Jewish Voice Today - September/October 2014 - Canada

Volume 48 | Number 5

JEWISH VOICE TODAY MAGAZINE

Updat e

on Israel September/October 2014 | Elul/Tishrei/Cheshvan 5774-5775 | !wfx/ydft/lwla

Jewish Voice Ministries International

How To Pray

Proclaiming Messiah to the World

P.O. Box 31998 Phoenix, AZ 85046-1998 Office: 602.971.8501 www.JewishVoice.org

We must be faithful to pray for Israel, the Jewish People, the Palestinians, and the destruction of Hamas.

Please pray for: 1. God to supernaturally protect the Israeli soldiers and the citizens of Israel from further casualties, and grant swift and decisive victory over the Hamas terror organization.

2. Wisdom and courage for Israel’s leaders – to be bold in standing up to increased international pressure, especially for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

3. The deception that fuels the rising global tide of anti-Semitism to fall away and nations, leaders, and people to see the truth about Israel’s right to self-defense and Hamas’ true identity as a terror organization.

4. Peace and comfort for those who have lost loved ones, and healing for the injured.

5. Innocent people in Gaza, particularly the children, that the Lord will reveal Himself to them and deliver them from a culture of hatred and death.

6. Boldness for the Believers in Israel, that God would use them to share the only true source of lasting peace – Yeshua, the Prince of Peace.

WE’VE ESTABLISHED AN EMERGENCY WAR FUND with a goal of sending an additional $100,000 to the over 20 ministries that we currently support in Israel. These ministries are providing emergency items, comfort and care to so many Jewish People during this crisis. Your generous gift can help meet these urgent needs. Will you send a special ISRAEL WAR FUND gift today? Simply enclose your check, noting ISRAEL WAR FUND on the check or credit card form before inserting in the magazine envelope. Thank you and God bless you for standing with Israel at this critical time.

For breaking Israel news updates and urgent prayer requests, follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JewishVoice For prayer updates on Israel, follow us at: www.howtoprayforisrael.org To sign up for our Insider’s Insights email, delivering breaking news and insider information regarding Israel that you won’t hear anywhere else, go to: www.jewishvoiceupdates.org

Special Gaza War Insert Dear friend, Due to the long lead times associated with writing, designing and printing a magazine, this issue could not address the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Because we feature the very best experts and authorities, we must request articles from our guest authors far in advance of our publication date.

Nevertheless, what has been taking place in Israel in recent weeks is important; prophetically and geopolitically significant; and, of course, profoundly troubling.

That’s why we have consistently offered news, perspective and insights through our Internet channels such as our blog and email updates on the crisis in Israel. And it’s why we have added this special insert to this issue of JVT. On these pages you’ll find some insights into the spiritual roots and implications of the conflict; some guidance on responding biblically, along with specific prayer points for God’s Chosen People and Land.

Our hope is that this special update will be a powerful reminder to continue to pray for the people of Israel, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and continue to stand with us against the rising tide of anti-Semitism worldwide.

Jonathan Bernis, President & CEO Jewish Voice Ministries International

At the Heart of This Conflict

By Jonathan Bernis

A

s we continue to watch events unfold in Israel, we stand firm in the promises of God for the People of that Land. We know that the Jewish People are God’s Chosen People, inseparably tied to a Land given to Abraham and his descendants from the time God called him to leave his father’s household and go to a land He would show him. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promised this Land to Abraham’s descendants as “an everlasting possession.” (See Genesis 12:1-3; 17:8).

Since that pivotal moment in history, there have been many attempts to annihilate the Jewish People and drive them from their Land. Despite the best efforts of countless enemies, they continue to survive and dwell in their Land. While the conflict is real and the battle intense, we also know what is at the heart of the latest conflict between Israel and the Islamic terrorist group, Hamas. Just a brief look at a map of the Middle East clearly reveals that the problem is not the need for a few extra miles of real estate. Israel is but a miniscule island in a vast ocean of Arab lands – with few valuable natural resources. In the natural it may be difficult to understand, for the answer is spiritual – and the hostility as ancient as the Bible.

Today’s Middle East conflict is, in real-

ity, a clash of kingdoms – the god of Islam, Allah (who is actually Satan), opposing the God of Israel, YHVH .

Although the conflict escalates in these Last Days, the conflict began thousands of years ago – with Isaac, the son of promise, and Ishmael, Abraham’s son

by Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar and father of the Arab nations.



“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.

—Genesis 16:11-12

a great nation” (Genesis 17:18-20).

This, too, has been fulfilled – the Arab nations have been prosperous, wealthy, and powerful.

However, God was clear: But my covenant I will establish with Isaac…

(Genesis 17:21). Although this covenant doesn’t include vast wealth and land holdings like the sons of Ishmael, it does include possession of the one specific place on earth where God says He has placed His Name, and from which His rule and reign will flow. It is the City of the Great King, Zion. And He has decreed that it is from this place that the Word of the Lord will go forth.

today’s Middle east conflict is, in reality, a clash of kingdoms.

Ishmael received another prophecy from the God of Abraham that has been fulfilled as well. Abraham asked God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” And God granted Abraham’s request. “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into

It is clear that prophecy has been fulfilled. From the early days of Islam in the 600s, this religion has advanced by the edge of the sword.

It is also clear that Israel remains under God’s covenantal protection, but until the return of the Messiah, will remain the epicenter of all spiritual warfare. One day, Yeshua ( Jesus) the Prince of Peace will return and defeat all His enemies.

How We Should Respond as Believers As Bible Believers, when we take a position that the Jewish People have a right to this Land, it is not about God loving one people more than another. He loves Jews as much as Arabs, Palestinians as much as Israelis. The issue is agreeing with a biblical worldview that God gave a divine land grant to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an everlasting possession. He sovereignly chose the Children of Israel to live in this Land to accomplish His plans and purpose, not just for them, but to be a blessing to all peoples. That purpose has not changed, nor can it be abolished by the will or actions of men. We should lovingly but firmly maintain a biblical response toward those who disagree or view Israel as the aggressor and Palestinians the victims.

In reality, perhaps the greatest victims in this whole conflict are the Palestinians themselves, and in particular the children.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that is committed to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish People at any cost. Lives are of no value, including the lives of Palestinian children. From a young age they are taught that it is noble and sacred to become a suicide bomber. By the time they are teenagers, their primary pursuit in life is to die a martyr for the cause. This culture of death is brainwashing at the most diabolical level.

As Golda Meir so eloquently stated, “We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”

For Hamas to place missile caches in heavily populated residential areas and order civilians to remain, despite Israel’s warnings to leave because they are going to bomb the area is beyond deplorable. As Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, “Here’s the difference between us. We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”

At the Heart of This Conflict

By Jonathan Bernis

A

s we continue to watch events unfold in Israel, we stand firm in the promises of God for the People of that Land. We know that the Jewish People are God’s Chosen People, inseparably tied to a Land given to Abraham and his descendants from the time God called him to leave his father’s household and go to a land He would show him. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promised this Land to Abraham’s descendants as “an everlasting possession.” (See Genesis 12:1-3; 17:8).

Since that pivotal moment in history, there have been many attempts to annihilate the Jewish People and drive them from their Land. Despite the best efforts of countless enemies, they continue to survive and dwell in their Land. While the conflict is real and the battle intense, we also know what is at the heart of the latest conflict between Israel and the Islamic terrorist group, Hamas. Just a brief look at a map of the Middle East clearly reveals that the problem is not the need for a few extra miles of real estate. Israel is but a miniscule island in a vast ocean of Arab lands – with few valuable natural resources. In the natural it may be difficult to understand, for the answer is spiritual – and the hostility as ancient as the Bible.

