Christmas and Pentecost – beyond the tinsel and the Torah

Growing up as a Jewish kid in Montreal, I loved Christmas. Snowy winter lawns were bejeweled at night with twinkling trees. People got tipsy and were nice to each other. What could be bad about all that? And a baby nursed in a Bethlehem stable seemed like friendly ‘family content’. Secular Westerners love the tinsel and the traditional music and foods. But the biblical emphasis was blurred for many of us. I had not met any believing Christians whose main Christmas focus and joy was the birth of the Jewish Messiah.

Someone has said that Jews are just like Gentiles – only more so.  Gentiles have traditions and, as Tevye of Fiddler on the Roof says, Jews also have traditions. Some Jewish traditions reflect our wanderings through Eastern Europe, Spain and Babylon. Some reflect biblical emphases, but others are more tinsel-like in nature. Let’s look at Shavuot (in Greek, Pentecost) for some helpful perspective at this season.

The feast which keeps on changing

Moses gives the people of Israel exact and clear days when to celebrate the New Year (the first day of the month of Aviv; Exodus 12:2), Passover (the 14th day of the month of Aviv; Exodus 12:6, 14; 34:18; Leviticus 23:5), Trumpets (the first day of the seventh month, Leviticus 23:23; Numbers 29:1), the Day of Atonement (the 10th day of the seventh month; Leviticus 23:26; 16:29; 25:9; Numbers 29:7) and the Feast of Tabernacles (the 15th day of the seventh month; Leviticus 23:34; Deuteronomy 16:13).

The reckoning is given in Leviticus 23: “You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering. There shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath. Then you shall present a new grain offering to YHVH” (Leviticus 23:15-16).

Moses explains that the 50 day counting of the Omer (which ends on the day when Shavuot/Pentecost is celebrated) begins on “the day after the sabbath” – meaning the day after the first Sabbath day which occurs after the first night of Passover. The Karaite movement in medieval Judaism follows this exegetical meaning of Leviticus 23:16. But the rabbinic stream takes a different approach, defining this Passover as the ‘sabbath’ itself. Interestingly, the biblical text does not use the word ‘sabbath’ here or anywhere else to describe Passover.

So based on Moses' instructions, the date of the biblical celebration of the day of Shavuot/Pentecost will vary from year to year (depending on what day of the week Passover occurs). The exact day is fluid, and reflects the changes of each calendar year. Rabbinic tradition has chosen to tie down the celebration of Shavuot to one specific calendar date every year, and it is the rabbinic traditional date that nearly all Jews celebrate today.

Reap, don’t weep

This feast is called the Feast of Reaping (Qatzir; Exodus 23:16; see Psalm 126:5 for the same root) and also the Feast of Weeks (Shavu’ot; Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26; 7 x 7 weeks plus one day). This day celebrates the beginning of the wheat harvest season (Exodus 34:22) and is characterized by celebrations of joy in the harvest and thankfulness for the Exodus from Egyptian slavery:

Shavuot is one of the three Pilgrim feats (Passover, Shavuot, Tabernacles), when all Jewish men are commanded to make their way to Jerusalem and worship before YHVH (Exodus 23:14; shalosh regalim, three times as in Exodus 23:3; Numbers 22:28).

Messianic harvest in Jerusalem

In Acts 1:3 Luke recounts that Messiah Yeshua ascended to heaven 40 days after the crucifixion: “He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Ten days later (50 days on), “when the day of Shavuot/Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1). The Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) came upon the gathered Messianic Jews all of a sudden and with great power: “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues” (Acts 2:2-4).

The result of this supernatural visitation let to a huge Messianic harvest of salvation: “Therefore let all the House of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah – this Yeshua!” (Acts 2:36). Shimon Kaipha’s message was bold and evangelistic and spoken to all the Jewish men gathered for the Feast of Shavuot: “‘Repent, and each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’  And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation!’ So then, those who had received his word were immersed. And that day there were added about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:38-41).

These Jewish men were all followers of the Mosaic covenant, as were nearly all Jews in those day. “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Teaching” (ed. of the Mosaic covenant; see the context of Acts 21:20). They were being inaugurated into what Messiah Yeshua called ‘the New Covenant’ in Luke 22:20. In the words of Jeremiah, this New Covenant would be different from the Mosaic covenant:  it would not be “like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, says YHVH” (Jeremiah 31:32).

Pentecost power or Rabbi Ruth?

My dear friend now with the Lord, Dr. Louis Goldberg (former Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible Institute; www.messianicjewish.net/products/fire-on-the-mountain-past-renewals-present-revivals-and-the-coming-return-of-israel-by-dr-louis-goldberg), often taught that rabbinic connecting of Shavuot/Pentecost to the giving of the Mosaic covenant on Mount Sinai was not actually based on biblical information. Instead, it was based on the theological desire to shift focus away from the amazing events of Acts 2.

Rabbinic emphasis refused to accept the Acts 2 connection with Shavuot/Pentecost, since that involved the inauguration of the New Covenant, and included Gentile inclusion into the Jewish Body of Messiah through faith in Yeshua alone. Instead, rabbinic Judaism tried to weld the inauguration of the Mosaic covenant into Shavuot/Pentecost. Rather than accepting Gentile salvation as coming about through faith in the Jewish Messiah Yeshua, rabbinic commentators now made the Book of Ruth do double duty: Ruth herself would now be presented as a convert to rabbinic Judaism, and Shavuot would be highlighted as the day of the Giving of the Sinaitic covenant.

Here are the biblical dates given for the period between the first Passover and the giving of the Decalogue:

This time line reveals that it's impossible to state with any sense of certainty that Shavuot/Pentecost and the Giving of the Tablets happened on the same day.

Only a Grinch gets angry at Christmas. So who would want to get into an argument concerning when to celebrate the Giving of the Mosaic covenant?

Perhaps it is worth remembering that God Himself did not tell us to establish a feast commemorating the giving of the Mosaic covenant. The God of Jacob also gave no clear date in the SCriptures as to when that blessed event happened. The rabbinic plastic surgery done on Shavuot/Pentecost occurred many years after Acts 2.

 If all of the above biblical and historical information is true, then could the emphasis on Shavuot/Pentecost as a Mosaic Covenant day actually be a distraction? Could it be undercutting what YHVH is trying to teach us throughout the Holy Scriptures, and de-emphasizing what He would like us to understand?

 Let us rejoice in the great Harvest Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost as we thank God for His rains and look forward to the mighty harvest of the nations – when Israel will bring much greater riches to the nations and life from the dead to the entire world! (Romans 11:12, 15)

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Rightists and leftists

When a child can finally differentiate between his left and his right hand, even God takes notice (see Jonah 4:12)!

Nearly 3,500 years ago the God of Jacob spoke to Joshua about having a clear vision regarding left and right: “Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the teaching which Moses My servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7).  And again, “Do not turn to the right nor to the left. Turn your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:27).

Johnny Cash sang “I walk the line!” God wants us all to walk a straight line. Turning to the right or to the left means getting off track, getting ensnared in moral compromise or spiritual disobedience.

Here comes the judge

The God of Jacob commanded Moses to appoint judges in Israel known for fairness and impartiality. Any bending of the rules would result in a miscarriage of justice: “According to the terms of the teaching which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left” (Deuteronomy 17:11)

We have a promise that the Good Shepherd of Israel’s voice will tell us in each situation whether a veer to the left or a turn to the right is needed: “Although YHVH has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:20-21).

When Messiah Yeshua returns to Jerusalem, He will judge all the nations based on how they treat Israel – specifically, how they have long desired to divide both the Promised Land and the City of Jerusalem (see Joel 3:2). That judgment involves a separating to the right and to the left: “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him. And He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

Right and left often have deep significance in Scripture – vis-à-vis the past, the present and the future.

Front and center

To sit at the right hand of the king was to sit in a place of the highest honor: “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne. Then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right. Then she said, ‘I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.’ And the king said to her, ‘Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you’” (1 Kings 2:19-20).

