Stephen Sizer > Quotes

“This is the basis for the view that the church, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, is the successor of the promises originally made to Israel.”
― Stephen Sizer, Zion's Christian Soldiers?: The Bible, Israel and the Church

“Answering the ultra-literalists The fundamental error these ultra-literalists make is they fail to recognise how Jesus and the Apostles reinterpreted the Old Testament. Instead texts are made to speak about present and future events almost as if the New Testament were never written. The implicit assumption is that somehow Old and New Testament run at times parallel into the future, the former speaking of Israel and the latter of the church, almost independent of one another (see Figure 2.2).”
― Stephen Sizer, Zion's Christian Soldiers?: The Bible, Israel and the Church

“It may surprise you to discover that the New Testament never uses the term 'chosen' to describe the Jewish people. It is only used of those who follow Jesus. Does that mean Jesus has two separate 'chosen' people? Some like to think so. They are usually called 'dispensationalists' and this is a very popular viewpoint among evangelicals in the united states.”
― Stephen Sizer, Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?

“John 15 is the most significant passage in the New Testament for understanding the analogy of the vine and the relationship between Israel and the church. When Jesus says “I am the vine” he is making a very provocative statement. In the Old Testament, Israel is described as the vine (see for example, Jeremiah 11:16; Ezekiel 15:1-8; 17:1-10; Hosea 10:1-2; 14:6).”
― Stephen Sizer, Zion's Christian Soldiers?: The Bible, Israel and the Church