Today’s Middle East conflict is, in real-

ity, a clash of kingdoms – the god of Islam, Allah (who is actually Satan), opposing the God of Israel, YHVH .

Although the conflict escalates in these Last Days, the conflict began thousands of years ago – with Isaac, the son of promise, and Ishmael, Abraham’s son

by Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar and father of the Arab nations.



“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.

—Genesis 16:11-12

a great nation” (Genesis 17:18-20).

This, too, has been fulfilled – the Arab nations have been prosperous, wealthy, and powerful.

However, God was clear: But my covenant I will establish with Isaac…

(Genesis 17:21). Although this covenant doesn’t include vast wealth and land holdings like the sons of Ishmael, it does include possession of the one specific place on earth where God says He has placed His Name, and from which His rule and reign will flow. It is the City of the Great King, Zion. And He has decreed that it is from this place that the Word of the Lord will go forth.

today’s Middle east conflict is, in reality, a clash of kingdoms.

Ishmael received another prophecy from the God of Abraham that has been fulfilled as well. Abraham asked God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” And God granted Abraham’s request. “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into

It is clear that prophecy has been fulfilled. From the early days of Islam in the 600s, this religion has advanced by the edge of the sword.

It is also clear that Israel remains under God’s covenantal protection, but until the return of the Messiah, will remain the epicenter of all spiritual warfare. One day, Yeshua ( Jesus) the Prince of Peace will return and defeat all His enemies.

How We Should Respond as Believers As Bible Believers, when we take a position that the Jewish People have a right to this Land, it is not about God loving one people more than another. He loves Jews as much as Arabs, Palestinians as much as Israelis. The issue is agreeing with a biblical worldview that God gave a divine land grant to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an everlasting possession. He sovereignly chose the Children of Israel to live in this Land to accomplish His plans and purpose, not just for them, but to be a blessing to all peoples. That purpose has not changed, nor can it be abolished by the will or actions of men. We should lovingly but firmly maintain a biblical response toward those who disagree or view Israel as the aggressor and Palestinians the victims.

In reality, perhaps the greatest victims in this whole conflict are the Palestinians themselves, and in particular the children.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that is committed to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish People at any cost. Lives are of no value, including the lives of Palestinian children. From a young age they are taught that it is noble and sacred to become a suicide bomber. By the time they are teenagers, their primary pursuit in life is to die a martyr for the cause. This culture of death is brainwashing at the most diabolical level.

As Golda Meir so eloquently stated, “We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”

For Hamas to place missile caches in heavily populated residential areas and order civilians to remain, despite Israel’s warnings to leave because they are going to bomb the area is beyond deplorable. As Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, “Here’s the difference between us. We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”

Jewish Voice Ministries International

How To Pray

Proclaiming Messiah to the World

P.O. Box 31998 Phoenix, AZ 85046-1998 Office: 602.971.8501 www.JewishVoice.org

We must be faithful to pray for Israel, the Jewish People, the Palestinians, and the destruction of Hamas.

Please pray for: 1. God to supernaturally protect the Israeli soldiers and the citizens of Israel from further casualties, and grant swift and decisive victory over the Hamas terror organization.

2. Wisdom and courage for Israel’s leaders – to be bold in standing up to increased international pressure, especially for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

3. The deception that fuels the rising global tide of anti-Semitism to fall away and nations, leaders, and people to see the truth about Israel’s right to self-defense and Hamas’ true identity as a terror organization.

4. Peace and comfort for those who have lost loved ones, and healing for the injured.

5. Innocent people in Gaza, particularly the children, that the Lord will reveal Himself to them and deliver them from a culture of hatred and death.

6. Boldness for the Believers in Israel, that God would use them to share the only true source of lasting peace – Yeshua, the Prince of Peace.

WE’VE ESTABLISHED AN EMERGENCY WAR FUND with a goal of sending an additional $100,000 to the over 20 ministries that we currently support in Israel. These ministries are providing emergency items, comfort and care to so many Jewish People during this crisis. Your generous gift can help meet these urgent needs. Will you send a special ISRAEL WAR FUND gift today? Simply enclose your check, noting ISRAEL WAR FUND on the check or credit card form before inserting in the magazine envelope. Thank you and God bless you for standing with Israel at this critical time.

For breaking Israel news updates and urgent prayer requests, follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JewishVoice For prayer updates on Israel, follow us at: www.howtoprayforisrael.org To sign up for our Insider’s Insights email, delivering breaking news and insider information regarding Israel that you won’t hear anywhere else, go to: www.jewishvoiceupdates.org

Special Gaza War Insert Dear friend, Due to the long lead times associated with writing, designing and printing a magazine, this issue could not address the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Because we feature the very best experts and authorities, we must request articles from our guest authors far in advance of our publication date.

Nevertheless, what has been taking place in Israel in recent weeks is important; prophetically and geopolitically significant; and, of course, profoundly troubling.

That’s why we have consistently offered news, perspective and insights through our Internet channels such as our blog and email updates on the crisis in Israel. And it’s why we have added this special insert to this issue of JVT. On these pages you’ll find some insights into the spiritual roots and implications of the conflict; some guidance on responding biblically, along with specific prayer points for God’s Chosen People and Land.

Our hope is that this special update will be a powerful reminder to continue to pray for the people of Israel, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and continue to stand with us against the rising tide of anti-Semitism worldwide.

Jonathan Bernis, President & CEO Jewish Voice Ministries International

after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”—Matthew 25:35-39

ANSWER-the-Call

and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty

me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked

Jewish Voice Ministries 2015 Outreach Schedule ethiopia january 30 - february 8

Gondar, Ethiopia July 31 - august 9

New Africa Location October 15 - 26

mberengwa, zimbabwe april 23 - may 4

Zimbabwe August 28 - September 7

*Dates subject to change

1-800-299-YESHUA | WWW.PLEASEANSWERTHECALL.org ANSWER 2 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

M]L[ SHALOM Israel is the hinge upon which modern history turns. This tiny nation is the focal point of God’s End-Time plans and redemptive work in the earth. It is no wonder that Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai once described Jerusalem as “a port city on the shore of eternity.”

Of course, we’re mindful of Zechariah’s “cup of trembling” prophecy concerning the Last Days — or as it is translated in the NIV: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”

—Zechariah 12:2-3 With all that in view, it’s appropriate and prudent to keep a close watch on events transpiring in Israel and her capital, Jerusalem. That’s why we’ve dedicated this issue of JVT to bringing you a diversity of perspectives on this vital topic. We’ll explore both the natural and spiritual — because we know that natural events often have their roots in spiritual realities.

Here at Jewish Voice, it’s our passion and our joy to bring you the most current news and the most meaningful insights from the most trusted sources we can find.

That’s precisely what we’ve endeavored to do in this issue.

On behalf of all of us at Jewish Voice, thank you for partnering with us through your prayer and financial support. You make it possible to fulfill our divine mandate to proclaim Messiah around the world!

Be blessed as you read.

Jonathan Bernis, President & CEO Jewish Voice Ministries International

CONTENTS

5

UP FRONT Update on Israel: Three Key Areas to Watch in the Months Ahead

14

Three key areas that hold challenges, opportunities, or threats for Israel in the immediate days ahead.

Executive Editor Jonathan Bernis Director of Communications Vickie Isaac

MINISTRY UPDATE Faith That Moves

An Ethiopian woman’s prayers for a wheelchair are answered at an outreach by Jewish Voice.

By Laura Bagby Peck

16

By Jonathan Bernis

8

PERSPECTIVE Why Middle East Peace Talks Broke Down ... Again

Hamas’ dreams of destruction vs.

Israel’s dreams for peace.

By Shira Sorko-Ram

10

PERSPECTIVE Is the Israel and Iran showdown nearing?

