Introduction
“Word came to us that we were going
to evacuate Auschwitz. Why were we evacuating Auschwitz? It was because the
Russians were coming close by. And so we…we walked out [of] Auschwitz and we
started walking. And we started walking, we walked for days. I’ll never forget
it. I don’t know how many days we walked. We walked and then we took cattle
cars and then we walked again. And as we walked we heard gun shots and they
told us to keep marching. We heard gun shots and they were shooting people in
the back who couldn’t keep up with the walking. It ended up being called the
death march because the ravines and the gutters, they were all red from blood.
From people, some people who spoke Polish, we were walking through Poland, and
some people who thought they could escape would try and escape. Some people who
couldn’t keep up with the walking anymore, they got weak, they threw all their
bundles away and they walked until they couldn’t keep up anymore, they fell
behind and the Germans just shot them. We saw people being shot in the front in
their chests, in their back. They were laying all over, on the top of hills,
behind trees. It was really like a war zone. And this is how we finally arrived
in a camp called Bergen-Belsen.” – Lilly Appelbaum, Holocaust Survivor
The
Jewish population in the countries under German occupation during World War II
totaled a little more than 9.5 million. From 1942 until Europe was liberated by
America and its allies in 1945, nearly 6 million Jews were exterminated. That’s
more than 63% of the Jewish population within the affected theater of war! Many,
if not most, of us have seen the horrific pictures from the death camps of
Auschwitz and Dachau and close our eyes really tight and hope that when we open
our eyes that the images will be gone—but they’re not. Those images will never
go away and we better never forget them. Yet I fear that the images are growing
dim for many. In particular, I’m afraid the images are growing dim for those in
the Church. Well let me just say that the hands of the Church in Europe are
still stained with the blood of all the Jews murdered during World War II. A
large segment of the Church in Europe new exactly what Hitler was doing yet
remained silent to avoid conflict with the Nazi occupation. A few Protestant
Confessing Churches demanded that their church take a public stand. Some
pastors even gave their lives to try and put an end to Hitler’s murderous reign
(See previous post—Title: The Cost of
Discipleship; Label: Book Review; Date: 2/8/12). Yet most did nothing and
stood by as millions were tortured and slaughtered! Now I fear that we in the
Church are on the verge of repeating this tragedy of history because we are
again afraid to speak out—not against Nazis but now it is the evil brutality of
Islam! This time, however, the evil isn’t just coming for the Jewish nation, it
is coming for Christians as well.
In
case you haven’t been paying attention, the goal of Islam is the annihilation
of Israel. Of course that is becoming increasingly possible as adjoining countries
controlled by Muslims move ever closer to the development of nuclear weapons.
However, there is a much more insidious and covert effort being advance through
the United Nations. The king of Saudi Arabia has called for a worldwide ban on
insulting Islam and its prophet Muhammad. Specifically, King Abdullah has
demanded a United Nations resolution that condemns any country or group that
insults religions and prophets, claiming it is every Muslim’s duty to protect
Islam and defend its prophets. Well that all sounds very accommodating and
“tolerant” doesn’t it? Think about what he is saying! Don’t be deceived! Islam’s
position is death to all people who do not adhere to the tenets of Islam! Stop
trying to split hairs between “moderate” and “radical” Muslims. I’ll bet that
no Americans who knew the 9/11 terrorists personally would have described them
as “radical” Muslims. They lived among other Americans for quite some time as
though they belonged. Remember, Muslims will deceive in the name of their
religion. All is forgiven if the end result is the death or the conversion of
non-Muslims (except Jews—for them only death is good enough). Think about this:
It could be against the law, in the United States of America, for me to write
that Islam is an evil religion following the teachings of a false prophet! It
would be against the law for me to say that Israel is still the apple of God’s
eye (Zech. 2:8) and that Islam is cursed because it has cursed Israel (Gen. 12:3)—all
because Islam would be insulted. Very clever—countries, groups and individuals
are condemned because Islam feels insulted! And guess who will get to define
“insulted?” But for now, we, Church, still have the right to speak out, not
just against Islam but for Israel. The Church cannot be silent
again as it was during the Holocaust because Their Blood Cries Out To Us!
