Maybe, Just Maybe, It Is True

There has been an unmistakable revival of interest in ancient texts. The phenomenal success of The DaVinci Code a few years back and the astonishing number of Kabbalah centers springing up like mushrooms is ample proof that there is a yearning for life’s meaning that no amount of modern knowledge can satisfy. And we have a disquieting suspicion afoot that the ancients had something we may have overlooked.

Perhaps it’s time to take a look into a collection of ancient texts from which many have drawn priceless knowledge. It’s called the Bible.

The meaning which we crave, whether we are aware of it or not, is built into the fabric of the universe. But how are we to discern it?

Rather than decipher some code or puzzle to figure out the future, our Creator has given us a plainly marked path to follow and someone dependable to show us the present. It is none other than the Messiah of Israel—Yeshua (Jesus) whom the Hebrew Scriptures foretold and the New Testament revealed.

Look Before You Leap

It is said that faith requires a leap. But it’s always good to scope out the terrain first. The Bible has some signposts to look for:

1) Everyone needs God’s forgiveness.

“For in Your sight no one living is righteous.” (Psalm 143:2)

2) God has provided a means through which we may be reconciled to Himself.

“Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” (Psalm 65:3)

3)The Messiah is God’s provision for our forgiveness.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

What Should I Do About It?

There is only one thing to do. Receive the gift of forgiveness God offers by accepting Yeshua as your Messiah. You can do this, right now, by praying: “Messiah Jesus, I receive You now as my Lord and ask You to guide and empower me to become Your true follower. I accept the atonement You made for my sins, and Your free gift of forgiveness. Help me turn from falsehood and follow You in truth.”

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

By Tony Pearce

Because of the return of the Jewish people to Israel and the crisis in the Middle East, many people today are interested in what the Bible says about the Messiah and the end of days. In an article posted in the summer of 2002 on the Jewish website Aish.com, Rabbi Wilson wrote,

“We are living in very turbulent times, to say the least. Whereas only two years ago the world and the people of Israel were optimistic about a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, today that optimism has been replaced by fear and depression—fear of unbridled and senseless terrorism, and depression from what appears to be a no-win situation for the State of Israel.

“Now, more than ever before over the last 50 years, the Jewish people, and even the world in general, need a savior. We need someone who can, somehow, perhaps even mystically, bring about more than just a tenuous cease fire between two warring peoples. We need someone who can, once and for all, bring an end to all human conflict, especially in the Middle East. And, if someone can do that—a tall order—then perhaps he would also be able to destroy whatever other evil exists in the world. As he engineers this long-dreamed-of world peace, let him make unethical and immoral behavior a thing of the past, too. In other words, this savior, if he is truly a savior, should usher in a permanent utopian society where virtuous living is second-nature. And what shall we call this modern-day hero of Biblical proportions? In Judaism, he has always been called ‘Moshiach’ (Messiah), ‘the anointed one,’ because as a Jewish king he is to be anointed upon taking office.”

By Tony Pearce

One day, I was deep in discussion with my Jewish friend when he exclaimed in an exasperated tone, “Your Jesus can’t be the Messiah, because there is no peace in the world!”

I responded that Yeshua came the first time to provide atonement for our sins in fulfillment of Scripture’s prophecies of the Suffering Servant—and that He will soon come again to judge the world in righteousness and bring in the promised age of peace and justice.

My friend challenged me, “Where did you get this idea of a ‘Second Coming’? Was it because Jesus did not succeed the first time that he needs another try? The Bible doesn’t say anything about the Messiah coming twice.”

In one sense, there’s really no such thing as “the future”—since the moment we get there, it becomes the present! But when we imagine events that may come to pass and their impact upon us, we feel a little thrill of anticipation and even, if we are honest, some fear. The unknown is unnerving. Would we want to know the future if we could? Perhaps—and perhaps not!

In a way, our view of the future shapes the way we understand our lives in the past and present. I grew up in a Jewish home in New York City, attended Hebrew school, became Bar Mitzvah and observed the Jewish holidays. Although my enthusiasm for day-to-day Jewish observance soon flagged, I always strongly identified as a Jew. I knew being Jewish mattered. It mattered not only for me or for my people, but also somehow for the whole world and its destiny, which was fully known only to God. Like many of my peers, I was interested in knowing more about God, but was not finding the answers in traditional Judaism. Maybe you have had the same sort of experience?