Hamas: Christian Zionism is our enemy The Hamas terrorist organization has singled out Christian supporters of Israel, putting them on notice that it views their actions as "criminal," making them enemies of the Palestinian Arabs. In an interview published in the Arabic language newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat last Thursday, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Gaza-based Hamas leader said, surprisingly, that his organization did not regard the West as the enemy. "We do not consider the West as an enemy but we believe Christian Zionism is criminal," he said. While no Arab nationalist or Islamic group has thus far targeted Christians specifically for standing with Israel, the news that Hamas hates them as it hates the Jewish state will not surprise many who regard themselves as "Christian Zionists." Christian Zionists – who are to be found mostly, but not exclusively, in the ranks of Evangelical Christianity – not only believe that the God of Israel gave the Land of Israel to the People of Israel. They also believe that they are to stand with Israel against those who are out to rob the Jews of their land. Millions of Christian Zionists around the world support the Jewish claims to the Land of Israel and reject Arab assertions that they have national rights to this land. While Arabs may and should be allowed to live in peace in the State of Israel, these Christians believe, any Arab efforts to assert sovereign control over any land in the biblical country of Israel are rejected. Full Article: http://www.jnewswire.com/library/article.php?articleid=647 Where is the U.S. in Bible Prophecy? Natural Disasters: When Nations Neglect God's Business for Their Own A two-foot snowfall in Los Angeles -- a severe drought this summer in the Midwest that dropped water levels in the Missouri River to their lowest on record -- a heat wave of temperatures of over 110 degrees that in one week killed more than 20 people in Arizona -- hurricanes in Florida, Carolina, and of course, the monster of all storms, Hurricane Katrina, which essentially washed away the city of New Orleans. All, says Ross Gelbspan of the Boston Globe, are the results of human-induced global warming. According to Gelbspan, it's not just America, but places around the world like Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, and India that are feeling the heat of catastrophic environmental changes. Singer Barbra Streisand recently commented on the phenomena. In an interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, Streisand insisted: "We are in a global warming emergency state, and these storms are going to become more frequent, more intense. There could be more droughts, dust bowls. You know, it's amazing to hear these facts, I mean; the Andes have no ice caps on the mountains in winter. The glaciers are melting ...." Streisand's solution was that America and the world sign the Kyoto Protocol, regulating the emission of carbon-dioxide gases. WorldNetDaily, however, reports experts tend to disagree about what's really taking place. Dr. Sami Solanki, director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Gottingen, Germany, says dramatic weather changes are caused not by man-made activity, but the result of the sun heating up, which "may now be affecting global temperatures." Max Mayfield, head of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and Hurricane forecaster William Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, essentially say the current "onslaught of storms 'is very much natural.'" It's hard to believe what's been occurring of late is simply "very much natural." The succession and intensity of these events have rightly caused people to sense something isn't right in the earth, and scientific data alone can't explain it. Interestingly, the Old Testament book of Haggai describes a time not unlike ours, when the people of Israel were wondering why so many natural calamities had befallen them. Like us, they had thought of every reason but God. Of course, they were too sophisticated, even too pious, to blame Him. Yet God said to them: "You counted on much; and see it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that is in ruins, while you each busy yourself with his own house. Therefore for your sake the heavens have withheld the dew and the earth withheld its produce. I called for a drought upon the land, upon the mountains, upon the grain, upon the new wine, upon the oil, upon what the ground produces and upon men, upon cattle and upon all the labor of their hands" (Haggai 1:9-11, The New Berkeley Version). In other words, God was saying: "I'm the reason you've experienced the storms -- the drought -- the scorching heat -- the crop failures -- the strong winds -- this heightened intensity of natural disasters. I did it. And I did it because I wanted to get your attention about the way you've forgotten me and my business and focused exclusively on your own." Could there be any better description of our day? Radio Bible teacher, the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, once said something more than 20 years ago in his commentary on Haggai 1:9-11 that was incredibly insightful for our time, especially for America, and even more specifically applicable concerning recent Katrina events in New Orleans. "In our day," Dr. McGee said, "the tendency is first to blame the police -- they should have been on the job. Then we blame the mayor, we blame the legislature, and we blame Washington. Very possibly all of them are guilty. But, my friend, has it occurred to you that you yourself are to blame? Although we blame men and machines for the conditions of the world, God has brought it all to pass. Do you want to blame Him? Go ahead. He told Israel that He was responsible. But He also told them why. They had neglected Him. You see, the solution to our problems is very simple; yet it is complicated. We think that if we put in a new method or a new machine or a new man, our problems will be solved. My friend, why