When the Fig Tree Blossoms=Israel reborn!
Who in the church is preparing for the great revival prophesied for Israel? God has not forgotten them, nor has he replaced them with the Church as some preachers suggest. He has made an everlasting covenant with Israel – with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. Covenants are not meant to be broken; a disciple of Christ who expects God to go back on his word has completely misunderstood his character! If Israel is cut off from God because of unfaithfulness, what chance has the Church with all her backsliding over the centuries – especially in terms of persecution of the Jewish people? No, God will never reject his chosen ones. “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord. (Jer 31.37)
Even the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah is not addressed particularly to the Church, as you might think from the context in which it is used over Christmas. No, it is with Israel that the Lord promised a new covenant, when he will put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts – and they will all know him. (Jer 31.31-34) Earlier in the same chapter, he declares his “everlasting love” with his chosen people whom he vows to restore – to their land, which would once more become fruitful, and to their Lord, who says: “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” (v13)
If only the Church would take a closer look at Israel, they would be so much better informed and live with much greater hope, for the Jewish state is a mighty testament to our God’s great faithfulness and love. He entrusted the Jews with his word so that they could be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49.6), but they broke his covenant, forsook his laws and turned to idols instead. Yet, just as the prophet Hosea kept faith with his adulterous wife, he never stopped loving them.
He brought them back to the Promised Land from every corner of the globe in perfect fulfilment of his word. Now almost half of world Jewry lives in re-born Israel, and more keep coming as anti-Semitism rears its ugly head once more in the nations to which they were dispersed for so long.
The Lord didn’t wait until they put things right. He honoured his promise and now waits patiently for the time when “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (v34). As St Paul put it, the day will come when “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11.26), echoing the word of Zechariah speaking of the time when they will look on him whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only child (Zech 12.10).
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsIte...7/Default.aspx
Who in the church is preparing for the great revival prophesied for Israel? God has not forgotten them, nor has he replaced them with the Church as some preachers suggest. He has made an everlasting covenant with Israel – with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. Covenants are not meant to be broken; a disciple of Christ who expects God to go back on his word has completely misunderstood his character! If Israel is cut off from God because of unfaithfulness, what chance has the Church with all her backsliding over the centuries – especially in terms of persecution of the Jewish people? No, God will never reject his chosen ones. “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord. (Jer 31.37)
Even the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah is not addressed particularly to the Church, as you might think from the context in which it is used over Christmas. No, it is with Israel that the Lord promised a new covenant, when he will put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts – and they will all know him. (Jer 31.31-34) Earlier in the same chapter, he declares his “everlasting love” with his chosen people whom he vows to restore – to their land, which would once more become fruitful, and to their Lord, who says: “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” (v13)
If only the Church would take a closer look at Israel, they would be so much better informed and live with much greater hope, for the Jewish state is a mighty testament to our God’s great faithfulness and love. He entrusted the Jews with his word so that they could be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49.6), but they broke his covenant, forsook his laws and turned to idols instead. Yet, just as the prophet Hosea kept faith with his adulterous wife, he never stopped loving them.
He brought them back to the Promised Land from every corner of the globe in perfect fulfilment of his word. Now almost half of world Jewry lives in re-born Israel, and more keep coming as anti-Semitism rears its ugly head once more in the nations to which they were dispersed for so long.
The Lord didn’t wait until they put things right. He honoured his promise and now waits patiently for the time when “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (v34). As St Paul put it, the day will come when “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11.26), echoing the word of Zechariah speaking of the time when they will look on him whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only child (Zech 12.10).
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsIte...7/Default.aspx
