Jesus asked His twelve chosen disciples who they thought He was:  “…who do you say that I am?”  (Luke 9:19)
Peter answered for himself and probably for the other eleven, “You are the Christ of God!”  (Luke 9:20)  Then Jesus warned them not to tell anyone…why would He say that?

  The disciples’ perspective: 
He was (and is) Messiah, the Anointed One of God.  He will reign as King one day…why not proclaim to the nation of Israel that He was there, poised to take control of the government into His hands?

From Jesus’ perspective:
(NASB) Luke 9:22 “…‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.’”

Wait a minute!  Suffer?  Rejected by the spiritual leaders of Israel?  Killed?  And what do You mean ‘raised up on the third day’ (which these twelve men totally ignored).

Today’s perspective of people concerning Israel:
Israel doesn’t stand a chance against her enemies…they surround her, they have many other countries as allies.  Economically, she is history if the global economy collapses.

God’s perspective:
(NASB) Micah 5:2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
[Jesus was born in Bethlehem and came to save His people from their sins.  When He comes the second time, He will come to be King over all the earth.]

(NIV) Hebrews 8:10  “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
[The Lord God has not given up on His people…He promised!]

(NIV) Romans 11:25-27 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’”

(NASB) Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel”

Read God’s words…

Watch God work in the events of this world…

 Expect to see great things!