THE JEWISH PROBLEM: ITS SOLUTION

Preceptaustin has posted one of David Baron’s fine works. I have his book “Zechariah – A Commentary On His Visions and Prophecies” and “Israel In The Plan of God”. Both are highly recommended.

Introductory comments: David Baron (bio) (1857-1926) was a Jewish believer who wrote extensively about the Nation of Israel many many years before dispensational teaching became popular and most importantly many years before Israel became a nation. Minor corrections in grammar have been made to the original manuscript. In addition many Scripture references (NAS unless otherwise designated) have been added (as well as links to notes on those passages) where appropriate to allow the reader to examine the original Biblical text. In May 14, 1948 (read how the Arab nations attempted to destroy the new nation...talk about odds stacked against you! Clearly God was behind the scene/seen! As an aside the United States recognized Israel as a nation 11 minutes after Israel was reborn! Ever wonder why the US is so blessed? see Ge 12:3) Israel again became a nation in one day (cp Isa 66:8) after almost 2000 years without a homeland!

Why is it important to understand the "Jewish Problem" from a Biblical perspective? Because Israel and the city of Jerusalem continue to be at the center of the world's attention, hardly a day going by when newspaper headlines do not have some mention of this tiny nation. Indeed, Israel and Jerusalem will continue to be "a cup that causes reeling" to all the world until the triumphant Second Coming of Christ (Zech 12:1, 2, 3, Zech 14:1-2, 3, 4, 5-9). It therefore behooves all Christians to be familiar with the Scriptural texts that deal with Israel's past, present and future. This little booklet by David Baron presents an(?) will done Old Testament summary of God's plan for Israel.

If you are like many Christians, and are somewhat perplexed about what will happen to Israel, Jerusalem and the Jews in the End Times, this short book, although written in 1891, will give you a good overview on a timely subject which is ever near and dear to God's heart as shown by His comforting words to the chosen people in exile for their disobedience...keep reading

Note that at the end of the article, Preceptaustin has posted an audio commentary by Tony Garland. The writer describes Tony this way:

“For this reason, the commentary by Dr Anthony Garland is highly recommended as one of the best I have ever encountered on the "Jewish Problem." Garland is conservative and approaches the Scriptures from a literalist perspective, but he is "fair and balanced" and presents his exposition in an intellectually honest manner.” (Emphasis mine)

Tony is, indeed, a fine scholar and I think his work on Revelation rivals the thoroughness of Robert L Thomas’s 2 Volume Exegetical Commentary. But I wouldn’t use the term literalist. That word is often used disparagingly of the dispensationalist hermeneutic. See the Expanded Contents of Tony’s A Testimony of Jesus Christ for articles addressing the interpretation of Revelation.

Incidentally, Tony is currently working on the book of Daniel. Please pray for God’s blessing on his work.

Michael Rydelnik - The Messianic Hope

I’ve mentioned Dr Michael Rydelnik’s book “The Messianic Hope – Is The Hebrew Bible Really Messianic?” Well Dan Phillips and Tony Garland have two excellent reviews of the book HERE and HERE.

Highly recommended reading!

From the book and Tony's review:

Messianic prophecy was the means God used to bring me to faith in Jesus the Messiah. My parents were Holocaust survivors who raised me in a traditional Jewish home. We were Orthodox in our Jewish beliefs and practices and, as such, I did believe in the future coming of a personal Messiah. Even so, it was not a central issue of my life. However, that changed when my mother announced that she believed in Jesus. This led to my father divorcing her and a radical shift in my life. I decided to study the messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Bible and prove my mother wrong in attributing their fulfillment to Jesus of Nazareth. Although I was initially quite confident of my opinion, in time I was surprised to see that there was far more credibility to the messiahship of Jesus than I had first anticipated. After dealing with my fears of ostracism from the Jewish community, based on my new conviction that the Scriptures foretold a suffering Messiah who would be rejected by His own people and provide forgiveness thorough his death and resurrection, I put my trust in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. . . . I would never have made this decision apart from studying messianic prophecy. In fact, apart from messianic prediction and fulfillment, Jesus could not be identified as the Messiah of Israel, and if not that, then He could not be the Messiah of the world. It is for this reason, joined with my commitment to exegetical accuracy, that I believe it is essential to understand the Hebrew Bible as messianic. ~ Dr Rydelnik pp 11-12

Who is a True Jew?

Excellent study by Tony Garland:

I believe that much of the confusion concerning the use of the term “Israel” in the New Testament -- and especially whether it refers to believing Gentiles -- can be cleared away by recognizing that although, consistent with its use in the Old Testament, the term always denotes those who are physical descendants of the man Jacob, there are also passages where the writer desires to call attention to a subset from within the physical descendants of Jacob who also share the faith of father Abraham. Here are some principles to consider when reading such passages...keep reading

Matthew 24-25

Tony Garland of Spirit And Truth has begun a series on Matthew 24-25. You can follow it HERE.