don't we recognize what our problem really is, who caused it, and how it can be solved." One needn't think the natural disasters in New Orleans, Biloxi, or any other place were because the people in those cities acted more wickedly than others. Jesus warned against that kind of assessment in Luke 13:1-5, declaring: "Unless you repent you will all similarly perish." But this unusual barrage of climatic catastrophes should be seen as a wake-up call for people everywhere -- the handwriting on the wall that God is ready to judge the nations. God gets no pleasure in afflicting men. His actions are not retaliatory. But the Sovereign of the Universe cannot simply allow His law to be spurned. His will and way must be paramount to everything else. His business must be attended to first. In 1787, George Mason, one of the largest plantation owners in Virginia, stated his views on national accountability before the Constitutional Convention: "As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins, by national calamities." Global warming? The sun heating up? A natural cycle? Have you ever considered the fact that recent natural disasters might have more to do with you -- your neglect -- my neglect -- America's neglect -- the nations' neglect of God's business for their own? Full Article: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/182005mc.asp --------------------------------------------------------------------- Author Urges Christians To Hold Bush Accountable for Supporting Islam A Christian author and an authority on Bible prophecy says evangelicals need to hold President George W. Bush accountable for his rosy attitude towards Islam. For the fifth straight year, President Bush welcomed Muslims to the White House for the meal after their daytime fast during the month of Ramadan. He has consistently referred to that month-long Islamic holiday as a "holy" observance and to the Quran as "God's word." At this week's Ramadan dinner, Bush even noted that a Quran had been added to the White House library. Dave Hunt, author of the new book Judgment Day: Israel, Islam, and the Nations says Christians "should not let Bush get away with" his claim that Islam is a noble faith. Political correctness is one thing, he contends, "but you shouldn't lie and say Islam is peace." Bush "certainly must know better than that," Hunt insists. "Maybe he feels he's forced to do it for political reasons -- I don't know. But, on the other hand, we have another problem: Condoleezza Rice believes in replacement theology. She's a Christian but believes that Israel has been replaced by the Church." The author of Judgment Day believes President Bush and the United States will one day face judgment by God for pressuring Israel to give its land over to the Palestinians for a so-called Palestinian state. Hunt feels Christians need to speak out against Bush's pro-Palestinian policies and his apparent support for Islam. "Don't let the President get away with that -- put pressure on him," the biblical prophecy expert urges. "The problem is, we have evangelical leaders who are clear on the gospel," he asserts, "but when it comes to what God says about Israel, they deny that. So we've got to stand up and hold our leaders to what the Word of God says. Otherwise, we are really heading for a horrible judgment." Hunt says the Old Testament prophet Joel makes it clear that all nations of the world, including the U.S., will rise against Israel at Armageddon and be judged by God for their betrayal of his chosen people. Full Article: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/192005d.asp Aleichem shalom, Yom HaKippurim Semeach! Blessing to each one of you as we enter this very prophetic day. I am a tzitzit wearing middle school math teacher at a middle school in Northern California where I have worked for the last eleven years. Yesterday, my Principal walked into my room and explained to me that my leave to keep the fall feasts, including the Feast of Tabernacles, would no longer be granted with pay because the contract did not specifically delineate "religious leave" as a permissible Personal Necessity leave. I explained to her that at my hiring conference eleven years ago, I specifically informed the Superintendent at that time of the festivals and he said it would not pose a problem. For the last eleven years, I have enjoyed paid release time (of course my minimal sick leave is used each year), but that has now come to an end. I told her straight out that if the District continues this course of action, I will do whatever is in my power to fight this discriminatory act, and if necessary, bring it to Court showing that the school calendar violates the Establishment Clause of the First Ammendment by establishing vacation time around the major Christian holiday of Christmas and Easter. Please pray, on this Yom HaKuppurim, that Y'hovah would bring about a peaceful solution, of if necessary, to grant me the wisdom to fight this and win. Brachot, Dave dbedwell@charter.net September 2005 Shalom from Sefad, Israel! Fall is coming, and there's an excitement in the air as we approach the Jewish Holidays. It would certainly be nice to be spending them with you as we celebrate Rosh HaShanna (the Jewish New Year) and remember Yeshua on Yom Kippur, as the final atonement for our sins. In my last letter to you, I wrote about the 200,000 Lubavitchers (members of an ultra- Orthodox Jewish sect) of which many believe that their late Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah of Israel. Instead of focusing on the Jewish Bible (Tanakh), Lubavitchers' base their theology and doctrine on a book called Tanya. That's only 200,000 Jews, however millions of Jewish people believe in reincarnation, which is taught in Kabbalah based on a set of Jewish books called "the Zohar." All Chassidic Jews and the majority of Orthodox Jews believe that Kabbalah and the Zohar are valid Jewish teachings. Kabbalah is a religious mystical system of Judaism claiming insight into the divine nature and secret knowledge