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Messiah: He's Heavenly! |
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Q. How did Jewish people in Old Testament times get to Heaven before Jesus died on the cross? |
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A. They were saved the same way as you and me. Whether it was Abraham, Moses, David, or Isaiah, people have always been redeemed the same way at all times- by faith (Gen. 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4). Prior to Messiah’s coming people had faith that anticipated what God would provide. After Messiah’s coming and in our day people have faith that appropriates what God has provided. All with the same faith trusting in Yeshua, the centerpiece of history. Q. “For Jewish people who lived during the Old Testament times, what type of Messiah were they looking for?” A. Essentially, Jewish people were looking for a ‘deliverer’. Believers in the Scriptures (i.e., Simeon and Anna, Luke 2) were seeking One to bring redemption from sin, as found in Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9:24-26, etc. However, many first century Jewish opinions regarding Messiah, simply were not biblical. Most expected Him to conquer the Romans and restore Israel, as Judah Maccabee had done to the Assyrians in 165 BC (this is celebrated at Hanukkah, see John 10:22-31). By not relying on the Scriptures, it is understandable how the famous Rabbi Akiva declared General Bar Kochba as the Messiah in 135 AD: they wanted to get rid of the Romans. Then, as now, most people don’t see the real problem: our fallen nature, and our own sins. Hence ‘the real enemy’ is internal (sin), rather than external (i.e. the Romans). Y |
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