Land of Milk and Honey

Israel's Land of Milk and Honey: Prophecy Fulfilled

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In the Bible, God promises the Jewish people a land flowing with milk and honey. And while the depiction is seen as a sign of abundance, it's also literal.

"In fact, milk and honey is critical. It's used 20 times in scripture," explained Moshe Kempinsky, an author and co-owner of Israel's Shorashim Biblical Shop.

But when the Jewish people returned from 2,000 years in exile, they found a barren, desert land.

"God says, 'I'm going to do something miraculous,'" Kempinsky added. "'I'm going to create a land that even though those climate issues don't call for it, it's going to be a land that's going to be filled with dates and honey, and also with milk so that you know that... nothing in this land comes here except when it's from Me.'"

God's Abundance

Abundance of all produce

It appears God has delivered on that promise. Despite the heat, humidity and limited resources, Israeli cow produces more milk per year than cows in the United States, European Union, and Australia.

Ronen Gal manages operations for the dairy at Kibbutz Yotvata, the largest milking facility of its kind in the country.

"We're considered leaders in the production of milk in the world," he said. "The milk production in Israel is very clever. It's very high tech."

What about the honey? Most believe during biblical times, honey probably came from date trees.

Botanist Dr. Elaine Solowey emigrated from the U.S. and settled not far from Yotvata on Kibbutz Ketura in 1974.

"I started out here as the head of the orchard branch and of course that was kind of funny because at that time we didn't have any orchards," Solowey recalled.

"In the first few years I was responsible for planting them and the first orchard I planted was the date orchard... which is the main agricultural branch of the Kibbutz," she said

There are tens of thousands of acres of date trees in Israel. Soloway planted some 3,000 of them.

Each tree produces about 350 pounds of dates a year.

Soloway even managed to sprout a 2,000-year-old date seed found by archaeologists years ago at Massada. Nicknamed "Methusela," the tree is now 5 years old.

World-Renowned Produce

Dates and palms were important in the scriptures, and those from this area were known throughout the ancient world.

"The Romans had nothing nice to say about the Jews except that they had good dates," Solowey said. "Their emperors actually used to order Judean dates to eat."

Today, Israel's dates are still famous throughout the world. Israel exports some 12,000 tons of dates each year to 20 countries.

Soloway has now moved beyond dates to grow life in the desert.

"I'm looking for trees that love to live in the desert, that rejoice to live in the desert. Not the ones I have to keep on life support," she joked.

"The biblical trees, if they grew here in the old days, why shouldn't they grow here now?" Solowey added.

"We re-introduced frankincense and myrrh, which had probably been introduced at the time of King Solomon," she continued.

"According to what we can tell from folk tales and from the Bible, there was already an incense and medicinal tree being cultivated here called the Balm of Gilead," she said.

The frankincense and myrrh brought to Jesus were probably in crystal form. According to Kempinsky, the revival of trees in the land is the first sign of redemption.

Prophecy Fulfilled

Using new technology on crops

According to Kempinsky, the revival of trees in the land is the first sign of redemption.

"Ezekiel 36 says, 'Mountains shoot forth your branches, give forth your fruit because my children are coming home,'" he explained. "That's an unusual thing for God to tell a tree. That's what He created a tree to do."

"Except God is saying in Leviticus, 'It's going to be a desolate land when I kick you out … but watch when I bring my people back home. The land is going to come forth with blossoms and trees and fruits.'" Kempinsky added.

So to Kempinsky, every date that's eaten and every glass of milk we drink here is like prophecy being fulfilled.

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Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot

Next Biblical Feast:

The Feast of Tabernacle - Sukkot

Why We Celebrate this Feast

2011: October 12 (at sundown) - 19

By:  Israel my Beloved
While serving as custodian of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, the Lord laid it upon my heart to call Christian believers to gather in the city during the Feast of Tabernacles, there to praise and worship our God, and to stand in comfort and solidarity with the people of Israel.

To ascertain how the believing community in Jerusalem would view such an event, we held a "pilot" celebration during the Feast of Tabernacles in 1979, which was addressed by David Pawson, Peter van Woerden (nephew to Corrie Ten Boom) and various other speakers.

Our first International Feast of Tabernacles the following year drew close to one thousand participants from at least ten nations. It was during this Succot that the International Christian Embassy was birthed, opening its doors as a standard and channel of worldwide Christian support for the Jewish Nation.

