Do Christians Properly Understand the Mystery Concerning Israel and the Church? - GRANT BERRY CHARISMA NEWS

Do Christians Properly Understand the Mystery Concerning Israel and the Church?

3/31/2016 GRANT BERRY  CHARISMA NEWS

(Provided by Grant Berry )

Note: As we quickly approach the last days before Yeshua/Jesus returns, the mystery to awaken and restore Israel into the family in the one new man, becomes paramount in God's glory plan to establish His kingdom upon the Earth. In this light, the Holy Spirit is shifting His focus onto a very necessary spiritual restoration that must occur between Jew and Gentile members of the family of God, so that His end-time plan can be realized through us. We call this The Reconnection, where both groups are intricately linked and greatly in need of one another, yet presently, the family of God is quite divided and separate.

As a result, I am in the midst of a series called, "What Is the One New Man?" In these articles we will explore and re-examine the pertinent Scriptures on the one new man, as well as issues relating to Israel and the church, and we will interview leaders from both sides of the family to gain a better understanding. However, the main goal is to help bring the body of Messiah/Christ into a greater unity and depth of understanding of this mystery; not through a Gentile or Jewish lens, but rather through our Father's eyes and heart, who longs for His family to be one and to be united into His end-time purposes and plans. In order for us to be mobilized us into the fray (John 17:23). 

If you haven't read part 1 and 2 of this article, which lays the foundation for a better understanding of Romans 11, please click here first for part 1 and here for part 2.

Romans 11 Continued ... The Mystery

The unraveling of this mystery is hugely significant to our generation and those who tarry before the Lord returns; more now than ever before, in light of the timing (Rom. 11:25-27). This is the pinnacle of these writings in Romans concerning Israel and the church and it reveals three major happenings:

• The lifting of the veil over the people of Israel
• The fullness of the Gentile Harvest
• Israel's spiritual awakening.

Thus this final section of Scripture that the apostle Paul writes comes with a caution, so that we may not be ignorant or conceited, but also understand the significance of this time, as well as its relevance to us (verse 25). Here Paul encourages us in our role back toward the Jewish people that we should not run out of patience and kindness (verse 22), thinking that Israel's judgment is final and continue to love them despite their rejection (verse 28), because ultimately when that time comes, the balance of Israel will be saved. They are the first-born in the family and they will be restored, as God's gifts and call are irrevocable (verse 29).

In fact there are several cautions in Romans 11 to our Gentile family concerning their position toward the Jewish people in how they should act toward them, while the balance of Israel are still in a broken off state—"Do not consider yourself superior" (verse 18) and "Do not be arrogant" (verse 20). But if we have become conceited concerning Israel and the Jewish people that we would repent before it is too late. It is almost as if Paul knew that there would be a great gap of time before these things would happen; that the church would turn on Israel, thinking that it had fully replaced her. That he cautions his Gentile brothers and sisters and reminds them not to forget their humble beginnings as a wild olive shoot being grafted into the olive tree of Israel (verse 24).

I firmly believe that all that was written in Romans chapters 9 and 10 and the first part of 11, are to lay the foundation to help the Gentile part of the family understand this complexity of Israel's plight and journey back to faith, because it is so challenging for us to process and comprehend. The balance of those who were called first were broken off because of unbelief, but would be restored and grafted back at the end. Here Paul tells us that Israel's hardening is only temporary, and in part (for there was a remnant of Jews who would believe—Romans 11:1-6), until the full number of Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. In other words, Israel must be restored and we are not complete without them being grafted back into the olive tree, which would happen at the same time as the last great harvest of souls. For what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (verse 15)

Paul's Insight

But where did Paul get this insight, aside from the guidance of the Holy Spirit? For at this time in his life, he could not have known the exact timing involved here for this to happen. Nor that it would take almost 2,000 years for these Scriptures to actually come to pass where the fullness of this mystery is now being revealed. I believe the answer to this question like so many others that the apostles faced, was revealed through the Hebrew Scriptures themselves, which was always their source for the answers they sought, as Yeshua/Jesus Himself had guided them into to confirm all truth. Please understand that there was no New Testament written at this point and these Jewish apostles were the lives of those who penned it.

"As it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will remove ungodliness from Jacob, for this is My covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins'" (verse 26-27).

Paul was a scholar of Scripture, and He knew the Word of God and the covenants and promises that were given to Israel that were distinct to them as a people. And today, because of Paul's quotation here in the New Testament, God has seen to it that every main section of Scripture properly testifies that despite Israel's judgment and dispersion that He would ultimately lead them back to the land of Israel and then spiritually restore them.

