A new survey has revealed a sharp decline in the faith of Israeli Jews with only 55% of them believing that the ‘Messiah is Coming’.
That’s despite one of the most important themes of the Hebrew Bible being God’s promise to send the Messiah to earth to redeem the Jewish people and rule Israel and the world.
Nearly all Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah.
The poll was commissioned by Israel-based Christian news outlet All Israel News which targets Evangelical readers.
It found 94% of Israelis who voted for right wing Orthodox political parties at the last election believe the Messiah is coming.
Only 55% of those who voted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party held that view.
Just 15% of those who voted for left-wing parties believe in the Messiah.
Not one of the 1,200 respondents said they said they didn’t know.
The Editor-In-Chief of All Israel News and Christian author Joel C. Rosenberg believes the reason for Israelis’ increasing unbelief is simple.
They have stopped reading the Scriptures
“They might have grown up hearing the Bible read in the synagogue. But they are not reading the Torah or the prophets for themselves. So, they’re not focusing on the specific prophecies that describe who the coming Messiah will be, much less taking those prophecies to heart,” Mr. Rosenberg wrote.
“What’s more, given that religious Jews believe that God still hasn’t sent the Messiah for more than 3,000 years since the first prophecies were given in the Bible, is it likely that traditional, secular, and non-religious Jews would hold to a belief that the Messiah will still come one day?” he asks.
