Do you know?????

Is prophecy a thing of the past? [2]

The Recognition of Joseph by his Brothers, by Peter von Cornelius 

In the New Covenant, there are many instances in which Yeshua and His earthly ministry were confirmed by visions and dreams.

Here are a few:

·       When Yosef (Jospeh) heard that Miriam (Mary) was pregnant, he decided to quietly divorce her.  God intervened, however, by sending an angel in a dream telling him that this pregnancy was of God.

·       After His birth, God used dreams two other times to direct Yosef: once to warn him to take young Yeshua and Miriam to Egypt because Herod was seeking to kill Him, and another time to tell him that it was safe to return to Israel.

·       An angel appeared to the priest Zacharias in an open vision to tell him that his prayers had been answered and that his wife Elizabeth would have a son, Yohannan the Immerser (John the Baptist), the forerunner of Yeshua.  (Luke 1:5–23)

·       Pilate’s wife told him that she had a dream that Yeshua was innocentand that Pilate should have nothing to do with the case.  (Matthew 27:19)

·       On the road to Damascus, Paul had an open vision of Yeshua, which led to his acceptance of the Messiah of Israel.  (Acts 9:1–19)

·       Peter had a vision in which God told him not to call unclean those who He had made clean.  This vision prepared Peter to visit Cornelius who himself had an angelic visitation in which he was told where to find Peter so that he could hear the Good News and be saved.  (Acts 10:9–15)

·       Paul had several visions that directed him in his ministry to the Gentiles.

·       While imprisoned on the Island of Patmos, John received a vision which is recorded throughout the Book of Revelation.

The Message of Pilate's Wife, by James Tissot

Although God has given us His word in the Bible to guide us, He can and does still communicate with His people through dreams and visions.

Dreams and visions are different from one another in the following ways:

·       People seeing visions are cognizant of their thoughts, while people who see in predictive dreams are not, as they are not awake.

·       Those who receive a vision or a message about things to come realize they are being shown the future.  In a dream, however, the dreamer experiences these events as if they were real and present.

·       Visions tend to reveal what will definitely occur while things revealed in a dream might not be set in stone.  Dreams can be indeterminate and open to change through the exercise of free will.

The Talmud teaches that throughout the generations, there were twice as many prophets as Israelites who left Egypt.  But Jewish tradition holds that the Bible specifically mentions 48 Hebrew prophets and seven Hebrew prophetesses to Israel who had dreams and visions.  These prophets include Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Sarah, Miriam, and Esther.

Balaam and the Angel, by Gustav Jaeger

Judaism also recognizes that Gentiles, such as Balaam in Numbers 22, can function as prophets, but they are not as elevated as Hebrew prophets. (Judaism 101)

The Hebrew prophets were considered to be wise and of strong character, yet they came from varying backgrounds:

·       Abraham, a man called out by God from the pagan land of Ur, fathered a nation of people who would be called God's Chosen People.

·       Moses, a Levite, was raised in Pharaoh’s palace and received a princely Egyptian education.

·       David was a shepherd and psalmist who rose to the rank of warrior and king. 

·       Ezekiel and Jeremiah were priests. 

·       Amos was a shepherd and tree keeper (Amos 7:14).

·       Elisha ploughed fields (1 Kings 19:19–21).

·       Daniel held high government office in Babylon (Daniel 2:48) (although the rabbis do not consider Daniel a prophet). 

These men qualified as prophets not because of their social or economic status, but because of their unwavering love for and obedience to God.