The desire to sit close to the center of power is very human. Even the Twelve Disciples and one of their mothers struggled with this desire – to be recognized and to have a measure of pre-eminence:

The Twelve Apostles were not the only ones who wanted to be power brokers sitting on the right and left hand of God’s Messiah. Yeshua addressed this same dynamic, speaking to wedding guests jostling each other to get the best seats:

Sitting on the right and left side of an important Jew

Something surreal often transpires when the God of Jacob drops His heart for the Jewish people into our own hearts. We get hit by a stunning revelation – God is madly in love with Israel. The children of Jacob are a people close to His heart (see Psalm 148:14; Hosea 2:14-23; 11:1-4). Some of us know what it is like to be overwhelmed by His love for the Jewish people. The experience is as exciting as a wedding night!

Responding to that heart-revelation, some of us have tried to get close to the Jewish people. Along the way we ran into some bumps in the road – potholes on the way to paradise! Jewish people are occasionally suspicious of starry-eyed Gentile believers. It is not unusual for there to be wariness, disdain or scorn. This process can be very painful.

For those Gentile believers trying to befriend Jewish people, there is another potential hazard: if one tries to share the Good News about the Jewish Messiah, or if the discussion turns to Messianic Jews and their community – stress often results. The Gentile believer is presented with a choice – if you want to continue as a friend of the Jewish people, then you need to cut off all connection with Messianic Jews. This includes a full stop to sharing the gospel with Jewish people and turning a cold shoulder to the Messianic Jewish community. We know more than a handful of Gentile believers who have done just that. They have jettisoned the Jewish gospel. They stay far away from Messianic Jews. Some start pretending that they are actually ‘hidden Jews.’ Others embrace a new form of Replacement Theology, calling themselves ‘of the tribe of Ephraim.’ Still others try to live as Orthodox Jews, even converting to Rabbinic Judaism. These tragic situations are very real. Faces of former friends pass before my eyes.

Some of these Gentiles have chosen to get very close – to sit on the right and left side, as it were, of Orthodox Jewish people who vehemently reject the Jew Yeshua. This often involves buying into a lie and sometimes leads to the shipwreck of one’s faith. The price of admission that some Gentiles feel they need to pay to be accepted by the Orthodox Jewish community, can go as far as turning publicly against Messianic Jews and castigating them in Jewish circles. A recent example of this has surfaced in Israel in the past few weeks, revolving around attacks on GOD TV’s Messianic Jewish cable station Shelanu on the HOT network. Some Orthodox Jewish spokesmen (who have assiduously cultivated handfuls of pro-Israel Evangelicals over the years) have persuaded these Christian Zionists to publicly oppose Israel’s first Messianic Jewish-operated cable TV station – even to the point of pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to rescind GOD TV’s license:

Years ago, the Apostle John faced a similar problem with a congregational leader named Diotrephes. This man rejected the gospel and apostolic authority, loved the limelight and accused Messianic Jews with wicked words:  “I wrote something to the congregation, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the congregation” (3 John 9-10).

What is the threat to Jewish-Christian ties?

The Jerusalem Post newspaper recently posted an op-ed entitled “Is GOD TV a threat to Jewish-Christian ties?”  The more accurate question would be, “Is the gospel a threat to Jewish-Christian ties?” (www.jpost.com/israel-news/is-god-tv-a-threat-to-jewish-christian-ties-627798).

Freedom of religion in the Western world is meant to safeguard the free practice of one’s religious faith. A central part of the faith of Messianic Jews and Gentiles is that the New Covenant scriptures (and Messianic prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures) reveal the Jewish Messiah Yeshua as the only atoning hope for the world. In Romans 1:16 Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the good news of Yeshua. It is the dynamite-like power of God to bring salvation to all who believe. That passage declares that the message is to be preached with priority (according to the Greek word prôton) to the Jewish people and also to all other nations. This is the gospel, and its message is not a threat to Jews or to Gentiles. To speak clearly, it is the only way that Jewish people and Gentiles can come into a personal relationship with the God of Israel. According to the New Testament Scriptures, any attempt to suppress the Good News of the Jewish Messiah is a clear and present spiritual danger to mankind, including to the Jewish people.

Choose all three – Yeshua, the Messianic Jewish remnant, and the Jewish people!

The God of Israel is looking for a few good men and women with backbone. To love Him means to love His choices and also to love the Jewish people whom He loves. One of the ways YHVH demonstrates His love for the Jewish people is through His birthing of the Messianic Jewish community. When gospel-believers love the God of Israel in a biblical way, they will love the people of Israel and also love the Messianic Jewish remnant within that people.

These three golden rings are inseparable. Let’s hold fast to all three and remain faithful to our calling!

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

 "But in everything commending ourselves as servants of God . . . by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left” (2 Corinthians 6:4,7)

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

The latter rain

Once upon a time there was no rain. Moses tells us that “YHVH God had not sent rain upon the earth . . .  but a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground” (Genesis 2:5-6).

But then God gave rain on the earth and sent water on the fields (see Job 5:10). “Who has cleft a channel for the flood or a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land without people, on a desert without a man in it – to satisfy the waste and desolate land and to make the seeds of grass to sprout? Has the rain a father?” (Job 38:25-28) The Bible describes God as the Great Rainmaker.

Paul declared in Lystra (modern Turkey) that the God of all nations “did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).

Messiah Yeshua taught us that the rains  are a spiritual example to us, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

“To every thing, turn, turn, turn” (The Byrds)

“There is an appointed time for everything, and there is a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1; see the Byrds video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPbR3uovtf8). Farmers can tell you that it’s not just that rain is needed. Showers need to come at the right time and in the right amount. “He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil” (Deuteronomy 11:14). The blessing of God is seen in the fact that rains come like clockwork and in due season: “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains” (James 5:7).

The regulated certainty of God’s seasons was a baseline for the Hebrew prophets, as reflected in Israel’s cry: “So let us know, let us press on to know YHVH. His going forth is as certain as the dawn. And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth” (Hosea 6:3).

The nearness of God’s rain is my good

Mankind needs rain to survive. The God of Isaac knows that. He is like a father who loves to give good gifts to his children, as Moses reveals to Israel: “YHVH will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand” (Deuteronomy 28:12).  Here YHVH is proving the irrevocable nature of His gifts and calling on Israel à la Romans 11:28-29: “You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God! You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched” (Psalm 68:9).

God’s rains are a manifestation of His desire to bring blessing to Jerusalem: “Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plenteous. On that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture” (Isaiah 30:23).

In a dry and weary land

The mighty Nile has been called the lifeblood and the gift of Egypt. Farmers who lived close to the river used water wheels (sakia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakia) or operated small canals controlled by a foot-operated wooden sluice gate which opened and closed, allowing the canal-borne river waters to flood the fields:

The Jewish people in Moses’ day knew how to use their feet based on traditional Egyptian agriculture. But the Promised Land would bring in a totally different way of doing things:

YHVH waxed poetic to the Jewish people, explaining to them that the Land of Canaan has very few perennial water sources or rivers: it “drinks water from the rain of heaven.” This was a divine setup: if the children of Israel obeyed YHVH and followed their calling, they received rain. If not, withering drought would appear.

Solomon proclaimed the same at his dedication of the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem:

A hard rain’s gonna fall

Modern folk wince when the subject of God as Judge arises. It’s true that the prophets (like Ezekiel 14:21) and Moses (Leviticus 26) who knew God personally, described Him as a judge who uses war, plagues, wild beasts and drought against rebellious nations and individuals. But most Westerners get antsy dealing with such concepts. The God of the West is seen rather as a well-behaved gentleman with some excellent moral suggestions.

The God of Jacob is different.

God has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The real issue here is mankind’s sin and rebellion: “Behold, YHVH’s hand is not so short that it cannot save, nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Vindication by water

The prophet Joel lets us in on a spiritual secret concerning His End of Days dealings with Israel. Just prior to the final outpouring of God’s Spirit (“it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit”; Joel 2:28 in English), YHVH announces to the Jewish people that He will pour out “the early rain for your vindication . . .  the early and latter rains” (Joel 2:23; the Hebrew words are moreh/yoreh and malqosh, the two yearly periods of rain in October/November and March/April).

