In the pamphlet, "Why Evangelize Israel in This Generation? and How?, the first of our Jewish Evangelization Series, I endeavor to lay before the reader the general plan of God to Bless the world through Abraham's seed. When his seed had the gospel, it was given to all the world. After they turned from the truth, it ceased to flow out to all the nations. This fact is a sad comment upon the Christian church. The future, however, from the standpoint of world-evangelization holds something better in store for those who have never heard it. According to Revelation 7, the gospel will yet be preached by the 144,000 Israelites, "servants of our God," during the Great Tribulation. The fruit of their labors will be the great ingathering of souls from "every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues," who will accept the gospel when it will be preached by these Jewish evangelists. Yes, the revival is certain but it will NOT come until the church gives Israel the gospel which, through her, will immediately be given to the world. The nation of Israel is the God-appointed agency for the proclamation of the truth to the whole world.

The purpose of preaching the gospel is twofold: first, to give the truth to those who have a yearning for God and salvation; secondly, to harden the hearts of all who have no desire for righteousness and who do not will to do the will of God. In this connection let us not forget that it is the will of God that all should come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. But when men hate God and spurn His Word the Lord does not force their wills. He never does, He never will. When He gave Isaiah his commission to preach to the chosen people, He brought out this twofold truth relative to the results of the proclamation of His Word. Read the entire sixth chapter of Isaiah. In verse 9 the Lord instructed the prophet to

"Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart."

From this verse it is evident that the result of preaching the truth to certain individuals is that of hardening the heart, closing the eyes, and stopping the ears. Since the Lord will not force the human will, when men deliberately and persistently spurn His grace, He hardens their hearts in preparation for the righteous judgment which His justice demands. On the other hand we see that there is always a remnant, the holy seed (vs. 13). This minority who hears the Word consists of those who have a yearning for God and a desire to do His will.

This same teaching is set forth in the New Testament. In II Corinthians 2:15,16 Paul declared, "For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that are saved, and in them that perish; to the one a savor from death unto death; to the other a savor from life unto life." Paul and all ministers who preach the Gospel faithfully are a sweet savor unto God in relation both to the saved and to the lost. This statement though very peculiar, is a clear declaration that, when the Gospel is preached, God is pleased. To those who desire the truth of salvation, the ministers of the Word are a savor of life unto life, but to those who do not have a love for the truth and who refuse it, they become a savor of death unto death. Strange to us though it may be, those who preach the Gospel and by so doing harden the hearts of the impenitent are really a sweet savor unto God. The necessity of preaching the Gospel to all may be seen in a little reflection concerning the atonement and justification by faith. God desires to be just when He justifies those who believe in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and at the same time He must be righteous in condemning those who will not receive Him. In both instances, therefore the Lord will be preeminently just; hence the righteousness of God and His justice demand that the Gospel be preached alike to those who desire it and those who do not.

What about the heathen who have never had an opportunity of hearing the truth throughout the centuries? Jesus declared that all who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. The Lord sees to it that all who yearn for Him and His will shall have an opportunity of coming to Him. In discussing the case of the heathen (Rom. 2:12-16) Paul showed that they are already under condemnation because they have not lived up to the light which they have. His statement deals with the case of the heathen generally. At the end of the age, however, when a new situation arises--the impending wrath of God--the conditions will be different. In view of the sweeping character of the judgments, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all nations for a testimony (Matt. 24:14).

Paul touches upon the same point in II Thessalonians chapter 2. Concerning those who in the closing days of this dispensation do not receive a love of the truth, the apostle declares that God will send them strong delusions that they might believe a lie, and believing a lie, they might be condemned. That God may be just in bringing the judgments of the Great Tribulation upon the world, He will give to all men ample opportunity of accepting the truth. Noah evidently prepared the impenitent antediluvians for the flood judgment. Paul's statement in this passage seems to imply the same principle.

