By Charles Gardner —
It was some time ago while shopping with my wife that I bought a new book about the Holocaust.
It duly took its place in the pile of books on my desk and after a while, I completely forgot it was there. I was blinded to its existence, even though the title would have been clearly visible.
Then, just the other day, I suddenly saw it there and decided to start reading it, which spoke to me of God’s perfect timing in our lives, especially where his chosen people are concerned.
Yeshua has been largely hidden (in terms of revelation) from the Jewish people – until now. We are surely living in the terrible last days about which Jesus spoke. After seeming to prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem of AD 70 (just a generation away from the time he was speaking), he added somewhat mysteriously: “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)
He went on to paint a picture of anguish, perplexity and terror among the nations, climaxing in his return in power and great glory.
The Apostle Paul, in emphatically declaring that God has not rejected the Jews, also refers to a ‘mystery’ about which we should not be ignorant. That is, that “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved…” (Romans 11:25f).
There are various interpretations of precisely when this ‘time’ is fulfilled. Some suggest, quite reasonably, that it was 1917, when the Muslim Ottoman Empire came to an end after 400 years. Others suggest 50 years later in 1967 when, through the Six Day War, Jerusalem was united for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
Significantly, it was around that date when the modern-day Messianic movement of Jews returning to Jesus began in earnest. So we should now be expecting a great ingathering of Jews coming to recognize the One they have pierced as their beloved Messiah. (Zechariah 12:10)
Meanwhile fierce conflict continues over this greatly prized piece of real estate as the devil won’t give up without a fight. In fact, he is doing his worst because he knows his end is near.
It’s rather like the response of the Nazis as the Allied armies closed in on the retreating German Wehrmacht. With their wickedness about to be revealed to the world – particularly concerning the mass murder of God’s chosen – they were running around like headless chickens trying to cover up their tracks.
The book to which I referred, The Stable Boy of Auschwitz (Thread, 2023), is the harrowing
testimony of a young boy’s long and tortuous incarceration at the hands of the Nazis whose behavior then – their lies, deception and virulent Jew-hatred – perfectly reflects the ruthless antics of today’s Middle East terrorists. It’s the same satanic spirit. But a day of reckoning is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Yeshua is Lord.
Most of us know that 911 is the number to call for emergencies in the United States, which made the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on New York’s Twin Towers so alarmingly appropriate, prompting a national emergency in the form of a ‘War on Terror’.
But America was the target because of their perceived support of Israel, and fanatical Islam had declared war on the West in general, and Israel in particular. Since October 7, 2023 (widely billed as Israel’s 9/11), the focus has switched, more menacingly, to Israel itself, who are now fighting not only for themselves but for Western civilization itself.
It is in this respect that I raise the issue of Romans 9-11, a hugely important passage of the New Testament in which the Apostle Paul argues that, far from being rejected for failing (as a nation) to recognize her Messiah, God has a great future for Israel.
I believe this is very significant for Gentile Christians as we face a worldwide emergency amidst rising antisemitism, and these chapters are key to understanding what is happening.
Yes, they have stumbled, but not beyond recovery, and “how much greater riches will their fulness bring!” (Romans 11:11f)
“For if their rejection [of Messiah] is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (v15)
It is only through God’s mercy that we Gentiles now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root [that is Israel]. So it’s nothing to boast about. “You do not support the root, but the root supports you,” Paul reminds the Gentile believers.
The implication is that if we cut ourselves off from our Jewish roots, we will dry up and perish. Failing to honor Israel (Genesis 12:3) is as good as cursing her, and we certainly won’t be blessed as a result – either as a nation or a church.
It is in view of God’s amazing mercy, and this profound mystery of which Paul speaks, that he breaks out into a paean of exuberant praise, exclaiming: “Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out!”
And he thus urges the Roman believers, in the following verses, to offer their bodies as living sacrifices and not to conform to worldly thinking (Romans 12:1f).
What should be our response to this great revelation of Israel’s place in God’s heart? We should surely seek to share God’s heart for them, to love and cherish them and share the gospel with those who first brought it to us (Romans 10:14f) – in the words of Isaiah: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Here is the nugget of gold that sums up the Gentile calling to the Jewish people. Tell them that their God reigns, that he loves and cares for them and that he is holding out his arms waiting to embrace them once more!
