![]() Both Jacob and Joseph made their loved ones promise not to leave their bones in Egypt (Genesis 47:30-31; 50:25), and many Jews are still doing the same thing. Forty percent of Jews in France are buried in Israel, in spite of the tens of thousands of dollars in expense for air travel and burial plots ("Why Are Jewish Dead Flown to Israel for Burials? CNN Belief Blog, March 21, 2012). A tomb in Jerusalem can cost $25,000. One motive is the belief that those buried in Israel will be resurrected first when the Messiah comes. Jews who are not purely "secular" are looking for the Messiah but not the Messiah of the Bible. They aren't looking for God manifest in the flesh, though their prophet Isaiah said the Messiah's name will be Immanuel or "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14). They aren't looking for a Saviour from sin, though their prophets plainly stated that the Messiah would be wounded for their transgressions (Isa. 53:5). When we asked a Reformed Jewish rabbi in Israel, "How do you purge your sins?" he replied, "We ask God for forgiveness through prayer and through actions." No, they are looking for the Messiah of vain Jewish tradition, and he will come in the form of the Antichrist. In 2012, a representative of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem told us: "Only someone who does specific things can be called the Messiah: The one who brings Israel back to Israel; the one who builds the temple again; the one who makes Israel go according to the commandments. After that he can be called the Messiah." This is a description of the Messiah as a Super Problem Solver, which is exactly how the Antichrist will present himself at first. "And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence" (Genesis 50:25). (Friday Church News Notes, September 13, 2013, www.wayoflife.org, [email protected], 866-295-4143) Comments are closed.
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