Promises

Jesus came to fulfil God’s promises to the Jews. Of course, part of that promise was that the Jews would bring blessing to the entire world. Unfortunately, most of the Jews rejected Jesus gift. However, God’s plan has not changed. The time will come when most of the Jews will come to faith in Jesus (the fullness of the Jews ), and they will then bring even greater blessing to the nations, by releasing the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God.

Fullness of Israel (5) - Revelation

John had several vision of the Fullness of Israel.

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed:
144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 (Rev 7:4-8).

The actual numbers sealed are symbolic not literal. Ten symbolises completes and twelve represents Israel. 12 time 10 squared is a perfect symbol for the fullness of Israel. Twelve is also the number representing the apostles. This passage is a promise that Israel will fulfil the apostolic calling announced to Abraham (Gen 12:3) and Moses (Deut 4:6-7).

Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (Rev 14:1-4).

This is the fulfilment of the sealing seen in the earlier vision. It leads to a powerful advance of the gospel.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people (Rev 14:6).

The eternal gospel will be proclaimed to all those who live on earth.

Fullness of Israel (4) - Blessing to the World

The calling of the Jews will be a major turning point in history, so Christians should be working and praying for their spiritual eyes to be opened. They should be praying for the Jews to be restored to a place of blessing, so blessing will return to the entire world. (Prayer for the military success of the state of Israel will not fulfil this promise.)

The fullness of the Jews will usher in a time of great blessing for the world.
But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring (Rom 11:12)!

This works in two ways:

1. When the season of Jewish desolation comes to an end, Satan’s last legal authority to work on earth will be gone, so he will be easily routed. As Christians bind his authority, so he will be exposed as weak and feeble. The forces of evil will be shut down by the church that has been purified by suffering, so their abilility to do evil will be massively curtailed. With evil defeated, a major obstacle to the kingdom will be gone. The end of the Times of the Gentiles will bring a rapid decline in evil that opens the way of the Kingdom of God.

2. The Fullness of the Jews does not just bring blessing to Israel, it means “life from the dead" for the church (Rom 11:15). The Jews will be back in the team where they belong. The church will no longer be truncated. The Holy Spirit will no longer be constrained by part of the body of Jesus being missing. With his team complete, the Holy Spirit will have a new freedom to work in the world

But if their transgression means riches for the world,
and their loss means riches for the Gentiles,
how much greater riches will their fullness bring (Rom 11:12).

The Fullness of the Jews opens the way for the rapid advance for the Kingdom of God. God will be free to pour out his Spirit and bring his Kingdom to fulfilment.

Fullness of Israel (3) - How

Many Christians are confused about how the Fullness of Israel occurs, but God’s solution fits the problem. The Jewish problem is "seeing". Paul explained to the Romans that their eyes have been blinded to prevent them from seeing the truth.

God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day. (Rom 11:8).

Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Rom 11:25).

This spiritual blindness lasts until the end of the Times of the Gentiles. The Jews will need to have their spiritual eyes opened and their hearts cracked before they can receive salvation (this is the only way anyone can come to salvation).

Zechariah prophesied that after the nations besieging Israel are destroyed in response to prophetic prayer, God will pour his spirit out on Israel so their eyes are opened to understand that Jesus is their messiah.

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 (Zech 12:10).

At the end of Times of the Gentiles, the Spirit of the Lord will be poured out on the hearts of all Israel. They will receive a Spirit of Supplication that causes them to cry out to Jesus for salvation. The Spirit of grace will give them faith to receive the salvation that comes through grace.

The Holy Spirit will open the eyes of the hearts Israel to know Jesus. They will stop looking for a warlike messiah and realise that Jesus who died on the cross and "who was pieced" by a spear is their messiah. This realisation will produce a great flood of repentance. As Israel realises that Jesus reigns at the right hand of God and that they have been saved by the prayers in his name, the whole land will be filled with tears. When they realise what Jesus has done for them, they will weep with sadness and joy. The weeping will be greater than when King Josiah died (Zech 12:11-14).

The Spirit moves out after the nations besieging Israel have destroyed themselves.

I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD (Ezek 39:29).

Many Christians believe that the Jews will be converted when Jesus returns to Jerusalem. This is not true. Seeing is not believing. The Jews saw Jesus for three years while he exercised his ministry on earth, but they did not believe in him, because their hearts were hard (Rom 10). Nothing has changed, so seeing Jesus again would not bring them to faith. Israel’s problem is hardness of heart (Rom 10). The only cure for spiritual blindness is the Holy Spirit; he alone can change hearts.

The Jewish people will not come to salvation by seeingJesus return to Jerusalem. Their hearts will be changed when the Holy Spirit moves to open their spiritual eyes.

The fortress will be abandoned and the noisy city deserted till the Spirit is poured on us from on high (Is 32:14-15).

The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire (Is 4:4).

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants (Is 44:3).

The Jews will be converted by an outpouring of the Spirit and the preaching of a prophetic church. This is not a change in game plan. The Jews receive salvation like everyone else, by repenting and believing in Jesus as the Spirit moves.

Fullness of Israel (2) - The Promise

God’s promise to Israel is most clearly stated in Romans 11. Paul promises that although the Jews have stumbled, they did not fall beyond recovery (Rom 11:11). The time will come when Israel is reconciled to the Lord again.

As far as the gospel is concerned they are enemies on your account, but as far as election is concerned they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Rom 11:28,20).

