Prophecy and Israel

Feasts of the LORD

The prophetic significance of these feasts extends from the past to the future and is therefore particularly suitable as the beginning of the study of prophecy. The first three feasts were fulfilled through our Lord Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost began about 2000 years ago and will only be completed in the future with the Rapture of the Church. Feasts 5-7 will be fulfilled in Israel in the future. The Feast of Trumpets - Rosh HaShana - plays a special role in this. As after the return from the Babylonian captivity, the sacrificial service on the altar of burnt offering will also begin on the feast of Rosh HaShanah in the future. Preparations for this are currently underway (see my article: "The future of the Temple in Jerusalem"). In June 2016, Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau said on the Knesset Channel that he would like to see the Third Temple built. The original site of the temple - between the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque - can be reached underground from the Western Wall. The chronological assignment of feasts 5 to 7 to the last week of the year of Israel forms the conclusion of this article.

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Thoughts on the expectation of the Messiah

The oldest messianic promises point to two opposing tasks of the Messiah: on the one hand, he will defeat Satan and rule in a worldwide kingdom of peace, but on the other hand, he will suffer and die a vicarious death. Since one of the early prophecies came from Moses' blessing on Joseph, it could be concluded that the Messiah was a descendant of Joseph. Is this perhaps the origin of the idea of the suffering Messiah Ben Joseph? In later messianic promises, David was revealed as the progenitor of the Messiah and the atoning suffering and subsequent glory of the Messiah were specified. The rabbinic sources cited here are striking examples of the diverse and ramified development of the expectation of the Messiah in Judaism from ancient times to modern times. For example, in a prayer book for Yom Kippur, the request for a second coming of the Messiah was expressed in the following coded words: Send him back from the circles, bring him back from Seir so that we can hear him in Lebanon, a second time through Yinnon.“I hope that this article can be of help to everyone who is looking for the roots of the Jewish faith.

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The Servant Songs of Isaiah

Four sections in the book of Isaiah are in song form. In all of them the Servant of God is sung. Who is the Servant of God? Four different groups and individuals are referred to as servants of God. We find the term "Servant of God" both in the collective sense for the people of Israel and for individuals. In the second song the LORD says: "You are my servant, you are Israel, in whom I am glorified" (Isa.49:3). The decisive question is therefore who is the servant of God in the different songs. The fourth song is introduced by the LORD himself: “Behold, my servant shall do wisely; he shall arise, be exalted, and be greatly exalted” (Isa.52:13). The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel supplements this verse with the words: “So shall my servant the Messiah prosper”. This extraordinary servant of God is the Messiah, whose origin was from the days of eternity (Micah 5:1) and of whom the LORD says: You are my Son; this day have I begotten you (Psalm 2:7).

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The Rapture of the Church before God's Judgment in this World

God has revealed in His Word principles for carrying out His direct judgments in this earth. This means that the righteous must be safe before the start of the judgment. Additionally, God demonstrated His willingness to show grace to a sinful population, even if only a small percentage of righteous people live among them. According to these principles, it is impossible for the Church – being justified by the blood of the Lamb of God – to go through the future judgment of God in this world.

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Old Rabbinical Interpretations of Messianic Prophecy

Quotations about the Messiah of old and highly honoured rabbis are used as a guide to roots of Jewish Bible interpretation. Rabbi Moses Alshekh wrote about the suffering servant in Isaiah 53: Our ancient Sages have preserved for us the witness of tradition that this refers to the Messiah. For this reason, we too, following them, should consider the subject of this prophecy to be David, the Messiah, who will appear in this way." Today in Jewish writing the people of Israel are seen to be the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. The prophecy in Zech.12,10 includes the words: They shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Rabbi Moshe Alshekh explains: I will do yet a third thing, and that is, that they shall look unto me, for they shall lift up their eyes unto me in perfect repentance, when they see him whom they pierced, that is Messiah, the son of Joseph; for our rabbis, of blessed memory, have said, that he will take upon himself all the guilt of Israel, and shall then be slain in the war to make an atonement, in such a manner, that it shall be accounted as if Israel had pierced him, for on account of their sin he has died; and therefore, in order that it may be reckoned to them as a perfect atonement, they will repent, and look to the blessed One, saying that there is none beside him to forgive those that mourn on account of him who died for their sin: this is the meaning of “They shall look upon me.” He interprets the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 as the suffering Messiah ben Joseph. This prophecy will then be fulfilled when Israel recognizes him whom they pierced ca. 2000 years ago.

