Transition from the Pope's Visit to Jerusalem Day

This so-called nativity scene robs the Holy Family of its Jewishness, casting the baby Yeshua and Joseph as Palestinian Arabs (notice the swaddling clothes and headdress) and the Wise Men as Roman Catholic popes! What could be more insulting and blasphemous? The agenda of Pope Francis was carefully orchestrated to "recognize Palestine" and oppose "the occupation." Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

I have a Messianic Jewish friend in Jerusalem who has lived there with her husband many years. She regularly sends out e-mails, describing her everyday-life in Jerusalem. She is a devout lover of Yeshua and has a gift for writing. In her letter, written yesterday on the eve of Jerusalem Day, she gives a moving account of the transition between the Pope's visit and the upcoming celebration. Her perspective is priceless:

“The Pope came and went and it was quite a study in Jewish psychology to see and feel and hear the responses. Yesterday the streets were literally empty in my part of Jerusalem. We went shopping in Talpiot, a neighborhood in the southeast of the city that is usually booming with people, and we just zipped through empty streets and stores. 

“Today, on the other hand, the streets and stores are full and happy. Tonight begins JERUSALEM DAY, marking the anniversary of that mystical, miraculous, wonderful day in 1967 when suddenly Israel found Jerusalem in our hands again for the first time in 2,000 years. And the wonder of it does not cease, although the world tries its best to at least put a damper on the joy. May they not win, but may their eyes be open to come and share in the rejoicing!

“Two other popes have visited us since we have lived here, and in both of those cases there was actually quite a bit of excitement and curiosity within Israel among the Jews. This calls for a very quick, and very inadequate history lesson given by me, not an authority, and only sharing what I know as a Jew and from my own experiences. Even today most Jews do not really know the difference (or think that there is any) between Catholics, Protestants, other orthodox sects and even Mormonism for that matter. The history of relations between Catholics and Jews goes way back…back to the Roman destruction of the temple…the dispersion and the separation of the early Church (about 120 years after its inception, I believe) from the original Jewish believers. Persecution grew and continued growing with the Church of those days establishing that Jews were cursed of God as Christ killers.  (Of course there has always been a remnant who knew and understood the ways of God and sought Him, but I am sharing from the perspective of non-believing Jews.) On came the Inquisition, pogroms, countless banishments and dispersions. When I was a child, I recall being accosted by three of my small girlfriends, Roman Catholics, on their communion day in their white dresses telling me that I had killed Jesus. Let’s put it this way, relations between Catholics and Jews were not good. However, in 1948 with the establishment of the modern State of Israel, a problem was posed - if the Jews were cursed with no chance of redemption, how did this happen? Well, I’m not an authority on the Catholic church nor desire to become one, but there has been since 1948 a roadway of dialogue and reconciliation. 

“This pope is not perceived as someone who ‘likes Israel.’ The other two were. There was a great deal of nervousness on the part of most Israelis about his coming. He was going to Jordan first and then arriving in the Palestinian Authority by way of Beit Lechem (Bethlehem), circumventing Israel. Only after that would he come to Israel. He has an obvious dislike for our Prime Minister and prefers to speak to President Peres, the very liberal figurehead of the country who is not supposed to have any political influence. In the midst of this a growing number of angry Jewish youth from the ‘settlement movement’ on our political right have been carrying out ‘price tag attacks’ and vandalizing Palestinian and Israeli Arab property, often leaving very hurtful graffiti at random every time a Jewish community or home is destroyed as ‘illegal.’ (I suspect that you don’t hear of such things in the press, only the demolition of illegal Arab housing, right?). There have been recent such attacks against some churches, and there was fear that the Pope might be targeted. 

“THIS IS MY POINT: I was touched…shocked…moved by the reaction of the people from my vantage point in Jerusalem during this visit. As I said, streets were deserted. People on the bus or train were all looking downward, and they looked sad.  I asked The Lord ‘What is this?’  As I looked I realized that I was seeing the face of shame! The impression that I got was not that this was the sort of shame that leads to repentance (I wasn’t hearing discussions about Jesus) but the shame that comes from condemnation. I didn’t expect that, but I saw downtrodden souls! I saw a people ashamed that they exist. And I know that feeling.

