There is only one Head of Christ, one Body of Christ, one goal, one destiny of all true saints. The Head of Christ is Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord of Heaven and earth. Christ, the Anointed Deliverer, the Servant of the Lord, includes the Lord Jesus, who is the exalted Head, and also the saints who form the Body of the Head. To plant the heavens, to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, "You are My people"—this is the work of Christ.

First we will speak of the Person of Christ, and then of the work of Christ. We will discuss the work of Christ in three parts: planting the heavens; laying the foundations of the earth; and saying to Zion, "Thou art my people."

The Person of Christ

The Lord Jesus, the Rabbi from Nazareth, is Christ. He is the Son of God. Christ of the Hebrew Prophets has come in the flesh. He is Israel in a very real sense. He is the Servant of the Lord who is to return in the future and bring justice to the nations of the earth.

The terms Christ and Messiah are synonyms. In this essay we will use only "Christ" when speaking of the Anointed One of God.

In our day there is a disturbing lack of understanding concerning the "Jewishness" of the Christian redemption. In fact, the abomination of anti-Semitism is found among professing Christian people. One wonders how supposedly devout people who profess faith in the Christ of Israel could be anti-Semitic! In addition, the deplorable Christian doctrine that states there is a Gentile Church and a separate Jewish Kingdom makes a correct interpretation of the Scriptures impossible.

The idea that the Christian Church has replaced the physical and land of Israel also is total error.

We would like to help with the program of restoring the concept of the Jewishness of our common salvation. We hope also to aid our understanding of the convergence of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, with the destiny of the nation of Israel. The destiny of the physical nation of Israel is set forth by the Hebrew Prophets and it is also the destiny of the Christian Church.

Nowhere in the Scriptures is a destiny of the Christian Church presented that is different from the destiny of the nation of Israel. The goal of the redemption of Israel is the restoration of Jerusalem as the center of power, authority, law, instruction, righteousness, and blessing for the whole earth (Isaiah 62:1).

The goal of the Christian salvation is exactly the same: the restoration of Jerusalem as the center of power, authority, law, instruction, righteousness, and blessing for the whole earth.

Our goal as Christians is to become part of the new Jerusalem —the city whose gates are named after the sons of Jacob. The new Jerusalem will be the center of power, authority, law, instruction, righteousness, and blessing for the nations of saved peoples of the earth.

Will we Gentiles be resting in mansions in Heaven while the Throne of God and of the Lamb are in the new Jerusalem on the earth? Let us hope not!

To be continued.