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Israel and the Jewish people


The Messianic Age

The Messianic Age
according to Jewish tradition and Christian tradition

The Messianic Age, according to Jewish tradition and Christian tradition

The Messianic Hope

"Look upon our affliction and plead our cause, and redeem us speedily for Thy name's sake; Thou art a mighty redeemer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the redeemer of Israel! - Sound the great horn for our freedom: lift up the ensign to gather our exiles, and gather us from the four corners of the earth, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who gatherest the banished ones of the people Israel! - And to Jerusalem, Thy city, return, and dwell therein as Thou hast spoken; rebuild it soon in our days as an everlasting building, and speedily set up therein the throne of David. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Rebuilder of Jerusalem! The Offspring of David thy servant speedily cause to flourish and let his horn be exalted by Thy salvation, because we wait for Thy salvation all the day..." (Sh'mone Esrei) (When shall the Messiah come? By Harold Folsch)

According to Jewish tradition, the end of the world will see:

the ingathering of the scattered Jewish exiles to geographic Israel.
the defeat of all of Israel's enemies.
the building of the third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and the resumption of the sacrificial offerings and Temple service.
the Revival of the Dead (techiat hameitim), or the Resurrection.
the Jewish Messiah who will become the anointed King of Israel.

He will divide the Jews in Israel into their original tribal portions in the land. During this time Gog, king of Magog, will attack Israel. Who Gog and the nation Magog are is not known yet. Magog will fight a great battle, in which many will die on both sides, but God will intervene and save the Jews. This is the battle referred to as Armageddon. Jewish eschatology Jewish eschatology is concerned with Mashiach (the Jewish Messiah) the continuation of the Davidic line, and Olam Haba (Hebrew for "the world to come"; i.e. the afterlife).

Preceding events to the Messianic Age

The restoration of Palestine (Israel) to the Jews and their gathering from the 4 corners of the earth.
Disasters, such as famine, wars, earthquakes, etc may often be interpreted as events preceding the coming of the Messianic Age.
There is a tradition that the Jewish people will begin to despise the values of their religion in the generations preceding the coming of the Messiah.
The government will become Godless.
One of the most important traditions regarding the Messianic Age concerns the ingathering of the Diaspora and the resettlement of the Land of Israel. There are numerous traditions that the Jewish people will begin to return to the Land of Israel as a prelude to the Messiah.

"And then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from allthe nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.....And the Lord thy God will bring into the land which thou fathers possessed, and thou shall possess it:..." (Deut 30:3 - 5).

There is even a tradition that the ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem will together go hand in hand as the two signs of a prelude to the coming of the messiah... according to this tradition, first a small percentage of Jews will return to the Holy Land, and then Jerusalem will come under Jewish control and be rebuilt... then the majority of world Jewry will return to their homeland, as it is written: (Psalms 147) “G-d is rebuilding Jerusalem; He will gather the dispersed of Israel...”
There is a tradition that the Land of Israel will be cultivated at that time, after a long period of desolation. This is based on the prophecy, "O mountains of Israel, let your branches sprout forth; yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are at hand to come" (Ezekiel 36:8).Before prophecy can exist in the Land of Israel, it must be inhabited by the majority of Jews in the world. Thus, unless we assume that this rule is to be broken, more than half of the Jewish people will have to live in the Land of Israel before the Messianic Age commences.
There are prophecies that there will be a "War of Gog and Magog" around Jerusalem. According to this tradition, when the nations hear of the success of the Jewish people in rebuilding their land, they will gather to do battle against them near Jerusalem, led by Gog, the king of Magog. The battle will symbolize the final war between good and evil. In Jerusalem, all evil will ultimately be vanquished.

The conditions under which the Messiah is likely to appear

The rabbis speculated on the conditions under which the Messiah was likely to appear: He will not arrive on the Sabbath, since that would require people to violate the Sabbath in welcoming him [Babylonian Talmud Pesahim 13a]. [The prophet] Elijah [who is supposed to usher in the messianic age] will arrive no later in the week than Thursday, leaving room for the Messiah to arrive by Friday. Elijah will announce the arrival of the Messiah from Mount Carmel in the Land of Israel [Jerusalem Talmud Pesahim 3:6].
Many rabbis believed that the Messiah would arrive suddenly on the eve of Passover, the first redemption, which serves as a model of the final redemption [Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Pischa 14]. The Messianic Age in Judaism
Although some measure of political independence has been obtained in Israel, the complete ingathering of the exile will only be accomplished by the Messiah. Regarding this, the prophet foretold, "On that day, God will stretch forth His hand a second time to bring back the remnant of His people… He will hold up a banner for the nations, assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah 11:11-12). Countdown To Redemption - Part 1

In the Messianic Age

One of the most important events in the Messianic Age will be the rebuilding of the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash). He will restore the priesthood to the Temple, and the traditional sacrifices and ancient laws will be reinstated.
The Jewish nationality will be established forever. And the Messiah will usher in a Messianic Age of universal peace and universal love.