Although the Jews became enemies of God by rejecting the gospel, their election is still sure for the sake of the patriarchs. Once God calls a people he does not change that calling (Is 54:10, Jer 31:37).

When the Fulfilment of Israel comes, the vast majority of Jews will come to believe in Jesus. By believing in him, they will move back over the green line into the place of blessing. Paul described this as being grafted back into the olive tree (Romans 11:22-24).

If they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again (Rom 11:23).

They have been shut out for a time, but will eventually come back under blessing of.

Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:25-26).

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Rom 11:28-29).

The church and Israel will become one in Jesus.

Salvation will come to the entire nation at the same time. Each individual will have to come to faith, but God will work things so that this happens to most of the nation at the same time. The entire nation will be touched by the Spirit during the same event. Just as the religious and political leaders rejected Jesus (representing their people), the religious and political leaders of Israel will believe and serve Jesus.

The restoration of the Jews is based on a promise of the book of Moses.

The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him (Deut 4:27-31).

Although Israel was dispersed among the nations, God was not breaking his covenant. Their dispersion was the fulfilment of the curses attached to the covenant, so when that punishment is complete, they can receive the blessings of the covenant again. The same warning and promise is given in Isaiah 51:17-23.

►Fullness of Israel (1)

The Fullness of Israel is one of the epochal events that marks the beginning of a new season. Traditionally, this event has been called the "calling of the Jews", but "fullness" is the biblical term.

Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness (Rom.11:12)!

The Fullness of Jews is one of the major turning points in history.

Looking at the history of the Jewish people, it would be easy to believe that God is finished with the people that he once called his own. That is not true. Although the Jews are under God’s judgment for their rejecting their Messiah, the Bible teaches that they will be restored to a place of blessing. This will happen when they acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah whom they have been seeking.

The following diagram shows God's covenant with Israel. To the left of the green line is the curse of the covenant. On the right of the green line is the blessing promised in the covenant. The blue line represents the history of Israel.

The ministry of Jesus is represented by the yellow line. Israel rejected Jesus and passed to the left under the curse of the law (Matthew 23:37-39). Jesus filled the terms of the covenant on behalf of all those who believe in him by dying and rising again, so the church (red arrow) receives the blessing of the covenant. (The new covenant is not really new, but is a fulfilment of the old covenant). As the church grows, the red arrow will become much larger.

The nation of Israel is currently on the left of the green line, under the curse. Although the nation of Israel has been restored, its restoration as achieved "by the sword" (Ezekiel 38:8) by military and political action, not by the direct hand of God. The restored nation will continue being trampled by the Gentiles. However, God has not forgotten Israel. The time will come when Israel is restored to blessing.

When the Fullness of Israel comes, the vast majority of Jews will come to believe in Jesus. Through believing in him, they will move back over the green line into the place of blessing.

Fullness of Israel

Most Christians are waiting for Jesus to return and establish the Kingdom of God. This is a false hope, as Jesus has “finished” his work on earth (John 19:30). He has already done everything that he had to do to establish the Kingdom. He will return at the end of the age to receive a Kingdom that has been established and operating for many years (1 Cor 15:23-25).

Responsibility for establishing the Kingdom of God has been assigned to the Holy Spirit working through the church. He has been unable to complete this task, not because he is incapable (as most Christians believe), but because a key part of his team is missing. During the Times of the Gentiles, the children of Israel are shut out of the gospel. This means that the church is not at full strength. Worse still, it gives the devil authority to continue working on earth.

The next big event in history is not the second coming of Jesus. The next big thing is the fullness of Israel. During a time of distress on earth, the Holy Spirit will move on the hearts of the children of Israel (Zech 12:10), causing them to come to faith in Jesus in a great flood (Rom 11:26). This will remove the last obstacle to the kingdom. Satan will be stripped of his authority, and the Holy Spirit will expand the kingdom of God rapidly, until the glory of God covers the earth, as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).

Now if their fall is riches for the world,
and their failure riches for the Gentiles,
how much more their fullness (Rom 11:12).

All this happens while Jesus is sitting in heaven at the right hand of the Father.

One reason I went to Jerusalem was to look for signs that the fullness of Israel is getting close. There are a few hopeful signs of life, but not many. Most of the Jewish people seem to be pushing hard into orthodox Judaism, or fed up with religion altogether.

What they see of the gospel is not that appealing, as many of the Jewish messianic churches are just dull clones of western institutional churches.

I realise that the outpouring of the Spirit will come on Israel during a time of distress, but the Holy Spirit will need groups of Christians to work with him in teaching millions of new Christians how to live in Jesus. These Christians will have learned to support each other through distress and trouble without financial support from the outside. They will have a prophetic edge to their preaching.

Many Christians have moved to Israel to pray and celebrate Jewishness, but few seem to be ready for sharing the gospel during a season of distress. I met one young man who has established several house churches, which are growing rapidly, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Unfortunately, most Christians in Israel tend to be sycophantic rather than prophetic. As my host in Jerusalem explained, Christians living in Israel tend to be envious of the Jews, and want to be more like them, whereas God’s purpose is that the blessing of living in the Spirit would be so great that the Jewish people become envious of us.

We are getting close to the times when God is going to pour his Spirit out on the people of Israel. The Holy Spirit will do the tough stuff, but he will need Christians to help him. Christians in Israel should be forming spiritual commando armies to help him at this critical juncture in history. The going will be tough, but the result will be blessing for the entire world. I hope that some of the Christians with a passion for Israel will hear the voice of the Spirit and take up this call.