We have now entered the 21st century. And what was on my heart when we began to celebrate the Feast 20 years ago remains - the belief and inner anticipation that one day, during a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, the double portion of the Holy Spirit will fall upon us all. This will be the former and latter rain, as the prophet Joel promised - also in relation to Israel - for these latter days:

Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. (Joel 2:18)

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done marvellous things! (Joel 2:21)

Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you - the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. (Joel 2:23)

"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29)

What is remarkable in Joel's beautiful prophecy, is the stress placed on the restoration of the land, and not only of the people of Israel. Remarkable too is the foretold subsequent pouring out of the promised Holy Spirit during 'the first' month (which may indeed be during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the first Feast celebrated after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year).

The Bible teaches us that this restoration of the land is a key element in God's dealing with His people Israel. It was the promise of the land, and the restoration to, and of, that land, that was linked with the further abundance in physical as well as spiritual blessing. This is so clear in this passage, but it is also clear in other portions of Scripture concerning God's future dealings with His land and people.

And yet it is on this point that the thinking of many Christians has grown foggy, as they have spiritualised almost everything relating to this, believing that the land and people of Israel have served their purpose - which was to bring the Messiah and His Gospel into the world. Those thinking this way believe that God no longer has a specific interest in the people of Israel or in their land, or in their future as a nation. It is this widespread misconception that has led to much bewilderment and ignorance concerning the clearly enunciated biblical statements and pronouncements of God about the wonderful future awaiting His land and His people.

For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory.

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:1,2,4,5)

And Ezekiel promises:

Therefore prophecy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations." Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come.

For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance?

"For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land." (Ezekiel 36: 6-12,24)

First the physical, then the spiritual. God first formed Adam as a wholly physical man before breathing His Breath and Spirit into him to make him spirit. In this same way, Israel has been restored to the land of its fathers as a physical nation, as foretold in these, and many other, passages of Scripture. It is only after the flesh, sinews and bones have come together in a physical restoration of the nation that God instructs 'the son of man' to call on the breath to come from the four winds and breathe upon the dead body, that the nation may live. (See Ezekiel 37:9)

Paul too tells us that in God's economy, the physical often precedes the spiritual:

"However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural and afterwards the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust, the second Man is the Lord from heaven." (1 Corinthians 15:46,47)

It is this truth which is so wonderfully clarified in Ezekiel 37 concerning Israel's physical and spiritual rebirth: First the physical restoration - including the restoration to, and of, their land. Then the spiritual awakening, when the Breath of God's Spirit will blow upon these bones.

The same theme is seen all over the Bible, especially as it relates to the ongoing miracle of Israel's restoration! Hear what Jeremiah foretells:

"And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days [of physical restoration to their land], says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." (Jeremiah 31: 28, 33)

And Isaiah prophesies:

"Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth-Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." (Isaiah 43:5-7)

Thus says the LORD who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: 'Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; One will say, 'I am the LORD'S'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand, 'The LORD'S', and name himself by the name of Israel. (Isaiah 44:2-3,5)

It is this biblical balance between the importance of the physical restoration of the land and people of Israel, and their subsequent spiritual restoration, which formed the basis of the vision calling Christians to support God's glorious promise to come to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. These Christians have gathered year after year to praise Him and be a channel of comfort and encouragement in the name of millions of Bible-believing Christians from all over the world.

In these days we hear of revivals in different parts of the world where God is pouring out His Holy Spirit in remarkable ways to get His Gentile body of believers ready both in quantity as well as quality. But this is only a foretaste and a foreshadowing of the mighty outpouring of His Holy Spirit over all the house of Israel as promised by His prophets. And this will happen one day during the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.

It was during the Feast of Tabernacles that the Lord Jesus made His wonderful promise of rivers of living water! It did not happen on Pentecost - that was only a foreshadowing of the greater rains to come, a foretaste of Joel 2. No, Jesus made this offer during the last and great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, thus indicating that the wonderful day during which the Lord would give us the former and latter rains would be during this Feast.

It was during a celebration in Jerusalem that the Passover was fulfilled in the Messiah becoming, as the Servant of God, the Passover Lamb whose blood was sprinkled before His heavenly Father on the mercy seat.

It was during a celebration in Jerusalem that Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, was poured out on the early believers-the first fruits.

Is it then not reasonable that in like manner, something will occur during a celebration of Succot in Jerusalem that will fulfil all that the biblical Feast of Tabernacles stands for?

