As we have already
written, the majority of Jews at the time of Christ did not recognize Him as
the Messiah promised by God and rejected Him. They wanted as the Messiah a
powerful king-conqueror, who would gain fame and fortune for the Hebrew nation.
Christ, on the other hand, taught voluntary poverty, meekness, love towards
ones enemies, which for many was unacceptable. With the centuries the religious
attitude of the Hebrew nation changed little, and the Jews continue not to
recognize Christ. Yet, the Holy Apostle Paul clearly predicted that in the last
times there will be a mass conversion of Jews to Christ. This confession of
Christ and faith in Him as the Savior of the world by many Jews will coincide
with a drastic reduction of faith and mass digression among Christian peoples.
The prediction of St.
Paul about the
conversion of the Hebrew nation to faith is found in the 10th and 11th chapters
of his letter to the Romans. These two chapters are penetrated with great
sorrow for the religious bitterness of the Jews contemporary to him.
We will present here the most pertinent ideas in the prophecy of Apostle Paul:
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (to the Church). And so
all Israel (of the last times) shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob” (Rom. 11:25-26). Who will be this “Deliverer” — the
apostle does not define: Christ Himself, or the prophet Elias, who according to
legend is supposed to come before the end of the world, in order to expose the
falsity of the Antichrist, or someone from the Hebrew nation?
In the last 30-40 years there have appeared signs of the beginning of the
rebirth of faith in Christ among Jews. In a whole row of large cities in the USA, missionary centers of Jewish Christians have appeared,
teaching among their brothers by blood faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
very interesting and enlightening to familiarize oneself with their brochures
and books on religious themes. It is apparent that the compilers of these
brochures distinctly understand the Holy Scriptures and the Old Testament
Jewish religion. They explain the predictions of the prophets about the Messiah
and about His blessed Kingdom clearly and convincingly.
Currently, throughout the world, there are nearly 200 Messianic Jewish
congregations — Christian Jews that observe their national customs. In
telephone books, their communities appear under the rubric — Jewish Messianic.
The following are Jewish Christian societies that are in existence: Union of
Messianic Jewish Congregations, the Fellowship of Jewish Congregations,
International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, Messianic
Jewish Alliance of America, Jews for Jesus, The Chosen People, American Board
of Mission to the Jews, and others. In confessing to the cardinal Christian
dogmas, members of these congregations strive to preserve their national
identity and continue to observe ancient Jewish holidays and customs, like the
Sabbath (Saturday), circumcision, Pascha (Passover), and others.
Supplementary data on the Messianic movement can be found in the books Return
of the Remnant by Michael Schiffman and Elliot Klayman, Lederer
Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1992, and Messianic Jews by John Fieldsend, Marc
Olive Press, Monarch Publications,1993. Some Messianic
congregations are active in publishing journals and books, in which they
convincingly prove — on the basis of the Old Testament prophesies — to their
fellow Jews that the Lord Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. This type of
literature can be received, for example, from the publisher Jews for Jesus, 60 Haight St.,
San Francisco, CA 94102, tel. (415) 864-2600.
We pray God to help the Jews see their Savior and to begin to serve Him as
fervently as their glorious ancestors had served God!
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