Messianic Perspectives

Liz Iello: Did God reject the Jewish people when they rejected his son 2,000 years ago? Has he replaced Israel with the church? Stay with us as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses the question, is God finished with Israel today right here on Messianic Perspectives? 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 Iello. On today's edition of Messianic Perspectives, Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the question, is God finished with Israel? I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready.

Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you and welcome listening friend to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on the question, is God finished with Israel? And when we finished up last time, we were talking about the restoration promises that God made to Israel through King David. There's no need to go any farther in order to prove that God is not finished with his people, Israel. The promises we talked about last time are all we need. I mean, we could turn the lights out and go home, case closed.

But there's so much more. You see, in just the few days we've been talking about this, we're already beginning to see a continuity in the Messianic promises. The Abrahamic covenant had said that the patriarchs would be the fathers of kings. The Lord told Abraham in Genesis 17:6 that he would make him fruitful and that he would make nations of Abraham and that kings would come from him. Then at the end of the book of Genesis in chapter 49 verse 10, we have that wonderful Messianic promise that was fulfilled first of all in King David, but ultimately in the Messiah himself.

It says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a law giver from between his feet until Shiloh shall come and to him shall the gathering of the people be. A few generations later, the prophet Samuel went to the house of Jesse and he said, let me see your sons. And they brought the first one and Samuel said, nope, he's not the one. Then the second one and the prophet said, sorry, not him either. One by one they passed by and it wasn't any of them. Finally, Samuel said, Jesse, is that all of your sons?

And Jesse said, well yeah, well well I mean there's David, but he's just a kid. All he knows how to do is tend sheep and play his harp. He's not even here right now. He's out watching his sheep somewhere. Samuel said, bring him. We will not sit down till he comes. And when the old prophet saw David, what did he say? He said, he is the one. This shepherd boy was to be the one who would begin another stage in the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. And not just in the fact that he would sit on the throne of Israel, but that he would establish the house of David, the Davidic dynasty, a kingly line of succession that would end with whom?

Who was the last king of Israel? Who was the last king in the Davidic dynasty? Do you know who it was? Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Mashiach or as he would have been known in his day, Yeshua ben Yosef or Yeshua son of Joseph. He was the last king of Israel in the Davidic dynasty. That's why he told Pilate he was the king of Israel. Even though all through his ministry he had shunned that title of king because he knew he hadn't come to rule this time, but to die. Even though he shunned it for most of those three years of public ministry, he acknowledged to Pilate that he was indeed the king of the Jews.

That's in Mark 15 verse 2. In fact, there's hardly a hint in the New Testament that anyone ever disputed the legal right of Yeshua ben Joseph to sit on the throne of David. No one ever disputed his qualifications from the standpoint of the scriptures or even from the standpoint of Jewish law or halakha. In fact, during one period of his ministry when he was working a lot of miracles, the Jewish multitudes began to say that Jesus was the Messiah. Who else could do these things except the Messiah? And they were going to take him even against his will and crown him king of Israel, Melech Mashiach.

So Jesus left and went up into the mountains by himself to get away from them. That's in John chapter 6. You see, his qualifications were never in doubt. They knew Joseph's family, they knew Mary's family and both of them as a matter of fact were from the Davidic line. They were two different sons of David. One was Solomon and another one was another son of David, but they were both from the Davidic line. They both qualified. And so the anointing of David as king of Israel marks the beginning of another phase in the Messianic prophecies.

You see, it all started in the Garden of Eden when God told the serpent that he would send a deliverer who would neutralize the effects of sin in this world. After Adam and Eve fell into sin and this world came under the Adamic curse, God promised to send a deliverer who would cancel the Adamic curse and restore the original blessing on creation. And from that point on, listen, from that point on everyone was waiting for that deliverer. In fact, and we've talked about this before, when Seth was born, Eve thought he was the promised Messiah.

Generations later when Noah was born, his father Lamech thought he was the Messiah. In fact, the word Noah or in the Hebrew Noach means comfort. It says in Genesis 5:29 that Lamech named his son Noach because they hoped he would comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. In other words, Lamech was hoping that Noah would be the promised Messiah who would lift the curse. So again, this is where it all starts as far as the royal lineage of the Messiah is concerned, it starts right here with the anointing of David as the king of Israel because with that anointing the house of David is established and David himself becomes a type or a foreshadowing of a future king of Israel, a divine king who will be the Messiah.