In order that God may be just in bringing the judgments of the Tribulation upon the Jewish people, the gospel must be given to them, affording those who desire the truth an opportunity of receiving it that they may be saved. It also must be preached to those who do not desire it in order to prepare them for the impending judgments. This time of great distress, as all Bible students know, is called "the time of Jacob's trouble." This phrase indicates that this visitation of God's wrath has special reference to the Jewish race. In pouring out His plagues upon the world, particularly upon Israel, God will be just and righteous. Our conception of righteousness, which is based upon the Scriptures, leads us to believe that Israel might have an opportunity of either accepting, or rejecting the truth before the Tribulation breaks upon her in all its fury. It is not for us to judge how thoroughly the nation must be evangelized before the judgments can fall, but, in my opinion, the justice of God demands that the nation as a whole have at least one adequate opportunity of either accepting or rejecting the glad tidings of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether that opportunity has been given to the nation sufficiently at the present time is not a matter for us to judge, but for the Lord alone.

The Great Tribulation likewise will fall upon the entire world. In order for God to be just in pouring out His wrath, the Gentile world also must have an adequate opportunity of hearing the truth. That all may have such an opportunity, God will use the 144,000 Jews (evangelists) mentioned in Revelation 7 in preaching the gospel to all the world during the Tribulation period. As stated in the preceding paragraph, by the efforts of these Jewish evangelists an innumerable host of Gentiles will be brought into the kingdom of God under the most trying circumstances of the Great Tribulation. Their witness to the world, especially to those who reject the truth, will prepare the rest of the world for the judgments which will come upon it. As we learn from Isaiah 24:6 this testimony will be rejected by the masses who will, as a consequence of their obstinacy be swept into eternity without God and hope of salvation.

In view of the signs of the times which indicate that the time for the Lord to return for His saints is rapidly approaching, it behooves those who know and who love the Lord Jesus Christ to put forth every effort to get this gospel through Israel, the appointed channel, to the whole world. The conviction is ever deepening upon the hearts of those who know the Lord that the time in which we are yet privileged to labor for Him is rapidly coming to a close. It is becoming more difficult as the days pass to get the truth to men. While we have, therefore, an opportunity of free speech, let us proclaim the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ with diligence and all haste.

Now is the time to sow the seed, the Word of God, in the field of Israel. In this connection I wish to use a little illustration which is a perfect representation of the situation. The nation of Israel might be compared to a field that is powder-dry with a moist spot here and there. The seed sown in this dry soil lies dormant awaiting the enlivening showers. Only the seed falling in the damp places germinate immediately. The seed falling into the moist spot of an honest heart will immediately spring forth. Those thus accepting the Lord Jesus will be added to the body of Christ, but that seed which is sown in the dry ground of an impenitent heart will remain dormant until the time of the Great Tribulation when the rains in the form of the Tribulation judgments water it. At the beginning of this time of Jacob's trouble, some of this seed will spring forth. Then will arise this mighty army of Jewish evangelists who will give the gospel to the world, preparing for salvation those who want the truth and also making it possible for God in righteousness to bring His judgments upon the impenitent and the ungodly.

May the Lord stir the heart of every Christian to fall into line with His eternal plan is my sincere prayer.

Why has the Lord seemingly delayed His Coming? Peter urged the brethren to consider that the LONG-SUFFERING of the Lord was salvation, i.e., His delay would give more people an opportunity of coming to a knowledge of the truth and of being saved (II Pet. 3:15). In the same passage the apostle urged the brethren to look forward to and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. The marginal reading in the Revised Version is hastening. From this, one gathers that Christians can hasten the coming of that time, which is preceded by the Rapture.

May it not be possible that the failure of the church to give the gospel to Israel has through the centuries held up the march of events in the development of God's program of the ages and continues to do so? The Jewish evangelists who will preach the Gospel throughout the world in the Tribulation must be given the truth by the church prior to the Rapture. This Herculean task of evangelizing Israel confronts the church of Jesus Christ today. May every born-again person arise and in the strength of the Lord meet this challenge and by so doing no longer delay His return. This task can easily be accomplished if the body of Christ will awake and so its duty. As we shall see the gospel can easily and quickly be given to the entire nation this generation by the literary method.

