What Do the Christian End Times Scriptures Hold for the Jewish People?
Why did God choose the Jews (Israelites) in the first place, and what purpose did it serve to choose them as His peculiar people? Are they an inherently better people than other branches of humanity? Are they now cursed because they crucified God's own Son Jesus, and would not recognize Him as their Messiah? These are questions people might naturally ask. Scripture, perhaps in anticipation of this curiosity about the Jews by non-Jews, does give certain answers. And I believe that every Christian needs to adopt Jesus' and God the Father's own viewpoint towards the descendants of the original Israelites from their days of departing Egypt under Moses and later the smaller subset of those tribes who were the Jews of Jesus' days on Earth. We should view them as God would have us view them. But can we determine how God wants us to view them? Does God's word tell us how we should ultimately view them as a people if we are not Jewish ourselves? In my opinion God left us many clues and even outright indications.
Did Jesus Himself forgive them and ask the Father to also? Read Luke 23:34, spoken by Jesus as He was being stretched out on the cross and His clothes divided among Roman soldiers:
"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment and cast lots." End Quote
Jesus seems to have directed this towards those who physically crucified Him, but is it not to the leaders of the Jews who engineered it all also?
Here is another answer, concerning how the Jews were originally selected by God to be His chosen people. It is God giving the Israelites instruction through their leader as they are soon to enter the promised land (roughly the land occupied by today's Israel).
Deuteronomy Chapter 7, v. 1 - 11:
' When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.[a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[b] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But
those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.'
End Quote
Here is another answer.
Jeremiah Chap 13, v. 11: 'For as a belt is worn around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,' declares the Lord, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened." End Quote
There are a lot more Christians these days who seem to have the notion that the Jews are cast away forever, and that gentile Christians are the only true people of God. Some from this group maintain that the Jews in Israel are in fact fake Jews...not even of true Jewish blood. Some Christians believe that a temple will never be built again in Jerusalem, and some think there will be one. In short, there are a lot of teachings among certain Christian denominations that are dismissive of the future chances of the Jewish people to become saved through Jesus and to go to heaven.
But the Bible has quite a lot to say about the end times, and we should certainly read it over before we try to interpret future events concerning the Jews and other end time unfolding of prophecy and events. Let's look at some Bible verses and see what they seem to suggest.
A study of the New Testament Book of Romans, from the Apostle Paul, chapter 11, gives us a pretty clear perspective on how we should think of the Jewish people, honestly. It speaks so clearly that not too much else may be needed. For the person who finds themselves hating the Jews, and I have met a few people who are of this mind, it seems the scripture is giving us a clear admonition here, in these verses, not to do so.
Romans 11 King James Version (KJV)
11 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,
3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
End Quote
So, let me suggest that Romans chapter 11 needs to almost be ignored if we are to hate the Jews or declare them forever ousted from the favor of God. Don't these verses stand in the way of any Christian of gentile lineage deciding to self-righteously declare the Jews a permanently accursed group? We gentiles were first reached out to (in Jesus' time) by Jews. Jesus was a Jew. His Apostles were Jews. Some Jews (many!) were believers of Christ Jesus during His Earthly ministry. These Jews, rapidly joined by gentiles and some other Jews as well, comprised the early church.
Also, consider this: Abraham (Abram) had to leave his people and begin his walk of faith because in his time, approximately 2,000 B.C., the world's people had largely abandoned and betrayed the God who brought Noah and family through the Great Flood. And for about 2,000 years after Abraham began his walk of faith the gentiles did not listen to or follow the true God. So, the gentiles lived for 2,000 years in stubborn rebellion against the true God, but then Jesus came, and after His crucifixion the rebellious pagan gentiles were offered forgiveness and rebirth through Jesus, the Son of God, after the Jews were unable or unwilling to recognize Him as their Messiah.
