Jesus the Jew Christ the King

The Hebrew name Israel has its roots in the biblical patriarch Jacob, who wrestled with God and won (Gen. 32:28). The word means "one who sees God," alluding to the possibility that Israel includes any human being who strives for God and receives his favor. In fact, Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC-AD 40), a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth and Paul of Tarsus, distinguished his fellow Jews from Israel while still identifying them as its primary namesake. . In this book, I recognize Jesus as the ultimate Israel. I show how Hebrew leaders such as Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and David prefigured his divine example. I also correct traditional identifications of Israel as either Christendom or ethnic Jews by advancing Jesus as the fulfillment of God's old and new covenants. Furthermore, I demonstrate how the "two witnesses" in Revelation 11:3 symbolize both covenants and how each covenant remains authentic in God's eyes. . Although many theologians view either the Christian church or the Jewish people as Israel, I give Jesus this title because he is God incarnate and strived for the Father from eternity. I elaborate on this by presenting the "suffering servant" songs of Isaiah as well as Nicene and Chalcedonian views of the Trinity and of Christology. My final goal is to help Christians understand how both ecclesiastical and ethnic notions relate to Jesus, who is Israel in perfect equilibrium.