Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
On the night of Rosh Hashanah, thousands of people will leave work, gather in congregations across the globe and worship God, the ruler of the world.
Ten days later they will begin a fast and gather again to pray, this time atoning for their sins. On both occasions, they will praise Jesus Christ and pray for his return. They are not Jews, nor are they Jews for Jesus. Rather, these congregants are members of an evangelical Christian movement called the Living Church of God.
On the days Jews know as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, these Christians celebrate what they call the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement. "We're not trying to be Jewish," said Dexter Wakefield, a Living Church minister and the church's spokesman. "We're obeying God's commandments. The holy days have great meaning for the Christians who keep them."
Readers are Leaders! Subscribe now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Charisma, Ministry Today and SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES - Sign me up!
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click here to draw closer to God!
This week, we enter into a special season known as Teshuvah. Teshuvah comes from the Hebrew root word shuv, which means to turn or return. It coincides with the Hebrew month called Elul. This month-long period of introspection ends with the Feast of Trumpets (which begins Sept. 20 at sunset).
During this month, I encourage believers to spend time turning to God to compare where your life is to where it should be. It is a time where we examine ourselves, as Paul instructed us in 2 Corinthians 13:5. "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified."
We need to take serious time and compare our lives with the example of Christ. Where are we falling short? Ask God to forgive you for where you are falling short, but also ask for more of His grace and strength. Ask God to impart more Holy Spirit power into your life so that you can overcome your areas of difficulty.
This period is also called the season of the open windows of heaven. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near" (Isa. 55:6). This is the time of the year to make serious petitions to God for areas where we have need in our lives. Do you have family members who are lost? Have they strayed from God? This is the season to ask for God to bring them back. Of course, our nation definitely needs prayer at this time.
Does your family or marriage need repair? Really begin to seek God about how it can be turned around. Do you have other needs such as health or finances? I encourage you to make a list of areas you need God's provision and begin to declare God's provision over them. Make goals and plans to achieve the areas that need attention. After all, God wrote down His plans in the Holy Bible.
As we enter this special time of the year, you will see more and more people online sharing understanding on the season of Teshuvah. What you may not be aware of is the special prophetic meaning concealed in this time.
We will finish this two-part series next time!
Kelly McDonald Jr.is an ordained evangelist at Hungry Hearts Ministries in Jackson, Tennessee. He has written over 40 books and booklets on pursing Christ, Hebrew roots and end-times prophecy. He is currently president of the Bible Sabbath Association (BSA). You can follow him at kellymcdonaldjr.com.
Readers are Leaders! Subscribe now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Charisma, Ministry Today and SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES - Sign me up!
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click here to draw closer to God!
As most Christian lovers of Israel now realize, the three major feasts or holy convocations God gave to Israel all pointed to a New Covenant fulfillment in Messiah. The Hebrew word for “convocation,” mikra, implies a “dress rehearsal.”
They were preparations for a deeper spiritual reality.
Although grouped into three convocations, there were actually seven feasts in number, requiring all Israel to be present in Jerusalem at the time of their celebration. They are Pesach (Passover, Leavened Bread, First Fruits), Shavout (Pentecost) and Succoth (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles). Those clustered around Passover and Pentecost are known as the Spring Feasts. Those connected to Tabernacles were the Fall Feasts. Taken together, all seven represent the salvation plan of God in Messiah.
Now we know the Spring Feasts have already had their New Covenant fulfillment.
Passover was fulfilled in Jerusalem when Yeshua was crucified for our sins on the very day the feast was celebrated. And his followers were born again. Pentecost too was fulfilled on the very date, the seventh Sunday after First Fruits, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church.
But Tabernacles still awaits its spiritual fulfillment, which will no doubt also occur in its assigned season. And also take place in Jerusalem.
The question is, could we have actually witnessed the fulfillment of the first of the three fall feasts associated with Tabernacles, namely Trumpets, without realizing it?
I believe so.
It dawned on me recently that when Israel won the Six-Day War and recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple Mount on June, 7 1967 had to be the fulfillment of Trumpets on God’s calendar.
