THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY

CONVERSION OF ISRAEL

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH can happen at any time, but before Jesus second coming, Israel must first repent and accept him as the Messiah.

ISRAEL REJECTS JESUS AS THE MESSIAH

When Jesus preach to Israel, He proclaimed the Kingdom of God. But the Kingdom was preconditioned by Israel’s acceptance of Jesus as the messianic King. In Matthew 4-12, Jesus performed miracles to authenticate His person ( that He is the Messiah ) and his message ( the gospel of the Kingdom). When Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah in Matthew 12:24, the purpose of his miracles and his whole ministry underwent a radical change. The Pharisees had made their choice. They refused to accept Jesus as the messiah because He did not fit their preconceived notion of what the messiah was supposed to say and do ( Luke 7:30 – 35 ). They declared that Jesus himself was demon possessed– not by a common demon but by the prince of demons, Beelzebub, in Matthew 12:38-40 ( NKJV), Jesus announced his new policy regarding miracles:

Then some of the scribes and pharisees answered saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. “But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus continued to perform miracles after this event,but the purpose of his miracles had changed. No longer were they for the intend authentication his person and his message to get the nation to come to a decision about him. That decision had now being made. Rather his miracles would train the 12 apostles for the new kind of ministry they would need to conduct as a result of the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. That generation would have no sign but one: the sign of Jonah, which is the sign of resurrection. this sign would come for Israel on three occasions: (1) at Jesus the resurrection of Lazarus, (2.) at Jesus own resurrection, and (3) at the resurrection of the two witnesses in the Tribulation. Israel rejected the first two. They will accept the third, for the resurrection of the two witnesses will lead to the salvation of the Jews of Jerusalem.

THE LEADERS SEAL THEIR REJECTION

As Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, thousands of Jews cried, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” Which is a Jewish messianic greeting based on Psalm 118:26. The Jewish masses proclaimed His messiahship as He approach Jerusalem, but still the Jewish leaders refused Him, so Jesus pronounced words of judgement on the city of Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44. Matthew 23:1-36 is a denunciation and condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, the leadership of Israel, for various sins. Two keys passages in this condemnation are relevant here: The first is Matthew 23:13, Where Jesus holds the Pharisees accountable not only for their rejection of His messiahship but also for the blood of all the Prophets of the Old Testament. The reason was that every thing God intended to say concerning the Messiah had already been said by the Jewish Prophets, the generation alive at that time of Jesus proclamation possessed in their hands the entire Old Testament Canon. Furthermore, they had heard John the Baptist announce the soon coming of the Lord. Finally, they had the physical manifestation and presence of Jesus the Messiah, who came with all the authenticating signs. Nevertheless, they rejected Him, following the examples of their leaders. Thus, they would be held accountable for the blood of all the Prophets who spoke about the Messiah. So we see that the Jewish leadership rejected Jesus as the Messiah, accusing Him of being demon possessed, and led the nation to reject Him as well.