The current situation in the Middle East and how you can pray for Israel.

18

By William Koenig

PERSPECTIVE New Generation Impacting Israel for Yeshua

PERSPECTIVE Iran: Israel’s Greatest Existential Threat

The young generation of Messianic Jews in Israel is breaking down misconceptions about faith in Yeshua.

By David Lazarus

20

Right now, there are two concurrent, unprecedented, and truly profound trends unfolding in Iran.

By Joel Richardson

12

PERSPECTIVE Economic Challenges and Poverty in Israel

Despite being a nation of entrepreneurs, scientists, and medical researchers, nearly two million people struggle to survive daily in Israel.

By Bonnie Saul Wilks Join us monthly for our 60-minute live, interactive webcast. Please visit www.jewishvoicelive.org for the latest information.

4 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

JEWISH HOLIDAY The Fall Feasts: A Dress Rehearsal for That Great Day Observing the Fall Feasts prepares us for the coming of the Lord and our eternal home with Him.

By Jack Zimmerman

22

PRAYER WATCH Called, Equipped and Set: Watchmen in Prayer for Israel

As set watchmen we are called and wellequipped to stand in prayer for Israel.

By Paula Walberer

Director of Publications Mary Ellen Breitwiser Senior Editor Kevin Geoffrey Art Director Evie Kriegbaum Graphic Designers Evie Kriegbaum Jennifer Nelson Jewish Voice Ministries International P.O. Box 31998 Phoenix, AZ 85046-1998 USA 602-97l-850l 800-299-YESHUA (937482) www.jewishvoice.org Jewish Voice Ministries Canada P.O. Box 476 Maple Ridge, BC V2X 3P2 855-7-YESHUA (937482) www.jewishvoice.ca Jewish Voice Ministries UK Admail 4224 London W2 4UN 855-9-YESHUA (937482) www.jvmi.co.uk Magazine questions or comments: magazine@jewishvoice.org Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New International Version.

www.facebook.com/JewishVoice

www.youtube.com/jewishvoicetoday

www.twitter.com/jewish_voice

www.jewishvoiceblog.org

Search for "Jewish Voice Ministries International" under Companies

U P F R O N T | J O N AT H A N B E R N I S

Updat e on Israel:

Three Key Areas to Watch in the Months Ahead

“In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”

— Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, 1956

I

srael is an ongoing miracle. Its birth was miraculous — facilitated as it was in the aftermaths of two world wars and humanity’s collective horror at the realities of the Holocaust.

Its survival these last 66 years is miraculous as well. Against incalculable odds, this tiny island of Western Civilization set in a sea of hostile Arab states and Islamic extremism has emerged victorious from four wars, two intifadas and persistent global hostility — all the while prospering economically and culturally.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

5

As a frequent visitor to Israel with many close contacts in the country, I am often asked by our friends and partners about the latest developments there. They want to know how the little but mighty nation is doing. In the paragraphs that follow, I offer a brief overview of my answer to this question — touching on three key areas that hold challenges, opportunities, or threats for Israel in the immediate days ahead.

1. Security The recent apparent reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah in the Palestinian Territories — if it holds—represents a major shift in the strategic and diplomatic equation in Israel. It completely derailed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to broker some sort of agreement between Israel and Palestinians that would lead to the everelusive “two-state solution.”

This collapse of the so-called peace process resulted from the April announcement that the ruling Palestinian Fatah Party was reconciling with its bitter rival, the terrorist organization Hamas, and was planning to form a unified government.

Israel will not negotiate with the extremist terror group, Hamas. It would be pointless and suicidal to do so.

Another area of concern for Israel includes the ongoing civil war in Syria, which has become a magnet for jihadists from throughout the Islamic world.

For months now, a horrific civil war has engulfed Syria on Israel’s northeastern border — leaving

6 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

countless Syrian civilian casualties in its wake.

What is not widely understood is that this bloody conflict is essentially a war-by-proxy between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia.

The Sunni rebels fighting to overthrow the Assad regime have attracted thousands of jihadi fighters from points across the globe, including the United States. At the same time, Western intelligence sources report that roughly 10,000 foreign Shia fighters are currently operating in support of the Assad regime.

This build up of zealous, militarized fighters in Syria has coincided with a series of escalating attacks and incidents along Israel’s border with Syria in the Golan Heights in recent months.

Most troubling of all is the emerging nuclear threat posed by Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly and emphatically stated that Israel will not allow Iran to acquire the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon. You can be sure that he means what he says.

2. Economy Israel continues to be a hotbed of innovation and development in the area of technology. According to the Wall Street Journal, Israeli technology companies fetched $6.6 billion in acquisitions and initial public offerings last year and startups raised $2.3 billion in venture funding — a ten-year high.

At only 5.4 percent, the unemployment rate in Israel is far below that of other Western democracies. But the country faces severe challenges in elevating the poorest of its citizens, particularly Jewish immigrants from places like

Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union and new olim (immigrants) from the Bnei Menashe community of Manipur, India.

The biggest threat to this story of progress and prosperity is the growing “BDS Movement.” BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, and it is a worldwide effort to isolate, marginalize, ostracize, and delegitimize Israel as a nation-state.

The primary strategy of the movement is to pressure institutions to stop investing in Israeli companies or companies with a significant Israeli presence, and to encourage consumer boycotts of such companies’ products. Sadly, the nearly two million-member Presbyterian U.S.A. denomination in the United States just decided to adopt this anti-Israel policy.

Earlier this year, the entire economy of Israel was targeted for Internet attacks by hacker groups like “Anonymous” on a designated day.

3. Energy Finding oil or natural gas within Israel’s sovereign territory has long been a dream of Israeli people.

But until very recently, it was only a dream.

Former Prime Minister Golda Meir famously quipped, “Let me tell you something we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!”

Recently, significant natural gas fields have been discovered in Israel’s territorial waters in the Mediterranean. Today, Israel’s known gas reserves are 30 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and the United

States Geological Survey says there’s at least twice that amount still to be discovered in Israeli waters. That exceeds Israel’s energy needs for the next 30 to 50 years. Moreover, the USGS predicts there are 1.7 billion barrels of oil and gas in the basins as well.

My good friend John Brown, founder and CEO of Zion Oil and Gas, Inc. has been drilling for oil in the Jezreel Valley (near the area known as Armageddon) for several years now and is confident they are close to discovering a huge oil reserve deep under the earth’s surface that may be larger than any known in the Middle East, including Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The new energy industry holds the potential to revolutionize Israel’s economy, as well as provide the country with greater strategic and political clout.

Summary Here at Jewish Voice, we will continue to monitor developments in Israel and interpret them in the clear light of prophetic Scripture. We also partner with dozens of ministries in the Land that are reaching out with the Good News and providing for those in need. Your partnership with us means you are playing a role in this.

And, of course, we will continue to encourage all Believers to “pray regularly for the peace of Jerusalem,” remembering that God promises, “they shall prosper who love thee” (Psalm 122:6 KJV).

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

7

PERSPEC TIVE | SHIRA SORKO-RAM

WH S A LK ET E AC TP N E AS A I LE . AG IDD N ..

Y M DO W

BRO

KE

“We will return to the sea of Jaffa, to the sands of Haifa, to the Palm trees of Beit She’an, and to the hills of Lod [near Israel’s Ben Gurion International airport] and Ramle. We in the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque [located on the far southern side of the Temple Mount] await the legions of the conquerors. We await the armies from Tunisia, from Jordan, from Egypt, from Iraq, from the Maghreb [Northwest Africa], and from the Hejaz [Western Saudi Arabia].” 1 8 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

T

hese impassioned words were broadcast by Imam Raed Al-Daana at an Italian conference in April.

