Author: Mike Wingfield

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2016 February – Our Judge is Coming – Part 1

PTNews – February 2016

Published 10 times annually

All Bible references are from the KJV

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

Our Judge is Coming

Part One

“Behold, the judge standeth before the door.” – James 5:9

By Mike Wingfield

[As I travel and speak in prophetic conferences, I am asked many questions about the future of our world, particularly, the future for believers in Jesus Christ. Topics that are great concerns for many Christians deal with our future resurrection and judgment. In these two newsletters, I will attempt to give Biblical answers to most of these questions that concern us. God’s Word does have answers for these questions! I encourage you to read this newsletter with the Bible in your hand. Please read the numerous Bible references cited so you you can better understand these very important truths that should change all of our lives. ]

My life is driven by preparation for the day when I will stand before my Lord and Judge, Jesus Christ. This will be the most important day in my life! When I gave my life to Him, I became His child (John 1:12), His bond-servant (Ephesians 6:5-6), and His possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, all that I do in this life since the time of my salvation will be examined by Him on my judgment day. My deeds, words, and motives will be measured against His holy standards, which are clearly revealed in the Bible. It will be the day that I give an account to my Lord, the Shepherd of my soul.

You and I will join with all of the church saints in heaven after the Rapture, and worship our Lord and joyfully proclaim: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) Oh that we all had this perspective as we live out our daily lives!

I am convinced that knowing and reflecting upon what I will share with you in these two newsletters can help to motivate you to really work at living your life in preparation for the day when you stand in judgment before Judge Jesus. Remember, on that day He will be your Lord, Savior, and Judge! To those who claim to be saved and willfully and habitually live in sin, the Bible warns: “The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31)

If you really love Jesus Christ, and He is your Lord (Master), then you will be thinking and praying about that moment when you stand before Him. When a believer saturates his mind with the Word of God, He will walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will teach him to view everything from an eternal perspective. (1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Colossians 3:1-4) The Apostle Paul modeled this for all of us. He faced many difficulties and dangers. However, he looked at all of these challenging events in light of eternity. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, the Holy Spirit caused Paul to record for us how Spirit-filled believers view the times of suffering in life: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

According to the Bible, at the center of our faith is “the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1:5) The Spirit-filled believer will not look at life here on this earth as the main focus of his faith. He will view life here as only being momentary. (1 Peter 1:13-21) The Spirit wants us to grasp the perspective that this life on earth is like the fog of a morning that quickly evaporates when the sun rises. (James 4:14) Please read Psalm 39:3-6 and Psalm 90. The godly believer should pray the prayer of King David in Psalm 39:4: “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” Psalm 90 records a prayer of Moses. He cried out to God: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Consequently, the believer should live his life in light of eternity. This is wisdom that comes from God!

The believer who practices this on a daily basis will be trained to do so because of the impact of God’s future eternal plans recorded in the prophetic Word of God. (Matthew 6:33) As he reads about the events in God’s future plans (like the 7-year tribulation and the 1,000-year kingdom of God) he will be made to think of his life here as a speck of time. In contrast to this, the ungodly are always mocking God’s prophetic Word, and are only focused upon the present fleeting moment. (See 2 Peter 3:3-4) These fools are willfully ignorant of the Word of God and the fact that God is not bound by time. (2 Peter 3:5-9) Please note that the godly men in Scripture (the Old Testament prophets, and the New Testament apostles) were directed by the Holy Spirit to write about God’s eternal plans. They were captivated by the future. Please remember that “all Scripture,” including the prophetic texts, have been given to equip us for life and ministry while here on earth. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Someone has said that the core message of the BIBLE is “basic instructions before leaving earth.” I once saw a church sign that captures this truth. It read: “This life on earth is a dressing room for eternity.”

Unfortunately, we live at a time when most church ministries and Biblical resources are exclusively focused upon the here and now. This is extremely important, but it falls short of the kind of the eternal hope that is our motivation for living the Christian life here and now! Our mission is here on this earth, but the finish line is in heaven in His presence! As we keep our eyes on Jesus, we must remember that He is “the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) Our salvation will not be complete until we have been made “like him” at His coming. (1 John 3:2) As the Apostle Paul promised the believers in the early church, we can be confident “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

The apostles and their associates continually challenged the early believers to be ready for the judgment of Christ at His coming. For example, the half-brother of our Lord, James, wrote the first N.T. book around 45 A.D. He was the faithful pastor to the Jewish church in Jerusalem. He was probably not saved until after the resurrection of our Lord. Then, he grew in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, and rose to prominence among the Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and became their pastor. His epistle is written “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” (James 1:1) After almost 15 years of faithful preaching and teaching about the imminent return of the Lord, James urged His Jewish brethren to be patient as they endured persecution and difficulties. He reminded them that they needed to focus on the coming of the Lord. It is apparent that some of the brethren were beginning to lose sight of the imminent return and consequently, conflict was brewing in the local assemblies. As a result, he reminded them: “Grudge not one against another, brethren; lest you be condemned: behold the judge stands before the door.” (James 5:9)

As the Apostle Paul neared the end of his life, in the last chapter of his last epistle, he wrote to Timothy and reminded him that the Lord Jesus Christ “shall judge the [living] and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4) Then, with a view of his life nearing its end, he said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8) It is evident from this text, that Paul finished his course and kept the faith that he received on the day of his conversion when he met Jesus Christ and was saved. It is apparent from his life and ministry, as revealed in the epistles that he wrote, that Paul was focused upon the moment he would stand in the presence of his Savior and Judge, Jesus Christ. In almost one-third of his Biblical writings, he wrote about the believer’s future and its relationship to the Second Coming of Christ. It is evident that Paul loved the precious truth about the Second Coming. Therefore, he reminded the believers that Jesus will reward those who “love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8) How sad it is that the majority of pastors and church members today have no interest in hearing about or knowing what the Scriptures have to say about the return of Christ! This is an eye-opening commentary on the true spiritual condition of the church today.

Do you love the Biblical truths about the coming of our Lord? Are you focused upon that moment when you will stand before Judge Jesus? Those who do will be driven to moral purity (1 John 3:3), and a ministry of integrity that is motivated by pleasing the Lord, not self, or man. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5) The New Testament repeatedly points to the believer’s judgment day. Let us briefly examine what the Bible has to say about our day in the future court of God. I will answer five questions about this judgment. Four of these questions will be answered in this newsletter. The final question will be considered in the March newsletter. That question will be: When will God judge us?

