As Prophetic Words Rise About 2017's Rosh HaShanah, Here's What You Need to Know About This Holy Day - SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION CHARISMA NEWS

On Rosh HaShanah, Jews dip apple slices into honey and say a prayer asking God for a sweet new year. (Pixabay/cstpdx)

As Prophetic Words Rise About 2017's Rosh HaShanah, Here's What You Need to Know About This Holy Day

 9/19/2017 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION  CHARISMA NEWS

Last week, Israelis began excitedly preparing for Rosh HaShanah, the secular Jewish New Year. As you may know, Israel observes two main New Year's. According to Exodus 12:2, the new year which God gave us starts in the spring. The secular or civil New Year's celebrated the first day of the seventh month ("Tishrei").

Rosh HaShana literally means "Head of the Year." The holiday falls this year on Sept. 20-22. It is traditionally celebrated with liturgical worship, merry greetings and gatherings, gift-giving and sounding the shofar. A hearty consumption of apples and honey symbolizes hopes for a sweet new year. Prophetic words about the upcoming year (which will be 5778) now add to the mix, as more and more Christians celebrate this special day.

It is good that Gentile followers of Messiah are engaging in the biblically Hebraic roots of our faith. We Messianic Jews encourage your authentic celebration of the feasts. What you may not know, however, is that some of the most critical, biblical aspects of Rosh HaShana are overlooked by many Jews and Christians due to a focus on extra-biblical traditions. Restoring the purity of God's appointed day in your celebration could bring even greater blessing to you, others—and Him.

What are some ways we can restore the foundations of this week's feast known as Rosh Hashanah? First, Rosh HaShanah as the Jewish new year is not a biblical feast. It is not mentioned or even directly referenced in the Scriptures. The feast that is commanded on what has been popularized as Rosh HaShanah is actually the day of blasting trumpets (Num. 29:1) or according to Leviticus 23:24, memorial of trumpet blasting. The Hebrew name for the day is Yom Teruah.

There is reason to believe Rosh HaShanah was likely observed by the ancient Israelites. It developed as a major holiday during the Jewish exile in Babylon in order to accommodate the pagan culture in which Israel had become immersed. Eventually, it overshadowed any national emphasis on the new year God actually designated for His people, which is the first day of the first month, called "Nissan." Unfortunately, Rosh HaShanah also eroded much of the significance of Yom Teruah. This is reflected in the fact Yom Teruah is the only feast rarely called by its biblical name. So to start, to help restore the pure essence and meaning of the day, Rosh HaShanah ought rightly be called, and observed as, Yom Teruah.

One rationale for the replacement of Yom Teruah with Rosh HaShanah, and resulting new year focus, is the rabbinic belief that Yom Teruah marks either the creation of the world, or of Adam and Eve, or both. (Believing in both could impact the meaning of seven "days" of creation.) This is based partly on a complex, mystical word play on the first word of Scripture, bereishit. In any case, I believe we would do best to call the day as God calls it, namely, a day to sound trumpets:

In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you will have a holy assembly. You will do no ordinary work. It is a day of blowing the trumpets for you. You will offer a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord ... [a] grain offering] ... [and other offerings] made by fire to the Lord" (Num. 29:1-6).

In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath, a memorial with the blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work, and you shall offer a food offering made by fire to the Lord (Lev. 23:23-25).

According to the Scriptures, God wants us to honor what we call Rosh HaShanah as a Sabbath. Instead of our usual daily work, we are to gather in holy assembly with His people. He instructs us to make temple offerings and sacrifice, but thankfully, the atonement of Yeshua fulfills this command. In Yeshua, we are to approach Yom Teruah (and everyday) with a spirit of sacrificial surrender: "I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God" (Rom. 12:1). Perhaps most importantly, the Scriptures say God wants us blasting trumpets loudly and repeatedly throughout the day. According to tradition, the shofar was (and is) sounded in Israel 100 times.

Understanding certain Hebrew nuances of the name Yom Teruah can help us grasp deeper realities of the day. The Hebrew word which is translated "sound trumpets" or "blow trumpets" in Numbers 29 and Leviticus 23 is teruah. According to Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew root for teruah means (1) to disfigure or shatter by breaking; (2) to split ears by loud noise, such as by shouting for joy, sounding an alarm or intense crying and (3) loud destruction or triumph. Based on the root meanings of teruah, Yom Teruah can be translated as a day of loud clamor or noise, loud acclamations of joy, piercingly loud alarms, shattering battle cries and jubilee. This is significant!