Daniel in the Lion's Den, by Henry Ossawa Tanner

Daniel: The Prophet Who Is Not a Prophet

Although the rabbis do not believe that Daniel is a prophet, this God-fearing man received a significant visitation while in Babylonian captivity.  In a dream, after much prayer, the Angel Gabriel foretold when the Messiah would be put to death. (Daniel 9:26, Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction) The Angel Gabriel also revealed to Daniel the seven-year covenant that the “man of lawlessness” (known as anti-Christ) would make with Israel before the end comes.  (Daniel 9:27, the referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kÿnaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.)The Talmud teaches that dreams without interpretation are like “an unread letter,” and during Daniel's time, King Nebuchadnezzar became quite disturbed by his own unread letter, especially after the court's wise men could not interpret it. But Daniel and his companions prayed for the interpretation and in a vision at night, Daniel was given its meaning: the king’s dream foretold the major kingdoms of the world until the end of days.  (Daniel 2)

  

The Tanakh comprises three sections: Torah (the five books of Moses),

Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).

Yet, even with such significant revelations, the book of Daniel is placed in theKetuvim (Writings) section of the Hebrew Bible, rather than the Nevi’im (Prophets), the section in which the prophets are divided into major and minor prophets, depending on the quantity of their writings. It isn’t that Daniel is not revered or respected.  In fact, some rabbinic scholars say that Daniel is actually more esteemed than the prophets, like sages are, because he not only received revelation, but he interpreted and understood it. Daniel is not classified as a prophet because rabbis say his visions were not meant for the people of his day, but were meant for future generations. We are, perhaps, that future generation, and teachers of Bible prophecy today state that one cannot be a true student of prophecy without studying Daniel.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish teen walks past a store featuring paintings

of Jewish rabbis and sages.

Do Jews Believe Prophets Are for Today?

Although the Talmud teaches that the Age of the Prophets came to a close in the first generation of the Second Temple Era, the great 12th century Talmudic scholar and philosopher Maimonides included as one of his 13 basic principles of faith the belief that God still communicates with mankind through prophecy. Maimonides believed that in each generation prophecy comes to the holy and wisetzaddikim (righteous ones) who are worthy of receiving and understanding it. That prophecy is believed to be received through Ruach HaKodesh (literally, the spirit of holiness or the Holy Spirit), a term that in Judaism refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom. Prophets today are judged by the requirements placed on Old Covenant prophets: their prophecies must come to pass and they cannot conflict with the Torah (law).  For believers in Yeshua, the New Covenant Scriptures and the Tanakh must be considered in determining the legitimacy of a prophecy.  As well, it must glorify and honor Yeshua.  (2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 19:10) Those who follow Yeshua are given the Ruach HaKodesh as a sign or seal of their eternal relationship with God.  The Ruach empowers Believers, giving them one or more spiritual gifts, which can include word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gift of healing, and gift of service, among others.  (1 Corinthians 12:7–11, 28; Romans 12:6-8) Of all the gifts Paul identified, he singled out prophecy, wishing that everyone would have this gift.  (1 Corinthians 14:5) Perhaps this is on the horizon. Joel 2:28 reveals that after the Jewish People have returned to their land, the Ruach will be poured out, with young men seeing visions and old men having (prophetic) dreams, and sons and daughters prophesying. So, as the Last Days come nearer to the return of Yeshua, we should expect an increase in God’s presence through His Ruach HaKodesh and manifestations of His gifts, especially the gift of prophecy through dreams and visions.

Please pray to bring the Messianic Prophecy Bible to the Jewish People so that they can read from a Jewish Bible that spotlights how Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled the Messianic prophecies.

Do you know?????

Is prophecy a thing of the past? [1]

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”  (Joel2:28)

The Bible is full of prophecy that fires the imagination and challenges us to seek a closer walk with God. Prophecy (nevu’a) is crucial in Judaism, shaping Jewish tradition, hopes, and expectations, and pointing to the coming Messianic era. Nevu’a is related to the Hebrew term niv sefatayim, meaning fruit of the lips, which is what a prophet produces through his words—much fruit for the glory of God. Throughout the Bible, God appointed prophets to explain His Word in light of current events and encourage the Jewish People to follow God’s will. He also commissioned prophets to reveal future events in order to warn them of the consequences of sin.