of God, and the laws of nature and light in the universe. Zohar is a Hebrew word that means "splendor" or "radiance." The Zohar is a mystical commentary on the Torah, originally written in Aramaic. At one point the Zohar was only to be studied by Jews who were well-versed in the Talmud, but today all Jews are encouraged to read and study all 23 volumes of the mystical Zohar. Organizations like the "The Kabbalah Learning Center" have outlets in cities throughout the world with many Jews and even non-Jews attending classes. Famous singer/actress Madonna has given millions of dollars to promote Kabbalah and the Zohar, which has peaked the interest of Jewish youth to the lies and deceptions of the Zohar. The Zohar, and commentaries on the Zohar, have become very popular books in the last decade teaching on all types of Jewish subjects such as: healing, life after death, redemption, etc., which is leading our Jewish people further away from the truth of Biblical Judaism and their need for a Messiah to take away their sins. "Of course I believe in reincarnation," Sarah said. "Zev, it's a Jewish concept, from the Kabbalah!" Sarah, whom I have known for the past year was raised in a traditional Jewish home, and is studying the Zohar and other aspects of Kabbalah. "Okay Sarah, so tell me who you were in your past life?" I asked. Sarah shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I don't know!" Like most Jews, Sarah does not read the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), but she is drawn to other Jewish books like the Zohar because of their mystical nature. I then showed her in our Jewish Bible (2 Samuel 12:22-23), how reincarnation is not a Jewish concept. I had her read from the Prophet Samuel, where it says: After King David's first son died, David said: "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." I also showed Sarah, (Job 7:9-10): "When a cloud vanishes, it is gone. So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up. He will not return again to his house, nor will his place know him anymore." Sarah then said, "Okay, I guess our Jewish Bible does not believe in reincarnation. However Zev, Kabbalah and the Zohar are really, really interesting and through Kabbalah, I am able to reach my full potential as a Jew." She is convinced that the Zohar is the most important Jewish book, that reincarnation is a Jewish concept, and that she has had past lives even though she doesn't remember anything about them. Isn't it very sad that millions of Jewish people believe in reincarnation, and accept it as scriptural truth? This is why it is so important for you to partner with our Bible Ministry. Sarah and I have discussed the Messianic prophecies several times, and in our last conversation she said to me, "Jesus even taught Kabbalah. That is how he was able to walk on water and do miracles." I have not given up on Sarah, and she has not given up on listening to me when I talk to her about Biblical truths. She has told me that when our Messianic Prophecy Bible is completed she would be willing to go through it with me and her rabbi. It's obvious that Jewish people believe in reincarnation because it solves the problem of everlasting life for them. There is no longer a need to acknowledge your sins and the need for atonement. Reincarnation is a "feel good concept" because it gives you immortality. Last Wednesday, I again went to visit my cousin Svi on our family Moshav, in the northern Galilee region of Israel. As I was passing by the city of Sefad, I decided to park my car and take a stroll down the main street. A man was standing outside a Kaballistic Center and he invited me in. "Shalom, my name is Uri," he said. "I feel a very good 'aura' around you, I can tell that you have a good soul," he said to me. "Do you read the Zohar?" he asked. I replied, "No, I don't read the Zohar because I read the Tanakh and Brit Chadashah (the Jewish Bible and the New Testament)." "That's great," Uri replied. "Yeshua was a good man and one of the greatest Kaballists who ever lived! He was a master of the Zohar and therefore you should want to read it too because it will open the "divine spark" hidden within you. "What's your name?" he asked me. "Zev," I replied. "Zev, the more you bring the Zohar into your life, the stronger your connection with the Light becomes. The Zohar is both practical and powerful and each week there is a special reading where you can tap into the Creator's Light," explained Uri. Uri and I spoke for about 45 minutes, going over the Zohar and how it contradicts the Messianic Prophecies and the teachings of the Jewish Bible. I was surprised at how many Israelis and Jewish tourists walked into the store to buy the Zohar and other books, during the short time we spoke. Uri, a master Kaballist, explained to me why I should believe in Kabbalah and I explained to him the sin in mankind and in his own life. However, Uri's response was that 'his sin' is dealt with in each life. "In each life, the soul is prepared to be a better person in the next life, until hopefully one day there is no more sin. You see our 'Karma' has certain layers of negativity around it which stops us from 'connecting to The Light.' When a person removes all the layers, then they connect with The Light and they don't have to come back anymore. This happens to righteous people, and then they go to what we call heaven or paradise," explained Uri. I then opened up my Bible and showed him the main Messianic Prophecies and how Yeshua fulfilled all of them proving that He is the Jewish Messiah, and the sin atonement that Uri needs in order to have everlasting life. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if the Messianic Prophecy Bible was completed and I could have left one with Uri and given them out to the people who walked into the Kaballistic Center? A few hours later, I went to a gym/health spa to exercise - and on a sign it said, "Our indoor and outdoor spa integrates healing Kaballistic secrets to offer you the fountain of youth." Kaballah is pervasive in both Israeli society and Jewish communities around the world. You will see flyers posted in libraries, restaurants, public hallways, and just about everywhere advertising Kaballistic classes and books to read. The following day I was back in Jerusalem and I walked passed a store called Olam Katan (in Hebrew means "small world") - Spiritual Books and World Music. I was greeted by the owner, Reuven, who invited me in and told me about classes he holds on various subjects of Kabbalah. Many of the books in the store were on Kabbalah and the Zohar. There were even more books based on Hinduism, Buddhism, and all types of eastern religious philosophies which is the basis of the New Age Movement. Right away I told the store owner that I was a believer in Yeshua. "Really, well we have books on Jesus too," Reuven said, as he led me to another section of the store while he kept talking . . . "You know, Jesus was a great spiritualist and miracle healer, so I have many books about Jesus." I must say that I was appalled! One of the books was called, "Jesus the Magician," another was called, "Was Jesus influenced by Buddhism," another "The Imitation of Christ," and the list went on and on. The reality is that Kabbalah, the Zohar, and all these books are based on eastern religions and not on Biblical Judaism. In the Messianic Prophecy Bible we will address issues such as reincarnation and refute the doctrines of Kabbalah and New Age teaching, as we prove that Yeshua fulfilled the Messianic Prophecies, and that He takes away the sins of the world. There is overwhelming proof that the Jewish people are open to "spiritual things" because millions of them believe in Kabbalah and other Jewish books and teachings. The problem is that they are not hearing the Gospel Message because Christians who know the truth, are not taking it to them. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 11, it is the responsibility of the Gentile Christians to make the Jewish people envious of their salvation in Yeshua (Jesus): "Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" Romans 11:11-12 I want you to know that many non-Jews who are also studying Kabbalah such as movie star Demi Moore and singers Mick Jagger, Britney Spears, and Madonna, are influencing Jewish people to study the Zohar. Madonna, who recently visited Israel to attend Kabbalah seminars, has already spent $6.5 million on a Kabbalah Center in London's Old Jewish area as well as $21.6 million on funding a Kabbalah Grammar School in New York. Madonna is influencing many Jewish people away from the truth of Messiah Yeshua. However, with your financial support you can influence the Jewish people by spreading the truth through the Messianic Prophecy Bible and help bring Salvation (Yeshua) to the people of Israel. We simply need to get Messianic Prophecy Bibles printed and distributed to Jewish people throughout the world. Please make the best gift you can, and consider sponsoring a chapter of this urgently-needed Bible. With all my brotherly love in Messiah Yeshua, Zev Isaacs Founder Rabbi Schneerson hailed as Messiah Shalom from Israel! More and more Jewish people in Israel are turning to Orthodox Judaism because they are trying to fill the spiritual emptiness in their lives. Chabad Lubavitch, which is a sect of Orthodox Judaism, believes that if all Jews spend more time praying and doing more mitzvot (good deeds), that this will usher in the coming of the Messiah. However, about half of the Lubavitch followers believe that the late Rabbi Schneerson, who died in 1994 at the age of 92, is the promised Messiah of Israel. And the number of Jews who follow this false Messiah is growing daily! With your help we can get our urgently-needed Messianic Prophecy Bible completed and distributed in Israel, so that Jewish people can be exposed to the truth of the Messianic Prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures and see that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Real Messiah of Israel! Every day our Bibles For Israel Ministry is sharing the Good News of Yeshua with Israelis. Do you know that 99.9% of Israelis do not know that Yeshua is the Messiah and their Salvation? With 5.5 million Jewish people in Israel, and 5.3 million in the United States and Canada, the harvest fields are huge, but we need your help for the finances to get Bibles and Evangelist- Outreach workers into the harvest fields of Israel and also to reach the Jewish people where you live in your state. "Did you put on tefillin today?" Egal said to me as I was walking out of the shopping mall. Egal and two other Lubavitchers were standing outside the main entrance of the Ramat Aviv shopping mall (in a suburb of Tel Aviv), asking everyone to put on tefillin (phylacteries) and say the traditional Hebrew prayers. "No, I didn't put on tefillin today," I replied. One of them took my left arm and pulled me over to the display table with their books on it, and he began wrapping the leather straps of the tefillin around my left arm. These straps are tied to a leather pouch that contains small scrolls of Torah passages - the Word of God: Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18 and Exodus 13:9, 16. The word tefillin comes from the root word "tefilah" which means prayer. I put on the tefillin so I could share Yeshua with them, and as I said the traditional prayers, I joyously prayed in the name of Yeshua! "Why are you praying in the name of Joshua?" Egal asked me. "Not Joshua, Yeshua," I replied. "Yeshua of Nazareth who fulfilled all of the prophecies in the Tanakh (Old Testament) about the promised Messiah of Israel." Egal then replied, "Oh, you mean Yeshua the Christian ...well I know he was a Jew, born here in Israel. He was a good man, a Tzadik (righteous man) but he went astray and started a new religion. He obviously isn't the Messiah because if he was the Messiah, Jews would believe in him, but as Jews we certainly don't accept that he is the Messiah." Wow - Egal's statement that Yeshua is rejected by His