Daana is the Imam from the al-Aqsa Mosque, third most holy place for Muslims and where Yeshua the Messiah once taught and healed in the Jewish Temple.

Daana promises there are “great and proud men [in Gaza] who have realized the darkness and [when] the Jewish state will vanish … that morning, the sun will rise on Palestine.” 2 Daana is not from Hamas. He is a religious Islamic cleric in Jerusalem under the Fatah-ruling Palestinian Author-

ity. He lives to see an Islamic Arab state replace Israel. It is this common aspiration that unites all factions of Palestinians with the exception of a few evangelical Arab Believers.

The only difference between the Fatah and Hamas parties is that Fatah strategizes to dissolve Israel through the United Nations, through diplomatic demonization, isolation, sanctions and world opinion, whereas Hamas is dedicated to out-and-out attacks on Jewish civilians, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism against Israel.

In 2006 Palestinians living in Gaza chose a Hamas government over the Fatah party in “democratic elections.”

Soon afterward, Hamas overthrew the entire Gazan governmental infrastructure and kicked out all Fatah civil servants in bloody street battles, leaving the Palestinian Authority only with the West Bank.

THE END OF THE PEACE PROCESS However, for his own reasons, at the end of April, 2014, PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas decided it was time to reunite the Palestinian people by reconciling Fatah with Hamas. The main hitch, however, is that the PA was supposedly conducting peace talks with Israel, and now was suddenly merging with Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization.

Israel’s response has been what you would expect: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately ended the already disintegrating peace negotiations with the PA, exclaiming, “How can the Palestinians say they want peace if they forge an alliance with these killers? We don’t negotiate with Hamas as long as they seek our destruction.”

HAMAS DREAMS OF DESTRUCTION Indeed, what would keep Hamas from winning the next Palestinian election, and taking over the entire West Bank?

Hamas’ dream would be to attack Israel, not just from Gaza, but also from Judea and Samaria.

This would mean Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and the whole center of Israel would be fair game for renewed terrorism. This would mean that planes landing at Ben Gurion International airport would be a couple of miles away from terrorist rockets and missiles.

In case anyone missed their intentions, Hamas’ leader Khaled Mashaal announced, “Our path is resistance and the rifle, and our choice is jihad,” confirming to the world that Hamas is most definitely still committed to holy war against Israel. 3 Mashaal said now that the two parties of the Palestinians have signed a reconciliation pact, they must produce a joint strategy that will lead to the “liberation of our lands and holy sites and the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes.”

He declared boldly that until Israel is destroyed and replaced with an Islamic state, “There is no past or future without jihad and resistance. Jihad is our path.”

Indeed, it is very important to Hamas leaders that the world understands its goal and its purpose for existence.

EUROPEAN UNION PLEASED WITH REUNIFICATION In response to the new reunion, the EU foreign policy chief Catherine

Ashton is pleased with the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. She politely explained to Hamas that they “must uphold the principle of non-violence, remain committed to a two-state solution and accept Israel’s legitimate right to exist.”

PM Netanyahu replied that Hamas’ participation in “peace” talks is a nonstarter for Israel. Abbas then claimed that Hamas wouldn’t really have any say in executing policy in the West Bank no matter who won the elections. Is Abbas living in a fantasy land or is “truth” simply not a part of his DNA? There is, of course, a good chance that nothing will come of the FatahHamas reunification as the power struggles between the two factions will surely continue. Both parties’ immediate goal is to determine who will control the monthly financial largesse pouring into the West Bank in the form of millions of dollars in aid from the U.S. and Europe. It is well known for anyone who wants to know that this money lines the pockets of those in power and their cronies and workers, and funds families of prisoners in Israeli jails convicted of murder and terrorism. (The more Israelis a convict murdered, the greater the sum to the families).

ISRAELIS DREAM OF PEACE As for Israel, I don’t know if it is really possible to articulate the profound, aching desire Israelis have for peace.

We ask ourselves: 1. Why are we a persecuted people – always persecuted, hounded and despised by the world?

2. Why can’t we have peace with the Palestinians who are a brand new community which came into exis-

(Continued on page 24)

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

9

PERSPECTIVE | JOEL RICHARDSON

Ir an: Isr ael’s Greatest Existential Threat

R

ight now, there are two concurrent, unprecedented, and truly profound trends unfolding in Iran, both of which promise to have a profound impact on the nation of Israel and which taken together should drive the global Body of Messiah to its knees in prayer.

Of course, the first and most obvious reality is the radical ruling regime’s race toward nuclear capabilities. The leaders of Iran have openly declared their plans for decades now, the capstone of which is to become a nuclear power. To date, step by step, they have accomplished everything precisely as they said they would. The final steps of their plans include the downfall of the State of Israel. Of course, over

10 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

the past several years, I think that many of us have actually acquired a bit of what I will call “train-wreck fatigue.”

From Libya, to Syria, to the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, nothing seems to have turned out the way the Washington strategists had planned. While most Americans tend to watch these things unfold with the detachment that comes from being out of range, Israel has no such luxury. For the State of Israel, the Iranian threat is truly existential. And so there can be no question that sooner or later, Israel is going to be forced to act.

While most do not realize it, the war there aligns perfectly with Islamic apocalyptic expectations. Many non-Mus-

lims are now familiar with the Islamic traditions concerning the coming of a messianic figure known as the Mahdi.

Within Iran among the Shia’ sect of Muslims, he is also known as the Twelfth Imam. But what few non-Muslims are aware of is another Islamic End-Time character known as, the Sufyani. According to Muslim prophetic traditions, “the Sufyani” is the evil leader of an army that will arise from the region of Syria in the Last Days, heralding the soon coming of the Mahdi. As such, the radical Sunni state that has been established in Iraq and Syria is being viewed by Muslims as the perfect fulfillment of their prophecies.

The irony is that the Sunni Muslims all believe that Syrian President Bashar Assad is the Sufyani, while the Shia’ Muslims in Iran believe that Abu Bakr Al-Qurayshi Al-Baghdadi, the new Caliph, is the Sufyani. Both sides believe that they are fighting against the Sufyani and both sides believe they are truly approaching the prophesied great and final wars of Islamic prophecy just before the end. For true believers such as the leaders in Iran, this creates a sold out, all-or-nothing, apocalyptic fervor to everything they do. When we add in the component of nuclear weapons, we have an unprecedented danger that the world has never experienced.

The second unprecedented event unfolding in Iran is a Christian revival breaking out among the Iranian people.

According to the Joshua Project, the nation of Iran has the fastest growing body of believers in the world right now, with roughly 20 percent growth every year. The number of Believers in Yeshua in Iran will more than double every four years if the present growth continues (and that is a very big if). Then half of the nation will be following Yeshua in 20 years. This growth is so dramatic that it has the government genuinely worried. Although the Iranian leaders are extremely devout Muslims, the majority of the actual Iranian people is largely very opposed to the government. They view the United States and the West in very positive terms. The mosques in Iran are empty as much of the population has turned away from Islam altogether. Some analysts believe that if the present trends in Iran continue, there would be no need for military intervention in Iran, as a groundswell of opposition from within the country could cause the government to fall.

Here is where things get difficult. I recently interviewed an underground pastor from Iran who oversees hundreds of churches there. According to my friend, many of the new Believers in Iran, after studying the Scriptures, are falling in love with Israel and praying for the salvation of the Jewish People! Who could have ever imagined such a

For the State of Israel, the Iranian threat is truly existential. And so there can be no question that sooner or later, Israel is going to be forced to act. thing?! Yet according to my friend, if Israel or the United States attacked Iran, this would very likely cause a dramatic shift in the attitudes of the people. Where enmity toward their Iranian government exists now, as wars always tend to do, a renewed patriotism and national pride could very well develop. All of us should be deeply concerned that a war with Iran could reverse the trends that are fueling the present revival and even stoke a return to Islam among many.

