One For Israel

Dr. Erez Soref: The thrill of a wedding, the bride revealed in white, her eyes meeting her groom. If Israel's rejection of Yeshua resulted in blessing, how much more blessing will come when they accept Him? Why Israel? Because God has chosen Israel to display His love to the world. Jews and Arabs from different backgrounds, He puts us together as the one new man.

I am Dr. Erez Soref. I was born and raised in the heart of Israel, but I never heard the gospel message until, on a journey abroad, my eyes were opened to the Jewish Messiah. From that point, my life has been dedicated to bringing this gospel back to my people Israel, equipping them to reach Israel and the world. Together as Jews and Gentiles, we are one in Messiah, one for Israel.

Forty days after Yeshua rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven from this mountain, promising to return. But some of the disciples were confused. Yeshua was not the Messiah they had expected. As you read the Gospels, you see the disciples were looking for something different.

And it is the same with my people today. The prophets had clearly pointed to a suffering Messiah who would take away our sins and transform us from the inside out. But we like to focus on the parts where the Messiah changes our external situation, triumphant and victorious. A crucified king was and is a stumbling block to my people.

Before His death, Peter even rebuked Yeshua for suggesting He would be killed. Yeshua rebuked Peter back and said, "What good would it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done."

Yeshua affirmed that He will indeed come in glory with His angels as a conqueror. But what good is conquering the world and redeeming Israel unless He first conquers and redeems our souls? The author of Hebrews says, "Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many, and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." First redemption from sin, then salvation, conquering.

Just like in ancient times, the groom comes to pay a price, leaves to prepare a place, then suddenly returns for the wedding feast. Many of my people do not see this. The fact is, Yeshua did not free the Jewish people from oppression or bring world peace in His first coming. Since Yeshua, our people have suffered tragedy after tragedy. Our temple destroyed, expulsion from Israel, and scattered among the nations. We faced persecution and antisemitism that has even, sadly, infected many who would claim to follow Jesus.

But even in persecution, God has thwarted plans to wipe us out and turned Satan's rage into a call back home. Even in the darkest of days, there's always been a remnant that believed God's word and took action. Christian Zionists were some of the most influential figures that blazed the trail for our people to return home.

These men and women believed God's promises beyond what anyone thought possible in their day. Men like William Hechler, a close friend of Theodor Herzl, helped pave the way for the Jewish state today. Even as early as the 1500s, influential voices like Thomas Brightman proclaimed, "Shall they return to Jerusalem again? There is nothing more certain." And in the dark ages of the Holocaust, true believers stood up with courage in the face of evil. People like Corrie ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who stood with our people, some paying the ultimate price. Their love of the Jewish Messiah provoking their sacrifice to save Jewish people.

Ezekiel prophesied of our people returning to this land. In a vision, he saw a valley of dead dry bones, and he saw the bones coming back together, covered with muscle and flesh. Israel today is this miracle. We've been gathered back together in one place, our identity, language, and land resurrected.

But as Ezekiel spoke to these bones, there was a pause in his prophecy. One thing we have not seen yet. These bones came together just as God commanded, flesh and all, but they had no breath. So God instructed Ezekiel a second time to speak to the Ruach, the wind, the same term used for the Holy Spirit.

And that Spirit breathed new life into those bodies, just as He did with Adam. We are still awaiting the full awakening of my people, the breath of the Spirit, the day when all Israel will be saved. Even now, we are beginning to see a glimpse. The Holy Spirit is starting to blow. My people are searching. The bride is awakening.

There is so much more to discover in these biblical appointed days, such as the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles. We've created powerful resources and podcasts that can help you discover the prophecies and promises found in these ancient holidays that reveal more of God's heart, what He's done, and the future redemption to come. Get our biblical calendar guide today and go deeper on this subject.

We've seen God's covenant love for Israel as a marriage and how the biblical festivals reveal the stages in that wedding preparation. Now we come to the culmination of the wedding: Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, the final biblical holiday that points to the great wedding feast still to come.

Sukkot is our most joyous festival. For seven days, we live in temporary shelters under the open sky, remembering how God dwelt with us in the wilderness. But Sukkot is more than remembrance; it is prophecy. In ancient Israel, wedding celebrations also lasted seven days.

