If Stones Could Speak with Baruch Korman

Part 2: Baruch Korman Presentation

Baruch Korman: We are indeed living in some unusual times. As we heard last night that this world is becoming highly antisemitic, highly against the existence of the nation of Israel. But that should not surprise us if we have a prophetic perspective, because when I read prophecy, I am told that all the nations of the world, did you hear that, all the nations of the world will go up to Israel to make war in regard to Jerusalem. And when I look at Jeremiah 30:7, it says in Hebrew, et tzara le-Ya’akov, which means “a time of trouble for Jacob.” And here Jacob is referring to Israel.

But there’s good news, because if we continue to read in that seventh verse, it says, vemimna hu yentzel, which means, “and from it, he will be saved.” Now, what that tells me is that we should be optimistic, because even though this world is highly against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, when we look at the God of the Scriptures, we find that He is most pro-Israel. And if God is for us, it does not matter who is against us.

Now, I want you to take out your Bible. We’re going to be in two locations, one very briefly, and then we’re going to spend most of our time in a passage that you’re very familiar with, called the Triumphant Entry. But I hope that we can look at it perhaps differently than what you normally think about this passage. But the assignment that I have received is called “If These Stones Could Talk.”

Now, what’s interesting is this, when I was assigned that phrase, “if stones could cry out,” the first thing I did was this, I Googled it. And when you do that, you get assistance from AI. And let me just simply say that I vehemently disagree with Mr. AI, because when you look at that, it says that you should not take this passage literally, it is symbolic, because we all know that stones can’t cry out. That’s false, because you never see with Mr. AI any recognition that this is a prophetic passage.

I’m not talking about what is found in Luke 19, but I’m talking about the basis for that, from the book of Habakkuk 2. That’s where we see that original context for that statement, “If Stones Could Cry Out,” and we’ll see why Messiah spoke as He did during this Triumphant Entry. But I want us to begin very briefly by looking at the book of Romans 8, the book of Romans 8, because I want to begin with highly good news, good news in regard to a change that is coming, a Kingdom change.

It says in verse 19, Romans 8:19, “For creation has an eager expectation.” I wonder if that describes you, because God is going to fulfill His Word. He is going to keep all of His promises, both to Israel and to the Church. And we should be excited about that. We should be expecting God’s faithfulness in everything that He does. So look again, “For creation with eager expectation waits.” Now what are they waiting for? It says, “For the revealing of the sons of God.” Now, notice it doesn’t say daughters, it says, son.

Now, why is that? Because, biblically speaking, the term son has some significance. When we talk about sonship, the first thing that should come into our mind is a servant. A son is called to serve his father. And then secondly, a son, even though a daughter has an inheritance, a son has that special inheritance. And we see that God is encouraging us, that if we are faithful to serve Him, then we are going to experience this marvelous inheritance.

Look now to verse 21, “Because this creation also will be set free from the bondage of corruption.” Now that word, corruption, if you do a good study of it, it is directly tied to sin. And let’s be more specific, the consequences of sin. And what we’re told is this, that we should have that eager expectation, because we who are going to experience a kingdom reality, a kingdom eternity, we are never going to know the consequence of sin, because our Lord and Savior paid the price in full for us. So there’s good news in this passage.

Look again, “Because creation itself will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the freedom,” I like that word, “into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Now, notice the difference, in verse 19, we see the word sons, but in verse 21, we have the word children. They’re not interchangeable. There is a significant difference between them. A son is a servant; a son is an heir. But whenever that word children appear in the Bible, it speaks about endearment, it speaks about love.

And what we find is this, everything that God’s going to do, it is because God is love, and He loves holiness, He loves righteousness, and He loves to manifest His glory. And He’s going to do that in an awesome way as He establishes His Kingdom. But keep reading, because that Kingdom, we should have that eager expectation. But the problem is this, it’s not now. And notice what the Scripture says in verse 22. “For we know that all of creation groans together and suffers together until now.” That’s that present reality that causes us to groan and to suffer.

But whenever we see that expression in the Bible, “until now,” get ready, because change is coming. And that’s what we see in this final verse. Look now to verse 23. It says, “But not only this.” Now that is another Greek idiom that tells us that change is coming. Not only this, but God’s going to do something more. And what is that? It says, “But also these.” Those are the ones who had the first fruit of the Spirit.

Now, who’s he talking to? He’s talking to believers. Those who’ve experienced God’s grace, those who know the salvation. And by the way, that word, salvation, is a word of victory. So you can be assured if you have experienced salvation through God’s redemptive plan, you are going to know eternal victory.

But he says here, “But we ourselves, in ourselves, we groan.” Now, it’s a word of sorrow. It’s a word of pain. But what are we waiting for? What are we expecting? Just keep reading. It says that we should be expecting adoption. Now, some Bibles will say, “divine adoption,” because the one who’s adopting is God. And what it tells us is that we’re going to experience this adoption…and notice the consequences. It says, “This adoption into sons.”