So, the gentiles were granted undeserved mercy after 2,000 years of idolatrous revolt against God. Do we non-Jewish Christians, therefore, have any right to say the Jews are without hope because they have now let the following 2,000 years pass without turning to Christ? Our gentile ancestors let 2,000 years pass in the same mistaken manner after their falling away from the God of Noah! Yet look how our Holy Father treated our gentile ancestors when His Son came to teach. Our ancestors were offered mercy, and a chance to change their course. Yet do we, today's gentile Christian Church, claim that it is us, and not God, who shall decide who will receive God's mercy? Firstly, how well do we even follow our Savior's fair and gentle commands our own self? Secondly, did God appoint us as gatekeeper to Heaven, or will His Son Jesus be the judge on the terrible day when the sins of the wicked hearts of men are laid bare and our souls are all judged? Christians know that answer: Jesus taught that He would be in charge of allowing salvation...or not allowing salvation...to mankind. And not a single one of those who receive salvation will have earned it through their virtue. It will come only through mercy bestowed on people fully deserving of damnation rather than salvation.
Concerning the belief by some that the present Jews of the nation of Israel are fake Jews, consider what extraordinary events have allowed them to win wars in 1948, 1967, and 1973. Could anyone but God have provided such victories? Consider that far away tribes in distant nations have applied to come to Israel to be repatriated because they believed themselves to be parts of wandered tribes of Israel. Testing of their DNA confirmed the truth of their claim in a number of instances, and so they were brought to Israel to live. How could false Jews have non-false DNA? And the 20th century Jews that migrated to modern Israel had lived like Jews for many centuries, enduring the hardships, the oppressions, the expulsions, and the murderous purging and attempts at extermination by various host countries who's good will they had lost. Why, if you're not a Jew, undergo such trials? And so, while there may be some 'false Jews' in Israel, there is no reason to believe that the Israelites are not Jews. Their religion, through Moses law, always did allow strangers to become Jews. And the famous King David had several women in his family line before him that were foreigners that married into his family line. Ruth the Moabite married Boaz. Even earlier, Rahab the Canaanite woman from Jericho married David's direct ancestor Salmon. And even before that, Judah himself unknowingly impregnated Tamar, the Canaanite widow of his deceased son. Yet no one in David's day claimed that David was not Jewish, a true Jew, of the tribe of Judah. The scriptures bear no record of such an objection, at least.
The phrase about 'those who say they are Jews but are not' comes from Revelation 3:9 and in literal context seems to apply to a group of Jews in the city of Philadelphia, which lies inside the borders of Turkey in our time. Here's the passage:
7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
End Quote
This verse above (3:9) might prophetically also apply to other people at other times, but that's a conjecture. We can only say with confidence that it applied to certain of the Jews in ancient Philadelphia, because that is who Jesus is directly speaking about. So to use this passage to bolster the idea that today's Israel is full of false Jews is pretty thin soup, isn't it?
Next, let's look at Isaiah chap 2:
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
End Quote
What does it tell us? In the last days, Mt. Zion will be the highest mountain? OK. That mountain is on Earth, in Israel. So it sounds like Mt. Zion is still an Israelite holy mountain in the end times, right? And the Lord's temple will be there. And the nations shall stream to it. And the law will go out from it. And the descendants of Jacob (i.e.: the descendants of the 12 tribes, and Judah was one of these, and perhaps Jacob's daughter Dinah) are encouraged to walk in the light of the Lord. The Lord. Is that not Jesus? Christians know Jesus as the Savior and the Messiah, though the Holy Father is greater than Jesus by Jesus' own admission, and in the end, Jesus will just give everything to the Father so that the Father will be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:20) And there will be a 'temple of the God of Jacob'. (verse 2) Does that not suggest a new temple of God will be made or built by God or for God? Because there is currently no temple, and this speaks of a temple in the end times.
Next: Ezekiel 37
37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
One Nation Under One King
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”
End Quote
Here we learn that Israelites (which includes the tribe of Judah and Benjamin and Levi) are to be raised from their graves at some point in time. It is apparently going to happen. Christians believe that the accepted followers of Jesus will be raised from the dead and taken to heaven along with the living Christians that are acceptable. This chapter in Ezekiel makes it clear that the Jews will have a similar experience, either at the same time as the Christians or perhaps afterwards. And God's 'sanctuary' will be among them (v. 26 and again in v. 28). Does 'God's sanctuary' mean a temple? It is one possible interpretation, though I think that there would not be blood sacrifice of animals at this future 'sanctuary'. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus shed the final necessary atoning blood for sin, though after His crucifixion the Jews of His day continued on with sacrificing animals for an additional 40 years, believing that their Messiah had not been Jesus and so had not yet come.
