Day of Restoration for Israel & the Church

"And that He may send (to you) the Christ, the Messiah,
Who before was designated and appointed for you, Jesus,
whom heaven must receive (and retain) until the time for the complete
restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all his holy prophets
for ages past-from he most ancient time in the memory of man."
Acts 3:20-21.

Those of us living at this time are privileged to be a part of God's Great Day of Restoration, the prelude to the restoration of all things. This restoration is twofold-it encompasses two great moves of God, which, at first glance, appear to be separate, but are, in fact, intertwined. The first aspect of restoration relates to Israel, while the second relates to the Church.

The Restoration of Israel

"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My Name," declares the Lord, Who will do these things. "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people, Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them." Amos 9:11-15.

The Restoration of Israel is happening in our day and if we really want to hear what God is purposing for these days in which we live, we must feel His heartbeat for Israel and the Jewish people. A gospel without Jesus' brothers, the Jews, is an incomplete gospel and sadly, too much of the Church has an incomplete gospel.

Restoration of David's Fallen Tabernacle

The first aspect mentioned in this scripture is The Restoration of David's Tent or Tabernacle. This speaks of Israel's restoration to the pre-eminent place amongst the nations. In King David's day Israel reached its greatest heights in terms of wealth and power and the extent of the kingdom. It was only eclipsed by the reign of Solomon when the nation also entered into a time of rest from her enemies. David's reign corresponds to the time we are living in now, when there is still much to be done to extend not only Israel's natural borders to the extent which God has promised, but, as we shall see later, the Kingdom of God is also being extended throughout the earth. The rest that came to the nation in Solomon's time is a picture of the period when Messiah rules the earth from Jerusalem, and not only Israel, but all the nations will enter into God's rest.

The reborn state of Israel, only in existence since May 1948, has, despite war and terrorism and the problems of settling her many new immigrants, managed to become a force to be reckoned with in today's world. She has absorbed well over one million new immigrants since 1989. She has also increased her borders and recovered some of the land promised to her by the Lord as an everlasting possession (Genesis 15:18-21; Numbers 34:3-15). Though the nations would try to take it from her once again, we must remember the last verse of the book of Amos,

"I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the Lord your God.

Restoration to Their Original Call

Another aspect of restoring the fallen tabernacle of David is the promise in Isaiah 62:7, that Jerusalem will be a praise in the earth. We are exhorted in this scripture to give the Lord no rest until this happens. An important feature of the Tabernacle of David was the freedom and spontaneity of the praise and worship. It was during this time that many of the beautiful psalms were written and sung under the anointing of the Spirit of God. God is going to restore Israel to its role as a nation of worshippers whose task it is to be a sign to the nations of the power and majesty of the Almighty. As He continues to fulfil His promises concerning the Jewish people those in the nations with ears to hear will recognise the hand of God and praise Him for His faithfulness to His still chosen people. Christians have an important part to play in praying this into being. We also have the job of proclaiming the message concerning Israel and the Jewish people to the nations and praising God as we see His Word come to pass.

"For thus says the Lord: 'Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout at the head of the nations-on account of the chosen people. Proclaim, praise and say, "The Lord has saved His people, the remnant of Israel."'" Jeremiah 31:7 "Hear the Word of the Lord, Oh you nations, and declare it in the isles and coastlands far away, and say 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd does his flock.'" Jeremiah 31:10

Restoration to the Land

We are witnessing the Restoration of the Jewish people to the Land after nearly 2,000 years of exile and this is indeed cause for thanksgiving as we see the faithfulness and power of God to fulfil His Word. Since 1948 the country has opened its arms to Jewish people from all corners of the earth in fulfilment of prophecy written thousands of years ago.

