THE HOPE OF ISRAEL IN THE LIGHT OF THE PROPHECIES OF MOSES

Good Tidings Message No. 1

Speaking to the children of Israel, the Lord said unto Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." #De 18:18-19 The message of Moses is full of importance to Israel and he should apply it to his heart. God promised Moses that from among the children of Israel he would raise up a prophet like Moses. This prophet would speak God’s word to Israel. The rejection of this prophet by Israel, Moses stated, would bring very serious consequences. This is the key message to the Jews from the prophecies of Moses. Each Israelite will have to decide for himself whether the disaster which today has befallen Israel is not to a great extent due to his rejection of God’s Prophet.

Moreover Moses further prophesied to Israel: "And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.

"And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land wither thou goest to possess it.

"And the Lord shall scatter thee among all the people, from one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stones.

"And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the soles of thy feet have rest, but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of the eyes, and sorrow of the mind: "And thy life shall hand in doubt before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurances of life." #De 28:62-66

Many years have passed since this message was delivered to Israel. As foretold, the GLORY OF ISRAEL IS GONE. Can any thinking Jew, as he meditates upon his lot today, doubt the fulfillment of the words of Moses" If Israel had read the writings of Moses carefully and thoughtfully, and especially the heart searching message to Israel, as found in the book of Deuteronomy, would he, today have been without God and without hope. All that Moses stated as quoted in the above extract has been fully, definitely, and literally, fulfilled in Israel. Could Moses have more fully described the lot of Israel today" Instead of being the most glorious nation of the world as they were under the rule of King Solomon, Israel today is a scattered nation. Today Israel has been scattered from one end of the earth to the other. He has been destroyed, persecuted, his efforts have been brought to nought, and he has been plucked out of every land to which he departed for rest and shelter. He has had no rest, no peace, fearful of the future, and the sorrow in his eyes betrays the anguish of his mind and heart. The messages from Moses are vital and decidedly crucial to Israel. In the, Israel will find the cause of his rejection by God. If the Jewish people will but meditate over their lot, if they will seriously think of the present in the light of their past history, if they will cast off prejudices caused by Godless people who were the instrumentalities of God in carrying out his judgments against Israel, then Israel must conclude that their present fate has come upon them because they "Would not obey the voice of the Lord their God" #De 28:6 and because they have rejected Jesus, the anointed, whom the sincere people of God have accepted as the Prophet whom God raised up from among the children of Israel. Well may Israel note the warning: "And it shall come to pass (as Moses stated in #De 18:19) that whosoever shall not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."

Israel must study his present situation. If Jesus, the Anointed is the Prophet of whom Moses spoke then his message should be accepted and he himself should be accepted also as the prophet from God. There is but one way in which the Jews may more fully be led to accept Jesus and to give, in faith, their hearts to God, and that is, to read the accounts of the words, the work and the testimony of Jesus as found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and then to compare what they have read in the New Testament with the message of Moses and the Prophets as found in the Old Testament. Of the Old Testament writings Jesus said and his words are a challenge to every Jew who is searching after God: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

"But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my Words""#joh 5:39, 45-47.

Strange as it may seem to the uninitiated Jew, Jesus acknowledge but one God for he taught: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD." How dear to the heart of every Jew is the statement of the oneness of God. Jesus proclaimed himself as the Son of God and he announced the privilege of sonship to every Jew who would come to God through him. Even David spoke of Jesus as God"s Son when he stated in Psalm 2:12 "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. BLESSED ARE ALL THEY THAT PUT THEIR TRUST IN HIM."

Can you join in with David and claim the blessings which he promised to those who would acknowledge the Prophet of God whom he here designates as the Son of God" The writings of David are complete with prophesies which definitely point to Jesus as the hoped-for son of David, the King of the Jews, for David said: "The Lord (Jehovah) said unto my Lord, (Jesus the Anointed). Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." #Ps 110:1 Through Moses and the Prophets the coming of the Messiah was definitely foretold. Yet when he first came, they were not able to receive him. Why" Because the glorious reign of Jesus as David"s son will appear in glory at the second coming of Jesus. When he first came, he came as the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb to take away the sin of the world. "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." #Joh 1:29

Little did the Jews realize that the first work of the Messiah would be that of the atonement. For hundreds of years God, through the sacrifices of animals, had sought to prepare Israel for the Lamb of God which really could take away sin. If they had read Daniel they would have learned "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself."#da 9:26.

