corrected them. Instead, Jesus confirmed their expectations by telling them it wasn’t for them to know the times and seasons (Acts 1:6-7).
Much of the material in Exploding the Israel Deception can be found in End Time Delusions. Wohlberg uses the same format in telling the reader what Scripture means when it says something he disagrees with. For example, the 144,000; the drying of the Euphrates; Armageddon and the armies; the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast, all mean something different to what the texts state.
It would take another book to address all the standard Replacement Theology assertions which Wohlberg makes. For example, he refers to Romans 9:2-8; 9:3; 9:6 and Galatians 3:6, 7, 28. For refutations of these arguments I recommend reading Michael Vlach’s book Has the Church Replaced Israel?
In another example, the book’s Temple chapter dismisses the literal connection Jesus (Matt 24:15) and Paul (2 Thess 2:4) made with Daniel 11. There was a literal Abomination of Desolation in a literal temple by a literal person (Antiochus Epiphanes). Therefore there’s no biblical reason to assume the future Abomination of Desolation event spoken by Jesus and Paul will not be literal as well, unless one reinterprets the text based on one’s doctrinal assumptions.
Wohlberg puts his own spin on Daniel’s seventy weeks and the seventy-times-seven forgiveness referred to in Matthew 18:21-22. He concludes that God gave Israel a choice defined by a set time parameter and it rejected Him. Therefore God has reached the limits of His forgiveness and divorced Israel.
But Wohlberg’s assertion that Israel has run out of forgiveness goes contrary to what the Bible consistently teaches. He ignores crucial texts which damage his position.
The prophetic theme of Hosea has God taking Israel back as wife. In Deut 7: 6-7 Israel is called a holy people, chosen by Him for Himself out all the peoples of the earth and loved by the Lord. They are called chosen (elect) in Isaiah 45:4 and 1 Chron 16:13. In 2 Sam 7:23-24 we are told that Israel’s status as the elect nation will be forever. Israel is also called chosen in the New Testament. Acts 3:12, 13-15, 25 confirm Israel’s continuous standing as a chosen nation. Rom 11:26-29 tells us that God’s gifts and calling to Israel are irrevocable.
The Old Testament prophets affirmed that Israel will ultimately seek God because of its afflictions (Deut 4:30-31; Hos 5:15); that God will act to restore and cleanse Israel for His name’s sake (Ezek 36:22-38); that they would possess the land forever (Jer 7:7, 25:5; Amos 9:14-15) and that God would never reject Israel’s descendants for what they have done (Jer 31:31-37).
In his booklet, Mr. Wohlberg has demonstrated the lengths people will go to defend what they’ve been taught – even where their beliefs contradict Scripture.
It is vitally important for us to understand that God is not finished with the nation Israel. His reputation is at stake. If God can change His mind regarding Israel after making these iron-clad promises, then where does that leave us?
Sharing is caring!
