Israel’s restoration triggers international worship

The Hebrew prophets speak much of an eschatological connection between two events – Israel’s restoration/revival (on the one hand) and a huge manifestation of praise and worship by all the nations (on the other). Let’s unpack this vision.

Psalm 117:1-2 and God’s heart

A thousand years before Yeshua was born, an anonymous hand penned a Hebrew psalm. Its message was directed to the nations. Yet this psalm sat untranslated, silent, on the shelf for a good thousand years before any non-Jew was able to decipher its message. Though this was a command to the nations, it was hidden in the scrolls of the Hebrew Bible for at least a millennium before its prophetic message became available.

The psalm’s call to the nations is still revolutionary in nature. It goes largely unheeded by the predominantly Gentile Body of Messiah! The nations are called on to worship and praise YHVH for a specific reason – because He keeps His covenant with the Jewish nation, and because His hesed (His faithfulness to the covenant promises He made to Israel) is great and irrevocable (Psalm 117:2).

God calls on the nations to rejoice and worship Him. Why? Because of His irrevocable gifts and calling to Israel. Here we have hit the motherlode of this amazing vision:

Earth-shaking worship will result when the nations grasp and embrace God’s priority choosing of Israel and His irrevocable love-promises for Jacob’s children.

Prophetic declarations in Isaiah

The Hebrew Scriptures repeat this above message frequently. This short newsletter will consider just the Book of Isaiah, and how this truth is trumpeted time and again therein.

In at least eighteen chapters Isaiah repeats the same theme:

God’s deliverance of Israel from her enemies and His restoration of the Jewish people to their Promised Land will result in the most powerful expression of Gentile praise that the world has experienced.

This message runs through Isaiah (and the rest of the Hebrew prophets) like a scarlet thread. It has unfortunately been obscured by the malevolent influence of Replacement Theology, which has chosen not to believe or teach the clear biblical promises, but instead has perversely attempted to parry the prophetic declarations of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a brief list with sixteen of Isaiah’s links between Jewish restoration and Gentile worship:

Isaiah 2:1-4 – The restoration of the Jewish people and their capital city Jerusalem will result in the largest international worship movement – all the nations flowing upward to worship YHVH on the Temple Mount and to learn from Him.

Isaiah 12:1-6 – Israel is commanded to call the nations together for worship (v. 4). Why? Because God will save and deliver the Jewish people (v. 2) and actually dwell in Israel’s midst (v. 6).

Isaiah 19:16-25 – The two largest Middle-Eastern superpowers Egypt and Assyria (today’s northern Iraq) will worship YHVH (v. 23) due to their recognition of YHVH as Israel’s God, their acceptance of Israel’s calling (v. 16-18), and the Jewish nation’s physical presence between Egypt and Assyria resulting in great blessing to these two superpowers (v. 23).

Isaiah 25:6-11 – The Messianic Banquet to which all nations will be invited will be held in Jerusalem on the Mountain of YHVH. The feast will celebrate how God has trampled down the enemies of the Jewish people and has wiped away their tears and shame.

Isaiah 30:18-33 – One of the classic worship passages in the Hebrew Scriptures connects music and warfare (v. 29-33). Exultant worship in this chapter defeats the enemies of the Jewish people and heals the bruises and wounds of the Jewish nation who are centered in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 34-35 – When the day of YHVH’s vengeance on Israel’s enemies comes and the year of recompense for the cause of Zion arrives (34), the result will be physical blossoming of the Negev and Aravah deserts, as well as the reborn nation of Israel ascending to Zion singing worship songs (35).

Isaiah 42:6-25 – The nations are commanded by YHVH to sing and offer praise (v. 10-12) because the God of Jacob will triumphantly prevail against His enemies as a man of war (v. 13).

Isaiah 43:21 – YHVH declares that He has created the Jewish people in order to broadcast His praise across the globe.

Isaiah 44:23; 49:13 – The heavens, the earth, the forests and the mountains are commanded to sing and shout praises to YHVH “because He has redeemed Jacob and glorified Himself in Israel”.

Isaiah 49:5-7 – The kings and princes of the world are commanded to worship YHVH because He is faithful to His covenant promises and has chosen Messiah the Son of David to bring restoration to Israel and to be a light to all the nations.

Isaiah 56:1-8 – God’s receiving of worshipers from the nations to His House of Prayer in Jerusalem will be connected to their heart for the Jewish people (v. 3) and their getting in sync with God’s ways and calendar (v. 4-6).

Isaiah 59:15a – 21 – God’s judgment on the enemies of Israel (v. 17-18) results in the nations fearing the name of YHVH and His glory from one end of the earth to the other (v. 19).

