by Dale Rumble
by Dale Rumble
The following scripture is prophetically significant concerning the salvation of Israel
. . . . A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved . . . . (Romans 11:25-26)
Israel’s salvation will certainly occur at sometime in the future. While I am not presenting any scenario of events which lead to that day, I do recognize that it could be a time of great affliction, where only a remnant in the land may survive (Zechariah 13).
My major objective is to prepare Jewish believers for their role, along with Gentile believers, in the age-ending harvest that lies ahead and which culminates in the Lord’s return. This harvest will include the salvation of Israel.
While my remarks are directed to Messianic ministry in Israel, they fully apply to the whole church for the issue is more than harvest, it also concerns preparing God’s elect for their Lord’s return.
The period of time being addressed will be marked by the “fullness of the Gentiles.” The Greek word for “fullness” is PLEROMA, which can denote either quantity (fullness in numbers), or quality (fullness in character, such as in John 1:16). I believe the latter is the more appropriate meaning in the light of other scriptures that concern fullness, as we shall see.
The divine criterion of this last great awakening will be the glory that rises upon His people, a fullness of Messiah that will draw multitudes from the nations to Him.
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)
The reality of what the Old Testament feasts of Passover and Pentecost signified has been fulfilled by Messiah. I believe that this final ingathering will fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of the three major harvest feasts.
The Lord will display His mercy, love and miracle working power through the gospel of the kingdom before He returns in judgment. He will manifest His glory through His body, with Jew and Gentile believers united as “one new man,” in the greatest revival the world has ever seen! How to prepare for that visitation is the challenge that I seek to address.
God established the basis of His redemptive relationship with fallen mankind through an unchangeable covenant that He made (or cut) with Abraham. Because Abraham believed God’s covenant promise it was credited by God as righteousness to him. In this way, Abraham became the father of all who would thereafter become children of God through their faith (Romans 4:1-5,9-16; Galatians 3:6-14).
The heart of God’s promise concerned the birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah when she was many years past the age of childbearing. This was fulfilled by the birth of Isaac, which foreshadowed the later, divine birth of God’s Son to a virgin girl who was a descendant of Isaac. He was the ultimate promised seed, the Messiah, the Redeemer!
The covenant with Abraham was cut in that the blood of both parties was shed. Abraham shed his blood in the rite of physical circumcision, which was a seal of the righteousness that he had received. God shed His blood on the cross of Cavalry to provide the one and only cleansing for sin whereby one can believe and be declared righteous. The promised birth of the Messiah to redemptively die for the sins of all mankind was the heart of God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham.
During the four hundred and thirty years that followed the Abrahamic covenant, the descendants of Isaac, now known as Israel, did not walk faithfully in the covenant. Because of their transgressions, the Lord raised up Moses as a deliverer and lawgiver to add the covenant of the Law to Israel. This covenant did not invalidate the Abrahamic covenant (Galatians 3:14-19).
Law is not made for the righteous, but for the unrighteous; for the ungodly, for liars, for murderers and for whatever is immoral (1 Timothy 1:8-11). Law brings the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). By doing so, law serves as a tutor or trainer for righteousness. The covenant of the Law was given to Israel to tutor them for their promised Messiah who would justify them by faith (Galatians 3:21-29). The covenant of Law was to be in effect until the promised seed, the Messiah, would come.
The Mosaic covenant consisted of more than the Law; it included a priesthood, a sanctuary, temple service and ceremonies; all of which were shadows of the glory of a future fulfillment that would come in the Messiah.
The Messiah did come to His people, Israel, to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, so that they could be redeemed from the curse of the Law through faith in His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection. The faith of all who believe in Him would be credited to them as righteousness. They would be redeemed from sin to inherit eternal life and to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:10-14). Since the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, is the very presence of God, all of the blessings of Abraham come through Him.
Apart from a remnant, the nation of Israel did not accept their Messiah (John 1:11-13). Because of their unbelief, God, in His mercy, opened the door of grace to the Gentiles. All who believe in the Son of God and in His sacrificial death for them, are saved by faith, and so become children of Abraham and heirs of God’s promise to bless all nations (Galatians 3:6-9).
This company of Jewish and Gentile believers, who make up the church, are not a replacement for Israel. As God’s elect, they are a continuation of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Since they are from every tribe and tongue and peoples and nation, they reflect the promise of God to bless all peoples through His covenant with Abraham (Revelation 5:9-10; 7:9).
