Chris Katulka: Thank you for joining us for the Friends of Israel Today. My name is Chris Katulka. I'm the host and teacher. If you've never heard of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, I want to encourage you to go to our website, foiradio.org. There, you can listen to over nine years worth of content on our site. We love to teach the Bible from a Jewish perspective. Did you know that the Bible is Jewish? That's right. Jewish through and through. So be sure to go to Foiradio.org and there you can hear great teaching, insightful interviews with a host of great guests and so much more. Again, that's foiradio.org. And if you are just tuning in as well and you've never received a copy of our award-winning Christian magazine, Israel My Glory, where we look at what's going on with Israel and the Jewish people from a biblical worldview, I want to encourage you once again to get your year-free subscription by going to foiradio.org.

Now today, we're going to wrap up a series that we've been doing on the glory of God. A very popular phrase that you hear from the scriptures you hear in worship songs talking about God's glory. Well, we've been looking at the history of what the glory actually means in the Old Testament, and today we're going to be wrapping it up in the New Testament as we see Jesus, the glory of God.

But first in the news, the IDF confirmed the death of senior Hezbollah commander, Sami Taleb Abdullah. The Israeli military struck the Hezbollah command and control center in Southern Lebanon, where at least four people were killed, including the Hezbollah commander. Abdullah planned, advanced, and carried out a large number of terror attacks against Israelis. Well, here's my take. Not long after Abdullah's death, Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel launching 170 rockets into the Northern Galilee region. All eyes are on Gaza right now. But Israel's eyes are on Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, the West Bank and more. They need your prayers from Psalm 122:6, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Chris Katulka: Well, today we're wrapping up a three-part series on the glory of God. Maybe last Sunday you sang about the glory of God in a worship song, or you maybe read a passage that talked about God's glory from the scriptures. I'm sure that this is a phrase that you have heard at some point in your life, but what in the world does it even mean, the glory of God? The word glory in the Bible is used some 300 times. In the Old Testament. The common word for glory in Hebrew is kavod. While in the New Testament, the Greek word is doxa. There are other Hebrew and Greek words for glory, but these are the most common in the original languages of the Bible. Plus every time the phrase; glory of God or glory of the Lord is used, the word is either kavod in Hebrew or doxa in Greek.

Okay, so kavod in Hebrew, or glory, is extremely interesting. I always want to bring this up as we've been going through this series because Dr. Benjamin Summers gives great definition to this word kavod. The word means heaviness, but it can really mean substance. The glory of the Lord is best translated as the heaviness of the Lord or the substance of the Lord. See, that definition of glory is much different than our English understanding of the word. Now, last week we looked at the glory or substance of the Lord in the Old Testament, and what we saw is that the glory or substance of the Lord is often associated with his appearance to the Israelites. It's God's physical manifestation, which is just a technical way of saying this, God appeared to be with his people. It wasn't some ethereal appearing or some dream. It's not mystical. God physically came down. The substance of God, the physical presence of God came down in the form of a cloud by day and a fire by night.

Scholars actually believed that the cloud was a sheath. It was a sheath that covered the glory, the substance of God, which was actually the fire. And the fire could actually only be seen at night when it shined through the sheath. The cloud. Well, the Book of Exodus reveals several ways that God's substance or glory came to Moses in Israel. God came to Moses in the burning bush that was not consumed. God's glory rested atop Mount Sinai, and finally, God's glory dwelled with the Israelites in the tabernacle. God was physically present with them. The Israelites saw Him. They saw the true king of Israel, and that true king of Israel was present with His people.

Now that God's glory, His substance, His presence is with the people. That means God's unfiltered holiness is present too. That's actually just an amazing concept to wrestle with, but it's also kind of a scary one as well. The reason God had a tabernacle built was so that his holiness could reside with an unholy sinful people. Now last week, we looked at David and Solomon's relationship with God's glory. God's substance. How David came to have a proper reverence for God's kavod, His presence, and how Solomon built a temple for God's presence to dwell with His people. And if you didn't get a chance to listen to last week's program and you want to catch up on this series, you can go to foiradio.org, and there you can hear last week's program and more. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Now I want you to fast-forward to the days of Jesus. Do you remember last week when I mentioned God substance? His presence came down into Solomon's temple. Well, after Solomon's temple was destroyed, the kavod of God never came down like it did in the first temple. And then that second temple received a major facelift by a very famous man that you probably have heard of before, Herod the Great. The temple in Jerusalem was one of the most beautiful temples in all of the Roman Empire during the days of Jesus, but none of that actually mattered because God's substance, his kavod, his presence still wasn't in the Holy of Holies like it was in the tabernacle or like it was in Solomon's temple. This fact becomes important to how we understand what the Jewish people were feeling during the days of Jesus. Religious Jewish people knew the temple was devoid of God's glory.

They knew His physical presence was absence in the holy of Holies. It's the reason they were longing for a messiah to come. The Messiah they believed would lead the Jewish people back to God. He would deliver them from their enemies, the Romans, and God's glory, his kavod would return. The Jewish people have been waiting for God's glory to return to Israel even to this very day. But here's the thing. God's glory did return, but just not the way they expected it to. Listen to how John's gospel describes the birth of Jesus. This is John 1:14. Listen, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory glories of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth."

