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In Parts I & II we looked at the Biblical definition of Israel (People, Nation, Remnant) and a few ways in which Christians have been connecting with Israel in our generation. We discovered that according to Romans 11 and Ephesians 2 & 3, this relationship between Jew & Gentile, Israel & the nations, carries the promise of bringing fullness to God’s plan for revival, restoration, and the 2nd Coming of Yeshua. In Part II, we also looked at a few ways of connecting which are good, but miss the fullness. So, how do we achieve this fullness? What can it look like in our generation?
First, if we are looking for a fullness of connection, a full “grafting in,” then this should naturally be made with an “Israel” which satisfies all three Biblical parameters. Thankfully, in our generation we can find such a group of Jews—the Israeli, Messianic Jewish remnant—those who are Jews (People), Israeli (Nation), and the born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit remnant within Israel. According to Paul in Romans 11, it is this group of Jews who carry the full deposit of God’s covenants & promises to Israel in their bodies and spirits. (11:1-15)
Three Strand Cord
In Ephesians, Paul describes the mystery of the reconciliation and unity of Jew & Gentile, together in Messiah, as the “One New Man,” declaring that this “mystery of Christ” was not made known to previous generations of prophets as it was being revealed in his day. (2:14-16; 3:1-6) We can say something similar about our day, in which we see three things that bring this mystery into even sharper focus than it was in the 1st century:
1) A believing remnant of Christians among almost every tribe, tongue, and nation on the earth;
2) A restored, independent Jewish nation (with Jerusalem as its capital!) after almost 2000 years of exile; and
3) The restoration of a Jesus-believing remnant in the nation of Israel.
The Scriptures promise that when the church from among the nations sees itself in the right, “grafted in” position vis a vis the Israeli remnant; and when the Israeli remnant sees that we are, together with the remnant from every nation, “co-heirs, one Body, and partakers of the same covenants/promises,” then we will be positioned together for end times fullness—revival, restoration, and the 2nd Coming. (Rom 11:11-15; Eph 3:6) Are we ready? It’s already happening, in the following ways:
Teaching: we need revelation about these things, and that comes from the Word and the Holy Spirit. We must heed Paul’s warning and seek to not be “ignorant” of this mystery! (Rom 11:25)
Relationship: we are seeing growing fellowship between leaders of the Israeli Messianic remnant and church leaders from around the world. The “One New Man” doesn’t mean that every single Jew & gentile believer will be in significant relationship with one another—the huge number of Christians worldwide and the small number of Messianic Jews simply makes this impossible. This is where the role of leadership in the Body of Christ becomes key: when leaders, who represent communities of believers, come together in prayer, trust, and relationship then a global One New Man church can be realized.
Cooperation: as relationship grows, we are seeing cooperation in prayer & worship conferences, outreach, media, etc.
Government: this last one requires a whole article by itself, but we believe that in these days the Lord is restoring a fullness of apostolic and prophetic order and spiritual government to His people. The fullness of this restoration is dependent upon the right alignment with the fullness of the One New Man restoration of relationship between Israel & the nations, in Christ.
