Review of Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel
Posted: 23 Dec 2023, 23:27
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel" by Yehudah Rapuano.]
Americans have a great many questions about Israel and the Jewish people these days. Most of these questions can be summed up in a single query: Are the Jews the legitimate owners of the land in the Fertile Crescent from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea? That question has long been settled in Christian circles among the followers of Yeshua (Jesus). God gave the land to the forefathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (known today as the Jewish people): Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. And yet, among Christians, when it comes to Israel and the Jews, there are still a great many questions. Are the modern nation of Israel and the Israel mentioned in biblical prophecy synonymous? Are the Jews still God’s covenant people, “a people for his own possession,” or was the covenant abrogated when the Jewish people rejected the Messiah? Has the Almighty rejected the Jews in favor of the church? Has the church somehow replaced the Jews as heirs to the voluminous blessings that the Creator promised his people? Has God abandoned the Jews, or does he still have a plan for the good of Israel? In Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel: A Reformation of Messianic Judaism, Yehudah Rapuano, a Jew for Jesus, answers all these questions and, like a gifted defense lawyer, crafts a meticulous case built on hundreds of passages of Scripture, asserting that not only is Elohim not finished with Israel, but he has a multi-step plan, clearly laid out in Holy Writ, to save and bless the Jewish people.
But before Rapuano unpacks God’s plan for the Jews, I greatly appreciate how he addresses the enormous elephant in the room—the prevalence in the church of supersessionism, also known as replacement theology—the belief and doctrine that the church has replaced the Jews as God’s covenant people, superseding the Jewish people as heirs to all the promises of future blessing found in the prophets. Beginning in Romans 11, which foresees a day when all Israel will be saved, Rapuano proffers a comprehensive and focused argument that leaves one thoroughly convinced that replacement theology is an unbiblical notion and that God’s covenant with, his love for, and his promises to the Jewish people are irrevocable. But what I find most interesting about Rapuano’s work is his insistence that the salvation of the Jewish people is contingent upon rebuilding a Jewish temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He notes that the Word of God says that God’s law “is our tutor to lead us to Christ.” We look into the law as if peering into a mirror and see our ugly sinfulness, our great need for God’s mercy, and our great need for a savior. But most Jews today are largely unfamiliar with God’s law found in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). And Rapuano makes an excellent argument that Israel’s reacquaintance with the law and the Jewish people’s subsequent turning to faith in Christ will only come about with the building of the much anticipated Third Jewish Temple.
I don’t, of course, agree with everything in Rapuano’s thorough research. He argues, for example, that the trumpets found in I Thessalonians 4:17 and I Corinthians 15:52 are synonymous with the 7th trumpet in Revelation. That would mean that there would be no rapture of the church before the apocalypse, and Christians would enter the tribulation period like lambs to the slaughter. I have a different view. Moreover, I think it would be more convenient for the reader if Rapuano noted where the Scripture passages he cites can be found in the Bible at the end of each citation rather than in the endnotes at the end of each chapter.
But these are trivialities. Rapuano’s research is commendable. His insights and arguments are very nearly unassailable. The evidence he presents in support of his conclusions is unquestionable. He filled in gaps that I had in my theology, and for that, I am thankful. I would give this fine work five stars if it did not need a bit of professional editing. As it is, I can only offer four out of five stars.
This book is highly theological and filled with in-depth doctrinal arguments based upon a close examination of hundreds of Scripture passages. Those who are not Christians or are not well acquainted with the Bible would find reading this book akin to drinking from a firehose. This book is much better suited to committed and seasoned followers of Yeshua.
******
Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Americans have a great many questions about Israel and the Jewish people these days. Most of these questions can be summed up in a single query: Are the Jews the legitimate owners of the land in the Fertile Crescent from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea? That question has long been settled in Christian circles among the followers of Yeshua (Jesus). God gave the land to the forefathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (known today as the Jewish people): Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. And yet, among Christians, when it comes to Israel and the Jews, there are still a great many questions. Are the modern nation of Israel and the Israel mentioned in biblical prophecy synonymous? Are the Jews still God’s covenant people, “a people for his own possession,” or was the covenant abrogated when the Jewish people rejected the Messiah? Has the Almighty rejected the Jews in favor of the church? Has the church somehow replaced the Jews as heirs to the voluminous blessings that the Creator promised his people? Has God abandoned the Jews, or does he still have a plan for the good of Israel? In Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel: A Reformation of Messianic Judaism, Yehudah Rapuano, a Jew for Jesus, answers all these questions and, like a gifted defense lawyer, crafts a meticulous case built on hundreds of passages of Scripture, asserting that not only is Elohim not finished with Israel, but he has a multi-step plan, clearly laid out in Holy Writ, to save and bless the Jewish people.
But before Rapuano unpacks God’s plan for the Jews, I greatly appreciate how he addresses the enormous elephant in the room—the prevalence in the church of supersessionism, also known as replacement theology—the belief and doctrine that the church has replaced the Jews as God’s covenant people, superseding the Jewish people as heirs to all the promises of future blessing found in the prophets. Beginning in Romans 11, which foresees a day when all Israel will be saved, Rapuano proffers a comprehensive and focused argument that leaves one thoroughly convinced that replacement theology is an unbiblical notion and that God’s covenant with, his love for, and his promises to the Jewish people are irrevocable. But what I find most interesting about Rapuano’s work is his insistence that the salvation of the Jewish people is contingent upon rebuilding a Jewish temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He notes that the Word of God says that God’s law “is our tutor to lead us to Christ.” We look into the law as if peering into a mirror and see our ugly sinfulness, our great need for God’s mercy, and our great need for a savior. But most Jews today are largely unfamiliar with God’s law found in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). And Rapuano makes an excellent argument that Israel’s reacquaintance with the law and the Jewish people’s subsequent turning to faith in Christ will only come about with the building of the much anticipated Third Jewish Temple.
I don’t, of course, agree with everything in Rapuano’s thorough research. He argues, for example, that the trumpets found in I Thessalonians 4:17 and I Corinthians 15:52 are synonymous with the 7th trumpet in Revelation. That would mean that there would be no rapture of the church before the apocalypse, and Christians would enter the tribulation period like lambs to the slaughter. I have a different view. Moreover, I think it would be more convenient for the reader if Rapuano noted where the Scripture passages he cites can be found in the Bible at the end of each citation rather than in the endnotes at the end of each chapter.
But these are trivialities. Rapuano’s research is commendable. His insights and arguments are very nearly unassailable. The evidence he presents in support of his conclusions is unquestionable. He filled in gaps that I had in my theology, and for that, I am thankful. I would give this fine work five stars if it did not need a bit of professional editing. As it is, I can only offer four out of five stars.
This book is highly theological and filled with in-depth doctrinal arguments based upon a close examination of hundreds of Scripture passages. Those who are not Christians or are not well acquainted with the Bible would find reading this book akin to drinking from a firehose. This book is much better suited to committed and seasoned followers of Yeshua.
******
Master Plan for the Redemption of Israel
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