Collectively, the Hebrew meanings of teruah describe kingdom breakthrough. Not just humankind, but the earth and spirit realms may be affected by the ear-piercing cries, wails and triumphant declarations and decrees released this day through the shofar. One (admittedly exra-biblical) possibility is that heaven's shofars are sounded over the earth realm on Yom Teruah. As we come into agreement with the declarations and decrees of YHVH by likewise blowing trumpets, His kingdom on earth is released in greater measure.

When Yom Teruah was divinely instituted, the Israelites would have associated shofar blasting with their first and only direct, national encounter with YHVH. The literal heaven- and earth-shaking encounter took place at Mount Sinai. After a great and mighty shofar blast, God gave His people the gift of His holy Law (Ex. 19:13, 16-19; 20:18). Therefore, to the ancient Israelites, Yom Teruah would have served as a memorial—but also reaffirmation or renewal—of divine covenant: "If you will faithfully obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My special possession out of all the nations ...Then all the people answered together and said, ' All that the Lord has spoken we will do: (Ex. 19:5, 8a). If you, too, are in covenant relationship with God, Yom Teruah can be a special day to remember and reaffirm or renew covenant as the shofar blasts.

Before long, trumpets were associated in Israel with other key events. They were used to call sacred assemblies. They sounded military battle cries to which God promised to respond: "When you go into battle ... sound a blast ... then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies" (Num. 10:1-10). If you assemble (with or without others) before God this Yom Teruah, or are engaged in battle (and who isn't?) why not ask Him to apply trumpet blast victory to your situation?

A final primary purpose of trumpets was to declare the coronation of a king or anointing of a high priest (1 Kings 1:34, 39; 2 Kings 9:13; 11:12-14, 2 Sam. 15:10) Therefore, on Yom Teruah, observant Jews still declare the kingship of YHVH over creation. Yom Teruah is also an ideal time to declare Yeshua as King and High Priest over your life, your nation, Israel and all the earth.

With Yeshua as its focus, Yom Teruah is not just a memorial or new year celebration. It can serve as a prophetic act of intercession, worship, repentance and re-alignment with YHVH. It is also a form of spiritual warfare. "Dream" with me, for a moment. What might possibly happen if on Yom Teruah, Holy Spirit-filled shofar blasting resounded across Israel and the nations? What kingdom breakthroughs could transpire if His people around the world gathered in their respective nations, in unity by the Spirit, and sounded trumpets for a day to affirm covenant with YHVH, declare Yeshua's kingship and posture themselves for Kingdom advance?

In addition to all the above, Yom Teruah is a prophetic foreshadow of Messiah's return and resurrection of the dead. When Yeshua comes to earth, heaven's trumpets will sound loudly (1 Thess. 4:16-17, 1 Cor. 15:52, Matt. 24:30-31). Some believe that on a future Yom Teruah, followers of Yeshua will be caught up in the air to meet Him. Others say Yom Teruah is the day on which He will physically return to judge humankind. Still others say both could take place simultaneously.

Observant Jews who do not believe in Yeshua (and some who do) have traditionally regarded Yom Teruah as a day of judgment. It is said that heaven contains books in which every person's words and deeds are recorded. There are also books of life and death, and all are opened on Yom Teruah. On Yom Teruah, God carefully reviews the books. Some rabbis believe Satan is given access to heaven's court on Yom Teruah. There he stands and accuses humankind, proverbially throwing the book at us. God hears Satan's case, then gives us 10 days to repent of our sin. Ten days later He closes the books and seals our destiny for the upcoming year. The day of sealed or final judgment is known as Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26)

Such a scenario could well foreshadow the end of this age. After followers of Yeshua are caught up to join Him in the marriage supper of the Lamb, those remaining will have 10 days, so to speak, to turn to God before they are judged. If this is so, the trumpet call this Yom Teruah offers an ideal time to praise God for the gift of forgiveness of sin and to pray for the salvation of others. He desires that none perish, but that all gain everlasting life. Pray especially for Israel's salvation as our people gather in synagogues this Yom Teruah, read His Word and leave hoping to be inscribed in God's book of life.

