以色列「復活」的見證人Witnesses of Israel’s ‘Resurrection’

Event Type: 
Preaching/Talk
Date: 
26/04/2023(Wednesday) PM 05:15

Witnesses of Israel’s ‘Resurrection’
Published on: 25.4.2023
By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman

“For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15)

As Israel prepares to mark 75 years since its modern-day rebirth in May 1948, the impact of that dramatic event is still reverberating to this day. So, what does Israel’s return to the world stage mean for us as Christians today?
Jews awaiting mass execution at sobibor death camp-getty imagesJews awaiting mass execution at Sobibor death camp-Getty images

To begin with, Israel’s national rebirth did involve birth pangs, as it is forever linked to the Holocaust. The ‘miracle’ of restored Jewish sovereignty in the historic Land of Israel took place just three years after the Nazi genocide against the Jews ended. The Holocaust marked the lowest point of the Jewish people’s long, hard journey of wandering among the nations. Yet only three years later, they suddenly managed to attain national independence back in their ancestral homeland.

Amazingly, the Apostle Paul declared long ago that Israel’s last-days ingathering would be like “life from the dead!” (Romans 11:15) This means the rebirth of Israel is nothing less than the resurrection power of God still at work in the earth today!

Paul based his teaching on Israel’s revival in Romans 11 on numerous Old Testament passages, such as Isaiah 6 and Jeremiah chapters 24 and 31. The Hebrew prophets describe Israel’s final restoration as a two-phase process, starting with the physical ingathering of the Jews back to the Land of Israel in unbelief, and then their spiritual ingathering back to God by a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. “Return to Me and I will return to you”, the Lord states quite plainly in Zechariah 1:3 and Malachi 3:7. But perhaps the clearest prophetic passages on how Israel’s promised restoration would play out can be found in Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37.

In Ezekiel 36:24-28, God declares: “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you…”

Then in Ezekiel 37 we have the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, where the prophet speaks of a time of great calamity when the people of Israel would say: “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!” It is as if he were looking down through time at the mass graves of Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust. Yet then God declares that all is not lost; that at their very lowest moment He would assuredly “open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.” (Ezekiel 37:12-13)

Four times in two verses, God decrees He would bring Israel out of its graves. Therefore, Paul is able to proclaim: “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance (or ingathering) be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15)

For 75 years now, we all have been witnesses of the resurrection power of God at work in Israel. This places much responsibility upon us. How so?

The Apostles told everyone they were “witnesses” of the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the Hebrew mindset, to be a “witness” carries a deeper meaning than just watching a crime or accident take place. It is a much weightier matter.

First, the Ten Commandments say: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” (Exodus 20:16) Add to this the Law of Witnesses in Deuteronomy 19:15-21, which states that you need two or more witnesses to establish the guilt of someone for trespassing the Law of Moses. But if a witness testifies falsely to the breaking of a law, they were subject to the same punishment as the crime they were accusing someone else of.

Therefore, the followers of Jesus would have taken a huge risk to go before the Sanhedrin and testify of its complicity in the death of Jesus. But if that opportunity ever arose, the 12 Apostles actually were the ones set apart to serve as witnesses before the Sanhedrin concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus, with all the risks that entailed – namely, the death penalty.

Then in Acts 10:39-42, Peter said to the first Gentile convert, Cornelius: “We are witnesses… chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.”

Paul makes a similar point when preaching to learned Greeks in Athens: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

Peter and Paul concurred that the resurrection of Jesus carried a message, that by it He was declared the Judge of all mankind. Therefore, you might have gotten away with your ignorance and idol worship in the past, but now you are accountable before God, and it is time to repent.

Every act of God’s resurrection power carries a message. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he declared, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25) When God raised Jesus from the dead, He was declared to be the Judge of all humanity, and you cannot get away with your sin and ignorance of God any longer.

So, what is the message from God in resurrecting Israel from the grave in our day? First, it is that the world is about to be judged. Just as the building of the ark by Noah was the greatest sign to the ancient world they were about to be judged, the building up of Zion is the clearest sign we are about to be judged (Psalm 102:16; Isaiah 54:9). And this judgement includes how we have treated the Jewish nation and people. Psalm 2, Joel 3, Jeremiah 30:11, Zephaniah 3:8ff and other passages speak clearly of this. Secondly, the message is that we can no longer be ignorant or indifferent towards Israel.
Dancing the Hora. (GPO)Dancing the Hora. (GPO)

For 75 years now, the Christian world has witnessed Israel emerging from the grave of the Shoah and placed back in their Land, a process that is still unfolding and awaits its culmination in Israel’s national salvation. When Israel was scattered and in disfavor with God, you might have gotten away with ignoring them or viewing them as being punished by the Lord. But not anymore. Once He restored Israel in their Land, this is a new day! And we will be held responsible for our reaction.