Deuteronomy 30:4 in the Torah; Ezekiel 36:22-27 in the Prophets among numerous others and this quote in the New Testament in Romans, all speak of God's covenant and promises solely to the people of Israel that can only be finally fulfilled through their spiritual awakening and restoration. Indeed Ezekiel tells us that it is not just for their sake, but rather for the sake of God's holy name; that our Father's words and promises are on the line. We make a grave mistake here to think that these promises and covenants relate to anything other than the physical seed of Israel, plus we would miss the whole purpose and meaning of Paul's explanation here in Romans 11, that we would fully comprehend this mystery.

The Church's Role

However, the fullness of the mystery is not complete; nor is the text, until we fully recognize our own unique role here in the church, which is to release the mercy of God back toward the Jewish people and here is the calling. "For just as you once were disobedient to God, but have now received mercy through their disobedience, so these also have now been disobedient, that they also may receive mercy by the mercy shown to you" (verse 30-31). And have we not also been given the gospel to make Israel jealous? (verse 11).

For there is a vital connection for the body of Messiah/Christ to see during these days and a major role for us to play out, so the end may actually come that is different from what we have been taught up to this point. Similar if you like, to those generations when the gospel was first poured out to the Gentiles, except now the roles are reversed; whose understanding was also hidden from previous generations (Eph. 3:1-11).

There is a family circle that must be completed here, so the bride is prepared for His coming that re-includes the branches of Israel that have been broken off, plus those that are yet to be restored, which is the full understanding of this mystery, but also how we are associated to it. Just as Israel was used to bring us life through Yeshua/Jesus, so now in turn God's children from the nations would be used to bring that life back to them. And in so doing, the natural outflow of this and our focus upon it, is the resurrection power to reach both groups, Israel's spiritual awakening and the fullness of the Gentiles (verses 25-26); the very revival that the church is so hungry for.

The two are intricately linked together, which is why we must now reconnect spiritually to Israel, in order for this transaction to take place through us, because the church is not a separate entity, as it has been since Rome broke it away from its roots and heritage, but rather a commonwealth of Israel (Eph. 2:12-22). For the gospel was never just to the Jews, nor the Gentiles, but rather to both.

The Ezekiel Generation

I called my second book The Ezekiel Generation for a specific purpose, as it is grounded on Ezekiel 37:9-11, which speaks prophetically of Israel's spiritual restoration. But it is not God who speaks to the breath, nor to the four winds to awaken Israel, rather He tells Ezekiel to do it. And if you will accept it, we (the end-time generations of the church) are the prophetic fulfillment of this Scripture. "So that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places" (Eph. 3:10). This is our intercessory role now for Israel: "Do not keep silent; give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a glory in the earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7). That His mercy that we have received from Him, would be released through us towards them, that they would come back to life to complete the family and ready us for His return. This is why Israel and their spiritual awakening are the golden key that unlocks the rest and one now that we must take hold of to fulfill our end-time destiny upon the earth.

Church, are you listening?

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

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Is the Veil and Hardening Over Israel Being Lifted? - GRANT BERRY CHARISMA NEWS

Note: As we quickly approach the last days before Yeshua/Jesus returns, the mystery to awaken and restore Israel into the family in the One New Man, becomes paramount in God's Glory plan to establish His kingdom upon the earth. In this light, the Holy Spirit is shifting His focus onto a very necessary spiritual restoration that must occur between Jew and Gentile members of the family of God, so that His end-time plan can be realized through us. We call this The Reconnection, where both groups are intricately linked and greatly in need of one another, yet presently, the family of God is quite divided and separate.

As a result, I am beginning a new series called, "What is The One New Man?" In these articles we will explore and re-examine the pertinent Scriptures on The One New Man, as well as issues relating to Israel and the Church, and we will interview leaders from both sides of the family to gain a better understanding. However, the main goal is to help bring the body of Messiah/Christ into a greater unity and depth of understanding of this mystery; not through a Gentile or Jewish lens, but rather through our Father's eyes and heart, who longs for His family to be one and to be united into His end-time purposes and plans—in order for us to be mobilized us into the fray (John 17:23). 

If you haven't read part 1 of this article, which lays the foundation for a better understanding of Romans 11, please click here.

Romans 11 Continued

So, what is the first thing that the apostle Paul writes to us in Romans 11 about the people of Israel? He asks us a question. In fact in the first 11 verses he actually asks three questions and all of them refer to the fate, path and outcome of the Jewish people—each with a different consequence. The first relates to the part of Israel who believe in Yeshua, the second to those who do not and the blindness that is upon them, and the third speaks of the balance of Israel that is to be restored towards or near the end, who are still veiled.

Except with his third question and response, he uses the rest of the chapter to explain this complexity to the church (those who rejected and are still blinded), and God's redemptive heart and position toward His first-born children, who will ultimately be restored. Indeed I believe that everything he has written and explained to us thus far in these three vital chapters (9-11) of Romans concerning Israel and the church, is so that we may fully grasp and comprehend this mystery that surrounds Israel's spiritual restoration towards the end, as well as our most significant role to help in this process.

