THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION- PART VI

UNDERTSANDING THE HEBRAIC ROOTS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Hebraic Roots of Christianity

It is important to remember that Christianity was born out of a mindset that was Hebraic in nature and not in a Greek mindset like most of the Church functions in today. Our Lord Jesus Christ chose to walk among us as a Jew for a reason, and it would be good for us to think more about this. I continue to learn a great deal about God and his ways and am blessed as I search out the scriptures in the Hebraic mindset. The person we call Messiah, Lord, Savior, and who we desire to intimately know was Jewish! He honored the traditions, customs and culture of the Jewish people because his Father chose them to reveal to the world his ways and his Holy Word. It is also important to remember that the early church in the book of Acts was functioning in the Hebraic mindset naturally and innocently. It is not as if they were interpreting scripture and then by their own understanding creating their own theologies of living out the scriptures. The reason is they had just witnessed Yeshua (the Word of God in the flesh) demonstrate what the pure “Christian” faith looks like through the power of the Holy Spirit, miracles, and all! Maybe instead of “Christian” we should say as Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul did that we are really BORN AGAIN and followers of THE WAY OF CHRIST: John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Acts 24:14, “But I'll admit to you that I am a follower of The Way [of Christ], which they call a sect. This means that I serve our ancestors' God and believe everything written in Moses' Teachings and the Prophets.” Unlike the church today, the early church had no Constantine, Calvin, Luther, Pentecostal, Methodist, Catholic, Greek or Reformation type influences to deal with. They had Jesus and Jesus only, and they believed in him like little children believe in their father. They were pure in faith and it just happened to be in a Hebrew frame of mind. Moving along, is it then a paradox that there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the Bride of Messiah even though God chose to be Jewish? Or is it majesty at its finest? In the same light, is not marriage between a man and a woman majestic and a mystery at the same time? Even though we may not know and completely understand the mystery and majesty of “Jew and Gentile” as “One New Man in Messiah” (spoken of in Ephesians 3) or the “Beauty and Mystery of Marriage as Man and Woman in Messiah” we will still experience the blessing as we remain faithful to God who is sovereign and leads us by the person of the Holy Spirit. For God is in the business of uniting all that he has claimed as his even when it seems impossible!

With all of that in our minds, growing in these things is a result of seeking and studying truth, and the Hebraic Roots movement has a key element to restore the lost Hebraic nature of our faith into scripture. For the Christian, this means becoming aware of and getting back into the Jewish roots of their faith by living holy lives and becoming set apart. The Most High gave an eternal style to our ancient faith that would be unmistakable in the world as belonging to him. His people are to be his own and be a chosen people, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. One of the worst things that could happen to the people of Adonai is to assimilate into the world's fashion; to think like the world thinks and to follow the world's lead. One of the main purposes of the Bride of Christ is to lead the world to worship and obey the Almighty. This demands that we stop taking in and digesting what the world is feeding and what our flesh craves. We must reflect the ancient ways he gave us or else how can we show that we have something different and better to offer the world? Read what King David said in Psalm 119 which is speaking of Moses Teachings, the Torah, the law that Jesus Christ fulfilled and delighted in! May we hunger and thirst for God’s instruction, precepts, statutes, commands and principles in the same way and become set a part.

We should not be shocked as we see Christianity die in America and so many people being deceived and led astray from God. Leaders in the churches who are moving further and further away from Christianity’s original Hebrew roots and Spirit are not putting a proper emphasis on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the prevalence of living in sin and how to deal with it, the nation of Israel and the Church, prophecy, and living by the power of the Holy Spirit. These subjects in and of themselves are sensitive, divisive, offensive, truly convicting, or deemed unknowable because they demand a surrender of the will through childlike faith. These subjects are definitely not ecumenical or politically correct in nature. Rather they are very narrow and not flexible as they should be. Living in the purity of the faith is challenging and requires a conforming or circumcision of the heart to God’s ways. Thank the Lord that his love is unconditional, and equally, thank the Lord that living in Holy Spirit Power is a result of living conditionally in obedience to Christ. Unfortunately, many so called “Christian” movements and authors are popping up all the time who are far from the purity of the faith. For example, at Olive Tree Ministries with Jan Markell, research the Emergent Church, the Church Growth Movement, the Ecumenical Church, the Contemplative Prayer Church, the Replacement Theology Church as well as how eastern religious practices have found there way into the churches of America. When all is said and done, how are these evolving “churches” as well as their practices reflecting the heart and mind of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach who is The Way we are to follow, The Truth we are to believe, and The Life we are to humbly receive (Psalm 119:30, John 14:6, John 1:4, John 1:14, John 10:9, John 11:25, Romans 5:2, Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 10:20, 1 John 5:20)? Are the people coming to church looking for the answer to their LIFE getting the answer they really need? Jesus modeled what we are to do in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. One question we must ask ourselves as members of the Bride of Christ in this day and age of change is: Do we want to conform to what the world’s idea of “Christ likeness” should be and our own idea for that matter only to be swallowed up by the one world religion? Or should we embrace our real Hebraic roots where there is the rich heritage and reflection of the heart of God, where Jesus himself chose to demonstrate his ministry and where the true context of scripture is revealed? Summing this up, there is only one seeker who requires our sensitivity. (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9, 1 John 4:19, 1 John 5:11, 1 John 4:10, Luke 19:10, Romans 5:8, Romans 5:10, Romans 3:10-12).

THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION- PART V

When God Gets the Glory We Are Blessed

Most everyone knows that ice cream should be eaten when it is frozen and not melted! I don’t think anyone would prefer to eat ice cream that is melted in the bowl and luke warm. Frozen and ice cold is the best. Otherwise there is no point. I know this is a funny analogy to make a point, but as a result of experiencing ice cream correctly, on a regular basis, it is a hot item in the aisle of every grocery store. Another way to put that is, ice cream gets the glory in at least one aisle of every grocery store in the world, and it is restocked every night! You are blessed when ice cream is delivered properly and eaten when its frozen and ice cold. As a result, you keep going back to it not only because it tastes good but because it is eaten correctly! With that said, think about these verses: Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: BLESSED is the man that trusts in him.” Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Jeremiah 15:16, “Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.” Job 23:12, “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” These are verses of life! I believe that if the Bride of Christ begins to taste the Lord correctly and begins to eat the word of the Lord properly and depends on the words of the Lord more then her necessary food, the real BLESSING will come. That BLESSING is, God will be truly glorified and the masses will want more of him! People will desire that the shelves of their hearts be restocked every day with the Good Word and a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ! A true blessing from the Lord is one that ultimately settles in your heart and brings God glory in your life. The blessing to you is that God is praised and proclaimed above all else and you are satisfied with that, and all the while you are becoming truly healthy and full of the Holy Spirit’s power. When scripture is understood and taught correctly it can be digested and benefited from. Just like when food is prepared and cooked correctly, it can be digested and its nutrition brought out. Following the rationale of these points, what do you think will happen to the world when man and woman become one in marriage as God intends…according to scripture? Or what will happen to this world when Jew and Gentile become one in Christ as God intends…according to scripture? There will be an incredible glory of God that is revealed and a blessing that overflows from our lives. So much so that an attractiveness and sweetness of God will be revealed that will unite those things that are divided in us and among us.

God is inviting those who would come to enjoy the fruit of fellowship, worship and giving through ministries that manifest the truth of scripture. Two ministries in particular that will produce in you a blessing that gives God glory are Paul Wilbur’s Music Ministry and Joel Rosenberg’s The Joshua Fund. Both of these ministries have the heart of God beating loudly through them and are blessing Israel and the Church in many ways. They are ministries that are uniting the Bride of Christ powerfully. If you experience these ministries and those like them, you will taste and see that the Lord is truly good!

THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION - PART IV

Israel & Oil: How Might God Provide in the Last Days

Gen 49:1, “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” Gen 49:2, “Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.” Gen 49:20, “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” Gen 49:22, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.” Gen 49:25, “Even by the G-d of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lie under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.” Gen 49:26, “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” Gen 49:28, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spoke unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.”

God has promised that in the last days he would pour out blessings on the nation of Israel from the heavens above and the blessing of the deep. There are currently many oil drilling companies in Israel and significant and recent finding of petroleum have been found off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean. In addition, one oil company in particular called Zion Oil and Gas appears to be poised and ready to find more blessings of the deep that could sustain Israel and those who bless her in the meager times ahead. It is not surprising that God is going to provide for Israel, his Church, and even show kindness to those who don’t believe. He did it through Joseph during the seven-year famine (Genesis 41:54), and He will also do it through Israel (Gen 22:18, Gen 12:3, Gen 18:18, Acts 3:25, Gal 3:8, Zech 8:13) in the years to come. Please visit http://www.zionoil.com/blessings and consider investing in Israel’s and your future!

THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION - PART III

Israel, Iran, the Islamic Threat and Religion

The current and coming issues falling on the world are rooted in spiritual warfare, and it is bigger than all of us and all the world leaders trying to explain and rationalize the problems. World leaders will continue to go in circles without adopting a biblical understanding of the issues. By the time you read this in 2010, things could be very different then they are today. Today, the news headlines are heavily focused on Iran and the issue of their acquiring nuclear capabilities, and it is a very serious issue because words have meaning. It is more than evident that the leadership of Iran is truly bent on destroying Israel due to hatred toward them and beliefs regarding the ushering in the 12th Imam. According to Shi'ite Muslim teaching, Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th leader whom Shi'ites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed, disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic justice. This return of the 12 Imam in Ahmadinejad’s mind is to be initiated by creating chaos on earth by destroying Israel and the USA. Given Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s consistent and hateful quotes toward Israel in recent years in addition to their pursuit of nuclear weapons, is there any doubt that this threat will be ignored by Israel? We can see the real possibility of Israel being forced to strike Iran preemptively in order to destroy their nuclear facilities without international support. If Israel moves alone, this will increase international condemnation against Israel as well as the Bride of Christ. How or when Israel will deal with Iran is uncertain, but something will have to happen very soon. The motive before Israel will be to protect its own national security no matter how unpopular that might be.