1. Will God Judge Everyone?

The Bible promises that every human being, both saved and unsaved, will have their day in court with God. Philippians 2:10-11 states “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, … And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The very first book in the Bible gives God the title “the Judge of all the earth.” (Genesis 18: 25)

The Bible challenges all of humanity to soberly think about this judgment day. The writer of the book of Hebrews declares: “The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31) For some professing believers, this message is too strong. They do not want to think of God in these terms. It is true that God is our Father. He is gracious and compassionate. But, at this judgment, God is not exercising His love, but His holiness. He is judging our lives by His holy standard. God’s holiness will not allow His love to override His holy standards. If He did, He would not be holy, just, and righteous! In light of this, please consider what Psalm 19:7-11 has to say about the holy Word of God. All of the underlined words are references to the Word of God: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping them there is great reward.”

2. Who will be the Judge?

When a person’s day in God’s court comes, he will stand before Jesus Christ. Jesus will be his judge. During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught that the Father has “committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:22) Several decades later, when Paul wrote to the church at Rome, he pointed back to these words of Jesus when he wrote that the day was coming “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” (Romans 2:16)

Jesus will be the judge on that day because He is the Creator, and therefore, it is only right that His creation will be judged by Him. (Colossians 1:16) Man, the crown of God’s creation, was created for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11) All life comes from Jesus. (John 1:4) Jesus testified of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Therefore, it is only right that Jesus will examine what we have done with the gift of life that He has given us.

Jesus will be our judge in God’s courtroom because as a result of His incarnation, He is both God and man. While speaking about His Father, Jesus said that the Father had “given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” (John 5:27) No one will ever be able to say to Him on that day that He does not know what it would be like to be tested and tempted as a human being. The Bible declares that during His earthly visit, Jesus experienced “the feelings of our infirmities; [and] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) When every person stands before Him, no excuse will be acceptable. As the song writer put it, “Jesus knows all about our troubles.”

Jesus is God. He knows all things. He sees all things. Nothing is hidden from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says: “Neither is there any creature that is [hidden] in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Furthermore, Psalm 90:8, states: “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”

We often think of Jesus as our Savior and High Priest. But, at His coming He will be our Judge. It is sad to think that the overwhelming majority of people who have ever lived have never know Jesus as the Savior or High Priest. They will only know Him as their Judge!

My friend, if you have never received Jesus as your Savior, then surrender your life to the One who has given you life, controls your next heartbeat, and will judge you someday. You need to turn from your sin and come to God through the cross of Jesus. Jesus said that He is “the way … no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) Jesus can save you now. But, if you die before you repent of your sins, then you are lost forever. The Bible states: “… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) You will stand before Jesus on your judgment day and cry out to Him for mercy. However, it will be too late! Remember the verse above. After your death you will not have a second chance. Why not humble yourself now and cry out to Him for His salvation? I encourage you to think about this. Most people who are already in hell probably never thought they would end up in a place of eternal damnation. Either they were deceived and were trusting in another way to heaven (Matthew 7:21-23), or they just waited too late! Please do not let that happen to you!

3. Why will God Judge us?

As mentioned already, Jesus will be our Judge because He created us. It is God’s plan that all of humanity will give an account unto Him on their judgment day. In 1 Peter 4:1-7, the Holy Spirit directed the Apostle Peter to address the sharp contrast between those who are living “according to the will of God,” and those who are following the desires of men. In this text, he explains that those who are only following their sinful desires don’t understand the believer’s godly lifestyle. The believer is the one who lives as if “the end of all things is at hand.” (verse 7) However, the unbeliever does not live his life so as to “give account to him that is ready to judge the [living] and the dead.” (verse 5)

We live in an age when evolution has been taught for several generations. Consequently, many have been deceived, and no longer believe in a literal creation as recorded in Genesis 1-2. Many others live in doubt and are not sure what they believe. Collectively, they have arrived at the conclusion that they cannot trust the Bible. God and the Bible have no place in their lives. They have conveniently, so they think, removed God from the creation. Therefore, in their thinking, they are not accountable to Him. A few seconds after their death, they will tragically come to realize that they were wrong!

4. How will God Judge us?

We now come to a very important consideration of man’s future judgment that many have never thought about. When Jesus judges every individual who has ever been conceived, how will He judge them?

The Bible is emphatically clear that on that judgment day, Jesus will examine the works (Romans 2:6; 1 Corinthians 3:8; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 20:12-13), words (Matthew 12:36-37), and will (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5) of everyone. Each person’s individual record will be examined and the evidence will determine their eternal rewards or eternal punishment.

While speaking to the church about the New Testament believer’s judgment, the Apostle Paul said: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) While using a human analogy that we can grasp, the Apostle Paul referred to the judgment of the Christian as God’s refining fire that will separate the “good” [that which is honorable before God] from that which is “bad” (the worthless deeds of the flesh). (Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-15.) In reality, the holy, fiery eyes of the Lord (Hebrews 4:13; Revelation 1:14) will consume away all that is not by God, in God, and for God.

In general, the Bible teaches four facts about the decisions of Judge Jesus on our judgment day:

A. They will be true! (Based on His holy character.)

Jesus is called “the righteous judge” (2 Timothy 4:8) because His judgment always flows out of His holiness. He is always true, righteous, and just in all of His ways. When Jesus, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation Period, Revelation 19:11 declares that “in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” During His kingdom reign, He will be the judge of all those living on earth. While speaking about His millennial kingdom, Psalm 96:13 states: “…for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” Therefore, we can rest assured that the declarations that flow from the lips of Judge Jesus will always be correct, just, and truthful. (Acts 17:31) He is “the truth.” (John 14:6) Therefore, Jesus’ decisions of judgment at our judgment will always be based upon His holy character.

B. They will be fair! (Without partiality)

When the judgment day comes, Judge Jesus will be fair! A person’s race, nationality, or social status will not matter. While writing about “the judgment of God“ (Romans 2:2), the Apostle Paul declared: “For there is no respect of persons with God.” (Romans 2:11) When the judgment of all the unsaved takes place at the end of time, “the dead, small and great, stand before God.” (Revelation 20:12) The kings, presidents, and judges of this earth will be judged alongside the poor who lived in the streets. While reminding the believers that God is holy, and demands that we practice holiness, the Apostle Peter caused them to think about their judgment day, and declared that God who is “without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.” (1 Peter 1:17)

All of this simply means that the Lord will judge each person individually on the basis of their opportunities and gifts they were given while on earth. It will be based upon our time, talents, and treasures. Most of all, it will examine what we have done with Jesus and the Bible. Jesus taught this truth when He said: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12:48)

C. They will comprehensive! (All consuming)

Jesus’ judgment will be comprehensive. He will leave nothing out! His eyes will almost instantly sweep across the spectrum of our entire lives. It will be like an all-consuming fire! (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) He will expose our secrets. (Romans 2:16) He will recall our words. (Matthew 12:36-37) He will examine our works. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15) And, He will unveil the motives of our heart. (1 Corinthians 4:5)

There is no deed so small that the Lord will overlook it. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41) Think of it! If you just give a cup of water from the heart for the glory of God to one of His servants, He will reward you for that!