own people is actually a fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy in Psalm 118:22 which reads: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone." Egal then pointed to the books on his table and said to me, "Zev you should read Rabbi Schneerson's writings and you will see that he is the Messiah!" "Have you read the Tanya or the Egross," Uri asked me, pointing to the books on their table. "You must really read them, they will change your life forever. You will find peace that you have never had, and all the questions about God and life will be answered." Pointing to the book on the table, Uri explained that the Tanya is the small book written by the first Rabbi of the Lubavitch sect a couple of hundred years ago and it is the essential fundamentals of Jewish life. "Zev, when you read the Tanya it will bring out something in you, the hidden part, and when you read and study it, you will come to the understanding of what being a Jew is," Egal explained. "It has the answers to every question, and after you read it, you won't have any more questions about life. You will also come to the understanding that Rabbi Schneerson is the long awaited Messiah, and he is alive today!" "If he is alive, where is he?" I asked Egal. "He is with God in Heaven," he replied. I then said to Egal, isn't that a strange coincidence because Messianic Jews know that Yeshua is in heaven with God, and this fulfills the Messianic prophecy that King David wrote in Psalm 110:1: "The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." And this prophecy is fulfilled in the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) in Mark 16:19 where it says: "After the Lord Yeshua had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God." Still trying to convince me that Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah, Uri pointed to the bigger books and explained that along with the Tanya I must read Egross. "These books are called Egross which are 26 volumes of letters that were written to Rabbi Schneerson over a period of 50 years. Our beloved Rabbi answered questions from his followers and all of these letters are published in these 26 volumes of Egross." "There are questions about: business (such as what to do with a business partner who is stealing from you); family (how to deal with a husband who yells at his children, or gets involved with another woman); prayer - (how and when to pray), how to do this, or how to do that - any question you can imagine, the Rabbi answered them all and they are here in the Egross," Egal explained. "Zev, Listen" Uri said, "Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah because the Torah says that he is Messiah. Because the Torah says the Messiah is alive - we know that Rabbi Schneerson - King Messiah is not dead, he is alive." Egal told me that he has only been a Lubavitcher for two years, before that he was a completely secular Israeli with no beard, and he barely even believed in God. "But when I became Lubavitch, for the first time I got to know God, and who I am," Egal said. I explained to Egal the prophecies about the Messiah, but he was convinced by the books of Tanya and Egross that Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah. He now works full-time for the Chabab Lubavitch movement trying to recruit other people to become Lubavitch and believe that the dead Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah. It is very sad that Jewish people rarely read the Tanakh (Bible). Instead they read other "spiritual books" like the Tanya and Egross which continue to blind them from the truth that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel. What do you think would have happened if two years ago Egal did not meet other Lubavitchers and read the Tanya and Egross, but instead he met one of our Israeli Outreach Workers who gave him one of our Messianic Prophecy Bibles? I think Egal would believe in Messiah Yeshua, and he would be saved today. Our Messianic Prophecy Bible will explain how Yeshua fulfilled all of the prophecies about the Messiah. Unlike Rabbi Schneerson who did not fulfill the Messianic prophecies, Yeshua did coming riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), Yeshua was born a miraculous birth (Isaiah 7:14), Yeshua was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), Yeshua did fulfill the time period when the Messiah had to be cut off (Daniel 9:24-26), and there are about 30 other prophecies that Yeshua fulfilled. The late Rabbi Schneerson who is buried in New York, fulfilled none of them! The Lubavitch movement has 4000 full-time outreach workers and a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars to spread lies and the false teaching that Rabbi Schneerson is the Messiah. It is so important for you to make the best gift you can today, so that we can get Lubavitchers and all Jews, a copy of the Messianic Prophecy Bible so they will see that Yeshua is the Real Messiah spoken of in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and have eternal life! With all my brotherly love in Messiah Yeshua, Zev Isaacs Founder Awesome Jewish Testimony! The Jewish holiday of Passover is very special to Joe Nemni because he was born where the first Passover took place, Egypt. And somewhat like the Jews who fled Egypt 3500 years ago with Pharaoh's army chasing them, Joe's family along with most of the other Jews were also forced to leave Egypt in 1956. Today, Joe who always has a smile and a word of encouragement, rejoices in knowing his Messiah. Joe invited Yeshua into his life in 1996 and he serves in his local Messianic congregation as a financial advisor, as well as on the worship team playing the piano to songs sung in Hebrew and English. However, it was a long journey for Joe to find the promised Jewish Messiah. This journey took a little Jewish boy from Alexandria Egypt, who faithfully went to the synagogue with his parents on all the High Holidays, and often on Shabbat (Saturdays) - to France as a teenage refugee and then immigrating to Canada. "I