One of the ongoing lies church-going Christians have been fed by the seminary-trained minds of the world is that God cast aside Israel and replaced it with the Body of Christ, or Believers in Jesus Christ.

This false doctrine even has a name attached to it: Replacement Theology. Basically it says Christians are "spiritual Jews" and are to consider themselves "spiritual Israel."

Jerry Falwell, for one, has gone on TV and stated that in Acts 1:8, when Jesus Christ promises, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," Jerusalem is meant to be taken as a Christian's hometown (i.e., for me it's New York City), Judaea to mean their particular county and Samaria to mean their territory. The "uttermost parts of the earth" are where they are to go and witness to everybody else.

As we all know, Jerusalem is in Palestine. In Christ's resurrection appearance reported in Acts 1, He is speaking to the 11 apostles (Judas was now dead), all of whom were from Galilee, meaning Jerusalem wasn't even their own hometown!

The disciples had just asked Christ in Acts 1:6, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?", but He declined to answer, saying, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power."

This all has to do with Christ's return to earth, in which He will bring in the kingdom.

Through the wholly unscriptural practice of "spiritualizing" the Bible, though, Jerry and others twist the meanings around in the same way unbelievers do—there's no difference between them.

Kenneth Copeland is another error-filled TV preacher who similarly informs Christians stuff like, "You're the blood-bought people of God; the Covenant people of God made with a blood covenant. You are 'spiritual Israel.' Claim your promises. Hallelujah!"

As my pastor, Richard Jordan (Shorewood Bible Church, Rolling Meadows, Ill.), has said, "Every seminary in the world—evangelical, Protestant, Catholic—works on the basis of the idea that we (Believers) have replaced Israel."

Churches say, "We're Israel; spiritual Israel. God laid upon national Israel the curses, and the blessings He's given to us." This wrong assumption is the basis for Calvinism, Arminianism and all the off-shoot "Reformed theology" systems.

A person can easily look at a verse like II Chron. 6:6, which says, " But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel," and conclude, "That's obviously talking about Israel," but these seminary people will respond with, "Yes, that's us!"

"The whole basis for the Charismatic confusion and the 'name it and claim it' ministries; the whole basis of the Augustinian system Roman Catholicism represents—all of that is based on the assumption that we have become 'spiritual Israel'; that God set aside Israel, they are no more the issue and has made us them," says Jordan in a study I have on tape.

"The light of understanding only comes when you learn to rightly divide God's Word, and make the distinction between the nation Israel and the Body of Christ—God's purpose in the nation Israel, and His purpose in the Body of Christ, and why it takes both these agencies, as separate distinct entities, to accomplish God's one purpose of making His Son the supreme head of all things in the universe.

"Until you understand that, and get your feet grounded in that so you can understand the real identity God has given you in His Son, you're going to flounder in confusion. And, yes, it is going to effect your life on a personal basis, because If you can't live your life on a daily basis out of your true identity, then you live out of error. And if truth sets you free, what does error do? It binds you."