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New Time Schedule of Revelation

There is much disagreement among Christians about the interpretation of the book of Revelation. Even believers who expect the rapture of the Church before the apocalyptic tribulation differ in their time schedules of this prophetic book. Therefore, I follow a suggestion of David Gooding in constructing a new time schedule starting with the event in time which is defined in the Old and the New Testament, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. This event will take place at the end of the 70th week of years of Israel (Dan.9,27) and is described in Revelation 19 as the end of the 3rd Woe. Since the durations of all three Woes are given in Revelation a chronological allocation of the 70th week of years of Israel can be shown.

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Ezekiel’s Vision of Israel’s Future

In chapter 37 Ezekiel sees a valley full of bones, representing the whole house of Israel. God had opened their graves, the bones taken out and put together to a corps, however, still without life. – The Spirit of God which is missing will, according to prophecy, create divine life in three different ways to three groups of Israel. In chapters 38 and 39 attacks against Israel are described which will take place when the people has returned to Israel and is living there in security. Therefore, the Near-East-Peace-Treaty must be in force before this attack is started. The enemy from the north will be defeated in Israel and the slain will be buried. About seven years later a last attack will follow, which will be warded off by the powerful intervention of Messiah, who will erect his kingdom of peace.

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God's plan for Israel

Since the age of the Church Fathers, the Catholic Church has taught that Israel has been once and for all rejected by God because of the crucifixion of the Messiah and replaced by the Church. This teaching - known as Replacement Theology – shaped most Christians‘ thought, even after the Reformation. No distinction was therefore made between God’s plans for Israel and His plans for the Church. It was only at the start of the 19th century that Manuel de Lacunza, a Jesuit, released a book called "The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty" which provided fresh insight on the matter. It showed that the Messiah must return in glory and majesty before the millenial kingdom begins, and that Israel has a future in God’s divine plan which is independent from that of the Church. The process of developing new ideas on this subject is ongoing. The article at hand discusses God’s plans for his people with a view to encouraging fresh consideration of prophecy. While some of God’s plans for Israel are already fulfilled, others will come into fulfillment in the future, perhaps even soon.

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The Mystery of Glad Tidings in the Darkest Days

The man-child in Revelation 12 is a picture of Christ together with the church and a select number from Israel. The future part of the fulfilment of God’s mystery, which was promised as glad tidings to the prophets, is the promised rapture of the 144,000 first fruits of Israel. They will be taken to heaven together with the two witnesses when the 7th trumpet begins to sound.

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The Riddle of Psalm 49 – is rapture a Jewish prophecy?

The concept of a divine rescue in form of rapture originates in Jewish scripture: it is mentioned in the book of psalms in form of a riddle and exemplified in the story of Enoch. The prophetic announcement of this glad tiding is found in Psalm 49:16 But God will redeem my soul from the grip of the Lower World (Sheol), for He shall take me. This verse is interpreted by Ibn Esra with the following words: „I shall never die; rather, my soul will be drawn upwards, until it disappears in the heavenly abode, as we read of the ancient tzaddik (Genesis 5:24) And Chanoch walked with God, then he was no more, for God had taken him“. The Christian scripture offers additional details in the book of Revelation: The man-child in Revelation 12 symbolizes to my understanding the Messiah together with 144 000 of Israel’s faithful, who are rescued by rapture as first fruits from the earth.

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The Future of the Temple in Jerusalem

Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau told the Knesset Channel in June 2016 that he would like to see a Third Temple built. The restart of the sacrificial offerings may happen very soon since the original location of the altar and Temple can be reached underground from the Western Wall without disturbing the Muslim holy places on the Temple Mount. The comparison of the history of the Second Temple and the prophecy of the Third Temple may lead to a better understanding of this prophecy.

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