Most churchgoers
don’t really understand the relationship between the Church and Israel and/or the
relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The purpose of
this week’s lesson is the give you a basic understanding of Israel in the Old
Testament vs. the relationship between Israel and the Church in the New
Testament which continues to this day. I want to try and explain it in terms of
what is called a biblical metanarrative roughly framed by the following terms:
Creation
Fall
The Call of Abraham
The Exodus
Formation of Israel
A Nation in Exile
Messianic Restoration
Kingdom Come
We
must be careful not to be too dogmatic about a biblical metanarrative framework
lest we force a biblical interpretation or theology that is unbiblical. Nevertheless,
my goal is to try and draw a rough roadmap with a few signposts that will get
us to the declaration of God’s ultimate purpose and how that involves both
Israel and the Church.
Creation
Genesis
1 records God’s creation of all things from nothing. This act is referred to in
Latin as “ex nihilo” (“out of
nothing”) creation. Creation is the greatest witness to the existence of God.
Irrespective of how old you think the universe might be, it had to start at
some point. And regardless of how you think everything came to be as it is now,
no one has ever been able to explain how the universe came to exist in the
first place. I challenge you to find anyone that can tell you how something
came to exist where first nothing existed. God’s creative work is the only
plausible explanation for creation. Yet what was the purpose behind God’s
creative work? I don’t really have a definitive answer about that because the
Bible doesn’t tell us that but maybe we can make an educated guess based on the
character of God as being perfectly good and how God describes what he creates
as being good. “‘God brings into existence in order that his goodness may be
communicated and manifested.’ Not that God must
share His goodness, but simply because He wants
to do so…‘Surely, this can only mean that there was no other reason for
creating the world except that good creatures might be made by a good God.’”[1]
Fall
Genesis
3 records how Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating of the forbidden fruit
in the Garden of Eden. In theological parlance this is defined as the “fall” of
humanity. This single act of disobedience by Adam and Eve put into motion the
perpetuity of sin in humanity specifically and the degradation of creation more
generally—death was introduced into creation. Humanity was now subject to
sickness and death and creation no longer provided perfect conditions for
habitation and began the long process of groaning under the weight of an
imperfect relationship with the Creator. Adam’s sin, commonly referred to as
“Original Sin,” fundamentally transformed humanity for all time. Once Adam and
Eve sinned, a kind of transformation took place whereby humanity became
conscious to the opportunity to sin and the inclination toward sin. Paul
provides us with a the framework for a biblical understanding of original sin
in Romans 5:12-21. “When Adam sinned, God thought of all who would descend from
Adam as sinners. Though we did not yet exist, God, looking into the future and
knowing that we would exist, began thinking of us as those who were guilty like
Adam…all members of the human race were represented by Adam in the time of
testing in the Garden of Eden. As our representative, Adam sinned, and God
counted us guilty as well as Adam…God counted Adam’s guilt as belonging to us,
and since God is the ultimate judge of all things in the universe, and since
his thoughts are always true, Adam’s guilt does in fact belong to us.”[2]
The Call of
Abraham
Genesis
goes on to record how sin’s influence continues to poison humanity until its
wickedness reaches a crescendo. At that time, God had enough with humanity’s
sin and called forth the rain. It rained until the earth was covered in water.