And then it concludes with a very important statement where it says the redemption of our body. Now, do you understand what Paul is referring to here when he says, “the redemption of our body.” Remember, we are going to be set free from the bondage of corruption, and we are going to receive a new body. And when is that? At the time of what Paul calls our blessed hope. It gives us hope that we are going to experience eternal blessing.

And then it tells us that, likewise, we are going to receive that new body that will never be tied to mortality, never tied or connected to corruption, but we are going to know and manifest the glory of God. But there’s a difference. Now, when Messiah was on that Mount of Transfiguration, He Himself emitted the glory of God. That’s not us. We are going to reflect the glory of God. It is because of Him in our life, and Him changing our life, that we are going to be instruments that praise Him, glorify Him, and demonstrate that He, as we talked about last night, is that way, the truth, and that He, and He alone, gives life.

Now, what I want us to do with the rest of the time that I have is I want you to turn to the book of Luke 19, the book of Luke 19. We’re going to begin in verse 37. And again, this passage is known as the Triumphant Entry. Why? Because Messiah had His intention to do something that gave to His followers, gave to His people, and gave even to Israel, this victory, this triumph. But here’s the problem. If you are not expectant, if you do not have that eager expectation, you’re not going to be ready.

And my sadness is this, as I travel and go to different theological institutions, I see that, more and more, among the evangelicals, they deny that blessed hope, the Rapture. And you know what that tells me? See, if you remember Romans 8, these few verses we looked at, if you are a true believer, you cannot have peace in this world, because you are going to be like all of Creation, which is groaning and suffering together, because we don’t like the world. We don’t belong to this place. We are sojourners and foreigners and aliens. Why?

Because our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. And we want that change. And hopefully you want that change now. You’re not at peace, but you want the fulfillment of God’s promises and His blessings. And this is why Messiah came the first time. This is what He wanted to do, and He wanted to do it first and foremost, for Israel. Now, that’s not an exclusive club.

Last night I enjoyed, by the way, Avi’s message very much, and in that, if you pay close attention, and I was, he spoke about a verse from the book of Romans 11 where it says, “And all Israel will be saved.” Now, that does not mean that every Jewish person is going to find salvation, experience that redemption through the blood of the Lamb. I wish it would, but it’s not.

What he talks about “all of Israel,” we have to be guided by the context of Paul’s words. Remember what he says a few verses earlier, he talks about the fullness of the nations, the fullness of the Gentiles, and he says, “when they come in,” so when that number is complete, what’s God going to do? God is going to pivot back to Israel, because we know something, that God is going to bring a remnant of every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language. Now, we read from the Abrahamic Covenant that God’s desire is to bless all the families of the Earth. That’s His desire. But it’s conditional.

We learn from Abraham, it’s conditional on faith, on receiving that Gospel. Now, why do I say that? Well, if you read sometime Galatians 3:16, it tells us that this Abrahamic Covenant, the foundation of it, who’s called the seed of Abraham, notice seed in the singular, that seed is Messiah. So the only way to experience that blessing is through faith in the seed of Abraham in the Messiah. And we know that there’s going to be a remnant from every nation, every tribe, every people, every language, including the nation of Israel.

As we learned last night from Avi, God has not replaced Israel with the Church, but God is going to, in the last days, He is going to move mightily in order to bring that remnant. And we know very clearly from the Book of Zechariah that 1/3 remnant that is going to be brought into the Kingdom the same way, because there’s only one way. And that is through that Gospel, through that plan of salvation, through the redemption that comes through the Lamb of God. So we have one way, and God is going to manifest His faithfulness to the Jewish people in the last days.

Now remember what I quoted. There’s going to be a war, Zechariah 14. All the nations of the Earth are going to want to make war for Jerusalem. And there will be a time of trouble for Jacob. All of this is going to happen. Why? Why would God allow it? He has a reason, because through this time of trouble, through this persecution, the greatest number of Jewish people will come to faith. Never question God. Never doubt the ways of God. He’s going to demonstrate His faithfulness.

But I want you to look at Luke 19, and let’s begin with verse 37. We read here, “But he, drawing near to the descent of the Mount of Olives.” Now, there’s an additional word in the Greek text that is so often ignored. It is the Greek word, which is translated “already.” And whenever that word appears, it gives the context for whatever verse it’s found in and emphatic, it emphasizes something. And we see here that Messiah is coming, and He’s getting ready to descend, because He’s on the Mount of Olives, but He’s coming to Jerusalem, and He’s going to go down that descent in order to cross over the Kidron Valley and enter into the Holy City, the city of Jerusalem.

And notice what happens. Keep reading in verse 37, “And all the multitude of the disciples.” Now notice we’re not just talking about those 12 disciples, but there was a larger group of followers of those who believed in Christ, and were loyal to Him, that were His disciples. And notice what they began to do. Look again, “And all the multitude of the disciples, they began to rejoice.” And this rejoicing had a purpose. It wasn’t rejoicing in themselves, but it was rejoicing, keep reading, “to praise God with a great voice, concerning the powerful things which they had seen.”