was born in Alexandria, Egypt to Jewish parents. Life was good and even peaceful even though I was born during the Second World War, and still have memories of bomb raids in Alexandria. We lived a fairly typical Jewish life even though we were in Egypt which was not a friendly country to the Jews or of course to the State of Israel. I had my Bar Mitzvah in a synagogue within walking distance of our house. "Passover in particular was always a very big family celebration for us. You have to understand what it means and how it feels for a Jewish person to celebrate Passover while still living in Egypt. To this day when I get together with some of my cousins in California and elsewhere, we still recall and talk about the happy times in Alexandria when we held the traditional Passover Seder at our house. Believe me, the greeting 'Next year in Jerusalem' had particular significance for us because we knew as Jewish people that our days in Egypt were numbered because of the anti-Jewish sentiment. "I knew about Jesus because of my Gentile (non-Arab) classmates at school. I still remember to this day my mother warning me at Easter time specifically on Good Friday: 'Don't get too close to your Gentile friends today; they are quite upset at us.' (The day Jesus was killed) But then she would add, quite philosophically 'but don't worry, they will be in a much better frame of mind by Sunday.'" (The day He rose) "I remember my brothers relating to me once that at one of their choir practices at the Synagogue, the choir master told them: 'I can prove to you that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God. If Jesus was truly God's Son, would God allow him to die on the cross or would He not move heaven and earth to save him?' For some reason, while I never dwelt on that very much, it was a statement that I had not forgotten. Many years later I found the answer right under my nose, in the Bible. "As a Jewish boy growing up in Egypt I knew that 'Jesus Christ,' was the one who the Christians followed as their God. Even though I knew that he was born Jewish, I did not think that there was anything Jewish about Him. I thought he was someone who was a little misguided and simply started a new religion." Joe, who was born during World War II, still has strong childhood memories of May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation. In 1956, during the Suez War, Joe's parents like many other Jews, were given three weeks to leave Egypt. "One morning in October 1956 at my school entrance, I was stopped by three Egyptian soldiers who told me that the school was now closed and had become the property of the Egyptian Government. This marked the beginning of a huge exodus from Egypt. Most Jews were forced to leave the country and all of their property was seized," recounts Joe. "To me it felt like the Exodus from the Bible." "In December 1956, (Remember that date, I will refer to it later) my family left Egypt with literally a few dollars and the clothes on our back. We sailed to France, where we lived for one year as refugees while getting our emigration papers for Canada. "After arriving in Canada, I graduated from the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music, obtained my Accounting degree and professional designation, got married to a lovely young woman, and went to work for a Fortune 500 company. So there I was, in my mid 30's, with a beautiful family, a great job, a great future, living in a nice house on a one acre lot. In short, I had everything any human being would want. And yet, I had never been so unhappy in my entire life. "I was anxious, worried, depressed, afraid of the future, having guilt feelings, and even worse did not know what I was feeling guilty about. I should have been fulfilled but my life lacked the major ingredient. I did not know it at the time, but what was missing from my life was the presence of God. "My wife began attending a church nearby our house, and began reading the Bible. Jane accepted Jesus into her life in 1984. Suddenly I had to contend with this other man in our life, and I did not like it! This was the Jesus who was so foreign to me and it became the most serious crisis we had in our marriage. "My career however continued to progress and eventually I climbed to the top of the ladder becoming the Treasurer of this Fortune 500 company. I thought at the time, 'not bad for a little Jewish boy from Alexandria!'" "One day I met my wife's pastor and when I told him that I was Jewish, he gave me a big smile and told me two things: 'Joe,' he said, 'God loves the Jewish people, and my Savior is Jewish!'" "He listed on a piece of paper some scriptures he wanted me to read. They were Old Testament prophecies that spoke of Jesus. I was astonished as I did not know that there was any linkage between the Jewish Old Testament and Jesus. One of the scriptures was a Messianic prophecy in Zechariah 12:10, 'And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.'" "So, this was my start in reading the Scriptures and the Messianic prophecies. The more I read the Bible, the more I began to understand the very fundamental and essential linkage between the Old and the New Testaments. I had always felt up to that time that the two were totally separate entities. The Old Testament was for us Jews and the New Testament was for the Christians. "I learned that as far back as Deuteronomy in the Jewish Old Testament that there is a prophecy about the Messiah Yeshua, when Moses says to the Jewish people, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.'" (Deut 18:15) "And then I learned that the place the Messiah would be born was clearly prophesied by the Jewish prophet Micah. It reads, 'But you Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be the ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old from ancient times.'" (Micah 5:2) "I graduated from a music conservatory so I was quite familiar with Handel's oratorio 'The Messiah,' known as 'Handel's Messiah.' I knew that 'The Messiah' was about Jesus Christ and