Is it not remarkable that it is the Feast ofTabernacles, and not Pentecost or Passover, that is to be kept during the millennial reign of the Messiah, and that this is foretold with the added warning that 'no rain' will fall on all those nations who refuse to attend that Feast? Surely there has to be a tremendous reason why, out of all the feasts to be kept during those wonderful years of the Messiah 's earthly reign, the one singled out of all the major biblical feasts is the Feast of Tabernacles. There may be more than one reason for this, but certainly it bears pondering.

As George Warnock explains in his booklet on the Feast of Tabernacles, this Feast is meant to be:

A feast of joy;

A feast of unity;

A feast of harvest;

A feast of restoration;

but also the Feast of the Messiah's appearance.

All these are ample reasons for us to celebrate this Feast with great expectancy in our hearts. No wonder that God commanded the Israelites in days past concerning Succot:

You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast?Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. (Deuteronomy 16:13-17)

As we were preparing to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, the Lord stressed to us the importance of worshipping Him in our lives, but especially during the celebration of Succot. After all it is, as God commanded, to be a feast of joy, and what better way is there to rejoice than with singing and dancing before Almighty God. This joyful and abundant Davidic praise and worship has become the hallmark of the Christian celebration during the Feast of Tabernacles. As the Psalmist says:

Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. (Psalm 149:1-3)

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. (Psalm 100:1,2)

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, With trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the LORD, the King. (Psalm 98:4-6)

One of the reasons the 98th Psalm gives for us to praise the Lord is God's remembrance of His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel (Psalm 98:3).

It is as a result of this that "all the ends of the earth" will be able "to see the salvation of our God" (Psalms 98:3).

A further reason to praise God is because this is exactly what He has in mind: to show His mercy and faithfulness to the House of Israel so "that all the nations of the world may know and realise the He is God indeed". This is the general thrust of many of the promises of God's restoring love and favour for His people Israel: that He might be glorified even among the nations.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:7-10)

What better time and place is there for those representing the nations to make this proclamation to Israel than during the International Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem? "International," because the Feast of Tabernacles, more than any of the other biblical feasts, is open to all the nations. We see this in the way that God, through Zechariah, foretells that the day will come when all nations will be summoned to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and worship the King in Jerusalem! It will then be the climax of everything that has preceded the glorious day of His reign on earth, explicitly, all that God promised to do for, and with, His nation Israel - "that the nations shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:23)

So we see that the connection between the bringing of praises to the Lord, and His wonderful acts and faithfulness towards His people Israel, is very strong in many of the biblical passages. This provides all the more reason for us as believers - called out of the nations to be the sons and daughters of the God of Israel - to take note, and to rejoice with God for all the good that He is about to do for His people. So great will be that day when the Lord will restore and redeem Israel, that He will call upon all creation, even the heavens, the moon and the sun, to take note of it and to join Him in rejoicing.

As is written by Isaiah:

Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. (Isaiah 30:18-19)

And then comes this astounding, climactic statement:

Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, IN THE DAY THAT THE LORD BINDS UP THE BRUISE OF HIS PEOPLE AND HEALS THE STROKE OF THEIR WOUND. (Isaiah 30:26)

No wonder that God calls upon the heavens, and the lights in the heavens, to rejoice with Him in the light of this outpoured love and comfort for His people after the centuries' long road of torture and sorrow. How much more should we then praise Him and worship Him in great joy as believers here on earth, especially as we have come so near to this prophesied miracle and time of Israel's restoration? As Isaiah prophesies further:

Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, AND GLORIFIED HIMSELF IN ISRAEL. (Isaiah 44:23)

And:

Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:9-10)

Thus the reason for rejoicing and singing, especially as we come together in Jerusalem during the Feast, is that God is about to comfort and show favour to His people. We are not just rejoicing as we are accustomed to do as Christian believers, to thank Him for what He has done for us! This gives a completely new dimension to our praise and worship, lifting it to a different level above ourselves and the interests of our lives. It is so far reaching that it will cause God to turn on the heavenly lights: The moon and the sun shining more brightly than they have ever done in 'the day that the Lord will heal the stroke of His people Israel!'

So great is the crescendo that God is building up in the great and astounding acts He plans to show toward His people Israel, that even the nations will be forced to acknowledge the greatness and wisdom of the LORD.

But now, we who are being called out of the nations prove ourselves to be the children of the God and Father of Israel by coming alongside and rejoicing with Him, and praising Him for all the good that He is about to do in and for His people. Thus we shall also do in respect to the Feast of Tabernacles, to which one day those also will come who are left from among the nations which God will have judged terribly in the valley of Jehoshephat for having come against His people and their city, Jerusalem.