In obedience to the Biblical injunction against shaving

the "corners" of one's head, some men and boys in the

Orthodox Jewish community wear payot (sidecurls).

They are also called simonim (signs) by some Jews,

since they distinguish Jewish people from their non-

Jewish neighbors.

Prophecy sets the history of the Jewish People apart from any other nation.

For instance, God sent Moses to Pharaoh and the Hebrews, Elijah to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samuel to King Saul, Nathan to King David, and Jonah to the people of Nineveh. All of these prophets revealed to an important person or entire nation how they were breaking God’s will and the tragedies that would befall them for continuing in their sins. It might be said that while God gave Israel the priests as gifts to uphold the laws of the Torah and perform the day-to-day rituals of the Temple service, God gave Israel theprophets (nevi’im) to encourage them to fulfill their destiny as God’s Chosen People—to be a light to the Gentiles so salvation can reach the ends of the earth.  (Isaiah 49:6) Ultimately, the Israelites as a nation did not fulfill their destiny.  The Northern Kingdom chose to follow kings who were not from the Davidic line, which God established.  They made altars to pagan gods and mingled their businesses and marriages with pagan worshipers.  As a result, the people were exiled out of their land and scattered. As their disobedience continued, the prophets revealed more details about the coming Messiah who would save them from their sins.  They foretold what He would do while on earth and even how and when he would die. The prophets also foretold significant details about events leading up to the Messianic era in the last days.

Moses Receiving the Tablets, by Gebhard Fugel 

A Prophet Like Moses

“When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams.  But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house.  With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.”  (Numbers 12:6–8)

When we use the word prophet (nevi), such men as Samuel, Isaiah, and Daniel usually come to mind. The Bible tells us, however, that Moses was a type of ultimate prophet. Moses differs from the other prophets in that God spoke to him directly, face to face.“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.”  (Deuteronomy 34:10) All other prophets of the Bible, except one revealed below, did not enjoy this close, personal relationship; instead, they received their message through dreams, visions, and revelations. There is a limit imposed on how close a prophet can come to God and, therefore, on the greatness of their revelation.  As God told Moses, “No man can see me and live.”  (Exodus 33:20)

Jerusalem

Moses is considered the greatest prophet as he encountered God more closely than any other Hebrew prophet.He foresaw the coming of a prophet like him, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah), when he said:  “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.  You must listen to him.”  (Deuteronomy18:15) Yeshua confirmed this when He said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.”  (John 5:46) Like Moses, Yeshua spoke with God face-to-face.  He received revelation from God openly and not through the medium of metaphoric images or allegories.  He understood God’s will in its fullness. “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”  (John 5:19) Like Moses, Yeshua was a mediator between God and man, speaking the Words of God to the people.  Also like Moses, Yeshua offered to die for the sins of the people, and He actually did. “Messiah Yeshua who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  (Romans 8:34)

Dreams, Visions and Angelic Visitations

While Moses and Yeshua received revelation directly from God, the 55 Hebrew prophets (according to Jewish tradition) whose words were recorded in the Tanakh for future generations received their communications in the form of divinely inspired words and actions, visions, revelations, and visitations.The book of Ezekiel, for example, opens with the prophet seeing a vision of God(Ezekiel 1:1) who told him that He is sending Ezekiel to the house of Israel.  At the time, Ezekiel was a priest exiled in Babylon. Woven throughout the book are significant visions, such as the rebirth of the nation of Israel (chapter 37), the coming war with nearby nations (chapters 38–39), and the construction details of the coming Third Temple, which is yet to be built and will be constructed prior to the final coming of the Messiah (chapters 40–44). Joseph who dreamed (Genesis 37:5) of his brothers’ sheaves of grain bowing down to his sheaf is a prime example of someone who received prophecy through dreams.

"Please pray for the Peace of Israel" Psalm 122  [Chapter-21]

Prayer Request for the families: The Faces of young fallen soldiers

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure."  (Psalm 122:6)

                                                                                                                     

Here in Israel, the news has been filled with the death of Jewish soldiers and funerals attended by bereaved families.