Now listen, I want to go back to the tabernacle and temple moments here so you can hear the similarities to John 1:14. In Exodus 40:34-35, it says this; "Then the cloud, the glory, the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the kavod, the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the kavod, the substance, the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."

Fast forward to 1 Kings 8, when Solomon finally finishes the first temple, and it says this, "When the priest came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud for the kavod, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he would dwell in darkness. I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell forever." Two amazing moments in the history of the Old Testament when God's kavod his presence, his substance came down into the tabernacle and came down into the temple.

So you can see the similarities between these important verses. Exodus 40, the glory, the kavod, the substance came down into the tabernacle. 1 Kings 8, the glory, the substance came down into the temple. And now look, as Jewish people in the days of Jesus, were looking for the glory of the Lord to return to the temple, what are they looking around for? They're waiting for this, I guess cloud by day and fire by night. But what they really did was they missed the event. John 1:14, he tells us, "The glory came down and dwelled." Jesus is Emmanuel, which in Hebrew means God with us. God's presence was walking among his people. Now remember what happened to the glory when he left the temple before its destruction in the Old Testament. We talked about that briefly in the previous segment, but in Ezekiel 9 through 11, Ezekiel reveals God's substance, his kavod, his presence leaving the Holy of Holies, and it moved east through the temple out of the East gate down this valley called the Kidron Valley over to the Mount of Olives, and then God's kavod departed. God's presence substance departed from Israel.

So now that you know God's glory returned in the person of Jesus Christ, the word became flesh and his glory, kavod, his doxa, as it says, was among us, and you've got to see what happens next. Before we get there, we're going to take a quick break, so stick around.

I was just speaking with our executive producer, Steve Conover, and he reminded me of an Israel, My Glory magazine that we did all about God's holiness, all about God's presence, his kavod, his substance that came down. And so I want to introduce you, if you've never heard of Israel, My Glory before to our award-winning Christian magazine. That's right. We've been around since 1942, producing biblical content about Israel and the Jewish people. Enough getting all of your information from the media. It's time to understand what God is doing in the Middle East through Israel and the Jewish people by getting our magazine, Israel My Glory. Now listen, if you have never subscribed before, this is a great opportunity for you to get our digital edition, which will give you access to the issue that I was talking about, Our Holy God.

So if you get the digital edition of Israel My Glory, you'll actually get 45 years of content right at your fingertips on your iPhone, your computer. You can read all these amazing articles from Israel My Glory. And let me say this, for those subscribers out there who listen to our program, if you don't get the digital edition, you can upgrade as well by going to our website. So in a moment, Steve's going to share with you how you can get your hands on this one year free subscription of Israel My Glory, and how you can access 45 years of content right at your fingertips.

Steve Conover: It's a great resource. Chris, I know I'm there all the time with a search. If I have a topic or a scripture reference, israelmyglory.org is the place to go first. And we'll make it easy for you so you don't have to jump around different websites. Just go to foiradio.org, and we'll make sure you have a link to our Israel My Glory digital website.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back, everyone. We are continuing and actually wrapping up our series here on the kavod, the Glory of God, the substance of God, and we had just mentioned how God's glory left the first temple. The first temple was destroyed. They rebuilt a second temple in the Old Testament, the Jewish people, but God's glory never came back, and that's what the Jewish people have been longing for. God's kavod, His presence to return to the temple. But see, in the days of Jesus, they missed it. It did come. The glory of God, according to John 1:14, returned in the person of Jesus Christ. Now you gotta watch this: in Matthew 21, Jesus is standing on top of the Mount of Olives, the mountain that's east of the temple in Jerusalem.

And Jesus is on top of the Mount of Olives and he sent his two disciples saying this, "Go into the village in front of you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her, untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, "The Lord needs them," and he will send them at once." This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets saying, "Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the fowl of a beast of burden."

Okay, so Jesus is fulfilling what the prophet Zachariah prophesied, that Israel's King would come mounted on a donkey. But also notice the path he's taking. He started at the top of the Mount of Olives and he's traveling down this valley called the Kidron Valley in order to make his way where? Into the temple, which is exactly what he does. Listen to the rest of the account here, starting in verse seven of Matthew 21:

“They brought the donkey and the colt and they put on them their cloaks. And he sat on them. And most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the ground. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowd that went before him and followed him shouting, "Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." And when they entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred saying, "Who is this?" And the crowd said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee." 

There's something interesting to pick up on here. As Jesus is making his way down the Kidron Valley to the temple, people are crying out that he's the king, but when he makes his way into Jerusalem, it says that the whole city was stirred up and they asked, "Who is this guy?" And the crowd replied, "Oh, this is the prophet, Jesus." Yes, Jesus fulfills the duty of a prophet, but he's more than a prophet. He's Israel's king. He's the Messiah.

