On Shavuot/Pentecost: Receive the Holy Spirit to Understand

 

Receive the Rûaḥ HaKodesh John 20:19-23

Yesterday I ruffled feathers on Facebook with comments from those who don't understand that I am all about the Remnant of faith in Israel. That has been the case since I started my ministry in 2001, the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests from Israeli Ministries. It was launched because I saw the body of Israeli Messianic Jews were God's best kept secret.

It is not that God WANTS Israeli Messianic Jews to be invisible to the Christian world, but because the enemy has built up all sorts of blinders to the mysteries of what He is doing to bring forth Zion - the unity of Messianic Jews and Christians. The Adversary of God's plans for Israel has thrown everything he's got at keeping Christians blind or believing false narratives about them and what God really plans for the restoration of Israel by faith in Yeshua unto salvation. This is the season for many of those who have been blinded by devilish attempts to thwart God's return of His Name being glorified in Israel by the Jewish people. (What?! You actually think God cannot give Jews eyes to see their own Messiah for who He is?) Those Christians who are ready to humble themselves to see how God feels about the Jewish people, and what He has planned for them - you are now in the season to do that and enter into participation with God in bringing it to pass. There is so much prophetic declaration throughout the Bible on God's intentions toward Israel, yet most of Christianity reads over it not seeing the clear meaning, or seeing something that is not even there - like Christianity has replaced Israel and Israel has no more place with God. That is a false narrative based on the assumption that God shook the dust off His feet when His Messiah Son died on a cross in Jerusalem. That false narrative is missing entirely the point that Yeshua was the Passover sacrifice of the Lamb for Israel too - not just the nations. Jews didn't "kill Christ" - Jesus said He laid down His own life and no one could take it from Him. Besides, God has had His plan for all this from the beginning - even blinding Israel so the could not lay hold of recognition of their Messiah in order that God could open Yeshua's Salvation to all the nations. This is what the Bible says. John 12 is but one of the passages that says so: 39 For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.

The Bible also says what God's plan is in the Ezekiel 37 vision of the valley of dry bones. It is one of the most telling prophetic visions of what God is doing with Israel & the Jews who were exiled throughout the nations. First God raises up the physical State of Israel out of the "very dry" bones Ezekiel saw. . . there was no breath in them. Not even after "bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them."

They were made alive in every sense but the spiritual sense because the breath they did not have in them, no rûaḥ - Rûaḥ HaKodesh - the Holy Spirit. The first mention of this spiritual breath is in Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruach) of God was hovering over the surface of the waters."

So everything is according to God's plan and so is His command to the prophet in Ezekiel 37:9 Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind (rûaḥ), prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds (North, South, East & West), O breath (Rûaḥ HaKodesh), and breathe upon these slain (murdered), that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Many Christians participated In "helping" God punish Jews throughout Christian history. Not that He asked them to or even approved of it! Zechariah 1:14-15 says, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease (ša'ănān: secure in pride & arrogance). For I was a little angry, but they have helped forward the adversity (evil, misery, distress, injury)' of the Jews.

Other Christians have blessed the Jewish people helping with God's return of the Jews to the Promised Land of Israel and helping with the establishment of the State of Israel. Christians have helped to sustain, advocate and encourage the restoration of the State of Israel but there has been almost no understanding of depth of this mysterious work of God. It is more than bringing the People of the Book, the Jews back to Israel. There is no "dual covenant" with God, there is only the restoration of spiritual life in the Jewish people by faith in the Messiah Yeshua. Many Christians think Jews will only come to faith when Jesus is forced to come back to earth to rescue them from all the nations in Satan's final attempt to overthrow God's plans by annihilate Israeli Jews completely. There will be a great defeat of the heathen from the nations who gather against Israeli in that day, but it is not the time when Jews awaken to the identity of their Messiah. To think so ignores how many Jews have already come to faith in Jesus especially since the State of Israel was re-born in 1948. And more are coming to faith all the time. In these days of Jacob's troubles, more Israelis are coming to faith than at any time in the 76 years since the State of Israel was re-born.

I keep my focus on the Jews of Israel because I believe God has been driving Jews back to Israel from their exile in the nations for over 100 years. Today with antisemitism reaching worldwide icreases there are also a growing increasing in number of Israeli Jews turning to the faith in Yeshua, Israel's Messiah. What kind of "overcoming and victorious" testimony would it be for the Jews if they did not come to faith in Yeshua until He was forced to return to earth to save them by destroy all their enemies in the valley of Megiddo? Not much. Jesus will return to save them when the heathen are bearing down on Jerusalem to murder them all, but even at that time, the Remnant of faith in Israel will be great in number. I believe it will be so great that Israel will be seen as believers in Yeshua on a national scale.

Even now God is spiritually drawing the Jews of Israel into this place as they are facing the overwhelming odds against them. They have nothing they can put their trust in. I read it in the prayer letters I receive every week from the Israeli ministry leaders - and they know, that as all hope fades for allies to back them, for their political leaders to put the nation before their pursuit of power, or trust in their advanced weapons to save them...the only hope for Israelis is for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to arise on their behalf. God has He promised to make Jerusalem "a goblet of poison and a burdensome stone" to all who try to mess with them. Do you not see? The season has changed. God is already returning His favor to Israel, and His favor does not get any greater for any person or people group than to give them eyes to see their salvation rests in receiving Yeshua/Jesus.

Ezekiel 37:11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my Spirit - My Rûaḥ - in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.

We are the ones who are to prophesy over Israel for the Rûaḥ HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the Jewish people. More Jews from all over the world, including from the USA, will be driven to Israel because of rising worldwide antisemitism, and who does God have in waiting there for them to hear the Good News of Yeshua from? The Israeli ministries and congregations, that's who.

Christians: it is time to move on and move up from the type of support you provided to the reestablishment of the State of Israel, and now turn your focus to the SPIRITUAL restoration by faith in Yeshua. You will still support Israel in practical ways but increasingly you must do that through the BODY OF THE LORD in Israel. They have the message from God for their people, but we have to help them by practical means to deliver it. Just like the apostle Paul said in Romans 15:27: "For if the Gentiles (nations) have been partakers of the Jews spiritual things, the Christians duty is also to minister to the Israeli body of Messiah in material things." I'm not talking about just making their lives easier, but I am talking about making sure they have the funds they need to make greater impact on ministering to their communities in the name of Yeshua. It makes a much more profound impact on Israelis seeing what a blessing the followers of Yeshua in Israel truly are.

I started this by saying I ruffled feathers yesterday by making it clear that I am only interested in connecting Christian giving to the Israeli congregations and ministries led by Jewish believers in Yeshua. The reason I ONLY focus on funding Israeli Messianic Jews is because the "Lion's share" (Lion of the Tribe of Judah) is NOT going to those Jews in Israel who believe in Him and follow Him and proclaim His salvation to other Jews. The reason is the failure of most Christians to understand God's plans and intentions with the Remnant of faith in Israel. Most Christians think it best to give to unsaved Israelis rabbis, organizations and project. It isn't. In fact it just enables and strengthens the anti-Messianic persecution of Israel's believing community for Christian to do so.

It is past time to wake up and get with God's plan for the spiritual restoration of Israel THROUGH the Remnant of faith in Israel.