以色列：教會的先知比喻
作者：Yoni Koski
來源：復興以色列事工。蒙允刊載。
以色列在許多方面可比喻為全世界教會： 一方面明顯地不完整和有缺陷，而在另一方面有著 "完成"， "無缺"和最終來自神的"和平"應許的益處-這些都出自同一個希伯來字根" שלם，" 正是眾所周知的詞 "平安"。
我深信那在你們心裡動了善工的，必成全這工，直到耶穌基督的日子 。腓立比書1:6
當然，以色列和教會在聖靈的大能和指導下都有著了巨大的進步，但仍有許多要克服的：
1. 妥協：以色列和教會都被其他神、宗教、哲學和價值觀的價值和影響所破壞。在以色列和曾經是多數基督徒社會中，伊斯蘭的普遍影響正積極尋求取代猶太教-基督教社會的基礎；與此同時，以人為中心和以唯物主義為中心的世俗主義試圖將上帝推向一個角落，最終走出這幅畫面；而東方靈修和相關的麻醉成癮提供了虛假的滿意承諾。
2. 被佔領：以色列和教會在某種程度上被正式機構當局佔領，而不是上帝王國的代表。無論是以色列國家政府機關提供了需要性的墮胎，宗教機構的法規否認耶穌為彌賽亞， 在領土上， "種族清洗"了猶太人的人口，或有些教會教派，正式積極宣導同性戀或普遍性神(宇宙神教徒)-- 他們都已經正式地反對聖經對神國的理解。
3. 小型化：以色列和教會並不是他們應有的大小規模--在創世記15:18 神應許以色列所有的土地，從今天的蘇伊士運河在南部，到幼發拉底河在北部。對整個彌賽亞肢體，全世的神應許了一個偉大的末日時間的豐收 (阿摩司書9:13)， 因著福音傳給世人 (馬太福音24:14，啟示錄7:9)。
4. 未實現潛力：教會和以色列都尚未完全達到對全世的影響和效果--上帝在地球上的王國，以色列將明顯地為上帝而分開 (申命記26:18-19) 和教會將會統治 (啟示錄20:4，但以理書7:22)。
5. 未登基：我們尚未看到教會在全世始終如一地聖靈充滿 (但以理書12:10)， 或耶穌在耶路撒冷祂光榮的寶座上統治(羅馬書11:26，以賽亞書 24:23)。
這比喻的目的是指令。當我們迷失時， 我們發現真理難以吸收。認識到這一點， 最偉大的老師給了我們一些比喻或故事的恩典， 這些既觸動人心，又引起了我們赤子之心。
如果以色列是一個比喻， 那麼教會就有很多東西可以學習， 因為世界注視著這國家的發展，為這土地特別是首都耶路撒冷的爭戰正在醞釀。
透過信心之眼，我們看到以色列的萌芽和現在的綻放 (以賽亞書 27:6)，是那信實的神至高主權在作工，並正履行祂的應許，完全出人意料。如果神能在強大的反對中提升以色列， 那麼祂當然可以在最壞的情況下提升每個信徒。
正如教會可以向以色列學習一樣， 以色列也可以從教會漫長而複雜的歷史比喻中汲取神的信實。
神是信實和有大能的，祂使每一個人，每個教會和全世的彌賽亞肢體，擺脫妥協，克服佔領，達到我們的完全的規模和潛力，看到耶穌在祂應該的地方登基。我們該做的部分是聚焦，定睛在祂身上並與祂合作(詩篇27)，使路徑通過未來的熔爐時(馬太福音24:21) 成為一個喜悅， 而不是一個創傷，因為我們知道耶穌就在我們身邊(馬太福音25:1-13)
© 16 February 2018 Revive Israel Ministries
Israel： A Prophetic Parable for the Church
Yoni Koski
blossoms
Israel is in many ways a parable for the world-wide Church： on the one hand manifestly incomplete and deficient， yet on the other beneficiary of the divine promise of ‘completion’， ‘perfection’ and ultimately ‘peace’ – all of which stem from the same Hebrew root " שלם " from which we get the well-known word “shalom”.
“I am sure of this， that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1：6
Of course， both Israel and the Church have seen great advances under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit， yet there remains much to overcome：
Compromised： both Israel and the Church are compromised by the values and influence of other gods， religions， philosophies and values. In both Israel and once majority Christian societies， the pervasive influence of Islam is aggressively seeking to replace the foundations of Judeo-Christian society； meanwhile man-centric and materialism-centric secularism seeks to push God into a corner and eventually out of the picture； while Eastern spirituality and associated narcotic addictions offer false promises of satisfaction.
‘Occupied’： both Israel and the Church are to some extent occupied by formal institutional authorities that are not representatives of the Kingdom of God. Whether it is Israel state offices providing on-demand abortion， religious offices whose rules deny Yeshua as Messiah， territories that ‘ethnically cleanse’ the Jewish population， or church denominations that officially advocate active homosexuality or a universalist God – all have formalised their opposition to a Scriptural understanding of the Kingdom of God.
Undersized： both Israel and the Church are not yet the size they should be – in Genesis 15：18 God promised Israel all of the Land from what is today the Suez Canal in the south， to the Euphrates river in the north. To the whole Body of Messiah world-wide God promised a great End-Time harvest (Amos 9：13)， as the Gospel is preached to all peoples (Matthew 24：14， Revelation 7：9).
Unrealised potential： Both the Church and Israel have yet to reach the fullness of world-wide influence and effect – the Kingdom of God on earth， where Israel is to be manifestly set apart for God (Deuteronomy 26：18-19) and the Church reigning (Revelation 20：4， Daniel 7：22).
‘Un-enthroned’： We have yet to see the Church globally and consistently filled with the Spirit of God (Daniel 12：10)， or Yeshua reigning on His glorious throne in Jerusalem (Romans 11：26， Isaiah 24：23).
The purpose of a parable is instruction. In our lostness we find truth hard to absorb. Understanding this， the greatest teacher of all gave us the gift of parables， stories that touch both heart and mind and appeal to our child-likeness.
If Israel is a parable， then there is much for the Church to learn from， as the world watches the nation’s development and the heating up of the battle for the Land and especially its capital， Jerusalem. Through the eyes of faith we see Israel’s budding and now blossoming (Isaiah 27：6) as the sovereign work of a God who can be trusted and has power to fulfil his Word against all odds. If God can raise up Israel in the midst of great opposition， then He can surely raise up every believer despite the worst of circumstances.
Just as the Church can learn from Israel， so Israel can learn the faithfulness of God from the parable of the long and complex history of the Church.
God is faithful and powerful to bring each individual， each congregation and the world-wide Body of Messiah， to a place where we shake off compromise， overcome the ‘occupation’， reach our full ‘size’ and potential and see Yeshua enthroned where He should be. Our part is to cooperate with Him in focus， gaze and attention (Psalm 27)， so that the pathway through the coming furnace (Matthew 24：21) becomes a delight rather than a trauma， because we see Yeshua right by our side (Matthew 25：1-13).
