And ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears
This old song in four lines, covers what the entire Bible is about - God being with us.
The waiting of Messiah to return and comfort Israel who has been waiting on Him for 4000 years to rule the earth is not a metaphorical concept that is happening in our hearts at the moment. It is a real event that has yet to happen in history, but soon will.
Most Christians today believe the easy concept of when you die if you are a believer in Jesus, you go to heaven. The hard thing to explain is what all this is for, what happens during heaven and what is it exactly? The answer to that is found in the existing Israeli nation and all their rich history on this earth. Christians forget that Jesus was Jewish and the first church came from a Jewish background and therefore could still have meaning for us today. The early church knew where they came from and trusted Jesus on where they were going. For example, when you read the book of Acts and look at the lives of Peter and Paul you must realize that a new religion is starting to emerge out of an old one. They did not realize this but their upbringing as Jews made them very capable to be strong leaders in Jesus's church. For anyone to be saved all they had to do was believe, but to grow and teach the scriptures was to understand where the scriptures came from and why they were important. "Salvation is from the Jews", Jesus tells the Samaritan women in John 4. The Jewish prophecies of their past were well ingrained into their hope of the future Christ ruling the earth. The present day church has no idea of these things or where they have come from and have less of an idea of where they are going at the end and what it is all about.
We are going to Jesus so that Jesus can come to the rest of us that didn't go to Him - Jesus is coming to the earth, not staying in heaven. Specifically He is coming to ransom captive Israel and reign on the throne of David for 1000 years. That's why Jesus taught us to pray 'His kingdom come', so that it will come to the earth where it is needed. He will come and we will be with Him to fulfill all the prophecies surrounding Israel. This is the heaven we are going to when we die, the reality of being with Jesus on earth. Not just in our hearts.
Israel is the focal point of His Kingdom and His church are the hand picked people running it. That's why it's a heavenly kingdom and unlike all the others before it on the earth. Its members are already converted and trained up in the ways it will be run, they have been with God and suited for His work. Israel and the Church will be two brothers in the same family under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ on the planet earth.
The next question we will discuss is, will the earth be ready for this coming kingdom and what will happen if it is not ? When does eternity start?
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1 comment:
Looking forward to the privilege of ruling and reigning with Christ on earth. Thank you for reminding us of the wonderful return of Christ and of the Old Testament prophecies that will fulfill. O come, o come Emmanuel.
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