And even today, Jewish weddings take place under a chuppah, another canopy under the open sky. The parallels are striking. One rabbi wrote, "With the cloud of the chuppah and the shadow of the sukkah, Israel will commune with her God." The sages and rabbinic commentary clearly saw the cloud by day that followed Israel in the wilderness as a wedding covering like the chuppah, the same illustration as this temporary sukkah that we celebrate in today.

And this is how Sukkot points us to the final act in God's redemptive plan: the day the bridegroom returns. Isaiah, prophesying of the return of the Lord, connects Sukkot to Messiah's future earthly reign, saying, "There will be a cloud of smoke by day and a flaming fire by night. His glory is the wedding canopy over his redeemed bride."

But this day of the Lord is not just roses; there is a battle. The prophet Zechariah says, "On that day, the Lord will gather all nations against Jerusalem. Then the Lord will go out and fight those nations. On that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." It won't look like a wedding at first; it will look like war.

But as we've said before, God invites the fight. He lets the darkness gather to its darkest so that His light can break through the brightest. We've seen shadows of the darkness already. From the Holocaust to the horrific October 7th attacks, the hatred of the nations is rising. But when it hits the tipping point, Zechariah declares, "Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him."

But our end times view needs a harvest focus, not a foreboding fear. It is in these days that the promised salvation that Paul spoke of in Romans 11 will come to pass. As we read in Zechariah 12:10, "I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. Then they will look on me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

Nations will gather against Jerusalem. The Lord, Yeshua Himself, will return to the Mount of Olives and conquer. My people will see their Messiah, the redeemer of souls and champion of Israel. This will be a time when great mourning turns into great joy. This will be the fulfillment of Sukkot. The bridegroom will conquer and then dwell with his bride forever.

And it's not just for Israel. Zechariah ends his book by telling us that the nations will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. The day when all Israel will be saved. The believing remnant of my people will flourish into a healthy olive tree, a glowing bride and a source of blessing for the nations.

We now see a glimpse, but the best is yet to come. We are seeing the firstfruits now. The Messianic movement in Israel today is a testament that God's plan will come to fulfillment, even when it seems impossible. We're sitting down with Pastor Avi Mizrachi, a leader in the body here in Israel. He has in-depth insight about the believing body of Jews and Arabs, the roots in the modern nation, and our future.

Avi Mizrachi: The heart of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the center of the city, this is the city that I was born and raised. So that's why it's so close to my heart to reach out to the lost sheep of Israel. A city that never stops. Coffee shops, nightclubs, theaters. We have a message of hope to the people. Welcome to the most beautiful city in the world, Tel Aviv-Yafo.

This is where I was born and raised. This is my office and the center of Dugit. My name is Avi Mizrachi, Avi short for Avraham Abraham. I have four daughters and I have only 11 grandchildren. 30 years ago, this is how we started as the Dugit art gallery, and now we have the Dugit center as a beautiful coffee house, outreach to the city of Tel Aviv.

This is the heart of the whole operation. This is where our congregation meets on Shabbat. This is our prayer room and we have also the distribution center and to the coffee house. Tel Aviv is a very unique city. We have Jews and Arabs from different backgrounds, very secular, very liberal, but yet when we come to know Yeshua, He puts us together as the one new man.

So when I came to faith 41 years ago as a good Jew from Israel, I was four years in the Israeli Air Force, finished my duty, and then I saved some money. I said I'll go to America to explore America. My intentions were to go to America to go to every discotheque in town, to go to Las Vegas, gamble and become very rich. That was my plan, but God had another plan for my life.

On my way to Las Vegas, I stopped to visit my sister. One Sunday morning, she knocks on my door and she says, "Avi, come, get up, get ready, come with us to church." So I said, "Okay, good music, good people, young people, singles, that sounds good, I'll go and check it out." When I walked in, I was in shock because I was looking to see any statues of St. Peter, St. John, Jesus, Mary, and all those things. I didn't see any of that.

And I was so touched. They sang so beautifully and they were singing to God, praises to God, to my God, the God of Israel. I said, "How could this be?" And to make a long story short, this preacher was precious. He said, "God loves you, He has a plan for your life. It's our sin that separates from a holy God. That's why God sent Yeshua the Messiah, the Lamb of God."

When he shared that, something happened in my heart and I said, "This makes sense. We don't have the temple. We don't have the sacrifices anymore. We have Yom Kippur, the day of atonement we fast, but we have no atonement, no sacrifices." I came back to Israel. I thought I'm the only crazy Jew who believes in Yeshua, and you could count the different fellowships and congregations in your hand.