This is highly significant to us during these days that we gain a fresh understanding of these verses. For there are many of us in the church who have over spiritualized these Scriptures now believing that the Israel of God is found solely in the church. Actually downgrading Israel's role to that of any other nation or people, while Paul makes clear to us that they are a covenant people (verse 27), and that their call and gifts are irrevocable (verse 29), which is not only crucial to our understanding, but also to our eschatology.

With all due respect, I believe this theology to be incorrect, because the bride is not complete and ready until physical Israel is properly restored to the family of God, which is very different from what is mostly taught today in the church. For Israel is the missing piece of the puzzle, not only with the re-establishment of the Jewish branches with the current remnant of Jewish believers, but also with Israel's final spiritual awakening, which comes with the final harvest of souls toward the end of the age (Romans 11:25-27).

In fact, I believe that our reconnection to our Jewish roots is the final act of restoration for the church, which not only prepares us for His coming to establish a Messianic kingdom upon the earth, but also to aid in the balance of Israel's salvation. What an honor! For did not Jesus tell us that the first would be last and did He not tell them that you will not see me again until you say, "Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:39). In other words, it is not until they are spiritually awakened that they will be able to make such a comment.

So, let's take a look at these questions and responses and the three paths of the Jewish people with their ultimate journey to faith.

Path No. 1 and the First Question – the Remnant

"Did God reject His people? By no means!.... So too at this present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." Here, Paul addresses the first issue that relates to the Jewish remnant who believes in Yeshua.  Through Elijah's experience with Israel's apostasy who thought he was the only one left who believed, Paul explains to us from the time of Jesus to this present day there would be a remnant of Jewish people who would believe.

Indeed, Jewish believers founded the church and they took the gospel out to the nations, so the rest of God's family could be grafted into the faith. And over the first century there were a decent number of Jewish people who actually believed. These Scriptures have also applied to a remnant of Jewish believers coming to faith over the centuries up until this modern day and from the time of Yeshua/Jesus to now, there have always been a small remnant of Jewish believers coming to faith.

Path No. 2 and the Second Question – Those Veiled

"What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.'"

Much can be said about this explanation, especially regarding our understanding of the timing of Israel's hardening. Did it come upon them, because they rejected Yeshua, or was it already on them before Messiah/Christ came? In my 2nd book The Ezekiel Generation, I dedicated a whole chapter to this subject, in our understanding of the different veils upon mankind (Chapter 8), and how they actually came about. I would encourage you to read it.

While we can trace the explanation to this hardening of Israel to the Torah (five books of Moses) in the book of Deuteronomy (29:4), we are also aware that all humankind's hearts are veiled to God as a result of sin, which naturally hardens. However, it is not until Israel and Judah totally abandoned God to their idols that the Lord commands Isaiah to proclaim a blindness and deafness upon them, which has remained to this day (Isaiah 6:9,10). And it is to this Scripture that I believe the apostle Paul is referring to here. Regardless, those of Israel whose eyes were not opened remained under this curse, up UNTIL the appointed time when this veil will be removed (verses 25-26).

Path No. 3 and the Third Question – Israel Restored

"Again I ask: Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all!"

Again Paul questions us, however this time it relates solely to those Jewish people who have still not believed and remain under the veil. Please note however, that they are still referred to as Israel in this text (verse 11).

Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all! And Paul makes clear to us that there is a future redemption for Israel that is still to come. For what else can these Scriptures refer to? And one must ask the question as to why the church fathers did not see this when Scripture is so clear concerning Israel's ultimate restoration. Paul writes ... "How much greater riches will their fullness bring! ... For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ... And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ... After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! ... I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening IN PART UNTIL the full number of Gentiles has come in, and IN THIS WAY all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:11-27).

Unequivocally, the veil and hardening over Israel will be lifted. If we are willing to accept it, it is already begun through the Messianic Movement and the many thousands of Jewish believers who are now coming to faith during these days. Please note here that since Israel took back possession of Jerusalem in 1967, more Jewish souls have come to Messiah than in the last 1900 years put together.

This is the first part of this mystery to be revealed and according to Scripture there will be a mass awakening of Israel of a final remnant—a turning to the Lord with a great repentance (Zechariah 12:10). But will this happen between God and Israel alone, or is His church the catalyst to help bring this about? To be continued ... 

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

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The Olive Tree: The Relationship of Jew and Gentile - GRANT BERRY CHARISMANEWS

An olive tree (Flickr )

The Olive Tree: The Relationship of Jew and Gentile

1/13/2016 GRANT BERRY  charisma news

Perhaps the greatest analogy ever given by the Spirit of Jew and Gentile in the family of God in the Bible is penned in Romans 11, when Paul paints this imagery of the olive tree. Here we see a brilliant illustration of what has taken place between Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of God through Yeshua/Jesus.

