MAY 25

Romans 11:17-27
Memorise Matthew 21:43
“And so all Israel shall be saved”

WHAT ARE THE TWO MAJOR PRE-MILLENIAL VIEWS?

There are two types of pre-millennialism – historic and dispensational. Both believe in the literal reign of Christ with His saints on earth in the millennium. Historic pre-millennialism is so called because it is the classic form found in the writings of early church fathers. They believe in Replacement Theology which states that Israel has been permanently rejected as God’s people and that the Church is the new spiritual Israel. They quote Matthew 21:43 where Jesus says, “the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof”. They do not believe in the future restoration of the nation of Israel, although they believe that Israelites can be saved. Therefore, there is no need to segregate the Church and the nation of Israel, and the Church will go through the Great Tribulation. Christ would return at the end of the tribulation, and there is no rapture of the Church before that.

Dispensational pre-millennialism is a view held by the dispensationalists. They view the Church and the nation of Israel as two separate entities and believe that God will fulfill all His promises to Israel in the future. For example, God promised David that his son will have a physical kingdom in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 and this will be fulfilled when Christ rules during the millennium. They therefore believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church and the restoration and prominence of the nation of Israel during the Great Tribulation and the millennium.

The nation of Israel was God’s chosen people. They had the privilege of knowing God’s Word and His moral law in the Ten Commandments. However, they rejected and disobeyed God in numerous ways, such as asking for human kings to rule them, worshipping idols and heathen gods, and finally rejecting and crucifying Jesus Christ. As a result, they lost the privilege of being God’s chosen people and the Gentiles, the branches of the “wild olive tree”, were grafted into the Kingdom of God. We must learn from the mistakes of Israel and not take the privilege of being God’s elect for granted. We, the wild olive branches, must always be humble and grateful that salvation has come to us as well and that God is willing to use us to further His Kingdom.

Thought: How did Israel disobey God? What can we learn from them?
Prayer: Keep me always humble and grateful that Thou has saved me.