These soldiers did not sign up to be in an army.  They were just your regular young Jewish men with plans to go to university and start their adult lives—plans to marry, plans to have children, plans to be happy and at peace.They are in the army because they are drafted to defend this tiny nation, which is besieged by enemies wishing to take the land, even though it is a sliver compared to the enormous quantity of Arab land around it.Here in Israel after you "have to" do the army service from ages 18-21, you are also drafted each year, for approximately 4-6 weeks, as a reservist.  And a man has to do this until they are in their 40's. You can see some the faces of our 64 soldiers who have fallen in defence of their country and families, standing as David before Goliath.

May their memory be blessed.

Staff Sgt. Shai Kushnir, 20, from Kiryat Motzkin

Included among those who fell defending Biblical Israel and the civilians from Hamas rocket fire and the threat of terrorist infiltration by tunnels is Messianic soldier First Sergeant Shai Kushnir. He was one of five soldiers killed by Hamas mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Kushnir, who was 20, grew up in the Haifa area attending a youth group at a Messianic congregation.  As an only son, Kushnir was not permitted to serve in a combat unit, according to IDF regulations. But when he insisted on defending his country, the IDF eventually allowed him to serve as a medic in the Barak (Lightning) Division of the Armored Brigade.  His father had served in the same unit.

Kushnir was killed when his reconnaissance platoon suffered a direct hit.

When he was laid to rest in a full military ceremony just outside of Haifa, over 10,000 came to pay their respects, including two mayors from the Greater Haifa area, IDF generals and commanders from the Armored Brigade, and Messianic friends and congregational leaders. It was an emotional event and many wept openly. "Shai fought bravely in order to defend the citizens of Israel.  Few are willing to put others before themselves, but Shai was motivated by a higher principle of love, generosity and sacrifice for others,” the commanding officer of Shai's unit told the mourners, emphasizing that Kushnir’s principles were the result of his upbringing."Shai, your spirit and willingness to fight has left a profound impression on us.  Your desire to help and to do whatever you could to save a life gave us courage during the fighting over the past few weeks.  Just moments before we went into battle you said, 'You can depend on me.  I will protect you.' "You were more than a friend, Shai, you were like a brother to us.  Your memory will be with us always and will continue to give us the strength to carry on.  We are paying the ultimate price in order to defend our people, the price of our dearest sons and daughters." Here are the faces other Israeli soldiers coupled with the remembrances of loved ones.

Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba

Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was killed by Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip on August 1.  He was engaged to be married just weeks before. “I so wanted to be your bride.  I never thought you’d leave me alone so quickly.  I have no idea what to do,” his beloved Edna said.  “I burst with pride that I was connected to a person who was so infused with values.  I have no idea how life will look without you." “I want to live for you and I look forward to the day when we’ll meet again," Edna said.  "I thank you for the great privilege of making you happy.” His father, Dr. Simcha Goldin, explained in the eulogy that Hadar was a well-mannered man of principles, asking those present to learn from him. “Hadar never cursed and never let his youth group charges curse.  I ask that we all act this way … to act properly.  Don’t hate one another.  Focus on the good in your friends, not their deficiencies,” he said. He also said that Hadar had asked his mother to teach him to sew so he could embroider "strength and humility" on his gun belt.“That’s the Jewish battle doctrine,” Dr. Goldin said.  “To know how to use strength when necessary and to use it with humility.”