Israel was to some extent able to see the ultimate glorious Messiah, but he failed to see that the future glories were dependent upon the need for present atonement as the Jewish prophet Isaiah has very definitely foretold: "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us All."#isa 53:5-6

Because Israel has neglected to hear the message of God"s Prophet, the message of salvation has gone to the Gentiles just as the Jewish prophet Hosea had foretold: "And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God."#ho 1:10 The privilege of the Kingdom is the birthright of the children of Israel. They were the Holy Nation. Why should all the blessings of God go to the strange people because God"s chosen people are blinded to their own hopes as foretold by Moses and the prophets" Israel should lift up his eyes and behold the mercies of God. There is a reason for the sad plight of Israel. The reason can not be found in human social neglect. God has abandoned Israel and Israel is too sorrowful to know the cause thereof. Jesus said that he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but Israel’s house is desolate and the sad part of this crisis is that Israel does not understand the cause of his bereavement. He seeks to better his condition through worldly education and in commerce, not realizing his neglect of God and the prophet who spoke in God’s name.

Israel does not realize that as the Jewish prophet Daniel had foretold in Daniel, chapter two, that the Jewish Kingdom and power was turned over to the Gentiles and that the Gentile rule would continue until Messiah’s kingdom was set up in glory. The Babylonian King first received the kingdom from God (#Da 2:37). The time between the overthrow of the old Jewish regime, until the coming of the Messiah for the second time, is called in the Scriptures "THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES."

During these times the Gentiles are given the opportunity to rule and all realize what a terrible job the gentiles have made of it. The terrible accounts in our newspapers seem to indicate that the Times of the Gentiles is nearly over. The conflagration in Europe indicates that soon the Gentiles will be dispossessed and the Kingdom of God would be established as the Jewish prophet Daniel foretold in #Da 2:44. In the meantime Jesus said: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." #Lu 21:24 Jesus definitely foretold the desolation of Israel, while Israel still had their glorious Temple. Note also the reason, Jesus assigned for the distress of Israel: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." #Mt 23:37-39 Can Israel turn from her prejudices and turn to the prophet whom God has raised up" Let Israel remember that no real child of god has ever persecuted Israel. Let Israel realize that these are the times of the Gentiles and that the Gentiles have trodden down Israel, but let not Israel think that these Gentiles are God"s people. Since the coming of the Messiah to become "The Lamb of God That Taketh Away The Sin of the World," the people of God have been selected from among both the Jews and Gentiles to become part of the Kingdom which will be set up when the Messiah come in glory.

Jesus said: "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness." #Mt 8:11-12 Darkness will still control most of Israel, but this pamphlet goes out with the hope and the prayer that some of God’s chosen people may still see the light of the glory of god as it was proclaimed in the words of that Prophet, of whom Moses spake, a prophet who was raised up from the Jews, and who was sent to proclaim the message of God. Since his time it should be interesting to note that God has not sent Israel another prophet nor has Israel received another message from God. Can Israel be constrained to say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" As each Israelite accepts Jesus as the prophet from god, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, he is thus enable to see Jesus. The blessed relationship of divine approval is his lot. Today the glory of Israel is gone! Today the house of Israel is desolate! The hope of Israel still remaineth in the Prophet raised up from among the Jews.

Israel. Can you see" Can you turn from unbelief in prayer to the Living God and in faith accept Moses" prophet and live" Let Israel from his hear say: "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

(This pamphlet has been issued by those who are interested in the salvation of Israel. Christianity came in the fulfillment of the hopes expressed by the Jewish prophets. Jesus confined his message only to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Later the privilege went to the Gentiles. Let it still be remembered that Jesus is the King of the Jews.)