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They Shall Come Back

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And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, your sons shall come back to their own border.  Jeremiah 21:16b-17

This happened today, Monday October 13.


Exactly two years ago, on the Holiday of Succot (booths), Hamas brutally attacked southern Israel from Gaza, murdering 1,200 Israelis and abducting 251 into Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas and that has been fought since then.

Now, there is great joy in Israel as all the hostages are Home.

So, all who had returned from the captivity…sat under the booths… And there was very great joy and gladness. Nehemiah 8:17


Late on October 9, Israel’s cabinet formally approved plans for a ceasefire with Hamas, setting a Gaza peace process in motion.

Phase I

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that it constituted the “first phase” of his twenty-point peace plan that the White House had unveiled last week.

Qatar, a critical player in the mediation efforts, confirmed the developments, as did Israeli and Hamas officials. It has been a long and drawn out effort of negotiations between Israel and Hamas through the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, for the release of the remaining hostages still held in Hamas’ terra-dungeons in Gaza, because of Hamas’ unreasonable demands.

Israel’s military action in Gaza had reportedly intensified until right up to the ceasefire deadline. Since the truce, Palestinians have been returning in droves to Gaza City after an Israeli military spokesperson declared it safe to head back to the enclave’s previously most populous city.

The Israeli army, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), agreed to withdraw their troops up to a line that leaves it in control of 53 percent of the strip.

With the withdrawal complete, a seventy-two-hour window was given to Hamas to return the remaining hostages taken on October 7. Twenty were believed to be alive; another twenty-eight deceased. This is the first stage of the agreement.

Until now, out of the 251 hostages, 147 were released or exchanged in prior deals, eight of whom were dead, and the bodies of dozens more have been recovered by the IDF.

In this first phase, Hamas agreed to release the hostages safely and quietly, without victory demonstrations.

Israel agreed to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel, as well as 1,700 detainees from Gaza.

Israel published its official list of who would be freed on Friday; not including several high-profile political figures at the top of Hamas’s list. Israel also agreed to give back fifteen Palestinian bodies for the remains of each Israeli hostage it received.

Trump was very pleased with the progress, as he said that it was a “great day” for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel and all surrounding nations, as well as the US. “We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” he posted.

As Israel anxiously awaited the return of the 20 live hostages and the bodies of twenty-eight hostages brutally murdered by Hamas, there was an extensive preparation underway to receive the bodies, honor the fallen, and support their bereaved families.

However, the exact number of the fallen hostages remains uncertain. There is also the danger that the bodies may be booby-trapped with grenades or explosives, as was the case in the past.

President Donald Trump arrived in Israel this morning for a very short visit. It coincided with the arrival of the hostages from Gaza.
 
President Trump’s visit lasted close to four hours. Air Force One landed at Ben Gurion Airport at 9:20 a.m. and due to the short visit, there was only a red carpet, flag bearers, honorary salutes and handshakes, but no speeches and no anthems. 

Phase II

The President visited the Israeli Knesset (parliament) where he delivered a speech. Then he flew to Egypt for a summit of Arab and world leaders on the topic of Gaza to raise support and finalize an agreement over the second phase of the president’s post-war Gaza plan. Israel was not invited to attend the summit.
 
During the summit, leaders are expected to sign the U.S.-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza. [Click here to read Trump’s 20 points of the Gaza peace proposal.]
 
Let’s thank the Lord that the 20 live hostages have returned. Please pray for their care and rehabilitation now that they are home. Please pray that all of the deceased will be returned. Pray that Israel will be able to eliminate Hamas’s military and political power in Gaza, as part of the second phase. (we will report on that in our next newsletter.)

Image by R.D. Smith, Unsplash

The Veil and Israel [Part 1]

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Moses, the great prophet with whom the God of Israel spoke face-to-face:

“And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses”.   Exodus 33:9 

So the Lord spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And Moses returned to the camp. ..  Exodus 33:11a

“I speak with him (Moses) face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”   Numbers 12:8

Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.   Deuteronomy 34:10 

The Glory of the Lord

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1

In the above scripture, the Glory of the Lord is promised to shine upon Israel and God’s people, which includes us. Now that Yeshua is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, He has received back His Glory as He prayed to the Father in John 17:5:

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the Glory which I had with You before the world was…And the Glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one…“Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
 

Mt. Horeb/Sinai

Mt. Horeb, the Mountain of God, known also as Mt. Sinai, is where God first appeared to Moses and spoke to Him from the burning bush. There, Godcommanded Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery from Egypt into the Promised Land. Hence, Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, through the Sinai desert, and into the promised land.