In this picture, the olive tree represents Israel, along with its branches, many of which are broken off through unbelief. The root of the tree is the Godhead, which provides its life and existence, and the wild olive tree along with its branches, are God's children from the nations, who are now grafted into Israel. This may be somewhat of a humbling image to modern-day believers, but it wasn't at all then, as Gentiles coming to Yeshua were incredibly grateful to become a part of Israel's rich heritage and history (Rom. 9:4-5) and to be grafted into Israel's covenants and promises as co-heirs. We should never forget our humble beginnings, which Paul reminds us of in this chapter.

Through faith in Yeshua, Gentiles could now be grafted into the olive tree (kingdom) and inherit its promises along with the people of Israel, who also believed; while unbelieving Israel was broken off through unbelief, but would be restored before the end, so that the family of God would be complete. Here we see a total picture of the children and family of God from beginning to end, His call to the first-born Israel, and His call to all of the other children from the nations and how we are all grafted together.

And for the first couple of centuries, not only did both groups co-exist, but they harmonized in the unity of the Holy Spirit, with great power and anointing upon them. However, their unity in the Spirit did not wipe out their callings, as it was evident that Jews continued to practice their heritage. Nor was it God's will for Gentile believers to become like Jews, but only in the Spirit, which the apostles made clear to us at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, and for both groups to dwell together in unity, despite their different callings.

Indeed, it was quite evident that the apostles continued to hold to their traditions as Jews (Acts 21:17-21), now having the grace and power of the Lord to do so (Rom. 8:4), so that they could also win their own people to the faith, which is vital for us to understand and contemplate during these days of Reconnection to help win Israel back to faith.

However, by the time Rome took control of the church, the Jerusalem church was no more and the percentage of Jews in the body of Messiah/Christ had greatly diminished. In addition, most of the church fathers misunderstood and wrongly interpreted Israel's plight and journey through their rejection of the gospel, thinking that God was now finished with Israel and teaching that the church had succeeded and replaced them.

This action actually severed the Jewish branch of the faith, then firmly establishing the Gentile branch as the only viable option. This is one of the main reasons why we see the church and Israel so separately, when in reality we are so interconnected and intricately linked. And so for the past 1,600 years, even amid the spiritual restoration of the church, this Gentile characteristic to the church has remained.

So much so that as the Lord now looks to awaken Israel in the last days and as a result, for the natural branch to re-emerge, it is just so foreign for Gentile believers in the church to even contemplate, just as it was for the Jews back then, when Gentiles first started to come in. Isn't it interesting how the tables have turned? For there are numerous analogies we can draw between the two parts of the family when it comes to this spiritual reconnection between Jew and Gentile.

This is because the church still sees itself as Israel's replacement rather than its commonwealth, which it has been grafted into. And in light of the time and hour we are in before the Lord returns, this breach must be healed and our unity with our Jewish family restored; not only to help bring the balance of Israel forth because we are the catalyst of this mercy, but to complete the family and to prepare the bride for the Lord's coming.

The church is not a separate entity, but intricately linked into the vine, with a huge role to play out in Israel's spiritual restoration. Up to this time, the church has not yet properly understood this restoration because of its disconnection. This is the longing of our Father's heart, to restore His first-born and make us one.

The Israel piece is the final piece of the puzzle that ignites the rest, and just as God used them to bring us life through Yeshua/Jesus, so now in turn to complete the family circle, the church would be used to bring life back to them. Israel's spiritual restoration is absolutely essential to our future well-being and final destiny in the kingdom of God.

With this background in mind, we are now ready to take a closer at Romans 11, which we will do in February. 

For part one of this article, click here.

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.

Is Romans 11 the Key to the End Times? - GRANT BERRY CHARISMA NEWS STANDING WITH ISRAEL

Grant Berry believes the church needs to see its connection to Israel in a fresh light. (Courtesy of Grant Berry )

Is Romans 11 the Key to the End Times?

 

1/12/2016 GRANT BERRY  charisma news

As we quickly approach the last days before Yeshua/Jesus returns, the mystery to awaken and restore Israel into the family in the One New Man, becomes tantamount in God's glory plan to establish His kingdom upon the Earth.

In this light, the Holy Spirit is shifting His focus onto a very necessary spiritual restoration in God's family between Jew and Gentile, in order that His end-time plans may actually come about through us. I call this The Reconnection, and the truth is that both groups are intricately linked together into these plans and are actually in great need of one another. Yet presently, the family of God is divided and separate.

As a result, I am beginning a new series called "What Is the One New Man?" In these articles we will explore and re-examine the pertinent Scriptures on the One New Man, as well as issues relating to Israel and the church, and we will interview leaders from both sides of the family to gain a better understanding. However, the main goal here is to help bring the body of Messiah/Christ into a greater unity and depth of understanding of this mystery; not to necessarily see it anymore from either a Gentile or Jewish lens, but rather through the heart of the Father who longs for His family to be one; to be united into His end-time purposes and plans; and to mobilize us into the Frey (John 17:23).

