Replacement
Theology On Steroids!
by
Sandy Simpson, 2/13/14
It occurred
to me the other day that the teachings of those who promote the World Christian
Gathering on Indigenous People (WCGIP) actually represent a form of Replacement
Theology on steroids. Liberals split
from conservatives in many denominations in the 1950s but the standard
definition of Replacement Theology taught by liberal churches, Reformed
Theology, Latter Rain and many other groups has remained the same.
Replacement Theology is the teaching
that the Christian church has replaced Israel in regards to God's purpose and
promises. (CARM, http://carm.org/dictionary-replacement-theology)
Supersessionism, fulfillment
theology, and replacement theology
are terms long used for the biblical interpretation that the New Covenant supersedes or replaces the Mosaic Covenant, the
latter thus also referred to as the Old Covenant. (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replacement_theology)
Replacement Theology was introduced to the Church shortly after Gentile
leadership took over from Jewish leadership. What are its premises? (1) Israel (the Jewish people and the land) has
been replaced by the Christian Church in the purposes of God, or, more
precisely, the Church is the historic continuation of Israel to the exclusion
of the former. (2) The Jewish people
are now no longer a "chosen people." In fact, they are no
different from any other group, such as the English, Spanish, or Africans. (3) Apart from repentance, the new birth, and
incorporation into the Church, the Jewish people have no future, no hope, and
no calling in the plan of God. The same is true for every other nation and
group. (4) Since Pentecost of Acts 2,
the term "Israel," as found in the Bible, now refers to the Church. (5)
The promises, covenants and blessings
ascribed to Israel in the Bible have been taken away from the Jews and given to
the Church, which has superseded them. However, the Jews are subject to the
curses found in the Bible, as a result of their rejection of Christ. (The
error Of Replacement Theology by Clarence H. Wagner, Jr., http://www.therefinersfire.org/replacement_theology.htm)
So, as you
can see, the root of this teaching is that Israel no longer holds the
distinction of being the tree from which the Root of David (Jesus-Rev. 5:5,
22:16) came. They are no longer the
“natural branches” (Israel-Rom. 11:21) on to which Gentile Christianity (the
wild shoots-Rom. 11:17 or wild branches-Rom. 11:24) are grafted in (Rom.
11:17-24). According to Replacement
Theology, Christianity has now become its own branch apart from Israel (the
natural branch) that produced the Root and all the promises of the Bible to
Israel have been taken away from them and given to the Gentile Church. This is why you hear so many false teachers
taking verses out of context from the Old Testament and willy-nilly applying
them to the Gentile Church. This
methodology has been going on for decades in liberal churches and has been
popularized by many false teachers on TV.
But the fact
is that Replacement Theology is utter false doctrine. It denies promises made to Israel, some of
which have already been fulfilled and some which are yet to come to
fruition.
But when you add the fact that the Inclusivist WCGIP proponents are now saying that God
planted hundreds of different trees, cultures all over the world, that are not
connected to the natural branch, tree and Root, you have what can only be
termed Replacement Theology on steroids!
But were saying that … they already have it as their god and
perhaps we can use that name and teach the truth about the character of Jehovah
God, without going to an Arab Muslim saying you have to accept the Jewish God,
so that’s where we are coming
from. (Danny
Lehmann, Word to the World with host Danny Lehmann, KLHT, Feb. 14/06, #7)
The “Jewish god” is repeatedly maligned
by YWAM and WCGIP. There is the one God
revealed in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit but that revelation came
through the line of Adam to Noah, Noah through the line of Shem, and finally
revealed fully to Israel through Moses.
God created one culture, that of Israel whereby he established His Law
and His plan to reach the Gentiles through His chosen people. There were no other trees planted in many
nations because a person in the Old Testament would have had to hear about God
through a Jew telling them. Salvation in
the Old Testament was only possible by becoming a Jew and following the Law of
Moses. This is carried on in the New
Testament by the fact that unbelievers must hear and accept the Gospel from a
Christian who preaches it to them.
Rom. 10:14-15 How, then, can they call
on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of
whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to
them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
There is no other way. General revelation of God (the general
knowledge that there must be a Creator) is NOT salvific,
even if that is what Don Richardson and countless other liberals, New Apostolics, Emergent Churchers,
or WCGIP adherents claim who are Neo-Universalists or Inclusivists. Don Richardson defines what Inclusivism is all about, which is what he believes to be
true.
Inclusivism: Whereas Exclusivists regard general revelation as informative only
and special revelation as both informative and salvific,
Inclusivists, by contrast, regard general revelation as
both informative and salvific and special
revelation as even mere deeply informative and even more effectively and widely
salvific! (Don Richardson, Heaven Wins)
The claim that there are levels of salvation is ludicrous
and, frankly, a doctrine of demons. I
say that because if you believe Richardson then you can end up in hell
wondering how you got there when you simply acknowledge some “god” in your
culture as a supreme being.
