Biblical Christianity has its roots in Judaism. In the Old Testament, Gentile women like Rahab, a Canaanite woman in Jericho, and Ruth, a Moabitess, were grafted into Judaism by virtue of their faith placed in the God of the Hebrews. Both women would go on to marry Jewish men, earning them a place in the lineage of Jesus Christ!
Like Rahab and Ruth, Gentile believers are grafted into that same tree by virtue of faith placed in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. At the same time, Jewish unbelievers have been rejected. The book of Romans records this phenomenom:“You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in,” (Romans 11:19).
So, is God done with Israel? What does the Bible teach?
“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2a).
In the book of Romans, Paul reminds us that Elijah himself once felt that he was the only person left in Israel who had kept faith in God. But, God assured Elijah that He had preserved a larger remnant for Himself: “seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal,” (Romans 11:4). In a similar fashion, God has always preserved a remnant of Jews who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace,” (Romans 11:5).
Will national Israel remain permanently blinded to the gospel? Paul answered that question: “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.” (v. 11). Israel’s blindness is not permanent. God intends to restore Israel to faith in her Messiah.
Up until now, Israel’s blindness has allowed time for the priceless gospel to go out to the rest of the world. Israel’s blindness has led to “riches for the world…their failure riches for the Gentiles…”
What would it benefit us IF Israel as a nation accepted Christ? The apostle Paul posed that question, “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be…” (Romans 11:15).
The startling answer Paul gives is,“LIFE FROM THE DEAD!” (v. 15).
Israel’s acceptance of Christ will bring about the resurrection from the dead! Does Scripture bear this out?
In the book of Revelation chapter 7, we see that the imminent wrath of God upon an unbelieving world cannot unfold until after the sealing of 144,000 Jews has first taken place. This number is specifically counted as 12,000 Jews from each of the 12 tribes: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. These 144,000 Jews constitute the “firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,” (Rev. 14:4). Firstfruits is the initial harvesting of a much larger amount to follow.
What does Revelation 7 show happening immediately following the sealing of the 144,000, the firstfruits of national Israel?
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10).
Once the firsfruits of Israel is in place, there follows the appearance in heaven of an innumerable company of saints from every people on earth! Where have these saints come from? “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (Revelation 7:14). The resurrection of the dead & rapture of living believers takes place following the salvation (sealing) of Israel’s firstfruits. As Paul had taught, “what will their [Israel’s] acceptance be but life from the dead.”
So, where do we stand on the evangelization of the Jews today? In 1967, you would have been hard pressed to find 200 believers in the entire nation of Israel. Today, they number in the thousands to tens of thousands. So many Messianic congregations are springing up in Israel, that the numbers keep changing. Jewish evangelization groups like One for Israel are blanketing the airways & social media with testimonials of Jews coming to Christ, along with expository Biblical teachings on Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The blindness upon Israel is being removed!
But as this blindness dissolves, Satan the adversary is getting more & more nervous. Satan not only knows Bible prophecy, he trembles at it. Satan recognizes that his time is growing short. Hence the chaos in the world today, including a rise in anti-Semitism. As nations teeter on the brink of war, as prices on food & fuel are skyrocketing, fear is gripping the world. The world is desperate for a savior. And Israel is wanting her Messiah!
Enter the deceiver, a world leader the Bible calls Antichrist who will seduce many into believing that he is the savior, the seeming answer for the world’s problems. So much hope & faith will be placed in this man’s ability to solve the issues, that at his coming, the mantra will be “Peace and safety!” Yet, it will quickly turn into the greatest tribulation that Israel and this world have ever experienced!
Antichrist, aided by his False Prophet, will take deception to new heights. Appearing initially as a friend of Israel, Antichrist will help make the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem a reality. This has long been an issue of utmost importance to orthodox Judaism. The building of the temple will likely be negotiated in the treaty that is mentioned in Daniel 9:27. Yet, it will be this very temple that Antichrist desolates when he declares himself, God.
How close are we to seeing the temple built? The government of Israel has very recently invested tens of millions of dollars to build a high-speed rail system to transport Jewish pilgrims from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to the base of the Temple Mount itself. The Israeli government is heavily investing in the likelihood that thousands of Jewish pilgrims will soon be descending upon Israel to sacrifice at the future temple! The rail cars have been designed with holding areas for animals that will be brought for temple sacrifice. The completion date for this rail system is 2023.
In addition, a pure red heifer whose ashes are necessary for the purification of the people prior to the temple’s start up, could be found among 5 good candidates just flown into Israel from the state of Texas.
The Abraham Accords are alive and well, as more nations are signing onto its commitment of bringing peace to the Middle East. The Abraham Accords may be the basis for the treaty mentioned in Daniel 9:27.
Yet despite Biblically prophesied events taking shape in our world today, how many Christian churches are actively preparing their people for the end of the age? Very few. Many seminarians have been taught that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s affections, not realizing that “concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers,” (Romans 11:28). Many churches do not perceive the relevance of Israel nor the significance of recent events to the end of this age! The prophesied reality of Jesus’ returning to rule the world from a Jewish throne in Jerusalem, has been lost. A popular Kingdom Now theology is gaining ground in Christendom, leaving many Christians blinded to the reality of what is taking place right under their very noses.
Mankind now looks to himself to save his world. Humanism rules. Even where end times is still taught, it is being pushed aside in the hope of a coming great revival. And it is being downplayed by the teaching of a pre-tribulation rescue that gives false reassurance to the church that she will not enter end times.
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