What a dilemma we as Believers find ourselves in! Knowing that the present Iranian regime, driven by Islamic apocalyptic fantasies may be within inches of getting its hands on nuclear weapons, we affirm it must be stopped.

An intervention of some kind is absolutely necessary. Yet we also desire the welfare of the Iranian people, and most particularly our new brothers and sisters there, many of whom are crying out in prayer for the Jewish People! This is why, now more than ever, those of us who are truly followers of Yeshua must be on our faces, crying out to the Father for wisdom for our leaders, for some form of innovative solution, for genuine divine intervention, and for His will to be accomplished in all these things. I appeal to all who read this article to commit to give themselves to prevailing prayer for both Israel and Iran.

Joel Richardson is the New York Times bestselling author of Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth About the Real Nature of the Beast along with his current book, The Mideast Beast: The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist. Joel is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on biblical prophecy and the Middle East. For more about Joel, visit his website, www.joelstrumpet.com.

MIDEAST BEAST Whereas most students of the Bible have long held that some form of humanism or universalist religion would catapult the Antichrist to world power, Mideast Beast: The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist systematically proves that the long-awaited system of the Antichrist is even now before us and knocking at our door. BOOK | ORDER #9128 | $30.00 GIFT Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

11

P E R S P E C T I V E | B O N N I E S AU L W I L K S

Economic Challenges and Poverty in Israel

I

srael, a nation of entrepreneurs, scientists, and medical researchers, has risen from desert ruins to an economic marvel in 66 short years. In spite of such outstanding accomplishments, there is trouble at home.

One in five Israelis lives in poverty. Unemployment is the lowest in 30 years, and the high-tech sector’s achievements continue to gain worldwide recognition.

And still nearly two million people struggle to survive daily in the Land flowing with milk and honey.

Detailed in The New York Times’ best-selling book StartUp Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer, the narrative showcases an inspiring journey of the rapid achievement of Israel’s economic miracle. Figures for 2014 are astounding. Israeli businesses listed with NASDAQ are 68—that from an existing population of 8.1 million!

12 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

But Start-Up Nation did not include a chapter on solutions for poverty. No one dreamed this problem would have escalated to a national crisis. Here’s an overview.

Four Major Groups Affected

by Poverty The Working Poor Life in Israel is hard and discouraging for the middle class. Twenty percent of the 8.1 million in Israel are in a desperate financial struggle. They are called the “working poor” and endure a relentless uphill battle facing falling wages and escalating housing costs.

A few years ago, one middle-class family desperately searching for housing took to living in a tent for a time, which spurred Israel’s largest protest in history. Tens of thousands set up tents to demonstrate against surging real estate prices and housing shortages. A bill was passed to eliminate red tape to approve new housing but without relief. Four years later, the hard-core number of 1.7 million now living in poverty is staggering.

The National Insurance Institute (NII) and The Central Bureau of Statistics issued recent information and figures: Determined by household size, the poverty line is described as a salary that is half the median disposable income. This translates into monthly earnings for an individual as less than NIS 2,820 ($809) or for a couple less than NIS 4,513 ($1,287).

Holocaust Survivors and Elderly According to Helping Hand Coalition, about 73 percent of the 193,000 Holocaust survivors suffer in some form of poverty and 33 percent live in severe destitution. These Israeli citizens have paid the highest price to immigrate and deserve to finish life with dignity. The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel estimates that 36 percent live alone. Sixty-six percent live on less than NIS 3,000 ($820) per month. Many say the governmentassisted programs are unsatisfactory and depend on charities. Without the benevolence of these organizations, which provide housing, food, activities, and medicines, this group would be dreadfully neglected.

The elderly are in the same situation with 22.7 percent living way below the median. Most state their pensions could not begin to cover the bare necessities of a decent, modest life in Israel. They depend on works of benevolence as well.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities The Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, who represent 700,000, have a long-standing history of living in poverty. Today 60 percent live below the median and are dependent upon soup kitchens and charities. Helping organizations for this group are well established.

Many of the early Zionists from Europe and Russia who rebuilt the Land were non-religious. Some Jewish sects, who fled to Israel after the Holocaust, rejected Zionism.

Desiring to strengthen faith foundations after the wounds of World War II, they discouraged young Jewish men from working. This freed family income earners for devoted Torah study alone and threw the community at the mercy of the state economically.

Living in isolated neighborhoods, the religious have kept their lifestyle true to conviction and have flourished.

Some families have as many as ten children. Seven is the average compared to 2.3 children as the national norm. It is estimated that by 2025 the Ultra-Orthodox population will have jumped from nine to 15 percent of the total.

A law was just passed making the draft obligatory for the religious. It is yet to be seen how this will change their community in the framework of larger society. There is a small movement that seeks to broaden education beyond Torah by preparing men for employment to help diminish poverty.

Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants Of Israel’s 81,000 Ethiopian Jewish immigrants, 52 percent live in poverty. Immigration is a huge step up from where they came. In three operations in the 1990s, about 30,000 were airlifted out of abject scarcity to modern Israel. Still many are uneducated and unprepared for life in Israel. After absorption, Ethiopians struggle to find jobs adequate to care for their families and affordable housing, making assimilation into the country slow and painful.

The Next Step There is work to do. Ezekiel 38:12-13 states that the nations will become envious of Israel’s economy. The God of Israel says He provides justice for the poor and remembers the needy (Psalm 140:12). Start-Up Nation, with its strategic thinkers, has some complex issues to solve at home. The current coalition of helping charities bridges the gap but may not always be available. Surely a country of entrepreneurs, scientists, and undaunted pioneers can engineer some serious solutions for their most precious resource of all—their people.

Bonnie Saul Wilks is the Senior Writer for the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute, a sister organization to JVMI. With various expressions in 11 nations, Wayne and Bonnie have ample opportunity to keep their suitcases packed and ready for travel. When not chasing a train, plane, or automobile for the far-flung regions of the earth, the Wilks are at home in Texas.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

13

MINIS

TE A D P U Y TR

L AU R A B A G B Y P E C K

Faith that Moves

A

sres is from Gondar, Ethiopia, and she is 30 years old. When she was 10, she passed out while working in the fields and fell into a coma. When she woke up, she wasn’t able to use her legs again.

14 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

“Since then, I have been crawling like this, supporting myself by my arms.” She moves around with the aid of two blocks of wood that have been fashioned as shoes for her hands.

Her family helps where they can, cooking and cleaning and carrying things for Asres.

In spite of her situation, Asres says she never felt anger toward God, adding, “He can do anything to us as He pleases because He is God Almighty.”

Asres heard from a friend that Jewish Voice was having their clinic that week in Gondar, so she made one of the hardest decisions a mother could make and spent the money she had been saving to buy bread for her children to take a taxi to the clinic in search of a wheelchair.

“The taxi was too much for me, but

it is a matter of life,” she explains.

“So I sacrificed my kids’ bread for it.

If I didn’t get the wheelchair when I went there, it would be like dying.”

But Asres had been praying to God for help, and through that prayer, she had faith that God would help her in her time of need.

“When I started my journey, I was completely sure I would find a wheelchair there for me if I went today. God revealed this to me in my prayers,” she says. “I knew He would reveal to me a solution when I began my journey.”

She had faith that God would help her.

Amazingly, a compassionate person halfway across the world was compelled to donate two wheelchairs for this medical outreach, items that are not usually brought. But God knew this wheelchair was meant for Asres.

