Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): Today, the eyes of the world are on the Middle East as world leaders try to jump-start the stalled peace process. What does the future hold for this troubled part of the world? We'll find out today as Pastor Albert Runge talks about Jerusalem, the focus of prophecy, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, we'll be hearing from Associate Bible Teacher Albert Runge as he talks about Jerusalem, the focus of prophecy. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. But first, with today's study, here is Al Runge.

Albert Runge: Thank you again for allowing me to come into your home and to share with you the message of Jesus the Messiah. We started just the other day in a new series of studies on Jerusalem: The Focus of Prophecy. The reason that Jerusalem is important is that is where God placed His name and His temple.

In Hebrews 8:4-5, we're told what Moses was given as a commission from heaven. The priests serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

The tabernacle had three purposes we've discovered. The first purpose is that it was to provide a place where God could dwell visibly with His people. The children of Israel in the wilderness could look at the tabernacle and they'd see the cloud of glory by day and the pillar of fire by night. He was there visibly to comfort them, to provide for them, and to guide them. God loves us and desires to dwell with us. That's why Jesus came. That's why He became a man, because it was out of the love that the Son of God had for us.

Secondly, the tabernacle was a place where people met God. God loves to meet with us. After I retired from the pastorate, I became lazy in my devotions. One day, God surprised me with a question: "Aren't you talking to me anymore?" I was shocked, and I began to think about it. I said, "It's true. I haven't been praying very much." When I was a pastor, I prayed for wisdom. I prayed for the welfare of other people. I prayed when we needed to find land to relocate our church.

But now that I have retired from the pastorate, I haven't been talking to the Lord. But I discovered that the wonderful Almighty God wants us to fellowship with Him, to talk to Him. So that was the second purpose of the tabernacle, so that people could meet God. The third purpose of the tabernacle was to provide a place for atonement. No matter how righteous and pious we might become, we still never achieve perfection in this life. We all need an atonement for our souls.

Under the old covenant, the high priest had to go into the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle on the Day of Atonement every year to make another blood sacrifice. But Jesus, our high priest, brought us a better sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us: "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the most holy place in heaven once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Notice the words "once for all." He doesn't have to go back to the cross every year and shed His blood. It is an eternal redemption, and that's what He's obtained for us.

58 years ago, I was thinking of making a commitment to Jesus. but as I was listening to the preacher, I thought, "What if I accepted Jesus now and all my past sins would be forgiven, but what about the future?" I know that I'm a sinner, and that's my condition, and it seems hopeless to me because sometime I'm going to sin again. What would that mean to me? Just then, the preacher that I was listening to said, without knowing my thoughts—I'm sure God inspired him—"When you accept Jesus, His atoning death covers your past sins, your present sins, and your future sins." That encouraged me to receive Jesus into my life, and that's when I found the peace of sins forgiven.

The tabernacle was only a tent. It was taken down and carried by the priests along with the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. But once Israel was settled in the land, God selected Jerusalem to establish His temple and to place His name there. In 1 Kings 9:3-4, God said to Solomon: "I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have consecrated this temple in Jerusalem which you have built to put my name there forever, and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually."

When I visited Israel, I prayed for Israel's salvation in the name of Jesus at the outer wall of the ancient temple called the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. I felt a wonderful sense that my prayer was heard in heaven. I know that our prayers are heard anywhere in the world because now God dwells within us, and where we go, He goes. The temple of Solomon was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was visible for all to see. Isaiah, the Jewish prophet, made clear the purpose of the temple in Isaiah 56:7: "For my house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations."

The word "nations" in the Hebrew is "goyim," Gentiles. Isn't that amazing? The tabernacle in the wilderness was only for the children of Israel as they wandered, but the temple was to be a house of prayer for all the people of the world. In Romans 3:29-30, the Jewish Apostle Paul said: "Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." So the temple in Jerusalem was an invitation to all the people of the world to come and pray to the living God, the true God.

This idea of God loving the Gentiles is certainly in the Old Testament. In fact, it's the truth of the book of Jonah. Jonah was a Jewish prophet, and one day, God called him to go to Nineveh, that Gentile city, and tell them that in 40 days, God was going to destroy their city. Jonah ran in the other direction. He didn't want those Gentiles to be saved. He took a ship to Tarshish. God sent a severe storm, and that ship would have sunk if the pagan crew did not throw Jonah overboard.

God had prepared a great fish that was ready to swallow him up. The Bible doesn't say it was a whale, just a specially prepared great fish. It took three days for Jonah in that terrible condition in the belly of the whale to finally agree to go to Nineveh and give them God's message. Then the fish threw him up. Whether you want to call it a whale or not, it doesn't matter; it was specially prepared for him. The Gentile city was so large, it took Jonah three days to walk from one end to the other.

All he did was proclaim: "In 40 days, God will destroy your city." He didn't tell them to repent. He didn't tell them that God is merciful. He told them the bad news, but not the good news. He knew better, but he didn't want those Gentiles to repent. But lo and behold, in spite of Jonah, everyone in the city began to repent, including the king. Jonah decided to sit on a hill outside of Nineveh and watch for God's judgment. When it did not come, he became very angry with God.

In Jonah 4:1-4, we see his reaction: "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord and said, 'Ah, Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, one who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.'" If Jonah had any love for those Gentiles, if he could have understood the love of God for all people, he could have gone back into that city.

He could have established the faith in the living God and taught them what God was like, but his prejudice was in his way. In the book of Acts, we're told that the early Jewish believers did not preach to the Gentiles the gospel of the grace of God. They believed that redemption was only for the Jews, and it took some time for God to reveal to them that Gentiles were also included in God's plan of redemption. In fact, it is because of Jesus that He came that millions upon millions of Gentiles worship the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Unfortunately, there are even some Christians who now falsely believe that Jews aren't included in the church. I even read some theologians that teach that Jews don't need to come to Jesus; they can be saved under the Law of Moses. But Jeremiah the Jewish prophet said in Jeremiah 31:31-33: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke."

This new covenant is in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Whether Jew or Gentile, we need to come to Him now. It is amazing that God loves to hear from us, that His house in Jerusalem was to be a house of prayer. In Joel 2:32, the Jewish prophet said: "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." I want you to know the name of the Lord is Yeshua HaMashiach in Hebrew, Jesus the Christ translated from the Greek.

God loves you. I don't care whether you're Jew or Gentile, this very day you can make a decision for Jesus and be born of God. What a wonderful invitation we have. God said, "Come now, and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Listen, God welcomes you to come because Jesus the Messiah has died on the cross. He's provided a wonderful eternal salvation for you. Why don't you ask Jesus to come into your heart? And if you are a believer, rejoice in our great eternal redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Pastor Runge. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. You've been listening to Albert Runge, our associate Bible teacher here on Messianic Perspectives, and his discussion of Jerusalem: The Focus of Prophecy. In this fascinating series of studies, Pastor Al Runge explains the pivotal role the city of Jerusalem plays in Bible prophecy. He says it's no accident that this ancient city is the focal point of world attention in our generation.

If you'd like a copy of these programs, they're all available on compact disc. The title again is Jerusalem: The Focus of Prophecy, and you can have this set shipped right to your door for a gift of only $12. Just 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. And as always, when you're in touch, 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 Aiello. Join us next time, won't you? As Pastor Albert Runge continues our series of studies on Jerusalem: The Focus of Prophecy, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

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