Replacement Theology was not born of a philosophy so much as a natural / historical reaction to events; an attempt at accommodation. Over the first few centuries of the modern era, the Christian Idea had overthrown what had been an almost exclusively pagan world. Over time the ‘Jewishness’ of the institution had been at first watered-down and eventually almost entirely abandoned. And influences from that conquered pagan world began to take their place. It was that changing character of Christ’s Church that provided the fuel and the conditions that allowed it to go from rejection of Jewish practices to outright persecution of God’s People.
ON A LOST ROAD ?
The rejection of all-things-Israel and the spirit of Babylonian ritualism went hand-in-hand. This resulted in the birth of pagan-friendly Christianity. After some time the Hindu / cultic practice of praying with beads was adapted. Celibate priests and nuns, – hearkening back to the religious innovations of Semiramis, – made their way on to the scene. All were but imitations of polytheist practice that made their way into the Church.[i]
Most dangerous to the faith however was the “satanic counterfeit salvation” message that crept into Church teachings. Recall that myth craftily constructed; – that Queen Semiramis, (wife of Nimrod), – was a divine being, and that she gave birth to a son, – a savior of the world, as it were, – who later died and came back to life.. It was the worship of Semiramis that spread across the ancient world, – even as the Queen of Heaven; – a practice specifically forbidden by God in the Bible. In the Roman / Greek system, Semiramis became Diana, – with the giant Temple in Ephesus. [Now huge obelisks were built to honor and symbolize the fertility aspect of this pagan religion. It found its way into Baal worship, which was dealt with extensively by God in the Old Testament. These obelisks (think of a giant phallic symbol) were adopted by Masonry. Masons believe that Nimrod was the spiritual founder of their ancient and mystical brotherhood. It is interesting that one of these obelisks eventually showed up in Rome, placed in front of St Peters, where it remains to this day. But all of this is another story.][ii]
Tim LaHaye, future co-author of the Left Behind series, compiled a list back in 1973 of some of the pagan practices that made their way into the Church during that era. Prayers for the dead, (never a teaching of Biblical Christianity), made their appearance in the year 300. The worship of saints and angels was approved in 375. The Mass first made its appearance in 394. Purgatory was officially declared in 593.[iii] Significantly, as noted before, it was in 378 that Bishop Damus of Rome accepted the title given the head of the here-to-fore Pagan Roman State ‘Church”, – that of Pontifex Maximus. It is the term from which we get the modern day title held by the Pope; – The Pontif.[iv] That title had been held by the Emperor Constantine, who used that office, – according to one historian of the era, – to maintain “the right to regulate the Christian Church just as he would have regulated paganism.”[v] [vi]
In fact when Constantine held the office, he set himself up as sort of a ‘Super-Bishop’, influencing and molding the princes of the church to his will as he worked toward a “Romanized Christianity.” It was he who gave special preference to the Bishop of Rome, enduing him with enhanced authority, – under the auspices and approval of the watchful eye of the Emperor. In 325, it was Constantine who sponsored the first of the great ecumenical councils. The Emperor wanted unity, – in the Empire and the Church, – and the councils were the means to enforce that unity. The “independent voice” within the Church was silenced in favor of a “forced ecumenicalism.” Another Church council at Gangra, – again under Constantine, – outlawed “private assemblies outside of the Church.” The layman holding a private religious gathering was declared to be “anathema,” – or damned.
All now was under the control of Rome, – the religious and secular authority in all matters. Armed with the formerly pagan office of Pontiff, the Bishops of Rome accumulated power. As the Empire disintegrated the power of the Bishops and the now supreme Bishop of Rome grew. Over time the new office of Pope added both civil and military authority. It was a marriage of Church and State.[vii] Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world”. (John 18:36) However both civil and religious authorities became addicted to this compromised arrangement that enhanced power in both spheres. By the year 431, a Church Council held in Ephesus established the worship of Mary.
