The Problem with Dispensationalism - Part 2

A promise to Israel -
"On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; - Amos 9:11
Fulfilled by the church -
"Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. "And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.' "Known to God from eternity are all His works. - Acts 15:14-18
In the same manner there are many Old Testament passages referring to Israel that are in the New Testament applied directly to the church.
Spoken of Israel -
"And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. - Joel 2:28-32
Fulfilled in the church -
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place..."But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.' - Acts 2:1,16-21
Spoken of Israel -
'And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." - Exodus 19:6
Fulfilled in the church -
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; - 1 Peter 2:9
Spoken of Israel -
"My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. -Ezekiel 37:27
Fulfilled in the church -
“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people." - 2 Cor 6:16
Spoken of Israel -
"Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: 'You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. - Lev 19:2
Fulfilled in the church -
“…but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." - 1 Peter 1:15-16
Spoken of Israel -
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- - Jer 31:31
Fulfilled in the church -
“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. - Luke 22:20”
Dispensationalists, determined to cling to their false distinction between Israel and the church are forced to abandon the new testament's application to the church.
Albertus Pieters, however, representing non-dispensational commentators in general, explains:
"This is entirely correct [that Israel is meant in Jeremiah 31], and it is to the house of Israel that the fulfillment came. The objection arises from a failure to perceive that the Christian church in its origin was an Israelite body, fully qualified to claim the promises made to Israel.... The Christian church, once having been established, had many Gentiles come into it, but that did not make it a "church from among the Gentiles", any more than the naturalization of many Italians in our country makes this a nation from among the Italians.... they were all Israelite members of the Old Covenant people of God, to whom the promise had been made. Strictly in line with the promise and with the prevailing principle of the covenant history, to them, the believing remnant, the promise of the New Covenant was fulfilled. That promise was, "To the House of Israel and the House of Judah," and to the designated parties the fulfillment came; to all who were, in the sight of God and according to a just interpretation of history, still worthy of the name: "Israel and Judah.".... In all this, are we spiritualizing the prophecy as some allege? Not at all. We are stating a historical fact, clearly contained in the sacred records, that in or about the spring of the year 30 A.D., the mass of those who then called themselves Israelites ceased to be such for prophetic and covenant purpose, having forfeited their citizenship in the common-wealth of Israel by refusing to accept the Messiah, and that after this event all the privileges of the Abrahamic Covenant and all the promises of God belonged to the believing remnant, and to them only; which remnant was therefore and thereafter the true Israel and Judah, and the Seed of Abraham, the Christian church. Thus the promise was fulfilled strictly and definitely to the designated parties."