Part 3

Tim Moore: Baruch makes a clear point that Jesus’ disciples who have seen Him do great things, and are excited about His coming, then to Jerusalem, and even now back to the Earth, can’t help but praise Him with a loud voice. With only a fraction of the Church excited about His coming and vocal about their testimony to His greatness, it makes you wonder if we’re about to see stones crying out all around us.

Nathan Jones: Well, during our Conference, our various speakers answered questions submitted by our audience. One person inquired about the rules regarding Jewish immigration to Israel, a relevant topic, given the rising antisemitism around the world. Baruch was candid about the challenge presented to Messianic Jews still today.

Part 4: Brief Q&A

Tim Moore: A lot of people will wonder if the Jewish people living in Israel today, and it’s a very diverse group of people in Israel, are the direct descendants of Old Testament Israel. There is a misrepresentation, “Well, that’s not really the Jewish people. They intermarried so much, they kind of diluted the bloodline, if you will.” And another question is regarding government policy of allowing Jews to emigrate, to “make Aliyah.” Can just anyone who claims to be Jewish, what if they have a Gentile and a Jewish parent? What are some of the provisions today for coming home to Israel for a Jewish person?

Baruch Korman: First of all, you need to be halachically Jewish, which means you need to be able to prove that by Jewish law. So being partially Jewish, there is really no partial Jew. If your mother’s Jewish, then you are Jewish. And if you’re not a believer, then you’re entitled to come back to Israel. If you are a believer and happen to be Jewish, then that law does not apply to you.

Tim Moore: A believer in Yeshua specifically?

Baruch Korman: Yes.

Tim Moore: All right, an exception for those. So Baruch, how did you get there?

Baruch Korman: Well, we were an exception…

Tim Moore: You’re a secret agent?

Baruch Korman: because we were very active in the Jewish community in Miami. And because of that, the orthodox synagogue that I went to, also the shaliach, which is the representative of the Israeli government, also would go to that synagogue during the week. So when we decided that we felt led to move to Israel, it was just very easy for us. In fact, we went on a Wednesday, and got the forms, Thursday we delivered them, and on Sunday we were approved. So it happened very quickly.

Tim Moore: Wow. I wish our government worked that quickly.

Part 5

Tim Moore: Well, Nathan, it seems obvious that even today, within Israel, the Jewish community, there continues to be an antagonism toward Christians, or even Messianic Jews, born out of a long history of persecution from the Gentile church.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, it was quite eye-opening to see how many of our speakers still fear the Gentile world in general. Because of all the pogroms and the Holocaust that have happened to them, they’re very wary of Gentiles.

Tim Moore: You know, and the sad thing to me is that even in the midst of this war, you know, I’m not terribly surprised that the Lord protects Israel. I celebrate every time He prevents the ballistic missiles from doing as much damage as they could have done, even the hypersonic missiles. But what I shouldn’t even say surprises me, but highly disappoints me, is the continuing antisemitism of turning against the Jews, even in their hour of greatest need, as we’ve seen these past two years.

Nathan Jones: Yes. Well, we know the background behind it all is Satanic, and Satan is always going to try to drive the Jewish people out because they’re going to usher in the coming of the Messiah. So they’ve got to try to stop the Jewish people anyway they can. And it’s so obvious for those who have spiritual eyes to see.

Tim Moore: It really is obvious if we have spiritual eyes to see. I’ll tell you folks, we posted a tremendous link to a sermon by a friend of ours, one of our trustees, Terry Cooper, talking about Satan’s agenda all the way since the garden to destroy the seed, and even the promise of God. So I’d encourage you to visit our website at christinprophecy.org in order to link through to that sermon. I know it’ll be a blessing to you.

Closing

Tim Moore: Well, we’re going to wrap up our conversation today, but obviously Baruch had much, much more to say, and his answer to a question about the threat from Gaza captures the grieving heart of every Israeli who has had to deal, or come to grips with, the Satanic hatred aimed at them from terrorists on every side.

Nathan Jones: We pray that those threats have been deterred for now, but recognize that Israel will continue to be at the center of world attention, and the primary target for Satan’s efforts to thwart God’s will, and prove Him a liar. The Evil One will never succeed, but he will sow death and destruction as often as possible.

Tim Moore: During our Conference, we made a point to take a group photograph with everyone in attendance to testify that “We stand with Israel.” If you share our conviction that God still blesses those who bless the Jewish descendants of Abraham, we’d invite you to partner with us. We support a number of Sister Ministries in Israel, including Avi Mizrachi and Baruch Korman. Or you can contribute to their ministries by name through Lamb & Lion.

Nathan Jones: And if you would like to get a copy of the flash drive or DVD that contains all of the Conference presentations, along with bonus material, and two Question and Answer sessions, just call the number on the screen, or visit our online store. For only $25, we’ll be glad to ship you a copy to view over and over again, or to share with your family and friends.

Tim Moore: We’ll be back next week with another message from a powerful Messianic teacher who shares the truth about Yeshua to the Jewish Diaspora in America, from the home of the largest contention of Jews outside Israel itself. We hope you’ll join us.

Until then, don’t let any stones cry out on YOUR behalf, “Hosanna to the Son of David” — our Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. Godspeed!

End of Program