It amazes me that
many Christian authors who are focused on the last days do not seem to be aware
of what is happening in the Jewish community around the world.
Just as the Bible
predicted, the Jewish people are being restored to their land and to their
Messiah.
Although Jewish
people who accept Yeshua HaMashiach are often ostracized by their families,
friends and business associates, Jews all over the world are turning to him and
becoming Messianic Jews in numbers not seen since the first century.
This is how Mr.
Bernis opens his book, A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days. Bernis first describes his own Jewish
upbringing and how he came to know the Lord (a girl he used to do heavy drugs
with in college became a Christian and was instrumental in leading him to faith.)
Bernis then goes
on to give a brief history of the Jews
and how we can know that the last days prophesied in Revelation are near.
In his chapter “Why
Satan Hates the Jews", he gives a history of their persecution from the Roman
destruction of the Temple, the thousands that were massacred during the
Crusades, all the countries that expelled them, the Spanish Inquisition, the
ghettos of 1826, Russian pogroms, and let’s not forget Hitler.
The infamous
Adolf Eichmann (1902-1962), sometimes referred to as “the architect of the Holocaust” and who was hanged for his crimes in 1962, once said, “Throughout
history men have dreamed of destroying the children of Abraham.”
Bernis then goes all
the way back to the Garden of Eden and explains God’s purpose for the Jews and
His plan of salvation for all of mankind through the Jewish nation. This is why Satan wants to destroy the
Jews. Because he hates God and wants to
destroy as many of His creation as he can.
The second reason
we can know that Jesus’ return is imminent is that the scattered Jews are
returning to Israel Israel
The third reason
is because many thousands of Jews are turning to Yeshua (chapter 4 "Something
is Happening among the Jewish People" pg. 57)
Bernis describes his trips to the former Soviet Union where hundreds of Jews
came to Bernis’ preaching venues and surrendered their lives to Christ.
In a country beaten down by atheistic values
Bernis describes the hunger for the Gospel there. He found the Jews there very receptive to
hearing about Yeshua (as opposed to the U.S.
He also has some
interesting comments on the times of the Gentiles nearing fulfillment which
ushers in the time for the Jews to receive salvation.
The second part
calls upon Christians and their responsibility to share the gospel among Jewish
people.
Bernis points out that many well-meaning Christians won't share the Gospel with Jews because they don't want to offend them or even believe there's no need since being God's chosen people saves them.
Bernis gives a
helpful chapter in which he discusses what sort of semantics a Christian should
use when sharing the Gospel with a Jewish person. So much of Christianity has been so "Europeanized" that Jesus Christ is practically unrecognizable to Jews (he said he thought Jesus’
parents were Mr. and Mrs. Christ. Christ is the Greek word for "Messiah").
I received this book for free from Baker Publishing.
Kindle: $8.79
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1 comment:
While I do not share Bernis's beliefs it does sound interesting to hear someone who believes that the end times are near who is a member of the Jewish faith. Not a perspective that I hear much of these days.
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