The redemption of the Jews.

The coming of the Messiah and the subsequent redemption of Israel is a basic belief of Judaism.
If all Israel were to return to God, the Messiah would appear and the final redemption would be ushered in immediately.
When the Messiah comes, there will be a universal recognition of the truth of Torah and the God Who gave that Torah at Mount Sinai. The Jews will undergo a complete spiritual revival and will then embrace the faith of their forefathers and dedicate them-selves to God's service forever.
"It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:1-4)

In Judaism, who is the Messiah?

The messiah is a God fearing, pious Jew, who is both a great Torah scholar and a great leader as well. He is a direct descendent of King David, and will be anointed as the new Jewish King. (In fact, the Hebrew word for messiah - "Moshiach" - means "anointed one."). He will usher in the Messianic Age.

The Messianic Age, according to Christian tradition

"God hath not cast away His people (Jews) which He foreknew"
"Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED."Rom 11:25, 26.
The Jews have not been surplanted by the church, or by the Gentile nations. They are again to take the lead among the nations of the earth. For this they have been preserved.
For centuries the Jewish people waited for and expected the Messiah, the promised Redeemer of the Messianic Hope.2000 Years ago under Roman oppression a conviction existed among certain Jews that the Messiah and His Kingdom would immediately appear.
".....and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." Luke 19: 11; See also: John 4: 25; Luke 2: 25, 38; 23: 51; Acts 1: 6
This never happened.What the leaders of the Jews did not know was that the Great Healer among them was indeed their Messiah.John 1: 41; 4: 25.
".....if they had recognised the Lord as the true Messiah then they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." I Cor 2: 8
The Jews,as foretold by Christ ( Luke 17: 25; Matt 20: 18,19) rejected and crucified Him.Prophecy concerning His sufferings had to be fulfilled....then after that He would go to the Father and then return.John 14: 28; I Pet 1: 11.
This very same Messiah shall come with the clouds, ".....: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him...." Zech 12: 10; Rev 1:7

The Lord shall gather them from the ends of the earth and bring them into their own land. Isaih 11:10 - 16; 43: 3 - 6; Ezek 37: 1- 28...

"Whole House of Israel"

That is, the Whole Twelve Tribes, are to be gathered back to their own land.
"In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers." Jer. 3:18.

They will be gathered back unconverted. Then follows Israel's conversion

"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land."

And when they shall be restored to their own land, God says:

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." Ezek 36: 24 - 28.

But before Israel's conversion they are to be judged

And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Ezek 20:34 - 38

God will cast them into His melting pot

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:1 - 3
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. Zech 13:9

This called the "Time of Jacob's Trouble." Also called "The Great Tribulation"

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.Dan 12:1

Then Jesus Christ will come back to Jerusalem

"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." Zech 12:10

At His coming:

Christ, the King of the Jews....His Kingdom established ( set up)
He shall receive the throne of David and He shall reign over the house of Jacob ( Israel). Luke 1: 32,33
He, the King shall reign and prosper. Jer 23: 5

Christ, the King in Jerusalem

He shall return to Jerusalem. Zech 1: 16,17
He shall choose this glorious city again. Zech 2: 10 - 13
He shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem again.Zech 8:3

National Restoration of Israel - The Redemption of the Jews

In His days Israel shall be saved,"...there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall away ungodliness from Jacob ( Israel)." Rom 11: 26; Ezek 36: 25 - 33; Jer 23:5,6.

Israel becomes one nation

Judah and Israel will be ONE NATION and ONE KING ( Christ) shall be King to them. Ezek 37:15 - 28; Jer 3:17,18; Hos 1: 11

A New Covenant established with Israel

Jer 31:31, 32:37 - 40; Ezek 37: 25-28

God in their midst....they shall be His people

Ezek 37: 26-28

Jerusalem restored

No more weeping shall be heard in the city.Isaih 65: 17-19
There shall be no more utter destruction.Zech 14:11
There shall be no more evil.Zep 3:14,15
There shall be no more sorrow and mourning.Isaih 51:9; Joel 2:32

The Land restored

There shall be no more desolation and no more violence in the land. Isaih.62:4; 60:18
Iniquity removed from the land. Isaih 4:2-6; Zech 3:9; 13:1,2
Israel shall dwell safely in the land.Ezek 28:25,26.

They shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Zech 8:7, 8.....they shall inherit the land forever.Isaih 60:28

Amen. To God all the glory!







Thank you