redemption – 11:3 Restoration

Restoring kol Israel: Greco-Romanism in the Kingdom?

Food poisoning is not a pleasant experience. In fact, sometimes it can be quite serious leading to hospitalization or death. Nobody plans for it, rather it usually occurs because of some minute unnoticed contaminate in the food that negatively affects the body. Sources could be fecal, bacterial, parasitic, or even viral. We are familiar with names that strike fear, such as e. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, toxoplasmosis, rotavirus, etc.

But, what if the contaminate is visible? Would we remove it? Or, like a turd in the punch bowl, would we just dip around it assuming we can ignore or ‘dodge’ it?

Most who desire the coming of the Messiah, whether Jews, Christians or any shade in between (Messianic Judaism/Hebrew roots/Torah pursuant/etc) seem to prefer to dodge the obvious contaminant in the punch bowl. Let’s consider some challenging things.

Restoring kol Israel: The ‘lost’ first post…

I’m sitting here staring at my screen. Writing feels a bit like blood letting. Yet, my brain is totally full and I have no idea where to begin, which string to pull first so the dam will beak.

For weeks, months even, I have been pondering the many facets of the restoration of kol Israel. One might call it a minor obsession because it is where my thoughts go when nothing else pressing is at the forefront. Among those thoughts, I have been juggling the hot potatoes that few have the courage to touch, subjects that draw extreme ire and irrational unbiblical pushback. Post titles float across my mind, titles like Feminism and the Destruction of Western Culture, or Patriarchy, God’s Solution that Everybody Hates, or Where have all the Men Gone and Why don’t they Care?

Most whom I have conversations with concerning the restoration of Israel, the return of the whole House of Israel and what it will look like, have a lilting dreamy character to their voice until they understand that to be successful, we must divorce ourselves from Western Greek influences. It is one thing for most to erase Christmas or Easter and the many unbiblical elements absorbed from the nations, but it is another matter entirely to realize that future Israel will Continue reading “Restoring kol Israel: The ‘lost’ first post…”

Speaking of “Greater Israel”….

Just yesterday, I posted a bit about Greater Israel and the explosiveness of hte topic. well, imagine my surprise when I received the following news analysis and prayer points email today that delves into the very topic!! And, it all ties in very closely to a prayer tour regarding the Land that we are taking during our upcoming trip to Israel. Fascinating synchronicity!

greaterisrael5 Abba is up to something MAJOR in our days and potentially in the next few months! Please read all of the following:

Israel Headline News, Analysis, and Prayer Targets ~ 3.8.18
Prepared for Bney Yosef North America

Scripture Focus:
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? For shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Isaiah 66:7-9 Continue reading “Speaking of “Greater Israel”….”

Does God have two brides??

The knee jerk reaction from both Jews and Christians is a resounding, “NO!!!” But, does Scripture bear this out, or are we willfully blind to a most difficult topic that we relegate to some ancient culture and time?

Buckle your seat belt and let’s examine Scripture without doctrinal or cultural filters.

Ezekiel 23 is a vile and gut wrenching chapter that few read with any pleasure. Jerusalem and Samaria, capital cities of Judah and Israel respectively, are vividly described as sister brides, wed to God Himself, who commit adulterous acts.

23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ²“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; ³and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled. ⁴Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

Begin by noting that while the language is metaphorical, God is making a very specific point. This chapter begins with a bold and direct statement: two women, daughters of one mother became His and bore sons and daughters. This is marriage language that is confirmed again multiple times through the text. Oholah and Oholibah pursue other lovers and play the harlot to the anger, frustration and embarrassment of God the Husband. Continue reading “Does God have two brides??”

This quote is a KEEPER!!

Friend and co-author Al McCarn has just reviewed Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler’s groundbreaking (ground shaking?) Ten From the Nations. I highly recommend the review, but especially want to share a quote that is worthy of framing!

“…those who persevere in reading and studying even when the subject matter is uncomfortable tend to come out much better in the end – smarter, wiser, more tolerant, and better able to cooperate with others in the interest of a greater good.”

Truth requires reading and studying hard subject matter, sometimes even things to which we may be strongly opposed. Be willing to pursue truth, even the uncomfortable parts!

Ezra, Two Sticks, Two Witnesses and Chanukah

Yesterday was Shabbos Chanukah and if you check your Chumash or Torah reading cycle, you will find that the Haftarah was Zechariah 2:14 – 4:7. Certainly, because one of the main topics in Zechariah 4:2-14 is the giant menorah, this can be connected to Chanukah, but if we dig a little deeper, this Haftarah connects all of Scripture!!

It is hard to know exactly where to begin pulling threads, so let’s just jump right in!