After the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea and wandering in the desert, the people of Israel cried for water. God led them to Mount Horeb (Mt. Sinai) and instructed Moses to miraculously get water from the rock.

Exodus 17:6, “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

Later, God met Moses once again at Mount Sinai/Horeb with an awesomedisplay of power: thunder and lightning, a dark cloud, fire and smoke, the blast of a trumpet, and quaking of the earth (Exodus 19:18). This was to warn the people not to approach or touch God’s holy mountain as God is so Holy that anyone doing so would die.

Then, God thundered out His commands, frightening all the Israelites. They asked God to speak only to Moses and let Moses be the intermediary between themselves and God (Exodus 20:19. By the way, Jews often say that they don’tneed an intermediary to talk to God when it comes to Yeshua.)

The Covenant Through Moses

And God called Moses on the mountain to receive the commandments for Israel.

“And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘”All the words which the Lord has said we will do.’” They made burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words” (their promise.) Exodus 24:3b, 5-8 

Now the Glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered the Mountain of God for six days. And on the seventh day, God called Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (vs. 13, 16-18)

There on the mountain, Moses received the plans for the Tabernacle and the tablets of stone on which God had written His commandments with His own finger.

However, at the bottom of the mountain, the Israelites had grown impatient waiting for Moses all that time, not knowing what had happened to him. 
They asked Aaron to make them a god in the form of a golden calf. Overjoyed and excited, the people sacrificed to the golden calf, celebrated, and worshiped their new god in a frenzy.

However, at the top of the mountain, God told Moses what was happening in the camp below.

When Moses descended the mountain and saw everyone worshiping the golden calf, he became enraged and smashed to bits the stone tablets on which Godhad written His commandments with His own finger. Moses reproved Israel for its terrible sin against the one true God after promising to serve Him and keep His commandments. (including not making any images for worship) (Exodus 32.)

After dealing with the sin issue (including the death of many of the idol worshipers (Exodus 32:28) Moses burned the golden calf with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it (verse 20.)


Then, the Lord said to Moses, 

“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the Words that were on the first tablets which you broke.”

Facing God on the top of the mountain, Moses begged God to forgive the children of Israel, His people. God listened to Moses, forgave them, and renewed the covenant with Israel. He once again wrote His Commandments on new stone tablets (Exodus 34:1–27.)

The Veil on Moses’s Face

Moses spent another 40 days and nights in the presence of God on Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, not eating or drinking, and God allowed Moses to see His glory. God’s glorious presence sustained him.

When Moses came down the mountain after spending this extended time in the presence of the Lord, Moses was unaware that his face shone powerfully, reflecting God’s Glory. Because everyone feared to approach him, Moses covered his face with a veil, hiding the bright light of the Glory that was unbearable to the people in their sinful condition, so they would not be frightened. (Exodus 34:1–29)

Moses went up to speak to the Lord several times and brought Israel the Torah he had received from the Lord for them.

“But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out; and he would come back and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.” (Exodus 34:34-35)

The Prophet Elijah on Mt. Horeb

When the prophet Elijah ran away from Queen Jezebel who wanted to kill him, he stopped to rest in the desert. There, an angel of the Lord fed him, and

“strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb (Mt. Sini,) the mountain of God.” (1 Kings 19:8)

Elijah stayed in a cave at Horeb/Sinai, where he met the Lord Who spoke to him with “a still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12)

It is interesting that both Moses and Elijah, who were prophets of God, were on the same Mountain of God, sustained by God for 40 days and nights; both met with God there and heard His audible voice.

Yeshua with Moses and Elijah

It is also interesting that when Yeshua was on the Mount of Transfiguration, out of all the people of God, He met with the prophets Moses and Elijah.

While on earth, Yeshua’s divine glory was veiled by His humanity, except for this event when His human appearance was changed and  His face shone like the sun and His clothes turned blazing.

In an audible voice, the Lord spoke from a bright cloud saying: 

“This is my Son, Whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5) 

This happened in the presence of Peter, James, and John, the brother of James who 

“beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)  

From Glory to Glory

Ephesians 2:6-7 
“And God (the Father) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua.”

In the Spirit realm, we are seated with Messiah in the heavenlies. God has taken us from Glory to Glory, just as Yeshua prayed before He ascended to the right hand of the Father.

And just as John, Peter, and James beheld His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too behold His glory.

God’s light shines through us a witness for all to see as we reflect His glory.

As believers in Messiah Yeshua, Who fulfilled the Torah, we also reflect the Glory of the Torah revealed to Moses.

Yet, the Glory of the Torah that shone so brightly on Moses’ face and required a veil covering, faded when Israel broke the Old Covenant.