I remember it well.  I am so thankful to be FREE from it, completely, in Yeshua, but I do remember the feeling.  It was a feeling that my very existence, as a Jew, was repulsive to the world and a mistake, that I could do nothing right, and that just when I thought I was doing something right, well, I would wake up and there you are! Wrong! Your fault! The world would be better without you!  

“This is what I saw around me, and the people ‘hid’ in their houses. Oh, you could say that we were warned of traffic jams and told that there would be disruptions, but I have really seen enough of those over the past 20 years to know that it rarely keeps people inside! The pope left and was not injured while he was here, thankfully, and there was a collective sigh of relief.

“But things were ever DIFFERENT this morning on the train! The train was jammed with young people in their 20s, with huge backpacks, sun tanned faces, long walking sticks and smiles. ‘Are you here for Jerusalem Day?’ I asked one of them.  ‘We are walking the Israel Trail, but wanted to be in Jerusalem for the celebrations. Those there have walked from the North for Jerusalem Day.’ A young man smiled, ‘Well, we have only been walking for 2 days,’ he said apologetically. An older man sitting across from me began enjoying them verbally as well. ‘So why are you on the train?? Get out and walk!’ The joy caught on, and I looked around at the people who had fought in the siege of Jerusalem, at those who had heard the shofar sound at the Western Wall, at those who read the Psalm with such wonder, ‘Our feet are standing within your gates O Jerusalem….

Psalm 122

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
² Our feet have been standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem!

³ Jerusalem is built
As a city that is compact together,
⁴ Where the tribes go up,
The tribes of the Lord,
To the Testimony of Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
⁵ For thrones are set there for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
⁷ Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
⁸ For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹ Because of the house of the Lord our God
I will seek your good.

Another of the ‘Songs of Ascent’ is Psalm 126 

 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad….

           In the Psalms, the ‘songs of ascent’ are the Psalms that are (and were) sung as the tribes ‘go up’ to Jerusalem at the appointed times. I understand that in 1967 when it was heard that Jerusalem was in our hands, that the people were told to stay away at first because the war was so difficult and no one knew if it was really over. But the people could not be stopped, and they just began walking, and kept walking. From all over the country and every direction they came…up to Jerusalem, ‘’like those in a dream.’ I love to listen to the stories told of that day among our patients. One lived under the old city wall, (many poor people lived under the wall) but had never been inside the Old City.  Her mother told her ‘Tamima!  Stay down!  Do not go out!’ but she said that she heard the soldiers, OUR soldiers, inside, and she just ran out and followed them. Sari Sapir was a young reporter and followed the troops in. She saw a very large ancient key fall to the ground and picked it up and ran after the Arab who dropped it saying, ‘Sir, sir! You dropped your key!’ But the Lord had put such a fear into them that they ran when they didn’t need to. She showed me the key once when I was at her house, about a foot long…how ancient I do not venture to guess… and we looked at one another with wonder…’as one in a dream.’ 

            Tomorrow there will be dancing. They call it ‘the flag dance,’ as the streets will be full of people dancing with the flag. I love Jerusalem day! I love the feeling of delight at something so much bigger than us, something that God hath done!

            What will be tomorrow? We do not know. Not with this city that the world wants to divide, the stone of stumbling, the rock of offense, the place that God chose to put His Name?  Why?  Because. 

            Jerusalem day approaches!”

JERUSALEM DAY - May 28, 2014

Israel will celebrate JERUSALEM DAY, the Reunification of Jerusalem, on May 28 this year.
When Israeli soldiers recaptured the Old City on June 7th in the Six Days War of 1967, they could hardly wait to get to the Western Wall! The emotionally-charged scene is described by a soldier who years later would become the Prime Minister of Israel - “I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. Motta Gur’s paratroopers were struggling to reach the Wall and touch it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.” 
–Chief of Staff Yitzchak Rabin

Read the story here: 
http://www.sixdaywar.org/content/ReunificationJerusalem.asp

On this 47th Jerusalem Day, the theme Scripture is the same as it always has been, "Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together" (Psalm 122:3). The city may be physically united, but it is not spiritually united, and that is why we should "Pray for the peace [salvation] of Jerusalem" (Psa. 122:6). The city and the people are one and the same thing, and we are called to intercede for them. "... The present Jerusalem ... is in bondage with her children" (Gal. 4:25). We are to "give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isa. 62:7).

