Yeshua Isn’t Coming Back to Israel! What?

It is not enough to love Israel; you must love Israelis!

The Messiah is not returning to the land of Israel, but to the people of Israel—to Israelis! What brings Him back are the cries of His people. What moved God to send Moses, the redeemer, to Egypt?

“I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey … I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exod. 7-10)

We know, from prophecy, that Israelis will cry out to Yeshua before He returns:

“Jerusalemites” will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mournfor him as one mourns for an only child… (Zech. 12:10)

“Look! He is coming with the clouds! Every eye will see him, including those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the Land will mourn him.” (Rev. 1:7 CJB)

Some translations interpret this as “all the peoples on earth will mourn for Him.” But, in the Greek, it speaks of “tribes of the land,” most probably meaning, the tribes of Israel. Israelis often refer to our country as simply the Land.

So the cry and the mourning of the Jewish people in Israel over Yeshua will precede the Second Coming.

To the Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem, Yeshua said, “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matt. 23:39) In Hebrew, the words “Blessed is he who comes” are the equivalent of welcoming someone. Yeshua is not coming back until Jewish people in Israel welcome Him.

Do you know any Israelis?

What is my point? There are millions of believers who say they love Israel—and I am sure they do—but they don’t love Israelis. How could they? They don’t know them. And it is crucial that they do, because it will be the love, intercession and compassion from the believers in the nations that will birth this end-time longing in the Jewish people for their true Messiah.

As an immigrant, I have fought for 16 years to be part of this culture. Recently, my native-born Israeli wife said to me, “Ata mamash Israeli,” meaning, “You are really Israeli.” For me, this was the greatest of compliments. My Hebrew is not perfect, nor is my accent, but I have put in the hours to understand the Israeli mindset and culture, and to become part of it.

If you are called to a people, it is not enough to love those people—you must love what they love. I know many immigrants from the U.S. who have never integrated. They still dress like Americans, act like Americans, hang out mostly with English speakers and have no idea who Neta Barzallai or Omer Adam are (popstars). They live in a bubble. They can host people from all over the world and show them the Holy Land, but can’t tell you who Micha’el ben Ari (racist politician who was just banned from running for the Knesset) or Ofira and Berkovich (popular hosts of a pre-Shabbat news/culture show) are.

Why have I “wasted hours” watching shtooyote (nonsense) on Israeli television? To fully connect to the people I love.

What does this have to do with you?

God has called you to birth revival in Israel. But most believers who love Israel actually love a fictitious, imaginary version of Israel. I recently shared with room full of lovers of Israel from all over the world in Jerusalem. I said, “Your prophetic homework, before you leave this country, is to make sure you have a five-minute conversation with an Israeli—not a believer! And, not to share the gospel (though that is encouraged), but to know them, to hear them, to feel them.”

How can YOU do that? Well, make sure to join an Israel tour as soon as possible. We, ourselves, host two tours each year. You can read the www.timesofIsrael.com. They have a blog section from locals. Through that you can feel and taste the culture. Read books about Israel. The book that changed my life and caused me to load up my wife and three girls and make Aliyah was called From Beirut to Jerusalem, written by liberal New Your Times columnist and three-time Pulitzer prize winner, Thomas Friedman. The picture he painted of his six years in Jerusalem caused me to fall in love with these people before I had ever visited the country.

Also, you can watch news in English at https://www.i24news.tv/. They are an excellent source and I was reently interviewed by them about my faith.

There is no more important people group on earth than Israelis when it comes to the end-times. No! I am not saying that Jews or Israelis are better than any other group, but that this country has a clear prophetic role in bringing back the Messiah. And it will not be fulfilled without the love and prayers of believers all over the world. God wants to put a supernatural love in your heart for Israelis.

To be clear, the title is hyperbolic—a shock statement to get your attention. Of course, He comes to Israel, but not without the longing of the inhabitants—the Israelis.