Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Stay tuned as Dr. Gary Hedrick discusses Israel's coming restoration. 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, 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.

And now, with today's installment, here is 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 again today as we begin a series on Israel's coming restoration.

We're going to be talking about that great prophecy in the Dry Bones Chapter of Ezekiel chapter 37. It's a wonderful prophecy that maps out Israel's end-time destiny.

You say, "Gary, I always thought God sort of washed his hands of Israel when they rejected his son as the Messiah." And there are a lot of people who think that, but it's not true. Romans 9, 10, and 11 explains that the setting aside of Israel is temporary until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And at the end of this age, when the bride is complete, God begins dealing with his people Israel once again. The end result is Romans 11:26, "All Israel shall be saved."

But we have these so-called replacement theologians today, who say there's nothing in the Old Testament about all Israel being saved. They'll say, "In the Old Testament, it's always a remnant of Israel that is saved, not the entire nation." And so they say there is no national salvation for Israel.

But this prophecy of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel chapter 37 proves otherwise. It proves that there is a future restoration of National Israel. It's described as a resurrection. In other words, Israel will be raised from the dead. In Romans 11:15, that's why Paul said that Israel's restoration would be like what? Life from the dead. In other words, regeneration, resurrection. That's what Ezekiel 37 is all about.

Now, who is this character Ezekiel anyway? Well, he was a young Jewish man who was training to be a priest or a Cohen in the Jerusalem Temple. But he never had the privilege of serving in the temple.

In Old Testament times, the Cohanim or the priests were consecrated to temple service at age 30. By the way, that's why our Lord, the Messiah, was baptized at age 30. He was entering the phase of his ministry where he would serve as our great High Priest. But he would offer his own blood, rather than the blood of animals, for the sins of the world. So the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was consecrated in baptism or the Mikvah at age 30.

But Ezekiel never got to serve in the temple because the Jewish nation was carried away into captivity by the Babylonians when he was only 25 years old. So when Ezekiel came of age, five years later, he was in Babylon. He was a priest without a temple. The land of Israel was desolate and the temple was destroyed.

And you have to understand that in ancient Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple were like the soul of the Jewish nation. In fact, they had a kind of Jewish Trinity, which was the land, the people, and the book, the Torah. The land, the people, and the book. Those are like the three foundation stones of the Jewish nation. And if you take away any one of the three, the whole thing collapses.

So when the Jewish people were driven out of their land, it was like killing them. The nation was dead. They had no land. They had no king, no monarchy, no temple, no place to call their own.

So God uses this young priest, Ezekiel, to deliver a message of hope to his people in captivity in Babylon. He wants them to know he hasn't forgotten them. He wants them to know he hasn't forsaken them. He wants them to know that someday the nation will be restored, both physically and spiritually. And the Messiah will rule from the throne of his father David in Jerusalem.

Now, look what it says in Ezekiel chapter 37, beginning in verse one. The prophet says, "The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones." There's the scene. A valley of dead bones. And these bones represent National Israel. All that's left are dead bones. In other words, there's no hope of recovery. You can't revive a skeleton, can you?

Now, if someone is stricken and the heart stops, you might try to revive him with CPR or some other medical technique. But have you ever seen anyone try to administer CPR to a skeleton? Of course not, because there would be no point. So in this vision, the Lord set Ezekiel down in a valley full of bones. But that's not all. Not only are the bones dead, but they're also dry. Look at verse two. "And he caused me to pass by them around, and behold, there were very many bones in that open valley, and lo, they were very dry." Those bones were bleached and baked under the hot sun.

Verse three, "And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'" Well, what would you say, listening friend? Can those bones live? Can they be resurrected? Most people would probably say no. But Ezekiel knows better than to tell God what he can or cannot do. So he answers in verse three where it says, "And I answered, 'O Lord God, thou knowest.'"

Now, that name of God is significant because you see, there are many names for God in the Old Testament. For example, he is El Olam, or the eternal God. He is Elohim, which speaks of his majesty and his triunity. He is El Shaddai, or God Almighty. He is El Elyon, or God Most High. Another name is Adonai, or Lord. But here Ezekiel uses the covenant name of God. He calls him, "O Lord God," or Adonai Yahweh. Yahweh, or Jehovah, is the covenant name of Almighty God.

Now sometimes people write and they want to know which of these names is the proper pronunciation. Is it Yahweh or is it Jehovah, or Jehova? And the answer is that no one knows for sure. The original pronunciation was lost thousands of years ago because in Hebrew, the way it was originally spoken, there were no vowels, only consonants. And by the way, today the Israelis don't use the consonants in modern Hebrew, so they're going back to the old way.

So to arrive at the correct pronunciation, the rabbis took the vowel sounds from the name Adonai and superimposed those vowel sounds on the consonants YHWH or in Hebrew, Yod, He, Vav, He. And that's where they came up with Yehovah or Jehovah. They were just borrowing vowel sounds from the name Adonai.

But many scholars today believe the correct pronunciation is Yahweh, rather than Jehovah. It literally means, "I am who I am." In other words, he is the self-existent one, the all-sufficient one, and there is no one else like him. When Moses asked the Lord whom he should say sent him, the Lord said, "You tell the Israelites, 'I am that I am hath sent you.'" He told Moses to tell the children of Israel that he is Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And he said that was to be his name forever, the name by which he was to be remembered throughout their generations. Exodus chapter 3.

So Yahweh is God's covenant name. The rabbis didn't want to pronounce it, so they called it HaShem, the Name. Baruch HaShem, blessed the Name. And this is the name Ezekiel uses when the Lord asks him if those dry bones can ever live again. He says, "O Lord God, O Adonai Yahweh, thou knowest."

And by the way, this Jewish concept of the Name proves that Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate. Because what did Paul say in Philippians chapter 2? He said, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men." And "being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross."

Now, watch this, verse 9. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is what? Above every name, that at the name of Jesus," or in Hebrew, Yeshua, "that at the name of Yeshua, every knee should bow." That's worship, my friend. They are worshiping Jesus Christ. "Of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth," verse 11, "and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord," Yeshua HaMashiach is Adonai, "to the glory of God the Father."

Now, listen, my friend, if Jesus Christ is not God in the flesh, then what Paul just said is heresy. So this Jewish concept of HaShem, or the Divine Name, proves that Jesus Christ is God. The Godhead consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, distinct, yet co-equal and cooperative in every way. And so closely related that they function as one in perfect harmony and unity. And although they are distinct, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish between the three persons of the Godhead because they are so perfectly blended in function and purpose.

So this is the name Ezekiel uses when the Lord asks him if those dry bones can ever live again. He says, "O Lord God, O Adonai Yahweh, thou knowest," because he knows that with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, nothing shall be impossible.

Well, that's all of our time for today. I hope you'll join us next time as we continue this series on the coming restoration of Israel. 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.

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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 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.

Liz Aiello: 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.