Only Noah, his wife and three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives
survived the flood along with a male and female of a long list of animals all
together on an enormous ark. When the flood waters recede, there is a kind of
rebirth or fresh start for humanity and the rescued animals. The sinful nature
of humanity hasn’t changed as outlined above but the opportunity to sin has
been dramatically mitigated as a result of the worldwide flood. In any event,
God began anew with Noah’s family through the lineage of his son Shem (the
Semites). The end of Chapter 11 provides us with the familial line of Shem ending
with Abraham (still referred to as Abram at this point) beginning in Chapter
12. Chapter 12 is a key text that foreshadows the creation of the nation of
Israel. God promises Abraham that through him a great nation will be born. And
that all those who bless him will be blessed and all those who curse him will
be cursed. God’s calling recorded in Genesis 12:1-3 is a precursor to the Abrahamic
Covenant of Genesis 15 and was understood to exist in perpetuity throughout
Israel’s existence. The promise that all people on earth would be blessed
through him was eventually fulfilled in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ
(See previous post—Title: By Faith, God
Makes the Impossible-Possible; Label: Pastoral Care; Date: 1/11/12). It is
important to note that at the time when God made the covenant with Abraham,
Abraham had no children. Nevertheless, Abraham believed that God would fulfill
his part of the covenant to make him into a great nation; a nation of people
numbering the “stars in the sky.” However, Abraham was 100 years old and his
wife, Sarah, was 90! Impatient, Sarah ordered her maidservant, Hagar, to sleep
with Abraham so that he could have a descendant because she did not believe God
would fulfill his promise through her. Hagar conceived and gave birth to Ishmael.
But this was not God’s plan. God intended to fulfill his covenant using Sarah.
Sarah mistreated Hagar and sent her away. In her distress, Hagar pleaded to God
for help and God answered her and promised that her child’s descendants would
be too numerous to count. However, God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and
used Sarah to birth a son, Isaac. Isaac would become the father of Jacob and
Esau and Jacob would later be renamed “Israel” by God (Gen. 32:28). But let’s
not forget about Ishmael quite yet. God said of Ishmael that he would be a wild
donkey of a man and that he would be against everyone and everyone would be
against him and that Ishmael would live in hostility toward all his brothers
(Gen. 16:11-12). Who is Ishmael? Ishmael is the prophet and patriarch of the
Nation of Islam!
The Exodus
Jacob
(aka Israel) eventually had twelve sons who would become the respective heads
of the twelve tribes making up the nation of Israel. However, one of the sons,
Joseph, was the favored son. The fact that Joseph was prized by Jacob above his
brothers elicited no small amount of jealousy from his brothers. Eventually,
Joseph’s brothers had their fill of him and sold him to a travelling caravan of
Ishmaelites who were on their way to trade their goods in Egypt. Once in Egypt,
Joseph is sold to one of Pharaoh’s officials. Thereafter, a series of
providential events include Joseph in prison after being falsely accused of
raping his master’s wife, his release from prison after correctly interpreting
Pharaoh’s dream, his ascension to a position of authority in Egypt where only
Pharaoh himself had more authority, a severe famine that enveloped the entire
land, and the eventual reunion and reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers as
his family seeks relief from the famine in the fertile land of Egypt. I say
that these events are providential because it sets the stage for the
fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and the landmark event of Israel’s
history—The Exodus.
Joseph
made arrangements for Jacob and the rest of the family to settle in Goshen in
Egypt. Once settled there and after many years, the population of Jacob’s
descendants, the “Israelites,” grew tremendously. By then, a new generation of
leadership succeeded to the throne of Egypt who disregarded the historical
alliance with Israel and instead enslaved Israel and pressed them into harsh
labor and servitude for some 400 years. However, God raised up a prophet from
among them, Moses, who was destined to lead them out of their bondage. Although
Pharaoh resisted Moses’ demand that the Israelites be released, he would
eventually relent after God struck Egypt with ten different plagues. Beaten by
the plagues, Pharaoh orders the Israelites to be freed. This “Exodus” would be
referenced often during Israel’s history as the quintessential event demonstrating
God’s strength, faithfulness and love for Israel.