Because of their unbelief, Israel was scattered among the nations. However, God in His mercy has promised, that in time, He would regather and restore Israel as a nation.
Approximately two thousand years after Israel was scattered, this divine restoration is now in progress. In 1948, Israel became a nation again. Jerusalem is now a part of Israel. Many thousands of Jews have returned to their homeland. They have encountered much opposition and warfare from the Arab community, something that is sure to increase as this aspect of restoration continues.
However, the greatest need is for spiritual restoration. The nation is largely an ungodly secular society with an orthodox community who are vehemently opposed to the gospel of Messiah.
God has not forsaken the nation! He has promised to effect a new covenant with Judah and Israel in which He will put His laws in their minds and to write them upon their hearts (Hebrews 8:8-13). To this end, the Holy Spirit is drawing a growing number of Jews to faith in Messiah. The challenge is for ethnic Israel to recognize that the Old Covenant has disappeared and to embrace the New Covenant in Messiah.
The Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” expresses the ultimate purpose of God. He has declared that the whole earth will be filled with His glory, and that the knowledge of His glory will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Numbers 14:21; Habakkuk 2:14). His glory will be seen in His people. The bride of His Son, the city of God, will be illumined by His glory, and provide light for the nations to walk by (Revelation 21:9-24).
This origin of God’s purpose among men comes from a single root: the gospel of His promise that He preached to Abraham (Galations 3:8; Genesis 22:16-18). The kingdom of God on earth, the whole of His plan of salvation, is nourished by this root!
The Lord uses the metaphor of an olive tree to describe what He is building on earth, possibly because of the many references in scripture to olive oil being a type of the Holy Spirit. The branches of the tree are His people, who are called to bear the tree’s fruit. Israel was the first people chosen to represent Him in the earth so that they are referred to as “natural” branches. When Israel rejected their Messiah, God opened the door of grace to the Gentiles; Gentile believers are described as “wild” branches who have been grafted into the olive tree (Romans 11:17-22). The trunk of the tree, which serves both as a conduit of life from the root and to provide support for the branches, is the sovereign grace and mercy of God. No one has ever been saved because of merit on their part; salvation is based on the sovereign election (choice) of God. Israel was chosen from among nations, not because of merit, but by reason of God’s choice alone. Whether Jew or Gentile, we are totally dependent on the mercy and grace of God. It is the basis of Jew and Gentile believers being “one new man” in Messiah.
A great motivation of the Messianic Movement is God’s promise that the natural branches, that were broken off because of unbelief, can be grafted in again by faith to once more partake of the rich root of God’s promise to Abraham (Romans 11:23-24)1
What is the history of the wild branches? The first hundred years of the church saw the New Covenant become established in a spiritually organic bonding of believers in local expressions of the body of Christ. The gospel of the kingdom was spread to all areas of the known world at that time. Ministry of the Holy Spirit demonstrated the lordship and headship of Christ. He also anointed the early apostles to write the New Testament, and thus document the word of God concerning the New Covenant. The first leaders of the church were Jews, who as disciples of Messiah, accepted this divine fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. The most significant voice for the New Covenant was that of the former Pharisee, Paul, who God called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Because of his great training in the Law, Paul was used by God to document how the Old Covenant pointed to a future fulfillment in the New Covenant, and so reveal God’s eternal purpose among men which had been hidden from past generations (Ephesians 3:1-12). The Old Testament can only be fully understood by revelation of the Person and ministry of Messiah in the New Testament.
However, after this initial period, there came great change. Not long after the death of Paul, the church entered a period of decline that lasted into the Dark Ages. The church changed from being a spiritual body under the headship of Christ into hierarchical structured organizations under the control of men. Much division arose between denominational bodies. There was intense persecution of those believers who sought to return to early church life and practices. There also arose a spirit of anti-Semitism, not only in some church bodies, but also in governments and politics of nations where these religious bodies had influence.
Since the reformation, there has been change to the good. Many visitations and revivals of the Holy Spirit have seen a restoration of some principles of the early church. However, restoration is not complete as division between bodies of believers is still common, and local church life is often more organizational than organic in the Spirit. There is a great need for genuine prophets and apostles to lay foundations for local churches.
Restoration of the church cannot be complete apart from the restoration of Israel to faith and to her place in the body of Christ. The issue is, how should the gospel of the kingdom, the reality of God’s restoration of the church and the promise of national salvation be presented in a unified redemptive message to the people of Israel? That is the challenge to be faced.