Here’s why.
When the Jews regained control of Jerusalem after 2000 years of exile it was like the blast of a shofar (trumpet) that sent a shockwave that resonated throughout Israel and around the world. Aside from the pure emotional excitement of the event, four major spiritual awakenings trace their beginnings to that day. All were in keeping with God’s assigned purposes for the blowing of trumpets, which were to announce special times, gather His people together, break camp or go to war.
The first awakening took place among assimilated Jews in Russia who suddenly rediscovered their Jewish heritage and wanted to go home to Israel. When Russia refused to let them go they were termed Refuseniks. Their courage in face of great persecution eventually won them international support and permission to emigrate.
A second awakening also occurred among the Jews, primarily in the West, when suddenly thousands began to believe in Yeshua as Messiah. That was the start of the Messianic Jewish Movement.
The third awakening erupted in the Christian world. After seeing the miraculous way Israel recaptured Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Christians suddenly realized God was fulfilling the ancient prophecies of Israel’s restoration. This led many to rediscover the Hebraic roots of our faith, inspiring the Christian Zionism Movement that has done so much to bless Israel as of late.
The fourth big awakening also took place among Christians and became known as the Charismatic Movement. Nominal Christians from the dead mainline churches were born again and began to move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
If I am correct in this, it means we are on the verge of seeing the fulfillment of the next holy convocation, which is the Day of Atonement. Called Yom Kippur by the Jews, it is the holiest day on their religious calendar and occurs ten days after Trumpets. Historically on that day the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the whole nation. Also, every fiftieth year on that date the trumpet was blown to announce the Year of Jubilee “when you shall proclaim a release [from all debts]… and each of you shall return to his own property” (Leviticus 25:10). It is the verse inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city’s founding.
It really gets exciting when we realize Jun. 7th of this year will be the fiftieth anniversary of the recapture of Jerusalem! Could that mean the Ten Days of Awe following Trumpets are over and God’s Yom Kippur could begin to be fulfilled this very year? Could we actually be on the verge of seeing Zechariah 12:10–14 come to pass in our day?
And one more thing. Could the election of Donald Trump(et) signal the final shofar sound of this feast day ? And if so, will he become the new King Cyrus who many Christians are likening him too? The one who released the Jews from Babylon and helped them restore their temple? Or will he prove to be the new Constantine, “that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts… who was waging war with the saints and overpowering them?” (Dan. 7:20,21) Will he be the Great Deceiver “who’ll take his seat in the temple displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess.2:4)?
Stay tuned.
Brian Hennessy is the author of Valley of the Steeples
Want more news from Israel? Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates
Today is the Feast of Trumpets, today known as "Rosh Hashanah", so we wish you "Chag sameach!" Happy holidays!
It is such a blessing to live in these days here in Israel - God has physically regathered his people in the Land, and now He is drawing an amazing number of Jewish and Arab people to himself, both in Israel and overseas. More than that, we are seeing wonderful unity between Jewish and Arab believers as we study God's word, worship together, and build His kingdom as ONE in Messiah!
On Thursday, we held an 'Open Day' at our college campus, inviting Jewish and Arab Israelis who might be interested in studying at Israel College of the Bible.
We were delighted that so many came to hear about the different programs that we offer at various levels, including bachelors degrees, masters programs, and we now also have people studying for their doctorates. The potential students were able to look around classrooms, halls, media facilities and library, and to meet the academic staff to discuss the possibility of studying at Israel College of the Bible.
We spent some time worshiping together in both Hebrew and Arabic, before the Academic Dean, Dr Seth Postell, shared about the college, followed by Eitan Bar and Carlos Damianos, who shared about the media outreach in Hebrew and Arabic based at our campus. The evening was closed in prayer in both languages.
MEDIA EVANGELISM BEARING MUCH FRUIT
We receive messages every week, sometimes daily, from Israelis who have been touched by the gospel through what they have seen and heard in our evangelistic videos and websites online.
We are currently working on a new series of apologetics videos in Hebrew, and now we are developing a similar strategy of videos, testimonies, articles and answers to tough questions - all in Arabic! We hope to reach the Arabs both in Israel and around the world with the powerful message of the Gospel. Please pray for ever increasing fruit as God's word goes out from Zion.
