Our Guest Susan Teplinski

Sid: My guest Sandy Teplinski is a Jewish Believer in the Messiah from Israel.  And Sandy has written an amazing book. It’s probably one of the most unique fresh approaches to the Apple of God’s eye Israel and the Jewish people.  Why is this important? Because the dividing line of true Christians and phony Christians will be over this issue.  And I want you… as a matter of fact Sandy you have researched your book to such a degree and you have material in your book that is in no other book.  Why did you so meticulously have so many footnotes that you couldn’t even put them all in the book you had to put it on another webpage?

Susan:  (Laughing) Sid I felt that Christians deserved to have the truth and in today’s media we are saturated with untruth and we are saturated with opinions that are postured as documented fact when sadly that’s not the case.  I used to be an attorney years ago and so the Lord stirred me to utilize my attorney background to amass as objectively as possible and as thoroughly as possible hard cold facts so that people could check the sources out for themselves.  Because what I say in this book is so different in so many ways from what we hear through mainstream and even from non-mainstream media.  The social media is flooded with misinformation about Israel.

Sid: How about these new theologies that are coming across?  How about the young kids in the colleges now are being trained to be against the aggressor Israel?  And not to mention the Islamic awakening that’s going on.  And not to mention as President Obama said “America’s no longer a Christian nation.”  All of these things are colliding together for this moment for Christians to have to make a decision.  That’s why your book “Why Still Care About Israel” is so Relevant.  Tell me about these new theologies.

Susan:  Well, the new theologies that are going around the world sadly have been designed; many of them intentionally to undercut Christian support of Israel.  Now I’m not speaking opinion; you can go on line; people can get my book they can see for themselves how some of these theologies are quite up front in what they’re doing.  The theologies stem from what is called “Fulfillment Theology.” Fulfillment Theology to simplify here just the sake of being on the air; teaches that all of the prophetic promises in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the New Testament, are fulfilled in the person of Jesus Himself.  That means that all of the prophecies are already fulfilled.  That means that God’s Covenant to Israel to the Jewish people as a nation are already fulfilled in Jesus.  And so as you can see this variance of fulfillment theology in effect replaces Israel with Jesus Christ Himself.  It used to be that the church replaced Israel; but now the church only indirectly replaces Israel in so far as believers are positioned in Messiah. What makes this theology dangerous Sid is that it is based on just a grain of truth. In Matthew 5 Yeshua says that “He’s come to fulfill the scriptures.” He is the word.  But you don’t build a theology from one verse that runs contrary to the overall teachings of the scriptures.

Sid: Give me some examples of the World Council of Churches. And I’m shocked I looked up what some churches major mainline denominations are doing and they’re saying none of the money in their pensions which are billions of dollars can be invested in any company that invests in Israel.  I couldn’t go to a church like that.

Susan: No, well neither could I. The World Council of Churches says that it is the leading Ecumenical voice for Christians around the world.  And they represent over 550 million Christians.  They concluded as reported in a YNet news article dated March 7^th 2011 their official position is that the Jewish State is a “Sin” and that it is incumbent upon Christians to resist Israel’s place in the land as a Christian duty.

Sid: What about the National Council of Churches; what’s their position?

Susan: The National Council of Churches doesn’t come out too much differently I’m sorry to say.  National Council of Churches is composed of over 45 million believers in over 100,000 evangelical and other denominational organizations.  They have harshly, harshly condemned the Jewish State for the alleged treatment of Palestinians. Called for a resolution that would shrink Israel down to a size that all military authorities in the West and in Israel of course agree would be extremely difficult if not impossible to defend.  The National Council of Churches takes a position supportive of the Palestinians, but not in any meaningful way supportive of Israel.  Because the National Council of Churches does not believe as a whole that God’s Covenant to the Jewish people still stands in the New Testament.

Sid: Explain why His Covenant with the Jewish people is so sacred that it stills stands.

Susan:  Well, we often find Sid that it’s right in the context of Israel’s sinning against God that He reaffirms His Covenant with her.  For example Ezekiel Chapter 16:60 “Israel has sinned grievously against God and He says ‘I will remember with you in the days of your youth; and I will establish an everlasting Covenant with you.’” In Jeremiah 31 once again we have the Israelites in a devastated condition. They’re in exile on account of their sin.  And it’s in that context that God again reaffirms that His Covenant with Israel will last until the sun stops shining and the moon stop shining and until the depths of the earth can be plummeted.  And so over and over again in the Hebrew scriptures God reaffirms His covenant with Israel.  And He also affirms it in the New Covenant.  Roman’s 9-11 Paul’s masterful treatise about how God Covenant with Israel still stands, even in the New Covenant.  He says the Apostle Paul writes “Has God rejected His people? No God forbid.” And then he goes on to write several verses later “God’s gifts and His promises are irrevocable; God’s Covenant is irrevocable.”  And then Jesus Himself implicitly reaffirms His Covenant with Jewish people in Acts chapter 1 when He’s talking about the Kingdom coming. Which implies clearly, it does more than imply it does absolutely implicit that that Kingdom is going to include the fullness of God’s Covenant with Israel.  Even through the book of Revelation implicitly the New Testament assumes that the reader is aware of all of God’s previous affirmations of His Covenant with Israel and there’s never, never an indication in the New Testament that God’s Covenant with Israel has been revoked.  Now, where some people would say that the Apostle Paul is suggesting that the Covenant no longer stands.  What we find is that people are inevitably taking isolated verses way out of context and not considering Paul’s overall message in which those very same verses are really used to affirm God’s Covenant with the Jewish People.

Sid: Now in Matthew 25 Jesus talks about the last days and the dividing of nations just as a shepherd would know the difference between a goat and a sheep.  Jesus says “They’ll be goat nations or those that have a mind of their own and sheep nations, those that follow the shepherd.”  What is the dividing line that Jesus speaks of?

Susan:  Well, in context He’s talking about the Jewish people; He’s talking about Israel.  The context is the disciples has just asked Him “What will be the sign of His return; and the sign of the end of times?  And He’s answering their question when He talks of His brethren; how His brethren have been treated. “When you fed me when I was hungry; when you gave me food; when you gave me drink; when you gave me clothes; when you visited me in prison I took note of that.  And I reward you for that and come enter into My presence; be among my sheep.”  And then He says “He’ll be asked when by those that were so rewarded; when did we see You hungry or thirsty or when did we see You naked or sick or in prison.  And then He says “When as much as you have extended these kindnesses to the least of these my brethren you have done it to Me.”  Gentile Christian Bible scholars who are not disposed towards Israel often still interpret this passage as referring, fundamentally, to Israel.

Sid: I actually looked up the word Brethren in the Greek and it means “Brethren from the womb.”  Meaning the Jewish people, the nations will be divided; I tell you churches will be divided; Christians will be divided.  Will you be on God’s side and the blessings? We’re going to talk about that that will overtake you in the last days by being on God’s side.  I’ve got an artist rendering like you’ve never seen before of… and I talked with the artist that did it we have an exclusive on this and it’s an Orthodox Jew praying to God on the Western Wall.  And then Jesus on the other side praying for that Orthodox Jew.  The two are almost becoming one; it’s like the One New Man painting.  And it’ll capture God’s heart at this moment in history.  And Sandy Teplinski’s book “Why Still Care About Israel?”