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The Book of Esther Painting Failure highlight Israel as a witness of God

Missiological Overview (Part 4)

Budi Kasmanto

Missiology learn mandate, message and missionary work. The noun "mission" means a mission, the verb meaning to send, send, let go.

In the book of Revelation John writes, And I will give jobs to my two witnesses, that they prophesy while mourning, one thousand two hundred and sixty days (Rev. 11: 3). The question is, who are the two witnesses of the God?

The following article shows that Israel and the Church a mandate or mission from God to task testimony. Both have a duty to proclaim the glory of God revealed through his deeds his wonderful. But through the book of Esther can be seen that Israel failed to carry out the mission of God

God established Israel as His witnesses.
God said through the prophet Isaiah. Yes. 43:10: "You is my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, and after I will not go there again. (See also 43:12 and 44: 8).

Determination of Israel to be His witnesses starting with the election of Abraham (Gen. 12: 1-3), passed to Isaac and Jacob and his sons were called Israel. God's purpose is to make Israel a nation that believes in Him, obey Him, worship Him and glorify His name as well as a testimony to the world that God is almighty living among them.

God's glory shine on Israel when it led his nation out of Egypt and brought him to the promised land. Great deeds God has done in that time. And all that he did in front of all Israel, as it says in Deut. 11: 7 For your own eyes that have seen all the great deeds of the Lord.

And the great deeds of God which is the binder for the nation to worship Him. It is said in the Right. 2: 7 And the people, serve the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel (see also the book of Josh. 24: 31).

But after Joshua and the elders, who saw the miraculous deeds of God, dead of Israel living in disobedience, not worship Allah, but the worship of idols. They provoked the Lord to leave him and bowed down to Baal (Jdg. 2: 10-12). Their lives are no longer radiate the glory of God. They failed to become witnesses of God.

After days of Judges passing, David came mennjadi chosen by God to witness to the glory of His name. The life story and wrote the psalms indicate that David fraternize with Allah and worship Him sincerely. David bring Israel into a nation that worshiped God. But Solomon, David's son, endowed with wisdom and extraordinary wealth to end his life with idolatry. And then it can be said that the people of Israel always true evil in the sight of God. They are always rebelling against God so that it ends with the disposal of the promised land.

In captivity, the Book of Esther, it appears that they failed to become witnesses of God. They do not worship God and live in sin, like the sin of their predecessors. As a nation, they failed in the mission of God, to be a witness to the nations of the greatness and glory.

To clarify Israel's failure as his witness, as recorded in the Book of Esther, God calls and displays a small group of Jews, who are also living in exile, who was a witness to his name, which proclaim God could do great deeds. They are Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Contrary to Mordecai makes King Ahasuerus glorify himself (Est. 10: 2) and bring the Jews honor and glorify him (Est. 10: 3) Daniel is a testimony to God's name by making kings and pagan nations see and praise God's omnipotence Israel from the worship (see the book of Dan. 2:47; 4:37; 6:27).

But the history of Israel does not stop at the peak of their failure, because God is still dealing with them. His eyes still look at them with love. And the Bible testifies that God will do great deeds and magic on Israel, namely by raising them.

The resurrection of Israel prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah, and is quoted by Paul in the book of Rm.11: 26-27, And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "From Zion will come the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness of Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins ".


In the book of Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel described Israel as the bones were very dry scattered, an overview of the state of the lost and the terrible humiliation. But Ezekiel also prophesied the rise of the nation's choice. Yeh. 37: 13-14 reads, you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your grave graves and raise you ... I will put my spirit in you and ye shall live ...

God established the Church as His witnesses.

Life in exile in a foreign land is a state that is contrary to the will of God for Israel and Jerusalem render glory to His name.

Thus the Jews in the disposal worship Him, God separated a small part led him to return to Judah. But in its development, their home was eventually not worship properly to God, because the scribes, the successor to Ezra, teaching them etiquette of worship outwardly.

The gospels record the life and worship those who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, that this nation glorifies God only with their lips, while his heart away from Him and worship as they follow the precepts of men (Matt. 15: 8-9).

From the Gospels can be seen that later Jesus took a small number of Jews to follow him, became his disciples. And after the death and resurrection, He called them to be witnesses for Him (see Lk. 24:48 and Acts. 1: 8) are filled with His Spirit and sent forth to testify about the great things God has done! (see Acts. 2:11). But the greatest works of God should be the main news is that He raised Christ from the dead, whereby man can have forgiveness of sins and have the hope of life with God in his glory.

For other nations, the great deeds of God is calling them out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2: 9). Or from pagan became worshipers and servants of God living and true (1Tes.1: 9-10). And the believers, the Church or the Church of God, has a duty to pass on the Good News of the resurrection of Christ to the ends of the earth and in the period until His return.

Not only preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to the nations, the Church also received the task to explain the events that occurred at the end of time, preaching the virtues of God, he has done miraculously against Israel.

Daniel wrote that at the end a lot of people will search the Scriptures and acquire knowledge about it (Dan. 12: 4) and that the only sensible people who would understand (verses 9-10). While John testified in the book of Revelation. 22: 6 And he said to me: "These words right and true, and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon."

Wise men called Daniel and His servants whom John refers to the Church. Church or believers of Christ acquire the task of investigating the Scriptures and to explain the events that occurred involving Israel or Jews, who today follow his own path until they perceive and acknowledge that Jesus is God Yahweh who declared themselves to servants his Old Testament times, that Jesus is the Messiah that they look forward to his coming.

Israel and the Church is God's two witnesses with different characteristics. While Israel is a witness of God in their disobedience, while the Church testified by their vocation as believers of Christ. The object of the Church's testimony is Israel, and all the events that happened to him happened by the great deeds of God.

Towards the end of time there will be the conversion of the people of Israel. Church of the people of Israel and the Church of the Gentiles into God's two witnesses who prophesy or preach the great deeds of God, as stated in Revelation. 11: 3 which has been quoted above.

Both witnesses are complementary, into a single, flowing in the design of God and leads to glory and glory of God in Jesus Christ.


Note: At the fifth (last) series of this writing the Book of Esther will be reviewed as typological and indicated that Mordecai is a type of false Messiahs. Will also be presented the outline of the appearance of the false Messiah.

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