Israel Insanity or God’s Purpose?

Believe it or not, here’s the response I got from one of the admins for the Facebook group called “Christians Standing with Israel” after I posted part of my blog titled “What Is the Gospel—Really?” on their site last week.  See if you follow her logic or insanity?

“The reason the gospel is not what Jesus was proclaiming is because Jesus did not come to ‘us’ in His earthly ministry. His earthly ministry was to ‘Israel’ . . . . Jesus’ earthly ministry was ‘before’ the cross and Him crucified for salvation, and certainly did not preach His resurrection.  All this (for salvation) was kept a mystery until revealed to Paul.”  Hence, today for us Christians, the gospel is “His death, burial, and resurrection.  Nothing else . . . .”

When I asked, “Where is the kingdom in your version of the gospel?” she seemed mildly offended but answered that “the ‘earthly’ Kingdom (which is what Christ preached) is to and for *Israel*.  It has always been this way. . . . It will come to pass as well, for *Israel* and for all those who are not part of the Body of Christ, but have joined with Israel.”

When I followed up and ask about Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 21:43-45 of the kingdom being “taken away” from Israel and “given to a people who will produce its fruit,” she again insisted that this passage “was *before the cross*, *under law* and *to Israel*.  It is not the gospel we are under today.”

When I further queried, “then who was receiving what kingdom in Heb. 12:28?  And what kingdom was Jesus talking about in Acts 1:3?  And Paul in Acts 19:8; 20:25; and 28:31 – all of which were ‘after the cross?’”  She adamantly replied, “we each get what God told us we’d get.  If He wasn’t talking to *us* then we can’t claim those promises.  Again, we are not Israel.  We have different promises.”

Brothers and sisters, if these responses aren’t a blatant example of insanity or ignorance gone to seed, what are they—God’s purpose?  One thing they are is, the dominant view in evangelical Christianity.

But guess what happened next?  I was told that I have the “spirit of antichrist,” I needed to be saved, and “ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind that you can see the real truth, John.”  She then deleted my original post and our entire conversation from their site.

The bottom line is this.  According to the most popular eschatological belief in evangelical Christianity today, the central teaching of Jesus is not part of the gospel and does not apply to us Christians.  Hence, we have no kingdom.  What do you think about all this?