In the former booklet, Why Evangelize Israel in This Generation? and How? I state briefly the very difficult situation which confronts those who desire or who attempt to give the gospel to all Israel. It becomes necessary to enlarge upon this subject in order that the reader might the more thoroughly understand the problem that is confronting Jewish missionaries at the present time. There are approximately seventeen million Jews scattered throughout the world. Naturally, they are to a certain extent, affected by the environment in which they live. Notwithstanding the influence of the modern surroundings, the Jew holds tenaciously to his racial characteristics and ancient faith, i.e., to a distorted conception of it. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule but, comparatively speaking, they are few in number.

The Jew speaks the language of the country in which he resides and adopts, to a limited extent, the ideals and the customs of his neighbors. A little study of his situation reveals the fact that he is standing foremost in the ranks of the intellectuals. University records of Jewish students throughout the world confirm this assertion. There is no race of people that equals the Hebrews in intellectuality, education, and culture. In making this statement I recognize the fact that many of them are uneducated, but I am speaking of the nation as a whole. The Jew, being acquainted with thorough and clear thinking on all subjects, cannot be satisfied with a short and superficial treatment of any theme, especially one that deals with religion. Therefore, for the great masses and the intellectual class of Hebrews it is necessary to prepare a literature that deals exhaustively and clearly with the subjects in hand. A short tract, therefore, that simply presents some phase of Biblical teaching may arrest the Jew's attention, but it will never convince his mind. Such a pamphlet, however, may satisfy the uneducated person who is not accustomed to ferreting out problems to their logical conclusion but it will never meet the demands of the more intellectual and educated classes.

God recognized the fact that Israel is an intellectual race. The religion revealed in the Bible is one that is in accord with logical thinking and sound reasoning. In this connection let it be understood that man by reason cannot fathom the great mysteries of life; neither can he by his logic find God. At the same time it must also be recognized that the Lord who made our minds also gave the Biblical revelation. A corollary growing out of these two facts is that there is no conflict between man's reasoning processes and the divine revelation. The Lord through the prophet Isaiah challenged the people of his day to come and reason together with Him. (Isa. 1:18). This fact shows that the divine revelation appeals to sound thinking. God meets man where he is and adapts His revelation to the latter's understanding. For instance, the Wise-men were stargazers, but without question they were honestly by the false system of astrology seeking the truth. In order to bring them to the feet of the newly born Messiah, the Lord caused the Bethlehem star to guide them to the place where the young Child lay. This historical incident is positive proof that God, in the case of honest truth seekers at least, adapts His revelation to man's comprehension. Since Israel is so very highly intellectual, God desires us to present His truth in such a way to this great people, which He will yet use in the future, as to appeal to their heart as well as to their head giving the Gospel not only to the uneducated but also to the educated classes, leaders and rabbis.

In our giving the gospel to Israel and attempting to put the message in the most winsome and appealing manner, let us never forget that we must not go beyond that which is written. The Bible is a table spread with most appetizing food, both spiritual and intellectual. Changing the figure, one may affirm that there are heights to which the human intellect has never ascended and depths to which man's thought can never reach in the study of God's word. A diversity of subjects is treated in the Scriptures. Evidently God gave this great variety in order to attract the attention of every class of individuals. It is therefore, proper and right that the minister of the gospel should use the various materials which God has placed in His Book in an attempt to arrest the attention and to enlist the interest of the many classes of men. A caution in this connection is necessary. Let us determine to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world. As all roads led to ancient Rome, so all of our preaching, regardless of the starting point, should lead to the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and redemption through His shed blood.