"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land." Ezekiel 36:24 "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land." Ezekiel 37:21

After the proclamation of statehood on May 15, 1948, the survivors of the Holocaust, rejected and broken, found their way home to Israel from a battered Europe. They were quickly followed by 800,000 refugees from Arab lands who had been forced out of countries which had been their home since the time of the first exile in 586BC. In the 1950's and 60's they came from the Maghreb in northern Africa and from the lands of the Middle East. Since that time they have come from India, Australia and the US. The Jews of Ethiopia began to return in 1985 in Operation Moses and then in 1991 Operation Solomon, a miraculous 48-hour rescue bid, saw most of the remaining Ethiopian Jews arrive in Israel. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of this time when he said,

"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who labours in childbirth together, a great company they shall return here to Jerusalem". Jeremiah 31:8

This scripture was wonderfully fulfilled in the Ethiopian airlift as numbers of babies were born enroute to their new home in Israel!

The restoration to the land continues with the aliyah of Jews from the former Soviet Union. To date over one million have come to the land of Israel with many more waiting and planning to come from areas such as the Ukraine and the Moslem areas of the FSU.

"I will say to the north, 'Give up,' and to the south, 'Keep not back; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.'" Isaiah 43:6

Many Gentile Christians are working to bring about the fulfilment of these promises and going into these nations, often at great risk to themselves, living in difficult circumstances, to help bring the people home to Israel. The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is one organisation that has teams of Christians working to get the people onto fleets of buses which transport them to towns where they await flights taking them to Israel. These teams are entirely supported by Christians who have heard the Lord's heartbeat and are motivated by a sense of urgency to help the people leave while the doors are still open.

"Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentile nations, and set up my standard and raise high my signal banner to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in the bosom of their garments, and your daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.'" Isaiah 49:22

It must be mentioned here that when God promised to restore the Jewish people to the land of Israel, He meant ALL the land that He had promised them. The area detailed in many places in scripture INCLUDES the West Bank, or ancient Judea/Samaria, the Golan Heights (Bashan), and Gaza (Philistia). These areas were allotted to the tribes of Israel when God spoke to Abraham (Genesis 15:17) and to Moses (Numbers 34). It is of interest that ALL the cities of refuge given to the Levites are in the so-called 'occupied territories' or Arab lands today. There were to be three cities on the east of the Jordan and three on the west (Numbers 35). They were Golan (on the Golan Heights); Bezer and Ramoth Gilead (in present day Jordan); Hebron, Shechem (on the West Bank) and Kedesh (in southern Lebanon).

The mountains of Israel are mentioned time and again in scripture and it is these mountains that today are known as the 'West Bank', the very heart of the land of Israel.

"But you, Oh mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are soon to come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown; And I will multiply men upon you, the whole house of Israel, even all of it' the cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited according to your former estate, and I will do better for you than at your beginnings; and you shall know that I am the Lord." Ezekiel 36:8-11

(See also Jeremiah 31:5-6; Isaiah 11;14; Obadiah 1:17-21). All these scriptures deal with the fact that God's plan is that all of the disputed lands are to be a part of Israel.

Restoration of the Land to its Former Fruitfulness

Following on from this restoration of the people to the land, comes the restoration of the land to its former fruitfulness. Israel is the only nation on the face of the earth where the desert areas are decreasing. The land entered into a time of mourning while the Jewish people were exiled from their homeland. Their return over the past hundred years has seen it throw off its robes of mourning and begin to rejoice as the people joined to it in covenant relationship come home.

"Thus says the Lord God: 'In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will also cause Israel's cities to be inhabited and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the desolate land shall be tilled, that which has lain desolate in the sight of all who passed by. And they shall say, this land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and replanted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it." Ezekiel 36:33-36

Plane loads of fruit, vegetables and flowers leave Israel daily for other countries in fulfilment of Isaiah's words that

"In the days and generations to come, Jacob shall take root; Israel shall blossom and send forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit." Isaiah 27:6

The prophet Amos also speaks of the time when the waste cities will be rebuilt and inhabited. A visit to modern Israel or a glance at a map of the country bears witness to the truth of this statement as the names Ashdod, Ashkelon, Bet Shean, Bet Shemesh, Bethany and many otehrs leap out, not only from the pages of the Bible, but from up-to-date maps and signposts. God is truly restoring the land to its former fruitfulness.

