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May 2016
Israel in Prophecy
Few prophetic portions of Scripture fail to mention Israel. We see in God's Word that the existence of this relatively tiny country is essential for the furthering of God's plan in this world
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Israel in Prophecy by Sam Nadler
Few prophetic portions of Scripture fail to mention Israel. We see in God’s Word that the existence of this relatively tiny country is essential for the furthering of God’s plan in this world, for, when Israel as a nation confesses Yeshua as Lord, He has promised that He will return (Matt. 23:39). The enemy knows this and has plans to launch an all-out attack on Israel in an attempt to prevent this from happening. Yet God knows Satan’s plans, and has told us through His prophets how it will all end. God places yet-unfulfilled prophecy in Scripture not to make us speculative about the future, but to assure us the future is under His control so that we would live confidently for Him now.
Allow me to share a prophetic passage from the Book of Jeremiah to illustrate:
“At that time, declares the Lord, ‘I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness – Israel, when it went to find its rest.’ The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.’”[Jeremiah 31:1-3]
The time that God is referring to here is revealed in the previous verse, Jeremiah 30:24. This is speaking of a future time when His anger and wrath will be poured out. Yeshua speaks of this time as well in Matthew 24:31. The Babylonian captivity which took place in Jeremiah’s lifetime was foreshadowing a future tribulation period, called “the time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7). The Hebrew word for “distress” is tsara, which can mean “trouble” or “tribulation.” (The Yiddish word, tsuris, comes from this Hebrew word).
We see in Scripture that this horrific period of time, to take place in the “last days” (Jer. 30:24) will have 3 purposes:
1- To prove that Satan is a liar – he can’t protect his own from the wrath of God (2 Thess. 2:3-12; Zech 3:1-3).
2- To punish the nations for their sins, especially the sin of anti-Semitism (Is. 29:7-8; Zech. 14:16; Matt. 25:40,45).
3- To prepare Israel for the returning King Messiah and His Messianic Kingdom (Deut. 4:30; Hos. 3:5; Zech. 12:10).
This period of time will be so awful that God has to assure us that Israel “will be saved out of it.” (Jer.30:7)
Today, storm clouds are gathering as nations are plotting against Israel. Iran has promised that when they get the bomb, they will use it to destroy Israel. Though these threats may seem to be far removed from us, believers who aren’t Jewish should not assume that they will not be affected, for these nations have also promised that once they get rid of the Saturday people, they will take on the Sunday people.
All followers of Yeshua need to be involved in fighting the good fight in these last days, for it says in Zechariah 14:1-2 that ‘’all nations will come against Israel.” “All nations” means all nations; I believe that this will include the United States as well. This is why we must be praying for the peace of Jerusalem. It’s not that Israel needs the support of the U.S., but that the U.S. must support Israel in order to be on the same page with God! For God says in Genesis 12:3 that He will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse her. We must pray for our government to repent and realize that it is in the U.S.’ best interest to support Israel!
The future is indeed under God’s control. But how would He have us to live confidently for Him now?
This section of Scripture in Jeremiah is meant to prepare believers to be a witness and instrument of grace to Jewish people, planting the seeds that will one day bring forth 144,000 zealous Messianic Jewish believers (Rev. 14:1).
Jeremiah 31:1 is the only place in the Hebrew Scriptures that prophesies a national restoration of Israel, that “all the families of Israel” will be restored. Perhaps Paul was thinking of this verse when he wrote in Romans 11:26 that, “all Israel will be saved.” Here in the Hebrew Scriptures, God assures Israel that despite the horrors of that period of time, He will do His greatest work for them. The future problems to be faced will not be the last word on the people of God, for God’s Word is always the final word and in His Word we have hope not only for Israel, but also for ourselves, that is if our lives are founded upon that same Rock (Matt. 7:24-25). The hope of Israel is the only sure hope for all people.
This national restoration of Israel is still in the future tense, but today God has set apart a “remnant according to His gracious choice” (Rom. 11:5). God has many Jewish people today who are ready to hear and respond to the Good News, and He has sent us to tell them!
For Israel and for each person individually, there is only one way of salvation: by His grace (Jer. 31:2). I’ve been at meetings where over 70 Jewish people have come to faith at once, yet each one had to accept Yeshua by grace through faith as they responded to God’s love for them in Messiah. What God does in Messiah for each of us, He will also do for the nation of Israel when they trust in Yeshua and make the confession of Isaiah 53 as a nation.
God’s everlasting love which “draws us” (Jer. 31:3) is completely beyond our experience as it is based on His righteous character. He loves each of us knowing who we are and never, ever gives up on any one of us! This is why we must never give up on Jewish people – because God never will. He has called His Body to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:6), and bring the Good News “to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.” (Rom. 1:16). Today we can move forward in this great calling, confident in a God who holds the future as well as the lives of each of His children!
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Does His Priority = My Priority?
Last month, I had the opportunity to join Sam as he travelled to Columbia International University where he was invited to share about Messiah in the Passover
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Does His Priority = My Priority? by Tim James
Once in a while, God gives you a tiny glimpse of how He is perfectly and intricately orchestrating events around you. In those moments, you see all the bits and pieces of your life, the fabric of what God has been shaping over the years, joined together to form a beautiful tapestry. This is something we can marvel at!
I had such a moment recently. Last month, I had the opportunity of joining Sam as he traveled to Columbia International University (CIU) where he was invited to present on Messiah in the Feast of Passover. What some of you may not know is that CIU is my alma mater. I met my wife Laurel there (that alone was worth the price of admission!), and was blessed beyond measure throughout my time studying. As a student at CIU, I encountered various people from diverse communities and ethnicities, students from all around the world. There I formed biblical beliefs about the Word of God and our blessed Messiah, and forged many skills for my God-given toolkit. I truly was blessed there.
