Christians and Judaism
Both Jews and Christians basically worship the same God. However, there are signifi-cant differences between the two faiths.
Israel was the first people whom God chose to share in His promises. The so-called "old" testament, which forms the basis of the Jewish faith, is also contained in the Bible. However, unlike Judaism, Christians also view the New Testament as part of God's Word. For them, the Old and New Testa-ments form a unit. The New Testament is the fulfillment of what God promised his peo-ple in the Old Testament. At the center of the Jewish faith is the expectation of the Messiah, the Savior and King of Israel pro-mised by God, and in this context also the hope for the resurrection of the dead.
For Christians, Jesus Christ, who was himself a Jew, is the expected Redeemer of Israel and of the whole world. This fact is confirmed for them by the New Testament. For this speak about hundreds of prophecies, all of which were fulfilled by Jesus (See: Fulfilled prophecies about Jesus).
In addition there are many superhuman signs and wonders that Jesus did and that were supposed to authenticate Him as the Messiah. Christians see the greatest proof that Jesus is the promised Savior in this; that God raised Jesus (first) from the dead to immortal life, as also prophesied in the Old Testament. This testimony is at the same time the foundation of the Christian faith (See: Who is Jesus Christ?).
Jesus was betrayed by the leaders of his peo-ple, who did not want to recognize him as their Messiah, and crucified by the Romans. The consequence of the Jews rejecting their Messiah and King was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple by Isra-el's enemies. Associated with this was the expulsion of the Jews and their dispersal throughout the world. Even in earlier times, the Jews had to leave their land that God had given them to live temporarily in exile because they disobeyed God's com-mandments and instructions, worshiped false gods and killed the prophets God sent to them to turn them from their wicked ways (See: Timeline of Salvation History).
After the vast majority of Jews had rejec-ted salvation through their Messiah, God turned to the Gentile peoples, who until then had been excluded from the divine promises. Through his apostles they should now also have access to God's promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus. Since then countless people from many different nations of the earth have come to believe in Jesus and have been saved.
Only since the end of the Second World War have the Jews been able to move back into their own territory, where they still live today, even if they have been repeatedly harassed by the Muslim peoples around them ever since. To this day the Jews eagerly await the appearance of their hoped-for Redeemer. However, some of them have come to realize that Jesus is their Messiah. This group of believers refer to themselves as "Messianic Jews".
Christians now await the second coming of their Lord and Redeemer. This is accom-panied by the resurrection from the dead and the judgment of God on the unbelie-vers. This is followed by the age of the new earth under the immortal rule of their King and Savior, Jesus.