Why Must we Pray for Israel. Final Part (for now).

Prophetically, we are entering into a time pictured in the Book of Ruth.  Because there was famine in the land of Israel, Elimelech, who was from the area around Bethlehem, (the House of Bread), and Naomi traveled to Moab to live.  While there, their two sons married Moabite women.  After a time, Elimelech and both of Naomi’s sons died.  Naomi decided to move back to Israel because she heard that the famine had ended.  As she was on the way, she encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their father’s houses and marry again.  Ruth, who is a picture of the Gentile Church today, refused to take the easy route.  She loved Naomi and said where you go, I will go.  Where you stay, I will stay.  Your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. 

Ruth was binding herself in covenantal love to Naomi and her people.  She was a comfort to Naomi who was grieving, and now wanted to be called “Mara,” which means “bitter,” because the circumstances of her life had become devastating to her.  Ruth and Naomi return to the same area in Israel where Naomi had formerly resided.  They return at the time of the barley harvest.  They return because they have heard the famine is over.  The “house of bread” is beginning to have life again. 

There are beginning to be signs of life again in Israel.  The native born Messianic believers, which numbered in handfuls in the early seventies, is growing quickly.  This is the first time in since the early days of the movement, that young, native born Israeli’s are being positioned for leadership in the Messianic community.  Formerly, leaders were individuals who had been born in another nation and had made aliya to Israel and set up or oversaw congregations.  There are now sabras, native born Israeli’s who will step into leadership within the next 5 years.  They have served in the military, speak Hebrew, and are Israeli in every way.  This is the time to align with what God is doing in Israel, just like Ruth did for Naomi.

You are probably familiar with the story.  Ruth gleaned in the fields so that she and Naomi would have provision.  As she was faithful to support and diligently worked in the fields, the owner noticed her.  She gained his favor and he said, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law,” How you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.  May the Lord repay you for what you have done.  May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

 He then invited her to eat with him and instructed his workers to leave even more grain for her on purpose, as she was gleaning in the fields.  As we selflessly serve the Jewish people, God notices.  The favor of the Lord begins to come on our lives and His provision begins to manifest in wondrous ways for what He has called us to do.  It is nothing short of a miracle that I have been able to go to Israel 7 times in the last 7 years to pray and encourage God’s people.  Most of those times, we did not have the money ourselves.  I have come to believe that it is God who values my time there and the contribution I want to make in the spirit.

The last phase of this prophetic story involves Ruth being instructed by Naomi to wash herself and put on her best clothes and go to the threshing floor where she knows Boaz will be sleeping, guarding his harvest from thieves.  She obeys and lies down at the feet of Boaz.  In the middle of the night Boaz wakes up and notices her.  Her act is a request for marriage or redemption and restoration of the name of her husband.  Boaz is a kinsman redeemer.  He puts his cloak over her to signify that he has taken responsibility for covering her and will work out all the details the next day. 

This prophetic act is what Yeshua is waiting for from His church.  When the gentile church is willing to come to the place of identification with the longings of His heart, He will cover her and pledge himself to her.  Just as Ruth became a crucial link in the lineage of King David, the church will then be positioned to bring forth the desire of his heart, the Maschiach Nagid, Messiah, the King.

As Ruth brought forth a son so that the name of Elimelech would not disappear from among his family or the town records, so the gentile church must make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that there is a Jewish remnant on the earth.  In a sense, we must give birth through intercession and loving acts led by the spirit, to ones who, like Obed, Ruth’s son, will be servants of the Lord.  Then Israel, just like it was said of Naomi, will be renewed in life and be sustained in her old age.

There is so much more symbolism to the story.  You can take it in many ways, but for now, this is the portion that we must connect with as a prophetic people.

I hope I have made the case for Israel.  I hope you have come away with a better understanding and have been inspired to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.  I hope I have given you a foundation for a new framework from which to view scripture.  I will encourage you to pray so that you will receive a heart connection.  Fast while asking, sow money into Israel and the Messianic community there, as the Spirit leads.  Those are the best ways I know to open the way for the Spirit of God to begin to give revelation.  You can have all the head knowledge of scripture, but there is still something of revelation that has to come about this subject in order to have the heart.  I had an agreement with scripture, but it didn’t affect me at the heart level until God moved upon me as a result of seeking Him.  When revelation came, it was like volumes downloaded from heaven.  It made everything make sense and gave definition to my life. To me, it truly is something worth living for and something worth dying for.  That's why I am beginning to add my voice, to the ongoing conversation.

