Israel

God's Kingdom and The Restoration of Israel

God's Kingdom and The Restoration of Israel

There is something profound in the Lord’s eyes for those from Abraham’s natural lineage. Paul said, “Concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers” (Romans 11:28). This verse implies that Israel is elected (chosen) by God. Chosenness is deeply misunderstood. To be chosen means to be entrusted with a role, task, or mission more significant than your small self. Chosenness infers we have meaning, destiny, and a greater purpose that is God-given rather than self-motivated. Paul said, “For so the Lord has commanded us: I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). Divine election carried Israel to a whole new level, and she is beloved for the sake of the fathers. When God assigned Israel her purpose, she became the fulfillment of that purpose in the form of a nation, and her irrevocable calling was and is to be a light to the Gentiles.

Reconnecting The Church to Israel

Reconnecting The Church to Israel

Throughout history, the church has sought to understand Israel’s place in God’s Kingdom, and the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 has made this issue even more pressing. But the separation of the church from its Hebraic origins drove it into a period of great darkness. This was only exacerbated by an abyss of unbelief and skepticism caused by “the Enlightenment” (Aufklarung in Germany) that had opened in the West, culminating in self-centeredness, self-worship, and a rise in humanism during the Renaissance.

Separation of The Church from Israel

Separation of The Church from Israel

God’s first and only covenant nation is Israel, and He called them His “firstborn son.” And Israel is the only nation He sovereignly chose to reveal Himself to, not a giant and mighty nation, but so insignificant they appeared to be nothing more than a small, powerless family. It says, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2); “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).

Israel's Covenants and The Kingdom

Israel's Covenants and The Kingdom

It can be said that Israel’s origins begin with Abraham, the father faith, as Paul, “It is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). God desired that Abram become a source of blessing to the whole world, setting before him a moral imperative to obey His commandment to leave everything of this world behind. Nearly two thousand years before the Advent of Christ, the Lord God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to make of him a great nation and a company of nations: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

The Great Exodus

The Great Exodus

One of the most profound stories in human history is how God miraculously delivered the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. At that moment, they became His people, heritage, and His Holy nation. Never had this happened to any group of people, and still, the Lord made a promise that one day He would do something even more spectacular and demonstratively powerful.

Israel and the Antichrist

Israel and the Antichrist

Who is the Anti-Christ? That is an interesting and complicated question. First, let me say that the Anti-Christ will be an actual person. However, like Judas Iscariot, he will not become this person until Satan himself enters him— “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve” (Luke 22:3, NKJV). Second, let me say that it is currently impossible to identify this person. The Bible tells us this man will be revealed to the world at a specific point in time.

Mystery of the Olive Tree

Mystery of the Olive Tree

“For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:24-27).

Israel—A Covenant to the People and a Light to the Nations

Israel—A Covenant to the People and a Light to the Nations

In God’s infinite wisdom He has woven into the fabric of humanity a plan for the redemption of fallen man. We can see that by His divine election that He has preserved a seed that extends from Adam through Noah, Abraham and King David, ultimately bringing forth the Messiah Yeshua, the stem and the root of Jesse, and the branch and arm of God. But with Abraham, God made a covenant to create a nation that would literally become ‘one’ with Him. To understand His purpose for humanity we must look to Israel, for she is the only nation on earth to receive direct revelation of God, and the only nation to be born of His Covenant.