Those Who claim to be Jews, but are Not

(Written by Jack Kelley)
In addition to the comments I've received concerning my answer to the question about Reformed Theology, I've also been asked to interpret Rev. 3:9.
I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
Who are those who claim to be Jews but are not? Since Revelation 2-3 applies to the entire Church age, the Lord may have been referring to more than one group. Here are several candidates.

The Jews
In Romans 2:28-29 Paul wrote, "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God."

In Paul's day there were many who had been born into the Jewish race and circumcised as a sign of the covenant, but according to him were not really Jews because there was no inner substance to complement their outer form. It was this kind of Jew the Lord had earlier condemned saying, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." (Isaiah 29:13) People like this were among the first to persecute the early Church. They called the believers apostates, drove them out of Jerusalem, and tried valiantly to prevent the growth of the Church. It's easy to see how they could be called the synagogue of Satan, but are there others?

Replacement Theology
Among Christians, there is a school of thought called Replacement Theology. This view holds that when the Jews crucified the Messiah all the promises God had made to Israel were transferred to the Church. They claim the New Covenant has superseded the Old, hence the term supersessionism. The Jews are neither God’s chosen people any longer, nor does He have any specific future plans for the nation of Israel. The Bible's prophecies concerning the future blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land have been allegorized into promises of blessing for the Church.

Only a fool says "There is no God"

(Written by Peter Voigt)
“Only fools say in their hearts,
‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
no one does good!” (Psalm 14:1, New Living Translation)

What does the bible mean with the above message?In this text, the Hebrew word for fool is “nabal” which refers more to a moral fool, someone without morals. It does not mean that a fool is an unintelligent person but the meaning of the text is “immoral people do not believe in God”. It is the lack of morals that leads a person to reject the existence of God and therefore try to clear their conscience and relieve themselves of guilt. It is hiding behind a lie to feel better and not to be accountable for their actions to God.

Standing on a busy train track, closing your eyes and covering your ears, saying: “There is no train coming”, will not change anything. You will know it when you get hit by the train and then it is too late to reverse your foolish decision. The same will happen if you say: “There is no God”. One day you will meet God if you believe it or not.

“And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment”. (Hebrews 9:27, New Living Translation)
If you will tell people that you don’t have an earthly father, they will laugh at you and maybe call you a fool. It is not me who calls you a fool if you don’t believe in God. It is God himself who says: “I know who I am, but if you don’t believe I exist, then you are a fool”.