Thank you to all who have read and commented.  Shalom!

Why Should We Pray for Israel? Part 6 Intriguing Questions

The most exciting scripture to me, because it is the one that God used to open up the scriptures in a powerful way, is in Psalm 132.  David says in verse 3, “I will not enter my house or go to my bed—I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob”.   It goes on to say in verse 13, “For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: This is my resting place forever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it”---it goes on to talk about provision, joy, salvation etc.  Here we see David understanding God’s heart and seeing prophetically into the future.  He knew God had promised That someone of his own flesh and blood would one day sit on that throne.  David had revelation of the kingship of Messiah.  Because he saw into the future, he wanted to build the temple in Zion; in Jerusalem.  That was the cry of his heart.  When he wasn’t allowed to build it himself, he put all of his energies and resources into preparing items and gathering supplies for his son Solomon to build it.  He went before, to prepare the way and leave a legacy for Solomon.  David had the prophetic forerunner, warrior anointing that prepared the way for the kingdom to be established and the glory to come.  To me, this scripture is for the intercessor to apply to his or her life.  It will make way for that focus of selflessness to come to the Body of Messiah to see Yeshua enthroned as King.  God is looking for selfless intercessors who see into the future and who apprehend the glory and bring it into the now.

I believe we need that same prophetic revelation that captured David today.  We need to cry out for the same spirit David had.  This is a spirit that will invest in, labor for, travail, and work for a restoration of the revelation and purpose of the church which is to partner with Yeshua for what He most desires.  The revelation of the place of Israel in the plan of God is huge.  We are the ones who have been grafted into the plan of God.  It is elitist to think that we can have the inheritance of the kingdom without that piece.  Without Israel, there is no kingdom, there’s no place for the throne on earth as it is in heaven, and there is no inheritance.  Somehow, it needs to be woven into the fabric of our theology so it is not a “separate” revelation.  The kingdom understanding needs to be taught from the first day of leading someone to the Lord.

I believe this will bring freshness to our spiritual lives.  This makes our salvation experience take on new meaning.  This gives us purpose and the reason behind why we do many of the things we currently do.  We need something big and beyond ourselves for the days ahead that will carry us through the dark times.  Knowing the plan of Israel in the heart of God, gives us a greater sense of partnership in His ultimate plan.  It gives us vision and hope and something to work for.  It takes us outside of ourselves. When we see the full implication, it gives us something to live for and something worth dying for. 

Contemplating some of this, there are scriptures that have raised some questions for me.  One of them is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.  What if that is about the times we are living in?  Maybe that is about having enough oil; enough Holy Spirit revelation for the time we are living in—the time of the bridegroom’s return.   What if the five foolish virgins had enough light to get them to the time of the bridegroom, but did not have enough oil for revelation of the significance of his coming?  Jesus’ bride is Israel.  Their light was going out because they didn’t know him in that context.  What if the five wise virgins, were the ones who were prepared ahead of time with revelation (oil, light) that would allow them to understand the framework of the bridegroom’s return?   They couldn’t possibly take the time to share it at that point, as it comes by revelation.  And the reason for this is: we have not made it part of the total message of the gospel.  We have only begun preaching the gospel of the kingdom.  We have concentrated on an individual bridal theme and not the corporate bride.  Both Israel and the church are portrayed as the bride.  These entities need to come together as one, focusing on the corporate nature of the bride.  I cannot be the bride by myself; neither can Jesus be polygamous.

Another scripture that has me contemplating is the one in Matt. 12 where the Scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign.  He says that the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah.  We have taken that to mean, just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, so Jesus was buried for three days before being resurrected.  Jesus continued on, however.  He says the men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment because they repented.  Then he says that the Queen of the South will also stand up at the judgment with that generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the Wisdom of Solomon.  WOW!  How do you get the authority and the right to stand up at the judgment and condemn a generation?  I find that statement incredible! 

In 2 Chronicles 9:8, after observing Solomon’s wealth and asking him hard questions and viewing the burnt offerings etc., the queen makes this statement, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you and set you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God!  Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, He made you king over them to do justice and righteousness”.  The Queen of Sheba recognized the plan of God concerning Israel; that it was God’s plan and it was an eternal plan.  She recognized Solomon as a king, in time, who was a demonstration or a picture of the King to come. 