Some will argue that this resurrection of Israelites (Jews) is metaphorical, but once we get to assign metaphorical status to any passage of scripture not in alignment with our religious views we enter an intellectual quagmire in which there is no real point in further discussion, and let each person dream up their own philosophy. Though there admittedly is metaphor in the Bible we probably want to assume that scripture is speaking in the literal sense where ever that seems to be possible and conceivably intended. And with God, a very great deal is always possible!
Next...Ezekiel 48 tells of the very end times, and specifies which Israelite tribes get which allotments of land in the great end times city. So, the tribes of Israel live with God in the area of the Holy City in the end times. And the tribe of Levi still serves God in some special way at the far distant time, as is made clear in verses 8 thru 13. And this chapter also tells us that there will be a 'temple sanctuary'. (v. 21) So, this chapter of Ezekiel makes it obvious that the Israelite tribes all have a big role to play in the end times. This apparently includes those we call 'Jews' in our present day, does it not?
Begin quote:
48 “These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.
2 “Asher will have one portion; it will border the territory of Dan from east to west.
3 “Naphtali will have one portion; it will border the territory of Asher from east to west.
4 “Manasseh will have one portion; it will border the territory of Naphtali from east to west.
5 “Ephraim will have one portion; it will border the territory of Manasseh from east to west.
6 “Reuben will have one portion; it will border the territory of Ephraim from east to west.
7 “Judah will have one portion; it will border the territory of Reuben from east to west.
8 “Bordering the territory of Judah from east to west will be the portion you are to present as a special gift. It will be 25,000 cubits[a] wide, and its length from east to west will equal one of the tribal portions; the sanctuary will be in the center of it.
9 “The special portion you are to offer to the Lord will be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits[b] wide. 10 This will be the sacred portion for the priests. It will be 25,000 cubits long on the north side, 10,000 cubits wide on the west side, 10,000 cubits wide on the east side and 25,000 cubits long on the south side. In the center of it will be the sanctuary of the Lord. 11 This will be for the consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who were faithful in serving me and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. 12 It will be a special gift to them from the sacred portion of the land, a most holy portion, bordering the territory of the Levites.
13 “Alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an allotment 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide. Its total length will be 25,000 cubits and its width 10,000 cubits. 14 They must not sell or exchange any of it. This is the best of the land and must not pass into other hands, because it is holy to the Lord.
15 “The remaining area, 5,000 cubits[c] wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it 16 and will have these measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits,[d] the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. 17 The pastureland for the city will be 250 cubits[e] on the north, 250 cubits on the south, 250 cubits on the east, and 250 cubits on the west. 18 What remains of the area, bordering on the sacred portion and running the length of it, will be 10,000 cubits on the east side and 10,000 cubits on the west side. Its produce will supply food for the workers of the city. 19 The workers from the city who farm it will come from all the tribes of Israel. 20 The entire portion will be a square, 25,000 cubits on each side. As a special gift you will set aside the sacred portion, along with the property of the city.
21 “What remains on both sides of the area formed by the sacred portion and the property of the city will belong to the prince. It will extend eastward from the 25,000 cubits of the sacred portion to the eastern border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the western border. Both these areas running the length of the tribal portions will belong to the prince, and the sacred portion with the temple sanctuary will be in the center of them. 22 So the property of the Levites and the property of the city will lie in the center of the area that belongs to the prince. The area belonging to the prince will lie between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin.
23 “As for the rest of the tribes: Benjamin will have one portion; it will extend from the east side to the west side.
24 “Simeon will have one portion; it will border the territory of Benjamin from east to west.
25 “Issachar will have one portion; it will border the territory of Simeon from east to west.