Isaiah 60:1-18 – When YHVH’s revival glory rests up the Jewish people (v. 1-2), all the nations will be physically and spiritually drawn to Israel (v. 3). They will brings their wealth and their offerings (v. 5-9), and will be involved in the physical rebuilding and strengthening of the Jewish land (v. 10-13). The hatred by former enemies against Israel will be astoundingly transformed into love (v. 14-15), and their pilgrimage will be to Jewish Jerusalem - the City whose walls will be called ‘Salvation’ and whose gates will be called ‘Praise’ (v. 18).

Isaiah 61:11 – YHVH’s restoration of the Jewish people will spring forth in the Land of Israel, and as a result righteousness and praise will spring forth before all the nations.

Isaiah 62:6-7 – The spiritual watchmen of the earth are called upon to intercede with the God of Jacob until Jerusalem becomes a praise in the earth.

Isaiah 66:18-24 – The nations who believe God and who love the people He loves, will help to physically carry the Jewish people back to their land. Some of them will even be incorporated into Jerusalem’s worship communities.

These few scripture passages (out of the many hundreds in the Bible) boldly underscore that the nations of the world who deeply love the Lord of Armies and who worship at the footstool of the Messiah Son of David, have a unique calling. They are called to prepare the contingencies for an encounter between Israel and her Divine Lover –

in intercession
in prayer
in preparation
in activity
in attitude

All who love Yeshua the Messiah are called to be worshippers (John 4:24). Those from among the nations who love the Jewish people whom He loves (Deuteronomy 7:8; Luke 7:5), are also called:

to catalyze the children of Israel into worship (Isaiah 62:7)
to love them as the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8)
to make room for them in the olive tree (Romans 11:24b) and at the table of the Messianic Banquet (Isaiah 25:6-10)

How should we then pray?

Pray for a revelation for those who love the Scriptures to tap into God’s heart about these issues
Pray for revelation specifically for Bible teachers, pastors and teachers of the Word on these matters
Pray for the Jewish people – that YHVH would pour out a spirit of grace and supplications on us through a revelation of Messiah Yeshua our atonement
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s army speedily and in our day

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

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Raiders of the Lost Jewish New Year

The traditional Jewish New Year is upon us. It’s called Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew and Rosh Hashoneh in Yiddish. The sons and daughters of Jacob nibble apples and honey as they hope for a sweet year. Synagogues register their highest attendance as the High Holy Days or ‘Days of Awe’ approach. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur or Yom Hikippurim) draws close and with it a heightened awareness of sin in the Jewish community.

Rosh Hashanah’s deeply moving traditions, liturgy and celebrations are a rich part of many Jewish people’s lives. Even some Gentile believers in Yeshua love the seasonal celebrations. But, like many pious celebrations in other religions, the Bible often plays second fiddle to men’s traditions.

The Hebrew Bible tells us that the Jewish New Year is not in Tishrei (which it calls the seventh month) but 14 days before Passover, in the first month of Spring (which is called Aviv in the Bible (Exodus 12:1-3; 13:4).

What is today called Rosh Hashanah is actually what the Bible calls ‘the Feast of Trumpets’ (or the ‘Feast of Blowing’ of trumpets). It is the fifth Feast in the biblical calendar (Leviticus23:23-25). It occurs in the biblical month called Eitanim (which means ‘the strong ones’ in Hebrew – see 1 Kings 8:1-2).

How did this all get switched, and who made off with the real biblical Jewish New Year?
What about the Feast of Trumpets? Does the Bible tell us how to celebrate it?
How can we interact in a user-friendly way with Jewish tradition?

“By the rivers of Babylon”

The twelve Jewish tribes went into Exile between 722 B.C. (Assyria) and 587/6 B.C. (Babylon). They took the 12 original names of the Hebrew months with them. These included:

Aviv (the first, today called Nisan – Exodus 13:4)
Ziv (the second, today called Iyar – 1 Kings 6:1)
Eitanim (the seventh, today called Tishrei – 1 Kings 8:2)
Bul (the eighth, today called Heshvan – 1 Kings 6:38)

When Israel returned from Babylonian Exile, according to Rabbi Hanina bar Hama (d. 250 A.D.) “the month names came up with them [with the exiles] from Babylon” (Jerusalem Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 1:2, 56d). Babylonian names were gradually switched for the original Hebrew names after the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Today eight of the twelve original Hebrew names of the months have disappeared.

The Babylonian month names are for the most part names of Babylonian demons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_calendar), even as most modern Western months are based on Roman gods (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_calendar), while European days of the week are taken from Norse and Germanic gods (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_days_of_the_week).