What place does the Law have in the life of a New Covenant believer? Righteousness in the Mosaic era was based on an obligation to obey the Law that was inscribed on scrolls or written on parchments. The Law was a barrier that separated God’s covenant people, Israel, from Gentile nations.
The following scripture expresses Messiah’s heart concerning the Law when He came to earth.
Do not think that I came to abolish (Gk.: KATALUO, “to utterly destroy:) the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
Messiah lived a sin-free life, fulfilling all commandments of the Law. He then offered Himself in death as the perfect, unblemished sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He accomplished all requirements of the Law by imputing His perfect righteousness to those who believe because His blood has washed away every sin they have committed. His death, burial and resurrection fulfilled the Law and removed this barrier that divided Jew from Gentile.
For He himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing (Gk.: KATARGEO, “to render inoperative”; “to nullify”) in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace.” (Ephesians 2:14-15)
The Law was not destroyed, but was rendered inoperative; it no longer plays a role in righteousness. The common identity of Jew and Gentile believers is in the Son, not the Law.
For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)
The New Covenant is based on a distinct moral absolute: the righteousness of God Himself! A practice of righteousness is based on one’s obedience to the leadings of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death (i.e. the Mosaic Law) . . . so that the requirements of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:2, 4)
For example, while the Law condemns adultery as sin, Messiah teaches that one who looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery with her in his heart. Emphasis in the New Covenant is on our heart where the Holy Spirit seeks to reign (Matthew 15:19-20).
The Mosaic covenant became obsolete and passed away with destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
God chose Israel to represent Him in the world, to be His special people, an exclusive nation through whom He would bless other nations (Genesis 12:1-3; Galations 3:8-9). However, they did not walk in obedience to the covenant requirements of God. They repeatedly defiled themselves by sinful ways and deeds. Through the many years that Israel walked under the Mosaic covenant, they developed a national culture, or identity, that was based on covenant practices, laws given by God, feast days, temple service, the priesthood, the traditions of elders, etc. The national culture became more important to religious leaders than their obedience to the Lord. Tradition and culture became more important than truth. This culminated in their rejection of the Messiah, which resulted in the dispersal of Israel
However, the blessings of God did come to other nations through the Messiah who Israel rejected. He became Redeemer and Savior of all people who would believe in Him. He was the seed who God had promised to Abraham. Israel’s failure became riches for the Gentiles. Since His death, burial and resurrection, millions of people, mostly Gentiles, have believed on Him becoming His disciples. The word of God describes these believers in several ways, such as, “the church which is His body,” “a bride for His Son,” and “children of Abraham.” However, Paul, the apostle, also declares that this great company of believers is part of the commonwealth of Israel. This could only happen if the barrier that separated Israel, and made them exclusive to other nations, was removed.
Remember that you (i.e. Gentiles) were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)
Jesus abolished in His flesh the written Law of commandments, so that all men through faith in Him could partake equally in God’s covenant promises.
The truth of Jew and Gentile believers becoming one new man is in harmony with Messiah’s teaching that there will be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10:14-16). One covenant, one people and one Shepherd.
In summary, the commonwealth (or citizenship) of Israel changed from being all those who were physical descendants of Abraham, through Isaac, to those who become true spiritual sons of Abraham through their faith in the Messiah. As citizenship changed, so also the seal of citizenship changed from physical to spiritual circumcision (Philippians 3:3).
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God (Romans 2:28-29).
Thus you were circumcised when you were buried with Him in your baptism, in which you were also raised with Him to a new life through your faith in the working of God as displayed when He raised Him from the dead (Colossians 2:12, Amplified Bible). Physical circumcision, therefore ceases to have spiritual significance to those under the New Covenant (1 Corinthians 7:17-19; Galatians 5:2-6). For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:15-16).
God can only write His laws on circumcised hearts!
The Mosaic covenant came with glory because it was given by God. However, ministry of the Holy Spirit has greater glory (2 Corinthians 3:7-10). The various laws, offerings, ceremonies, feast days, etc., of the Mosaic covenant were all shadows that pointed to a future reality having much greater glory. This reality came in the Messiah who fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham by initiating the New Covenant of the Holy Spirit.
In order that in Christ Jesus the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:14)
The Spirit reveals and fulfills the things of Christ that were foreshadowed in the Old Testament, and which testified of good things to come.