YHVH announces that this pre-revival rain is a sign of His favor. Huge agricultural bumper crops of wine and oil will result. All Israel “will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of YHVH . . . who has dealt wondrously with” Israel (Joel 2:24-26). The God of Jacob stresses two times in a row, “My people will never be put to shame” (Joel 2:26-27)!

When God opens the physical heavens and pours out His rains, Scripture lets us know that this is a sign to the nations that He still loves Israel, He still favors Jacob, and He is still pressing forward with sovereign resolve to restore Israel. 

Lord willing and the creek (don’t) rise

Over many recent years Israel has been suffering bone-crushing seasons of drought. Lawns have gone brown, showers had to be timed, and forest fires ravaged ancient hills.  At the same time the nation of Israel has not yet seen a massive spiritual swing to revival. Sexual sins, demonic spiritualties and hard-heartedness characterize too many people here. Based on the cumulative teaching of the Scriptures looked at so far, one might assume that Israel would be overcome by massive drought.

Yet something very different is happening in the Promised Land. Southern Israel has broken a 76 year record for increased rainfall, while northern Israel has broken a 50 year record. The Lake of Galilee (which had of late been sporting some new bald-headed mini-islands emerging close to the shore-line) is now less than 10 millimeters from being totally topped off.  This is so astounding that every Israeli is aware of this mini-miracle, and there is wonder in the air about it.

Why is God blessing Israel when we are not deserving of it? Why is the country overflowing with rain and water when we have not yet entered into deep national repentance? Do these rains violate His holy character or His immutable word?

Part of the reason can be found in a simple word – ‘grace.’ The word has the sense of ‘unmerited favor.’ God is treating Israel with amazing unmerited favor. That’s the same pattern in Ezekiel 37:9-14: God brings the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel while most of us are spiritually insensate; He breathes His Spirit into us, makes us come alive through a New Covenant revelation of Yeshua, and turns us into His mighty army. It’s all based on grace and it’s all activated while we’re still undeserving.

This ‘gospel for the undeserving’ is a challenge to some believers. But is it not true that every believer in Yeshua is saved “by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:7-9)?

The national salvation of Israel is being crystallized through a process similar to that which every Gentile believer undergoes – a magnificent work of God dripping in grace.

The Hebrew word for grace is hesed. It spotlights God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises. Israel’s psalmist confesses, “Had it not been YHVH who was on our side when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive when their anger was kindled against us” (Psalm 124:1-3). If YHVH were not faithful to His promises, we the Jewish people would be up a creek without a paddle. Jeremiah laments our spiritual condition in Exile: “Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: ‘Is YHVH not in Zion? Is her King not within her . . . Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved’” (Jeremiah 8:19-20).

The rescue and salvation of the Jewish people is an unattainable goal – unless YHVH pours out His spirit of grace and of supplications on our people Israel (see Zechariah 12:10). At some point in history God has to move us beyond labor pains and into full birth: “As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. ‘Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery? says YHVH. Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb? says your God’” (Isaiah 66:8-9).

The present rains reveal to Israel and to the world God’s unchanging and overwhelming love for Jacob. They challenge us to chew on the amazing scriptural promises of restoration yet to come for Isaac’s children.

It’s time to favor Zion

What time is it in the Spirit? It’s time to consider the words of the psalmist: “You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come” (Psalm 102:13).

There are those who say that the time is not yet to favor Zion and to show compassion on Israel. Some say that what is needed to bring Israel face-to-face with Messiah is earth-shaking desolation on Israel and nearly total destruction of the Jewish state. This stance may sound uncompromising and courageous, but in light of the scriptures we have looked at, it sounds like something foundational is missing – and that something is called grace/covenant faithfulness.

Yes, there have been and there will be some hard times comin,’ not only for Israel but for the entire planet. But let’s keep on track with God’s enscripturated promises to restore and comfort Zion, to bring her back to the Land and to pour early and latter rains upon her. We are all eyewitnesses to these events. Now it’s time for each one of us to wrestle in prayer and be involved in works of restoration for the fulfillment of all of Jacob’s promises!

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Gold, jewels and wax

Every child dreams of discovering a pot of treasure at the end of the proverbial rainbow – a heavy iron chest overflowing with rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires,  and bursting at the seams with gold coins. Visitors to the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London marvel at rich beauty, the flashing reflections glinting off the purple velvet and ermine-trimmed diadems.  When mankind wants to describe something of exquisite value, they turn to gold and precious jewels as the touchstone of value.

The Bible’s richest king, Solomon son of David, proclaimed concerning his wealth which was to be used in building the Temple: “Now with all my ability I have provided for the House of my God the gold … and the silver … and the bronze … the iron … and wood …, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance” (1 Chronicles 29:2).

More precious than jewels

Some things are considered of higher value than diamonds. The king makes a stunning declaration in Proverbs 31:10, “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels!”

Solomon, who knew a thing or two about precious metals and stones, hands us a few golden nuggets of wisdom: “There is gold, and an abundance of jewels, but the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing” (Proverbs 20:15).  “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all desirable things cannot compare with her” (Proverbs 8:11).

Jewish jewels

The God of Jacob describes His great regathering of the Jewish people from their worldwide Exile to Israel. YHVH speaks directly to Jewish Jerusalem and says, “Lift up your eyes and look around. All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live, declares YHVH, you will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride” (Isaiah 49:18).

Isaiah prophesies that the God of Isaac will wrap His people in salvation and righteousness the way a newlywed wraps herself in a bridal gown and decks herself out with jewels: “I will rejoice greatly in YHVH, My soul will exult in my God! For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

Moses instructed Bezalel to craft a fabulously expensive ephod (vest) for the High Priest to wear upon entering the Holy of Holies where he would come face to face with the God of Jacob. The golden vest was embroidered with gold filigree, and the pièce de résistance was two onyx stones engraved like a signet ring with the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These two gold-encrusted jewels were to represent the Jewish people as the High Priest made intercession, atonement and petition for the sons and daughters of Israel:

In an earthshaking prophecy regarding God’s loving restoration of Israel, YHVH declares: “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted – behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11-12).

God’s gemstone carver

When the God of Israel commissioned artisans to beautify the Tabernacle in the desert, YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.  I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Exodus 31:1-5)

The care and skill required to create great art was a foundational requirement for all artisans tasked with fashioning God’s House. Both the Tent of Meeting and the Temple called out the best that Israel’s master craftsmen could give.

In a similar way, the Apostle Paul calls on Timothy (his son in the faith) to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Hebrew concept lying behind the word for workman (’ām·mān coming from the root AMN) is connected to being reliable, unshakeable, dependable, trustworthy. It is used in our English word ‘amen’ where it has the sense of ‘may this be established!’ A trusted nanny is an ‘omenet’ and an artisan whose work is totally trustworthy is an ‘oman.’

The apostolic calling on all those who use the Scriptures for study, teaching and spiritual ministry involves using them with credibility, reliability, accuracy and trustworthiness. This also applies to those who are called to bring out prophetic applications from the Bible.

Cutting it close

We who believe today are part of a family of faithful people that goes back millennia. Some of our models of faithfulness and accuracy include:

The Hebrew word ‘faithful’ (used both for ‘artist’ and ‘following instructions faithfully’) is ne'emán, based on the Hebrew root AMN. Its Greek equivalent in the Septuagint is pistós, the same word Paul uses to describe teaching the Scriptures accurately: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Messiah Yeshua. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Messiah Yeshua” (2 Timothy 2:1-3).