It was a small body, but we were so excited. But to see today what God has done in the last 20, 30 years, we've seen the body of believers grow so much, more and more congregations, more and more people coming to know Yeshua as their savior. Tel Aviv is the city of the young people. Very secular, very liberal, and but yet in this darkness, many people are seeking faith, are seeking hope, are seeking the light, and the light overcomes the darkness.

We are reaching out to the young Israelis and that's how we started when young Israelis came to faith and they start coming like to a home group, so we start having families and the congregation has grown and grown. We see really the hand of the Lord where we see more and more Jews coming to faith and also Arab believers.

In Ezekiel 36, it's very clear. God said that He will bring all the Jews from the nations and He will bring us back to our home. But also He said that He will pour out His Holy Spirit. He's going to put His Spirit upon us, give us a new heart and a new spirit. He that keepeth Israel shall not slumber nor sleep. In Hebrew it's so beautiful: "Hine lo yanum ve lo yishan shomer Israel." And we need to remind ourselves that God is in charge, He's in control. Yes, we need to fight, we need to do our best, but our trust is in the Lord.

Dr. Erez Soref: Friends, we are living between the betrothal and the banquet. Most of my people today are still veiled, but they're still chosen and still loved. I know my God will complete what He started, and we have the privilege to partner with Him in this critical hour. Our team at One For Israel works to bring the gospel back to Israel, equipping believers in Israel to reach the world.

And we're inviting your partnership to accomplish this. It's imperative that the church partners with the saints in this land to bring that blessing back to His people. Join us as we prepare the way of the Lord. Where Jesus has been hidden in plain sight, One For Israel is making Him known. Help us bring hope and comfort to this land by introducing the only one who can: the Prince of Peace.

We've seen that Yeshua is the bridegroom that will come and dwell with His bride forever. But this raises important questions many of you may be asking. If Israel is God's bride and the church is also called the bride of Messiah, does God have two wives? Does God love Jews more than Gentiles? How do we reconcile this?

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul addressed a church of mainly Gentiles who thought they needed to change their identity. They saw themselves as second-class citizens in the faith and thought that they needed to follow every Jewish custom to earn God's love. Paul corrected this misconception.

God's love couldn't be earned by race, adherence to traditions and law, gender or social status. There is one bride, one salvation. We are grafted into the same root together. On the cross, Yeshua tore down the separation between Jews and Gentiles and all people groups to make us one.

Our identity in the Messiah is deeper than any other identity we can possibly hold. He said, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua." Now does that mean there are literally no differences between males and females as believers? No. We still have biological differences, different roles in our relationships, different races, ethnicities, and nationalities.

But when it comes to our salvation and the love of God, there are no classes, division, or distinction. As Ephesians says, "He Himself is our peace who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier." We even see throughout scripture how God loved Gentiles: Naaman, Ruth, Rahab, and many others. It's our identity in the Messiah that is paramount above all.

So looking with this perspective, there is a balance. We can maintain our distinctiveness while finding deeper unity in Messiah. Paul always remained Jewish. Before his arrest in Jerusalem, he declared, "I am a Jew," not "I was a Jew." The land and people of Israel still have a role in what's to come with our Messiah's return.

God has a love and plan for all Gentiles, just as He has a love and plan for Jews. My personal calling is different than yours and everyone else's. It's not better or worse, just distinct. In the same way corporately, God has a plan for each Gentile nation, and God also has a distinct plan for the land and people of Israel.

In Romans, Paul says that God's gifting and calling to Israel is irrevocable. Our nation and people still have a role. Many promises yet to come, and the whole world will be blessed by what God does with and through my people Israel. The debate is raging more than any time in history. Is God done with my people? Did the church replace Israel? I'm with Dr. Seth Postell, and we're going to discuss a few of these key issues and discover how difficult verses actually point to God's role with Israel as a nation today.

Hi, Seth. Thank you so much for joining me. We want to talk about some of the difficult verses about Israel in scripture. As I was thinking about our conversation, I can't forget how shocked I was to discover that the vast majority of evangelical scholars from the leading seminaries and universities in the world are holding to supersessionism, replacement theology, a belief that the church has completely replaced Israel.

Dr. Seth Postell: I'll never forget a very well-known evangelical scholar got up in a room filled with scholars. It was about 200; it was one of the bigger sessions. And he said, "I'm very proud to say that I believe in replacement theology." And he got a standing ovation. I remember it wasn't even tied to his presentation, it was just kind of, and I walked out with a felt like I had a knife in my stomach.