ROMANS 11 – PART 1 

Romans 9-10

To gain a full understanding of Romans 11, we must first read chapters 9-10, which lay a firm foundation for the apostle Paul's prophetic outline between Israel and the church, which also greatly relates to the end times. Romans 11 does not refer to Jewish believers per se, but rather to the rest of Israel (the Jewish people) who are still broken off due to a rejection of the gospel and, as a result, how the Gentiles in the church should relate to them.

Chapters 9-10 speak to us about God's election of promise and mercy for both Jew and Gentile. It is actually through Isaac that our offspring will be reckoned, that when it comes to the acceptance of the gospel, there is no difference between us. Both Jew and Gentile need to accept Yeshua/Jesus through faith, (the Isaac of God), to become children of the promise.

He reached out not only to those from Israel who came through the law, but to all of His children He was to call from the Nations, which God initiated shortly after the cross and resurrection through His Jewish apostles. It was always God's plan to reach out to gather His other children (John 10:16), and Paul quotes Hosea here to confirm God's calling to the Gentiles (Rom. 9:25).

However, this was a major challenge and stumbling block for Israel to accept, because of the law that they were given from God. Because they had learned to pursue it through works and not by faith, to attain a law of righteousness that had little room for the mercy of God, which was to be found in His only begotten Son, who was at the end of the law for all who believed. "Look! I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed" (Rom. 9:33).

The apostle Paul makes the sovereignty of God clear to us in these chapters: "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" (9:20) In other words, who are we to question God in the scheme of things? But the religious leaders could not accept this and then led most of Israel astray. God had moved on from the old system of the law, which brought sin into account, into the New Covenant in which His law would be circumcised into our hearts through His Holy Spirit, where we would all know God for ourselves (Jer. 31:31-34).

Any of the Jewish people who accepted Yeshua/Jesus at this time, of whom there were many, helped to establish the new community of believers the world now calls the church. For all believers were now welcome into the kingdom of God, both Jew and Gentile alike. The playing field concerning its entrance had now been leveled. However, this did not wipe out Israel's heritage and covenants, of which believing Gentiles were now associated to through faith. Yeshua/Jesus transferred Israel's authority to the apostles, away from the Levitical priesthood and they took the gospel out to the nations so that all of the other children in the family could be grafted into Israel's covenants and promises. This is our destiny and God's ultimate plan to unite us and make us one.

This can be extremely confusing to us today, some 1,600 years later, in light of the fact that physical Israel is still broken off spiritually, and because the church severed its Jewish roots and heritage through the Roman assimilation (fourth century), establishing Christianity as a separate and distinct religion.

In so doing, the church disconnected itself from the very body it was grafted into in order to represent, and something huge was lost, fully replacing Israel with the church. In reality, according to Scripture, belief in Yeshua/Jesus became the only true and proper extension of Judaism and those of us who now believe in Him from the nations also belong to Israel, because we are grafted into their covenants and promises, and are now supposed to represent her as its commonwealth (Eph. 2:11-22). But we do not replace the natural branch, as ultimately Israel still needs to be grafted in to complete the bride and family of God, which Paul fully outlines in Romans 11 when he addresses their restoration.

Romans 11

Perhaps the apostle Paul had insight from the Holy Spirit as to how the church would turn against the Jews, that he writes this chapter specifically to the Gentile side of the family, "I am talking to you Gentiles" (verse 13). For while Paul made it clear to us about the entrance into the kingdom being the same for both groups and explaining how unbelieving Israel was now broken off, he never lost sight or desire for them to be grafted back in again. In fact, Paul goes as far as to say that he would be personally cut off and even cursed for the sake of his own brethren (Rom. 9:3). Can you imagine this with your own salvation?

However, now that he has imparted this background and laid this foundation, he is able to explain better the path of Israel and how we should relate to them, which he outlines in Romans 11. Please understand, as a Jew, no one had to tell Paul or give him a heart for his own people, as this was just natural for him. Even to suffer at their hands, their stonings and the like, especially with all of the revelation he had received from God concerning Israel, their rejection and their awakening.

But to the Gentiles, now coming into the faith and who were not blood brethren, he penned an outline of instruction from the Father in how to position themselves toward the firstborn in the faith, despite their current rejection, which we will address more fully in part two of this article. In addition, he makes it very clear that God has not forsaken Israel; that they can be grafted in again and he paints a prophetic picture of their future gathering and spiritual reconnection. 

Tune in Wednesday for part two of this article.

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.

LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FEATURED BOOK

PAPERBACK: $5.95

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Buy here: Why Israel? by Steve Martin

Why Israel? Why not? This little booklet consists of messages previously written in my books, which of themselves contain many various themes. I wanted to devote one book to just Israel and the Jewish people, and so this small booklet was compiled.