I am reminded that a number of years ago at one of my conferences, I mentioned this in the morning message. That evening several glasses of water mysteriously appeared on the lectern where I was to speak. At least I knew some were listening to the Word that morning!

D. They will be predictable! (His Word is eternal.)

This point is often overlooked. The judgment of Jesus on our judgment day is very predictable. It will be based upon the eternal and unchanging Word of God. Jesus said, “… the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48) In Romans 2-3, the Apostle Paul takes all of humanity into God’s courtroom and declares: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Like a lawyer building his case by examining the evidence, Paul reminds everyone that there is coming a day “when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:16) When the sinners of all the ages are made to stand before Judge Jesus, the Bible declares that “the books [will be] opened.” (Revelation 20:12) I know of 66 books that will be opened on that day. They will be the 66 books of the Bible! Think about this! So many people amuse themselves with worldly facts and fiction, but never open a Bible.

This is why it is so important to read, study, and memorize God’s Word. We have a choice. We can look into the perfect Word of God and allow it to judge us and expose our sins so that we confess them. Or, we can ignore the Word of God and wait for it to judge us on our judgment day! (Read James 1:19-25.) I have chosen to be serious about allowing God’s Word to judge me now, rather than waiting until later. We must allow the living holy Word of God to be grafted into our lives. (James 1:21)

Next month, I will answer the fifth question in this article: When will God judge us? In the next newsletter many questions will be answered about the timing of the resurrections and judgments. In the mean-time, “Get ready for the shout that will take us out!”

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2016 January – The Jewish Spiritual Awakening

article linkPublished 10 times annually

Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

The Jewish Spiritual Awakening

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Delieverer,and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” – Romans 11:26

By Mike Wingfield

As 2016 begins, it is very evident that our world is being uniquely prepared for the return of our Lord for His church, and the subsequent events of the Tribulation Period. The Scriptures are filled with detailed descriptions of this unique and unprecedented period of time. The prophetic Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, highlight the spiritual, political, economic, moral, climactic, and geological trends that will unfold during the day of the Lord.

Our world is rapidly moving toward a major military conflict that will engulf all of the nations, ultimately leading to Armageddon. ISIS is exporting its brutal savagery from the Middle East into Europe and the United States, while declaring that they are establishing a global Islamic empire controlled by the law of the Koran. Iran continues to threaten the destruction of Israel, to chant death to America, and to plan to dominate the Middle East as it develops weapons of mass destruction. All of this is a part of their strategy to create a global Islamic empire. A dangerous Islamic regime is developing in Turkey that is aligning itself with more militant Shiite Islamic elements in the Middle East. Just like ISIS and Iran, these elements in Turkey have the ambition of creating a global Islamic government. Saudi Arabia and Iran seem to be moving toward a major conflict, raising tensions in the Persian Gulf. Russia continues to strive for more global power as it rattles the sabers of war in the Ukraine and Syria, while joining forces with militant Islamic nations in the Middle East. The leadership of North Korea continues to spew out dangerous rhetoric, threatening to annihilate the United States. As all of this unfolds, it is obvious that, in general, our world is becoming a more dangerous place to live. A spirit of lawlessness, hatred, and violence is escalating out of control.

The Scriptures indicate that shortly after the Tribulation Period begins, one-fourth of the world’s population will be killed in hellish attacks by those who love violence and death. (Revelation 6:8) As we witness Islamic jihadists’

efforts around the globe, we can begin to understand how all of this will unfold. We live at a time when the West is protecting and promoting Islam. When the Islamic Antichrist arrives, they will worship him. (Revelation 13:8)

All of this global anarchy is being promoted and welcomed by the world’s evil political systems that want to seize the moment of fear and confusion so that they can exercise their power over the nations to their own end. The communists, socialists, and Muslims have cast their political lots together, with the hope that the old world order can be replaced by a New World Order of their choosing. It is my opinion that this political marriage will form the fragile but dangerous regime of the Antichrist. (Revelation 17:12-13) It is not an accident that the President of the United States is promoting a socialist agenda, while protecting the global image of Islam.

Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Argentina, and Puerto Rico are all on the brink of economic collapse. Other major global economic players, like China and the U.S., are facing serious economic stress that signals dangerous and unpredictable days are ahead. The U.S federal debt is at more than $19 trillion, while our total debt is more than $100 trillion. With such spiraling debt, this could be the year that the default of the U.S. government takes place. The Scriptures indicate that the Tribulation Period will begin with a time of hyper-inflation. (Revelation 6:6)

While we are bewildered by all of this, we are furthermore stunned by the moral madness of our world. Pornography, prostitution, sex-slavery, homosexuality, lesbianism, and bestiality are all being embraced by the global population. All of this is accompanied by a total disregard for marriage and the sanctity of the home. The moral foundation of life has crumbled before our eyes. All of these are signs of a global culture that has departed from God and has passed the spiritual point of no return. (Romans 1:18-32)

While these horrific trends catapult our world deeper into an age of spiritual darkness, it is refreshing to turn to another very significant sign that also indicates that we have arrived at the end of this age. Perhaps one of the most relevant and exciting signs of the end times is the spiritual awakening that is beginning to take place within Jewish circles.

Anyone who has studied the history of the church knows that since the first century, the Jewish people have adamantly rejected the gospel and refused to even consider that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior. However, all of this is about to end! According to the New Testament, the end of this age will begin with an end to Jewish spiritual blindness. (Romans 11:25)

We must recognize that salvation is not a matter of the exercise of the human will alone. Without the preliminary work of the Holy Spirit before the moment of conversion, salvation is totally impossible. Romans 3:11 states: “there is none that seeketh after God.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 declares that no one can call Jesus Christ Lord, unless the Holy Spirit has done His work to lead the sinner to faith in Christ.

The Scriptures indicate that a majority of Jewish people are currently in a state of spiritual blindness. (Romans 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:13-16) This state of spiritual blindness will continue “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25) This simply means, when the Lord’s divine completion of the predominately Gentile church is complete, He will return to His promise to enlighten a remnant of His chosen people, Israel. Eventually, all of living Israel will be saved. (Ezekiel 36:25-32; Zechariah 12:10-13:9; Romans 11:26)

When the final 7 years of this age begins, it will feature the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in history! (Joel 2:28-32) On the very first day of the Tribulation Period, the Lord will send two very special Jewish witnesses. (Malachi 4:4-6; Revelation 11:3-6) Without question, these two witnesses will proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and call the nation of Israel to repentance. Notice that after their deaths at the mid-point of the Tribulation by the forces of the Antichrist, their disciples “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17)

According to Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5, some of the disciples of these two witnesses will be 144,000 young Jewish men. They, along with tens of thousands of other Jewish people, will come to realize that Jesus is their Messiah and Savior. (Joel 2:28-32) It is amazing to read Joel’s prophecy and note that the salvation of the Jewish people will be accompanied by dreams and visions. (Joel 2:28) As you read this, we are hearing amazing testimonies of thousands of Muslims in the Middle East, who are having dreams and visions of Jesus, and after hearing the gospel, they are being saved. Many of these converts have already been martyred by ISIS, while many others are suffering persecution as they share the gospel with their Muslim families and friends. Will these visions and dreams begin to happen in Israel with the Jewish people? Is this the same kind of dreams and visions mentioned by the prophet Joel? Only time will tell!