Israeli pastor, Ofer Amitai, and some of his congregation visited a "stronghold" on the southern ridge overlooking the highway to Jerusalem. He said, "In May 1948, Jerusalem’s future lay in the balance. A siege threatened to bring the downfall of the city. Food, water, ammunition, and every other necessity were running dangerously low, and attempts to deliver supplies to the city were fiercely challenged. Ben Gurion, later the prime-minister of Israel, said, 'Jerusalem can exist without the state, but the state cannot exist without Jerusalem.' The battle at that time was being fought over the road to Jerusalem — its very lifeline.  

"At one of the most critical moments, the battle was concentrated on the high hill tops that dominated and thus controlled the way to Jerusalem. Those bare hilltops, covered with rock and little more, became the focus of ferocious fighting. The young men who fought there basically hung on to bare rock, clinging tenaciously with every fiber of their being. 

"We, too, are called to take our stand, and hang on to the ‘strongholds’ — the high ground of our faith — the Word of God. We hang on to Him, who is The Rock, to Him alone, and to what He has uttered. There is a ferocious battle on earth over God’s will being done, and we cannot let go. This is our high place; we must not, we will not let go of it. Israel SHALL be saved, Grace will be poured out. Mercy is coming! His Body in the land will be sanctified, purified, made holy, and filled with the knowledge of the Lord." 

Amen, Pastor Ofer! Let us pray earnestly!

Holocaust Remembrance Day Agonies

How should Christians who have been saved by a Jewish Messiah look upon the Jewish people who have endured so much suffering down through history? Isaiah prophesies our role: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" says your God. "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Is. 40:1, 2).

Basilea Schlink, in her book, Israel, My Chosen People, shows how Jesus identifies with His people, how His suffering on the cross is a prophetic picture of the suffering of the Jews in history, especially during the Holocaust. As part of the German Evangelical Church during World War II, Mother Basilea led a movement of repentance for Germany's national crime against the Jews. Her words from over 50 years ago are still very timely: "Now is the time for the New Testament people to awaken - now before the last hour comes, and with it judgment. Today let us take our place at Jesus' side and look upon His people with His eyes, full of love and mercy. Then our hearts would ache to see this chosen people of God wandering through the centuries, wretched, despised, shunned, ostracized and afflicted with pain like the suffering Servant of God in Isaiah 53. Then, looking on them, we would be reminded of Him.

"Israel, unintentionally and unwittingly, has become a spectacle before heaven and mankind, because she bears the features of the Servant of God. The sight of her should continually remind Christians of Jesus, despised, destitute, covered with bruises, afflicted, hated, persecuted, tormented, and hounded to death. Even if these marks borne by the people of God also betoken the chastening hand of God stretched out in judgment upon sinners, the fact remains that by these very dealings God proclaims Himself to be the Holy One of Israel.

"We as Christians are to hold in high esteem this people who bears such a close resemblance to Jesus. The sight of the Jews as an oppressed and afflicted people crossing the face of the earth, despised and rejected, should make us think of those words of Jesus about the destitute and needy: 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me' (Matt. 25:40). Who matches so accurately our Lord's description 'the least of these my brethren' as His people Israel? Who has suffered so much contempt from all nations down through the ages? Who has been so rejected? From whom did men turn away their faces? Who has been persecuted and tormented with such burning hatred? Who has been wounded and tortured to death so often as this His people? Here, indeed, are the brethren of the Lord Jesus."

This dear Christian sister's message of repentance made an impact on the Christian conscience in Germany, changing age-old anti-Semitic prejudices. Unfortunately, not all came to repentance. It is a documented fact that many Catholic priests gave aid to some Nazis fleeing Europe to start their lives over with new identities. Nazis evaded justice with the help of the Vatican and the Red Cross! Monasteries were used as safe havens for them. Read about it here: Nazis on the Run. TRUE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS HID THE JEWS, NOT THE NAZIS!

Israel will mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, tomorrow, April 28, with a two-minute siren and ceremonies at the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The focus is "1944: From Extermination to Liberation, the Jews' Situation Exactly 70 Years Ago." See details: Holocaust Memorial Day

[Basilea Schlink, Israel, My Chosen People (Old Tappan, NJ: Chosen Books, 1987), pp. 33-34.]

Yeshua is the FIRSTFRUITS from the Dead!

Paul said, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have died" (I Cor. 15:20). This corresponds to the Feast of Firstfruits - "... bring a sheaf of the firstfuits [of barley] of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it ..." (Lev. 23:10-16).