Restoration to the Lord

Following this restoration of the people to the land and the subsequent restoration of the land to its former fruitfulness as it casts off its garments of mourning, comes an even more exciting aspect of this process-the restoration of the people to the Lord. The promises concerning the land always go hand in hand with promises of spiritual renewal and fruitfulness. Just as the land was unable to be fruitful-in the natural sense while it was bereft of its people-so too, the people have been unable to bear spiritual fruit while they have been uprooted from the land.

Romans 11 contains the allegory of the olive tree and it is a fact of nature that a tree cannot bear fruit if it is continually uprooted. The Jewish people have also been unable to bear the true spiritual fruit God intended while they have been exiled among the nations. They are bound to the Lord and the Land in covenant relationship and it is only in Israel that they will become all that God intends them to be (Deuteronomy 30:1-6). The greatest blessing awaits the Jewish people inside the land of Israel. It is here God will meet them after He has wooed them home.

"For I will take you from among the nations, and father you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall heed my ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you shall be my people and I shall be your god." Ezekiel 36:24-28; see also 37:26-27.

Restoration of All Things

This restoration of the Jewish people to their land and their Lord will see the final fulfilment of God's purposes for them as they recognise their Messiah and truly become the channels of God's blessing to the nations they were created to be.

"For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable-He never withdraws them once they are given, and He does not change his mind about those to whom He gives his grace or to whom He sends his call." Romans 11:29.

An understanding of God's purposes for Israel and the Jewish people is vital if one wants to understand what God is doing in the Church. Just as He is harvesting the Jewish people back to the land and back to Himself, the nations are also being harvested as a great company of people from every land, being reaped for the Kingdom of God.

Israel is being attacked at this time from enemies within her borders. So too, the Church is finding that many of its problems are internal ones. There is also an attempt by the nations to rob Israel of land promised her by God. The Church is also being robbed of many blessings and promises that God has given in his Word. The time is coming when Israel will be isolated and alone in a world heading for One World Government. The true Church is also headed for a time when there will be no room for her in a system of One World Religion. Just as Israel is living in the Day of Restoration, so too, is the Church.

The Day of Restoration for the Church

"After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and the Gentiles who bear My Name, says the Lord, Who does these things that have been known from the beginning of the world." Acts 15:16 -18

Our scripture from Amos was repeated by James in the book of Acts with reference to God's calling out of a people for Himself from the Gentile nations. It is time for a new move of the Spirit of God, time for the restoration of many truths which have been lost to the church, INCLUDING God's continuing love for the Jewish people and the land of Israel; time for shedding many of the traditions of men which have grown up in ALL movements within the church. In 1 Samuel 16:1 God is rebuking Samuel and asking the question,

"How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

Samuel was holding onto the past and remembering how it was when he first anointed Saul but God and His purposes had moved on and He exhorts Samuel to fill his horn with oil and move on into the new thing He was purposing. The oil speaks of the new anointing of the Spirit and God wants to bring a NEW anointing and a new move to this nation.

Jesus spoke of the need to pour new wine into new wineskins and there is a call resounding through the Church in this land today for the new wine of the Spirit but we need to understand that God is not going to pour this new wine into old cracked stiff wineskins. He is looking for a people who can hear what He is saying and move on into all that He has for this land. In Acts 13:36 David is spoken of as one who served God's purposes in his own generation. God is looking for a people who are willing to serve him in a way relevant to this generation. This will mean letting go of many things God used in the past, even ways of serving Him, which bought much fruit for the kingdom - denominational traditions and ways of doing things, structures which grew out of the previous move but have outgrown their usefulness, songs that were anointed to speak to a previous generation but which now have become lifeless and dead.

Restoration of Davidic Praise And Worship

When David bought the Ark of God to Jerusalem, it was accompanied by much rejoicing and praise and sacrifices (2 Samuel 6:12-17). The Ark signifies the Presence of God and this new move of the Spirit will see the restoration of a Davidic style of praise and worship to the church that will usher in the presence of God. During David's reign there was a freedom in praise and worship and the creative gifts of music and dance were much in evidence. Many of the psalms were written as songs of praise to the Lord at this time. We should note Michal's response as she stood and watched the procession from a window. She did not join in and so did not understand or receive the blessing which accompanies entering into freedom in worship. As a result she was barren for the rest of her life. Many in the Church will also choose not to enter in to this new move of the Spirit and will criticise those who do, and so will not be able to produce the spiritual fruit which will proceed from it.

