Q: How do we answer the believers (the church) when they try to prove that (the church) is Zion?
A: Against supercessionism, the teaching that the Church is the "New Israel" and that Jewish people are therefore now "out of the picture", we need look no further than Romans 10 and 11. In chapter ten of his epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul declares his love and concern for Israel. It is clear that by "Israel" he means the Jewish people since he says his hearts desire is that Israel may be saved (the Church, by definition, already is saved). Chapter 11 opens with the very question "Has God rejected his people?" By context, we know that "his people" means the Jewish people. The issue Paul is dealing with is this very idea that God has abandoned Israel in favor of the Church. And how does answer the question? With a resounding "no"! In Hebrew he would have said "Has VeHalilah!" but writing in Greek he said "me genoito!" which is the strongest way of saying absolutely not. Israel has been put "on hold," if you will, until the time of the Gentiles is completed (Romans 11:25). This state of affairs was actually foreseen by the Hebrew prophets, as Paul points out in Romans 10:19 and 20, but Israel will not be abandoned. "God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) The promises God made to the Jewish patriarchs still hold. All Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:26)..
David Brown
AMF International
http://www.amfi.org