“This is your new transportation,” a very proud Jonathan Bernis told Asres. “You don’t have to crawl anymore, because this beautiful wheelchair shipped all the way from the United States is just for you! God knew that you were going to come to the clinic and that you would need this wheelchair.”

Together, Jonathan Bernis and JVMI Africa Director, Mezmur Zemichael helped Asres into her new wheelchair. “Let’s see how she likes it,” Jonathan added excitedly.

Asres was overcome with emotion.

“It is such great satisfaction that I did receive a wheelchair,” she says, her face beaming. “I just want to thank God for letting me have one.”

If you are interested in going on a future outreach with us, see our trip schedule online: www.jewishvoice.org/ outreach.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

15

PERSPEC TIVE | WILLIAM KOENIG

IS THE ISRAEL AND IRAN SHOWDOWN NEARING?

I

ran continues to position itself within Israel, via Hamas, on the borders with Lebanon, Syria and Iraq – which borders Jordan.

It has a relationship with the radical Sunni “Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)” that occupies much of eastern and northern Syria and western and northern Iraq – excluding the Kurdish area. Iran also has a significant working relationship with the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

Iran has bankrolled and provided military support and training to Hezbollah in Lebanon and, more recently, Hezbollah in Syria. Moreover, Iran will continue to support Syrian President Bashar Assad as long as he is useful to it.

Iran played a very clever negotiating

game with the P5+1, which are the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the United States, the UK, France, Russia and China, plus Germany. This group cancelled costly Iranian sanctions prior to the talks, which has reenergized Iran’s commitment to the Middle Eastern caliphate.

Iran will continue to covertly develop its nuclear weapons program, which will put oil-producing Sunni countries that border the Persian Gulf at risk along with Israel and the West.

According to Peter Lerner, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman for International Media, Hezbollah now has over 100,000 rockets pointed at Israel and a “battle-hardened” military that has kept Assad in power in Syria.

Iran also boasts of having Hezbollah as

16 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

its front line against Israel.

Israel’s security situation is becoming more complicated daily, because it will have to respond to Iran’s nuclear and regional military threat before it worsens.

Is Jeremiah 49:35-39, the prophecy pertaining to the devastation of Elam (Iran/Persia), about to be fulfilled by Israel?

The following are key points for your prayerful consideration from one of Israel’s top think tanks – the Jerusalem Center for Public Diplomacy ( JCPA).

ISIS: Iran’s instrument for regional hegemony?

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs ( JCPA) suggests there is a

connection or link between ISIS, Syrian and even Iranian intelligence, citing these examples: • Immediately after ISIS emerged in Syria, sources in the Syrian opposition said, “We are familiar with the commanders of ISIS. Once they belonged to Assad’s intelligence, and now they are operating on his behalf under the name of ISIS” • Why would Shiite Iran support a Sunni jihadist organization like ISIS? Iran wants to be certain that a strong Iraqi state does not emerge again along its western border • The notion that Shiite Iran would help Sunni jihadists was not farfetched, even if it seemed to defy the conventional wisdom in Western capitals • It is unreasonable to expect Iran to fight ISIS. If Iran does so, it would be turning against a movement that has been a useful surrogate for Tehran’s interests

prepare itself for a new situation (on the Golan Heights front)” • Iran views Syria (with or without Assad) as its principal arena of conflict with the West and with “heretic Sunni Islam” (under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and al-Qaeda) • Assistance to Syria and an active presence in its territory are seen as additional manifestations of Iran’s defense posture. In part, this is designed to distance the Iranian homeland from any threat, to conduct the campaign against Israel and the West in areas distant from Iran, and to use Syrian and Lebanese territory to deter Israel or retaliate if its nuclear installations are attacked • Iran is already en route to implementing Plan B – preparing for the eventuality that even if Assad does not prevail, Iran will still maintain its presence in Syria and its ability to act against Israel from Syrian territory with the assistance of various committed proxies modeled after “Hizbullah Lebanon”

Iran launches ‘Hizbullah Syria’ to open a new front against • In May 2014, Mohammad Israel on the Golan Heights Eskandari, a senior commander in The JCPA also reported earlier this year that: • In the wake of the announcement of the establishment of “Hizbullah Syria,” the conservative Jomhouri Eslamipaper stated: “The establishment of Syria’s Hizbullah … will also be a strong arm of the resistance that will cause nightmares for the Zionists. The Zionist regime that was concerned about threats from the Lebanese borders now should

the Revolutionary Guards, stated that the Guards had trained 42 battalions and 138 brigades to fight in Syria. He underlined that “the current war in Syria is our war against the USA raging on Syrian soil” Another senior member of the Revolutionary Guards, Hussein Hamadani, said that “some 130,000 Basij (paramilitary) volunteers have been trained and are waiting to enter Syria”

• Iran prefers that Assad remain in power, but even if he were to ultimately topple, Iran is striving to maintain its own grip on Syria, alongside Lebanon (and to a great extent the Gaza Strip) as its frontline against Israel and the West The nucleus of “Hizbullah Syria” lies in the infrastructure for enhanced Iranian subversion in the Golan Heights, which is perceived by Iran as a new and extended confrontation line with Israel in light of the changing regional landscape.

Jeremiah 49:35-39 contains the unfulfilled prophecy pertaining to the devastation of Elam (Persia) in the final days: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go. I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who want to kill them; I will bring disaster on them, even My fierce anger,” declares the LORD. “I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials,” declares the LORD. “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come,” declares the LORD. William Koenig is the director of “Koenig International News” (http://watch.org), an Internet news service with readers and e-mail subscribers in 50 states and 105 countries, and has been a White House correspondent since January 2001. Koenig publishes an online weekly news report called “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House” that focuses on biblically relevant world news and White House news from a Christian perspective. He has authored Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel, which is in its 20th printing, and published the book in Hebrew.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

17

P E R S P E C T I V E | D AV I D L A Z A R U S

New Generation

IMPACTING ISRAEL

for Yeshua

18 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

W

hen semi-trailer truckers Edan and Lev showed up for a job interview at the local trucking company, they hesitated about being honest with the boss. With hundreds of applicants for the few positions offering a great salary and social benefits the Israeli Messianics knew that talking about their faith would probably jeopardize the job.

“So you are Messianic Jews,” grinned the boss once the two spilled the beans. “I know all about you guys.

My brother is a Messianic Jew just like you. He is a great guy. The Messianics I have met over the years are honest and reliable. The job is yours!” he exclaimed shaking their hands.

This true story would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. It was not that long ago that a Messianic Jew in Israel could not get a job or rent an apartment without hiding his or her faith. Messianics were considered a security threat by authorities and prevented from serving in sensitive units in the Israeli army. A younger more savvy generation of Messianic Jews is changing all of that.

Today Messianic Jews are serving as commanders and high-ranking officers in every branch of the Israeli military including Intelligence which requires the highest level of security checks. Somewhere very high up in the ranks of the Israeli government and the IDF a decision was made that Messianic Jews are no longer a security risk and should be recognized as reliable and trustworthy citizens of Israel.

Elisha, a Messianic Jewish Sabra (Israeli born) is First Sergeant in the Israeli Air Force operating the highly effective Iron Dome Anti-

Many Messianic Israelis choose to serve in elite

fighting units and most are exemplary soldiers

who want to demonstrate that faith in Yeshua

is not a betrayal of their Jewish heritage.

Missile units. Upon completion of his basic training, Elisha joined the hundreds of soldiers at the Wailing Wall to pledge allegiance to the State of Israel, receive his machine gun and a Hebrew Bible given to all Israeli soldiers. During the ceremony Elisha raised his hand above the crowds and shouted to his commander, “Sir, may I use my Brit Hadasha (New Testament) with the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) to pledge with?”