Yeshua was crucified and died at the moment the Passover lambs were slain, at 3:00 p.m. on Nisan 14. The next day began a seven-day feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day, Nisan 15, was a Sabbath. Then there was the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. The Feast of Firstfruits was "on the morrow after the Sabbath" (the weekly Sabbath), so that Feast day fell on Sunday. That was Resurrection Day! In order to account for "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," as Yeshua said would be the "sign of Jonah" who was three days and three nights in the whale's belly" (Matt. 12:39-40), the Feast of Firstfruits, fulfilled in Yeshua's Resurrection, would have to be Nisan 18.

This calculation would cause the Crucifixion to be on Wednesday, and Yeshua would be in the tomb for three days and three nights and rise on the third day, Sunday, Nisan 18. It is very significant that in Hebrew the number 18 stands for LIFE! Chai! You may have heard the expression, "L'Chaim," meaning "To Life!"

The humorous aspect to this is that the Pharisees and the Sadducees did not agree on whether the Feast of Firstfruits happened on Nisan 16 or Nisan 18. The Sadducees were the temple priests and were the ones to pick the first sheaf of grain and wave it before the Lord as the firstfruits of the harvest. But guess what? The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection from the dead! The day they waved the sheaf, Nisan 18, symbolized LIFE! It is funny that those who opposed the resurrection didn't see the LIFE in the days they lived!

Jane Diffenderfer wrote a marvelous article, explaining all this very clearly. Please read it at Firstfruits and the Resurrection.

Why Christians Should Celebrate Passover!

I just read an outstanding article on Passover which is good solid truth and great evidence of the need for Christians to celebrate it.  It reveals the pagan roots of "Easter" also.  On this site you can download a FREE Haggadah (program guide for the Passover).  A blessing awaits you if you make the decision to celebrate Passover in your home!!! It begins at sundown tomorrow night, April 14 (which also happens to be Nisan 14 on the sacred calendar of the Jews, the biblical day for slaying the Passover lambs.) The Feast of Unleavened Bread continues for a week, so you can choose another day in the week if you can't get prepared by tomorrow night. Go here: http://thewatchman.org/en/passover/

Pesach sameach! (Happy Passover!)
Nancy Petrey

Looking for ELIJAH at the Passover Meal this year!

The Jewish people are more focused on the coming of the Messiah at Passover time than at any other time of the year! It is the season of redemption! It is the perfect time to pray that their eyes will be opened to see their Messiah.

On my last post I explained the "Afikomen," the piece of matzah that is a Greek word for "I came." The Afikomen is the same "unleavened bread" that Yeshua shared with His disciples at the end of the Passover.  He also shared the third cup of wine, called "the cup of redemption," announcing the New Covenant in His blood that was about to be shed the next day as THE Passover Lamb! Today the Christian church takes that part of the Passover meal and calls it Holy Communion or The Lord's Supper. The symbolism in breaking the Afikomen is so obvious. It points to the crucifixion. We must pray that the veil will be removed from the eyes of the Jewish people to see that Yeshua IS the Jewish Messiah that has already come!

The next part of the Passover Seder ("order," order of service) is about the arrival of Elijah! A place has been set for him. Elijah's cup is filled, and a child goes and opens the door to see if he has come and to invite him in. When Elijah comes, he will announce the Messiah, Son of David! Let us see what Scripture says:

Malachi 4:5 - "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Four hundred years later the angel Gabriel appeared to the priest Zacharias and told him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son to be named John and said, "He [John] will also go before Him [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ... to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).

Yeshua spoke of John the Baptist as "the Elijah who was to come" (Matt. 11:14). John did indeed announce the Messiah at His first coming, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) However, Yeshua indicated that Elijah is going to appear again to announce His second coming - "Indeed, Elijah IS coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished." (Matt. 17:11-12). Many believe that the "two witnesses" in Revelation 11 are Elijah and Moses. Also, the prophet Malachi said that Elijah would come "before the great and dreadful day of the Lord." That describes the end time judgment with Yeshua's second coming, not the first coming as a baby in a manger.

The Jewish tradition concerning Elijah coming to the Passover meal is very interesting. They believe that Elijah visits the circumcision ceremony of every Jewish child and testifies that the Jewish people are scrupulous in their obedience. Males could partake of the Passover meal only if they were circumcised, so Elijah comes to the Seder to "testify" that all present are indeed circumcised.

