The Jerusalem Post wrote an article claiming Pastors John Hagee and Jerry Falwell both believe in the "Dual Covenant Theology”. Dual Covenant Theology, (which is not Biblical) states that Jews are saved by following the Laws of Moses and their own religion, (which is their special relationship with God), and do not need to accept Jesus as their Messiah in order to be saved or go to heaven. This point of view is also accepted by some Gentiles who are into the “Jewish Roots” movement, (B'nai Noah). These groups teach that any Gentile believer can find their “Hebrew roots” or find out what Jewish tribe their family springs from, (If they pray hard enough!) (So all Irish, Italian and Samoans can find their tribe!) This too is not scriptural and basically is saying God lost some Jews along the way! This is more closely aligned with Herbert Armstrong’s British Israelism, which is nothing but a disguised form of replacement theology.

Texas-based televangelist Hagee said that neither he nor Southern Baptist pastor Falwell "believe or teach Dual Covenant." Hagee added that he had "made it a practice for 25 years not to target Jews for conversion" (WHY?) at any "Night to Honor Israel" events. If Jews "inquire about our faith at a later time, we give them a full scriptural presentation of redemption." He stressed that "regardless of the response from the Jewish person, we remain friends in support of the State of Israel as required by scripture."

Falwell, posted a statement on his website to the effect that he believes "all people - Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Jews, Muslims, etc., must accept Jesus in order to enter heaven.” Falwell believes in strongly supporting the State of Israel, and has "love" for the Jewish people,- "the chosen people of God." He went on to "reaffirm that I am a Zionist in terms of Israel's entitlement to its homeland. I continue to pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Bible instructs Christians to do. And I have dedicated my life and ministry to working for the peace of Israel." Falwell stressed: "I have been on record all 54 years of my ministry as being opposed to dual covenant theology... I simply cannot alter my deeply held belief in the exclusivity of salvation through the Gospel of Christ for the sake of political or theological expediency. Like the Apostle Paul, I pray daily for the salvation of everyone, including the Jewish people." So Falwell has given us his views from his own pen. Well said.

LET’S LOOK! All quotes by Hagee: from His books, interviews, etc.

1. “Trying to convert Jews is a “waste of time.” Everyone else, whether Buddhist or Baha’i, needs to believe in Jesus, he says. But not Jews. Jews already have a covenant with God that has never been replaced with Christianity. “The Jewish people have a relationship to God through the law of God as given through Moses,” “I believe that every Gentile person can only come to God through the cross of Christ. I believe that every Jewish person who lives in the light of the Torah, which is the word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption. (Saved by following the law?)

2. “The law of Moses is sufficient enough to bring a person into the knowledge of God until God gives him a greater revelation. And God has not.” .9

3. “There are right now Jewish people on this earth who have a powerful and special relationship with God.” “They have been chosen by the ‘election of grace’ in which God does what he does without asking man to approve or understand it. Let us put an end to the Christian chatter that “all the Jews are lost” and can’t be in the will of God until they convert to Christianity! . . . there are a certain number of Jews in relationship with God right now through divine election.” 10

4. “If God blinded the Jewish people to the identity of Jesus as Messiah, how could He send them to hell for not seeing what he had forbidden them to see?”11

5. , “All people will gain entrance into heaven through Christ. The question is one of timing.”

9Julia Duin, “San Antonio Fundamentalist Battles Anti-Semitism,” The Houston Chronicle, 30 April 1988, 1.

10Hagee, Should Christians Support Israel?, 124-25, 127 (emphasis in original).

11John Hagee, personal faxed correspondence to CRI, 18 October 1994, 3. 12Ibid., 6.

When Hagee says “all people will gain entrance into heaven through Christ,” does he also believe in “Universalism?” (literally everyone will be saved), or does he believe that all Jews will be saved without accepting Jesus? So can we conclude that Hagee has been misrepresented by newspapers such as the Jerusalem Post or the Houston Chronicle? It may be semantics, but just because Hagee said he does not “preach” Dual Covenant, does in fact not mean that he does not write it down in his books or is not his belief. TV preaching may not give the insight that the author’s books do. Maybe we should ask, “If we say ‘Two Covenant’ then would you own up to it without mixing up labels as to purposely confuse? Jan Markell of Olive Tree is not convinced that Hagee has broken with his Dual Covenant ideas either. Stating that this theory is found nowhere in the Bible. Hagee has also busied himself putting together the coalition, “Christians United for Israel," (CUFI) Signing onto this are: Jack Hayford, Paul Walker, Rod Parsley, Benny Hinn, Ken Copeland, Pat Robertson, Steve Strang, Matt Crouch, and Gary Bauer. Jan Markell states 30,000,000 evangelicals sit under the leadership of these voices in CUFI. While support of Israel for land and covenants is wonderful in and of itself, to deny a witness to the Jew may be an outright denial of the “Great Commission!”

When I was in Israel, the Christian Embassy wanted all Christian visitors to Israel’s Feast of Tabernacles to make sure we did not “offend Jews” by telling them about Jesus in an effort to convert them. Such spiritual correctness saves no one nor does it give light to those who should first receive the gospel! We cannot accept the concept that we can both love the Jew and deny them access to their only hope in salvation through Jesus Christ, the only Messiah! Paul said: “ The promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise nullified; it is by faith, that it might be in accordance with grace” (Rom. 4:13-14, 16). Scripture draws no distinction between Jews and Gentiles on the issue of salvation, which is attained by grace through faith alone in Christ, “apart from works of the law” (3:28; cf. 21-22). As the Bible clearly states: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (vs. 28-29). To be saved, a person whether Jew or Gentile, must turn to Christ (Rom. 5:4-6; (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 10:9-13) who is “the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). I conclude with Jan Markell’s article, “Offend someone into heaven!” I was, and so were many other Jews who now name Jesus as their Messiah and are saved!

Bye for now, Hollis Caravetta-E-mail: Holliscar@aol.com

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