And in the process of pulling away from Jewish influence the Church began to criticize and curse Israel; in the process, cursing itself. By the 3rd century, the Jews had become “Christ killers,” and the Church Fathers lent their weight to that heresy. Justin Martyr wrote: “Jews have forfeited the scripture…. [and] the Prophets are now the property of the Church.” Ignatius of Antioch held that the Jewish People were “in league with the Devil.” The heretical but somewhat popular Gospel of Barnabas spread the lie that the Jews had lost the covenants of God. Tertullian taught that Jews were idolaters. And under the influence of the Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicea in 325, separated the celebration of Easter from Passover. The divergence kept rolling. Eusebius said that the Promise of the Hebrew Scriptures were for Christians. But he didn’t leave the Jews out completely. To Eusebius, the curses were for the Jews. Thus the heretical Replacement Theology came into being. It was reinforced by teachings from the most respected Church leaders. John Chrysostom authored a sermon series with the catchy title of ‘Against the Jews’ in which he taught that synagogues were a “resort for demons.”
But it didn’t stop there for the Church leadership. Ambrose of Milan instigated and encouraged riots against the Jews in his city. Cyril of Alexander expelled them. Ferreol of Uzes expelled Jews from his diocese. And all of this was supported by the Church’s intellectual voices. St Jerome, an honored historian, supported forced conversions in his writings. And the venerable St Augustine believed that the true image of the Jew was best depicted by Judas Iscariot and that they were eternally responsible for the death of Jesus. Over the centuries that mindset festered and grew, finally boiling over and expressing itself during the Crusades.[viii]
The Crusades were a Church-sponsored project to free Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Islamic control. But it turned into something more than that as the Crusaders expressed their pent-up anti-Semitism in a bloodbath of persecution of the Jews encountered along the way. The First Crusade devastated Jewish settlements in Germany along the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Jews were being killed under the banner of the Cross. On their way to the Holy Land, the Christian Army lived by the mantra of ‘convert or die’ – the same that the Muslim armies had adapted during their incredible expansion. The leader of that first expedition, Godfrey of Bouillon, took a vow to “leave no single member of the Jewish race alive.”[ix] It all culminated on July 15, 1099, when the Crusaders hoarded Jews into a Jerusalem synagogue, locked them in and burned them alive , while singing “Christ We Adore Thee” as they watched.
It wasn’t long before the first Jewish Ghettos appeared, officially separating God’s People from Gentile Europeans. Identifying badges appeared – centuries before Hitler adopted the practice. The Spanish Inquisition brought tortures and forced conversions. There were expulsions from Spain and England – all the legacy of the Church’s warped understanding of theology. Replacement Theology tells us that Jerusalem and the Holy Land belong to the Church. The Vatican believes that today. But that is NOT God’s heart in the matter – and is intending – and maneuvering to have control of that real estate when the matter is finally settled. It’s kind of funny that they think so: Because God says it’s His Land – given to the Jews. Joel 3:2 reads: “I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.”
Genesis 12:3 records the covenant that God made with Abraham. “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and pin you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Finally, Genesis 15:18 gives some of the dimensions of the land God gave to His People. [And it’s a lot larger than it is today.] “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.’” And that’s where we’ll pick it up next time as we look at the Heart of God in the matter – as revealed through His Holy Word.
[i] Tim F LaHaye, Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain, 1973, pg 57
[ii] Noah Hutchings, Babylon In the Church
[iii] Tim F LaHaye, Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain, 1973, pg 57
[iv] Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, pg 140
[v] Dr Ronald Fanter, Pontifex Maximus (Origin of The Papacy), Cutting Edge Ministries (of Illinois)
[vi] Image: http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2011/09/obama-and-globalists-converging-on-denver-deep-underground-military-base-for-september-27-2011-1144351.html
[vii] Dr Ronald Fanter, Pontifex Maximus (Origin of The Papacy), Cutting Edge Ministries (of Illinois)
[viii] Merrill Bolender, When The Cross Became A Sword, 2011, pgs 25-38
[ix] Steven K Baum, Antisemitism Explained,
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