Going back to my old-stomping grounds was a blessing as well. Being back in chapel, a building which can seat more than 1,000 students, brought back a flood of memories as I listened to Sam’s message.
Always on his game whether preaching in a small rural church, or speaking in the large auditorium of a significant Bible college in South Carolina, Sam brought a clear challenge to this young crowd, many of whom are future pastors and missionaries. You see, sharing about Messiah in the Passover is not just recounting how God redeemed His people from slavery (something He is very capable of doing still today!) No, sharing Passover is also about sharing a calling, the calling that every believer, whether Jewish or Gentile, is called to bear.
Sam speaking with students after chapel
Although I grew up in a very loving, believing home environment, I had no understanding of what it meant to celebrate and rehearse God’s redemptive program through the Feasts of Israel. And because of this I missed out on so much. When we read about the Feasts in Leviticus 23 (or should I say, “IF we read Leviticus 23”…), we see that God has instituted something that was never meant to be ended. (The history of the church sadly did not help in this matter, but that is a different topic for a different article at a different time).
Though many of the CIU students in chapel have also never celebrated Passover, they are following hard after the Lord. Love God?…Check! Serve God?…Check! So what challenge could Sam bring to this group of passionate young and some not-so-young followers of the Messiah? What else would they need to hear? A challenge that every believer needs to hear and heed, the truth that it is written in the very DNA of every Gentile believer in Yeshua: our calling to make Israel jealous for the Messiah.
“Well, that’s not in my DNA,” you may say. Though you may not agree, Romans 11:11 states that this absolutely needs to be a part of your DNA, my DNA, and the DNA of every Gentile believer – “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” This is a fact that the early assembly of believers back in the First Century were very much aware of (Acts 20:6; 27:9).
Passover, along with the other Biblical Feasts, is meant to re-orient us to our redemption in Messiah on a yearly basis and is also meant to serve as a testimony to the outside world looking in. This is a New Covenant (New Testament) thing. At CIU, Sam echoed the same
words that Paul used to challenge the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 5:8 – “let us keep the feast.” Why? Because God’s redemptive program is written all over it. Because it testifies of God’s faithfulness first to the Jewish people and also to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16-17)!
So brother and sister in the Lord, here is your challenge: will you allow God to so transform your heart that your DNA matches His DNA? By His grace, His priority can equal my practice.
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Sam Nadler
Upcoming Speaking Events:
On Sale for $8 + s/h
Eternally Desired
The symbol of the bride of Messiah and the wedding ceremony is woven throughout the fabric of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant. This book explores the customs of the ancient Jewish wedding, paralleling them with Scripture.
Visit our Bookstore →
Word of Messiah Ministries
Although I grew up in a very loving, believing home environment, I had no understanding of what it meant to celebrate and rehearse God’s redemptive program through the Feasts of Israel. And because of this I missed out on so much. When we read about the Feasts in Leviticus 23 (or should I say, “IF we read Leviticus 23”…), we see that God has instituted something that was never meant to be ended. (The history of the church sadly did not help in this matter, but that is a different topic for a different article at a different time).
Though many of the CIU students in chapel have also never celebrated Passover, they are following hard after the Lord. Love God?…Check! Serve God?…Check! So what challenge could Sam bring to this group of passionate young and some not-so-young followers of the Messiah? What else would they need to hear? A challenge that every believer needs to hear and heed, the truth that it is written in the very DNA of every Gentile believer in Yeshua: our calling to make Israel jealous for the Messiah.
“Well, that’s not in my DNA,” you may say. Though you may not agree, Romans 11:11 states that this absolutely needs to be a part of your DNA, my DNA, and the DNA of every Gentile believer – “salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” This is a fact that the early assembly of believers back in the First Century were very much aware of (Acts 20:6; 27:9).
Passover, along with the other Biblical Feasts, is meant to re-orient us to our redemption in Messiah on a yearly basis and is also meant to serve as a testimony to the outside world looking in. This is a New Covenant (New Testament) thing. At CIU, Sam echoed the same
words that Paul used to challenge the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 5:8 – “let us keep the feast.” Why? Because God’s redemptive program is written all over it. Because it testifies of God’s faithfulness first to the Jewish people and also to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16-17)!
So brother and sister in the Lord, here is your challenge: will you allow God to so transform your heart that your DNA matches His DNA? By His grace, His priority can equal my practice.
-------
Sam Nadler
Upcoming Speaking Events:
- May 1, 11:00 am: Riverwood Worship Ctr, Gastonia, NC
- May 8, 10:45 am: Fountain of Life IPHC, Wilkesboro, NC
- May 13-15: Women's Retreat, Blowing Rock, NC
- May 14, 10:00 am: B'nai Avraham, Hampton, VA
- May 22, 11:00 am: Diamond Hill Baptist, Statesville, NC
- May 29, 10:30 am: Lawings Chapel Baptist, Maiden, NC
On Sale for $8 + s/h
Eternally Desired
The symbol of the bride of Messiah and the wedding ceremony is woven throughout the fabric of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Covenant. This book explores the customs of the ancient Jewish wedding, paralleling them with Scripture.
Visit our Bookstore →
Word of Messiah Ministries
P.O Box 79238
Charlotte, North Carolina 28271, United States
www.wordofmessiah.org
Click here to view the online version.
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www.wordofmessiah.org
Click here to view the online version.
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