Formation
of Israel
The Book
of Leviticus finds a freed Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai where Moses
receives and passes on to the people, God’s ten commandments, instructions for
worship and holy living, and instructions for the priesthood that would serve
God and the people. Israel would eventually leave Mount Sinai and make their
way to Canaan, the “Promised Land.” Unfortunately, they feared the people who
occupied the land and disobeyed God’s command to go in and take the land that
was promised to them. As a result of their disobedience, they wandered the
desert for 40 years until the disobedient generation died. Thereafter, Israel,
led by Joshua, returned to Canaan and the Book of Deuteronomy records Israel
finally taking control of the Promised Land which would be divided into twelve
regions corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. Israel was now formally a
nation with defined boundaries. With the exception of what is referred to as
Wisdom Literature which includes the Books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, the remainder of the Old Testament records
Israel’s history in relationship with God. It records both periods when Israel
was obedient to God’s commands which resulted in blessings and times of
disobedience that resulted in God raising up prophets to warn Israel about its
disobedience and impending discipline for failing to turn back to God. This
period also saw Israel reject God’s kingship and demand that a king be
appointed to rule over them like the nations that surrounded them (See previous
post—Title: We Want A King!; Label:
Pastoral Care; Date: 8/1/12). Although they reject God’s direct kingship by
demanding an earthly king, God continued to pursue relationship with Israel
through the divine promise made to King David that a descendant of David would
sit on the throne of Israel “forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). This promise would set the
stage for the Messiah that will forever bind Israel and the Church together.
Nevertheless, Israel must first endure a painful exile as a result of their
continued disobedience.
A Nation in
Exile
After
the death of King Solomon, son and heir to David’s throne, in the 10th
century BC, a united Israel became divided with ten tribes in the north that
continued as the nation of Israel and the remaining two tribes in the south
that came to be identified as the nation of Judah. For the next two centuries,
Israel degraded deeply into idol worship. Then, in the 8th century
BC, God used the military might of the Assyrian empire to put an end to
Israel’s disobedience. The northern kingdom of Israel was capture by the brutal
Assyrians in 722 BC and taken to Assyria. The ten tribes of the northern
kingdom would never return. Instead, the Assyrian king would settle the captives
of Israel in Samaria where they would mix with other Assyrian captives and give
rise to the Samaritan people. The southern kingdom of Judah would continue
until approximately the middle of the 6th century BC when God would
use the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar to put an end to Judah’s disobedience.
The Book of Jeremiah records the prophet’s message to Judah that their
disobedience would lead to their destruction. In 605 BC, the Babylonians
carried away the first wave of captives from Judah. Among those captives was
the prophet Daniel. Then a few years later in 597 BC, 10,000 captives were
taken and among them was the prophet Ezekiel. Finally, in 586 BC the capital
city, Jerusalem, was captured and most of the remaining people of Judah were
taken to Babylon. A few, including Jeremiah, fled to Egypt with a group of
survivors when the conditions in Judah became unlivable. I mentioned both
Daniel and Ezekiel because they encouraged the exiles with a very important
message. Both prophets are prominent in their announcement of the coming
Messiah and the restoration of Israel and Judah as an undivided nation under
one king. Ezekiel specifically references the return of God’s glory to the Temple
in Chapter 43 (See previous post—Title: Turning
the Church into a Den of Robbers; Label: Pastoral Care; Date: 10/3/12).
Daniel references one like the “Son of Man” in a vision which is one of the
terms Jesus specifically used to identify himself (Dan. 7:13-14). The coming of
the Messiah and the restoration of Israel was now coming into view for the
exiles.
Messianic
Restoration
After
Cyrus, king of the Persians, conquered Babylon in 539 BC, the Jewish captives
were permitted to return to their land. The first group returned in 539 BC –
538 BC. Thereafter, the second group, led by Ezra, returned in 458 BC and
Nehemiah leads the final group back in 444 BC. Although much smaller than
before the Babylonian exile, Jerusalem is finally rebuilt. Nehemiah is the last
historical account of the Jewish people some 400 years before the birth of the
Messiah.
It is important to remember
that 600-700 years before the Messiah’s birth, the prophet Jeremiah said the
Messiah would be a descendant of David (Jer. 23). The prophet Isaiah would say
that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7). Isaiah would also describe
the Messiah as a “Servant” who would suffer and atone for Israel’s sin (Isa.