there are some verses that I thought were quite beautiful which also represented in my mind the very foundation of Christianity. I think you will recognize them 'For unto us a child is born, a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'" (Isaiah 9:6) "I must admit that I always thought these verses were written by Handel himself since he was the composer of 'The Messiah.' I also thought those words were very 'Christian' and therefore, if they were 'Christian,' they could not be Jewish. "But of course we know that Handel did not write these words, he was quoting the Messianic Prophecy written by the Jewish prophet Isaiah, 700 years before the birth of Yeshua. So, what I thought was very 'Christian' had in fact Jewish origins. "I began pouring over the Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament. One of them was Psalm 22 written by King David. It starts by these very words, 'My God, my God why have you forsaken me?' The psalm later refers to 'they have pierced my hands and my feet.' It also states 'I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them, and cast lots for my clothing.'" "I had often wondered why Yeshua said 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,' and I read many interpretations. After all it seemed out of character for God's Son to question the Father or appear to lose faith, especially when Yeshua always knew that He would meet this horrible death. I believe, and of course this is not scriptural but my own opinion, that Yeshua said those words to remind us again that what happened on that tree of sacrifice was according to the Scriptures. He was nudging us and telling us 'Read Psalm 22.' Almost, if I can use this analogy, like the last words of a dying man who wants to give us one final clue as to what caused his death. "I then read in Isaiah: 'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.' Now, why was that child named Yeshua and not Immanuel? After all, the Bible says very clearly that he would be called Immanuel. It is only recently that I finally understood what Isaiah was telling us. Think of it in two words: Immanu and El. El is an old Canaanite name for God, and Immanu means 'with us.' So the prophet Isaiah was essentially telling us that this child would be more than just a child born in Bethlehem, more than just a descendant of David, more than just the prophet that Moses spoke about, even more than 'just' a child born of a virgin. This child would be very special and very unique. He would simply be 'Immanu El.' He would be God Himself, among us! "I started to understand the amazing link between the Old and New Testament. Yeshua Himself confirmed the linkage many times. For example He said 'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.' In Luke 24:44 he said, 'Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.' And you know what? Everything written about Him was fulfilled. That was the conclusion I reached. "While I was researching and reading all of these prophecies my mind was saying YES, but my heart was still troubled. Through my company's downsizing I was reassigned to a different job, and I had a severe illness in 1994. In 1996, I was again fighting anxiety, worry, depression and all the negativity that comes with it. My wife, patiently and gently reminded me that I had everything to be happy about, however Jane also said, 'I know what you need, and you also know it, but you will have to come to it by yourself.'" "In December 1996, I asked the Lord to forgive my sins. I thanked him for dying for me so that I could have eternal life, and I asked him to come into my heart and take my life into his hands. That night for the first time in 6 months, I slept right through the night. "My career took an upturn again and I was offered back a top position, but that time I was not prideful about the job, I was just thankful, because I knew it was a gift from God. "My new-found faith in Yeshua, the promised Messiah of Israel, made me feel more Jewish than I ever had before. "I told you earlier that Passover was a very special time for me and now I have one more reason for treasuring the Passover holiday celebration. God let the Jewish people wander in the desert for 40 years after they left Egypt before they came to the Promised Land. I left Egypt in December 1956 and wandered in my spiritual desert for exactly 40 years, until that fateful day in December 1996 when I met Yeshua - My Promised Land! "In the end I think it all boils down to whether we believe the Bible is the truth or not. I am filled with awe and wonder as I read the Bible and the Messianic prophecies. I am very excited about Bibles For Israel and the Messianic Prophecy Bible Project because I know that when Jewish people receive this Bible (for Free), and they will read the prophecies explained in the actual text of the Bible, it will be very simple for them to accept Yeshua as their personal Jewish Messiah. They will be able to invite Yeshua into their hearts, just like I did, and experience peace and contentment in their present life and rejoice in knowing that they have an eternal home in the Kingdom of Heaven! "As a senior financial executive I had to invest hundreds of millions of dollars every year, on behalf of the company. I believe so much in this Bible Project that as a Jew who came to faith by reading the prophecies, I whole heartedly encourage you to sponsor a chapter of this Prophecy Bible or give financially as the Lord leads you. I know that this is good investment, because it is a worthy and tremendous work for the Kingdom of Heaven - it is the Word of God." A Rabbi Accepts Yeshua in Tiberias, Israel July 2005 Shalom, I regularly travel to Tiberias, which sits on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, to visit my family's goat and fruit farm. It is a very peaceful place to get away to be with the Lord amidst the turmoil in Israel. As I walk on the shore I think of when Yeshua first began His ministry and He saw two Jewish brothers who were fishermen. As Peter and Andrew were