By David L. Cooper

 Israel, the Channel of World Blessing

 During the Christian Dispensation the Lord commits the task of evangelizing the world to His Church (Matt. 28:18-20), although He had already announced to Abraham that “. . . in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3).  See Isaiah 27:2-6.  The Lord does not use the trial-and-error method in any instances, for He “who maketh these things known from of old” (Acts 15:18) has kept to His original plan of using Abraham and his seed as the channel of blessing the world.  When Israel failed God by rejecting the Messiah at His first coming, the Lord created the Body of Christ consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers.

 A person who has a God-given message for others must put it in words and terms that they can understand and with which they are more or less familiar.  Moreover, he must be sympathetic within proper limits—never compromising truth—with those with whom he is dealing.

 A friendly Jewish man read every book the author gave him, which was written from the standpoint of the Old Testament, and always came back for more.  When he was given The World’s Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated, a book written from the Christian point of view, he came back and reported that he had repeatedly tried to get the message of that book, but could not.  He therefore returned it, saying he could not understand it, but that he wanted another book that he could understand—such as Biblical Research Society’s seven books of the Messianic Series.

  In order for a person to win another to his way of thinking, he must point out the facts which they both believe and hold in common; then, in kindness and gentleness, seek to explain the truth in matters wherein they differ.  As a rule, in this way he disarms his friend of any lurking prejudice and hostility.  One’s use of the Old Testament scriptures creates confidence and paves the way for an unbiased study of the message of the gospel.

 Jewish Misunderstanding of Four Cardinal Doctrines

 There are four principal doctrines of the Bible which the Jew misunderstands.  So long as he misunderstands these Bible teachings, it is impossible for him to accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour.  Herewith are these fundamental doctrines:  first, the Trinity; second, the nature and person of Messiah; third, the redemptive career of Messiah; and fourth, when Messiah was to appear the first time on earth according to the prophets.

 Misunderstanding the basic passage of the Old Testament—“Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 6:4)—the Jew declares that God is one in the absolute sense of the term.  Deuteronomy 6:4, Israel’s great confession of faith, properly translated, is “Hear, O Israel; Jehovah our Gods is Jehovah a unity.”  The Jews declare that they believe in one God, whereas the Christians believe in three Gods.

 The Jew reads in the Scriptures that Messiah will come and deliver Israel.  He forms his ideas of Messiah from the data concerning such men as Saul, David, and Solomon, each of whom was called God’s Anointed, Messiah.  These men, being thoroughly human, were born by natural generation, served their day and time and passed off the scene of action.  The average orthodox Jew confidently believes that the Messiah is yet to come and will be just another David who will serve his generation and pass on.

 Of the Messiah who is one of the persons of the Godhead, the Trinity, and who enters the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth, the Jew knows nothing.

 Of the Messiah who is God in human form, who having entered the world as seen above, who is put to death as an impostor, who rises from the dead, returns to heaven, and who will return to earth again and set up His glorious kingdom, the average Jew knows nothing.

 Of the time when Messiah, the Redeemer, makes His first advent into the world, the Jew knows nothing.

 As Christians know, the Messiah entered the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth nineteen hundred years ago; at the present time He is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven; and He will come again to reign a thousand years upon the earth.

 The Messianic Series

 Each of the four doctrines discussed above is presented in the first four volumes of the Messianic Series.  The first volume, The God of Israel, presents the doctrine of the Trinity.  Scores of passages of Scripture cannot be understood unless a person understands the doctrine of the Trinity as set forth in the Old Testament.  Unless the Jew is given the truth of the Trinity from the Old Testament, he cannot accept the teaching of the New Testament.

 When the Jew understands the scriptural teaching of the Trinity, he is ready to be given the Biblical teaching of the nature and person of the Messiah.  He is then in a position to be shown that one of the persons of the Holy Trinity was scheduled to take on a human body and to suffer and die for the salvation of man.  This teaching is presented in the second book of the Messianic Series, Messiah:  His Nature and Person.

 When the Jew has been given these truths from the Old Testament, he is ready to advance a step further and be given those passages which show the redemptive career of the Messiah:  the two comings of the one Messiah, separated by the interval during which He is rejected by Israel and is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, awaiting Israel’s repudiation of the national sin—the rejection and the crucifixion of the Messiah.  This phase of truth is presented in the third book of the Messianic Series,Messiah:  His Redemptive Career.

 The fourth step is to show from the prophecies the time when Messiah is scheduled to come the first time.  This phase is presented in the fourth volume of the Messianic Series, Messiah: His First Coming Scheduled.

 Having shown the Jew that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, the Christian worker should then present the predictions in both the Old and New Testaments concerning the glorious Second Coming.  Such predictions should be studied in the light of the signs of the times.  This phase of truth is presented in the sixth book of the Series, Messiah: His Glorious Appearance Imminent, First Coming Scheduled.

 When the four doctrines of Scripture, just presented here are explained to the Jewish truth seeker, then, and only then, all things being equal, is the Jew psychologically and logically ready to consider the New Testament teaching regarding Jesus of Nazareth as being the true Messiah and Saviour of the world.

 From the gospel records one sees that Jesus fulfilled every Old Testament prediction concerning the first coming of the Messiah.

  In Messiah: His Historical Appearance, the fifth book of the Messianic Series, is collated and presented, in a full and complete manner, data which will convince anyone who wants truth.  The point of view from which this book is written is the Gospel according to Matthew, which was originally written for the Jew in order to prove to him the Messiahship of Jesus.

 The final step in presenting Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah is to call the Jew’s attention to predictions that foretell that Israel must repudiate the national sin of rejection and crucifixion of Messiah when He came nineteen hundred years ago.  This phase of truth I presented in the seventh book of the Messianic Series, Messiah: His Final Call to Israel.  The closing message of this book is an appeal to the reader personally to accept Jesus as Messiah and Saviour.

 When the Biblical Research Society was organized, the Board deemed it wise not to print in one document all these seven points on which the Jew is mistaken lest he resent our efforts to give him the truth.  While each of these seven books lays emphasis on one dominant truth which is vital, each book also contains sufficient evidence and scriptural teaching to open the eyes of the Jewish truth seeker.  In other words, the Society gives the gospel message, which is taboo to the Jew, in broken doses.  These books are given in serial order so that the Jew may have opportunity to digest the teaching of one book before he attempts the next one in order.

 The coming of the first book to the Jew is like the Christian worker who pays his first visit and delivers his message.  And the coming of the seven books to one person is like seven visits.  This method we have used for 30 years and God has put His stamp of approval upon it.

 New Order of Procedure

 The impact of this world-wide seed-sowing is breaking down anti-Semitism in some places and preparing Jewry for the message of the gospel.

 While up to the present time, as stated above, we have given the gospel message to the Jews in broken doses, the Board feels confident that the time has arrived when we must shift into high gear in order to reach the greatest number of Hebrews in the shortest length of time and by the most economical method.  I have hence prepared one composite volume, containing the gist of the seven books of the messianic Series, abridged.  This book is entitled The Shepherd of Israel Seeking His Own.  It contains 176 pages.  The last chapter, “Prepare to Meet Thy God” is all new material and is an appeal to Israel as a nation and to the individual Jew to accept the true Messiah and Saviour.