This has been consistently witnessed to not only by Messianic or Christian scholars, but also by the rabbis for thousands of years. In Psalm 2, the Lord says in verse 6, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion or literally I have anointed my king upon my holy hill of Zion. This is the Messiah, the anointed one, the final king of Israel. He says Psalm 2, I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said to me, thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. Verse 8, ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thy inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now the primary reference here in the second Psalm is to King David. We all know that. David is the anointed one, David is the king of Israel, but all through here are these underlying references to the future Messiah. The rabbis would call these uh something like this a remez or a sod, a secret meaning or a foreshadowing of something yet future because he goes along and suddenly he's talking about his son who has been begotten or born.

So we go from King David, son of Jesse, to the Messiah, son of God. And we go from King David who rules the kingdom of Israel to the Messiah who rules the whole world. I will make the nations your inheritance, he says, and the ends of the earth your possession. And that's obviously not Israel under King David because David never exhibited any expansionist tendencies, neither did Solomon. The Israelites were not people who sent out big armies to acquire uh new lands and to expand their territory. Their only desire was to live in peace with their neighbors and to dwell in the land that God had given them.

And the only time they fought basically was when they were attacked. Same thing is true today, by the way. In the days of King Solomon during Israel's golden age of power and influence, she could have ruled half the known world if she had wanted to, but Israel didn't. It's just not the Jewish way. Another Messianic Psalm is Psalm 1:10. Look at what it says in verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool. This is King David talking and literally it says, Jehovah said to my Adonai, sit thou at my right hand.

So this is Jehovah God speaking to David's Adonai. Now Adonai can mean Lord with a capital L, which would be God, or it can mean Lord with a small L, which would be an earthly ruler. About 95% of the time in the Old Testament it refers to God. And the translation, whether it's a capital L or a small L, depends on the context. So let's read on. Verse 2, the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. Skip down to verse 4. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent.

Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Uh-oh, there's a clue. Now remember that Adonai in verse 1 already has about a 95% chance of referring to deity. But some of the rabbis and even some Christian scholars say that David was talking about his son Solomon here. But what does he say? Thou art a priest. How long? Forever. And what order of priesthood is it? He says, after the order of Melchizedek. There's a Jewish midrash on this in the New Testament where the book of Hebrews compares the eternal order of Melchizedek with the temporary order of Aaron, the priesthood of Aaron.

And I wish I had time to show you how Jesus Christ is our great high priest, a priest after the order of Melchizedek and how all of those Messianic prophecies find their ultimate fulfillment in him. But in the 110th Psalm, this royal Messiah priest is none other than Yeshua Ha Mashiach, the blessed son of God. But here's the point. There must be a future restoration and regeneration of national Israel because when the Messiah returns, he will be the king of Israel. He certainly cannot come back as the king of Israel if his people Israel do not receive him as their king.

That's why the apostle Paul says in Romans 11:26 that when Jesus Christ returns at the climax of the Armageddon campaign, all Israel will be saved. So it's very clear, my friend, God is not finished with his people Israel. He has a wonderful and glorious future for them. Well, we're not finished, but that's all of our time for today, so we'll continue this next time, Lord willing. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Iello: Thank you Gary and thank you listening friend for tuning in today. Now let me tell you about our special offer. It's Gary Hedrick's booklet entitled, is God finished with Israel? It's available for a suggested gift of $7. This booklet is especially helpful because it includes a word for word transcript of an internet debate between Gary Hedrick and an amillenialist. This is someone who very definitely believes that God is finished with Israel. And of course, Gary very definitely believes that he is not, so it made for quite a lively discussion. Then we also have the programs you're hearing here on the broadcast.

This series of studies is available on compact disc for a suggested contribution of just $6 to this ministry. The title again is, is God finished with Israel? 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, PO 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 Iello. Join us next time, won't you? As Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on, is God finished with Israel? 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 free will contributions of our listeners in this area.