Yom Teruah is a day to hear, and then do, what the Spirit is saying through the shofar. It is a day to engage with fresh revelation of and from God. It is a day to celebrate a fresh start—and new year, if you will. I encourage you to eat the scroll that is trumpeted on Yom Teruah, and then, feel free to enjoy your apples and honey, too! 

Sandra Teplinsky has been in Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president and founder of Light of Zion, a Messianic outreach to Israel and the church based in Jerusalem.

This article originally appeared at lightofzion.org.

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The Prophetic Significance of This Year's Purim Intercessory Fast - SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION CHARISMA NEWS

A group of young men walk to a synagogue during the celebrations of the Jewish festival of Purim in Stamford Hill in north London, Britain, March 24, 2016. (Reuters/Neil Hall)

The Prophetic Significance of This Year's Purim Intercessory Fast

3/10/2017 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION  CHARISMA NEWS

The biblical feast of Purim ("Lots") takes place this year on the evening of March 11-13. The merriest of all Jewish holidays, Purim is based on the book of Esther. As you likely know, the book is an historical account of events that occurred in Persia (modern Iran) approximately 2,500 years ago. At that time, virtually all the Jewish people lived under Persian rule. An unprecedented genocidal death decree was issued against them, which was miraculously overturned.

The story of Esther brims with prophetic meaning and wisdom for today. It contains at least four specific keys to overturning the kingdoms of this world and releasing over them the government of God. These keys are effective at every level of human government, from personal to national and international levels. This Purim season and beyond, God is sharpening and "duplicating" these keys for Purim-like victory in and through His people. He is making them available to "whosoever," or anyone willing to accept them.

Humility

The first key to Purim-like kingdom turnaround is humility. In the book of Esther, two champions arise, Mordecai and Esther. Both are Jews and serve as models of humility. Mordecai is dutifully going about his business when he "just so happens" to save the life of Persian King Xerxes I. For this heroic deed, however, he seeks neither reward nor recognition. Eventually, he is paraded around town in a delayed, and ironic, demonstration of honor. Still, Mordecai takes no glory in the fact his praises are shouted in the streets. Following the hoopla, he immediately resumes his own—and extremely serious—business. By the end of the book, Mordecai is exalted to second in command of the Persian Empire. But consistently he seeks only the good of His people, not his own (Esth. 10:2)

Likewise, Esther displays no pride in her physical beauty, position as queen or final vindication in overriding the genocidal decree. Time and again, she humbly waits on God before she acts. As a result, she is given divine favor and strategy with which to navigate otherwise fiendishly impossible circumstances. "With the humble is wisdom" (Prov. 11:2). And so Esther receives wisdom to bring down ungodly government authorities and systems, replacing them with the government of God. She gains authority to issue decrees which override the enemy's plot to destroy her people. She teaches us much about governmental intercession.

God raises up both Mordecai and Esther, in due season, beyond what they could imagine (1 Pet. 5:6; James 4:10). Because He "crowns the humble with victory," the two come to possess the gates of their enemies (Ps. 149:4). Through them we see how humility—especially as God increases our authority—is prerequisite to honor. We see that humility does not imply lack of boldness or leadership. Rather, the humble of spirit gain honor from God (Prov. 29:23, 15:33).

This Purim and beyond, you can be intentional about humility. Choose to stay low before God and man. Wait on Him to lift you up in due season. Then, however high He takes you, go low again. In this manner, you will be positioned to receive endless grace (Prov. 3:34; James 4:6).

Hiddenness

The second key is to Purim victory is embracing hiddenness—when God brings hiddenness into our lives. Any believer I've known who has walked with the Lord more than a few years has said they've experienced a time when He seems to have hidden from them His manifest presence. At other times, God may choose not to hide Himself from us, but to (somewhat) hide us from others. Either experience is normally hard to embrace.

Perhaps no story in Scripture highlights the embrace of hiddenness like that of Esther. All but one of the main characters in the story are strategically hidden for a period of time: Esther, Mordecai, Vashti and even Haman in the sense that his evil schemes are concealed from the king. God Himself is hidden throughout this intriguing tale in that His name is nowhere mentioned. Esther is the only book in the Bible with no direct reference to YHVH.