Dr. Erez Soref: The question that we fundamentally need to ask is: did God truly change His mind and abandon Israel?

Dr. Seth Postell: A lot of replacement theology is couched in more fulfillment theology. They're not saying that God changed His plan for Israel, but that Israel's redefined based on faith in Jesus. In other words, when a Gentile now accepts Jesus, he's considered part of true Israel. Just like Jesus is the new Israel, the true Israel, and everybody that accepts Him is true Israel, and so now those Jewish people that don't believe in Jesus are no longer Israel.

Dr. Erez Soref: There's the verse in Romans 9 that talks about the Israel of God. And I think many times people that come from a supersessionist or replacement theological perspective say, "Well, there you go, the Israel of God. It's not the nation of Israel, it's the church."

Dr. Seth Postell: One of the biggest problems with that perspective is Romans. It's interesting he starts a discussion of Romans 9 where Paul is weeping over his people. And he says of them in the present tense: to them belong the promises, to them belong the covenants, to them belong. Israel's calling is based on promise. It's based on grace. It's based on God's purposes.

So a replacement theologian has to explain how is it possible for Paul to be weeping over a people that obviously have not put their faith in Yeshua the Messiah, they are a people that Paul is willing to give up his salvation for them, and yet to them belong the covenants, to them belong the promises. And that's exactly where he ends in chapter 11 because Israel rejected Yeshua on a national level, salvation came to the Gentiles. And so Paul says in 28, "So they are enemies of the gospel for your sake, for your benefit, but they are beloved for the sake of the fathers."

Dr. Erez Soref: I still meet a lot of people that think that somehow Jewish people have not only a free ticket to heaven kind of deal, but also that the Jews are better in some way. The truth is that God said already in Deuteronomy 7:7 and 8, He says, "I've not chosen you because you're strong or many of you or because you're beautiful or smarter than everybody else, quite the contrary. Because you are none of those things, that's why I choose you to show my glory, my strength."

Consider his argument: has God rejected His people? Because right now you've got all these nations that were not God's people that are coming to faith. And so, "Okay, maybe God has rejected Israel." And so then Paul says in Romans 11 in the first few verses, "Has God rejected Israel? May it never be."

What's his proof? He pulls out his identity card. He says, "I'm an Israelite. If God's rejected Israel, what about me?" If Israel's rejection of Yeshua resulted in blessing, which it has, how much more blessing will come when they accept Him? And we read in Romans 11 that it states that all Israel will be saved.

The longing for the "all" to be saved ought to be the longing for every believer in Yeshua. In Zechariah chapter 12 and at that time in the future, the nation on a national level will recognize the one whom they have pierced. And so the "all" there is a future "all," and it's in context to the present remnant. We believe that we're not saved by our good works and we're not unsaved in that sense by our bad works by failure, which is the gospel.

We are saved as a result of God's gifts that are irrevocable. And so I think one of the issues replacement theology, they have to overcome how is it possible that Paul clearly states unsaved Israel, the Israel of Paul's day that rejected Yeshua, still has all the privileges, all the promises, all the covenants, and the election as a people that did not believe in their Messiah. I think that that is the biggest evidence that replacement theology simply does not work.

Dr. Erez Soref: Thank you so much, Seth. It's been a pleasure, always a pleasure to chat. Thank you. Why Israel? God chose Israel to show the world His faithfulness, that His love really conquers all. His love and faithfulness displayed in Israel as a reminder for you, a flagpole in the ground and an anchor for your faith in God's love for you.

Yeshua will return here, not as the suffering servant but as the conquering king. Not to a people who reject Him, but to a nation that cries out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Until that day, we who know Him must work to prepare the bride.

Our team at One For Israel is bringing the gospel back to Israel and equipping believers in Israel to reach the world. Where Jesus has been hidden in plain sight, One For Israel is making Him known. We need your partnership to bring the good news to our people in Israel and around the world. It's imperative that the church partners with the saints in Israel to bring that blessing.

Join us as we prepare the way of the Lord and help us bring hope and comfort to Israel with the Prince of Peace. The invitation has been sent. The bride is making herself ready. Let our prayer echo scripture's final cry: the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." To my people and to the nations, we cry, "Come to Him." And to Yeshua our bridegroom, "Come quickly."