She was also a prophetic picture of the wealth of the nations coming to Israel when the nations receive this revelation.  My footnote says that the Queen of Sheba gave Solomon 120 talents of gold which was equivalent to 17 tons, along with large quantities of spices and precious stones.  There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave Solomon.  But, then it says that Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, and more than she had brought to him!  That’s what God wants to do when we have a heart like the Queen. She had a heart to go to the ends of the earth to seek out revelation of something she had heard about, but seemed too wonderful to believe.  Are we that committed to seek truth?  No wonder she has the authority to pronounce judgment at the end of the age!

Another sobering scripture is Luke 11:42-52.  Those are the “woe to you, Scribes and Pharisee” scriptures.  The ones that are most disturbing are verses 50-51.  They state, “The blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against and required of this age and generation.  From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the sanctuary.  Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against and required of this age and generation.”  That’s a heavy weight for the religious leaders to have laid on them, if they continue without revelation.  It is another reason we must pray for them to come into the light.  There is a generation that will have all of the sins of the fathers laid on it and held responsible for having taken away the key to knowledge, and preventing the people from entering in.

Satan has a plan.  He is using every means and distraction to keep the Church blind to her calling.  The church is called the Bride of Christ.  She is portrayed as lovesick in Song of Solomon.  She is longing for the bridegroom; his presence, his fellowship and his anointing.  That part of the House of Prayer is working.  Now it is time to add the partnership of the bride with Jesus’ destiny as king.  She must transition from lovesick, to partnering with him to see him fulfill his destiny to be king.  She must want to see her bridegroom enthroned.  He was born to be King.  The heavenly aspect is accomplished.  He sat down at the right hand of the Father and is waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool.  He is waiting for his bride to partner with him in his heavenly kingdom and release that kingdom on earth; to wage war on his enemies and put them under her feet so that he can come and take his place on the throne.  It is out of a place of love and devotion that she gets the selflessness of wanting to see him enthroned more than she wants to experience the intimacy for herself.

Next time I will talk about where we are prophetically, as I see it.  

Why Must we Pray for Israel? Part 5

We talked about Jewish roots of the church and the religious leaders coming to revelation of Messiah so they can fulfill the mandate to invite Him back to rule and reign.

Another thing we need to pray for is the government of God.  We Gentiles know Jesus as Lord, as intimate lover, and friend.  Right now, all those concepts are a bit foreign to the Jewish people.  God is so holy, even His name must not be pronounced or spelled.  They do, however, look for Him to come as a King.  That concept is a bit lacking even now, in the Gentile church.  He is both Lord and King.  There is a need for the Church to understand His Kingship and pray for the restoration of the tabernacle of David, the governmental part of the kingdom, or sukkah which is broken down. 

"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent.  SUKKAH (Some translations say tabernacle) I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be,
Amos 9:12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the Lord, who will do these things.
Amos 9:13 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.

Amos 9:14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Amos 9:15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God.

We’ve heard about David’s Tabernacle.  In this passage, tabernacle is not the best translation of that word.  It is sukkah.  A sukkah is a temporary shelter constructed for use in the fields at the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. Leviticus describes it as a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, after they were freed from slavery in Egypt.  During the feast of Tabernacles, it is common for Jews to eat, sleep and otherwise spend time in the sukkah. The sukkah itself symbolizes the frailty and transience of life and our dependence on God.

In this Amos 9 context, it is used contemptuously of a small ruined house.  Amos is saying that the sukkah of David, the house of David, which was supposed to be a royal kingdom, is broken down and ruined.  God is saying that He will restore that kingdom, and build it as it used to be.  We so often think of the Tabernacle of David as a spiritual thing.  We use that term in the House of Prayer movement.  I have used it to describe the 24/7 House of Prayer.  While I believe that is a crucial component, it only fulfills part of the restoration.  It fulfills the prayer and worship or the spiritual portion, but I believe God wants there to be a marriage of the natural and the spiritual for His Kingdom purpose.  Let me use some scriptures you may be familiar with, but have not looked at in the context of the Jewish restoration and the Tabernacle of David.