As you read the following, consider the truth contained in Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, which spell out the commitment of God the Father to choose a people who will be a light to the nations. He chose the Jews, and gave them the Promised Land of Israel. It does not matter what other national governments try to say, do, or accomplish apart from the plans and purposes of the Lord. 

They will fail. His Word is true. It is eternal. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, and thus His commitment in keeping His promises made to the Jewish people will be fulfilled. I hope you stand with them in these last days. 

Steve Martin

Founder 

Love For His People, Inc.

Israel: All the Feasts Tie Into the Gospel - GRANT BERRY CHARIMSA NEWS

Make no mistake: Hanukkah and Christmas are connected through Yeshua.

Israel: All the Feasts Tie Into the Gospel

12/9/2015 GRANT BERRY  charimsa news

Hanukkah is the final feast in the Jewish calendar and tells a remarkable story of the deliverance of Israel from the control of the Ancient Greeks in 164 B.C. The Seleucid Dynasty had assumed rule of the area through a political and military struggle after Alexander the Great had died.

In their wake, they sought to assimilate the people into their Hellenistic culture (ancient Greek culture or ideals) and way of life with no exceptions, dealing ruthlessly with anyone who would oppose them. Had they been completely successful, they could have threatened the very environment that brought Messiah into the world.

Not only did they ransack the holy temple of God, desecrating all of its contents, but they actually sacrificed a pig to their Greek god Zeus on the temple altar, which naturally repulsed all of the Jews, owing to their strict dietary laws, where the pig was considered most unclean. 

The Jews were outraged, and a priest named Mattathias and his five sons took up against several of their soldiers and killed them, which sparked a revolt. Being completely outnumbered, they utilized guerilla-style warfare tactics, first in the hill country and then throughout the land, which took some time. They met with surprising success, and their faith in the God of Israel inspired the nation to take back their own country, despite the odds that were against them.

In the month of Kislev (December), they reached Jerusalem and took back the temple. In restoring the menorah, which symbolized the light of God, they only had enough oil to last for one day, as it took eight days to prepare new oil. However, the oil miraculously lasted for eight days. This event demonstrated two miracles of God: the first to deliver His people and the second to lighten His temple.

The temple was restored and rededicated to God, and a new holiday was established called Hanukkah (Hebrew for dedication) to remind Israel of these miracles, the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah was not one of the original Jewish feasts mentioned in Leviticus 23, as it had not happened yet. However in light of its significance, its prophetic picture through Daniel, as well as God's intervention, it became part of the Jewish calendar and has been celebrated ever since by Jews and some Christians all over the world.

 Yeshua/Jesus Is Our Hanukkah

Isn't it fascinating that the very last miracle recorded in the Jewish calendar is a miracle of light to foreshadow and tell us of the great Light that was to come into the world? In fact Yeshua/Jesus celebrated Hanukkah and forever connected its significance by reflecting His own Messiahship through this celebration (John 10:22-39). Isn't it interesting that in all the feasts, we can see the character of God's love and light for mankind? What a connection for us as believers and especially toward our Jewish friends and neighbors in our witness and love towards them.

Nowhere is this clearer than through the Hanukkah celebration that we see the light of the world. Scripture tells us that God knows the beginning from the end, so don't you think He knew that the nations would also celebrate His birth and coming during this same season? So that the festival of Hanukkah, like many of the other feasts is actually a prophetic foreshadow of Yeshua/Jesus Himself and the Christmas season that celebrates His birth.

As a result, the two holidays work beautifully together in tandem to lift up God's Son upon the earth and are intricately linked, from the old to the new. And Christians everywhere, like the Jews, can enjoy this wonderful holiday.

Let's investigate this a little further and take a careful look at the three chapters in John's Gospel that surround the Hanukkah Feast. In John chapter 9, Yeshua/Jesus gives sight to a blind man that should in itself be enough testimony for the Jewish leadership to acknowledge His sovereignty. But before the miracle has even taken place see what He says, "I am the Light of the World" and here He makes a prophetic proclamation of who He is (John 9:5).

On Hanukkah in John Chapter 10, Yeshua/Jesus went into the temple area giving perhaps one of the only teachings where He actually refers to Himself as the Messiah,"I and the Father are one" (verse 30). Here He asks the Pharisees to review His credentials by acknowledging the miracles He had performed to provide authenticity as to who He said and claimed to be in the flesh.

Then in the very next chapter (11), Yeshua performs perhaps His greatest of all miracles by raising Lazarus from the dead, which also acts a prophetic picture of what He was about to do with His own life through His resurrection. "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. To the Jew first and then to the Gentile — Do you believe this?" Yeshua asked (John 11:25).