Similarly, we are hearing reports that many Jewish people overseas are also coming to faith! We know that the "I MET MESSIAH" testimonies in English are reaching millions of people.
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
On the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri in the Fall, the Feast of Trumpets blasts its way into the new Jewish year. Today it is known as Rosh HaShana, the "Head of the Year", even though it's not really the start of the Biblical year at all, according to Exodus 12:2. The calendar year was supposed to start in the month of Passover in the spring, and the Feast of Trumpets comes at the beginning of the seventh month. Like all the other "Feasts of the Lord", it is full of significance and meaning for us today, as well as prophetic meaning about what is to come.Continue reading...
This just in from a friend whose daughter is a science teacher and has done research on the Blood Moon on Wednesday…Here’s her report:
For those of you looking for the Blood Moon on Oct 8th: LOOK IN THE MORNING OF THE 8TH!
If you live in the eastern time zone; the total lunar eclipse (blood moon) best time to view will be 6-7 IN THE MORNING..... NOT in the evening.
The eclipse will begin at 5:15am; it will be complete eclipse at about 6:15am. The moon will be completely covered and look red for about an hour. It will take about another hour to finish.
Hope you get up early on wed so you can see it. I think a lot of people may be looking in the evening of the 8th. if you wait till then; you will miss it. I got my info from NASA web site. You don't want to miss this second Blood Moon ( Signs in the Heavens!)
Oct 8th is the beginning of The Feast Of Tabernacles at Sunset…We have also entered into the Shemitah Year. If you don’t know what that is I highly recommend you get a copy of Jonathan Cahn’s book…The Mystery of the Shemitah.
Hag Sameach,
Susan Bartlett
Blood Moons, the Shemitah and Prophetic Implications We Can't Ignore
Israel is appropriating $29 million to help farmers observe a critical agricultural commandment from the Mosaic law, according to WND.
That commandment instructs the Israelites to give the land a rest from all agricultural activity once every seven years.
In the Torah, the Sabbath concept isn't limited to the seventh day of the week; it also applies to every seventh year—also known as the Shemitah year.
The $29 million in funding is headed to Israel's Religious Affairs Ministry, which will spend the money encouraging and enabling Jewish farmers who wish to follow the command.
Though farming regulations may seem insignificant to Western eyes, it was in part Israel's original failure to observe the resting years that resulted in the 70-year exile (2 Chronicles 36:20-23)—a seven-decade "Sabbath rest" for the land.
The Sabbath year command has not been observed in any real official capacity since A.D. 70, when God judged the nation of Israel for rejecting the Messiah, Jesus Christ, about 40 years earlier.
Biblically, while Israel may once more seek to observe the ordinance, the Jewish people remain in spiritual exile (Romans 11:7-11, Acts 28:25-28) because they rejected the Messiah's true Sabbath rest for the soul (see Hebrews 4).
The move on Israel's part may be critical as the nation navigates through events surrounding blood moons occurring in 2014 and 2015, which may be prophetically significant.
In the book of Joel, the prophet writes, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:31-32). At Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quotes that passage in reference to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Now, many are connecting that same passage to a new end-times move of the Spirit preceding Christ's return—whenever that may be.
The question is: why Israel's revived interest in the law? Is it drawing closer to seeking God's will just as when King Josiah rediscovered the law in 2 Kings 22? Or is it instead keeping God "on their lips" but far from their hearts as they "seek to establish their own righteousness"—not knowing that the whole point of the law is to be fulfilled in the righteousness given freely through the Messiah (Romans 10:3-4)?
The unusual tetrad of lunar eclipses correspond with Jewish feast dates, beginning with Passover of April 2014 and ending with the Feast of Tabernacles on September 28, 2015—around which time Israel will celebrate the end of the Sabbath year.
The next blood moon will occur October 8, 2014.