The spiritual awakening that will take place in Jewish hearts and minds at the beginning of the Tribulation Period is unprecedented! There were only 3,000 people saved on the day of Pentecost (they were all Jews). (Acts 2:41) This will be supernaturally dwarfed by the amazing conversion of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses — 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. (Revelation 7:1-8) These young Jewish converts are called “the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:4) This indicates they will be some of the first Jewish people to be saved at the beginning of the Tribulation Period. So, like on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, their conversions will take place in a very short period of time. We cannot begin to imagine the impact this will have on Jewish people in Israel and around the world!

In light of this, we are witnessing a great movement in Jewish circles that is preparing for this spiritual awakening. In December, Israel Today reported: “More than 25 prominent rabbis from Israel and abroad recently issued a statement calling for a renewed look at Jesus, Christians and the New Testament faith. Quoting from their own sages, these outstanding Orthodox rabbis are not ashamed to exalt the name of Jesus, welcoming the carpenter from Nazareth back into the Jewish fold. … What we are now witnessing is the undoing of 2,000 years of Jewish rejection and animosity towards Jesus, a miracle by any estimation. For the out-and-out refusal by Jews to accept Jesus is slowly, but surely, coming to an end, as growing numbers of prestigious Orthodox rabbis welcome Jesus back.” (www.israeltoday.co.il, December 24, 2015)

Friends, this has NEVER happened before. As expected, this announcement by several Orthodox Jewish rabbis has caused a great stir of opposition in Israel. This is to be expected. However, when Moses and Elijah, the two witnesses who will appear at the beginning of the Tribulation, confront this opposition, it will melt like a snowball in July! Regardless of this opposition, this announcement signals that a great Jewish awakening is approaching! I am absolutely convinced that the Rapture of the church is upon us. I hope that you are ready, and know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

As we come to the end of this age, I am appalled at the attitude that so-called Christians have toward Israel and the Jewish people. With a very heavy heart of shame, I need to remind you that during the last 19 centuries, the church has divorced itself from the very doctrinal foundation of the true church. Most of the church in this 21st century is not practicing true Biblical Christianity!

The early church began in Jerusalem, with Jewish believers, following Jewish apostles, and worshipping a Jewish Messiah and Savior. For the first couple of decades of church history, the church was distinctly Jewish. The Jewish believers’ meetings took place in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Acts 2:46; 3:11; 5:12, 42) and the many synagogues in Israel and throughout the ancient world. (Acts 9:2) For the first few decades, the early church proclaimed and taught the only Scriptures they had, the Old Testament. The first New Testament book, James, was not written until 45 A.D., 15 years after the church began. The New Testament was written by Jewish apostles and their associates to a predominately Jewish audience.

You might ask, “Does this really matter to us?” Absolutely! We, as members of the true body of Christ, have been commanded to follow the doctrine of the early church, which is the doctrine of the Jewish apostles. (1 Timothy 1:3; 4:13-16; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:1-2) This doctrine is the body of what we call “The New Testament.”

Salvation has come to the world through the Jewish people. Jesus said, “Salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22) Through them, we have received our eternal Savior, the sacred Scriptures (Romans 3:2), a godly heritage, and abiding faith! (Hebrews 11:8-12:1)

The Christian faith is a Jewish faith! The true church is a body of saved Jews and Gentiles that are members of one body that has a Jewish foundation and cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:14-22) Using the analogy of God’s work as an olive tree, Gentiles (as wild olive branches) have been supernaturally grafted onto a Jewish tree with Jewish roots. (Romans 11:16-18)

This simply means that when we study our Bibles and worship our Lord, we should do this with Jewish eyes and a Jewish heart! Jesus called the Jewish people “my brethren.” (Matthew 25:40) He said that whatever we do to them is a manifestation of what we are doing as unto Him. (Matthew 25:31-40)

The church is to have a missions and evangelism effort that is to be “to the Jew first.” (Romans 1:16) It is God’s desire that the faith of the predominately Gentile church would provoke Israel “to jealousy.” (Romans 11:11)

For 19 centuries there has been a sharp division between the church and the Jewish people. Many Gentiles in the church have falsely accused the Jews of being “Christ killers.” It is true that the Jewish people of the 1st century rejected Christ, and called for His death. However, we must remember what Jesus said before His crucifixion: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself…” (John 10:17-18) According to the prophet Isaiah, Jesus was “smitten of God.” (Isaiah 53:4) It was the Father who “bruised him; … put him to grief: …[and made] his soul an offering for sin.” (Isaiah 53:10) While understanding all of this, on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Apostle Peter looked into the eyes of His fellow Jewish brethren and said: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain…” (Acts 2:22-23)

In light of these Scriptures, it should be observed that the apostles of the New Testament NEVER viewed the Jewish rejection of Jesus as a means whereby the Father would reject the Jewish people and replace Israel with the church. In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul was directed by the Holy Spirit to record, under divine inspiration, the answer to this question that was being asked only a few decades after the beginning of the church. Read his answer in Romans 9-11. Paul’s conclusion is that the beginning of the church, which included Gentiles, was not the end of God’s covenant with Israel. Furthermore, He warned the Gentile believers about their arrogant attitude toward Israel. In Romans 11:18-25, he admonished the Gentile church to not “boast” against the Jews, thinking that God is done with the sons of Jacob, believing the church is separate from Israel in their standing before God. He further reminded the Gentile church that their faith was still grounded in the Jewish roots of His unconditional covenant with Israel. Later, Paul admonished the Gentile believers to not be willingly uninformed about God’s future plans for Israel. Furthermore, He warned them to not “be wise in your own conceits.”

In spite of these Scriptures, very influential Gentile leaders in the early church taught that God was finished with Israel and that the church had replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. Unfortunately, this false teaching became the prevalent view and has been taught in most Christian circles for 19 centuries. Today, this false doctrine is called “Replacement Theology.”

Replacement Theology is the major view in both Catholic and Protestant churches here in America. Those who hold this view (like Rick Warren and Joel Olsten), have been guilty of twisting the Scriptures to reject Israel. In effect, they have attempted to create a non-Jewish faith. This is not the faith of the New Testament!