Scripture teaches that Jesus came first of all to the Jew.  Theirs is the covenant.  Even Simeon, when he prophesied over the infant Jesus stated in Luke 3:32 that he was a “light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel”.  In Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, it says the same thing.  He gave Jesus as a covenant to the people and a light for revelation to the Gentiles that his salvation should extend to the ends of the earth.  Those are two very different things.  We don’t get the glory without revelation of the link with the plan of God for and through his people.  A fullness that we are not currently experiencing will happen when the Jewish people come into revelation.  We Gentiles will partake of the life as we are grafted into the plan of God.  Could one meaning of the key of David be an understanding and not a method?  Could it pertain to a mindset; a perspective that David had about the throne and Zion?  David was a priest, prophet and king.  Could the key of David also encompass those three elements?  If so, it will unlock a prophetic understanding of the kingdom.  It will give access to a governmental understanding of the kingdom and it will allow us to receive a revelatory understanding of the kingdom so that the way will be opened to the holy and reverential fear of Yeshua as King.

As far as the House of Prayer goes, I see this fullness proclaimed in the scripture most associated with the House of Prayer movement.  Isaiah 56:7 is most often quoted, “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations”.  The fuller meaning is found as we begin at the beginning of Is. 56.  This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

This is talking about keeping justice and righteousness (which are the foundations of the throne of God).  It also says those who bind themselves to those things and to the Sabbath, are blessed.  It goes on to say, in verse 4, “to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.  And foreigners (Gentiles) who bind themselves to the Lord to love and serve him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant,--these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.  The Sovereign Lord declares—he who gathers the exiles of Israel: I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.

so here, we are talking about those who would otherwise have no inheritance, i.e. the foreigner and eunuchs. One group has no inheritance because they are outside of the promises of the covenant, and the other group has no legacy and name to leave behind, because they cannot reproduce.  These are now being included in the house of prayer, because of their willingness to recognize and bind themselves to the covenantal promises.  In other words, instead of the focus being a house of prayer to pray for all nations, it becomes a house of inclusion for all nations as they take on and pray for what is on God’s heart; the fulfillment of the covenant.  We especially get this feeling because the scripture is talking about the Sovereign Lord gathering the exiles of Israel.  What has drawn them to be gathered together today?  It is a promise that in Israel, they would be a nation again.  The sovereign Lord is also gathering others to them.  It doesn’t mean that prayer will not be going forth for nations, it just means that the focus changes from the purpose being to pray for the nations, to one of the inclusion of nations in the plan of God to fulfill the covenant.

Another popular scripture we quote is Isaiah 9.  That passage is familiar to us because we read it at Christmas, “Unto us a child is born…and the government will be upon his shoulder.”   If we don’t stop there, we might quote further…  “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.”  However, we often stop there as if there is a period, but in most versions there is a comma.  It states, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth and even forever.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”  Hence, this is also speaking of a kingdom and a king.  This child of prophecy is destined to be a king.

God made a covenant with Abram for a land with certain borders and a promise of offspring as numerous as the stars.  It was an everlasting covenant.  Scripture says it was between “Me and you and your descendents for the generations to come”.

Jesus is coming to take up His throne.  To be installed as King in Israel.  In that land there is a city.  It is called Zion or Jerusalem.  There are so many scriptures indicating it is the place where Jesus will have his throne.  From there, he will rule and reign.  The law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  (Is. 2:3).

Next time we look at my favorite scripture...

Why Must We Pray for Israel? Part Four

I am going to ask some questions to make us think.  This is how I often pray.  I am not afraid to ask questions of the One who is the Answer.  I am not afraid of admitting that revelation is unfolding and what I currently know may be subject to change, as I see scriptures that raise thoughts I am not accustomed to having.  I am not telling you I have all the answers.  If I raise a question that causes you to wonder, or even have a negative reaction, it may be because I am touching something that in order for you to accept, you need to re-arrange some other thoughts.  But, if our thoughts are not lining up all the way around, it’s time to have another thought.

If the foundation of the church is built on the apostles and prophets, and they were Jewish, what does that mean for us?  How is our salvation and placement at the end times relevant to this issue?   Romans 11:12 states that if their stumbling has enriched the world and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, we should think what their reinstatement means.  It further states, that if their rejection has meant salvation for the world, what will their acceptance be, but life from the dead!  I don’t think this means a simple salvation for the Jewish people.  I think this has far more implication for the whole church to come fully alive to the gospel of the kingdom. 