casting their net into the lake, Yeshua said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." That was 2000 years ago. Today there are 35,000 Jewish people who live here in Tiberias and they do not know Yeshua! However, there are a couple of Messianic congregations, and our ministry is raising up "on-fire evangelists" from these congregations who will be modern day "fishers of men" as they reach this area of the Galilee with our Messianic Prophecy Bibles and the Good News of the Messiah! Recently we have seen a number of Israelis come to know their Messiah in the Galilee, but to everyone's surprise a rabbi accepted Yeshua, which is extremely rare! The city of Tiberias is in the Galilee region where Yeshua grew up. Not only is it where He chose His first two disciples, Peter and Andrew, it is also where He taught in the synagogues. It is where He reached out to the multitudes to teach and minister. It is where He healed sicknesses and diseases among the people. And, it is where He touched the life of an orthodox rabbi with His love and power! Yeshua brought a great light to the people of Israel and the world 2,000 years ago. And now, in this same city of Tiberias, Yacov, a young orthodox rabbi who walked in darkness has been touched by this great light! Yacov has been born-again through his new faith in Messiah Yeshua! Yacov's acceptance of Yeshua created a great stir in Tiberias. For seven days, his family mourned for him according to Jewish law. Though he was not physically dead, his father pronounced him dead because he believed that his son had become a traitor by believing in the God of the Gentiles, and that his Jewish soul was now dead. I met with Yacov, who has been miraculously changed by the power of God after accepting Yeshua the Jewish Messiah, into his life. His story touched me deeply, yet it was so familiar . . . Yacov was desperate at the time he found Yeshua. His life was hopeless and he was thinking about committing suicide. Some Christians who were traveling through Israel befriended him and showed him the love of Yeshua. They gave him a Bible and told him about hope through life in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, who fulfilled the Messianic prophecies. "These Christians showed me prophecies like Micah 5:3, that says the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem - and Yeshua was born there! Then they showed me prophecies like Daniel 9:26, about the 7 times 70 weeks, where it says that the Messiah will be cut off and take away the sins of Israel forever and ever, which included my sins. And they also showed me Isaiah 53, that speaks of the suffering Messiah," Yacov said. After several meetings with the Christian tourists, he learned more about this Yeshua who was foretold by the Jewish prophets in the Tanakh, which is one of the books he had studied for years in order to become a rabbi. Yacov at first could not believe what he was reading because he was taught that Jesus was the God of the Gentiles and an enemy of Judaism. He was astounded to discover the Jewishness of Jesus! Yacov cried out to the Lord - he confessed with his mouth and believed in his heart that Yeshua was the promised Messiah of Israel - and Yeshua flooded his heart with hope and love. ". . . in the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you . . ." (Isaiah 49:8) and ". . .if you confess with your mouth, 'Yeshua is Messiah,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10) Yacov was licensed through the Israeli government as a Kashrut Rabbi and when the rabbinate found out about his new belief in Yeshua he was instantly fired. His co-workers, family, and friends in the orthodox community were livid amidst their sorrow! Some orthodox Jews posted flyers of him up everywhere in the city, warning people to "stay away from him, because he was very dangerous, and that he would steal the souls of everyone he contacted." His wife kicked him out of the house and his family and friends would not have anything to do with him. They pronounced Yacov dead and sat shiva (mourned) for him seven days, according to Jewish tradition. Even though Yacov's family and friends have rejected him, this young rabbi is rejoicing because of his newfound faith! He is filled with (Ruach HaKodesh) the Holy Spirit and he is sharing his faith boldly with others, testifying to the mercy of the Lord. I know that many rabbis and orthodox Jews just like Yacov, will find Messiah Yeshua through the Hebrew edition of the Messianic Prophecy Bible. One of our first goals is to get a copy of this Bible out to every rabbi in Israel. If Yacov who is a rabbi could believe in Yeshua, I know that many other rabbis will also believe! We will also produce the Bible in English for the U.S. and Canada, as well as in Russian, Spanish and many other languages so that we can reach Jewish people throughout the world. We depend on God to bring this vision to fulfillment as it is His work, but we also rely on you to partner with Him. Yacov gave up so much to become a Believer, yet he gained so much. Surely, you and I can do no less! Yacov is ready to distribute the Messianic Prophecy Bible to other rabbis in Israel but we are still two years away from the Bible being completed and we still have many chapters that need to be sponsored. Please tell others about our project as we need the funds now to keep the Bible Project on track. Please make the best gift you can this month, we do need your help. Your brother in Messiah's love, Zev Isaacs Founder P.S. During the summer months many people are traveling and our finances go down, however our expenses for the project remain the same. So please ask the Lord if He would have you give extra during this summer season to keep the ministry on track. www.messianicbible.com Search: Messianic News The Shofarscall Ahavat Elohim Yeshua Wear Messianic Media Hosted by www.Geocities.ws Welcome to www.messaincnews.com, this website is automatically updated on a day-to-day basis. 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