Jewish tradition also states that Elijah's cup is the fifth cup and corresponds to the fifth expression of redemption, "I will bring you to the Land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord" (Ex. 6:8). They believe this alludes to the future messianic redemption which will be announced by Elijah. ("Why is Elijah the Prophet Invited to the Seder?")

Looking for the blood moons may be exciting but not half as exciting as looking for Elijah to come!
John the Baptist prepared the way for Yeshua the first time, and Elijah himself will come to prepare the way for Yeshua in the end of days! Wow!

Yeshua is my Passover!

What is Passover? For me, personally, it is when death "passed over" ME! I deserved to die for my sins, but Yeshua, the Passover Lamb, died in my place. When I accepted His blood sacrifice on the doorposts of my heart, I was "saved" from death. This is the spiritual reality of Passover.

The historical reality of Passover is found in the Book of Exodus (Chap. 12). The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. When they cried out to God to save them, He sent Moses. He would be their deliverer from slavery, just as Yeshua is my deliverer from sin. God sent ten plagues on Egypt to force Pharaoh to let God's people go. The tenth plague was the death of the first-born sons. The Israelites were instructed to kill a perfect lamb and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes. When the death angel saw the blood, he would "pass over" those homes. The Israelites were obedient, and the next day they marched out of Egypt. On their calendar, Nisan 14 was Independence Day. God had chosen them and made them a holy nation to represent Him to the world through the Laws He would give them and the miracles He would do for them.

Passover is the first of the seven annual feasts God instituted for His people.  It shows His calendar of redemption! Moses had told the Israelites that God would send them a "Prophet" (Messiah) like Moses himself, from among their brothers (Deut. 18:15-19). This Jewish prophet would turn out to be YESHUA! (Philip told that to Nathaniel in John 1:45.) John the Baptist identified him, saying, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

This year I intend to celebrate Passover in our home. I am not Jewish, but I have a Jewish Savior. He is what Passover is all about. As a matter of fact, He died on the cross at exactly the time that the priests at the temple in Jerusalem were killing the Passover lambs! That was no co-incidence. It was fulfillment of prophecy, because He was the Lamb of God, the One to whom all the animal sacrifices down through the centuries had pointed to. The Apostle Paul said, "For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast ..." (I Cor. 5:7-8).

The first three of the seven annual feasts of Israel have been fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah! The Feast of Unleavened Bread is prophetic of His burial, and the Feast of Firstfruits is prophetic of His resurrection. The fourth feast, Shavuot (Pentecost in Greek), was fulfilled in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, birthing the Church, told about in Acts 2. The last three feasts happen in the Fall and prophesy the Second Coming of the Messiah: first, the Feast of Trumpets, when He descends to earth (I Thess. 4:16-17), then ten days later, the Day of Atonement, when "all Israel will be saved" (Rom. 11:26), and finally, Feast of Tabernacles, when Yeshua will set up His kingdom on earth and reign for 1,000 years.
So, that is God's Calendar of Redemption, shown in the feasts. Wow! (See Lev. 23 for whole calendar.)

The symbolism in the Passover service, called a Seder ("order") is, likewise, full of prophecy. The unleavened bread, called "matzah," is flat. It has no leaven, symbolic of sin, and Yeshua had no sin. It is also pierced with holes, just as Yeshua's hands and feet were pierced on the cross. And, similar to a saltine cracker, it is striped. Yeshua was flogged with 39 cruel stripes on his back! This matzah speaks volumes about just WHO the Passover Lamb is!

The most awesome thing about the Seder is the particular piece of matzah that is broken and shared after supper along with the third cup of wine. This is the origin of what Christians call "The Lord's Supper." Churches celebrate The Lord's Supper or Communion, as some call it, many times during the year, and some churches celebrate it every Sunday. Yeshua said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me ... This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." Paul added, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (I Cor. 11:24-26).

The question in my mind is - did Yeshua want us to celebrate the whole Passover Seder "in remembrance" of Him or just the ending part of it that we call "The Lord's Supper"? Before the Passover that night, Yeshua had told His disciples, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15). Maybe He still has that desire to "dine with us!" Think about it!

On my next blog I will tell you what that last piece of matzah speaks of. It is truly fascinating! Also, we need to talk about the expected arrival of Elijah to the Passover Seder!