All those who adopt this view have a major problem understanding Biblical prophecy. Obviously, if their view is correct, there can be no future prophecies that relate to Israel or the Jewish people. Therefore, they are forced to do two things: Minimize prophecy and ignore it, and adopt an allegorical interpretation of all Scriptures that do not support their view. This is not only tragic; it is dangerous! Those who love and respect the Lord, must approach all of His Word with a sense of awe, integrity, and honor. We should never attempt to force the Word of God to fit our world view. We must humbly accept the reality that we do not think like God! And, that is putting it mildly!! In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Lord says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and thoughts than your thoughts.”

Another evidence of the prevalence of Replacement Theology in American churches is the growing movement in Christian circles to support the Palestinian cause of creating a Muslim state on the “West Bank,” the very heartland of the territory promised to the Jewish people forever! (Genesis 13:14-15) These same Christians also support the economic sanctions on all Jewish products from the “West Bank.” They also believe and adopt the lies that are being circulated about Israel. In reality, those who believe in and promote the applications of Replacement Theology are blindly supporting the spirit of Antichrist. They are in direct opposition to the will and work of God in our world today!

As New Testament believers, we do not have the liberty to change or challenge the teachings of the Apostles. The Scriptures are the very foundation of our faith. We are exhorted to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3) Sadly, we live at a time when most church leaders are attempting to reinvent the church. We are living in days of great apostasy and spiritual confusion. (1 Timothy 4:1-2) Furthermore, the people in the pews are Biblically illiterate and are being swept along in the floods of deception.

It is very clear from the prophetic Scriptures, and the growth of the modern nation of Israel, that God is not done with His people. After all of the living church saints have been raptured, the Lord will revive His unique plans for the Jewish people. The spiritual implications of both the Tribulation Period and the kingdom are distinctly Jewish. During the Tribulation Period, salvation and deliverance shall go forth from Jerusalem. (Joel 2:32) During the kingdom, “out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) Then, the Gentile nations will respect and admire the Jewish people and bless them. (Isaiah 60:3-17; 62:1-4, 12)

It is obvious to me that we are now witnessing the beginning of a powerful movement of the Spirit of God in the global Jewish community. As the church observes this, what should be our reaction? What does the Holy Spirit want us to do at this hour?

We should fulfill our mission to make the Jewish people jealous of the Jewish faith that is in our hearts. (Romans 11:11) We should love them and pray that their spiritual eyes will be opened to the gospel. We need to make our evangelism efforts “to the Jew first.” (Romans 1:16) We need to pray for the Messianic pastors and congregations in Israel and around the world. We need to check our attitudes about Jewish people. We need to honor them, and thank them for the part they have had in providing us with our faith.

Christians should prayerfully and financially support the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. We should pray that the Jewish people will occupy all of Jerusalem and the Promised Land. Only those who promote the spirit of antichrist will support the division of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. This is what the Antichrist will do. (Daniel 11:39) The division of the Promised Land will be the divine reason for Armageddon. (Joel 3:2)

We need to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6) We need to pray that the Lord will deliver Israel from its enemies. We must recognize that the nation of Israel is on the front lines of the war between heaven and hell. Satan hates Israel and wants to destroy this fulfillment of the ancient Biblical prophecies. Israel’s war is a war against an apocalyptic Islam that wants to conquer the entire world. Those who stand with God should pray that the Lord will deliver Israel from the Islamic hordes that love war, violence, deception, and death.

According to the Bible, the redemption of the world is bound up in Israel! If Israel is destroyed, the Word of the Lord is not true! God will have failed! Satan will have won! And, our faith would be null and void!!

Praise the Lord, we know this is not true. The preservation of Israel is bound up in the eternal, unchanging, and faithful power of God! (Psalm 121) The Lord has declared: “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

Israel is Returning to “the Land of their Fathers”

The Palestinians, and many others in the world, reject the record of the Scriptures, and claim that the Jewish people never inhabited the land of Israel or the city of Jerusalem before modern times. For those of us who claim that the Bible is our final authority in all matters, we do not need any other proof. However, we live in incredible times when the historical record of the Bible is being verified by archeological findings in Israel almost every week.

For example, most Biblical scholars agree that Daniel’s prophecy about a very powerful Hellenistic Greek king who would destroy the temple and stop the sacrifices, was the historical leader known as Antiochus Epiphanes. There never was any scientific proof to indicate that this powerful Greek leader was ever in Jerusalem. However, that all changed a few months ago. Archeologists at the site of the ancient city of David, have uncovered a military garrison that was built by Antiochus Epiphanes. They found lead slingshots, bronze arrowheads, and ballista stones stamped with a trident, “which symbolized the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes.” (The International Jerusalem Post, December 11-17, 2015, p. 7) A tourist group that I led this past November was able to see and photograph this military garrison.

Following this, a more amazing archeological discovery took place closer to the site of the ancient Jewish Temple Mount. On December 2, Israeli archeologists announced they had uncovered the royal seal of King Hezekiah, who reigned in Jerusalem over 2,700 years ago (727-698 B.C.).
Around the impression on this seal was an inscription in ancient Hebrew, stating: “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah.” The impression contained “a two-winged sun with wings turned downward, flanked by two ankh symbols serving as emblems of life.” (The International Jerusalem Post, December 11-17, 2015, p. 13) It is believed that Hezekiah added these emblems to his royal seal when his life was extended by God after he discovered he had a life-threatening disease. God caused the sun to go backwards by ten degrees to give Hezekiah a sign that he would be healed. (2 Kings 20:1-11) Therefore, this seal (pictured below) symbolically depicted Hezekiah’s extended life and the sun going
backwards as a proof of God’s promise. Think about this! The Lord has allowed us to see a piece of historical proof that one of the greatest questioned miracles in the Bible did take place, and was recognized on the royal seal of the king of Judah!

16-1 news- Jewish Awakening seal

Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that the Lord would return His people “to the land that I gave to their fathers and they shall posses it.” (Jeremiah 30:3) The Lord has kept His promise. The Jewish people are returning to the land of their fathers. And, no one is going to successfully remove them from Jerusalem or their land. It is settled in heaven.

The record of all of this has been preserved in the written Word of God and on the historical artifacts being unearthed in the land of the Bible. Only fools deny these realities and question the God of truth!

Muslim Sheikh Claims Islam is the Protector of Jews

A few weeks ago, a Yale University Professor, Sheikh Omer Salem, a PhD graduate of Al Azhar University in Cairo, visited Israel and spoke at Haifa University. According to Israel Today, Sheikh Salem believes that the Koran teaches that the Jews have the right to their land, even the Temple Mount. He believes that when Islam rules the world in the future, as in the past, they should be the protector of Jews.