There is no greater miracle in this world than the gift of God's one and only Son, and so there is also a beautiful connection that exists between Hanukkah and Christmas, as Hanukkah truly foretells of the great Light that was to come into the world and Christmas celebrates that Light. To both Jew and Gentile alike, as believers in Yeshua/Jesus, we have liberty to celebrate these holidays that remind us of God's faithfulness and deliverance to His people.

For Jewish believers to enjoy fellowship with their Gentile family during the Christmas season and for Gentile believers to have fellowship with their Jewish family lighting the Hanukkah candles. What matters most is that Yeshua/Jesus would be lifted up that He would draw all men and women to Himself, Amen.

 How To Observe Hanukkah

Hanukkah is observed using a menorah, which is a candlestick that holds nine candles. One for each day of the miracle and the ninth, called the Shamash, which actually means attendant or servant and of course, who is the great servant, but Yeshua/Jesus Himself, who gives light to all of us.

On each of the days, the Shamash candle is lit and used to light the other candles, increasing one each day until the last day, when they are all lit. Gifts are given on each night and chocolate money is given to the children, known as Hanukkah Gelt. Special foods are eaten, usually those cooked in oil to commemorate the miracle, such as Latkes (potato pancakes), and doughnuts and a traditional game is played with a dreidel, a four sided spinning toy.

May His great light and His servant's heart lighten us and cause us to show His presence and His glory to the world that these generations would know the truth about God and that it would set them free to follow Him.

 Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, everyone! 

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

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Restoring Israel: What Is The One New Man? 11/25/2015 GRANT BERRY CHARISMA NEWS

Restoring Israel: What Is The One New Man?

11/25/2015 GRANT BERRY  charisma news

As we quickly approach the last days before Yeshua/Jesus returns, the mystery to awaken and restore Israel into the family in the One New Man becomes tantamount in God's glorious plan to establish His kingdom upon the earth.

In this light, the Holy Spirit is shifting His focus onto a very necessary spiritual restoration in God's family between Jew and Gentile, in order that His end-time plans may actually come about through us. I call this the Re-connection. The truth is that both groups are intricately linked together into these plans and are actually in great need of one another, yet presently the family of God is divided and separate.

As a result, I am beginning a new series called, "What is The One New Man?" In these articles we will explore and re-examine the pertinent Scriptures on the One New Man, as well as issues related to Israel and the Church. We will interview leaders from both sides of the family to gain a better understanding. However, the main goal here is to help bring the body of Messiah/Christ into a greater unity and depth of understanding of this mystery; the goal is not necessarily to see it anymore from either a Gentile or Jewish lens, but rather through the heart of the Father who longs for His family to be one. To be united into His end-time purposes and plans to mobilize us into the fray (John 17:23). 

Ephesians 2:11-22 - Written For God's Children From The Nations

This is the only text in the entire New Covenant Scripture that refers to the term, "One New Man", so it is a good place for us to start. This text is written specifically to Gentile believers to clearly communicate what has now transpired through the releasing of the New Covenant in Yeshua/Jesus.

Verse 11 begins with "Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh." However, it may help us to better comprehend this text if we have a clearer understanding of the apostle Paul's vision and purpose for his ministry here, which was to win the Gentiles to the faith and to unite the family between Jew and Gentile.

Please also understand that within this context Paul had quite a challenge on his hands to be able to convince Gentile believers of their now complete and total equality with their Jewish brethren in Messiah/Christ. After all, referring to the Jews, Paul writes, "Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is over all, God forever blessed. Amen" (Rom. 9:4-5).

So one could imagine that, in the beginning of Paul's ministry, he had to work hard to lay a strong foundation and be able to explain how this was now possible, as both Jew and Gentile needed to embrace the cross in order to pass over from sin's curse, which the law fully exposed. Messiah/Christ now made an entrance for all of His children, both Jew and Gentile alike. The fullness of the law through the Spirit indwelled each of us as we yielded to Messiah/Christ, who are now joined together and rise to become His Holy Temple (Eph. 2:21).

While the Jews actually came through the law, and Gentiles came after it through Messiah/Christ, both had to fully embrace the message of the cross in order to find the fullness of the New Covenant: "And He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:17-18). This alone should be enough to kill the concept of dual covenant theology, which somehow gives a pass to the Jews believing in God but not embracing the cross concerning their salvation.

As a result, Paul lays out to us one of the clearest explanations in the Bible of what has actually transpired through the Gospel, as it relates to both Jew and Gentile in the family of God. Look at the very first point he makes here. He reminds Gentile believers what they were excluded from before they believed in Yeshua/Jesus, obviously now inferring that through Messiah/Christ they are now fellow citizens with Israel, or as the NAS and KJV put it, a commonwealth of Israel and sharers of the covenants of the promise.

Ephesians 2:19 continues, "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." Please note here that Paul did not have to explain this to the Jewish believers. By this time, they were already aware of how the Holy Spirit had opened the door for Gentiles coming to faith. Rather, Paul needed to convince God's children from the nations that they were now included in the Israel of God.