26 “Zebulun will have one portion; it will border the territory of Issachar from east to west.
27 “Gad will have one portion; it will border the territory of Zebulun from east to west.
28 “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
29 “This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these will be their portions,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
The Gates of the New City
30 “These will be the exits of the city: Beginning on the north side, which is 4,500 cubits long, 31 the gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah and the gate of Levi.
32 “On the east side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin and the gate of Dan.
33 “On the south side, which measures 4,500 cubits, will be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar and the gate of Zebulun.
34 “On the west side, which is 4,500 cubits long, will be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher and the gate of Naphtali.
35 “The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits.[f]
“And the name of the city from that time on will be:
the Lord is there.”
End Quote
Here below is an example from Zechariah 12 speaking of how the Jews, in some time still future even today in 2018 A.D., will see Jesus with their eyes and realize who Jesus is and was. They will be cut to the heart to realize that He was their Messiah all of this time and they didn't realize it. They will go into mourning, the different clans of Jews, the men mourning separately from the women for some reason. And then Jesus will go about rescuing them from some terrible predicament that they are in. Here in Zechariah 12 we learn certain details about this coming moment, but the entire picture of the times and events during which this will happen is, as usual, not given. That's how it is with end times prophecy. You get a little here, and a little there. But one thing that this makes certain is that Jesus will be interested in saving the non-Christian Jews in that distant time. He acts on their behalf here in Zechariah 12. They are not outcasts for whom He has no use. It would appear that Jesus has plans for their spiritual as well as physical salvation. Read it, if you will, and see if you agree.
12 A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
End Quote
And at the end of Isaiah - the 66th chapter - there is evidence that earthly Jerusalem is where Jesus will locate Himself to be worshiped by His people. And in verse 20 I believe it is saying that people from distance nations will bring those Jews or Israelites dwelling among them to Jerusalem when they come to honor Jesus there. Here is Isaiah 66. See what you think.
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.
3 But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your own people who hate you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.
6 Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
repaying his enemies all they deserve.
7 “Before she goes into labor,
she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she delivers a son.
8 Who has ever heard of such things?
Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.
9 Do I bring to the moment of birth
and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn over her.
11 For you will nurse and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
12 For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For with fire and with his sword
the Lord will execute judgment on all people,
and many will be those slain by the Lord.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come[a] and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans[b] and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
End Quote
So, this is by no means the only passage of scripture affirming that the Jews will be important people in the end times, but it is enough to probably convince most Christian doubters. To sum it up, there is an emphatic amount of evidence that the Israelites, including Judah and Benjamin (meaning the Jews if you think the other 10 tribes are more properly called Israelites because of the civil war after King Solomon's death) and the Levites, will be still existing and in fact very important tribes in the end times, even in the restored Earth after the tribulation.
Christian churches should apparently not be teaching that the Jewish/Israelite peoples are now abandoned forever. Some unknown fraction of the Jewish population will become believers in the end times according to Christian scripture, and this is pleasing to the Lord it would appear. So, it should be pleasing to us Christians as well, right? Gentiles in the days of the early church had their turn as 'the prodigal son', estranged from his family but then returned, penitent, to be graciously reaccepted to the family even though he probably did not deserve it. And many of us Christians, in our own personal life, were a prodigal son or daughter, reaccepted by a Lord we had acted ungratefully toward. So, how much more it seems likely that the people God identified as His own peculiar people should have a chance for reacceptance into God's plan and family.
No Christian is actually deserving of their salvation through Jesus. So are we to then imagine ourselves judge and jury over whether the mercy of our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit should give a place to our Jewish brothers and sisters in the prophesied time and place? Of course not. That is a case of the forgiven not willing to be a forgiver in their own turn, for one thing. And it is a case of insanely thinking to circumvent a plan of our Lord and Maker for another thing. We need only read our own scriptures to see that God always has had an end time plan for His peculiar people, the 'Jews'. And He will certainly be able to identify any 'false Jews' that try to sneak into Heaven without their wedding garment (Matthew 22: 1 - 14), just as He will effortlessly discern 'false Christians' doing the same.