“Yes, Elisha. You may,” returned the officer. And so Elisha joined the growing numbers of hundreds of openly Messianic Jewish soldiers serving in the IDF. Like most young Messianic Jews in Israel, Elisha says that he is proud to serve his country. Many Messianic Israelis choose to serve in elite fighting units and most are exemplary soldiers who want to demonstrate that faith in Yeshua is not a betrayal of their Jewish heritage.

In fact, faith in the Messiah gives them an even greater desire to serve the nation of Israel. “I feel like I am doing something really important,” Elisha says. “This is something I have prepared to do for my people. I am glad that I can be here for such a time as this.”

In the past many Israeli Messianic Jews preferred to study abroad in Christian institutions. Today young Messianics are choosing to attend a college or university in Israel and pursue advanced professional skills

right here at home affording these young Messianics a far greater opportunity for success in the Israeli market place and the ability to positively impact Israeli society.

The young generation of Messianic Jews in Israel is breaking down misconceptions about faith in Yeshua. They are working hard to show their love and respect for their people, the Land and their Jewish heritage. This vibrant young generation of Messianic military officers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, professors, school teachers, artisans and business men and woman is having a huge impact for good on attitudes toward Jesus and Messianic Jewish faith in every sector of Israeli society.

The first generation of Messianic Believers in Israel worked hard and long to raise families and children that are loyal citizens taking an active part in Israeli society. Today it is these young followers of Messiah, faithfully serving their people and contributing significantly to the wellbeing of the nation, that are rapidly changing the attitudes of Israeli Jews towards Yeshua and Messianic Judaism.

David Lazarus is Senior Pastor of the Beit Immanuel Congregation, Tel Aviv. Together with his wife Michaella and their four children, they are pioneers in the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish People in Israel since the 1970s.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

19

J E W I S H H O L I D AY | J A C K Z I M M E R M A N

A crowd gathers on a busy street corner in downtown Los Angeles just after sundown. It’s a sticky August evening in 1977, and everyone’s eyes are transfixed on a man who walks halfway across the street, stops, turns his head to the left, and then the unexpected happens:

20 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

ts:

Fe a s

D

ustin Hoffman has just finished shooting a scene for his upcoming movie, “Straight Time.” Yet this scene, which lasted for only about five seconds in the movie, took well over an hour to shoot.

That’s because he’d gone through multiple takes, crossing the street over and over, stopping at the exact spot, turning his head to the left again and again. The posture of his body while walking, the angle of the artificial and

T h e Fa l l

The director says, “Cut!”

AD

e R s r es

r a e eh

r o f l a s

natural light; everything had to be perfect and the production team and Hoffman would continually rehearse this until it was.

You may already know that the Fall Biblical Feasts of Leviticus are coming soon on our annual calendar. But what many don’t realize is that all of these feasts are also rehearsals. Each year God gives us the opportunity to observe and acknowledge their significance, so that one day when Yeshua returns to fulfill them all, we will have learned to observe them as perfectly as our imperfections allow us to.

Take for example the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. When the Israelites came into their promised land, they were instructed to blow the trumpets on the first day of every new month (Numbers 10:10 cf.

Psalm 81:3). But doing so on the seventh month was particularly significant. That was when the blast from the shofar or ram’s horn was to be seen as a reminder for all to repent

y a D t a e r G t a Th of their sins and turn back to God. In Judaism, the seventh month became the start of a New Year, and what better time to start afresh and anew in obedience! It was also a time of rehearsal, because the people would come to realize that one day, it would not be people blowing the shofar anymore, but God Himself, coming to judge them. Would they get right with Him before then? The shofar call was and remains a call for all of us to rehearse for that great day. And each year, we get another opportunity to do so. God allows us to rehearse and practice now, so that when Yeshua returns, we can be that much more prepared and obedient. The fulfillment is clear. First Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Ten days after Rosh Hashanah comes the second of the Fall Feasts—Yom Kippur (pronounced Yome KeePOOR), or the Day of Atonement.

On this one day of the year, the high priest brought a bull, a goat, and a ram to the holy place, and would then slaughter the animals and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat of the ark inside the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle.

In this way, atonement for sin was provided for everyone. This was in keeping with Leviticus 17:11 which says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”

This arrangement worked out fairly well, except for two problems: The first was that the blood merely covered the people’s sins, but didn’t really eradicate them. Think of it as a bandage that covers an open scab—the injury is no longer in view, but it’s nonetheless still there, as evidenced by the fact that the moment you remove the bandage, you can see it. The second problem was that when the Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD, animals could no longer be sacrificed, because the Temple was the only place where it was allowed.

What to do?

What many of the folks in 70 AD didn’t realize is that a generation before that, God had sent His Son Yeshua as the once-and-for-all sacrifice to shed His blood for us,

(Continued on page 26)

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

21

P R AY E R WATC H | PAU L A WA L B E R E R

C A L L ED

EQUIPPED

AND SET

Watchmen in Prayer for Israel I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.

You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. —Isaiah 62:6-7 22 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

T

here is so much information available to us regarding Israel and the Last Days. As Believers, many of us are quite interested in these areas, eager to hear the latest prophecy, teaching or headline. The question is: What are we doing with the knowledge we are accumulating? Do we realize that we have been called to an exciting, active role in relation to these matters—a place of high impact through prayer?

According to Isaiah 62, God has set watchmen in prayer for the fulfillment of His plans for Jerusalem, Israel and His People. It is the call of our Beloved (the Lord) to those who love Him on behalf of His people whom He dearly loves.

Therefore, the calling to be a watchman is first and foremost a call to love, and to express that love through watchful prayer. How can we as Believers not give ourselves to this urgently mandated ministry?

God’s love is one of several primary ways He has equipped us to be watchmen.

The Scriptures provide God’s blueprint and promises for Israel, containing His words to decree current events, and the context to understand them. The Holy Spirit gives revelation about how to pray for any issue, and when what is unfolding leaves us without words, Romans 8:26 tells us that He has that covered as well. Even time consistently spent in prayer equips us to grow as watchmen. And we can also use trusted resources. This edition of JVT, for example, taken into our times of intercession along with an open Bible, could fuel hours of intercession.

As watchmen, called and equipped, we have the privilege of being set, or appointed, by the Lord Himself. This carries the same sense as a police patrolman assigned to his beat. A beat cop shows up faithfully, again and again, to his specific assignment and area of authority, and when the crisis comes, he is already in place. Israel is our assignment, and as true watchmen, we will not wander off forgetfully when another prayer assignment temporarily takes our time or attention. Although we can pray for other matters, it is vital for us to understand that we are called to prayer according to Isaiah 62 – on behalf of God’s plans for His Land and His People! When we comprehend God’s loving motivation in this, we realize what a joy and honor it is to learn what He has to say to us regarding Israel, and to pray it back to Him with complete trust in His promises. He’s inviting us to an ongoing, intimate, two-way conversation, and these times of consistent prayer will powerfully prepare and equip us for times of crisis that require urgent prayer.

Entering into this calling will come at a cost, but it’s worth it! The natural and spiritual forces that seek to pull us out of place from actively engaging in prayer for Israel are increasing on all sides. We must focus on the face of our Beloved, renewing ourselves in His Presence and His Word. May the depth of His love for us and for Israel and the Jewish People inspire us to stand watch in prayer on their behalf. As set watchmen we are personally called and well-equipped to apply what we know to our prayers, and become part of the unfolding love story of the ages!

Paula Walberer is Prayer Center Coordinator at Jewish Voice Ministries International in Phoenix, AZ.

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

23

(Continued from page 9) tence only since the Jewish People began returning to their ancient homeland a little over a century ago?