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance (reality) belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2: 16-17)
A divine objective of His covenant relationship with man is God’s preparation of a habitation, an eternal dwelling place with His people. Apparently, God built His intention into the heart of Abraham, for we read:
For he (Abraham) was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:10)
This is the same city that the New Covenant points us toward (Revelation 21: 2-3).
For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (Hebrews 13:14)
The tabernacle, the temple and the city of Jerusalem were all shadows of the New Jerusalem, the city of God’s dwelling that is yet to come. For example, God gave Moses specific, detailed instructions on how to build the tabernacle as a sanctuary or dwelling place for His presence in Israel.
Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later. (Hebrews 3:5)
What Moses built was a shadow or copy of the true tabernacle that God Himself would build (Hebrews 8:1-5).
Once the spiritual significance of the various materials, dimensions and furniture is realized, the tabernacle provides excellent guidance today on how to build the church.2 Wherever believers gather together, God is at work building His house. We may not hear the sound of hammers and saws, but ministries of the Holy Spirit are building believers together into a dwelling place for God (1 Corinthians 3:9-16).
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
So then you . . . are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
God’s purpose in choosing Israel was not to make them great among the nations, but that they would be a holy people, committed to make the Lord and His name great in the eyes of other nations. The Lord sought to reveal His glory and ways through Israel so that nations would flow to Him (2 Samuel 7:23-24). God’s purpose was embedded in His promise to Abraham to bless nations through the birth of Messiah. His purpose for Old Testament Israel was, in part, to foreshadow how He will draw nations to Himself in the great ingathering that lies ahead. The glory of His fullness will be revealed in His body, and nations will come to Him.
The New Covenant began with Messiah coming to earth possessing all the fullness of Deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3). His great sacrifice is the gospel message of the love of God, proclaimed to all nations. God has purposed that the fullness of His Son will be manifest in His body, the church, to draw multitudes to Himself as this age comes to a close.
The following three scriptures, containing the word “fullness,” express truth that has never yet been fully seen in His people. This fullness will be seen as the glory of the Lord rises upon His body!
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)
And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)
The fullness referred to in those verses will not take place apart from both Jew and Gentile believers filling their roles in the body of Messiah. That is, fullness of the Gentiles leads to the salvation and then to the fullness of Israel. Until Israel has been saved, something will be missing from the glory that is to draw nations to the Lord (Isaiah 60:1-7).
Deep darkness will cover the earth as the Lord’s glory rises upon His people. Tribulation, persecution, wars, famines, deceiving spirits and martyrdom will mark these days before the Lord returns. This era will not only be a time of great harvest, but also one of testing and purification that will draw His elect together while purging out what is false (Daniel 12:3, 10). Suffering brings glory (1 Peter 4:12-13).
For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Great unity will bind believers together when the glory of Messiah is manifest in them (John 17:22-23).
There is no greater emphasis in New Covenant ministry than the centrality and glory of Messiah! His majestic presence is to be seen in His people. This is the secret of harvest, and it is what the call of Israel in the Abrahamic covenant foreshadowed and pointed toward.
Another Old Testament truth, that foreshadowed a New Testament reality, is the Sabbath that pointed believers to the privilege of entering into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:1-11).
Sunday is not the New Testament Sabbath. The New Covenant has no holy days, nor does it oblige believers to observe any day, whether Christmas, Easter or Passover. Paul made this clear in his epistle to Galatia.
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. (Galatians 4:9-11)
Then there is the Holy Land. An important promise in the covenant that God made with Abraham was His promise of certain land given to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 15:8; 17:7-8). Their possession of this land was conditional; if they sinned and walked in disobedience to God, they would be scattered from the land. However, if they repented and turned back to God, He would regather them to their land (Deuteronomy 30:1-5).
Israel’s history concerning this land was not good. Even today, although the state of Israel exists, it occupies only a small portion of the originally promised land.
When Israel is saved, she may possess all or most of the land. However, it is apparent that the promised land foreshadows a much greater area of land represented by fulfillment of the New Covenant; namely, the whole earth. It is not inconsistent that God promised the Holy Land to Israel, and the earth to the meek (Romans 4:13).
I recommend an excellent book by David Holwerda to readers who are interested in more detail concerning God’s covenants.3
The challenge in messianic ministry is how to integrate these covenant truths in an anointed outreach to ethnic Israel. This clearly requires apostolic insight.