Last week’s Torah portion, Miketz, is part of my very favorite series of Portions, the Joseph Portions, about which I have written much. With multiple levels of understanding hidden in the life of Joseph, it is no surprise to find considerable prophecy and allusion to the Two Houses of Israel from the interplay of Judah and Joseph. While we will not delve into that in this post, I want to demonstrate from this Haftarah that the interplay was on display yesterday in every synagogue that read this, whether they recognized it or not.

Popular among Christians is trying to understand, or guess, who the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are. Al McCarn and I, in Ten Parts in the King: The Prophesied Reconciliation of God’s Two Witnesses that is now being printed, spend chapters collecting and connecting data points not just from Scripture but also Rabbinic and historic sources demonstrating not only the veracity of the Two House position, but explaining and examining God’s intent. One passage we touch on is this Zechariah passage.

Quoting from the soon to be released book, Continue reading “Ezra, Two Sticks, Two Witnesses and Chanukah”

Prophetic thresholds….

This year has been a string of prophetic pearls being revealed, one after another. Yesterday proved another gem in the string as President Donald Trump officially recognized Zion, the Eternal City, as the capital of Israel. Much, much has been running through my head ever since, but the very first thought that hit me was,

Ezra 1

Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

²“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. ³Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. ⁴And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”

⁵Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem

How many of you remember last year about this time when Trump’s win and Presidency was being met with declarations that he was a type of Cyrus. Continue reading “Prophetic thresholds….”

Might 40 years = 40 Jubilees?

I have been rereading Joshua this week and seeing some interesting parallels. Here’s one…

As hard as it is for us to imagine, Israel, all 13 tribes had the Torah and knew what was righteous, but still didn’t do it for 40 years of wilderness journey. Kinda like the ‘church,’ led by another Joshua, who has had Torah for the last 50 Jubilees, but has refused to observe some/certain of the commandments.

Stiff-necked then. Stiff-necked now.

Interesting that in Ezekiel we are told that it will not be until Abba brings us into the Land that He’ll sprinkle clean water on us and remove our filth. Here, Joshua does similarly after they cross the Jordan into the Land.

This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord , to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Joshua 5:4‭-‬6 NASB

http://bible.com/100/jos.5.4-6.NASB

Can we accelerate the coming of the Messiah?

Last night, as we sat around the Pesach table, we enjoyed a wonderful romp through Scripture. A small affair, with only three guests besides my family, we embraced the freedom to pursue Scripture and thought trails induced by the haggadah. Two of the three guests, never having participated in a Passover, had insightful questions and opened doors for significant discussion.

As we discussed Scripture and the scattering of the house of Israel, I brought up an interesting connection in Scripture: Both Matthew 24:31 and Deuteronomy 30:4 use the phrase ‘from the ends of the sky’ when speaking of the gathering of Yah’s people. (I have discussed this connection before and recommend this article as background.)

This morning, I woke thinking about the coming of the Messiah and how to speed it!

Christian and Rabbinic thought differ on whether we can speed or affect prophecy, a point that I made at our table last evening. We were enjoying a wonderful bottle of Jozef from Har Bracha Winery in Samaria, Israel, my selection for Pesach. I explained to our guests that the bottle is a fulfillment of prophecy and poignant reminder of the difference in Christian and Judaic perspectives on prophecy.

Nir (pronounced, Neer), the owner of Har Bracha, Continue reading “Can we accelerate the coming of the Messiah?”

Behold! Geulah draws nigh!

Miriam was more than perplexed. She was filled with awe and wonder and holy fear. Who was she that she should be given the incredible favor to be visited by a brilliant messenger and hear not only that the promises of the Most High were about to be fulfilled, but that she, a humble righteous one would actually get to participate!

She could share some of what she knew, but most had to be held closely to the vest and wait on the Lord to unfold in His time. What wonder and excitement she must have felt. Then, to gather with Elizabeth who had another piece of the puzzle, another part of the whole, and compare notes? It brought a flood of tears of joy!! Not only was she not crazy and not alone, but the sudden revelation that the Father was working in multiple ways, through multiple people and yet keeping hidden, for a time the plan that was being manifest.

What must that heady cocktail of emotion, Divine Presence and deep conviction have felt like? How joyous to share with a few who knew and understood? How challenging to stand, even move forward, in the face of the myriad doubters and question filled observers?

I woke this morning pondering Ezra, Nehemiah, Miriam (Mary), Joseph, Elizabeth, Moses and many others who ‘happened’ to live at a critical juncture in prophecy and were gifted not only with the eyes to see, but the opportunity to participate! Each had a journey Continue reading “Behold! Geulah draws nigh!”