The Tanach (Old Testament) does not reveal very much about heaven and hell. Yes, the concept is there. For example, Daniel 12:2 declares that some of Daniel's people will rise from the dead "...to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." And there are other passages about the death and resurrection of the evil and the righteous. However, Jewish people have little understanding of life after death.

What seems to be much clearer to Jewish people is the concept of a judgment that is coming on earth to all humanity, the living and the dead, on the Day of the Lord. This gives one an opportunity to explain to a Jewish person that everyone is going to be judged--including him. It will be only those who call on the name of the Lord who will be saved.

Indeed, virtually all the prophets speak about the coming judgment:

Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants.

The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.

Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left (Isa. 24: 1,5-6).

It is foolish for anyone to wait and continue in his own way, taking the risk that he will have a chance to repent before it is too late. Remember the words God told Ezekiel to speak to his nation:

"Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord God, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezek. 33:11).

If the one with whom you are sharing believes that he is okay, he must hear the words of the godly prophet Isaiah:

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds [note: not our bad deeds] are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isa. 64:6).

So what does one do, and when should he do it? King David said,

...Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness (Psa. 95:7,8).

David goes on to explain what happened to the forefathers who would not repent. God loathed them, and they died in the wilderness.

Moses, the giver of God's Covenant, foresaw that the people of Israel would go astray, fall into sin, and great trouble would come on them (Deut. 28). This trouble would continue to harass the Jewish nation until the people repented.

God, knowing all things, foretold that at the time when the Jewish people return to their own land, God Himself would do a work on their hearts: His people would finally turn to Him and receive His redemption.

And the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it...

...The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live (Deut. 30:5,6).

Every Jew must ask himself: Do I want to live for eternity? Or do I want to die in my sin? Do I want my children, my family and my friends to die in their sins and to come under the judgment of God? Do I want to trust that my good deeds will meet the holy standard of God? Or do I want to live and help others live also?

If the last question is answered in the affirmative, then one must LOOK FOR AN ATONEMENT TO COVER THE SINS ALREADY COMMITTED. Remember what Moses said? It is the blood that makes atonement for sins.

This is where Yeshua our Messiah provides the answer. He is the Jewish answer to the great Jewish dilemma. He is the only One Who came to earth to lay down His life as an atonement for the sins of His people. He did it just as Isaiah the prophet said He would (Isa. 53).

He is the only Person Who claimed to be the Son of God--and proved it by healing the sick, loving the poor, and giving hope to prostitutes and wicked men. He gave little attention to the self-righteous. He said He came to help sinners. Those who saw themselves as righteous did not realize their need of atonement.

Yeshua is the only person who died for our sins and then rose from the dead; some 500 Jews witnessed the fact (I Cor. 15:6). I say to my Jewish friends, "He will atone for your sins and redeem you, just as God promised you. It is a gift to you. You must only come humbly and accept this gift. Accepting this gift of atonement is admitting that you yourself are not righteous enough to cut it with God. But neither is anybody else."

For further information or to receive I Became as a Jew, you may call 1.800.856.7060. Or, email your request to maoz@onramp.net.

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