On a world religion note, Islam, Judaism and Christianity are the only monotheistic (claiming ONE God for all) religions and thus are the three most influential religions in the world. However, all of these specifically worldly or apostate Christianity along with all other religion are one day going to mesh into the one world religion to be lead by the False Prophet for the purpose of worshipping the Anti-Christ to come (Revelation 13:11-18). The world is fast on its way to giving birth to these major characters of the end times.

THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION - PART II

CURRENT EVENTS

The Church and Israel

Mark 14:38, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” Luke 11:34, "The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.” Isaiah 5:20, “How horrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness into light and light into darkness, who turn what is bitter into something sweet and what is sweet into something bitter.” Romans 11:25-26, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles [Hebr. "melo ha goyim"] has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.”

The times we live in are becoming increasingly deceiving due to the amount of information we take into our minds that is not the pure word of God. No matter how strong a Christian might be in the true faith, the possibility of being deceived is still a reality. Cases in point that distinguish the true Bride of Christ and Israel from movements leading to the Apostate Church and Babylon are Replacement Theology (belief that the “Church” has replaced Israel in God’s redemptive plan), Ecumenism (movement of promoting unity among Christian churches or denominations and promoting worldwide unity among religions through greater cooperation and improved understanding for the sake of “peace”), and Dual Covenant Theology (maintains that God’s covenant with the Jews is different than the one he gave the Gentiles and makes it unnecessary for them to receive Jesus as their Messiah to be saved. It makes this claim even though Jesus came to Israel, fulfilled Jewish Messianic prophecies, and presented Himself as Israel’s King and Redeemer.) These are examples of false theologies and movements that bare the “Christian” name and are gaining support and deceiving many leaders and members in the church today into believing that Israel has been wrongfully “occupying” the land since 1967 and preventing the “Palestinian” (who are really refugees of the 6-Day War not being allowed back into their original homelands of Jordan, Syria, Egypt, etc.) people from having a state of their own. Furthermore, actual councils like the National Council of Churches USA and World Council of Churches have been established whose position stands in protest of Israel’s rightful place in their God-given land as well as God’s sovereign purpose for them during this time in history. Go to http://www.ncccusa.org/members/index.html and http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches.html to see the denomination members of these councils. You will be surprised. These organizations as well as church leaders with like-minds are working to achieve world peace and unity through human effort and reasoning rather than humbly receiving the only true and everlasting peace that is Jesus’ peace. We must discern our Lord’s words when he said: Matthew 10:34 "Don't think that I came to bring peace to earth. I didn't come to bring peace but conflict & John 14:27 "I'm leaving you peace. I'm giving you my peace. I don't give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don't be troubled or cowardly.” Instead of trusting the sovereign plan and promises of God to Israel and the Bride of Christ, many more false doctrines are arising and chipping away at people’s ability to discern truth, be truly reverent before God, and know the will of God for our lives and the nations in these last days. It is a sobering reality that every nation will come against Israel and a great falling away from the faith will occur because people have not believed in Jesus Christ alone for salvation nor learned what the scripture speaks of regarding God’s plan for the people and nation of Israel, the Bride of Christ, and the Nations.

THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION - PART I

GOD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB IS HONORED TODAY

The Birth of a Nation

How exciting it would be to live in the land that God owns outright and has personally given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants as an everlasting possession (Gen 12:7, Gen 13:14-15, Gen 15:18, Gen 17:8, Deut 34:4, 2 Chronicles 20:7, Psalm 105:9). It is the land that Jesus Christ himself is going to return to and rule the earth from for 1,000 years to establish his kingdom forever (Revelation 20:1-6, Psalm 2:4-9, Luke 1:32-33, Daniel 2:44, Daniel 7:13-14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Zechariah 8:3, Zechariah 2:10-12 ).

We live in very exciting times and have already witnessed many events and signs that are pointing to the soon return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The most important sign in our time occurred on May 14, 1948. On this date, the declaration of the establishment of the state of Israel occurred after 2000 years of God’s chosen people being spread about the nations. This is the “Super Sign” that Jesus’ return is very near. Read what Jesus said in Mark 13:18-31 and Luke 21:28. Our generation has seen the fig tree (Israel) begin to blossom which is the fulfillment of God’s word in Ezekiel 36:24, Ezekiel 37:21 Ezekiel 34:11-13 and in Isaiah 66:8 which states, "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”

Everything since May 14, 1948 is and will be connected to the Holy Land, Jerusalem, and even further center to the soon to be built Jewish temple described in Ezekiel 40-48. These are the places of great spiritual warfare of the past and of the future. As a result of wh