Do we truly come into our inheritance without the Jewish people?  Is it a selfish deception to think that our salvation is secure without a vested interest in God’s plan for the Jewish restoration?  Is it an elitist spirit that says, “I have Jesus, so I have security?”  I’ve been questioning this.  Is there a true church without the foundation of the apostles and prophets and a relationship with the Jewish Messiah?  Is it an oversimplification of the gospel to interpret salvation as merely a relationship with Jesus?  How can we really be saved, if our foundation is removed?  How can we carry the life of God within us, if the trunk and the root are gone?  How can Jesus be the Chief Cornerstone of an edifice that denies any Jewish-ness or connectedness with that foundation? 

The Word says, “In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  (Eph. 2:21)  At the very least, asking for understanding will cause us to realize that there is not the fullness of joy in our own salvation, if the Jews are not partakers of that same privilege.  That was the cry of Paul’s heart to a degree beyond our current experience.  He would be cursed and separated from God for their revelation.  I have experienced this in prayer.  My salvation; the fact that I am in relationship with the Jewish Messiah sometimes brings me great pain when I think that there are so many of His Chosen who do not know Him.  My joy is tainted and incomplete when I think that they, to whom the covenants belong, are still blind and separated from the life of God.  It makes me want to do more to see revelation come to them.

Jesus graciously gave us another clue to His return in Matthew 23 to encourage us.  This chapter deals with the Scribes and Pharisees.  All through the chapter, Jesus gives dire warnings to them.  In verse 13, He says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” 

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

Later on in Matthew 23:28 He says: 

Mat 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Mat 23:29 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
Mat 23:30 And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
Mat 23:31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
Mat 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
Mat 23:33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Mat 23:34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
Mat 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
Mat 23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.

Mat 23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'  Baruch haba b’shem Adonai.

Again, here Jesus was speaking of the religious leaders of His day; the Scribes and Pharisees.  We can take great comfort in the fact that even though Jesus limited His return to a small minority of people who currently deny His deity, there will come a day when the veil is lifted and they will say the words that will invite His return.  That is why we must pray.  There needs to be a remnant of Jewish people who will call for His return.  There needs to be a people who will invite Him back.  Jesus came the first time and was unwelcomed by his own people.  He does not want to come again until they cry out for Him, acknowledge who He is and desire His return. That is the protocol of heaven.  I did not invent this.  These are Jesus’ own words.  Scripture sets up the protocol of the kingdom.  We need to pray Zech. 12:2:

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

We are ambassadors of His kingdom and are working to prepare the kingdom for His return.  The only reason we get to do that, is scripture states that the Gospel was to go to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.  That’s Romans 1:16.  When the religious leaders refused to believe, the natural branches were cut off and the Gospel went to the Gentiles.  Now that we have believed, we have been grafted in to the olive tree.  One of our functions is to make Israel jealous as we partake of the promises that are theirs, and operate with love toward them with signs and wonders following. 

The trunk of the olive tree and the roots are Jewish, with a foundation built on the apostles and prophets.  Personally, I like this explanation: there is really only one monotheistic faith.  That is Judaism.  Christianity is an offshoot, a branch of that tree.  If we begin to see that trunk and root system is essential to bring life and meaning to our lives, we will have a bigger concept of what God is doing.  If we view the trunk and root system as old and having been replaced, I then have a question for you.  When you turn to Revelation 21:14 and other passages, how do you reconcile that all the gates in the heavenly Jerusalem have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed on them?  Why do the walls have foundations with the names of Jewish apostles?  Why are the tribes included in the 144,000, the tribes of Israel? 

As we saw in a previous lesson, Romans cautions us not to become arrogant because we could just as easily be cast away as the Jewish people were, if we do not continue to believe.  We are His ambassadors, working to prepare a kingdom for His return.  Jesus cared so much, He wept over Jerusalem.  He said, “If you only knew the day of your visitation.  He also said, in Matthew 23:37, “How I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”  We identify with Jesus when he wept over Lazarus, but sometimes we miss His emotions over Jerusalem.  He was deeply moved to the point of weeping.  He uses words like “longed,” and imagery of a mother hen.   Israel is the apple of His eye.  Jerusalem is His bride.  Yeshua is longing for her to return His love.  Hosea 3:4-5 gives us a picture of what will happen:  For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol.  Afterward, the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.  That’s a promise.

Tomorrow, I have more questions to consider....