Major Benaya Sarel, 26, from Kiryat Arba

Major Benaya Sarel, 26, who was the commander of the elite Sayeret Givati unit, was killed on August 1 in clashes with terrorists in southern Gaza.  He was supposed to be married on August 21. "I have no way to try and explain my pain,"  Benaya’s fiancé, Gali said, trembling.  "I want to say thank you for the best three years of my life.  Thank you for your truth, thank you for coming into my life and teaching me so much.  Thank you for your infinite love, your laughter, and your eyes that will accompany me throughout my life.” "You were the pride of life of every Jewish mother," said Sarel’s mother.  "You were wise, happy, unique, smart, brave, and a hero.  You always knew what you wanted and where you were going and it was hard to argue with you.  All of the different people who came to mourn with us on Friday reminded us who you are—there was no one you met who you did not touch, and especially Gali, who we also love so much and I promise you we will take care of her just as you requested of us.” 

Staff Sgt. Matan Gotlib, 21, from Rishon LeZion

Matan Gotlib, who was part of the Israel Defense Forces' elite Maglan unit, was killed on July 30 while his unit was inspecting a booby trapped tunnel entry shaft discovered in an UNRWA clinic in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis.  Two other soldiers also died. "Matan chose to be a combat soldier out of a sense of purpose, he wanted to have a meaningful military service, he wanted to give his all," his mother, Ruhama, said. "He always said [Maglan] soldiers were sent where they were needed the most, on missions meant to prevent civilian casualties.  That's what he was doing when he was killed." “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were different and I fell in love with you,” his girlfriend Shaphira eulogized.  “Thank you for all the moments when you were there for me, and for the love and joy you added to my life.  I will love you until the end of the world.”

Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim

Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim, was killed on July 28 in an attempted infiltration into Israel via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza. “Our Daniel. Our hero.  I have no idea how to say goodbye to you.  How do you say goodbye to an 18-year-old boy?” Daniel's sister Natalie Kedmi tearfully eulogized.  “You were our light, the glue that held the family together.  You were born with charisma and the ability to lead...  We were always so proud of you.  I hope you are in a good place, take care of yourself.  We miss you.”

 

Staff Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, from Jerusalem

Staff Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, died on July 20, while fighting Hamas militants in a Gaza City neighborhood.  Twelve other Israelis also died in the battle. In 1991, Malko's family had been saved from war and political instability in Ethiopia when Israel covertly airlifted them to the Holy Land, along with thousands of Ethiopian Jews.  Malko was born in Israel. “We are burying one of our sons here today, a son of Jerusalem who died in a battle for the state of Israel,” Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, said.  "Moshe, we will continue to challenge our enemies and send them a strong message that we are not going away, that we will be here forever.” “My Moshiko, my life, my crowning glory, the joy of my life,” his sister Esther cried as she eulogized him at the funeral. “We were fortunate, all your family and friends, to know a man with a true and pure heart, a heart that loved,” she said of her brother. With a great effort to hold back tears, she spoke a few words of comfort to bereaved families. “Don’t think their blood was shed in vain, she said. “They are heroes.  They have fallen with self-sacrifice as martyrs for the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel and for the People of Israel. “Remember that in the merit of unity and brotherly love all pain that comes upon us will be ended and we will be redeemed,” she concluded.

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.   I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’  Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth."  (Isaiah 43:5–6)

We cannot say the stories of every young Israeli who perished in Operation Protective Edge. But  every one of them is important and should be remembered.Please pray for the friends and family of the Messianic Kushnir family and the friends and families of the other sixty-three sons of Israel who have made the greatest sacrifice to defend and protect the people of Israel. Let us remember that Messianic Believer Shai Kushnir did not have to be in a combat unit defending Israel.  As a Believer committed to the welfare of Israel, he chose to be. Only a day before Messianic Believer Shai Kushnir died in Israel, his father sent him a message telling him how much he loved and missed him.  He asked how Shai was doing in the face of such danger.“You and all the other youth have an extremely difficult task to shield our tiny country.  With your very lives you are our Protective Edge,” he wrote. “I believe that you and your friends are strong, determined and full of motivation to complete the difficult task that you have. You are the best this country has to offer. We trust you,” he told him.

"O God, do not remain silent... with cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.  'Come,' they say, 'let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.'”  

(Psalm 83:1–4)