Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 NIV

A news story came out yesterday that is supposed to "shake" a Christian's faith. It concerns a stone with writing on it about a messiah who would suffer and shed blood but would be resurrected in three days. The story goes on to say that it shakes a Christian's faith because Jesus (and the disciples) obviously adopted an earlier story and sort of made it fit their own situation. The tablet dates to about the first century BC.

I disagree, well with the part about it shaking a Christian's faith. All this does is prove that this Simon in the writings, and his followers, knew the Scriptures and the prophecies therein. Isaiah, for instance, was written about 700 years before Christ was born. That Book contains oodles of predictions of the coming Messiah. All of the predictions in Isaiah, and in Daniel and other prophetic Books of the Bible, were fulfilled in Christ.

Where Israel missed Him was in the point of a Messiah who would redeem her from earthly tyrants...not from her own sins. This point is brought out in the above mentioned article. The Jews are still looking for a Saviour...an earthly one.

I agree that Israel will be redeemed, but it won't be here, at least not until the new heavens and the new earth are established. Israel, in her entirety (and I think, but don't quote me, that the Bible means many Jews from all 12 tribes) will be saved.