The Babylonian royal calendar began its year in Tishrei (biblical Eitanim) and so the Jewish people gradually fitted in to this accepted international calendar.

Making room for an elephant

A famous Persian proverb says, “If you invite and elephant-trainer into your living room, make sure that you have room for an elephant!” The primacy given to Babylonian cultural influences gradually led to a weakening among the Jewish people in terms of staying faithful to biblical patterns and expressions. By 200 A.D. the biblical focus on the Feast of Trumpets had given way to a renamed and refashioned holiday now called ‘the New Year.’

The influence of the Exile and our sojourn in Babylon ended up shaping medieval and modern Jewish history. But when YHVH brings full restoration to His Jewish people, He will make some changes in our calendars and in our feast days, as Zechariah prophesied in Zechariah 7:1-6; 8:18-19.

Part of that restoration will involve a return to YHVH’s original calendar in Leviticus 23:2: “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations – My appointed times are these…” As Paul says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

“I love New Year in the Springtime…”

The Hebrew calendar actually makes a connection between Passover preparations and the celebration of the New Year:

Now YHVH said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household’” (Exodus 12:1-3)

God joins two powerful works of salvation and rescue within the first month of the Hebrew calendar – the rescue of the Jewish people from slavery to Pharaoh and the rescue of the Jewish people from slavery to sin by Messiah Yeshua (“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save [in Hebrew, yoshiya”] His people from their sins”; Matthew 1:21). What a festival to sing YHVH’s Redemption Song!

Biblical bedrock

Two passages help us to understand the biblical focus of the Feast of Trumpets – Leviticus 23:23-25 and Nehemiah 8:8-12.

Leviticus 23 speaks of a wonderful Sabbath rest, a shabbaton, where no professional work is done. The day is a holy convocation (miqra qodesh) – in modern English a specially called for meeting with a holy and set apart purpose. The ceremonial activity connected to blowing of trumpets or shofars here is zikaron teru’ah, a memorializing through a noise called teru’ah. Teru’ah can refer to a shofar blast (Leviticus 25:9; Hosea 5:8; Psalm 81:3/4), a great shout of joyous praise (2 Samuel 6:15; Ezra 3:11; Job 8:21; Psalm 27:6), or a resounding cymbal clash (Psalm 150:5).

The word speaks of explosive and joyous power, and usually refers to an extremely positive sonic event.

Nehemiah grants us deeper insight into God’s intentions – how to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets.

Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to YHVH your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our YHVH. Do not be grieved, for the joy of YHVH is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them (Nehemiah 8:8-12).

The God of Jacob lays it all out for us here. This is not a day for tears or fears. It is not a day to be afraid, to grieve or to mourn. It is a day to eat rich food, to drink sweet-tasting beverages, and to have a huge and joyous celebration. In short, YHVH is calling on His people to have a holy party!

In Nehemiah this party follows immediately on the heels of a national revival. The people had just heard the words of Deuteronomy 27-28. They understood that there was a good reason for the punishment of Exile, and they immediately repented of their national rejection of His prophets.

Today that same national call stands before our Jewish people – to realize that our Exile to America, England, Argentina, Russia, South Africa etc. – is due to our leaders’ rejection of the message of the Prophets and of Messiah Yeshua (Matthew 23:34-39; Mark 12:1-12). We as a nation have followed our leaders in their bad decision.

The need of the hour for us is national repentance. The need of the hour is to wake up and realize that our existence in the Exile is like that of a bird in a gilded cage. The God of our Fathers is calling us home – home to Him and home to our homeland!

Driving backwards on Yom Kippur

When Israel’s spiritual leaders rejected Yeshua Son of David as Messiah, He nevertheless offered Himself up for His people as our atonement. But the majority of the Pharisees could not see this or accept His gift. In the words of the Prophet, they created for themselves an alternate Judaism, one which astoundingly forsook the Redeemer of Israel: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13).

Whereas Yeshua came to offer atonement to His people, only a minority (albeit a significant and apostolic minority) – the Messianic Jews – accepted Him. The religious powers-that-were reformed Judaism, offering non-kosher non-biblical forms of atonement that simply won’t do the trick. As Bob Dylan says in “When You Gonna Wake Up?” – “You got unrighteous doctors dealing drugs that’ll never cure your ills.”

Yom Kippur was gradually transformed into a fast day where people try to earn their own atonement. Rosh Hashanah became a day of pre-atoning preparation for the Great Fast.

God’s joyous invitation is still extended to Israel to celebrate with a thankful heart. But His offer has for the most part fallen by the wayside. Even today, many Messianic Jews are influenced more by rabbinic thought and tradition than by God’s gracious bidding to throw a holy party of thanksgiving.

The choice is ours.