In the light of the facts presented, it becomes evident that the difficulties in bringing the gospel to a people of such high intellectuality and in so very many different environments constitute a problem of the first magnitude. Though, to the natural man, this task seems to be beyond human power, we can by God's grace accomplish it--provided we are in touch with Him. The physician before treating a patient diagnoses his case. In the same manner, in order that we may approach Israel intelligently with the gospel, we must diagnose her case. With her history written in blood and with her great variety of problems appearing in the special tints of local coloring, Israel, it is reasonable to suppose, has acquired a large amount of tradition and error, the major part of which naturally is inconsequential in comparison with the lesser portion in its bearing upon the great fundamentals of the faith. These basic teachings are vital to a real spiritual understanding of the Word. Therefore it becomes necessary for us to analyze the errors to which she holds concerning these great fundamental doctrines.

The Jew, holding a different theory of inspiration, does not study his Scriptures so carefully as do the Christians. Since the days of Moses Maimonides who wrote the Thirteen Principles of Faith for Israel, the whole nation has accepted a false doctrine concerning the unity of God. Prior to the days of this renowned Jewish scholar, the nation, according to John Wilkinson in Israel My Glory, believed in the doctrine of the triune nature of God; since his time she has held to a perverted idea concerning the Trinity. The Hebrew reads his great confession in a Jewish translation of the Scriptures which declared that God is one (Deu. 6:4). Both Jewish and Gentile versions usually obscure the meaning of this verse. Translated literally and accurately, it reads as follows: "Hear O Israel: the LORD our Gods is the LORD a unity." The Jew now understands that the word 'echad means one in the absolute sense, whereas in this passage it indicates a unity. He also misunderstands the teaching of the New Testament. Concerning it he declares its teaching is that there are three Gods. On this point he is mistaken; the New Testament doctrine concerning the Trinity is not peculiar to itself but rather is borrowed from the Old.

It is impossible for the intelligent Hebrew who has been miss-taught on this subject as it appears in the Old Testament to accept the New Testament doctrine concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit until he has first been given the truth from the standpoint of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, which method of presentation shows that his own Scriptures teach the triune nature of the Divine Being. When this subject has thus been presented to him, as has been done in the first of my Messianic Series, he is then ready to receive the New Testament doctrine on this most important point. When the Jew sees the Scriptural teaching of the Trinity one should next present to him the truth relative to the nature and person of King Messiah.

The Jew formulates his idea concerning Messiah from the data found in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles concerning the three kings of Israel--Saul, David, and Solomon. Each of these men is called the Lord's messiah. In our translation, however, this word is rendered anointed. He does not stop to investigate the prophetic teaching concerning this great future Ruler but jumps hastily at the conclusion that He is to be another David or Solomon. Reading in the sacred record that each of these men was born by natural generation, that each was a religious and political leader, and that each served his day and generation and passed from the stage of action, he concludes that Messiah will simply play a role similar to that of these ancient anointed ones or messiahs. That this statement of the case is correct may be clearly seen from the fact that when a little male infant is born into the home of pious, orthodox Jewish parents they have a special dedicatory service offering their new-born babe to God to be used as the future messiah.

When, therefore, we approach the intelligent Jew who entertains these ideas and tell him that Jesus of Nazareth was his Messiah and offer as proof of that proposition the Scriptural fact that He was born of the Virgin Mary in fulfillment of the Old Testament prediction, the doctrine at once is such a strange one that it is impossible for him to accept it. When he reads Isaiah 7:14 and similar passages in translations made by Jewish scholars, he sees nothing concerning the virgin birth of King Messiah. To him the Messiah is simply a great general, begotten and born as all other men are, who will restore Israel to her former glory.

In fact, according to orthodox Jewish theology, there are to be two --the messiah who regathers a remnant to the homeland and who leads the Jewish forces out against the Russian hordes when they invade Palestine (Ezek. 38:1-39:16). This messiah will fall in battle. The nation, seeing the great calamity that has come upon it, will cry unto God in genuine repentance, who will answer providentially by bringing to their attention the great Messiah of whom the prophets constantly spoke--namely, a descendant of David who will be the greatest military strategist the world has ever seen. This one will take the place of the one slain in battle, will lead the forces of Israel on to victory, and will expel the invaders. Then he will mount the throne of David and establish the ancient monarchy on a greater scale than ever before. From theses false teachings and many other errors, we can see how necessary it is for us to present the truth from the original Hebrew text concerning the nature and the person of King Messiah, especially since the Jew as a rule will not accept Gentile translations. He conscientiously believes that Christian scholars have read into the messianic predictions their ideas concerning a superhuman Messiah and have rendered these passages accordingly. The reasons for thus translating these passages must be given in our presenting the doctrine concerning the divine-human nature of the Redeemer.