Paul sets out standards for spiritual leadership in the Body of Messiah, calling them elders and overseers. In Titus 1:9 he stresses that such a one needs to hold “fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”

Spiritual authority is earned

There are some today who describe themselves as apostles or prophets or anointed teachers (see Ephesians 4:11). The spiritual prerequisites here are foundationally similar to what Paul says are needed to be an elder or an overseer. The bar is high. Not everyone can jump over it. Aspiring to or reaching for (1 Timothy 3:1; the Greek verb orégomai means ‘reach for’ or ‘aspire to’) a spiritually responsible calling requires (at a minimum) using the Scriptures in an accurate and faithful manner.  It is disconcerting to discover that some self-styled apostles, prophets and anointed teachers fail to make the bar on this matter.

When biblical foundation stones are missing, the wonderfully designed body that Yeshua gave us doesn’t run as smoothly as planned.  However, when spiritual leaders bring solid and faithfully accurate teaching, the result is amazing:

Tweaking the waxen nose

Martin Luther once remarked that some theologians treat some scripture passages “like a nose of wax” – something to be twisted to suit their own theological purposes: “So we see how neatly they (ed.) deal with the Scripture, making of it just what they want, as if it were a wax nose, that one can pull this way and that” (“Also sehen wir wie fein die mit der Schrifft handeln, machen drans was sie nur wöllen, als were sie ein wechsern nasen, die man hin und her zihen möcht”; Luthers Werke 1.343.28; 1520).

Though these waxy methods can be found among many different streams, I would like to mention a few examples which touch on the Jewish people. When biblical teaching and prophecy about the Jewish people is twisted, the result is a fast-moving rocket exploding into space – but a few degrees off. The target God intended will not be hit. The power of the promises over Israel will be adulterated. The result will be a subtle growth of unhealthy spiritual fungus.

Four areas (of many) where accurate care needs to be taken when teaching about the Jewish people and their prophetic promises:

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Spices, salt and stones – apostolic foundations and the Jewish people

Jewish spice – a little dab’ll do ya

Some people look upon the subject of Hebrew roots as a marketing strategy. Others truly are interested in the Jewish perspective on the Gospels. More than a handful see it as akin to a food additive – a ‘hamburger helper’ which will spice up a bland scriptural diet. Throw in a fast reference here and there to some ancient Jewish practice – it could help season an otherwise dry Christian message by adding an interesting ‘authentic’ touch. Like the old Brylcreem ad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6F4GtyRfto), a little dab’ll do ya.

There are those who are suspicious of the whole matter. They would say, “Let’s not get carried away here. A little dab of Jewish spice is ok, but let’s not go overboard! The Jews were once the main focus, but now what’s really important is the nations and the final harvest. Jesus may one day reign in Jerusalem, but we feel more comfortable envisioning Zion as more of an international Christian city.”

There’s fear lurking just under the surface for some that ‘this whole Jewish thing could get out of control.’ Irritation can surface when the Jewishness of the gospel and the kingdom are emphasized.  Some are convinced that Messianic Jews are too pushy, too positive about the fulfilment of the Jewish promises. They feel that Messianic Jews need to ‘know their place’ and ‘mind their manners.’ “After all,” they say, “isn’t the body of Christ over 99% non-Jewish? A passing reference to Jewish customs and the occasional Messianic Jewish worship song should be quite enough! Let’s not forget that our foundations are Christian!”

It needs to be said that not everything in the Messianic Jewish movement is biblically based or in line with the Scripture. My grandfather used to say, “A goat may have a beard, but that doesn’t make him a rabbi!” In the same way, Messianic teachings and teachers need to be sifted and weighed with care: “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

Foundation stones and construction costs

The Apostles describe the Body of Messiah as still being a Jewish organism. The foundations of our Messianic faith were Jewish at the outset, and they remain Jewish to this day:

Many Christians have difficulty accepting the continuing apostolic and Jewish foundations of the Messianic faith. This is largely due to their traditional embrace of Replacement/Rejection Theology.  But the Scriptures take pains to explain that Jewish roots are not an added piece of software meant to spice up the church. Jewish roots are actually the original OS (operating system) for the body of Messiah.

The Apostle Paul says, “you (Gentiles) were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree” (Romans 11:24).  This much is clear: the olive tree is Jewish, the promises are Jewish (Romans 9:4), and the Messiah is Jewish (Matthew 1:1). Messiah’s throne will be established in a Jewish country (Jeremiah 3:17), and at the Marriage of the Lamb the Groom will certainly be Jewish (see Revelation 22:16)!

The Apostle tells us that God’s household is “built on the foundation of the (Jewish) apostles and prophets, Messiah Yeshua Himself being the corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19-21). It’s true that the majority of the Body of Messiah is not descended from Jacob. God planned it that way. He is delighted in the multifaceted expressions of grace and creativity found in the mosaic of the nations. Yeshua all the same defines the Body as “the commonwealth of Israel” which has ongoing Jewish and apostolic foundations. And YHVH has chosen Israel to be the key to world revival (see https://davidstent.org/books/), to bring light to a dark world by being a servant to the nations.

Jewish architectural plans

In the New Testament, the apostolic gospel is described as being foundational:

The Jewish roots of the gospel message are not an afterthought in the construction process. They are cemented into the original foundation, rooted in God’s covenants with Israel (see Romans 9:4).

Quanto costa?

Yeshua shares some divine wisdom with us regarding house building. Before we start the project, we need to ask ourselves, “How much will this cost me?”

To build solidly on a biblically Jewish and Messianic foundation will exact a cost from us. What is that cost?

The Scriptures are over 95% written by Jews. The audience at the time of its writing was nearly entirely Jewish. The subject matter of biblical prophecy is over 92% directed to the Jews and most of it concerns the destiny of the Jewish people, their homeland and their calling. If leaders in today’s Body of Messiah start teaching the Scriptures this way – the way they are written – and courageously communicate God’s heart and the scriptural strategies concerning the Jewish people, it will cost them. There will be derision, rejection and persecution.

Some people don’t want a gospel which is rooted in God’s heart and priority promises to Israel. They will vote with their feet and choose less radical paths. We should not be surprised, because it happened to Yeshua as well:

The time for hesitation’s through.  We need to do more than grant verbal assent to these biblical truths. An occasional nibble from a few crumbs of Jewish roots won’t supply adequate nutrition. Why not eat haute cuisine from the Messianic Jewish banquet table!  As Luke 5:4 says, it’s time to put out into the deep water and let down our nets for a catch. There are riches awaiting any believer who begins to delve into the Jewish foundations of the gospel.

Back to the salt mines

“S’iz shver tzu zayn a Yid!” (It’s hard to be a Jew), goes the old Yiddish proverb. It’s also hard to be a disciple of Messiah Yeshua.

Part of the cost of discipleship is holding fast to God’s heart and strategic priority concerning the Jewish people. This is not a negotiable issue.

Messiah Yeshua sadly explains what happens when we (who are supposed to be salt and preservative in a rotting world – see Matthew 5:13) lose our distinctive taste and flavor:

Tweaking our priorities

God’s apostolic priorities are underscored in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew with priority (prōton – chiefly, especially, with priority) and also to the Greek.”  As the Apostle said, the promises given to Israel are not an appendix, neither are they obscure. They are God’s priority and at the foundation of YHVH’s strategic heart: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29).

The Bible’s focus should be our focus. There is no benefit in shying away from God’s priority teachings concerning Israel. Whatever our present focus and calling, let’s walk in step with what Yeshua tells us in the word of God about Israel and her destiny. Israel is not an appendix, but it is close to the very heart of the Lord.

Urgency

The parable of the ten virgins stresses the need for spiritual alertness in times when we are dull to what’s really happening spiritually:

The foundations of the New Jerusalem are Jewish. The twelve foundation stones under the twelve gates are glowing with the names of the twelve Jewish Apostles, while the twelve gates are eternally engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Jacob:

In light of these amazing future realities, let’s get back to basics and make the plain things the main things in the outworking of our lives and ministries!

