God still has a plan for ethic Israel. If you question that, read Romans 11. Jesus said He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel in Matthew 10:6 and Matthew 15:24, yet He saw the faith of the Syrophoenician woman's faith and ministered in the Decapolis and told His disciples to take the gospel to the whole world which they eventually recognized meant both Jew and Gentile. So why are many of us who call ourselves by the name of Christ not actively seeking the salvation of Israel whom He has also elected to be His people? Why do we hate the ones whom God says He has loved? Why do we have such a hard time believing the prophecies that say that Israel will come together in worship saying "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD" (recognizing Jesus as Messiah and Savior) and then the end will come? Are you awaiting the return of Christ? We do not know the day or the hour, but we know that the LORD says the end will not come until until there is revival in ethnic Israel.
Do you pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Do you do your best to bless the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and support them in their claim to the eternal, unconditional covenant that the LORD made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Do you know how to point people to the Old Testament Scriptures to see not only the coming of Jesus (that's important) but how God has been showing and telling us the gospel from the beginning? (Study the Feasts and Festivals sometime and see how each of them is fulfilled in Christ and how the Jews and Christians alike are both awaiting the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets). I look forward to the culmination of their being one people of God that is no longer seen as Jew or Gentile as we serve together side-by-side in one kingdom under the King of Kings, and as served together in the heavenly temple of our God as priests in the service of our Great High Priest. I look forward to seeing what God will do and is continuing to do both through the Jews and through the Gentiles so that He will work in such a way where He alone gets the glory. Matthew 24:14 English Standard Version 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. "All" means all and that's all "all" means is something Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr. used to tell us at Liberty University. So pray for and work towards that gospel going to all peoples in all the world. Read Romans 11 and see that God plans for the Elect of Israel to be saved though they be a remnant of the whole, and how Paul loves them and desires for all his brothers to be saved--and I think the same could be said for Jesus who loved His Jewish brothers and sisters, since He came unto His own, but His own received Him not. Paul says that it was for our sake that this happened so that the gospel might be fulfilled, but that God still desires the "natural branches" to be fruitful and for those who have been cut off to be grafted back in and that they will be even stronger than the "wild branches" that have been grafted in, and we know this to be true. My group and I talked last night about how an improper view of God's covenant with Israel leads us to a real problem in interpreting our covenant of salvation in the New Testament. If we believe the Abrahamic Covenant was anything other than the everlasting, eternal, unconditional promise that God says it was--that He somehow has broken this covenant with them--then how can be believe that He will be the one who is Faithful and True to keep the Covenant of Grace with us which both testaments point to as a unconditional, eternal, everlasting covenant. We impede our own witness when we make it out as if God has broken covenant with Israel because they messed ups so bad that He stopped loving them. That just shows that no matter what you say, you don't understand that God's covenant with them was a one-sided covenant of faith and not a covenant of works, and that would be telling to me in what you believe salvation is--do you really believe it is by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone, to the glory of God alone or do you believe that we must do something in order to keep covenant with God and make God continue to love us? If you believe the later, then you're in sore shape because there is nothing lovable about us--God has chosen to love the elect (both the believing in Jew and the believing Gentile) "for His good pleasure." So, I wanted to take a moment and write this blog today in response to some things I read and heard this week. I believe God is at work in the Gentiles to stir-up the hearts of the Jews (again, see Romans 11) and that God's plan is not over all of His remnant, both Jews and Gentiles alike, are ready to come together in our worship and service of Him forever and ever. Pray for the gospel to go forth the whole world including to the Jewish people and don't just pray for God to send someone else, but like the prophet Isaiah say, Here I am! Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). I await the fulfillment of Isaiah 61 and I do not see the desire of the Jewish people to rebuild that which has been ruined (even to reclaim the Temple Mount and build a Third Temple) as something contrary to God's plan, but as something right in line with God's plan as together all of God's people come together to worship together in Spirit and in Truth just like we will do in heaven one day (in the end it may be the only safe place for us to gather together as all the others nations will be hostile towards both Jew and Christian). Don't be fearful that the rebuilding of the temple will mean that the Jews will turn back to the Old Covenant. The Bible tells us what will happen and that this final temple will be a place focused on the New Covenant and on Christ and will be a place for all the nations to come and worship Him together and point people towards what is coming in the New Jerusalem. Watch out for those who preach "replacement theology" and watch out for those who claim to be Christians but think they can cling to anti-Semitism. You cannot love God and hate God's election at the same time (be that His election of the Jews or His election of His remnant in the Church). I have not said and am not saying that there is a different path of salvation for Israel or that somehow God is automatically going to save everyone who has Jewish heritage, but I am saying God loves them for the sake of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and desires all of them to be saved. Do we who call ourselves by His name have that same desire? Let's challenge ourselves in this way. Comments are closed.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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