Some rabbinic scholars say God's absence in Esther comprises the core message of the book, that of hester panim. Hester panim refers to the concealed face of God and is based on Deuteronomy 31:18. That verse reads, "And I [God] will surely hide My face in that day for all the evil things which they [Israel] shall have done, in that they turned to other gods." The rabbis point out the name "Esther" is actually found in that sentence. In biblical Hebrew, the phrase "surely hide My face" is pronounced "hester ahster panai." If you speak it aloud, you will hear the words sounding almost identical to "Esther, Esther."

As Deuteronomy 31:18 foretells, the Jews of Persia had sadly forsaken the ways and the Word of God. As a result, in love and holiness, He had to hide His face from them for a season. But during that time, God never truly absented Himself from His people. Although it appears He has left the scene, He remains actively engaged behind the scenes. All the while, He very actively works on His people's behalf.

Today, when believers experience periods of God's seeming hiddenness, sometimes that is the result of unrepentant sin. But always it is because God is a good, loving Father. Like any good father, our heavenly Abba disciplines the children He loves. "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be weary of His correction [discipline] ... for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and scourges every son whom He receives" (Prov. 3:11-12).

Some Bible translations substitute the word "discipline" for "correct" in the verse above. That is a fair translation because the meaning of "discipline" is related to that of "disciple." Discipline does not mean punishment. Rather, it suggests discipleship, or dedicated training and instruction. In the Scriptures, God disciplined/discipled His beloved Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David and others. He even disciplined/discipled Yeshua, who learned obedience through suffering (Heb. 5:8). Should we be dismayed or offended when He treats us similarly?

When your heavenly Father disciples you, be encouraged that He is preparing you for kingdom victory. In the recent movie God's Not Dead 2, a Christian school teacher faces the hardest trial of her life. A deeply committed believer, she is greatly troubled because during the ordeal God has hidden Himself from her. She does not sense His presence or hear His voice. Then she is wisely counseled, "As a teacher, you of all people should know that when you give your children a test, you don't engage them or give them the answers" (my paraphrase).

When God disciples you as His child, He is testing you to prove and promote you to the next level. When it appears He has left the scene, He is lovingly working behind the scenes on your behalf. He is preparing you for face to face fellowship with Him throughout all eternity.

Sometimes, rather than hide His manifest presence from you, God may call you to a season of hiddenness—not from Him, but from others. This was the case for Esther, both before and after her appointment as queen. The call, "Come away, My beloved" (Song 2:8) takes you intimate places in God that you can only go alone. The call may last weeks, months or even years. You may feel lonely and misunderstood. But as it was for Esther, hiddenness is intended to transform you. Esther emerged from it matured and emboldened to exercise new levels of governmental authority. God gave her the keys with which to overturn a worldly kingdom to the kingdom of heaven. So it can be for you.

Joy

A third key to kingdom turnaround is joy. The story of Esther contains, from beginning to end, many expressions and lessons on joy.

Ten different banquets or feasts take place in Esther. Half are given by worldly Persian rulers and half are given by Jews. (Esth. 1:2, 5, 9; 2:18; 3:15; 5:5, 8; 8:15-17; 9:18-23) The worldly banquets are characterized by pride, self-indulgence and over-feeding sensual appetites. The Jewish feasts take place in the opposite spirit as God's people rejoice in His glory and victory. They do not overly self-indulge but share their bounty with the poor. According to the Hebrew text, their joy became key to the fact many, many Persians turned to YHVH. (Esth. 8:17) For the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10), and Purim is the most joyful of all the biblical feasts. It is God's appointed time to renew our spiritual, mental and physical strength. This does not mean we muster up our own happiness; instead, we engage intimately with the joy that is in God's own heart. He imparts His personal joy to us. While we can access the joy of His heart any day of the year, I believe He releases unique grace at Purim to celebrate with Him. It is an appointed time to celebrate His victory in your own life, seen and not yet seen, as well as in Esther's.

Rejoicing on Purim can serve as a prophetic intercessory act for the battles ahead. According to Esther 9:22, Purim is remembered as the time the Jews got "relief" or "rest" from their enemies, and their sorrow was turned to joy. Their enemies (Haman and company) were the descendants of Amalek, with whom God said He would wage war from generation to generation (Ex. 17:16). Any reprieve from that war, therefore, is temporary. Rejoicing in the Lord when you experience relief from your enemies renews your strength for battles ahead. As those battles intensify in coming years, His joy will prove increasingly important. Cherish joy!