3. Why can’t we make peace with a group of people who have never ruled over an inch of the Holy Land, who have never before had Jerusalem, or for that matter, any city as their capital?

4. Why can’t the Arab world accept one small state as a state for the Jewish People?

Israelis know that if the Islamic Arab states refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, it is because they don’t accept Jews living in the Middle East.

And so that is Israel’s primary demand: Recognize us as a Jewish state!

The Arabs claim, however, that a Jewish state would be an apartheid state!

The difference between these two peoples, of course, is that persecution of religious minorities in the Jewish state is minimal compared to persecution in any Islamic state. While the Fatah party tells Israel, “No” to a Jewish state! Hamas says, “Never!”

HOW MANY ISLAMIC STATES ARE THERE? There is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Then there’s the Islamic State of Saudi Arabia, of Oman, Mauritania, etc. Libya has made its official religion Islam, as has Malaysia.

In fact in every Arab and non-Arab state, where the population is overwhelmingly Islamic, every other religion suffers serious persecution.

Ask any Christian (privately) if he is a second-class citizen in his Muslim country, and he will almost certainly tell you he is.

I have never heard any diplomat, journalist or head of state talk about Islamic apartheid. And Islamic apartheid is like no other apartheid that exists in this 21st century.

But diplomats like Secretary of State John Kerry recently warned that if Israel doesn’t make peace with the Palestinian Islamic country, Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East, could well become an apartheid state! He was quickly parroted by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat who agreed wholeheartedly.

Why didn’t Kerry mention the fact that because of the apartheid situation under the Palestinian Authority, the traditional Christian community is disappearing! Leaving the country! And traditional Believers are not out evangelizing like the Evangelical Believers are. The latter receive even greater persecution in the Palestinian communities, and in every single Islamic-dominated country. Who doesn’t know that under Sharia law, if a Muslim converts to Christianity, he receives a death sentence?

ISRAEL’S DREAMS VS REALITY

live in a Palestinian state, but not in Israel.

Here is my bottom line: It’s not going to happen. There’s not going to be a peace treaty. When there is a new president of the U.S., he or she will surely send over more diplomats who will try to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They, too, will fail.

The god of this world will continue to hammer and batter Israel. But there is a growing army of Messianic Jews and Bible-believing Christians who are interceding for the physical and spiritual deliverance of the Jewish People of Israel!

These prayers will be answered by the Mighty God of Israel who will send His own army of angels to bring His ancient, beloved People back safely to Him. 1 Al Jazeera TV, 27Apr2014 2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

Based in Israel, Shira and her husband, Ari, direct Maoz Israel Ministries. In September 2002, they established www.istandwithisrael.com, a benevolence fund for the poor and needy among Messianic Jewish Believers in Israel and victims of terrorism.

To negotiate a peace treaty with the Palestinians, Israelis know we must have some way of insuring that terrorists cannot plan attacks from Judea and Samaria.

And no matter how much pressure is put on Israel, the Jewish People will not give up the Western Wall and control of the Old City to a Muslim authority. Jerusalem will be Israel’s capital.

Israel agrees that Palestinian “refugees” including children, grandchildren and great grandchildren could

24 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

ISRAEL'S CALL If you want to reach out to Jewish People, but don't know how, this book is for you.

See the Bible through Jewish eyes and learn how to reach your Jewish relatives, friends, and neighbors with the Good News. Written by Shira Sorko-Ram.

BOOK | ORDER #9153 | $12.00 GIFT

A New Look

at Heaven and Hell

The Afterlife has become a hot topic in recent years, partly because spiritual activity is increasing exponentially before the Messiah’s return. That’s why you need to learn how to rightly discern spiritual truth.

In his new book, Jonathan Bernis provides solid Messianic biblical teaching on Heaven and Hell … this book is different from anything else out there because it goes into the ancient rabbinic views on Heaven and Hell. It examines what the Bible says and it includes eyewitness accounts from those who have actually travelled beyond the veil.

BOOK | ITEM #9125 | $40.00 GIFT SIGNED COPY | BOOK | ITEM #9126 | $100.00 GIFT

To order, visit

jewishvoicetoday.org or call 1-888-921-4582

2015 JVMI

Wall Calendar Our beautiful Sunday-start, 12-month calendar is an exquisite gift item for friends and family during the holiday season. The 11”x12” wall calendar features full-color photographs of spectacular water scenes in the Land of Israel.

It includes dates for holidays and Jewish Feast days (with brief explanations of each), plus American, UK, and Canadian holidays.

ITEM #9652 | $20.00 GIFT To order, visit jewishvoicetoday.org or call 1-888-921-4582 Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

25

(Continued from page 21)

JOIN THE NATION’S PREMIER PROGRAM IN

Messianic Jewish Studies

AT THE KING’S UNIVERSITY GATEWAY DALLAS

We offer courses online as well as in four-day modules at the Gateway Dallas Campus leading to a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Messianic Judaism We also offer the only accredited

Doctoral Program in Messianic Jewish Leadership

WE ARE A FULLY ACCREDITED INSTITUTION WHICH PARTICIPATES IN THE US DEPT. OF EDUCATION TITLE IV PROGRAM, OFFERING FINANCIAL AID

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Director Raymond L. Gannon, PhD. 602-324-9239

www.thekingsmjbi.org APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND DOCTORAL LEVEL STUDIES

26 JewishVoiceToday.org | 800-299-YESHUA

and by our acceptance of what He did and who He was and is, our sins are atoned for and no longer are they just covered for a time—they’re gone!

Isaiah 59:20 speaks of a time when “the Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord. On that great day, He will bring salvation to those who have acknowledged the blood He shed for us.

From time to time I’m asked, “If Yeshua is the once-and-for-all sacrifice, then why do the latter chapters of Ezekiel speak of the reinstitution of animal sacrifices in the third Temple? Didn’t Yeshua fulfill that? He sure did. And that’s why those sacrifices will be held as a memoriam to Him, not as a replacement of Him. Five days following Yom Kippur comes the third and last of the Fall Feasts—Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. In Leviticus 23, God commanded the people to live in booths for seven days as a reminder that when they were wandering in the wilderness, God provided booths for them to dwell in. During this time of year today, it’s common for many Jewish families to build booths out of fabric and wood (or PVC if you need help from Home Depot!), and eat all their meals in this booth or “Sukkah.” There are also many Believers who acknowledge Yeshua’s birth on this day, based upon the time of year that Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, would have served as a priest in the Temple, and returned home where his wife became pregnant shortly thereafter. So, why do we rehearse this festival? It’s a reminder that one day we will dwell eternally with Yeshua and He with us. That’s probably why Zechariah 14:16 tells us that one day, all will go and worship the King on His holy mountain, and celebrate this feast.

And what better time to start practicing for that day than right now?

Jack Zimmerman is Staff Evangelist at Jewish Voice and an ordained Messianic Jewish Rabbi. To invite Rabbi Jack to speak at your church, congregation, or event, please visit: www.jewishvoice. org/speakers.

Celebrate

Mystery

The

Miracle Passover Seas and the

of

on the

Jewish Voice 2016 Caribbean Cruise April 16 - 23, 2016

Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas St. Martin | St. Thomas | Nassau

Join Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, his family and other Believers in celebrating together the watershed event of Israel’s history, Passover, on the beautiful Caribbean seas.

For more information call 888-43JESUS (435-3787) or visit www.jewishvoice.org/passovercruise

Jewish Voice Today | September/October 2014

27

Where the past and the future

meet in the present.

J O I N J O N AT H A N B E R N I S & F A M I LY , N O V 2 9 - D E C 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

TOUR

2014

Isr el

t oo la t e!

It ’s no tRegister now! 800-299-YESHUA | tours@jewishvoice.org | jewishvoice.org/IsraelTour