For this very reason - that we have been called out of the nations to be part of the people of God - we do not want judgement to force us up to Jerusalem to worship the King and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Now that we are seeing the beginnings of God's restoring grace and favour to His people, we already want to come to Jerusalem, to rejoice with God and praise His Name for all He is about to do for Israel. If God calls upon the heavens, the moon and the sun, the mountains and the beasts of the field, the trees and "the waste places of Jerusalem" all to rejoice with Him, how much more should we, His blood-washed bride and the children of Him who is still called the living God of Israel, not come up to rejoice?

Hear the prophets of Israel express the refrain of this truth over and over again as one of the main reasons for God's restoring of grace to His people. See how the Apostle Paul writes about the wonderful end-time future of Israel, and how he himself explodes in a doxology of praise - even as we believers should do, in the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles set aside for this very purpose!

For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY ON ALL. (Romans 11:30-32)

Paul then enters - and we as a living Church should enter with him - into an outpouring of praise and awe as he sees the restoring grace of God to His people Israel! It is, therefore, reason for all creation, even the ends of the earth, to notice and exult in the amazing wisdom and purposes of God concerning the restoration of His people. FOR IT WILL ALSO, ACCORDING TO THE SAME SCRIPTURES, RESULT IN AN UNBELIEVABLE REVIVAL AND RESTORATION OF THIS EARTH!

Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!?For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Romans 11:12,15)

What an considerable reason to exalt the Lord our God - the all-inclusiveness of this latter day outpouring of His grace and Holy Spirit upon His people! And we believe that the timing of this event was revealed in what His Son said on that last, great day of the Feast of Tabernacles:

"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37b-38)

I believe that it will be during this Feast, while we exult in Our God and Saviour for all He has done, and is still willing to do, for us, and as we especially praise Him for all that He is about to do for His people Israel, that the Holy Spirit of God will one day fall. Like a wind gathered from the four corners of the earth, it will blow upon the gathered nation of Israel as she is supported and joined by thousands of Christian believers from all the nations of the world. Is this not even the way it was in the foreshadowing of this great outpouring of God's Spirit on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2:1-4?

Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting?And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-2,4)

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; AND THE NATIONS SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes." (Ezek 36:22-23)

This is therefore one of the main purposes in teaching this world a divine message from God Almighty, that just at a time when they have driven Him out from their lives and societies as nations, He will astound them by the very thing He is about to do, in complete fulfilment of His owns promises to His people Israel, "that the nations shall know that He is the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:23)

It is this refrain that is repeated in the scriptures over and over again: That God Himself will be magnified in front of the nations of the world through His mighty acts in Israel. It will be 'life from the dead' says Paul in the Epistles of the Romans. It will usher in says Isaiah a day when 'all nations will come up to Jerusalem and hear the Word of the Lord and see His glory and turn their swords into ploughshares!'

As no other feast, the Feast of Tabernacle includes the nations. For this reason, seventy candles are lit during the Feast for the nations of the world. Succot is the great Harvest Feast when all the nations, the redeemed of the nations-as Zechariah foretells-will be summoned up to Jerusalem to worship the KING and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. It is in faithfulness to this vision that we already now come together in Jerusalem to honour and worship the Messiah King and to foreshadow that great Millennial Feast that is soon to come!

It is therefore the Feast of the nations, the fullness of the Gentiles coming up to Jerusalem to experience with Judah, the Jews, the blowing of the Wind of God's Spirit, the Feast of the double portions, the former and the latter rain which will fall upon God's people in the month! It is also amazing to note that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that the inauguration of Gods temple took place, when the glory of the Lord came down to fill the House of God, as we learn form the second book of Chronicles:

Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD up from the City of David, which is Zion. Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves?), and the Levites who were the singers?clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets-indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:2,3,7,11-14)

So we see that the Feast of Tabernacles is meant to signify the restoration of the tabernacle of David - physical as well as spiritual-the unity of Gentile believers, the fullness of the Gentiles and the people of Israel, and the promised blessing of the former and latter rains coming down on one day during the Feast of Tabernacles. It is singularly the Feast of Messiah's appearance; His first and his second!

Jan Willem van der Hoeven

Director, International Christian Zionist Center

Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall/Kotel

Biblical Feast - Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur

Biblical Feasts

Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur

By Ryan Jones from www.travelujah.com 
Special to ASSIST News Service 

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (ANS) --  

For Jews there is no more solemn and holy day on the calendar than Yom Kippur, the biblical Day of Atonement. While God required the children of Israel to individually repent of and make atonement for their sins on a regular basis, Yom Kippur was the one time every year when the entire nation came together as one to corporately ask for forgiveness. This year it is October 7 - 8, 2011.