The nation of Israel would go on to reject him, turn their back on him. And even more interesting is that after his journey into Jerusalem, he enters the temple and what does he do? He overturns the tables. It's almost like a scene from Ezekiel 8 through 11. God's people turn their back on him again. They rejected their king. They rejected the glory of the Lord. Their rejection of Christ was seen fully when the religious leaders convinced the Romans to have Jesus crucified. He hung on a cross, was buried, but gloriously came, bursting from the grave, resurrecting, proving yes, that he is the king of Israel who defeated the greatest enemy; sin. Ask yourself a few questions here. Did the Jewish people come to believe that Jesus was the king of Israel? Well, only a handful of them. Really, no.

Even John opens his gospel in John 1:11 when he says that Jesus came to his own and his own people did not receive him. They rejected him. And Jesus took the same path, the glory, the kavod, the substance of God did in Ezekiel 11. The risen Lord, the glory of God, Jesus left Jerusalem went down that valley up to the Mount of Olives and was in Acts 1, lifted up. He ascended and just as Jesus was ascending into heaven, two men, what happened? They're standing there by the disciples, they were wearing white robes and they said, "Men of Galilee, disciples, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven." Look, these angelic messengers were even telling the disciples, Jesus, the glory is coming back.

And you know where he is coming back to. That's right. The Mount of Olives. You know what's amazing when you read the Prophet Zechariah? He tells you exactly where the Messiah is going to come. He tells you in Zechariah 14:4. "On that day, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley." Jesus is following the same path the glory did in Ezekiel. He will return to the Mount of Olives in glory and power and he will walk into the temple in Jerusalem and establish himself as Israel's king. And the glory will return, just as Ezekiel, just as Zechariah the prophet had promised. See, the glory of God is more than just a heavenly concept. The glory is the substance. It's the kavod. It's the presence of God with His creation. And God's glory will once again return to his people.

Steve Conover: Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor, Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: I often go to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Many go to the world to read the Psalms. They arrive very early and read so fast no one can understand them so they can return to their homes as soon as possible. I recently saw a group of young men there who were reading the Psalms in this manner, and I approached one young man whose Bible was open to Psalm 24. I asked if he understood what he was reading at supersonic speed. He replied, "It is my job to come here every day and read the Psalms. Are you now trying to teach me how to read them?" I told him, "The Lord is not concerned with who can read the Psalms the fastest. He is concerned with what is in your heart. I see your Bible is open to Psalm 24. Do you know the one about whom King David is speaking?"

The other young men around him entered the conversation and examined the passage. After a few minutes, they ask, "Why should we break our heads trying to interpret the Psalm? A rabbi will tell you." They then call to the rabbi, who came over and immediately asked me, "What do you want with these young men?" I responded, "Rabbi, as a believer in God, I am against this degrading of our God. You call on Him every day when you say the Shema Yisrael. Yet here you read about Him as if you are not interested or do not even know who He is. In His psalm, it is written, lift up your heads and the king of glory shall come. Who is this king of glory? Tell me, Rabbi, do you know who this king of glory is? If you would read this Psalm slowly to understand the meaning, you would know the one about whom it is written. All the time you and these young men spend here at the wall is nothing more than what King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:2. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity."

The Rabbi thought for a long time and finally asked, "Who gave you the authority to come here and tell these people how to read the Psalms?" I replied, "If you read Ezekiel 33, you will learn who gave me the authority and responsibility to come here and warn wicked people like yourselves to turn to the Lord." The rabbi shouted, "How can you say I am wicked?" "Because you worship idols and dance around the golden calf," I replied, "But I worship the living God. I never sacrifice a chicken as a personal offering for my sins on Yom Kippur because Isaiah 53 said, "The Lord is my atonement." As soon as I mentioned Isaiah 53, they immediately realized I believed in Christ and I'm in their opinion an apostate."

I ask them to inspect my Bible to see if it is the true Hebrew scriptures. The Rabbi examined it and admitted, "This is our Bible." "Now that you know that, I said, let me show you how I came to believe in Christ. Not according to any other books such as the ones you study, but according to God's word. In it, I found my Savior, the one whom you call This Man." Our conversation lasted for several hours. I pray those seeds will grow into understanding in their minds and hearts, so they will one day come to know the Lord as their savior.

Chris Katulka: Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Friends of Israel Today. We trust that this series on the Glory of God was meaningful to you and increased your understanding of the wonderful and living Word of God, the Scriptures. Again, just a reminder, if you have never signed up for our award-winning Christian magazine, Israel My Glory, now's your opportunity. Go to foiradio.org and there you can receive your one-year free subscription of either our print edition or digital edition of Israel My Glory magazine. Again, that's foiradio.org. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione, engineered by Bob Beebe and edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Steve Conover is our executive producer, and Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold. I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, P.O Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio P.O. Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Now that you have to write in, let us know what you think of the program.

You can also visit us at our website, foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. Or, you could call our listener line. That's 888-343-6940. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. We are a worldwide evangelical ministry proclaiming biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah, while bringing physical and spiritual comfort to the Jewish people.