53). Isaiah’s contemporary, the prophet Micah, would prophecy that the Messiah
would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5). 400 years after the last prophetic writing,
the birth of Jesus begins the New Testament age. Matthew records Jesus’ virgin
birth in the town of Bethlehem. Matthew also provides a genealogy of Jesus
illustrating that he is, in fact, from the line of King David which sets up the
fulfillment of God’s promise to David that one of his descendants would sit on
the throne forever. Later, in the gospel writings, we will see how Jesus
fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah as a “Suffering Servant.” Jesus
confirms his rightful place as the Messiah-King when he tells the religious
leaders that the Scriptures they diligently study testify about him (Jn. 5:39)!
Later, when he was asked by Pontius Pilate if he was the “king of the Jews,”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is as you say” (Mark 15:2). This now sets the stage
for the restoration of Israel under the lordship of the Messiah-King, Jesus
Christ. While the Jewish leadership expected a Messianic figure that would
restore Israel to its military preeminence, Jesus’ primary objective was to
restore Israel’s relationship with God. Not by providing offerings and
sacrifices, but by offering himself as the final and complete sacrifice to
atone for the sins of humanity. Jesus summarizes God’s enduring objective of
relationship through his telling of the parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt.
22:1-10). The parable illustrates that it has always been God’s objective to
first restore relationship with the Jewish people and it is only when they reject
him that he seeks restoration with anyone and everyone who desires to be in
relationship with him. Consequently, Jesus is the hinge-pin that connects Jews
and Gentiles as the means for restoration with God for both. Nevertheless, the
relationship between the two is perhaps not always clear to the casual
observer. Therefore, Paul sheds some light specifically on this matter in his
letter to the Church in Rome.
In his letter to the Romans,
Paul specifically references Israel and Israel’s rejection of God’s offer of
salvation through Jesus Christ (Rom. 11). Furthermore, Israel’s rejection of
God’s provision for their salvation and restoration opens the door for Gentiles
to receive that same offer of salvation and restoration (cf. Matt. 22:1-10;
Rom. 11:11-12). Paul makes it clear that God has not rejected Jews in favor of
Gentiles. God has not reject Israel in favor of the Church. Paul couldn’t be
clearer when he says that he hopes Israel will be roused by envy over the gift
given to and received by Gentiles. Paul says that Gentiles must be careful not
to boast about their position of restoration and salvation because they are
only branches that have been grafted onto a root that already existed and if
Israel ever comes to accept God’s offer of restoration and salvation found in
Jesus Christ then they too will be grafted as branches onto the same root. Paul
illustrates that Gentiles are like branches cut from a wild olive tree
successfully grafted onto a cultivated olive tree while the Jewish people are
like branches cut from a cultivated tree and are naturally grafted back to the
tree from which they were cut. Paul makes clear that Israel’s rejection will
last only until the prescribed number of Gentiles are saved based on God’s
sovereign will and then Israel will be saved.
Kingdom
Come
The
bible is replete with references to the final days of this age and the coming
of the Messiah to inaugurate the next age when He will sit on his throne and
rule over a new heaven and new earth. There is a thread that weaves its way
through the entire bible that begins with just a glimpse in Genesis and ends in
Revelation woven into a rich tapestry illustrating the coming Kingdom. In
Genesis we see a brief glimpse of Satan’s ultimate defeat by Christ (Gen.
3:15). The prophet Daniel provides a vision of end time judgment and the
establishment of an everlasting Kingdom given to the “saints, the people of the
Most High” (Dan. 7:27). Mark records Jesus telling his disciples the signs of
his return and even uses one of the same signs identified by the prophet Daniel
(cf. Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Mark 13:14). The Apostle Paul describes to the
church in Thessalonica the signs of Christ’s return in similar terms as those
used when Christ told his disciples (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-5:3; Matt. 24:26-35).