As suggested the orthodox Jew is looking for two messiahs. On this point he is greatly mistaken. In the Scriptures he sees Messiah suffering and also glorified. He does not understand that there is but one Messiah who passes through both experiences--first, that of suffering at His first coming; and secondly, that of glory at His return. Thinking that He is simply a man like David, the orthodox theologian is unable to harmonize these two seemingly divergent teachings; therefore he interprets the predictions of the two comings of the one Messiah as prophecies of two Messiahs--one of suffering; the other, of glory and power. In order to give the truth on this point it becomes necessary for one to present the entire redemptive career of Messiah as taught in certain passages of the Old Testament. My experience has taught me that it is best to select those passages in which appear both comings of the Messiah and the period intervening so that at one study the Jew may see the two comings of the one Messiah. There is a number of passages which supply all the facts; for instance Psalm 110. These should be carefully studied. It is possible, therefore, for us to take a single chapter of Scripture and present both comings and the intervening period. Unless the truth relative to the two comings is thus presented, it is impossible for the Jew intelligently to accept as his Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who came over nineteen hundred years ago, suffered and died for mankind, and who will come again at the conclusion of this age to restore Israel to fellowship with God and to establish His kingdom of righteousness. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that we present the truth on these vital matters in an exhaustive manner to the Jew. Having given the redemptive career of Messiah, one is ready to present the next logical step in the unfolding of the truth, the time of Messiah's first appearance. In the third volume of the Messianic Series, Messiah:His Redemptive Career, I have expounded two classic passages on this point.

From the close of the first century to the present many have arisen in Israel who have attempted to calculate the date when Messiah would make His appearance. A survey of Jewish messianic speculation is indeed very interesting and at the same time most pathetic. The nation as she has wandered from city to city and from country to country has been eagerly awaiting the appearance of King Messiah. Many of her theologians have set various dates for His appearance and often have led the people into grave error. On many occasions great numbers of the chosen people have suffered because of having misplaced their hope in false messiahs.

An outstanding rabbi wrote an article in which he took the position that the Christians and the Jews could never agree. He affirmed that these two great religious faiths are resting upon foundations that are exactly opposite. He stated the situation, as he saw it, briefly in this manner. The Christians believe that the Messiah has already come; the Jew thinks that He is yet to appear. In explaining his belief he declared that it did not matter whether the Jew interpreted the messianic prophecies as personal or as predictions of a glorious era. All prophecies yet await fulfillment. This rabbi is a spokesman for a large section of American Jewry.

It becomes necessary, therefore, for one, if he wishes to present the truth to Israel concerning the Messiah to give the Scriptural teaching from the standpoint of the Old Testament, showing just when the prophets said He would appear. There are several predictions found in different portions of the Old Testament which show us exactly the time Messiah would be cut off. Since He had to be born, reach His maturity, and accomplish His work before He could be cut off, His birth would necessarily precede by a number of years the date of His execution. It is of paramount importance, therefore, to present the Scriptural teaching concerning the period when the Messiah was scheduled to appear the first time.

The truth concerning these four fundamentals of the faith must be given to the educated, thinking Jew from the standpoint of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament before he is in a position to comprehend and to accept the teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and His being the divine Son of God and at the same time the Redeemer of mankind.

These great fundamental truths I am endeavoring to present to the Jewish people in my Messianic Series. I devote a separate volume to the discussion of each of these points. In this series I analyze the Hebrew text and say nothing except that which Moses and the prophets declared would come to pass. The fifth volume of the Series I devote to the teaching of the New Testament concerning Jesus and contemporaneous history, proving that He was and is the promised Messiah.