He told his Israeli audience that eventually Allah would give the Jewish people their Temple Mount. He said: “You will get the Temple Mount, but that needs to happen in stages. Muslims will agree to remove the mosque, but it must be initiated by the Muslims. If Jews try to do it there will be great bloodshed. When it [the removal of the mosque] will happen it will be a gift from Allah. He is the one who will turn the hearts of the Muslims.” (www.israeltoday.co.il)

This is exactly what I believe the Scriptures teach. The Antichrist will establish a false peace covenant with Israel, marking the beginning the Tribulation Period. (Daniel 9:27) He will promise the protection of Israel and allow them to rebuild their Jewish temple on the Temple Mount. Isn’t it amazing that Sheikh Salem has told Israel to expect this?

After the Antichrist has successfully conquered the world, he will break his covenant with Israel and invade the Temple Mount, halting Jewish worship. (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15-22; 2 Thessalonians 2:4) The stage is set! Get ready for the shout that will take us out!

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2015 November/December – Jesus is a Jew

Jesus is a Jew

“I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star”  

– Revelation 22:16

By Mike Wingfield

A few weeks ago, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of our president, openly declared at a massive gathering in Washington D.C. that Jesus was a “Palestinian.” This is nothing new! For several years, the Palestinian leadership, while speaking to Christian tourists in Manger Square in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, has declared that Jesus was a Palestinian freedom fighter. Those who know the Word of God realize this is an absolute lie!

We are living at a time when the world rejects the truth about the Biblical Jesus. Many people have created their own version of Jesus. We live in a culture with a secular, consumer-oriented mindset that celebrates diversity instead of truth. Thus, it is very attractive for people to create a Jesus that meets their needs and desires. This mindset is expressed in a very popular contemporary song we hear at Christmas, entitled “Some Children See Him.” The lyrics are: “Some children see Him lily white, the baby Jesus born that night. Some children see Him bronzed and brown, the Lord of heaven to earth come down. Some children see Him almond-eyed, this Savior whom we kneel beside. Some children see Him as dark as they, sweet Mary’s Son, to whom we pray. …” This is not a song that true believers should sing or celebrate. Clearly, the Biblical Jesus is not everything to everybody in every culture. He is the sinless and eternal incarnate God-Man, who must be identified as the Jewish Lamb of God!

The denial of Jesus’ Jewish incarnation is part of a very devious and rapidly growing global movement aimed at destroying Biblical Christianity. This movement is motivated by a hatred for the Jewish people in general and the nation of Israel in particular.

This hatred of Jews and Israel has always existed within certain strains of the professing church. The denial of Jesus’ Jewishness is the ultimate extension of the dangerous doctrine of “Replacement Theology,” which teaches that God has permanently divorced the Jewish people as His chosen people. Those who proclaim this message say the church has replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. This teaching is a part of the dangerous apostasy of the last days. It has permeated churches in America. It is reported that approximately 67 percent of the pastors in the U.S. are teaching this! Therefore, it is very important that we know what the Bible teaches and are able to expose this lie about our Lord and Savior. What we think and believe about Jesus is at the very heart and foundation of our faith.

As we begin to examine the evidence that Jesus is a Jew, we must not forget the context of the entire Bible. The Bible is a divine revelation by the Holy One of Israel, given through the prophets and apostles of Israel. Many of the names of the God of the Bible directly connect Him with the Jewish people. The message about the Messiah and Redeemer of the Bible is immersed in the land, history, customs, and language of the Jewish people. Jesus declared to the Samaritan woman at the well: “Salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:22) Therefore, the attempt to alter the Jewish identity of Jesus ignores the very divine fabric of the sovereign plan of God for all of mankind.

Let us begin to examine the Biblical evidence of the Jewish identity of Jesus. I pray that this brief overview of this Biblical truth will strengthen your faith and enable you to defend the truth about our Savior. As we shall discover, to err on this truth leads to dangerous and deadly consequences.

His Past: Jesus’ Incarnation and Earthly Ministry as a Jew

The New Testament begins with a clear statement about the Jewish identity of Jesus. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) The Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Matthew to begin the New Testament with the genealogy of Jesus Christ through His legal father, Joseph. Matthew 1:1-17 traces the ancestry of Joseph through King David to Abraham. It is absolutely necessary to demonstrate that Jesus has the legal right to the throne of David. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) If Jesus is not a Jewish descendent of King David, then He could not be the Messiah and rule over Israel during the future millennial kingdom! (Luke 1:31-33) Obviously, this is a major teaching of the Scriptures. Not only is Jesus the legal descendent of King David, but through His mother, Mary, He is also a physical descendent of King David. Luke 3:12-38 traces the physical ancestry of Mary through King David and Abraham to Adam. Therefore, it is biblically indisputable that Jesus was legally and physically born a Jew.

Jesus’ godly parents raised Jesus under the law of Moses and followed all of the Jewish traditions and customs of their day. Jesus was circumcised according to the law on the eighth day. (Leviticus 12:1-3; Luke 2:21) He was redeemed with the payment of five shekels according to the Jewish law. (Numbers 18:15-16; Luke 2:22-23) Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to Jerusalem every year to keep the feast of the Passover. (Luke 2:41) The account of Jesus sitting with the experts of the law at the temple when He was only 12, certainly illustrates that He was diligently schooled in the Old Testament Scriptures. Luke 2:47 states “And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”

All of Jesus’ names and titles are Jewish. The angel told Joseph that the baby Mary was to deliver was to be called “JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) The name “Jesus” was a common Jewish name, the same as the Old Testament name of Joshua.

Hundreds of times in the New Testament, the name Jesus is accompanied by the title “Christ.” The Greek word (the language of the original New Testament) “Christ” is the translation of the Hebrew word (the original language of the Old Testament) “Messiah,” which means “anointed one.” Literally, the name Jesus Christ means “Jesus the Messiah.” Obviously, in the larger context of the Bible, it is understood that Jesus was recognized by the New Testament writers as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. Therefore, when a person refers to Jesus as Christ, they are openly recognizing that Jesus is a Jew.

Jesus was also called “the King of the Jews” (John 19:19), “the King of Israel” (John 12:13), “the son of David” (Mark 10:47), “the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1), “Rabbi” (John 3:2), and “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 19:19). All of these titles indicate that Jesus was a Jew.

Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Jewish Messiah and the God of Israel in the Old Testament. While speaking to a Jewish audience in John 8, Jesus declared that He lived at the time of Abraham. He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) Many times in His earthly ministry Jesus said “I am…” Jesus knew that His people would connect these “I am” statements to the appearance of God to Moses at the burning bush, when He identified Himself as the “I AM THAT I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) In the very next verse, God instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel that the “I AM” is “The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:15) Therefore, in all of His “I am” statements, Jesus was claiming to be the eternal God of Israel that revealed Himself to Moses and to Abraham. Jesus taught His followers that He was the direct and literal fulfillment of all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. (Luke 24:26-27, 44-47)

The New Testament teaches that Jesus is the redemptive fulfillment of all of the Jewish sacrifices in the Old Testament. (Hebrews 9:11-10:14) Most perfectly, He is the ultimate Passover Lamb. (Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 5:7) When Jesus was introduced to His generation at His baptism, John said: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Throughout the book of Revelation, Jesus is called “the Lamb.” (Revelation 5:6, 12, 13; 7:9; 12:11; 14:4; 19:7, 9; 21:14, 22-23, 27; 22:3) Certainly, this unique title of Jesus within the context of the Bible speaks of His Jewish identity.