Prayer and Fasting

A fourth key to Purim victory is that of prayer and fasting. A satanic stronghold was overturned at Purim not only through Esther and Mordecai, but because the Jews turned to YHVH. Recall that in that day, virtually all the Jewish people lived within the vast Persian Empire. Therefore, had Haman's decree been executed as planned, and God not spared His people, the Messiah would not have been born. The Jews were facing off against the spirit of the Antichrist, not just anti-Semitism. Such a battle had to be fought and won in the spirit realm.

As a result, kingdom intercession broke out even before Esther called for her three day fast. When the genocidal decree was issued, Jews across the kingdom turned with desperation to God: "When Mordecai learned of all that had been done...he sent out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly...In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. ... Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai." (Esth. 4:1-4) Only then did she learn what had taken place. Not until verses 15 and 16 did Esther call for a three-day fast. 

Perhaps the Jews (or Jewish remnant) who cried out to God before Esther's fast are unsung heroes in the story. Their repentant and desperate prayers for deliverance may have turned circumstances around as much as Esther's personal appeal to the king.

As in Esther, war wages today in and over the governments of men. This is taking place on a global level as never before. You may not be an Esther or Mordecai in the sense of holding high office in the natural realm. But in the Kingdom of God, you have already been called, authorized and strategically placed into office. You are positioned even now to mediate or intercede between heaven and earth.

Intercessory prayer and fasting is part of every believer's lifestyle, to varying degrees and expressions. For whatever your gifting or destiny may be, you stand in the gap between heaven and earth. Therefore, you are positioned to mediate heaven to earth.

Revivalist Lou Engle writes: "Esther is a prototype of history's hinge: a courageous [individual] who humbly and artfully spoke truth to power. Facing witchcraft and dark conspiracies in Persia's power base, Queen Esther risked her life, armed with nothing but an undying love for her people, a providential position of authority, her own dignity and the secret arsenal of corporate prayer and fasting. Through her, a nation was spared annihilation." So it can be with you! (See Lou's important message here.)

I believe intercessory prayer and fasting serves as the master key to the kingdom of God overtaking the kingdoms of this earth. So this Purim season and beyond, as God's people, let's humble ourselves before Him, embrace hiddenness when He strategically wills it, and stay intentional about rejoicing in Him. Let's turn the master key to His kingdom. Then let's join in the chorus, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Rev. 11:15). Chag Purim Sameach (Happy Purim)! 

Sandra Teplinsky has been in Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president and founder of Light of Zion, a Messianic outreach to Israel and the church based in California and Jerusalem.

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How Hanukkah Empowers Us to Overcome the New Anti-Israel Alignment - SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION CHARISMA NEWS

A general view shows a Star of David near buildings in the Israeli settlement of Maale Edumim, in the occupied West Bank Dec. 28, 2016. (Baz Ratner/Reuters )

How Hanukkah Empowers Us to Overcome the New Anti-Israel Alignment

12/30/2016 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION  CHARISMA NEWS

A day before Hanukkah, U.S. President Obama brokered U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, declaring that Judea and Samaria (including the Western Wall) belong to Palestine. The resolution puts in place putative legal groundwork, lacking until now, for dividing Israel into a Palestinian state.

The exquisitely evil timing of the American ambush against Israel is not unprecedented. Through history, God's enemies have plotted genocidal schemes against the Jews specifically to coincide with biblical holidays. Historically, those schemes backfire. God judges His enemies and more than overcomes them. From a macroview perspective, He actually advances His kingdom to the next phase of global redemption.

Therefore, when the kingdoms of this world rage against Yaweh and His people, we should weep and pray. But we should also be encouraged, for the kingdom of heaven will soon break upon us in a greater, more glorious measure.

Last week's unjust international resolution at Hanukkah (and Christmas) may forebode a new year of extreme difficulty for Israel and the nations. Battle lines have been drawn; kingdoms are clashing. Sadly, the battle may be bloody.

There will likely be serious casualties—and a call for compassionate ministry in response. For this we must be ready. But as God delivered His people over 2,000 years ago at Hanukkah (and Christmas), we must remember He will deliver us again.

The Hope of Hanukkah

Israeli officials say they expect Obama and the U.N. to take further steps to enforce Resolution 2334 before the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president leaves office next month. The next president will be hard pressed to reverse or amend the international resolution or any mechanisms put in place for its enforcement.

