Utkorelse och framtid - Messianska perspektiv på identitet och eskatologi

Abstract

This study examines how two Yeshua- believing organizations, one Messianic Jewish and one Hebrew Catholic, articulate Jewish identity and eschatology in relation to the Church. The starting point of this study is the observation that Christian theology has often wrestled with the relationship between the biblical descriptions of Israel´s role in God´s salvific plan and the ways in which the Church has historically interpreted this relationship. The study aims to explore how Jewish believers in Jesus - groups that have frequently been expected to assimilate into the Church - describe their own place within the Christian community and their understanding of the eschatological future. Methodologically, the study employs a two-level design: a qualitative content analysis of the organizations´ public materials and a systematic - theological analysis in which the identified themes are brought into dialogue with established Christian eschatological models. Central themes derived from the material concern identity, the relationship between Israel and the Church, messianic self- understanding, and expectations regarding God´s future action. The findings indicate that the organizations articulate a distinctly non- supersessionist understanding of Israel and affirm the legitimacy of Jewish identity after faith in Jesus. Their eschatology emphasizes continuity between Israel and the Church and challenges models that identify the Church as the eschatological Israel without a continuing Jewish calling. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of Jewish distinctiveness within a Christian context and highlights the need for further theological engagement with Yeshua- believing organizations within Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Catholicism. It also reinforce the very question of how to interpret the meaning and its consequences of ”Israel” in Christian theology.