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

The Passover pattern

Passover actually happened. It was a real historical event. Real Hebrew slaves, real Egyptian bondage, and real Ten Plagues:

God created Passover to be a highly significant time for the Jewish people:

The word Paul uses here is τυπικῶς  (typikōs; see Exodus 29:40, the heavenly blueprint/pattern of the Tabernacle). It refers to a pattern given to the Jewish people which is meant to teach them something, a model for imitation. Paul is saying that Passover contains an instructional message for Israel (‘a pattern for them’): God wants Jacob to learn from the Exodus history and to take its lessons to heart.  Paul affirms that the Exodus ‘patterns’ have spiritual and practical benefit for non-Jews as well: “Now these . . . were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The God of the spirits of all flesh (Numbers 16:22) has revealed His Passover pattern to Israel while simultaneously sharing a complementary Scriptural plumbline with the entire human race: the Jewish people and their spiritual inheritance (Romans 15:27) have an abiding calling and irrevocable priority in human and spiritual history (Romans 11:29). And He wants the nations to gain wisdom from studying and understanding this calling. With that in mind, this newsletter takes a radical look at Passover and considers God’s original Exodus principles.

The actual day is important

Passover commemorates the actual day when the angel passed over Jewish homes in Egypt (Psalm 78:49; Exodus 12:29). Like the commemoration of America’s 9/11 or France’s Bastille Day, the actual calendar day is important here.

Passover is the calendar connection between the Jewish people and God’s mighty redeeming acts on their behalf.

Location, location, location

Psalm 114:1 calls on the Jewish people to remember that “Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language.” God’s real-time deliverance happened in a real neighborhood very close by.

Moses prophesied that, after the Jewish people conquered and settled the Promised Land, Passover would move to a new home in Jerusalem. Its celebration would become part of the prism of the Jewish people’s capitol city:

This centrality of Jewish Jerusalem in the Passover story is reflected in the Passover Seder’s final proclamation – “Next year in Jerusalem! L’shana haba’a birushalyim!”

Joshua’s first Passover

Three crucial events happened when Israel celebrated their first Passover in the Land of Israel:

Joshua’s Passover is ripe with prophetic significance. God had now brought the Jewish people into their Promised Land. The byword is now ‘out with the old, in with the new.’ YHVH’s prophetic promises were now to be actualized through Israel’s physical and spiritual efforts.

The delayed Passover revival

In Numbers 9:9-13 YHVH gave instructions to Moses: any Jew who missed celebrating the Passover at the proper time due to extenuating circumstances, could celebrate it one month later on the 10th day of the second month.

Before King Hezekiah ascended to the throne, his father Ahaz had led Judah into gross idolatry and severe profanation of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 28:22-25; 29:5-9. 18-19). Hezekiah was crowned in a bit of a rush (2 Chronicles 29:36). His most pressing desire was to cleanse and rededicate the Temple (2 Chronicles 29). As soon as that was accomplished, Hezekiah and his staff set about preparing for the long forgotten Feast of Passover. But they couldn’t get it together in time for the first month of the year. They needed to resort to the ‘Numbers 9’ clause, moving the date of Passover to the second month of the Jewish calendar:

Hezekiah sent messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming a call to repentance and an invitation to celebrate a renewed Passover (2 Chronicles 30:5-12). Some despised his call and mocked the messengers, but “the hand of God was . . . on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of YHVH” (2 Chronicles 30:12). Demonic altars were destroyed (30:14) and the Passover was then celebrated with great joy: “The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised YHVH day after day with loud instruments to YHVH” (2 Chronicles 30:21).

Repentance, re-dedication, removal of idols, revival, worship and joy – these six ingredients are the atomic core of Hezekiah’s Passover revival.  Covenant faithfulness (at this time in history the Sinai covenant was the focus) and obedience was a major key here as well.

 Ain’t been nothin’ quite like it!

Hezekiah’s great-grandson Josiah was eight years old (2 Chronicles 34:1) when he ascended to the throne. At the ripe old age of 16, he threw his entire weight into shaping a revolutionary revival – one which hit its spiritual zenith on Passover:

After the cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple (echoing the acts of his great-grandfather Hezekiah), Josiah kicked off a celebration of the Passover greater than any other Passover up to that time:

The foundation stones of the Passover pattern were the same – a heart seeking after the God of Jacob, an honoring of and obedience to God’s enscripturated word, a holy zeal for God’s glory. These building blocks undergirded the greatest Passover revival in Jewish history.

Prophet, priest and Passover

In the days of the Persian occupation of Israel, the Jews who had returned from Babylonian Exile were encouraged by the prophetic ministry of “Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia” (Ezra 6:14).

The underpinnings of this special Passover had similar spiritual dynamics – dedicating the House of YHVH, presenting a sin offering, re-establishing Levitical service and worship, and obeying YHVH’s feast calendar in Leviticus 23.  A physical return of the Jewish exiles to the Land of Israel was the first step in the process. The call to holiness then involved them distancing themselves from the surrounding nations’ paganism. These returning exiles and their Passover made it into the Bible!

What would Yeshua do?

Some of us have seen wrist bands engraved with the letters WWJD (‘what would Jesus do?’). So let’s ask the question here: what would Yeshua do on Passover? The answer is pretty clear:

Yeshua was at home with the Passover like a fish is at home in water. He was the Author of the Feast, and He delighted to celebrate it. And in His crucifixion and resurrection He would be the prophetic fulfilment of the Feast – the Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19).

Passover – a season of repentance, rededication, revival and worship

Passover was the season when powerful revival broke out among the Jewish people.  This festive time shimmers with God’s redemptive purposes.

There is a prophetic future for Passover as well. Ezekiel 45:18-24 reveals that the Jerusalem celebration of Passover will be a yearly occurrence when Messiah Yeshua returns to set up His throne. As Bob Dylan says, “He’s got plans of His own to set up His throne – when He returns!”

There are some voices declaring that this specific Passover will be a milestone in the dramatic manifestation of God’s kingdom.  Whatever happens in this regard, let us approach this Passover season with a sober and humble spirit, remembering the above-mentioned biblical things that God challenges us to remember!

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Drinking the cup of poison

In The Princess Bride, Vizzini and the Dread Pirate Roberts are involved in a duel to the death (https://wiki.c2.com/?BattleOfWits). The burning question is this: into which goblet did Roberts slip the deadly iocaine powder (an imaginary substance)? During their verbal sparring Vizzini philosophizes, “Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet, or his enemy’s?”

That’s certainly a fair question: who would try to poison himself?  Regrettably and increasingly, people are doing just that. They are drinking deeply from a venomous brew of false conspiracy theories served up daily on the internet. Mark Fenster in his Conspiracy theories: Secrecy and power in American culture (2008, University of Minnesota Press) does not mince words: as far as conspiracy theories go, the web has become a “Petri dish for paranoids.”

Conspiracy theories are an ‘equal opportunity deceiver.’ They are found on both the left and the right of the political spectrum and among most religious streams. Christians of all stripes (Catholics, Orthodox, Reformed, Evangelicals and Charismatics) are not immune. Most of us have at one time or another run into unsmiling adherents of some conspiracy theory.

At this moment there are hundreds of opinions circulating on the internet about the coronavirus pandemic: Does a pandemic even exist? Is it some kind of ‘plandemic’ plot? Who is to blame? Is it all due to 5G, to AI, to Bill Gates or …? Will civilization survive, etc.? 

Conspiracy theories are dangerous whirlpools dragging us into turbulent and deep waters. The rapids on this wild ride pour over the waterfalls of paranoia and finally collect in the cesspools of anti-Semitism. What is a conspiracy theory? What kind of soil aids these wild seeds to sprout? What is the twisted reasoning that causes so many imprudent infantrymen to blindly march into self-deception?

Evil powerful people

Here’s a personal testimony about my first-hand experience with conspiracy theories. I was born into a conspiracy theory family. My parents were dyed in the wool Communists of the Stalinist stripe. Their world was clearly defined. Enemies were lurking everywhere – capitalists, fascists, political centrists and religious people. The FBI and the CIA were agents from the inferno. And of course, to make matters worse, most of these implacable foes were also virulent anti-Semites. I grew up in a world surrounded by evil and powerful people.