He was born in the center of civilization of that day. y’know the nexus of Europe and
Asia and Africa, the civilization of that day and what did Jesus say is tell
everybody that I came, y’know. Not that you don't
know God or that you don't have no relationship with him and he's a foreign God
to you. But that, that the son of
your creator came who made himself known to as Rom. 1:20 says and so this is
what we bring to them and we find that if there are people who are really
seeking God, there are people like Jobs everywhere who know. (Daniel Kikawa, Word to the World with host Danny Lehmann, KLHT,
Feb. 14/06, #7)
When did Jesus Christ reveal Himself to
the Gentiles in this way by appearing to numerous cultures around the
world? The Bible does not speak of this
and only Richardson, et al, has made up mythologies that are unprovable, especially by Biblical standards. The myths made up by Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Richard Twiss, YWAM and
many others were often made up AFTER contact with Christianity in order to try
to bring anyone who became a Christian back into the cult religions they came
from. I know this from studying
anthropological records, which Kikawa failed to
mention in his book “Perpetuated In Righteousness”.
Now yesterday Daniel, we closed our broadcast by talking
about the issue of Japan and how people
have a hard time having the gospel being communicated to them because it sounds
foreign… that's the big problem- whether its India or Thailand, Africa or Latin
America. If God appears to be a foreign God it would be equivalent to us
in America which is a normally Christian based society accepting Buddhism,
because it sounds foreign to us. And in the Bible when Paul was preaching
in Acts 17 it tells us that when he was talking about Jesus and the
resurrection, they said "well he's talking about a foreign God"
and he went on to bridge the gap there in a magnificent way there at Mars hill.
(Danny Lehmann, Ibid., Feb. 7/06, #2)
Paul was using the “Unknown God” as an
illustration of his KNOWN GOD. Covering
all bases against catastrophe by erecting shrines to every known god, including
even an unknown god, does not prove the Greeks knew the “unknown god” they were
superstitiously paying homage to. On top
of this fact of history, Paul states in the Bible over and over again that the
Gentiles “did not know God”.
Gal. 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to
those who by nature are not gods.
1 Cor. 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the
world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has
lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we
are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Rom. 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worth
while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved
mind, to do what ought not to be done.
1 Thess. 4:5 ...not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know
God...
Ephesians 2:12-13 ...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ,
excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of
Christ.
2 Thess. 1:8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus.
As Indigenous people, we need to embrace God as ours, and
also know that God embraces us as His . . . just as we are. Our goal is
to provide indigenous people, missionaries and Christians with information,
training and materials that show the
true nature of Jesus; that his way is not to be a foreign religion that
destroys people groups and their cultures, but one that brings people
groups and their cultures to their highest fulfillment. (Aloha Ke Akua, home page as of
10/23/10, http://akaministries.tripod.com/aloha/)
You can only embrace God as yours after
you have that God, YHWH and His Son, Jesus Christ, revealed to you by a
Christian who explains the Gospel message.
Prior to that you cannot embrace God and God does not embrace you.
John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because they have not
believed in the name of God’s
one and only Son.
"Christians should cease representing Jesus as the Son of the
foreign God of a foreign people,
especially if these foreigners had never shown concern
for nor had any involvement in the lives or culture of the natives. God
lovingly created them in the beginning never left them without a witness and,
in his great love for them, even sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for
them!" [Daniel Kikawa, Perpetuated in
Righteousness, 4th edition, p. 27, cited in Idolatry In Their Hearts by Sandy
Simpson and Mike Oppenheimer]
God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the God of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, India, China or anywhere else. Of course God is foreign to those who do not know the Gospel.
Ephesians
2:12 remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world.
“… I talked with someone whose, she
grew up in Japan in a Christian family and yet she felt Jesus was a foreign
God. And why did she feel that is- Everytime she
would read the Bible, it be, the words would be in
kanji and when it comes to the name of Jesus it would be in katakana. So its just like y’know if we read
in our English Bible and then Jesus the foreign God said, this is what it says
to them when they are doing it, and then the foreign God Jesus did this, and
the foreign God Jesus did that. Because its in katakana it tells them that everytime
they read that, he is not our God “ (Word to the
World interview with Daniel Kikawa, Feb.6, 2006, #1).
The “Kami” of Japan are a pantheon of false gods, at the apex of which are a male and female pair of false gods, Izanagi and Izanami, who spawned the rest of the pantheon.
All Japanese Deities are called “Kami”.
Another name for Shinto: “Kami-no-Michi,
Way of the Gods”. Izanagi, sky-father creator deity. Izanami, earth-mother creator
deity. Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun (VERY
important). Hachiman, God of War. (Religions'
Comparisons, http://www.bessel.org/religion.htm)
Virtually every cultural religion after Babel had a male and female deity, patterned after the worship of Nimrod and Semiramis at the time of Babel. So of course they did not know YHWH and in order to be truly saved they would have to realize that they are lost without salvation through Jesus Christ. And yet Daniel Kikawa bowed before the Japanese people and apologized for the missionaries who brought a “foreign god”.