The Torah, written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18,) is the same Torah that Messiah Yeshua came to fulfill; it is the eternal and glorious Word of God.

Now, by our faith in Yeshua, we receive glory through the New Covenant that is spiritual, eternal, and doesn’t fade for it is written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.

(Jeremiah 31:33: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…”)

By this, we are transformed from the Glory of Moses to the Glory of Yeshua, from the Glory of the Old Covenant to the Glory of the New Covenant, which far surpasses the Old.

The Torah given to Moses was written on earthly stone, a substance doomed to disintegrate and perish.

God’s Holy, good, and righteous Torah was given to sinners to make them holy as the giver of the Torah is holy. But they had to obey all Torah’s laws.

In fact, the Torah was merely a temporary guardian (Galatians 3:23–25) until something better appeared.

The better thing is the New Covenant that absolves us of all sin and gives us everlasting life (John 6:63). 

Hence, our obedience to God stems from within us. As true believers, we desire to obey Him and love Him with all our hearts and souls, and not out of legality or fear of punishment.

No longer is it an uncaring, animal-blood covenant of rigid rules, written on cold stone tablets but rather a covenant of Messiah’s own blood, written by the Holy Spirit on the tablets of our warm hearts of flesh.

We, His people, no longer need an earthly tabernacle or a mountaintop to meet with God’s Holy Presence. Rather, the Father, and Messiah Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit dwell within us and tabernacle with us in our born-again inner New Man, in loving intimacy, teaching us all things. (John 14:23; 16:13)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“For God, Who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s Glory displayed in the face of Messiah Yeshua.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

As we move from Glory to Glory, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of God’s own beloved Son, Messiah Yeshua. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:28–30; Philippians 3:20–21)

When we believe Yeshua is Lord and Savior, receive Him into our hearts by faith, and accept His atonement for our sins, He opens our spiritual eyes and transforms us even in this life to bring us “from Glory to Glory.”  2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

[Watch for the next installment of this article soon]

Image by Chil Vera from Pixabay

Israel at War With Hamas

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Who or What is Hamas?

There is a song Jewish people sing during the Passover meal:
  “What happened to our forefathers and to us, that not only one came against us to annihilate us, but in every generation, they come against us to annihilate us, and the Holy One Blessed be He saves us from them all.”
[Click to listen to this stirring rendition of the song.]

This has been very true, throughout history, ever since the existence of Pharaoh, Haman, Hitler, and the Nazis, and is now truer than ever in Hamas and Islam (Hamas is the Islamic Resistance Movement.)

Now this is the History of Islam
(according to Hamas)

“After the Islamic armies conquered Syria and Iraq (in the 7th century), [the Muslim’s Caliph and companions of Islamists] decided that the land should be left with its (present) owners who could benefit by its fruit. As for the real ownership of the land and the land itself, it should be consecrated for Moslem generations till Judgement Day. Those who are on the land, are there only to benefit from its fruit. This Waqf (Endowment under Islamic law, involving donating a building, plot of land, or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable purposes with no intention of reclaiming the assets) remains as long as earth and heaven remain. Any procedure in contradiction to Islamic Sharia, where Palestine is concerned, is null and void.

Notice that the above declaration steals God’s words to Jeremiah; “As long as there are the sun, moon, and stars in the heaven, Israel will always be a nation before Him.”

What Does the Lord Say?

The Lord God of Israel said through the prophet Jeremiah:
“He who appoints the sun to shine by day who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the Lord Almighty is His Name (the God of Israel): “Only if these decrees vanish from My sight,” declares the Lord “will Israel ever cease being a nation before Me.” This is what the Lord says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord, God almighty.”
 
GOD promised the Land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel; therefore his descendants – the Israelis – named the Promised Land “Israel.”
 
Meanwhile, God sent Abraham’s son, Ishmael, to the Arabian desert of Saudia, promising to make him a great nation there. The descendants of Ishmael later became Muslims, whose religious ideology is to conquer the entire world.
 
True to their ideology, the Muslims conquered the Promised Land in the 7th century. At that time, the Land was called “Palestine,” after the conquering Romans had changed its name centuries earlier. Hence, the marauding Arabs called themselves Palestinians, after the Promised Land’s changed name, Palestine.

Who is Allah?

So, it is clear that Islam’s god, Allah, is not the true God of Israel, who promised the Land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants and not to Ishmael and his descendants.
 
There is an ongoing spiritual battle as Allah is actually satan in disguise. We know that satan still wants to be the most high god and usurp God as ruler of the earth. Since the God of Israel, the only true God has chosen Zion/Jerusalem as His dwelling place in the Promised Land of His people Israel, satan wants to destroy the Israelis and take the Promised Land for himself.
 