Much attention has been given in the church, as well as in the media, to the "blood moon" that occurred during the recent Passover/Easter season. (Brian Lauer/Flickr/Creative Commons)
Much attention has been given in the church, as well as in the media, to the "blood moon" that occurred during the recent Passover/Easter season.
This blood moon, along with the three other lunar eclipses scheduled to occur during Jewish feasts in 2014-2015, has fueled conversation about whether we are entering into a new season of the end times, as referenced in the book of Joel: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:31-32).
I won't try to speculate about dates and times of the Lord's return; however, I will say that I agree with many other voices that these blood moons should serve as a signpost for the body of Christ to awaken and understand the season into which we are entering.
As the Bible tells us in Genesis 1:14-15, the sun, moon and stars are not merely to give light to the earth or to mark days and years. They are also to serve as "signs and seasons." If God wants to speak to His people and give warning to the earth about a changing spiritual season, signs in the heavens are one of the means He has designated to do so.
So, just what is the season we have entered? What kinds of days are ahead of us? The passage in Joel quoted above suggests that the blood moon is a sign pointing to the great and awesome day of the Lord. There are countless scriptures we can look to for learning about the day of the Lord, but I will summarize with this statement: the coming of the day of the Lord means that time is short. The Lord is coming soon. Whether it is in five, 15, or 50 years, the Lord is coming soon.
A Dual Season
For those separated from Christ, or living a life of lukewarm or compromised Christianity, the blood moons bring a season of warning. Their message is one of urgency, to prepare and to turn your heart to the Lord while there is time.
For those who are in Christ, His coming is glorious news. Our salvation is drawing near and the great harvest of souls prophesied in scripture is coming. The message of the blood moons is to prepare for harvest, and to beckon all men to call upon the name of the Lord.
Yes, this is a dual season—of warning and of harvest. Of soberness and of celebration. Of preparation and of action.
A Season of Warning
Throughout the nine-day period this last April that included Palm Sunday, Passover, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Holy Spirit was speaking to me about the season ahead.
The message I heard was out of Jeremiah 12:5: "If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"
The question I heard the Holy Spirit asking was, "If the church can't keep up with the footmen, how will they keep up with the horsemen? If you can't walk in victory in a land of peace and safety, what will you do when the shaking really begins?"
For days, this phrase was burning in my spirit: The horsemen are coming, the horsemen are coming, the horsemen are coming.
How do horsemen differ from footmen? They're faster. The coming of the horsemen speaks to an acceleration. The signs that we see around us— blood moons, weather phenomena, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes that shake the earth so violently it is literally moved on its axis—these all are part of the same process. Things are accelerating.
Just as labor pangs increase and accelerate as a woman approaches her time to give birth, so are the pains and groaning of the earth accelerating as the time of the Lord's return approaches. And what is the earth groaning for?
The revealing of the sons of God.
A Season of Harvest
Both the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul quoted the passage in Joel chapter 2 that speaks of the blood moon and the coming day of the Lord. In Acts 2, the Apostle Peter quoted from Joel 2:32, ending with these words, "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." The Apostle Paul referenced this same portion of scripture in the famous "Romans road" salvation scriptures.
Romans 10:9-10,13 says this: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation...for 'Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' " So we see that Joel chapter 2 points not only to a season of warning, but also to a season of harvest. The blood moon points to a day of salvation!
Hebrews 11 tells us that it was by divine warning that Noah built an ark. In dark days and in a time of judgment, Noah's ark became an instrument of salvation. This is the calling of the Church. In a season of divine warning, we are to prepare an ark—an ark of redemption and an ark of His presence. An ark that will be an instrument of salvation in a time of judgment!
In dark days, it is the children of light who will point many to Christ. As the sons of God are revealed, the earth's salvation is near (Romans 8:19-22). Our assignment in this season is simple: to warn and to gather souls. Just as animals were gathered and brought into the ark, so the Spirit of God is gathering souls to be brought into an ark of refuge.
Lift Jesus Higher, Lift Jesus Higher!
As the horsemen approach and the storm clouds gather, our message should be this: "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!" God has given us the privilege of drawing others to Him. As we lift Jesus higher, proclaiming His name, He will draw all men to Himself. The great harvest of souls is coming!