Whereas our modern society focuses on the individual, biblical society was far more focused on the community. A person could be doing just fine in their own walk with God, but if the rest of the community was astray, it was still cause for mourning and collective repentance.
But what does Yom Kippur mean for Christians? 

As Christians, we believe that the sacrifice made by Jesus was the ultimate, final atonement for our sins. However, we are required to continuously invoke that sacrifice as we seek forgiveness from God for our daily sins. But what about our transgressions against one another? 
 
Sharon Sanders, co-founder of the Jerusalem-based ministry, Christian Friends of Israel, explains: “Jesus helps us to walk in repentance every day of our lives, not just Yom Kippur; but, seeking reconciliation with people we have wronged is a central theme in Judaism on this day and Christians are not exempt from this need.” 

Christians see the Church or body of believers in Jesus forms a single entity under God, and a growing number of Christians sees that entity as a grafted-in part of the House of Israel, a single spiritual family that started with Abraham. 

If we are part of a larger community of believers, and more so if we are part of a spiritual family that includes the children of Israel, should we not set aside a time of corporate repentance when we eschew all else and implore the Almight to purify not only our individual hearts, but our entire community as well? 

Dr. Harvey Cox, professor of divinity at Harvard Divinity School, believes the reason Yom Kippur observance is not more common among Christians has to do with the Protestant tradition of individual responsibility. 

“The concept of collective repentance has been, until recently, quite foreign to most of Protestant Christianity,” Cox explains in his essay A Christian Observes Yom Kippur. “The Protestant tradition, with its strong emphasis on the responsibility of the individual person before God, has not ordinarily looked favorably on these practices.” 

An Appointment with God
 
It is instructive to also remember that Israel did not invent Yom Kippur. A set aside corporate day of atonement was instituted by God Himself. It was His idea. Just as all the other biblical feasts, Yom Kippur is an appointment with God, made by God. Yes, that appointment was explicitly made with Israel, but it was implicitly made with the rest of us, as the relationship between God and Israel forms the blueprint of how He intends to relate to all mankind.

Blessing Israel

The growing movement of Christians connecting to the same biblical roots that have for millennia nourished Israel has been a source of blessing and comfort for many Jews, especially after centuries of Christian persecution. Participating in the most holy day for Jews is a significant way of demonstrating love and support. 

“It is a time to deny ourselves and pray for Israel and the Jewish people whom we love,” says Sanders. “In a ‘bless me' world, fasting is saying ‘I am willing to give of myself' instead of receiving during Yom Kippur.” 

Don Stanley, the Director of CMJ-Israel, resides at Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem, and he told Travelujah that he is planning to fast on Yom Kippur. “I want to identify with what is going on in the land and this is a time to reflect upon my relationship with God.”, he told Travelujah. For Don, fasting on Yom Kippur was one more way for him to explore his faith. “We're all on a journey,” he said. 

Keeping on Course
 
But as with all things spiritual, observance of Yom Kippur should maintain a biblical course, rather than a “religious” one.
“If a Christian fasts on Yom Kippur it should not be done because it is a ‘Jewish’ thing to do, but because of a truly repentant heart wanting to be cleansed,” Sanders admonishes.

What about fasting?
 
The biblical passage dealing with Yom Kippur does not technically demand abstention from food. Rather, it calls for “afflicting the soul.” Another way to interpret that passage is that we must “deny ourselves” as we seek to focus on God, and fasting is the most readily available means of denying ourselves. 

“Fasting shows me that if I am truly serious about wanting to live a life of obedience and humbleness before my Maker, then it is not a religious thing for me, but rather a desire within me to join in a great congregation of those wanting to be righteous before a Holy God,” explains Sanders. 

Dr. Cox teaches that fasting on Yom Kippur is also symbolic of passing from life to death, and then back to life again. 

“Why are we doing this?” he asks rhetorically. “Because there will be no eating or drinking...in death, and Yom Kippur is about sampling some of the qualities of death so that when we are allowed to live life again, it will taste even sweeter.” 

Dr. Cox also notes that “for some reason (which physiologists may one day explain), fasting does produce a kind of mental clarity, despite the headache.” 

Final Word
 
Sanders concludes that while she doesn't “believe there is a hard and fast rule for Christians during this season,” for those seeking a deeper connection to the Hebraic and biblical roots of their faith it should be natural to “want to join in and seek Israel’s God on Yom Kippur.”