Ephesians 2:20 points to an Israelite-like body built upon the apostles and prophets, of which the Messiah was its cornerstone. This was the Jewish governing authority that the Lord established the Kingdom of God to go out from, along with its five-fold focus to equip the saints for good works. We are grafted into Israel as fellow citizens with equal rights.

Ephesians 3:6 makes clear another component of Paul's argument: "The Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members, and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel." Yet why is it today that, when we think of the Church, we see it as such a separate entity from the very commonwealth that we have been grafted into, as if the Gentile Church replaces Israel?

Am I missing something here, for is not belief in Yeshua/Jesus actually Jewish? When one believes in Him, do we not become children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and inherit the covenants that were also given to Israel? So why do we consider Christianity in such a gentile manner?

The Disconnection

While the church prospered greatly under the persecution of the then Roman Empire with great signs and wonders accompanying its efforts, something hugely significant was lost when Rome looked to adopt the faith and nationalized it. I call this the Disconnection. Not only was the governing structure and focus of the Church altered through its leadership—adapting numerous pagan beliefs in the process and moving us away from God's calendar—but all connections to its roots and heritage to Israel were cut and eventually lost.

This established Christianity as a separate and distinct religion, even teaching that the Church had now succeeded Israel with all of the promises and covenants relating to them and not to Israel. In reality, belief in Yeshua/Jesus is the only true and proper extension of Judaism fulfilled in the New Covenant itself, which was given to Israel through Yeshua/Jesus, who then took its message out to the nations through the apostles and prophets so that God's other children could be grafted into the fold (John 10:16).

There are key words for us to understand here, such as "together with Israel" and "fellow citizens with God's people" that point to the fact that, within the unity of the One New Man, there existed two distinct groups, one that was Jewish and one Gentile. Yet both now co-existed in a heavenly unity within the Spirit that will ultimately reflect God's priesthood upon the earth when Yeshua/Jesus comes back to reign.

The One New Man does not wipe out these distinctions, as the Church has taught; rather, it upholds and blesses them. God was not calling Gentiles to be Jews from within this unity, for He created the Nations and their uniqueness, but rather to express their beliefs through Israel, which was lost when the Church disconnected itself. This must be restored now if Israel is to be won back to faith.

Yet it wasn't long after the Roman world took control of the Church that the only entrance into the olive tree of Israel became fully Gentile, with absolutely no Jewish expression being permitted.

While the disconnection may have been tolerable during God's sole focus on gathering His children from the Nations (God has been equitable in time spent on His family: 2,000 years on the firstborn from Abraham to Yeshua/Jesus and 2000 years on His children from the Nations), as we enter the time of the fullness of the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit is shifting us.

As a result, this breach must be restored to reunite us and make us one. This will not only prepare us for His coming to properly reflect the commonwealth we are grafted into, which is inherently Jewish, but also for one of our greatest ever roles, which is to help breathe spiritual life back into the rest of Israel with the mercy of God we have received, who must be awakened before He returns (Rom. 11:30-32). For we will become far more effective in our evangelism and witness back towards the Jewish people when we are reconnected to our roots and heritage properly, drawing them to jealousy instead of presenting the current Gentile branch of the faith, which is completely foreign to them and which was used to persecute and kill their ancestors.

The Natural Branch Must Be Restored

My second book, The Ezekiel Generation, really focuses on this. His family is not complete until the broken branch of Israel is grafted back into the tree and our Father's covenants and promises to restore His firstborn children have come to pass.

Israel cannot be grafted back into the Gentile branch of the faith, but must be restored to their own natural branch, which calls for a great realignment in our thinking and our eschatology, which up to this point has had the Church and Israel on separate paths before the Lord's return. There are reasons why we have not been able to see this role and Reconnection up until this time, which The Ezekiel Generation fully brings to light. 

The natural branch is already re-emerging in the form of the Messianic Movement and many Jewish believers coming to faith in the Church. However, they truly need our help and support to fulfill their own callings. They need to live out their own identities as Jewish believers, so that Yeshua's light can shine back to the rest of Israel through them.

It is time for us both, as Jews and Gentiles in the faith, to begin to hang up our own individual perspectives that are keeping us apart. The fullness of the revelation of the One New Man will not come to us from either side, but only when we are dwelling together in unity.

We need to see this reunion in His family from our Father's perspective, who loves all of His children equally but longs for His firstborn to be restored. It is only with His heart and His Spirit that we will be able to fully engage and fulfill His plans for us. His purposes have us intricately linked during these days to fulfill His plans upon the earth and which includes a mutual love and respect for one another.

In next month's article, I will teach from Romans 11. 

To listen to the Bible Study at Messiah's House on Ephesians 2:11-22, please clickhere.

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of God in the last days. His website is reconnectingministries.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

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