According to the gospels, Jesus practiced and taught about the Jewish customs in His time, and kept the Biblical traditions of His day. He observed the Feasts of Israel and visited the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem frequently.
[Click here to view the picture]

www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/09/christianity-judaism

This artist’s portrayal of what Jesus may have looked like is probably more accurate than the more famous images that in many ways deny or ignore Jesus’ Jewish identity.

Jesus’ earthly ministry was distinctly Jewish. Some people think that because Jesus is the cornerstone of the church (Ephesians 2:20) that His ministry was a Christian ministry. Therefore, they conclude that He was a Christian, not a Jew. However, we must remember that Jesus always spoke of the church in the future tense (Matthew 16:18) because the church was not born until the Feast of Pentecost after Jesus had ascended back to heaven. (Acts 2) Jesus never preached in a church. He preached in Jewish synagogues throughout Israel. (Mark 1:39) Furthermore, it is a mistake to think that a Jew cannot be a Christian. All of the early church believers from Acts 1-9 were Jewish. A Jew is a person who has a physical ancestry that is traced back to one of the 12 tribes of Israel. However, a Christian is a person who has spiritually entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Spiritual salvation is “of the Jews.” (John 4:22) The gospel of Christ is the “power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first.” (Romans 1:16) Therefore, while Jesus is the cornerstone of the church, and the church is built upon Him, in the strictest sense, Jesus was not a Christian, but a Jew. As explained by the Apostle Paul, the life of the church comes from its Jewish roots in Jesus Christ and the Jewish Scriptures. (Romans 11:11-24)

All of Jesus’ associates in His ministry were Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. (Mark 1:16-20) His audience was almost exclusively Jewish. (Matthew 10:5-6) His opponents were the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 22:15-40) His message consisted of an offer of the kingdom of God to Israel. (Matthew 10:7; Luke 8:1) While identifying with the Jewish law and prophets, and proclaiming a kingdom message, Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah in His transfiguration. (Luke 9:28-36)

Furthermore, Jesus’ earthly ministry took place within the land of Israel. He was born in Bethlehem, and grew up in Nazareth. He was tempted in the Judean wilderness. Jesus’ ministry was centered in Galilee. He fulfilled many prophecies about Himself in Jerusalem. He preached in Israel’s cities and villages. He visited Jacob’s well at Sychar. He performed miracles throughout Israel. He was buried in a Jewish tomb, and ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. Jesus was recognized as a Jew by His historical contemporaries. The Jewish people called Jesus rabbi, the Son of David, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Galilee, a prophet of Israel, and Messiah. All of these names and titles would clearly mark Him as a Jew. When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water from Jacob’s well at Sychar, she responded: “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” (John 4:9)

During His ministry, Jesus identified with the Jewish people, calling them “my brethren.” (Matthew 25:40; 28:10) Those who hate Jews should remember that Jesus is Jewish and that the Jewish people are His people. Those who hate or harm the Jewish people are touching “the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:8)

His Present: Jesus is the Jewish God-Man in Heaven

The same Jesus who appeared to the disciples as the resurrected Jewish Messiah, is the same Jesus who is in heaven today. Several years after the ascension, Jesus spoke to Saul (who later became the Apostle Paul) on the road to Damascus in the language of the Jews, Hebrew. (Acts 26:14) Today, Jesus functions as our Jewish High Priest in heaven. Hebrews 2:16-17 declares: “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” In Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” Therefore, we must conclude that Jesus is the eternally glorified Jewish God-Man in heaven. His Jewish robe of flesh that He began to wear during His earthly incarnation will continue to be the nature of His divine revelation in His state of eternal glorification. This was certainly the declared truth of the two angels to the disciples on the Mount of Olives at Jesus’ ascension to heaven. They said: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

His Future: Jesus will return to earth as the Jewish King of Kings

When Jesus bodily returns to this earth in His awesome revelation at the end of the Tribulation Period, He will have the same resurrected body that He ascended to heaven with almost two thousand years ago. The ancient prophet of Zechariah wrote that when Jesus returns, His people will mourn when they recognize that their Messiah is the One that was crucified outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem in 30 A.D. Zechariah wrote: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. … And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 12:10; 13:6)

When Jesus returns as the Jewish “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16), He will return first to the Mount of Olives. (Zechariah 14:4) He will judge the surviving Gentile nations on the basis of how they have treated His Jewish brethren. (Matthew 25:40) He will establish His kingdom of peace upon all of the earth, ruling from the “holy hill of Zion.” (Psalm 2:6) As promised to His apostles in the Upper Room at His last Passover, He will once again celebrate the Passover with all of the redeemed nation of Israel in Jerusalem. (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18) It is emphatically clear from Scripture that the kingdom over which Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, will reign will be a Jewish kingdom. (Isaiah 2:1-5; 60:1-22; Zechariah 14:16-21)

Why is all of this so relevant and significant to our faith? According to the gospel, our faith is firmly anchored in the person of the biblical Jesus! Our faith must be grounded in the historical Jesus whom the apostles portrayed in the gospels. To change anything about His spiritual or physical identity as determined by the eternal “counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23), is to reject the Lamb of God! Rejecting God’s Lamb is the same as rejecting God’s salvation. They are one and the same. Jesus said to His Jewish disciples as they celebrated the Passover, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Contrary to what many believe, God has not divorced the Jewish people from His calling as a people set apart unto Himself for His eternal purposes. The Lord said to Israel through His servant Moses: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people. But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he hath sworn unto your fathers…“ (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) God’s choice of Israel as His chosen people is not based upon their performance, but upon His unconditional promises and unchanging character. It is not based upon Israel’s accomplishments, but God’s faithfulness. At the end of the Old Testament, even after all of Israel’s rebellion against Him, the Lord declared: “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

God’s blessings upon the nation of Israel in the last days is not because of their faithfulness to Him. Concerning the last days and the supernatural return of the Jewish people back to the land of Israel, Ezekiel wrote: “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes; O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.” (Ezekiel 36:22)

The question of God’s divorcement of Israel was being considered in the early days of the Church Age. When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the church at Rome in 56 A.D., he was directed by the Holy Spirit to deal with this matter. He wrote: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2) Later in this same chapter, Paul explained that the very spiritual life of the predominately Gentile church flows out of believing Israel. Using the analogy of Israel as a domesticated olive tree and the Gentiles as a wild olive tree, Paul explains that the Gentile believers in Jesus Christ have been grafted into the Jewish faith, both of which have the same Jewish roots. (Romans 11:11-24) The predominately Gentile church enjoys the life and fruit of God because of its connection to the Jewish roots of faith. (Romans 11:18) This text explains that the Gentile church has not replaced the Jewish salvation through a Jewish Savior and a Jewish revelation, the Word of God. Believing Gentiles have been grafted in, but the Jewish roots have not been altered! To take away the Jewish identity of Jesus is to kill the Jewish roots and would thus kill the true church which receives its life from the Jewish roots.

