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Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the reconnection of Jews and Gentiles in the end times.
The winds are blowing and the Holy Spirit is shifting, which we will discuss in this article. But, when it comes to the awakening and ingathering of His spiritual family, we have now had 2,000 years focused on His first-born children Israel and 2,000 years on His children from the Nations.
I would like to point out how equitable God has been with time spent on both groups. For when calling out his first-born children through the patriarchs and establishing His covenants with Israel up until the time of Yeshua/Jesus and the new covenant, there was 2,000 years. Then after His cross and resurrection, His authority in the gospel was taken out to the Nations through His Jewish apostles so the rest of His children could also be grafted into Israel's promises. Through Yeshua/Jesus, they became co-heirs as a Commonwealth of Israel, and the two became intricately linked, establishing The One New Man in the church.
Concerning the Gentile ingathering, there has also been 2,000 years, which at its beginnings was a mystery that had been hidden up until the appointed time for the rest of God's children from the Nations to come into the fold (Col. 1:26-27). But apart from the apostles and the original Jewish followers who helped to establish the church, most of Israel did not understand this mystery in God's awakening to the Gentiles because they had had God to themselves (see John 10:16). There is an interesting analogy here between then and now in how the church is awakening to Israel.
During the time of the Gentiles, the church becomes established, but then breaks away from its Jewish roots and heritage. Through the Roman Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), the church became fully Romanized, establishing Christianity as a separate and distinct religion, which it has remained until this time.
In reality, however, it is Jewish and the only true path of God—for salvation is from the Jews through Yeshua/Jesus (Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 4:22), as well as all of the other covenants given to Israel that we are grafted into through Him as believers from the Nations (Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:7, 13).
While the apostles cleared the way for Gentiles to be free of the law and continuing their own associations to it (Acts 21:20-25), there a definite connectedness between Jew and Gentile remained with a Jewish heritage and flavor that was apparent during those days as they laid the foundations for the church. They witnessed everywhere the ingathering of the Gentiles and a good amount of Jews into the faith, and the miracles and power of the Holy Spirit flowed. However, with Rome's intervention, it was now as if the wild olive branch that was grafted into the vine had become the only branch and, from that point, all who wanted entry had no choice but to become like the Gentiles.
Something Significant Was Lost
When we look back into this time in history, what may have appeared to have been an amazing deal for the church in nationalizing the faith with Rome, actually created its first division and split and something hugely significant was lost. I call this The Disconnection, from which all other divisions stem from in the church and if we truly want to heal the division in the body of Messiah/Christ, this is honestly where we should start. It wasn't long thereafter that most of Christianity went into a slumber and sleep and soon after that Islam was born.
However, thankfully God was not finished with His church. Much like Yeshua/Jesus Himself, it must arise; especially in these days (see John 12:24), for G-d has been faithful to His covenants to her, just as He will be to His covenants to Israel to restore her. "For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst" (Matthew 18:20).
In a broad stroke, beginning with the Reformation, He began the process of restoration. In the 16th century, He restored the Bible and doctrine of salvation. In the 18th century, He began to restore a desire for holiness. In the 20th century, He restored the gifts and I believe in this time He will restore the fullness of The One New Man between Jew and Gentile.
That is because an awakened Israel cannot be grafted into the wild olive branch of the vine but must be grafted back into its own branch, which was and is essentially Jewish from its beginnings. Secondly, He will prepare and unite us for a Messianic Kingdom upon the earth whose authority will go out from Israel. In this light, we not only need to make room for them to return to faith along with their own expressions, but also to bless them into it.
The Holy Spirit is Shifting
As a result, the Holy Spirit is now shifting His church into this direction and, consequently, this is a major revelation for us to grasp considering our spiritual reconnection to Israel, its re-grafting into the vine and its reconnection to us. How it will transpire and how it is all connected—and I am not talking about going back to the law, but rather for the church to fully bless their Jewish brethren into their own identity and heritage so both groups may co-exist from within the unity of The One New Man—much like they did at the beginning of the church.
That is to facilitate the process of the unbroken branch of Israel once again becoming grafted back into the vine and coming back to life. For there is a great amount of confusion and misunderstanding in our theology here and there are reasons that we should pray to God that we may be willing to face it so that the enemy maybe properly exposed and that the Holy Spirit can prepare us for this time. My second book, The Ezekiel Generation, deals thoroughly with this subject of disconnection and reconnection.
I believe that Israel piece is the final piece that ignites the rest. If we truly understood the significance of this transaction in us, and the heart of the Father for His children as we reconnect as brethren, how we would run to it with all our strength and might because our refocus on Israel and its spiritual awakening is also intricately linked to the last great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the earth. For what does Scripture tell us—that their restoration will be akin to Resurrection power! (Romans 11:15).
This is a new time and era for the kingdom of God upon the earth. The apostle Paul referred to it, as the fullness of the Gentiles, and so it says all Israel will be saved. Please note well here how in the same sentence these two points are linked together. It is not as if as we enter into this time that God will remove His focus from either Jew or Gentile, but rather He will bring us into its fullness.
A mystery that He exhorted us not to be ignorant about, but one nevertheless that will require adjustment and change on the part of His church. For the times that both the Jew and the Gentile have had God to themselves is over and the Holy Spirit is now transitioning us into a new time of togetherness between Jew and Gentile that we must begin to recognize that will prepare us (His bride) for His coming.
During these days, the church cannot ignore Israel's spiritual awakening and its re-grafting back into its own vine, as its hardening is lifted. This is the second part of Ezekiel's prophecy after the land is restored (see Ezekiel 37:9-11). We also cannot ignore our unique role to aid the Holy Spirit in the fulfillment of God's covenants to breathe spiritual life back into them through intercession and evangelism, which is the church's divine destiny. For just as Israel was used to give life to us, through the Jewish apostles, in turn to complete the family circle that spiritual life would be released back to them from His children from the Nations through the mercy of God that they have received (Romans 11:30).
For we are His chosen vessels, Israel's salvific agent to help bring them to life, a role that we have not properly seen up until this time with fresh insights that are quite different from what we have been taught in all of our books and DVDs about the end times.
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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