But there were also Robin Hoods in my universe. Union organizers and revolutionaries, spies and radical artists, musicians and writers, and especially Russia’s leaders – these were the safe and progressive folk on the correct side of the battle. My parents always reminded me that anti-Semitism was illegal in the Soviet Union. Had not Stalin himself declared this (www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1931/01/12.htm; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_and_antisemitism)!

In the words of a Russia scholar, all conspiracy theories rely on “a melodramatic structure: a group of bad actors are manipulating events behind the scenes, and only a select few who know the truth can struggle against them. This is all actually quite comforting and optimistic, because it means that, when something bad happens, it’s not simply random – there is someone to blame and someone to fight” (“Plots Against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy After Socialism;” Cornell University Press, 2019; Eliot Borenstein, Professor of Russian and Slavic studies, NYU’s Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia).

Losing control in troubling times

Like mold oozing out of a damp wall, conspiracy theories thrive in times of societal stress, political instability and polarization. When people feel powerless, fearful and confused about developments, they crave the fast food of easy answers. “If you’re angry, conspiracy theories tell you why your anger is justified. If you feel like a victim, they tell you who to blame” (Borenstein, Plots). These theories “provide a frame of interpretation for public events”  (“Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style of Mass Opinion;” J. Eric Oliver & Thomas J. Wood;  March 5, 2014; page 953). Those who board this conspiracy train see themselves as having privileged access to, and knowledge of, what they think is reality.

It was once in vogue to assume that jihadists come from the lower echelons of Islamic society, and that their grievances are economic in nature. The truth is that most come from the middle classes and have above-average education and living standards.  This same point is true concerning followers of conspiracy theories – its followers originate from the educated and the middle class. “The imagined model of an ignorant priest-ridden peasantry or proletariat, replacing religious and superstitious belief with equally far-fetched notions of how society works, turns out to be completely wrong. It has typically been the professors, the university students, the artists, the managers, the journalists and the civil servants who have concocted and disseminated the conspiracies”  (“Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History;” David Aaronovitch, Penguin, 2010).

Destroyers of our nation and values

There are times when people feel that the earth is moving under their feet, and that the traditional common narrative of their nation is fading. These concerns and fears are the hothouse which catalyzes a mushroom-like spread of conspiracy theories. When people feel that society is under attack by ‘others,’ they want to know who these ‘others’ are.  What’s the name of this group which is weakening our community and destroying our nation? Whoever this group is, it must be stopped/eliminated before they achieve victory over us, say the people. And so step by step the groundwork is laid. This is how the Nazi state rose to power in the Germany of the 1930’s. At that time the Jewish people were the targeted ‘other.’

Today some identify these ‘destroyers of society’ as being on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. This targeted group is stigmatized as ‘not really belonging to our nation.’ Conversely, the target sometimes focuses on the opposite end of the spectrum – ruling and wealthy elites, depicted as traitors and international Rasputins. Recent developments in American politics have shown the fickle influence of both of these dynamics.

When a state uses conspiracy theories

In the Soviet Union, with a recognized history of state secrecy, people took it for granted that they were being lied to. “In the absence of reliable information, people fill in the blank spots with speculation” (Borenstein, Plots). Today the realpolitik of Vladimir Putin “leverages conspiracy theory by positing that Russia is always the victim of plots by hostile forces, both internal and external. So the conflict here is not between the people and the state, but the state and the forces that want to destroy it. The state is the hero” (Borenstein, Plots).

Russia’s leaders use anti-Western conspiracy discourse “in the public sphere with the aim of fostering social and national cohesion in the country.  The notion of conspiracy linked to the actions of the West has emerged as a crucial functional element of the regime’s ideological underpinnings. Such a discourse exploits people’s nostalgic sentiments about their country’s past greatness, justifies the introduction of restrictive laws and serves as a substitute for practical actions in achieving community cohesion” (“Conspiracy Discourse in post-Soviet Russia: Political Strategies of Capture of the Public Sphere [1991-2014]; Ilya Yablokov, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Manchester).

Circular reasoning

When a conspiracy theorist is asked for proof of his or her assertions, his answers may vary and come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The most common reaction is that there are mountains of (supposed) evidence for the conspiracy theory in question. On the other hand, sometimes there is a totally opposite reaction: Do you really want to know why is there no evidence available to prove our conspiracy theory? It’s obvious, is the response. The lack of evidence in itself is proof of the top-secret nature of this conspiracy!

Anti-Semitism as the ‘one ring to bind them all’

Anyone who begins to research the house of conspiracy theories quickly discovers that a hidden dragon of anti-Semitism is lying across the threshold. For many advocates of conspiracy theory perspectives, the Jewish people are intimately bound up in world control and manipulation. Conspiracy eschatology emphasizes the exact opposite of the Bible’s positive Last Days teaching regarding the centrality and priority of Jewish people, God’s key to life from the dead for the world.

We know people who have unknowingly bought into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories – e.g., that Jews control world banks and economy; that they control Hollywood and the music industry; that Zionists control America and its political parties, etc. Rachel and I have many times heard that:

the Jewish people control the Masonic movement            

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Masonic_conspiracy_theory

the Jewish people control the world through the Illuminati  

www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/29/former-conspiracy-theorist-when-they-say-%E2%80%98illuminati%E2%8099-or-%E2%80%98reptiles%E2%80%99-they-mean-jews/

the Jewish people control the world through Communism

www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/vol1/issue3/Jews-Communists-and-Jewish-Communists.html

the Rothschilds control the world through Capitalism and banks          

www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/27/anatomy-of-a-conspiracy-theory/

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4311

www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/03/19/the-rothschilds-a-pamphlet-by-satan-and-conspiracy-theories-tied-to-a-battle-200-years-ago/

the Jewish people are behind every major conspiracy

www.myjewishlearning.com/article/conspiracy-theories-the-jews/

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/antisemitism-open-your-eyes-jeremy-corbyn-labour

https://muhammad-mosque-12.com/the-final-call/897-minister-farrakhan-on-the-illuminati-the-secret-relationship-between-blacks-jews-u-s-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan

the Jewish people are behind the coronavirus

www.meforum.org/60583/conspiracy-theories-in-a-time-of-virus

www.ynetnews.com/article/B1xuHBePU

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-jews/

Biblical insight regarding evil conspiracies

The Bible clearly teaches about the reality of evil spiritual conspiracies:

Satan may use human conspiracies as part of his warfare strategies – whether false teachers, cruel dictators, rapacious industrialists or bloodthirsty revolutionaries. Hatred is his language and his spiritual dynamic. We who are followers of Messiah Yeshua need to keep aware that our fight is not ultimately against flesh and blood. And “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Satanic conspiracies – the targeting of Israel

Satan is aware that YHVH prioritizes the Jewish people in His created order (see Genesis 12:3; Numbers 23:9; Isaiah 43:3-4; Romans 1:16; 2:9-10; 3:1-2; 9:1-5; 11:28-29). Whatever God has chosen to cherish, Satan has chosen to destroy: “Then Satan stood up against Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1).

Revelation 12 unpacks Satan’s Last Days strategy – his targeting of the Jewish people for destruction.

Satan’s conspiracy to destroy the Jewish people is the stuff of future Middle East prophecy:

The corona pandemic is a dry run. It can help us prepare for other future pandemics (see https://davidstent.org/passover-plagues-and-the-god-of-the-hebrews/). The medical challenges and economic shakings are significant, but not as intense as those future ones described in Revelation 6:7-8 or 11:6.  Present pressures can aid us in gearing up and getting ready for times of more intense shakings.

Little children, guard yourselves from conspiracies!

John the Apostle warned his brothers and sisters in the faith, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols!” (1 John 5:21). As the world trembles under the finger of God, let us find our shelter from fear, threat and instability under the protection of His mighty presence: “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You! And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by” (Psalm 57:1).