“the rest are open through the name of the creator God in Hawaii which is Io, and through him they see that
he’s a Hawaiian god, but he’s the same
creator of all things, and y’know sent his
son for them” (Word to the world program -2/3/06 Danny Lehmann‘s
interview with Daniel Kikawa).
“but when the protestant
missionaries came in decades later and, and used the name of Hananim, all of a sudden there was great excitement, that our God sent his son for us, Y’know, and so its not a foreign God anymore - our God, and
great excitement and this is the beginning of this great revival that has been
ongoing in Korea” (Word to the World interview with Daniel Kikawa
Feb.13, 2006, #6).
The god ‘Io of Hawaii is not the same god Kikawa borrowed from the Maori who made up a spiritual being called ‘Io after already having contact with Christian missionaries in order to lure people back to their old religion. Both Peter Buck and E.S.C. Handy, prominent anthropologists, are quoted by Kikawa in his book selectively without revealing what they actually wrote about the Hawaiian “god” ‘Io.
“Moreover, he (Buck) and other scholars were suspicious of the fact
that both Te Matorohanga
and his scribe Te Whatahoro had become Christians
before details of the Io cult were written down. Buck himself concluded that no authentic proof existed for the concept
of a supreme creator named lo, Kio or Kiho in
Eastern Polynesia before `dispersal to the various island groups took place”
(p.252 The Lost Caravel by Robert Langdon)
‘Io in Hawaii was always a hawk after which ‘Iolani Palace is named (exalted hawk). The reason this cult was secret was not that they secretly knew of the true god, but like all other island cultures any island animistic “god” was not to be talked about with others.
“At that time Handy pointed out that the combination of Io and Uli, in the name Io-uli,
suggested a relationship between lo and Uli, “patron
god of the priesthood of Hawaii.” While then expressing the opinion that the
Maori cult of a supreme being, Io, was “truly an ancient feature of Polynesian
religion” he cautioned that proof was
lacking that this reference to Io in Hawaii was to a supreme being (5,
p.97). Now, after his later findings which include several Hawaiian prayers in
which 'Io is mentioned, he concludes that “the
worship of 'lo in Hawaii is specifically the veneration of Buteo
solitarius, the Hawaiian hawk [`io],
and that 'Io and Uli are one and the same god, 'Io
being his esoteric name.” (E. S. C. Handy, Polynesian Religion and the
Hawaiian cult of ‘Io, p. 97)
The Hawaiians were worshipping the created things, practicing Animism like the rest of the two thirds world. Where I grew up in Palau there were a number of village gods such as the manta ray, shark, crocodile, various birds, rocks, trees, etc. ‘Io the hawk created nothing … neither did Hananim who is a false god from long ago that has been co-opted by certain Christian groups and made to be YHWH. You can read about a number of false gods of the nations having their names put into the Bible which is a form of blasphemy.
“And there are people who point
to that and uh really, uh y’know again, like China
and Japan as one of the main reasons because this is not their God, now he’s a
foreign God come here and uh not using that native name, and this is one of the main things that we have found too, with
Hawaiian people…” (Word to the
World interview with Daniel Kikawa Feb. 16, 2006 #9)
God does not have native names. He revealed Himself exclusively to Moses and Israel as the Great “I AM”. His name is YHWH, “I AM THAT I AM”. He IS a foreign god to those who worship other supreme beings, in fact to ALL Gentile cultures. None of the supreme beings of the Middle East were said to be the true YHWH in the time of Moses, so why would the Hawaiians think they knew and were worshipping the true God under the guise of ‘Io?
So this one god and this Christian concept of
god, is not really a white man’s religion brought here then it is really
something that was here from the very beginning. (Wayne Cordeiro, New Hope Fellowship, interview of Daniel Kikawa
by Wayne Cordeiro, July 15, 2005,
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/Cordeiro-Kikawa%20Connecting%20Point%207-15-05.html)
Sorry to inform Wayne Cordiero but the religion of Israel, which was the root of the branch of Christianity, is not a “white man’s religion”. If you want to be exact it is an “olive skinned” man’s religion first and foremost and only came to the white man much later. But it is certain, if a person starts from a Biblical premise (which Cordiero does not) they would know that the knowledge of God was in no way present in Hawaii “from the very beginning”. This pandering to indigenous cultures brings people into mega churches but not into relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Conclusion
The teachings of
the New Apostolic, Emergent Church and World Christian Gathering of Indigenous
People are promoting both Inclusivism and a new,
radical, Replacement Theology. It is
therefore imperative that true believers get away from these false teachers who
are teaching utter heresy and stand up for the truths of God’s Word before all
mission work is lost.