Therefore, through Hamas and “The Islamic Resistance Movement, satan is trying to kill the Israeli Jews and replace them with his cohorts, the Palestinians. This is what the war is all about.


Hamas creed:
“… The Islamic Resistance Movement is a link in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders.’

“…. Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the [Zionist] enemy is vanquished and Allah’s (satan’s) victory is realized.

Our movement’s program is Islam…and Hamas aims to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine…”

“The day that enemies usurp Muslim Jihad (Islamic holy war) becomes the individual duty of every Moslem.

In the face of the Jews’ usurping Palestine, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised. This requires the diffusion of Islamic consciousness among the masses … It is necessary to instill the spirit of Jihad in the heart of the nation (even children) so that they confront join the ranks of the fighters.”

Hamas Rejoices After the Murder of Jews

Right after the brutal attack on Israel on October 7th, senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal made a special speech to celebrate Hamas’ horrific atrocities. He sent “Allah’s blessings” to all the Hamas leaders involved in planning the Hamas attack, and “to everyone who prepared, organized, arranged, and made this dream come true… They brought about this glory.”

In addition, he sent “Allah’s blessings” to the “heroes” who committed the atrocities.

Hamas – Image from Reuters.

While Israel is fighting Hamas physically, we need to fight the evil one behind Hamas spiritually. We proclaim that the enemy is defeated, Yeshua has given us the victory and we are more than conquerors in His Name and by the authority He gave us.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but might in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”…2 Corinthians 10:3

“And what is His (God’s) mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every name that is named…and He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the Church (His body of believers that includes us) the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:19b-22
and
“God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you, we are saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Yeshua” Ephesians 2:6.

From this lofty position, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” Ephesians 6:12

Unrest in Israel

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The battle rages in Israel between the left that lost the elections and the new right-wing government. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets last Saturday evening to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government whose opponents say threaten democracy and freedoms.

The protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv days after the right-wing and religiously conservative government was sworn in.

“The settler government is against me,” read one placard. Another banner read, “Housing, Livelihood, Hope.” Some protesters carried rainbow flags.

The protest was led by left-wing and Arab members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. They contend that proposed plans by the new Cabinet will hinder the judicial system and widen societal gaps.

The left-wing protesters slammed Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who recently unveiled the government’s long-promised overhaul of the judicial system that aims to weaken the country’s Supreme Court.

Critics accused the government of declaring war on the legal system, saying the plan will up-end Israel’s system of checks and balances and undermine its democratic institutions by giving absolute power to the new governing coalition.

Picture: Israeli and Palestinian flags are seen at an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv, January 7, 2023. (Ahmad Al-Bazz) from +972 Magazine

Yair Lapid, the former prime minister and head of the opposition, said he would fight the changes “in every possible way” and vowed to cancel them if he returns to power. “Those who carry out a unilateral coup in Israel need to know that we are not obligated to it in any way whatsoever,” he said.

What has triggered this battle is the left’s objections to what they claim is a combination of the government’s proposed laws against LGBTQ rights, its plan to overhaul the law enforcement and education systems, and, most prominently, its proposals for “reform” of the judiciary.

However, democracy is not threatened if an elected body sets the rules to void a law that a majority of judges believe offends a Basic Law. Should a mere 8 or 11 Supreme Court judges invalidate a Knesset law? This is what the government wants to refute since these laws are legislative judgments and not judicial prerogatives.

Newly-appointed Justice Minister Levin’s proposed law would make several other reasonable changes affecting the membership and power of Israel’s judiciary, but not removing their power completely.

Levin and the Knesset’s Chair Rothman have stated they intend to make reforms in the Israeli judicial system, mainly in the authority of the Supreme Court. Read more about the suggested reforms here – Click. The left and Arab parties are protesting against the new government every Saturday in Tel Aviv.

These protests are organized and financed by left-wing organizations such as Standing Together, the New Fund for Israel, and Breaking the Silence all of which oppose Israel being God’s Land and a Jewish State. They claim that Israel should be the state of ALL its citizens, not just Jews and that this government is promoting “racist” and “dictatorial policies.” The left is declaring a “struggle for democracy.”

The Saturday protests also include a smaller, more radical group of Israeli anti-Zionists and pro-Palestinians who hold banners and signs against Israeli ‘apartheid’ and ‘colonialism,’ as well as Palestinian flags.

Last week National Security Minister Ben Gvir instructed the police commissioner to ban the Palestinian flag in public and called for more drastic measures against future demonstrations. Gvir’s measures have incited more people, even leaders from nearly every political party in the opposition, to commit to a similar demonstration expected shortly.