Jews the world over greet each other with a special greeting 

during Yom Kippur:

GMAR CHATIMA TOVA!!

 

MAY YOUR NAME BE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE!

 

Better still,

may it be written in the Blood of Jesus.

Building Bridges in Israel

Bridges for Peace

"Never in a million years did I think that I would be installing a new kitchen in Jerusalem with a Canadian in an Ethiopian Jewish home or spreading tar on the apartment block roof with two Australians and a guy from Japan!" - a BFP volunteer from South Africa.

Our Home Repair project is a very special project that shows God's love to the people of Israel in very practical ways. Skilled workers from all over the world come to share their talents with the needy in Israel by repairing their homes that have been neglected because of lack of funds. Many we help are new immigrants or elderly. Some are Holocaust survivors.

The program started in 1993 when Carl, a volunteer from the United States, was sent to deliver food to a soup kitchen we assist. When he arrived, Naomi met him with a request. "Please go and deliver food to Yehuda. He hasn't come to get food for three days, and I am worried about him. You see how short-staffed we are. I have no one to send."
So, Carl took off with the food, following Naomi's detailed directions through the twisted narrow streets of Mea Shearim, a religious neighborhood in central Jerusalem. When he arrived, he found Yehuda lying in bed sick. The bed was awkwardly placed in the center of the small one-room apartment in a futile attempt to avoid dripping from the leaky ceiling. The walls were black with mildew, and there was no heat and no kitchen cupboards.

Carl was shaken by the appalling living conditions and came back to get some tools and some helpers. "I can fix his place, if we just buy a few tools," Carl exclaimed. Quickly we purchased the necessary tools and supplies, and Carl went back. They fixed the roof so it no longer leaked; built kitchen cupboards; bought a heater, painted and plastered, and turned a hovel into a neat, clean apartment. Yehuda was overjoyed and dubbed Carl and the others "the golden angels of Jerusalem"!

In that moment, a program was born. Since that day, over 800 homes have been repaired at no cost to the recipients. The men who serve on this team - and over the years there have been many - always say they have the best job in Bridges for Peace.

Ethiopian Community Blessed

Recently, we have been helping families in the Ethiopian Jewish community. This immigrant community has many hurdles to overcome in their absorption into Israeli society. Many continue to need assistance even after several years in the country. They have had to make the adjustment from living a simple African subsistence lifestyle where electricity, indoor plumbing, and computers were not part of their reality to that of a modern, technological state.

All immigrants have to learn a new language and adjust to a new culture, but for immigrants from Ethiopia, virtually everything is different. The older ones find the adjustment particularly difficult. God is bringing them back to Israel, and it is our privilege to assist them in practical ways

The Home Repair team views it as a privilege to work in the homes of these beautiful people. As they plaster and paint, they rejoice in the children's laughter which echoes throughout the dwelling. They are rewarded with large smiles on the people's faces as they hold their hands over their hearts to show their deep gratitude for the work that we do.

As one of our team members said, "It puts life back into perspective. These people don't have LCD TVs, they don't have iphones, they don't even dream of owning a car. Their concerns are: 'There's water pouring into my apartment when it rains,' which causes the wall to turn black with mold or 'The kitchen cabinets are broken' when the hinges are all broken and water has swollen the cupboards so they are weak and full of mold or 'The toilet does not flush, so we use a bucket to flush.' When we ask how long it has been like this, they may say, 'Oh, six months or so.'"

Changing Lives with Love

When I hear these stories, I thank God for the Home Repair team members, for their willingness to leave the comforts of home and come to Israel and use their God-given skills to bless the Jewish people. Most of the people they assist have never had a positive encounter with a Christian before. One frail woman we helped years ago said, "I am 85 years old, and this is the first time a Christian has ever done a kindness to me." An elderly Jewish Russian immigrant who had served as a doctor for 45 years in the Russian army said, "This is the first time in my life anyone has ever done anything for me."

We are so thankful for the opportunities we have had to touch the elderly in these ways. Christians have changed their lives - and did it with love. This ministry is only possible through the gifts from our Christian supporters around the world. Your gift to the Home Repair project enables us to buy supplies needed to show God's care to the people of Israel in a very practical way.

With the generous support of our Christian supporters, we have been able to impact over 800 families through this project, building not just the walls of an apartment but bridges on which new relationships between Christians and Jews can be formed. Forever, Jewish attitudes towards Christians are changed. Where once they only knew the negative history and pain their people have experienced at the hands of Christians and "Christian" nations, today they have been significantly blessed by true Christian love in action.