Therefore, anyone who willfully rejects the Jewish identity of Jesus and hates the Jewish people has been deceived and is in opposition to God. According to Psalm 83:2-4, those who hate Israel also hate God and are the enemies of God. The rejection of a Jewish Jesus and the hatred for Israel are one and the same! This fact is illustrated in the life of Adolf Hitler. On April 12, 1922, Hitler said: “My feelings as a Christian point me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God’s truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. Today, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before in the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross.”

Hitler arrived at his conclusions because of the writings of a German pastor, Martin Luther. While Martin Luther was instrumental in bringing about the reformation, he failed to fully grasp the entire revelation of God. Unfortunately, Luther was trapped in the false teachings of Replacement Theology that had preceded him in Catholicism. His anti-Semitic writings and statements clearly illustrate this. His anti-Semitic teachings ultimately led Hitler and the Germans to brutally murder one-half of the world’s Jewish population in the Holocaust.
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A member of Westboro Baptist Church during a public rally

The statements of Jesus (Matthew 10:22; 24:9), and the context of the prophetic Scriptures (Revelation 12) indicate that at the end of this age there will be a great revival of hatred for Jews and for Israel. At this very hour we are witnessing an incredible resurgence of hatred being directed toward the Jewish population in Israel. Even here in the United States, anti-Semitism is growing out of control. As in Nazi Germany, this movement toward socialism and a godless agenda is being fueled by a professing church that rejects a Jewish Jesus and openly adopts replacement theology. These parallels are very frightening!

We continue to hear that the fastest growing religion in the world and in America is Islam. Islam teaches that Jesus was not Jewish, but is a Muslim. They believe that when their Islamic messiah arrives he will be accompanied by Jesus, who they say will destroy churches, break crosses, and kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. Obviously, underlining all of this is the Islamic hatred for Israel and the Jewish people. The most dangerous and venomous hatred for Israel and the Jews is propagated within Islamic circles around the world. The reason Islam is growing so rapidly around the world is because it proclaims a message that the godless world wants to hear and mimic. A part of that attractive message is a hatred for Jews, Israel, and the church.

The war that ISIS is waging in the Middle East is based upon their view of a Muslim Jesus, which is traced back to the teachings and lifestyle of their founding prophet, Mohammed. This is why ISIS is decapitating and crucifying Christians. ISIS continues to state that their ultimate goal is to capture Jerusalem and kill all of the Jews in Israel. This is exactly what the Antichrist and his armies will do on a global scale during the Tribulation Period.

My friend, I hope that you are beginning to see how dangerous and deadly it is to deny that Jesus is a Jew. On the surface it may appear that this is not a serious matter. However, to deny the Jewish identity of Jesus is to unravel the very divine fabric of the Word of God. God’s eternal choice of the Jewish people covers the entire Bible from Genesis 12 to the last chapters of the Bible in the book of Revelation. As a matter of fact, the eternal city in which we will dwell forever is called the “new Jerusalem.” (Revelation 21:2) This city will have 12 gates, on which will be written “the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” (Revelation 21:12) And, the 12 walls of the city will contain “the names of the twelve [Jewish] apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:14)

I wish to conclude this article with a quote from biblicalaracheology.org: “To wrench Jesus out of his Jewish world destroys Jesus and destroys Christianity, the religion that grew out of his teachings. Even Jesus’ most familiar role as Christ is a Jewish role. If Christians leave the concrete realities of Jesus’ life and of the history of Israel in favor of a mythic, universal, spiritual Jesus and an otherworldly kingdom of God, they deny their origins in Israel, their history, and the God who has loved and protected Israel and the church. They cease to interpret the actual Jesus sent by God and remake him in their own image and likeness. The dangers are obvious. If Christians violently wrench Jesus out of his natural, ethnic and historical place within the people of Israel, they open the way to doing equal violence to Israel, the place and people of Jesus. This is a lesson of history that haunts us all [as we begin the 21st century].” (www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/was-jesus-a-jew)

Major Oil Discovery in Israel

Several news sources are reporting that a major oil deposit has been discovered by Israel on the Golan Heights near the border with Syria. Those who have completed this exploration indicate that the size of this oil pocket will make Israel energy independent for several years. All of this follows the discovery of massive natural gas deposits off the coast of Israel in the last few years.

These reports are significant because they illustrate that Israel is becoming a major economic player in the Middle East. According to Ezekiel 38:12-13, the nations of the Middle East will join Russia in a war to seize Israel’s wealth. With the military forces of Russia and Iran gathering in Syria to fight against the Sunni radicals that are attempting to overthrow the Syrian government, and this discovery of oil, just a few miles away on the Golan Heights, all of this could be setting the stage for the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel. “Sputnik News, an international news agency wholly owned and operated by the Russian government, is already claiming that the oil belongs to Syria. ‘The oil deposit lies in the Golan Heights, which is internationally recognized as Syrian territory but has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war between Israel and Arab states.’” (www.breakingisraelnews.com)

Jewish Immigration up by 35 percent

One of the most frequent prophetic promises in the Bible is the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland- Israel in the last days. The Lord has declared: “I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.” (Jeremiah 30:3) Israel’s population now stands at 8.4 million, of which 6.3 (74.9 percent) are Jewish. In the last Jewish year there was a 35 percent increase in Jewish immigration to Israel over previous years. Most of these Jewish people came from Ukraine (26 percent), France (25 percent), Russia (21 percent), and the United States (9 percent).

I have witnessed this immigration trend during the 30 years I have been traveling to Israel. I remember asking several Israeli Jews why they immigrated to Israel and their response was, “Something inside of me said it was time to come home.” In the 1990s, I remember being in the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and watching an entire jet load of Russian Jews flood the immigration lines.

The Lord is speaking to the world through this process. In Ezekiel 36:22-24, God said to the returning Jews in the last days: “I do not this for your sakes: O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, … And I will sanctify my great name, … and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”

The Lord of heaven has married the Jewish people to the land of Israel. (Isaiah 62:4-5) “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6) The world, and especially the current U.S. administration is attempting to remove the Jewish people from the heartland (the “West Bank”) of what the Lord has promised to His chosen people. The world is at war with God. To God, the inhabitants of the earth are “as grasshoppers.” (Isaiah 40:22) Do you know what happens when the grasshoppers declare war on the God of the universes? “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.” (Psalm 2:4)

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