Israel’s historical and religious identity
MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
It’s a little early for Advent, but I’ve been thinking about the idea of the Promised One coming to deliver Israel. We’ll first survey some religious facts, then their historical background, and finally look at scripture surrounding Jesus the King.
In the world today, three of the four largest religions are Christianity, with 2.2 billion people; Islam with 1.6 billion; and Buddhism with .5 billion. All of these are universal or global, which seek to increase their membership through conversion. The other large religion, Hinduism with 1 billion people, is ethnic, closely tied to family and region. Hinduism was founded in the populous region of South Asia, and from it Buddhism originated and spread throughout East and Southeast Asia.