Many sacrifices were offered as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem. Sacrifice is also a requirement for those who would move into all that God has purposed-sacrifice of time and self and our own desires. True praise and worship is birthed in a close, private, personal relationship with the Lord. It is God-centred, not man-centred, and will lift up and draw attention to the Lord-not to man. Jesus is returning for a bride who will love and adore Him and give her all for Him.

Restoration of the Church as Salt and Light

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16

We are living in an age when much of the Church has made isolation and separation from the world a spiritual attribute. The Church in the West has forgotten that Jesus told his disciples to take the gospel into ALL the world. Instead we have a situation where Jesus' followers are sitting in their church pews waiting for all the world to come to us!! We have built beautiful sanctuaries with wonderful sound systems, padded pews and soft carpets, and these beautiful sanctuaries have become our prisons, keeping us locked away from the very ones Jesus wants us to touch, in His Name. A study of the Gospels must show us that, while Jesus was faithful in attending synagogue and visiting the Temple, most of His ministry took place out amongst the people. If we claim to be His followers then that is where we must be also.

"And as Jesus reclined at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and especially wicked sinners came and sat with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, 'Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and those pre eminently sinful?' But when Jesus heard it, He replied, 'those that are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick. Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy (that is, readiness to help those in trouble) and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous to repentance; but sinners.'" Matthew 9:10-13

There is a need for the Church to realize it is not the building that is the church. It is the people. Our buildings will only be filled with those needing to respond to the Gospel if we have first gone out amongst them and shown the love of Jesus through our lives. These people whom Jesus was with did not arrive for dinner in neat suits and ties, using the language of the Church. The prostitutes came in the clothes they were used to wearing and the language they used would have been the language of the streets. Jesus was not offended by their sinfulness. He reached out with love and acceptance and it was His concern that drew them into the Kingdom, where they were changed.

Restoration of the Church as a Caring, Compassionate Community

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort all who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness for mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour. " Isaiah 61:1-3

This scripture was quoted in part by Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum and He ended with the words,

"Today this scripture has been fulfilled." (Luke 4:18-21)

It is, in a sense, a synopsis of his ministry, a brief description of what He was going to do. He stopped short of reading the words about comforting Zion because the day of Israel's restoration had not yet come. Verses 3 to 11 of Isaiah 61 speak specifically of the restoration of Israel and there can be no restoration of the Church without the restoration of Israel; no return of Jesus without the return of the Jews to the Land and to the Lord. This is the great plan of redemption that is being played out in the world today as we approach the climax of the ages - the Return of the King to Jerusalem!

As that great day approaches we must be about our Father's business and an important part of that business is to care for those mentioned in the first two verses of Isaiah 61. If we claim to have the Spirit of God dwelling within us then his priorities must be our priorities and his concerns our concerns; his heartbeat our heartbeat. Nowhere in scripture is that heartbeat revealed more clearly than in Isaiah 58:6-11

"Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house? When you see the naked that you cover him, and that you hide not yourself from the needs of your own flesh and blood?

Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry and He will say, here I am. If you take away from your midst yokes of oppression, the finger pointed in scorn (towards the oppressed or the godly) and every form of false, harsh, unjust and wicked speaking; And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry, and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness and your obscurity and gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you in drought and in dry places, and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters fail not.

We cry out for the Lord's provision, for His healing touch, for His outpouring upon our land, and here in these verses He gives us some answers, and those answers are intensely practical and involve reaching out from the security of our churches and getting involved with those around us. Then, we will see Him move with power in our midst. This is not an easy thing, it means getting our hands dirty, the order of our lives interrupted, maybe hearing language which offends us-in other words dying to self, and death is always painful-but if we truly want to meet with the Lord we must be willing to go where He is, and today He is right where He was when He walked on this earth-with the poor and despised and needy.