The fruit of conspiracy theories are the deeds of the flesh – hatred, suspicion, enmities, strife, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions and factions (Galatians 5:19-20). Let us choose instead to walk in the Spirit (5:16) and not carry out the desires of the flesh!

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Happy prophetic New Year!

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea – though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride (Psalm 46:1-3)

The Jewish people’s history is flecked with tragedy and shakings. Moyshe Rabbenu’s (Moses’) curses of Deuteronomy 28:15-68 speak of drought, famine, war, pestilence and plague – “all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid” (Deuteronomy 28:60). What the world is experiencing is in a small way similar to Moses’ prophecy.

Yet as the tsunami of corona crashes across the continents of the world, we remind ourselves: God is our solid rock and there’s no panic in Heaven’s throne room. YHVH’s plans stride forward unshakeable. “YHVH of armies is with us! The God of Jacob is our stronghold!” (Psalm 46:11)

Today is the real Jewish New Year

The Bible has only one Rosh Hashana (the Head of the Year). According to Moses this Jewish New Year is not in the Fall but in the Spring: “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’”  (Exodus 12:1-2). Rabbinic authorities later moved the New Year to come into line with the Babylonian pagan calendar. But YHVH’s calendar and His feasts (as per Leviticus 23:1-44) still remain “His appointed feasts” (Leviticus 23:2) and are part of His irrevocable calling on Israel, and part of His unalterable gifts to the Jewish people (see Romans 11:29).

The Jewish New Year (which falls this year on the evening of Wednesday March 25) is special. It has a value of its own, and stands totally apart from the Feast of Trumpets, the fifth feast in the calendar cycle (Leviticus 23:23-25). Six historical events of great significance occurred on this date:

The waters of Noah’s Great Flood dried up

“Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up” (Genesis 8:13)

The desert Tabernacle was erected

“On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting . . .  Now in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected” (Exodus 40:2, 17) 

The repair and consecration of Solomon’s Temple was initiated

“In the first year of (Hezekiah’s) reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the House of YHVH and repaired them . . . Now they began the consecration on the first day of the first month” (2 Chronicles 29:3, 17)

Ezra began his journey from Babylon to Jerusalem

“For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon. And on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him” (Ezra 7:9)

Haman began to cast lots (Purim) to choose when to destroy the Jewish people

“In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day” (Esther 3:7)

The prophetic word of YHVH concerning Egypt’s downfall came to Ezekiel

“Now in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of YHVH came to me” (Ezekiel 29:17)

Prophetic significances of these events

The above events are loaded with redemptive significance:

Clash of the Titans

For some of us, it’s a stretch (or even a shock) to realize that the God of Jacob claims the Hebrew calendar as His own. His New Year is the 1st of Aviv, whereas humankind has all kinds of other New Years. Even the majority of modern Jews celebrate a Rabbinic (but not a biblical) New Year.

The names of the months in our Western Gregorian calendar are based on Greek and Roman gods/deities/demons (e.g., March from Mars, the god of war; January for Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions, etc.). The week days are named after Norse gods/demons (Wednesday after Wodin; Thursday after Thor; Friday after Frigga, etc.).

The Biblical Jewish New Year offers us a great opportunity to hit ‘reset’ on our traditions, and consider what the future holds.

When Messiah Yeshua returns, the whole planet will follow the Hebrew calendar. Ezekiel 45:18 prophesies a future Jerusalem holiday on the 1st of Aviv, while Zechariah 14:16-19, 8:18-19 and Isaiah 66:23 show that the entire planet will be keeping the Jewish calendar. Greek, Roman and Norse titans will all bow the knee and declare that Messiah Yeshua and His calendar are sovereign over the whole earth (Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10-11).

Spotlight on the good promises of God

As the earth trembles, as our freedom of movement is compressed, God wants us to focus on the fact that He really is in control as He brings loving correction and righteous discipline to this wayward planet. “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed . . . to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).  “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend/overpower it” (John 1:5). “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12)

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Passover plagues and the God of the Hebrews

Many people are acquainted with the Passover story. Some have even watched the ‘The Ten Commandments’ movie and its dramatic depiction of the Ten Plagues – a Hollywood moment to remember.

Right now the entire world is having a ‘Passover moment.’ Like the Hebrew slaves in Egypt on that first Passover night, the families of the earth are on lockdown, hiding in their homes. And where is the God of the Hebrews right now? Is He aware of the current pandemic? Is YHVH involved in the process in any way?

To speak frankly, most of the world thinks that the Exodus makes a good story for kids. Most modern adults are not sure if they can believe in a God who “smites the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues” (1 Samuel 4:6-8). A recent Israeli satirical TV show Eretz Nehederet (Hebrew for ‘A wonderful country’) scoffed at the possibility that the corona virus could have anything to do with the God of Jacob, or that we should re-evaluate our values or our behavior. In the Western world this mockery is common: God – IF He exists – should be content with our brief acknowledgement of Him at our weddings, confirmations ceremonies, christenings and bar mitzvahs.

This corona virus pandemic is a wake-up call to the world. It is also a dry run for even more sobering coming prophetic events.

Let’s get God’s viewpoint on the whole subject of plagues as revealed in the Bible:

Plagues in Egypt

YHVH declares that He alone is solely responsible for the Ten Plagues: “I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst … and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt” (Joshua 24:4-7).

One of the purposes of the Ten Plagues is to show ungodly Pharaoh (the leader of the world’s greatest superpower) that the God of Israel is the only Sovereign God, and that He is watching over the Jewish people. “Then YHVH said to Moses, ‘Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says YHVH, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth” (Exodus 9:13-14).

The Ten Plagues were also spiritual warfare against Egypt’s demonic pantheon – a proclamation through power encounter that YHVH is sovereign over all these false gods: “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments – I am YHVH!”  (Exodus 12:12)

Plagues against Israel

Psalm 78:40-51 tells us that some Jewish people had ‘short-term memory problems.’ These individuals rebelled against YHVH. They grieved God in the desert wanderings. They tempted and pained the Holy One of Israel. The nation who had been delivered from Egyptian plagues by God’s Passover protection soon forgot His saving power.

Many of the sons of Jacob were judged by YHVH with plague due to their own idol worship and sexual orgies during the desert wanderings. “They joined themselves also to Baal-Pe’or, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, and so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness” (Psalm 106:28-31).

The Mosaic covenant (the Torah of Moses) speaks clearly that plagues fell on Israel because God was executing vengeance for the nation breaking the Mosaic covenant (Leviticus 26:25): “But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant – I, in turn, will do this to you . . .  If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins . . .   I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins. I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you” (Leviticus 26:14-16, 21, 24-25).

The prophet Amos specifies that YHVH judged Israel with Egypt-like plagues because of Israel’s idolatry and her lack of repentance. “Hear this word, you cows of . . . Samaria . . .  I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt . . . Yet you have not returned to Me, declares YHVH. Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel: Because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel” (Amos 4:1, 10-12).

Moses and the prophets are preaching a tough message here:

This strong message is a huge speed bump for humanity, because both the Jewish people and the nations continually violate God’s ways and teachings. The lessons from the Exodus are not just Sunday School stories for little children. They reveal that humanity is coming face to face with the God who “smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues.” Few of us are ready for that encounter.

May I have your attention?

In Leonard Cohen’s song “Who by fire” (based on the Yom Kippur prayer ‘Unetana Tokef’), God’s hidden hand lies behind both the good and the bad of life that we all encounter: “And who by fire, who by water, who in the sunshine, who in the night time, who by high ordeal, who by common trial . . . And Who shall I say is calling?”

One of God’s biblical goals in using plagues is to get His children to turn back to Him, so that we should cry out for deliverance and repent for our sins. This sober truth lies at the bedrock of the Mosaic covenant:

YHVH’s night-appearance declaration to King Solomon (not long after the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem) is very popular right now:

Plagues are a severe mercy, to borrow a term from C.S. Lewis. The means are severe, but the harvest can be amazing and full of grace. Blessed spiritual and physical results are dependent on our heart-response to the God of the Hebrews.

“Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear …  Before Him goes pestilence, and plague comes after Him. He . . . startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains (ed., a biblical symbol of world governments) were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:1-5).

Oh that My people would listen to Me!

When the world is out of kilter – when God’s ways are ignored or mocked – YHVH’s correction course gets our attention so that we will get back in line with the program. He woos us so that we might come to Him and trust Him, even in our tears and fears.

God’s heart deeply desires His people Israel (as well as all the nations) to turn back to Him and embrace Him. Our strong-willed refusal to bow the knee and shed real tears of repentance freezes us in spiritual limbo:

The angel’s cry reveals the same: “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues’” (Revelation 18:4).

 

Prophetic plagues in the future

Messiah Yeshua spoke of the Last Days, the birth pangs prior to His return. These Last Days will be marked by unusual events including plague: “And there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11).

The point here is not to be blown away by such occurrences, but to stay on track while looking forward to the amazing return of Messiah. “And there shall be . . . distress of nations upon the earth, with perplexity, . . . men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken . . .  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:25-28).

The future plague-filled judgment on Gog and his international anti-Israel army will come about through YHVH’s direct counter-measures:

The anti-Jewish armies who try to divide the Jewish capital city of Jerusalem will be melted away by divine plague:

One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will unleash a plague which will catalyze the slaying of 25% of the earth:

The Two Witnesses will strike the earth with plagues as an integral part of their ministry:

Many people will respond to God’s plagues by blaspheming YHVH and refusing to repent:

A broken world

We are living in a broken world. Both the just and the unjust experience national blessings. Both just and unjust also weather terrible tragedies. Messiah Yeshua said, “Your Father who is in heaven . . . causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

At the same time, there is no one on the earth who is without sin, no one who is exempt from ‘the wages of sin’ (see Romans 6:23). As King David confesses, “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51:4).

Most of the time plagues are ascribed in the Bible to a violation of the covenant between God and Israel, or to God’s judgment on unrighteous nations. Certainly at the present time both of these factors are indisputable realities. Nevertheless, until Messiah Yeshua returns, we will never fully understand the depths of God’s ways and His plans – especially when disasters, wars and pandemics occur. But we can still trust in God’s goodness, as David proclaimed: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? … Consider and answer me, O YHVH my God! Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death . . . But I have trusted in Your covenant faithfulness. My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation!” (Psalm 13:2-5)

Is the present pandemic a dry run?

A dear friend of ours, John Paul Jackson (a minister in the prophetic, now with the Lord) gave a prophetic word in 2008. Here is the quote: “The Lord told me there would be a pandemic that came, but the first one would prove to be little but feared, But the second one that comes would be serious. So there is a pandemic that is going to be coming.”

In light of the wealth of the biblical information on plagues, John Paul’s word should give us pause. At press time nearly 250,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 and over 10,000 people have succumbed to this pandemic. With an acknowledgment that this plague has garnered more media coverage than any other pandemic so far in history, it is probable that the COVID-19 pandemic will in the end have less fatalities than other pandemics of the past (www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/a-visual-history-of-pandemics/; https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/; www.visualcapitalist.com/history-of-pandemics-deadliest/):

Anti-Semitism over the past 2,500 years has put its satanic stamp on human history – though its final and climactic expression is yet future (see Revelation 12). In a similar fashion, it seems, this terrible pandemic is a herald of even more sobering future pandemics.

In light of these challenges and prophetic possibilities, how does Messiah Yeshua want us to minister in an increasingly dark world? As Isaiah spoke about the Jewish people’s prophetic future, we can also ask God to shine through each one of us wherever it is most needed:

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Coronavirus and you

The coronavirus has now become a pandemic –

A pandemic does not mean that the situation is the worst possible one. It simply refers to the fact that the virus is spreading widely and quickly.

Facts, spin, denial and omniscience

People respond to this pandemic in very human ways. Usually, people acknowledge the verifiable events. Immediately after that, fierce arguments break out as to the real meaning of these events. The following points may be helpful here:

The stark realities of this pandemic are unsettling for many people. Reactions include declaring that huge conspiracies are at work, blaming supposedly deliberate plots by China, the CIA or Israel’s Mossad for the spread of the virus. Others deny that the pandemic is even a problem, and assert that the whole thing is a manipulative ruse by politicians attempting to shore up their own rule.

Only an omniscient God knows exactly how many people will be touched by this virus and to what extent. The Bible’s perspective is stunningly reflected in the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) rabbinic prayer ‘Unetana tokef’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unetanneh_Tokef) which declares that God is both good and sovereign in all these events:

This Yom Kippur confession is powerfully true. And that same truth also applies regarding the ultimate destiny of each one of us. It’s worth remembering  the reality that God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31). In light of that, we ruefully confess: “If You, O YHVH, should mark iniquities – O YHVH, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that You might be feared!” (Ps. 130:4).

Messiah Yeshua’s soon return to Jerusalem will establish the fallen Tent of David over Israel and the nations. All His promises will be established for the Jewish people. His judgments on all the peoples of this planet will also be actualized: “ But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32).

Casting the first stone

When bad things happen, we want to know why. Who is guilty? Against whom do we point the finger? Two thoughts here:

Shi’ite Iraqi Islamic scholar Hadi Al-Modarresi, based in Qom, Iran, said on February 28, 2020 that the spread of coronavirus is undoubtedly an act of Allah’s divine punishment against China for their disrespect towards Muslims and Islam:

In early March, online sources reported that Hadi Al-Modarresi contracted coronavirus.

Messiah Yeshua raised the issue of individual responsibility in one of His comments on the collapse of a building in Jerusalem’s Shiloach neighborhood:

Yeshua tells us that we need to avoid haste in ascribing specific guilt to people who suffer tragedies. The fact is that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. None of us is righteous (see Psalm 14:1-3),  and all of us are in need of repentance. The accurate reason for tragedies and judgments may not be available to us in the heat of the moment.

God’s wake-up weapons of discipline

Though many believers are not aware of it, the Bible does not mince words regarding God’s ability to bring judgment to a nation or even an entire planet (think Noah). Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John the Revelator refer to four weapons in YHVH’s hands – famine, wild beasts, the sword of war, and plagues – that He has used, does use and will use to speak to a deaf and rebellious world (see also 2 Samuel 24:13; 2 Kings 8:1; 2 Chronicles 20:9; Psalm 105:16; Jeremiah 5:12; 14:12, 15; 15:2; 21:7; 24:10; 27:8; 29:17-18; 34:17; 44:12-13;  Ezekiel 5:12, 17; Revelation 6:8).

A pandemic touches all the nations of this world. Whether it is specific sins that are the fulcrum, or simply the general attitude of the world that ignores God, His values and guidelines – we may not clearly know at this point. But there is no question that, like King David in 2 Samuel 24, we need to cry out to YHVH the God of Israel and ask Him to stay His hand, grant repentance and hold the plague back from people (2 Samuel 24:21).

David purchased the threshing floor of Jerusalem’s  Jebusite mayor (the Ara’unah) “‘in order to build an altar to YHVH, that the plague may be held back from the people.’ . . .  So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  David built there an altar to YHVH and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus YHVH was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel” (2 Samuel 24:21-25).

The voice of King David echoes down through the pages of history to us, and it should become ours as well. As 70,000 Jewish men, women and children were perishing, he cried out to YHVH and asked “But these sheep, what have they done?” (2 Samuel 24:15-17).

Racing against the chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17)

The Prophet Isaiah tells us that people respond to God’s judgments in two diametrically opposed ways:

The present pandemic challenges us to seek the face of God, to learn righteousness and to call out to Him for international mercy.

Some of us may feel that it is hard to keep up with all that is happening. Be encouraged that the God of Jacob is calling us to press onward to our upward calling in Messiah Yeshua (Philippians 3:12-14). Jeremiah’s challenge is ours as well: “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5).

How should we then pray?

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

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

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