We are thankful to the Lord that there was not one incident of violence in these protests. Please pray that peaceful protests will continue to be peaceful.

Yeshua’s Words and Their Influence

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“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”
(Mark 16:15)

Hebrew, the Language of God’s Word

Yeshua spoke in His mother tongue: Hebrew. The original Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and Yeshua often quoted scriptures in Hebrew. He spoke to His Jewish disciples in Hebrew. He also spoke Aramaic and Greek or Latin when necessary. The writing on the cross, “King of the Jews”, was first in Hebrew – the main language in use in Israel at the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and then also in Latin and Greek [John 19:19-20.]

The angel Gabriel spoke Hebrew to Miriam when he came to announce to her that she would have a Son by the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit.) The angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. See! You are to become a mother and have a Son. You are to give Him the name Jesus”.

However, the above scripture is the English translation of Hebrew. The angel’s name is Gavriel, which means in Hebrew “God is my strength”. Mary’s original name is a Hebrew name – Miriam, and Joseph is the Hebrew name Yoseph. The angel told Miriam in Hebrew that the name of the baby would be Yeshua. The English letters of Jesus come from the Hebrew letters of Yeshua, His original Hebrew name. The word Jesus, which is the wonderful English Name of our Savior, has no meaning in the English language, but in Hebrew Yeshua means Salvation.

When Miriam asked Gabriel, how that could be, the angel quoted the scripture in Hebrew from Gen. 15:28: “ki lo yipale’ me’Elohim kol davar”, translated, “for nothing is impossible for God”.

The angel Gavriel (Gabriel) appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” He then said…After her baby is born, name him Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins.”

He actually spoke in Hebrew because he said: name him Yeshua (Salvation) because he will Yoshia (save) his people (Israel) from their sins. Only in Hebrew does His name have meaning – salvation, and the verb Yoshia (save) is a derivative of the noun Yeshua, salvation.

Yeshua’s Words and Their Influence Today in Israel

God’s Word is alive, powerful (Heb. 4:12) and influences every area of life. Yeshua lived here in the land of Israel and His supreme teachings touched all peoples and cultures. In Israel, modern Hebrew, which is based mainly on the ancient biblical language, is the most popular language and has also incorporated many words and sayings from other sources and cultures.

Some of Yeshua’s sayings are used today in Israel and other places, and people don’t realize that He is the source. For example, Israelis often say of a person who is down-to-earth and has roots in the Israeli culture that “He is the salt-of-the-earth”, today. (In Matt. 5:13 Yeshua said to His followers that they were the salt of the earth.)

Another saying is, “…. no prophet is accepted in his hometown” (Luke 4:24) There is no other mention of that saying by anyone else before Yeshua. Yet it is a saying often used by Israelis, and most of them do not know that Yeshua was the One who said it first.

Another saying that Yeshua used, is found in Matthew 7:3, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” This saying has become part of the writings of the Rabbis in the oral law that many Israelis use, not knowing that it was Yeshua who originated this saying.

At the end of John’s wonderful gospel, John 20:30-31, and 21:25, He said that there were also many other things that Yeshua did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Glory – Kavod

The word glory has many interpretations. The manifest presence of God is a level of glory. It is the Hebrew word, Kavod, which comes from the word Koved, meaning weight, heavy. There are two types of weight.

  1. There is the physically heavy weight. This word in Hebrew is Mishkal. Weight in the physical realm.
  2. Then there is the weight that carries with it authority, like the word of an important person. The words of an important person carry great weight; when he speaks, they cause people to submit to what he says.

When Yeshua walked in the earth, He showed the manifest Presence of God, the miraculous works of God, the attributes of God, the nature of God; all of this is glory. People marveled at how He spoke with such authority, teaching unlike any of the teachers of that day. His words carried weight – Kavod.

There is another term in Hebrew Israelis use often to tell someone who has done something great, or succeeded in something: “Kol Ha Kavod,” which literally means, all the Kavod – power and honor. As believers, we say that only Yeshua deserves to receive ALL the Kavod – the glory and the honor.

Please Pray: As our hearts yearn and we pray for our people, ask that God will touch them with a terrific hunger and thirst for His Word, and that His awesome love will melt away the many prejudices against Yeshua, enabling them to look upon Him and consider His wonderful life-giving teachings.

We love and appreciate you very much. Thank you for your faithfulness in standing with us for the salvation of Israel, in prayer and financial support. We pray for you too from Zion, for God to supply all your needs and bless you greatly.

We would love to hear from you – any comments, questions, and/or prayer requests.