Some Christians want to put Israel back in the grave. They are working with antisemites to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and dismantle the Jewish state. They should fear God!

But there is a much larger category of Christians who are indifferent to the ongoing resurrection of Israel. They think it has nothing to do with them. But after 75 years of an Israel overcoming so many challenges and blessing all the world, we cannot remain stuck in our ignorance and indifference. Every Christian needs to connect to Israel in positive, meaningful ways.

Having a love and concern for Israel is not a litmus test of whether one is saved. But I believe it does indicate whether you are flowing with the Holy Spirit today. After 75 years of a revived Israel, if we keep clinging to the old negative views and attitudes towards the Jewish people, or still think Israel does not matter, you risk getting cut off from the move of the Holy Spirit in our day (Romans 11:20-21). And neither will God overlook this when we all stand in judgment before Him.

以色列「復活」的見證人
發表於:25.4.2023
作者:David Parsons,ICEJ 副總裁兼高級發言人

「如果他們被丟棄,世界因而得以與神和好;他們被收納,豈不就是從死人中復生嗎?」 (羅馬書 11:15)

在以色列準備紀念 1948 年5月重生到現代的75週年之際,這一戲劇性事件的影響至今仍在迴盪。 那麼,以色列重返世界舞台對我們今天的基督徒意味著什麼?

圖片:猶太人在索比堡死亡集中營等待大規模處決-蓋蒂圖片猶太人在索比堡死亡集中營等待大規模處決-蓋蒂圖片

首先,以色列的民族復興確實涉及分娩的陣痛,因為它往往與屠殺聯繫在一起。 在納粹對猶太人的種族滅絕結束僅三年後,就發生了在歷史悠久的以色列土地上恢復猶太人主權的「神蹟」。 大屠殺標誌著猶太人在各國之間漫遊又漫長而艱難的旅程的最低點。然而僅僅三年後,他們就突然在祖國獲得了民族獨立。

令人驚訝的是,使徒保羅很久以前就宣布以色列末世的聚集就像「死而復生!」 (羅馬書 11:15)這意味著以色列的重生反映著今天仍在地上運行的上帝復活的大能!

保羅根據羅馬書 11 章中的許多舊約經文,如以賽亞書6章和耶利米書24章和耶利米書31章,將他的教導建立在以色列復興的基礎上。希伯來先知將以色列的最終復興描述為兩個階段的過程,首先是猶太人肉身上聚集回來,在不信的情況下來到以色列的土地,然後他們的屬靈聚集透過聖靈的特別澆灌回到上帝那裡。「你們要轉向我,我就轉向你們」,耶和華在撒迦利亞書1章3節和瑪拉基書3章7 節中很明確地說。但也許關於以色列復興的應許將如何實現的最清晰的預言段落可以在以西結書36章和37章中找到。

在以西結書36章24至28節中,上帝宣告:「我24我必從列國帶領你們,從列邦聚集你們,領你們回到本地。25我必灑清水在你們身上,你們就潔淨了。我要潔淨你們,使你們脫離一切的污穢,棄絕一切的偶像。26我也要賜給你們一顆新心,將新靈放在你們裏面,又從你們的肉體中除掉石心,賜給你們肉心。27我必將我的靈放在你們裏面,使你們順從我的律例,謹守遵行我的典章。28你們必住在我所賜給你們祖先之地;你們要作我的子民,我要作你們的神。」

然後在以西結書37章,我們看到了枯骨谷的異象,先知在那裡談到了一個大災難的時期,當時以色列人會說:「我們的骨頭枯乾了,我們的希望破滅了,我們自己被剪除了!就好像他正在俯視時間,看著在大屠殺中被屠殺的猶太人的亂葬崗。」然而,然後上帝宣布一切都沒有失去;在他們最低落的時刻,他肯定會「12所以你要說預言,對他們說,主耶和華如此說:我的子民,看哪,我要打開你們的墳墓,把你們帶出墳墓,領你們進入以色列地。13我的子民哪,我打開你們的墳墓,把你們帶出墳墓時,你們就知道我是耶和華。(以西結書 37:12-13)

兩節經文中四次提到,上帝指出祂要將以色列人從墳墓中領出來。因此,保羅能夠宣告:「如果他們被丟棄,世界因而得以與神和好;他們被收納,豈不就是從死人中復生嗎?」 (羅馬書 11:15)

75 年來,我們都見證了上帝的復活大能在以色列的作工。這給我們帶來了很大的責任。怎麼會這樣?

