Messiah

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.

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 Works of Christ

The Works of Christ

Jesus said: “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5:17); “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Christ’s work of salvation is evident. God Himself, in the Person of His only Son, visited the creation to redeem out of it a people for His own possession. But Christ is more than just our Savior. He is our Prophet, Priest, and King. Each of these in the Old Testament was anointed into their offices with oil, symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

The Persons of The Trinity

The Persons of The Trinity

In the Old Testament, there are plural names and pronouns for God. For example, the names Elohim and Adonai or plural. Some scholars claim this plurality relates to “a plurality of majesty.” However, in Genesis, we read: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Notice the plural pronouns. Others are found in Genesis 3:22 and 11:7. In Isaiah, we read: “I heard the voice of the Lord [Adonai], saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6:8). This verse acknowledges the oneness and unity of God, but also incorporates God’s plurality, inferring plurality in unity.

Entering The Kingdom

Entering The Kingdom

The arrival of the Messiah and His death and resurrection is unquestionably the most significant event in human history. Jesus-Yeshua, the Son of God, was born of a woman conceived by the Holy Spirit. He lived a perfect and sinless life, and in God’s time, He gave His life to atone for the sins of humanity.

Justice, Kindness, and Truth

Justice, Kindness, and Truth

Yeshua said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). Yeshua is the way to eternal life. That is clear. But what is the truth? Pontius Pilot, the governor of the Roman province of Judaea, asked Jesus the same question.

The Fullness of Time

The Fullness of Time

The Bible tells that, "when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). This verse speaks to the First Advent of Christ. It also speaks to the redemption of Israel. But what about Christ's second Advent and Israel's final redemption?

Water and Blood

Water and Blood

There is an interesting correlation in scripture between water and blood; as it is written, “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood” (1 John 5:6, NKJV). Water and blood. Together, these are a mystery. Let’s discover their significance.

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.

The Word Became Flesh

The Word Became Flesh

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NKJV). This is probably one of the most popular verses in the New Testament, clearly pointing to Yeshua as the Divine Messiah; God in human form, manifest and revealed to the creation. However, what exactly did the Apostle John mean when he said, the word became flesh? In a general sense, the word is the bible. So, how does paper or parchment turn into living flesh? I think there more to understand here.

What is Zionism?

What is Zionism?

What is Zionism, or maybe a better question to ask is what Zion is? The first thing to understand is there is both a natural and spiritual component to God’s Kingdom. Let’s look at the natural first. Mount Zion, called Mount Moriah in the Bible is a ridge system located in Jerusalem. East of Mount Zion is the Mount of Olives. These north-south ridgelines are separated by the Kidron Valley.  The Mount of Olives is where Jesus ascended to heaven and is the place where He is prophesied to return.

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).