Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: 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.

Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. I'm 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 for allowing me to come into your home and to share with you a wonderful message of Jesus, our Jewish Messiah. I'm continuing my messages on Jerusalem, the focus of prophecy. Now, before we go on to the millennial kingdom of Christ, I think it's important for us to stop and to understand the three main views about the Millennium held by some Evangelicals.

Postmillennialism was once the foundational belief of liberalism. It acclaimed the goodness of mankind and taught that as civilization advanced, the world would get better and better. Because of the evil of the Second World War, postmillennialism lost most of its influence in theology until recently with the rise of an evangelical postmillennialism.

Let me give you a quote from the Britannica Encyclopedia. Postmillennialism is the optimistic view of the last things which holds that the kingdom of God was established at the first advent of Christ and is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit; that the world eventually will be dominated by Christian principles and that the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of general righteousness and peace.

Postmillennialism asserts that the prophecies of the tribulation, the mystery of iniquity, and the antichrist have all been fulfilled in history in the past. They dismiss the biblical prophecies of end times as irrelevant for the present and the future. They believe evil will not get worse until the coming of the Lord, but the world will get better through the missionary endeavor of the church.

They believe that the church will fulfill its mandate to bring the gospel to all the nations and along with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, all humanity will come to Christ. When this happens, a just society ruled by the church will emerge. This will take place without the physical presence of Christ on the Earth according to their position.

To suggest that the church, made up of imperfect sinners saved by grace, will achieve the millennium of righteousness without the physical presence and the reign of Christ on the Earth is laughable. It is an egotistical fantasy. Postmillennialism ridicules the premillennialists as being too pessimistic about the success of missions.

In examining the 2,000 years of the church's history, it becomes very painfully obvious that even with the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the church failed to bring in a worldwide just society. The church in its present spiritual condition is unable to bring in a worldwide society of perfection. Jesus will perfect His children at His return.

Let me read to you some scripture found in 1 John 3:1-3. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be like, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure."

When the Lord Jesus comes back to gather His people out of this world at the time of the Rapture, only then will the church be so perfected by the sanctifying work of God that the people of God will be able to reign with Christ on the Earth for a thousand years and reign in righteousness with Jesus as the King, not the church. The church will not bring in God's kingdom.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Daniel 7:13-14 is so significant. "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom, which shall not be destroyed."

When Jesus comes back to establish His kingdom for a thousand years and then after that for eternity in the new heavens and the Earth, then and only then will there be a perfect society. There are many Evangelicals who are Amillennial. That is, they believe that there will be no literal reign of Christ on the Earth from the city of Jerusalem for a thousand years.

According to this view, Christ will return for His church. At the same time, He will destroy the heavens and the Earth, judge humanity, and then God will create a new heaven and a new Earth. I want you to know that the amillennialists who are evangelical believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, His vicarious death on the cross for our sins, and His physical resurrection as predicted in the Old and New Testament.

But when it comes to the prophecies of King Messiah redeeming Israel, reigning in Jerusalem on the restored throne of David for a thousand years, they insist it's not to be taken literally. They reject such prophecy. They are wrong because the Bible tells us that Jesus is coming back. In fact, the New Testament gives us a number of prophecies.

Listen to what the angel told the Virgin Mary about her forthcoming Son in Luke 1:31-33. "He shall be great and will be called the Son of the Highest. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." The throne of David is an earthly throne in the city of Jerusalem, not a heavenly one.

The amillennialists also disregard Revelation 20:6. Listen to this: "Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." The premillennial view, which is my personal view, is the historic Christian position.

It asserts that Christ will return to gather His church first. Then will come the tribulation. He will come after the tribulation to redeem Israel and to establish His literal reign on the Earth for a thousand years. The only hope that this polluted, crime-infested, and war-weary world has is in the coming of King Messiah Jesus. There is no other hope for the world.

And let me tell you, He is coming back. The King is coming, and His kingdom will be established in the Millennium on Earth. While it will prove that even with a perfect society, sinful man will still rebel at the end of the Millennium, God will give an opportunity to this world to see and experience the righteous reign of God on the Earth.

The Lord shall come after the Millennium. He shall destroy this present world, judge the lost, and create all things new. This was the prophetic view of the early church for 300 years until it was rejected because it appeared to be too Jewish. The fact is that everything about true biblical Christianity is Jewish. I trust that you understand that.

One thing that astounds Jewish people who read the New Testament for the first time is because many of them have never really opened up the New Testament. They've been told, "This is a Gentile book. This is not a Jewish book." But as soon as they open it up and begin to read, they realize this is a very Jewish book. It was written by Messianic Jews who believed in the hope of Israel and who came to know the Messiah, Jesus.

The kingdom of God is wherever God is reigning. And His kingdom can be established right now in your heart, but it depends on your decision. What will you do with Jesus? You can ignore Him. God has given you the freedom to reject Him. Or you can bow your knee to Him and accept Jesus as your Savior and King.

Jesus will translate you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God's dear Son, so that you could experience the reality of Jesus in your life. One thing that Jewish people find, as well as Gentiles, is that when they receive Jesus into their life, it's not just accepting another religion. It's not just accepting a creed, but it is accepting a living person with whom they fellowship.

They find peace in their heart, forgiveness of sins, and they find the reality of God, our heavenly Father. I trust that at this point of your life, you will taste and see that the Lord is good. He is good. And the Lord invites you. He invited Israel. He said, "Come now, let us reason together." God is so reasonable. He wants you to come.

He wants you to understand the truth of His Son, Jesus. He wants you into His family and in His kingdom. And the only one that can keep you out of it is yourself. God's given you the freedom. No one can force you. No one can compel you. No one can drag you into the kingdom of God.

You must come of your own volition. You must accept Jesus as your Savior, and no one has the right or the authority or the power to change your heart. You must come and allow God to do it—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. I trust that you will take this moment and let Jesus be your Lord and Savior, Jesus who is known in Hebrew as Yeshua Hamashiach. Let Him come into your heart now. God bless you.

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 on 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 enjoyed today's study, you'll be glad to know that our special offer this week is the CD of this current series of studies on 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, PO 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 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 Pastor Al Runge continues our series of studies on Jerusalem, the focus of prophecy, 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.