使徒們告訴每個人,他們是耶穌死亡和復活的「見證人」。 在希伯來人的觀念中,成為「目擊者」比僅僅目睹犯罪或事故的發生具有更深的含義。這是一個更重要的問題。

首先,十誡說:「不可作假見證。」(出埃及記 20:16)除此之外,申命記19章15至21節中的證人律法也指出,你需要兩個或更多的證人來確定某人違反摩西律法的罪行。但是,如果證人作假證違法,他們將受到與他們指控他人的罪行相同的懲罰。

因此,耶穌的追隨者會冒著巨大的風險去在公會面前見證耶穌的死與復活。但如果那個機會出現,12 位使徒實際上是被分別出來在公會面前為耶穌的死和復活作見證的人,並承擔由此帶來的所有風險——即死刑。

然後在使徒行傳10章39至42節,彼得對第一個歸信的外邦人哥尼流說:「39他在猶太人之地和耶路撒冷所行的一切事,有我們作見證人。他們竟把他掛在木頭上殺了。40第三天,神使他復活,使他顯現出來;41不是顯現給所有的人看,而是顯現給神預先所揀選為他作見證的人看,就是我們這些在他從死人中復活以後和他同吃同喝的人。42他吩咐我們傳道給眾人,證明他是神所立定,要作審判活人、死人的審判者。」

保羅在雅典向有學識的希臘人傳道時也提出了類似的觀點:「30世人蒙昧無知的時候,神並不追究,如今卻吩咐各處的人都要悔改。31因為他已經定了日子,要藉著他所設立的人按公義審判天下,並且使他從死人中復活,給萬人作可信的憑據。」 (使徒行傳17章30至31節)

彼得和保羅一致認為耶穌的復活傳達了一個信息,即祂被宣佈為全人類的審判者。所以,你以前的無知、拜偶像可能還逍遙法外,現在你在神面前交賬了,是時候悔改了。

上帝復活大能的每一個作為都帶有一個信息。 耶穌使拉撒路從死裡復活時,祂宣告說:「復活在我,生命也在我。」 (約翰福音11章25節)當上帝使耶穌從死裡復活時,祂被宣佈為全人類的審判者,你再也無法擺脫你的罪和對上帝的無知。

那麼,在我們這個時代,上帝使以色列從墳墓中復活的信息是什麼?首先,世界將要受審判。 正如挪亞建造方舟是古代世界他們將要受審判的最大徵兆一樣,錫安的建造是我們將要受審判的最明顯標誌(詩篇 102篇16節;以賽亞書54章9節) . 這個審判包括我們如何對待猶太民族和人民。 詩篇2篇、約珥書3節、耶利米書30章11節、西番雅書3章8節和其他經文清楚地說明了這一點。其次,信息是我們不能再對以色列無知或漠不關心。

75年來,基督教世界見證了以色列從大屠殺的墳墓中走出來,又回到了他們的土地上,這一過程仍在展開,等待著以色列民族蒙救贖的高潮。當以色列四散而似乎不受上帝喜愛時,你可能會忽視他們或將他們視為受到上帝的懲罰而僥倖逃脫。但現在不是了。一旦他們在他們的土地上恢復了以色列,這就是新的一天!我們將要為我們的反應負責。

一些基督徒想把以色列放回墳墓裡。他們與反猶分子合作破壞以色列的合法性並瓦解猶太國家。他們應該敬畏上帝!

但是有更多的基督徒對以色列正在進行的復活漠不關心。他們認為這與他們無關。但在75年的以色列克服如此多的挑戰並造福全世界之後,我們不能繼續陷於無知和冷漠之中。每個基督徒都需要以積極、有意義的方式與以色列建立聯繫。

對以色列的愛和關心並不是一個人是否得救的試金石。但我相信它確實表明你今天是否被聖靈澆灌。在以色列復興 75 年後,如果我們繼續堅持對猶太人採取舊的消極觀點和態度,或者仍然認為以色列無關緊要,你就有可能在我們這個時代與聖靈的行動隔絕(羅馬書11章20至21節)。當我們都站在祂面前接受審判時,上帝也不會忽視這一點。