Finally, John gives us the Book of Revelation where the pieces that exist
throughout the bible come together to form a more definitive picture of the end
of this age, the final judgment of humanity and the inauguration of the eternal
Kingdom with Jesus as the eternal “King of kings” and “Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16).
Revelation illustrates God’s dealing with Jews specifically (cf. Rev. 7:4-8) as
well as the Church specifically (cf. Rev. 2:1-3:22). But nothing illustrates
more clearly the way Israel and the Church are bound together than John’s
description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:9-14. It is a beautiful image
of the way Israel and the Church are eternally bound together and I want to
share it with you in John’s words.
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the
seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the
wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to
a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God,
and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear
as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates,
and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the
twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the
east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The
wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The
Book of Revelation not only illustrates the end of this present age and the
inauguration of the eternal Kingdom to come, it illustrates that there has
always been a specific plan for both Israel and the Church.
Application
I’ve
covered lots of material so I want to quickly summarize the overall intent of
this lesson. I wanted to show that Israel and the Church are inexorably bound
together through Jesus Christ from Genesis through Revelation. Some theologians
believe that Israel was part of one revelation of God but that the Church has
now replaced Israel as God’s revelation to humanity. But the bible does not
support this position. I believe the real issue is that most of the Church just
doesn’t realize that Israel still has a part to play in these final days as
well as the eternal Kingdom to come. For some reason, some in the Church can’t
see the connection between the Church and Israel. Well hopefully this lesson
has provided you with a picture of how Israel and the Church are forever
intertwined.
The
Church must recognize the value of Israel to God. Whether or not Israel
recognizes Jesus as the Messiah is not our problem. As I referenced above, Paul
makes it clear that Israel’s unbelief opens the door for us to be reconciled to
God. Yet this is part of God’s plan because Israel’s unbelief is only
temporary. The day will come when they will recognize that Jesus is the One
they had been waiting for. In the meantime, God’s promise to bless those who
bless Israel remains effectual. Therefore, we, the Church, must do everything
we can to bless Israel as a nation and protect the Jewish people from anyone
who wishes to harm them. Here are some very specific ways for you to do that:
- Pray for Israel.
- Fly Israel’s flag at
your church.
- Ask your pastor to
teach your church about God’s plan for Israel.
- Support leaders
committed to the protection of Israel as a nation and people.
Finally, I want to beg you
to do one more thing—speak out! Speak out against any country, society, person
or religion that seeks to harm Israel or its people. I know this might be a
dangerous thing for some of you and I’m praying for your safety and courage. I
can’t guarantee that what you say won’t cost you your life or liberty, but I
can guarantee that if you say nothing, it will cost you your life or liberty—eventually.
You see, terrorism doesn’t seem so bad when it’s “over there.” But I promise
you that Islam won’t stop with terrorism “over there.” They will come here next
and they will come for you simply because of what you believe. I know some of
you are rolling your eyes right now because you think I’m being overly
dramatic. But let me ask you this, if we were to have had lunch together on
September 10, 2001 and I told you that Muslims would hijack commercial airplanes
filled with people and fly them into the World Trade Center buildings in New
York and the Pentagon building in Washington D. C., would you have rolled your
eyes at me? Be honest! You probably would have said: “That can’t happen here!”
Yet we have the images of September 11, 2001 burned forever into our memories. What
if we were to have had lunch together sometime in 1940 in Germany and I told
you that by 1945 nearly 6 million Jews in and around Germany would be
exterminated? Would you have believed me or thought I was being dramatic
saying: “That can’t happen here!” Yet we can walk through some of the
crematoriums that still stand today as a haunting reminder of those tortured
and slaughtered because they were Jewish. Therefore, the most important thing
you can do is to speak out against the evil schemes of Islam and anyone else
that might want to harm Israel and speak out in favor of anyone who favors or
blesses Israel. This is the least we can do for all those Jews who died at the
hands of Nazis while the Church was largely silent because Their Blood Cries Out To Us!
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