When we started this project, it was called "Repairers of the Breach" after Isaiah 58:12: "Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." Each of you who give to this project, and every person who volunteers as a craftsman on this team, is fulfilling this passage. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Blessings from Israel,

Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO

Prophecy News Watch

 

Israel's Messianic Jewish Population Estimated At 15,000     

http://www.ynetnews.com/

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Some 15,000 Messianic Jews currently live in Israel, but if you saw one on the street you would almost certainly fail to recognize any difference. They honor Jewish circumcision, bar-mitzvah, and wedding ceremonies, but believe Jesus is the messiah.

The small community of Yad Hashmona, near Jerusalem, is home to a number of Messianic-Jewish families. They believe in Jesus – or Yeshua, as they call him – and in the teachings of the New Testament as well as the old. They are Jews in every sense, but for the most part keep this side of their faith to themselves. When these families gather for the Shabbat meal, however, Jesus is the guest star at their table.

Around 350,000 Messianic Jews live in the US, and one would be just as hard-pressed to recognize them there as in Israel. Some are Orthodox, and dress as the haredim do, while others are traditional and wear a yarmulke or no religious symbol at all. They are for the most part Zionists, and see IDF service as a top priority. In the army they serve as pilots, commanders, and elite unit members, but usually make sure to keep their messianic beliefs under wraps.

The fact that Jesus was Jewish is generally agreed upon, but what happened after his death is subject to rancorous theological debate. History books tend to recall the first century as a time of rebellion and prophets in Jewish antiquity, and this was also Christianity's first chapter, bringing about pre-historic inter-religious quarreling and anti-Semitism.

But in separating between Jews and Christians, history largely ignores the story of those Jewish people who believed Christ was the messiah and continued this tradition well after his death – the ancestors of the Messianic-Jewish faith in modern times.

'Faith in Yeshua is personal'

Jonathan Bar-David is a 30-year old Messianic Jew. He attended secular Israeli schools, served as a paratrooper in the IDF, and then went on to travel before settling down to study engineering at the Technion in Haifa. But before all this, he was educated on the teachings of Christ in Yad Hashmona.

"When I was little only my closest friends knew I was a believer," he says. "But in high school, when I was ready, I revealed it to my entire class."

Bar-David married a non-Jewish member of his community, so according to the halacha his children are not Jewish. He says that if he could he would have them converted, "but the rabbinate will never agree".

Bar-David explains how he is able to maintain his faith while living in secular Israeli society. "We don't exactly have secular and religious people (in our community)," he says. "Faith in Yeshua is personal. If you decide to be secular, that's a very significant statement. It's a disconnection. As a child growing up in a messianic family, one of the main missions is to understand that Yeshua is the messiah who came into being according to prophecies in the Torah. We are Jews. The Torah is a basic principle for us."

Nevertheless, he says, there are many daily tasks required by the messianic religion. "There are a lot of prayers – before a meal, before traveling, before bed," he explains. "A messianic family has some ten prayers thanking Yeshua the messiah."

The Jewish rites, or mitzvahs, Bar-David performs are also plentiful, and do not always conform to those of religious Jews. He doesn't work on Saturday, but can light a fire. He attends prayers at his community and even teaches the Bible to younger members. He fasts on Yom Kippur, but doesn't keep kosher.

"Yeshua says human beings need to pay more attention to what comes out of their mouths than what goes in," he explains. "There are those who want to maintain Jewish identity through symbols, but I, like many Israelis, don't feel the need. I am a Jew who lives here, rejoices and laments Jewish and Israeli occurrences. I don't need any proof."

Despite his faith, Bar-David adamantly rejects the label of a missionary. But, he says, "Just as God wanted others to know of his glory, I want to tell others about my faith. There is controversy among Messianic Jews about the spreading of our religion, but many do not like the idea of missionaries."

'Faith is more important than religion'

Lihi Einav is a 52-year old student of Second Temple Literature at Bar-Ilan. Until the age of 35 she was totally uninterested in religion, and busied herself with the healing profession. But then she met a British couple who gave her a copy of the New Testament, and she was immediately captivated by Christ's powers as a healer. Later she became interested in the Old Testament as well, and her path to Messianic-Judaism became clear.

Einav immediately came face-to-face with the lack of female leadership in her newly-acquired faith. But she visits one of the community's centers in Jerusalem once every two weeks.