Second Corinthians 5:18-19 tells us we are ministers of reconciliation. So we must remember in the season of divine warning that our calling is not to bring judgment and condemnation, but to prepare an ark that will save from that judgment and condemnation. It's easy to call out warnings about all the evil we see around us. But it's a lot more work to be an ark builder. Might I be so bold to say, if you are not actively preparing for a harvest of salvation, then maybe the warning is for you!
Remember His Covenant, Examine Your Heart
As I write this, it is now the Feast of Pentecost, also known as Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks. This feast, along with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (recently passed in April) and the Feast of Tabernacles which occurs in the September/October time frame, are times of remembrance and examination for the people of Israel. They are a time to remember God's covenant and His faithfulness, and to examine where the people stand in relation to God, both as individuals and as a nation.
God has been faithful to us. He is committed to us. His promises are yes and amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). As we remember this—as we remember His faithfulness, His covenant and His promises—let us examine our hearts. Are we faithful to Him? Are we committed to Him? Do we honor Him with our lips, while our hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13)? Let us humble ourselves before Him in this season of warning. Let our hearts be quick to heed His call. Let our lives be first to reap a harvest of righteousness.
It is only when our lives are in alignment with Him that we can be positioned as those who will herald His coming. It is only when the warning is no longer for our own hearts that we can be those who effectively labor in the fields of harvest. So, in this dual season of warning and harvest, may we be single-minded in our focus, our purpose and our covenant with Him.
Doug Stringer is an internationally known conference speaker, the founder of Somebody Cares and Turning Point Ministries International, and the author of several books, including Somebody Cares: A Guide to Living Out Your Faith.
Wednesday's lunar eclipse will create a 'blood' moon
The second and final lunar eclipse of the year will bring a blood moon that promises to be bigger and brighter than the first. (USA TODAY, USA TECH)
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY5:53 a.m. EDT October 7, 2014
The second — and final — total lunar eclipse of 2014 will occur early Wednesday morning, just before sunrise in the Eastern Time Zone and in the middle of the night on the West Coast.
The moon will appear a coppery red, so it's been called a "blood" moon. It'll look red because of all the sunsets and sunrises from the Earth that will reflect onto the lunar surface. (During the eclipse, although it's completely in the shadow of Earth, a bit of reddish sunlight still reaches the moon.)
You don't need special glasses or gizmos to view it, unlike a solar eclipse, so feel free to stare directly at the moon. Binoculars or a telescope would improve the view.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and the full moon form a nearly straight line so that the full moon passes through Earth's shadow, called the umbra.
"The eclipse will only be visible in its entirety from parts of eastern Australia, New Zealand, eastern Asia, most of Japan, the Hawaiian Islands and the western part of North America," according to Slooh.com.
Officially, the total eclipse will start at 6:25 a.m. ET (5:25 a.m. CT, 4:25 a.m. MT and 3:25 a.m. PT) and continue until 7:24 a.m. ET (4:24 a.m. PT).
If you're in the central or western parts of the USA, you'll see the total eclipse high in a dark sky well before sunrise, according to Sky and Telescope.
The lunar eclipse from California's Imperial Valley, as captured by contributor Brad Mellon. If you missed the total lunar eclipse, there's another one in October. (Photo: Brad Mellon, Your Take)
"Easterners will find dawn brightening and the moon sinking low in the west while the eclipse is in progress," Sky and Telescope reports. The moon will set during the eclipse in the East.
Unfortunately, clouds and rain may limit viewing of the eclipse in the heavily populated northeastern USA as a storm system swings in from the southwest, according to AccuWeather.
Much of the southern and central USA will have clear viewing under clear or partly cloudy skies. However, thick clouds and rain could hinder the view of the eclipse over the Southwest.
This full moon is called the Hunter's Moon, which is the full moon that occurs after the Harvest Moon.
The next lunar eclipse will be April 4, 2015.
If you're more into solar eclipses, there will be a partial one visible in parts of the USA later this month, on Oct. 23.
But the next total solar eclipse that's visible in the USA won't be until Aug. 21, 2017.