If a Christian is a follower of Christ, and a believer is one who believes and trusts in Christ, then by definition, Jesus is neither a Christian nor a believer! The Bible claims He is God incarnate and therefore transcends such human categories. Regarding His incarnation, He is as Jewish as one can get – in fact He is a royal Jew. The genealogies of both Joseph and Mary trace back to King David which means that God the Father placed Jesus in a royal family. Furthermore, the angel Gabriel makes the following proclamation:
Luke 1:30 Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
The proclamation makes a number of points clear:
Jesus is the Son of the Most High
Jesus will receive the throne of his father David (that is, King David in his earthly ancestral line)
Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever
Jesus' kingdom will never end
The Jews are God's chosen people. He chose them not because they were special, but because they were insignificant.
Deuteronomy 7:7 "The LORD was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
God entrusted his written word to the Jews to faithfully record and disseminate.
Romans 3:1-2 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God.
These records were incredibly faithfully copied and preserved by the Jews for millenia, as evident in the insignificant textual discrepancies between the Masoretic Text of the 7th-10th centuries and the Dead Sea Scrolls - discovered in 1947 - which predate these texts by about 1,000 years!
It should be clear that the Old Testament was inspired by God and written by Jews. What is not immediately clear is that the entire New Testament was also inspired by God, and written by Jews. That might seem odd at first, but consider that Jesus was Jewish, his disciples were Jewish, and the first believers were Jewish. Even Paul who authored much of the New Testament, inspired by God, testifies that he also was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin.
Philippians 3:4-6 If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.
So the entire Word of God came through the Jews!
God promised the Jews a Messiah in the lineage of David.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
Salvation is of the Jews. No Jew, no Word of God, no salvation! Those who are saved into eternal life through faith in Jesus owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to the Jews.
John 4:21-22 Jesus told her, "Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews."
God has not abandoned the Jews, but has a leading role for them in these last days of this age.
Romans 11:1-5 I ask, then, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah — how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! But what was God's reply to him? I have left 7,000 men for Myself who have not bowed down to Baal. In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.
Jesus came to his own (the Jews) but they rejected him.
John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
The Jews (mostly) rejected their Messiah which opened the way for gentiles (non-Jews) to be saved. Jews attempted to obtain righteousness by following the law (rules), rather than having faith in Jesus (the stumbling stone).
Romans 9:30-32 What should we say then? Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness - namely the righteousness that comes from faith. But Israel, pursuing the law for righteousness, has not achieved the righteousness of the law. Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.
This is not strange considering Abraham was not a Jew, but a pagan living in Ur of the Chaldeans when God called him. He believed what God promised him and was credited with righteousness; that is, he had faith.
Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
The Jews stumbled in order that the gentiles may also be saved.
Romans 11:11-12 I ask, then, have they stumbled in order to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their stumbling, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. Now if their stumbling brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full number bring!
The gentiles (wild olive) are invited to be partakers of the promises made to the Jews (cultivated olive). Thus Abraham is a blessing to all mankind who avail of the free gift of salvation. Jews and Christians are heirs of the same promises.
Romans 11:17-18 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, do not brag that you are better than those branches.
God's attention has mostly been with the church over the last two millennia, but once the last gentile is saved, the church age will come to an end, the church will be snatched away, and the final act of this age focussed on the Jews will begin. Expect to see Israel taking centre stage in the media.
Romans 11:25 So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
At His second coming, Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives from where he ascended after his resurrection.
Zechariah 14:3-4 Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.
He will come as the rightful king to take up his inheritance and establish his eternal kingdom.
Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
He will judge those who have mistreated and scattered the Jews and those who have divided His land Israel.
Joel 3:1-3 Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgement with them there because of My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up My land.
He will rule the first earth during the Millennial Kingdom from Zion (Jerusalem – the City of God).
Zechariah 8:1-8 The word of the LORD of Hosts came: "The LORD of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath." The LORD says this: "I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain." The LORD of Hosts says this: "Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them." The LORD of Hosts says this: "Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me? " — this is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. The LORD of Hosts says this: "I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God."
After the Millennial Kingdom, God will make all things new! Note that this is the Greek word καινός (kainos – new in quality or type) not νέος (neos – new in time).
Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God's dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.
God will continuously make everything kainos! How amazing - every day will be new in type!
Revelation 21:5 Then the One seated on the throne said, "Look! I am making everything new."
Christians presumptuously appropriate promises given by God through Jewish prophets to the Jewish nation. But gentiles are not the direct recipients of the promises – they are indirect recipients when grafted in with the Jews.
Therefore, a word of caution: Satan hates Israel and the Jews because it is through them that the Saviour of mankind came to the world, thwarting his destructive plans, which would ultimately lead to his crushing.
Genesis 3:14-15 Then the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
If Satan can destroy Israel and the Jews (from the river to the sea), maybe he can thwart Jesus' second coming and avert his ultimate destruction? That seems to be the plan and he certainly has no shortage of useful idiots of all backgrounds and ideologies to try and annihilate the Jews and Israel. He has tried to destroy them with Cain, the Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and the Third Reich. He is presently trying with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and Iran. According to the prophecies of Ezekiel-38/39 the final attempt will be an invasion of Israel by a coalition army most likely consisting of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Libya and smaller Middle Eastern countries (based on ancient names).
The prophecy also makes clear that no nation will stand with Israel, so we can anticipate the USA fading from the scene as the world's remaining superpower and de facto defender of Israel; the foreshadows of which are already apparent in the current US Biden Administration.
Finally the prophecy states that God will personally intervene to defend Israel thereby setting the stage for the final kingdom of man! According to the prophecies of Revelation this final kingdom will be a one world government, economy and religion controlled by the counterfeit trinity – the dragon (Satan), the beast (Anti-Christ) and the false prophet. Jesus will destroy this kingdom at his second coming!
Daniel 2:44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
Revelation 11:15 The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever!
Revelation 19:19-21 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
At the close of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will make a final attempt to destroy the saints and the beloved city, Jerusalem.
Revelation 20:10 They came up over the surface of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The Devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
As Israel continues to strike her enemies, expect to see hatred grow dramatically as Satan rallies more and more useful idiots, because his time to destruction is short indeed.
Created: 2024-Aug-19
Revised: 2024-Sep-29