"Faith is more important than religion," says Asher Interter, a 57-year old messianic rabbi in Jerusalem. Interter grew up in a haredi family in Washington, and studied Asian philosophy and religion at Harvard.

When he came of age in the '70s, Interter decided to delve into every religion he could think of, "aside from Christianity, which didn't interest me," he says. He finally decided Messianic-Judaism was most suitable for him.

Interter describes a growing population conforming to these values in Israel, with 120 new community members and counting. "The new members are secular people looking for God without the need for rites, or members of the religious population who want to be free but still maintain God's presence in their lives," he says.

In Interter's eyes, the prophecy of the messiah came true in 1967, with the Jewish conquering of Jerusalem. "The New Testament talks about the destruction of the temple, a long exile, and finally the return to Zion, and that is exactly what happened," he explains. This may seem a political view to some, but Interter rejects this. "We have no political view," he says. "But we read the Bible and see Jerusalem as our sacred city." This perception leads inevitably to Zionism, and Interter's sons are products of this, having all served in elite army units.

For a community living under the perpetual wrath of the haredim, who for the most part alienate and discriminate against them, Messianic Jews remain inexplicably optimistic. Perhaps it is because they still follow in the footsteps of that Galilee-born Jew who wandered into Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, the one who believed in turning the other cheek.

Rosh Hashana Images

 

Feast of Trumpets

Celebrate the Feast of Trumpets

Sunset 28 September 2011

Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah - Sound the Alarm!
Jesus' Coming Announced
by Robert Somerville

These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation (Lev 23:4,24)

Notice, he did not say these were the feasts of the Jews or the feasts of the Christians, but the feasts of the Lord. They are to be celebrated in honor of our Lord!

A CALL FOR ASSEMBLY

The Feast of trumpets celebrates a special call of God to His people to assemble. The trumpet is a symbol of a specific message for a particular time.

Both Christian and Jew believe that the Messiah was to bring the message of deliverance to mankind. Jesus is identified by Zacharias as the "horn of salvation" in Luke 1:69. Messiah was to be the voice of God in the earth declaring the gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Apostle John tells us that Jesus was the word of God made flesh. He has been the word, the voice or the horn of God since before time. (John 1:1)

DAYS OF AWE AND NEW BEGINNINGS

This festival signals the beginning of an annual ten day period of time called "the days of awe" .(repentance) It includes the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Atonement. The days of awe provide a time for self-examination and introspection. They were to have a humbling effect on the people of Israel as indeed they should have upon us all. [They could be called the days of Humility] All of this was leading up to the celebration of the last great festival of the year, the festival of "Tabernacles". Tabernacles is by far the most joyous of annual celebrations.

It is the principle of spiritual assessment and repentance that lies behind this declaration of God through Isaiah the prophet;

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (Isa 58:1)

Rosh Hashanah is the Hebrew name for the festival of Trumpets, meaning "the beginning". The seventh month of Tishri is what is considered the beginning of the Jewish fiscal New Year. It is also considered by Jewish sages to be the beginning or creation of the world.

TRUMPETS AND SHOFARS

"With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King." (Ps 98:6)

Originally, there were two silver trumpets used by the priests to signal the approaching pilgrimage festivals. Eventually, it appears that they were replaced by the shofar (a ram's horn) The shofar is one of the more prominent of biblical symbols. The ram's horn is very meaningful for historic and prophetic reasons. The significance of its use is found in the story of Abraham and Isaac,

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Gen 22:13)

This is one of the greatest sacrificial lessons of the biblical record. It is certainly one of the greatest prophetic lessons of all time regarding the coming messiah. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son which Abraham was willing to do but God prevented him by providing a ram in substitution for his son Isaac. This is an Old Testament allegory reflecting John 3:16,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Every time the Christian hears the sound of the shofar, he should be refreshed in that profound redemptive lesson. The church today should make greater use of the Shofar in celebration and worship.

THE LAST TRUMP

Finally, the Feast of Trumpets is prophetically fulfilled when the last trump sounds and the Lord returns for his people in preparation for establishing his physical Kingdom upon the earth.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: (1 Thess 4:16)

[Do not interpret this trumpet to be a gigantic solar bugle that some have envisioned.] This verse is simply speaking of a profound message of preparation being declared in anticipation of our Lord's soon return to earth in power and great glory. It is a sound comparable to what John the revelator heard in his vision while in exile,

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;
Hap
The Feast of Trumpets serves to remind us of the importance of hearing the voice of God. Lord, give us ears to hear!,