Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Stay tuned as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses Israel's coming restoration right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinguished first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today our Bible teacher is Dr. Gary Hedrick, and he's talking about the coming restoration of National Israel—a restoration, in fact, that has already begun. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. With today's installment, here is Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you and welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us again today as we continue this series on Israel's coming restoration. We're talking about that great dry bones prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37. It's a wonderful prophecy that maps out Israel's end-time destiny.

We said that in verses one and two, the Lord shows Ezekiel a valley of dead dry bones. In verse three, he asks Ezekiel if he thinks those dry dusty bones can ever live again. Ezekiel says, "O Lord God, O Adonai Yahweh, thou knowest, you know."

Then it says in verse four, "Again he said to me, prophesy upon these bones and say to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live." Now, isn't that interesting? The Lord doesn't just tell Ezekiel that the bones will live again; he tells Ezekiel to prophesy unto those bones and to tell them that they would live again.

You see, the three greatest forces in the universe are faith, hope, and love. Here God wants Ezekiel to exercise his faith. He wants him to learn something about the power of faith. He doesn't want him simply to be an observer or a spectator; he wants Ezekiel to be a participant. He wants Ezekiel to be a part of what he is doing.

Likewise, my friend, God doesn't want you and me to be merely spectators. He wants us to be involved in what he is doing. That's what prayer is all about, and that's what faith is all about. We can actually have a part in what God is doing in this world. We can make a difference, in other words.

According to Hebrews chapter 11, what made Abraham great? Was it his wealth? Was it his fame or his accomplishments? No, it was one thing: his faith. That's what made Abraham great. What about Enoch? He's mentioned in that 11th chapter of Hebrews, so what made him great? Again, it was one thing: his faith.

What about Noah, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and Joshua, and Barak, and Gideon, and King David? On and on the list goes. What made these men and women great was their faith, their ability to see beyond the natural realm into the spiritual realm—their ability to see what God was going to do even before he did it.

Hebrews 11:13 says these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. That's what made them great: their faith. That's how God has ordained that we should accomplish his will—through our faith.

There is always a danger, especially for those of us who believe in God's sovereignty, of getting to the place where we think we're just along for the ride. If it's all up to God, then why should I get involved? The answer to that question is you should get involved because God wants you to be involved. More than that, God has ordained for you and for me to be involved in what he is doing in this world.

God could have killed Goliath without David. All God had to do was make that giant's heart stop, and he would have dropped dead in a second and hit the ground like a 500-pound sack of potatoes. But God has ordained that his work will be done through people like you and me. So he used that young shepherd boy, David, to bring down the giant.

You see, God doesn't need us, but he wants us. He wants to work through us, and he can only do that as we learn this principle of faith. So God wants Ezekiel involved in the process. Here he tells Ezekiel to talk to these bones. Here's what he wants him to say: "And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

It's almost like the process of creation, isn't it? He starts with the skeleton, then he attaches the tendons to the bones, then he adds the flesh and the muscles, and he covers the whole thing with skin. Then finally he breathes life into the body, and it comes to life. Sounds a lot like what the Lord did when he created Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground in Genesis chapter two, doesn't it?

That's what the Lord says he will do with Israel. Then he says to Israel, "You will know that I am the Lord." Five times in this book of Ezekiel, the Lord tells his people Israel that he wants them to know who he is. I can't help thinking that the same thing is true today, my friend. The Lord wants his chosen people to know his identity.

He wants them to know who he is, and the New Testament tells us who he is. He's Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not merely some carpenter's son from Nazareth, but he is God in the flesh. He is Emmanuel, God with us. Some people think Jesus Christ came into existence in that manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, but he didn't.

Bethlehem was where he took upon himself a body of flesh and blood. It's where he stepped out of eternity and into temporality. It's where he emptied himself, as Paul says in Philippians chapter two, and voluntarily set aside the exercise of some of his divine attributes and took upon himself the limitations of humanity. He had to eat, he had to drink, he had to breathe, he had to sleep in order to live.

Bethlehem is not where Jesus Christ came into existence. In John chapter eight, Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." In the Greek text, it's ego eimi. "I am being" or "I am that I am." He was equating himself with the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So who was it that bent down at the beginning of time and scooped up some dust and used it to form the first man? It was Jesus.

Who walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the evening? Again, it was Jesus the Messiah. Who was it that ministered to Hagar in the desert in Genesis chapter 16? It was our Lord. Who was Abraham's mysterious visitor that accompanied those two angels in Genesis chapter 18? It was him.

Who was Melchizedek, that mysterious priest from Shalom who collected tithes from Abraham and then disappeared just as quickly and inexplicably as he had appeared? It was Jesus. Who was that man that wrestled with Jacob at Peniel? It was Jesus.

You say, "No, Gary, it was just an angel." No, it wasn't. Don't you remember what Jacob said when he named the place Peniel? In Hebrew, Peniel means face of God. Jacob said, "I named that place Peniel because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." You see, Jacob knew he had seen God. He knew he had wrestled with God, and yet he lived. Jacob was wrestling with Jesus.

Who was that Captain of the Lord's host who encouraged Joshua before the Battle of Jericho? It was our Lord, Jesus Christ. In Joshua chapter five, beginning in verse 14, it says, "And he said nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to him, What saith my lord to his servant?"

If this was just an angel, what would you expect an angel to say when Joshua fell down and began worshipping him? You'd expect him to say, "Stop, don't worship me! I'm just one of God's messengers." In fact, that's exactly what the angel told John in Revelation 22 verses eight and nine. John fell down to worship, and the angel said, "Don't do it! I'm just a fellow servant. Worship God."

Back here in Joshua chapter five, what did the Captain of the Lord's host say when Joshua fell down to worship him? Here it is, Joshua 5:15: "And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place on which thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." So who was this? He was God in human form. This is what theologians call a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.

In other words, God is able to manifest himself in human form in a way that makes it possible for us actually to see him, and hear him, and talk to him. Now, it does not mean that God is limited to that human form. It doesn't mean that when you gaze upon that human likeness, you are seeing the sum and total of everything God is. Far from it.

In fact, if a mortal man tried to look upon the triune God in all of his glory and majesty and infinity, it would kill him instantly. It would be like trying to pump a million volts of raw electrical power into a 60-watt light bulb. What would happen? The bulb would be destroyed.

We cannot see God in all of his glory, at least not in our present fallen mortal state. Maybe one day we will, but not now. But God does have the ability to present himself in human form because he did it in the Old Testament and he did it at Bethlehem. Over and over again here in the book of Ezekiel, the Lord tells his people Israel that he wants them to know who he is. That's our job, my friend, to tell them who he is.

That's all of our time for today. We'll continue next time. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you, take care, bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary, and thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. We've been listening to Dr. Gary Hedrick discussing Israel's coming restoration from the prophecy in Ezekiel chapter 37. Isn't it exciting to think that our generation is beginning to see the fulfillment of prophecies that previous generations could only dream about or read about in the Bible?

As we hear those bones rattling in the Middle East, we are reminded that the stage is being set for the end-time scenario described by the ancient prophets. If you found today's program especially helpful and insightful, you'll be glad to know that we have placed the entire series of programs on compact disc. The title is "Israel's Coming Restoration." It's available for your gift of just $6 or more to help us keep this program here on your station.

How does the establishing of the state of Israel in 1948 fulfill Bible prophecy? What are the four phases of God's future plan for Israel? What is next on the prophetic agenda? These are all questions Gary answers in this important series of studies. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

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I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you? As Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on Israel's Coming Restoration, right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contributions of our listeners in this area.