"Redeemer of Israel"
The gospel of Jesus Christ, as preached by the apostles after Pentecost, contains sufficient power not only to transform ignorant and superstitious pagans into enlightened and regenerated disciples, but also to make strangers from many nations fellow citizens in God’s kingdom. Paul wrote, “Ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).
The explosive growth among the Gentiles quickly made Jews a minority within the church. Paul warned the Gentile converts about pride over their newfound status, reminding them that they had become a people because unbelief had blinded the Jews. Quoting David (Ps 69:23), Paul wrote, “Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see” (Rom 11:10), adding, “Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (Rom 11:11).
Jesus promised to take the kingdom from the Jews after they rejected Him (Matt 21:43) and give it to those producing the fruits of the kingdom, meaning the Gentiles. Their position in His kingdom would last only for an interval. Paul revealed, “Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom 11:25). The times of the Gentiles ended almost 60 years ago. Consider our church today: less than 100 members, with far fewer actually attending, but over 18,000 in the nations we support, with more actually attending.
Paul warned the Gentiles: “Be not highminded, but fear” (Rom 11:20), adding, “Lest ye should be wise in your own conceits” (Rom 11:25). What an expression, “Wise in your own conceits,” which means so conceited that people think they are wise by their own estimation. Truth is, despite Israel’s blindness, when the times of the Gentiles are over, “All Israel shall be saved” (Rom 11:26), and with them “the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind” (Luke 14:21). Fact is, the 18,000 church members that we support live in the poorer nations of the world, exactly those whom God promised to gather with scattered Israel when He saves them (Jer 31:8).
How will God perform such a marvelous and miraculous feat? Paul answered: “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Rom 11:26). He was quoting Isaiah, who wrote, “The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord” (Is 59:20). Elsewhere, Isaiah called Yhovah, “The Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One” (Is 49:7). Our Redeemer, Jesus, saved all people from eternal death and the damnation of unquenchable regret that burns like fiery sulphur. He saved us from that just condemnation when He died for our sins on the cross. That same Savior and Redeemer will come to Israel. The prophet Zechariah foretold it. Through him, Yhovah said, “In that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zec 12:9-10).
We already see nations gathered against Israel. We hear the antisemitic propaganda coming from everywhere. They all threaten to destroy the Jewish state, that bastion of liberty in the Middle East, but they will not succeed. Although President Trump is tirelessly working for peace, war is coming. Before it does and before it consumes the Gentile nations, Jesus will rescue Jerusalem, and the rest of Israel, when He appears above the holy city. The Jews will see the wounds in His hands, feet, and side, which they celebrated at His crucifixion, and realize their error. Repenting with painful lamentations, they will receive their Messiah and be saved. The entire world will see the event, too. Isaiah prophesied, “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Is 52:10).
We live in a global society, but globalism as it exists today will end. It ends in the Fall of Babylon, which John the Revelator graphically described: “The kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more . . . [they] shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought” (Rev 18:9-17). Despite that loss, those on the American continents will also see Jesus when He saves His people on this side of the earth.
Latter-day revelation spoke the promise to us: “Ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched out arm; and as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be. Therefore, let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers, Mine angel shall go up before you, but not my presence; but I say unto you, Mine angels shall go before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land” (D&C 100:3e-f). Those words revealed that the Man like Moses, who is Jesus Christ (Acts 3:22-26), will lead His people into the appointed land, where they will build the capital of God’s kingdom in the Western Hemisphere. It does not reveal more specifics, but it will be in conjunction with the appearance of Jesus above Jerusalem. The same salvation occurring in the Old World will occur in the New. Another Jerusalem, a New Jerusalem for the New World, will yet stand for the gathering of the Jews on this continent, as well as all who believe in Jesus.
Paul and Silas taught, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31), but the Greek word they used means more than the English believe. The word is pisteuo, derived from pistis, the Greek word translated as "faith" in English Bibles. Pisteuo carries that meaning. While it means believe, it also means to commit and to trust. It encompasses a deeper sense of trust and reliance, implying a commitment to entrust one's life to someone. To “pisteuo epi kurios Iesous Christos” (“believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”) is to entrust one’s life to Jesus Christ. That is why Paul and Silas immediately baptized the jailer and his household when they confessed that they believed on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:33).
The Redeemer of Zion will come; He will appear to the Jews in Israel, and they will believe in Him as He saves Jerusalem from their enemies. The whole world will see that salvation. He will appear in the Americas as He leads them to build another Jerusalem as the capital of His kingdom in the Western Hemisphere, destroying the deep state that is currently striving to erase freedom from America. During October, please consider His appearance and the establishment of His kingdom on earth. If we hope to participate in those glorious and culminating events, when the Son of God completes His goal of dwelling with His people on earth, we need to be ready to endure His presence. We need a humble, contrite heart, broken of pride, and prepared to submit completely to His reign. We need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts, entrusting our lives, our all, to the Redeemer of Israel.