Messianic Perspectives

Liz Ayello: God is not going to allow evil to corrupt His creation forever. What is God's final solution to evil? We'll find out today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayello. Today, Pastor Al Runge answers the question, "What is God's final solution to evil?" with a study from Daniel 9. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here is Al Runge.

Al Runge: Thank you for letting me come back into your homes and to continue sharing with you God's final solution to evil. Our prophetic scripture is found in Daniel 9:24-27. And I know I've been repeating this every day, but that's really how we learn—through repetition.

I want to read to you the entire scripture in Daniel 9:24-27. Listen: "Seventy weeks are determined for your people," Daniel, that is the Jews, "and for your holy city," that is Jerusalem, "to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.

And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and until the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."

In Daniel 9:24-27, there are five periods of time recorded here. We have already discussed three of them. We discussed that at the end of the 70 weeks of years, God will end the transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness. Secondly, seven weeks of 49 years in which the city and the sanctuary was rebuilt, even in troublesome times under Nehemiah.

The third period was the 62 weeks of 434 years added to the seven weeks of years, which adds up to 483 years from the edict to rebuild the city of Jerusalem until the Messiah when he would be killed. The fourth period, and now we want to discuss the outcome of His first appearance. Now it is clear that the exact time of Messiah's first coming was predicted, and that is why the Jews at the beginning of the first century expected Him. But many of their leaders rejected Him and developed a traditional religion.

Daniel predicted three events in chapter 9, verse 26. First, that the Messiah would be killed. And that after the death of the Messiah, a Gentile prince will come and destroy the second temple and Jerusalem. Thirdly, a time of desolation was determined for Israel, which has lasted now for nearly 2,000 years and seemed to have stopped in the year 1948.

Many years ago, there was a rabbi by the name of Leopold Cohn, who read this passage and realized that the Messiah came and died before the destruction of the second temple and Jerusalem. At first, he was afraid to calculate the years of Daniel's prophecy because of a warning of the Talmud.

When I speak of rabbinic views, I will carefully quote from their writings and compare them to the Jewish scriptures. Some rabbis say that Jesus was not a false Messiah, but a failed Messiah. He failed because he died and did not accomplish world peace and justice. Why does Rabbinic Judaism ignore all the prophecies of the Jewish prophets that predicted the Messiah's atoning death?

Let me give you a quote from a rabbinic source. Here it is: "Similarly, one should not try to calculate the appointed time for the coming of Messiah. Our sages declare in Sanhedrin 97b: May the spirits of those who attempt to calculate the final time of Messiah's coming expire." Rabbi Leopold Cohn was afraid at first, but then he thought, obviously the Talmudists had already calculated the time of the Messiah's coming. Why can't he do it as well?

The rabbi concluded that the Messiah had already come, but he did not know who he was. He went on a search. He asked people. No one seemed to know who this Messiah was. He came all the way to America to discover the identity of this Messiah because he was told somebody knew his name. In time, he discovered that it was Yeshua of Nazareth, the Jesus he was taught to reject.

He thought he was only of the Gentiles. He was surprised that his rabbinic colleagues were not receptive to his joyous discovery. In fact, they shunned him and made life hard for him. They refused to recognize his right to call himself a Jew because he believed Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. This is an interesting view because of what Rabbinic Judaism claims.

Let me quote a rabbi: "To conclude, I must stress that Judaism is a religion which stresses one's deeds rather than one's creed. It is more important to observe Jewish rituals such as the observance of the Sabbath, kosher laws, daily prayer, charity, moral behavior, than it is to believe in the Messiah. What a person believes is their own business. How they behave is more important."

I remember how angry my Jewish mother became when I told her that I believed that Jesus was the Messiah. "You're no more a Jew," she screamed at me. I asked her why. "Mother, if I became an atheist and no longer believed in the God of our fathers, would I still be a Jew? If I didn't believe in the Jewish scriptures anymore, would I still be a Jew?" She said, "Yes, you would still be a Jew."

I said, "But mother, I still believe in the God of Abraham. I believe all of the Tanakh, the Torah, the Haftarah, the Psalms, they were all inspired of God. Why can't I still be a Jew?" She replied, "I don't know. That's what I was taught—tradition. Tradition." But it's man-made tradition.

Some rabbis say that Jesus was not a fake Messiah, just a failed Messiah because he died and did not accomplish world peace and justice. What Rabbinic Judaism ignores are all the prophecies of the Jewish prophets that predicted the Messiah's atoning death. What would they say about Isaiah 53, you might ask?

Rabbi Rashi, an ancient Bible commentator, was the first one to suggest that Isaiah 53 speaks of the sufferings of Israel as a nation, not the Messiah. Let me tell you why this cannot be true. Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 53:10: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; He has put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..." The suffering servant of God in Isaiah 53 dies as an offering for the sins of others.

Isaiah 53:6 tells us: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." The one requirement for a sin offering according to Moses was that it had to be without blemish or spot. Moses and the prophets were outspoken about the sins of Israel. Isaiah was no anti-Semite; he loved Israel. Nevertheless, he wrote hard words about Israel.

Listen to Isaiah chapter 1, verses 2 and 3: "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, My people do not consider. They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked Him to anger, the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away backward."

Israel, like the rest of humanity, is rebellious and sinful. We're all the same underneath. We all have a dark side. In fact, Moses said that Israel would only suffer if they were disobedient to God, not as a sin atonement. Only Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was sufficient in that He was without sin, and that He was powerful enough to bring us salvation for the entire world, for Jews and Gentiles.

When Rabbi Leopold Cohn came to faith, he decided to witness to other Jewish people who also came to faith in Jesus. Most rabbis say to the church, "Leave the Jews alone. That is our territory. Don't let them hear about Jesus." They claim to have a monopoly over the religious life of Israel.

The fact is that most Jews do not attend the synagogue or Jewish temples. The majority of Israelis are secular Jews with no interest in Rabbinic Judaism. Did you know that half of American Jewish young people marry Gentiles? One rabbi said, "It's not that the Gentiles hate us, it's that they want to marry us." Every person, whether Jew or Gentile, has the right to hear about Jesus and to decide for themselves.

In Romans 10, verse 12 and 13, we are told: "For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And I want us to love the Jewish people, whether they believe or they don't believe. They're God's people. I want us to care about them. I want us to pray about them.

I want us to think about Israel as a nation and be supportive of that nation because it's within the plan of God. But I also want us to be courageous to witness with respect to every Jewish friend we know. If they don't want to hear, that's fine. Leave them alone. But you will find there are those who do want to hear, and it's our opportunity and privilege to share with them the love of their own Jewish Messiah, the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Oh, that every Jewish person would know, clearly know, because many of them have never heard the message. And then they could decide. I want you to love Israel and pray for them, and I trust you'll make a commitment and dedicate yourself to do it. This will please God.

I know I talk mostly to Gentiles, perhaps a very few Jewish people. And I want to assure you that even though I don't agree with Rabbinic Judaism, I agree with Jews. And I love them because I am Jewish and I will not deny it, no matter who wants me to, because Jesus loves Israel, God loves Israel, and we should love Israel too. God bless you as you think these things over, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Liz Ayello: Thank you, Pastor Runge. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together. We've been listening to Pastor Al Runge teach on God's Final Solution to Evil. If you would like to have your own copy of this series, or perhaps you'd like to share it with a friend, you will be glad to know that it's available on two convenient compact discs.

Just ask for ART8, God's Final Solution to Evil. It's available for a contribution of just $12. Please visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives? Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number, 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Ayello. Join us next time, won't you, as Pastor Al Runge continues our series of studies on God's Final Solution to Evil, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

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