Side by side with this scripture is its New Testament equivalent, Matthew 25:31-46 which deals with the Judgement of the Nations after Jesus' return. Once again the criteria used to decide between receiving the blessing of the Lord and incurring His wrath is intensely practical:

"For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to see Me." verses 35-36 "Truly, I tell you, in as far as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me." vs 40

Jesus' brethren are the Jewish people and we are here exhorted to be of practical help to them also. In Romans 15:27 Paul encourages the believers to help the Jewish people materially because of the debt they owed them for the spiritual riches the Gentile believers had inherited from them.

Restoration of the Church to its Jewish Roots

"Now if the first handful of dough (Abraham and the patriarchs) is consecrated, so is the whole mass (the nation of Israel); and if the root (Abraham), is consecrated, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, while you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches and pride yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember it is not you that supports the root, but the root (that supports) you." Romans 11:16-18

The early church was birthed out of Judaism. Jesus was born, lived and died as an observant Jew, attending synagogue and visiting the Temple during the feast seasons. His disciples were also observant Jews and continued to keep the Law of Moses after they came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

In time these Jewish believers took the message of the Gospel to other lands where Gentiles who had no understanding of the Bible and its truths, came to believe.

"Therefore remember that at one time you were Gentiles (heathen) in the flesh; caIled uncircumcision by those who called themselves Circumcision, (itself a mere mark) in the flesh made by human hands. Remember that you were at that time separated (living apart) from Christ excluded from all part in Him; utterly estranged and outlawed from the rights of Israel as a nation, and strangers with no share in the sacred compacts of the (Messianic) promise - with no knowledge of or right in God's agreements, His covenants. And you had no hope - no promise; you were in the world without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once (so) far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near. " Ephesians 2:11-13 "(This mystery) was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (It is this) that the Gentiles are now to be fellow heirs (with the Jews), members of the same body, and joint partakers (sharing) in the same divine promise in Christ through (their acceptance of) the glad tidings. (the Gospel)" Ephesians 3:5-6

It was not long before these Gentile converts, with their pagan roots, began to be more numerous than the Jewish believers, and the Church's centre moved from Jerusalem to Rome. Over the next centuries many pagan practices, covered over with a 'Christian' veneer, crept into Church tradition, and have remained with us to this day. Pagan feasts in honour of other gods became Christmas and Easter, worship of many gods translated into praying to saints; veneration of relics and statues took the place of worship of objects, and the Babylonian cult of worshipping Nimrod's mother who he later married and had a child by, became the worship of Mary, Jesus' mother. Her titles in the Catholic church, "Mother of God" and "Queen of Heaven" were previously used in goddess worship in early civilisations.

A church that had no understanding of its Jewish roots and of scriptural principles was open to all kinds of deception, and remains so to this day. Rather than being influenced by Israel with its rich heritage rooted in covenant relationship with the Almighty God, the Church's understanding was coloured by Greek philosophy that had its roots in the pagan worship of the Babylonians. As the church turned from Jerusalem to Rome, it also rejected its Jewishness and made a conscious effort to divorce itself from all traces of its Jewish heritage. It became a heresy to keep the remembrance of Jesus' death and resurrection at the time of the Jewish Passover and the Sabbath was officially changed from Saturday to Sunday. The Church became the new Israel of God although there is no scriptural basis for this teaching. Ephesians 2 and 3 and Romans 11 speak not of replacement, but of grafting in!

In these days of restoration God is wanting to restore to the Church much of the rich heritage it rejected so long ago. A church without understanding of its roots is like someone who has settled for a greasy hamburger in a fast food shop, when right next door there is a sumptuous gourmet feast waiting behind closed doors. All that is needed to partake of the feast is to walk over and open the door!

The Return of The King

The culmination of these days of restoration for Israel and the church is the return of the King to Jerusalem. We are in days of preparation. The Bride is being made ready for her bride - groom, Israel is preparing to meet her Messiah. The climax of all the ages is almost upon us, and as we reflect on the power of the Almighty in bringing his purposes for Israel and the Church to a close, we can only join with the apostle Paul, who, as he thought on these same issues in Romans 11, was forced to exclaim,

"Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable are his judgements! And how untraceable are his ways!" (vs 33).