Rumblings of Messianic Revival

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Zechariah 12:10

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

NKJV

When the media reports on events in Israel, the report usually revolves around the failure of the Jews in Israel being willing to coexist with the Palestinians living there.  What the media fails to tell people is many non-Jews do coexist with Jews in Israel.  In 2008, I visited Israel with my family and a group from our church. 

When visiting Israel, I observed many non-Jews living with Jews, especially in Jerusalem.  There were Arabs and Jews even working together serving us at the hotel in which we were staying.  We can therefore conclude that the issue is not Jews failing to coexist with non-Jews.  The issue is Jews do not want to coexist with people calling for their elimination.  (1)  Another aspect of Judaism that the media fails to report is that there are the rumblings of Messianic revival occurring in the Jewish community, not only in Israel but also in other parts of the world. 

Many, including some Christians, believe that all Jews have rejected Jesus as Messiah.  According to Rabbi Jonathan Bernis in his book A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days, this is a myth.  For one, the disciples and the first believers in Jesus Christ were Jewish.  In fact, the book of Hebrews in the New Testament is addressed to Jewish believers.  The source of the rejection of Jesus that led to his crucifixion came from the religious leaders of Jesus time in retaliation to His pointing out their religious hypocrisy (Matthew 15:7-9). 

Through the years, Jewish leaders have continued to reject Jesus as Messiah.  However, there have also been those that have not rejected Jesus as Messiah.  One example brought out by Rabbi Bernis in his book is Wilhelm Neander (1789-1850) considered to be among the Church’s most revered historians.  However, events are beginning to occur that point to the rumblings of a revival that many believe is the beginning of the realization among the Jewish community in fulfillment of Zechariah 12:10. 

In his book, Rabbi Bernis tells of giving a speech in Olympic stadium in Moscow in 1994.  There was a capacity crowd of mostly Jewish people in attendance.  When Rabbi Bernis gave the invitation to receive Jesus as Savior, he was amazed to observe most or the crowd standing up.  (2)   Whereas Jewish religious leaders may continue to reject Jesus as Messiah, it would appear the Jewish people are beginning to accept the truth that Jesus is their Messiah. 

However, even though many Jews are beginning to accept Jesus as the Messiah, there are still Christians that reject the Jews.  These Christians have adopted the unscriptural theology of “Replacement Theology.”  “Replacement Theology” believes that because of the rejection of Jesus by the Jews, God has replaced them with the Church in His plans.  This theology is unscriptural because,

1)      It rejects the prophecy of Zechariah – Zechariah 12:10 speaks of the Jews accepting the one they pierced.  The only one in scripture that the Jews pierced is Jesus when the Jewish religious leaders called for His crucifixion.  To believe in a theology that rejects this future acceptance by the Jews of Jesus, the one they pierced, as Messiah would mean there are portions of God’s Word we cannot trust.  It also means Zechariah is a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:22) and therefore means we must throw out the Book of Zechariah along with most of the Messianic prophecies of the Bible. 

2)      It means God can go back on His promises – In Isaiah 9:7, God promised His people that the kingdom of David would not end and that there would always be a descendent of David on the throne.  Replacement theologians interpret this to be a reference to Jesus, a descendent of David who now sits for eternity at the right hand of God.  This is a valid interpretation but this prophecy is addressed to the Jewish people and thus was taken as a promise to them.  To now tell the Jewish people that God can go back on his promises to them because of sin means that God can go back on his promises to Christians as well, if they sin.  Since we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), even Christians cannot trust God’s promises.  In addition, God promised always to take his people Israel back if they repented and turned to God (Deuteronomy 30:1-3).  Therefore, God’s promises to Israel are still valid, waiting on their turning back to God, which is what Zechariah prophesied In Zechariah 12:10.  

3)      Jesus rejected nobody – The only instance where Jesus demonstrated anger was in the Temple when he overturned the tables of the moneychangers.  This anger was not directed towards the people but at their sin of turning the House of God into a place of business.  John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.  No one, including Jews is excluded from this promise.  John 3:17 goes on to tell us that Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. 

God’s promises are sure and true.  God will never, never go back on his promises to his people.  However, we may turn our backs on God or even reject Him creating a pause in the fulfillment of his promises to us.  There is currently a pause in God’s promise of an eternal Davidic kingdom but as Zechariah reminds us, a day is coming when the nation of Israel will return to their God. 

Jews and Gentiles alike also have a promise of eternal live as promised in John 3:16.  However, for the promise to be fulfilled in one’s life they must believe.  If you are reading this and have not already done so, I urge you now to pray and let God know you believe He sent His only Son to die for your sins.  Then comment to this posting and let all the readers know about your decision so we can pray for you. 

1. Erlanger, Steven. Hamas Leader Sees No Change Toward Israelis . www.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, January 29, 2006. [Cited: June 3, 2015.] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/international/middleeast/29hamasx.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FSubjects%2FT%2FTerrorism&_r=0.

2. Bernis, Jonathan. A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days. Bloomington MN 55438 : Chosen Books, 2013.