The place to begin is found in the words and counsel for Israel by two apostles in the early church. These men were Peter, an apostle to the Jewish people, and Paul, an apostle to Gentiles. The first words came from Peter, and are recorded in the third chapter of Acts; they express the following four truths:
1. Jesus was the Prince of life, the Messiah sent by God to Israel. Faith in His name will forgive sins and perform miracles of healing. Moses and the prophets testified of Him, that He was sent to Israel to fulfill God’s promises to Abraham (verses 14-16, 22-26).
2. Israel’s rejection of the Messiah had been the result of ignorance; something that God foreknew would happen (verses 17-18).
3. Peter directed Israel to sincerely repent and return to God. If the people would do so, their sins would be wiped away, and there would follow blessed times of visitation from the presence of the Lord until He would eventually come again (verses 19-20).
4. The Messiah would not return until the period of restoration of all things that God had spoken of by His prophets from ancient time (verse 21). Restoration includes all of God’s promises to Israel that were unfulfilled because of their disobedience; promises fulfilled by Messiah in the New Covenant. Most significant of these promises would be Israel’s salvation (Romans 11:27).
The above counsel by Peter clearly apply to Messianic ministry in Israel today, in particular, the need for genuine repentance and faith in the Messiah, so that righteousness may return to Israel.
In the wisdom of God, the counsel of Paul for Israel came over twenty years later, after the Holy Spirit had established vital, living expressions of the body of Messiah among the Gentiles. The heart of Paul’s apostolic strategy was to make Israel jealous by what the Holy Spirit was doing. His focus was the glory, worship, power, gifts and liberty of the Holy Spirit as revealed in local congregations that express the body of Messiah (Romans 10:19; 11:1-14). Paul recognized that many Old Testament teachings and practices were shadows of a living reality in the New Covenant (Colossians 2:16-19). He wanted to demonstrate this reality of body life. Spiritual life is always more convincing than religious tradition!
The validity of such a witness will only be effective if it is expressed through intercession in the love of God. Paul was willing to lay down his own life, if in doing so, some of his countrymen would be saved. This is the heart attitude of true apostolic ministry.
Although Paul’s strategy was written to the early church, the time for God’s grace to open the heart of Israel to jealousy would not occur until the times of the Gentiles had come to fullness, and Israel was once again established as a nation (Romans 11:25-31). Now is the time! This is the day to embrace Paul’s apostolic counsel and build local expressions of the body of Messiah in Israel; assemblies that demonstrate the lordship and headship of Messiah in body life, where Jew and Gentile believers are one new man in Him!
The following are three important guidelines for Messianic ministry in Israel
1. Spiritual warfare is of paramount importance. It is not a fight against flesh. Satan has sought to destroy Israel from her very beginning. The same is true for the church. The initial falling away of the early church, and the many competitive Christian institutions that have emerged since then, despite times of revival and spiritual visitations, have weakened the testimony of the church as being one body in Messiah. All acts of division and sectarianism, all acts of anti-Semitism and all acts by leaders to build their own religious kingdom have been initiated and encouraged by Satan.
God’s elect people must recognize their enemy and stand together as one. Messianic leaders should seek committed relationship with churches for prayer and intercession against the forces of evil, and for the salvation of Israel. The demonic hatred by Islam for Israel and Christianity has been birthed by Satan to gain control of nations. It is clear that God’s end-time purpose of uniting Jewish and Gentile believers into a glorious expression of the body of Messiah will be vehemently opposed by him as well, since it will culminate in the Lord’s return. The battle is spiritual, and will be fought and won in the heavenlies by the worship and prayer of the saints. Authorities and principalities in the heavens will be displaced by the Lord as He vindicates the holiness of His great name (Ephesians 3:10-11).
2. The apostolic counsel of Peter and Paul should be followed.
3. The heart of all Messianic ministry is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham by Messiah, as it is revealed in the New Testament. This should become Israel’s identification in God.
One who walks into the future while gazing back into the past will almost certainly stumble and fall. For this reason, messianic ministry should point believers to the future reality of God’s end-time purpose, and not back to shadows of the Mosaic covenant. Tradition and culture must not replace truth. The barrier that divided Jew from Gentile, which Messiah broke down by His death on the cross, should not be rebuilt. He came that He Himself would become the basis for Jew and Gentile to be one new man. Our eyes are to be on Him.
1. Dale Rumble; GRAFTING IN THE NATURAL BRANCHES, Fountain of Life Publications, 1999. 2. Dale Rumble: BUILD ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN, Fountain of Life Tract.
3. David E. Holwerda: JESUS AND ISRAEL, ONE COVENANT OR TWO? William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