He will, however, have authority to redirect America's response to the travesty. We must pray for him to act wisely and rightly so other nations may follow his lead. President-elect Trump faces an unprecedented, worldwide anti-Israel alignment that has just gained exponential momentum. It is possible only a wide-scale military operation can reverse this momentum. (On this I pray I prove wrong.)

Global circumstances at the start of 2017 are reminiscent of those leading to events culminating in the original Hanukkah. Less than 200 years before Messiah's first coming, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV was in power across the Middle East. The crazed conqueror is regarded by Bible scholars as a type of antichrist prophesied in the book of Daniel.

Antiochus IV sought to rule the known world as one people, under one humanist religion. With great arrogance he surnamed himself "Epiphanes," meaning Manifest God. He made it illegal to teach or even speak the Holy Scriptures. With murderous tortures resembling those of ISIS, the devil-driven ruler aimed to destroy all worship of Yaweh. Miraculously, a small band of Jewish priests named the Maccabees militarily resisted and defeated him. Hanukkah celebrates this victory.

The timing of Resolution 2334 last week, ushering in Hanukkah, actually underscores its ultimate defeat. As God raised up a remnant over 2,000 years ago to defeat the anti-Jewish, antichrist spirit, He will do so again. He wants us inspired, infused with faith and empowered for victory. He wants us embracing the hope of Hanukkah.

The Maccabees' Message

The Maccabee remnant stood firm in the grace of Yaweh. Unlike us, they were not indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, they intentionally chose to access the strength, courage and faith residing in us today. They clung tenaciously to righteousness.

Hanukkah's heroes of old loved not their lives unto death. They trusted God as their personal redeemer, despite the limited revelation they had of His salvation. They knew He would use their faithfulness—even martyrdom—for His glory through eternity. Indeed, these saintly ones are collectively memorialized in Hebrews 11:35-39. Their testimony is intended to help us stand firm in these last days.

In Matthew 24, Yeshua (Jesus) connects Hanukkah-related events with the end times antichrist. He shows how Daniel prophesied concerning them both. Prior to His first coming, the antichrist spirit sought to destroy the Jews. Satan's goal was to thwart God's plan of redemption and future, governmental kingdom rule. But the Jews survived. Hanukkah resulted. Messiah King was born not long thereafter.

The antichrist spirit will arise with even greater vengeance before Messiah's Second Coming. Conditions that led to the original Hanukkah will be similar to those resulting at the end of this age. Events at the U.N. last week reflect this prophetic trajectory.

In 2017 and beyond, like the Maccabees, you and I will have opportunity to align in righteousness with the kingdom government that rests on His shoulders (Is. 9:6). In an increasingly anti-Christian/anti-Jewish culture, it will be our Father's good pleasure to impart faith, courage and victory to us.

This new year, I encourage you to align even more intentionally with the government of His kingdom. Execute the authority He gives you for the salvation of Israel and the nations. Choose righteousness and humble boldness. Do not let your love grow cold because of the increase of wickedness around you (Matt. 24:12). And do not keep silent. Remember that no circumstance or decision of yours will be too big or too small to impact according to the rule of His government.

2017 Celebrates Kingdom Advance

God sets times and seasons, giving special meanings to them (Dan. 7:25). One hundred years ago in 1917, Britain's Balfour Declaration formalized the intent to create a Jewish homeland. Seventy years ago in 1947, U.N. Resolution 181 re-established a Jewish state. Fifty years ago in 1967, the City of Jerusalem was restored to Israel. The time frames of 50, 70 and 100 years are biblically significant. 2017 could prove a watershed year for Israel (and the nations) in which your life makes a difference for eternity.

There is reason to believe we are entering a very challenging but also very happy new year.

"Why do the nations rage? ... Blessed are all who seek refuge in Him" (Psalm 2:1, 12). In 2017, put your trust in Him and be blessed! 

Sandra Teplinsky has been in Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president and founder of Light of Zion, a Messianic outreach to Israel and the church based in California and Jerusalem.

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Today's Strange Parallels to Israel's First Passover - SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION CHARISMA NEWS

Today's Strange Parallels to Israel's First Passover

4/12/2016 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION  charisma news

Anti-Semitism is as prevalent today as it was 3,500 years ago under Pharaoh in Egypt. (iStock photo )

Next week Jewish people around the world will celebrate what is likely the most beloved of the Levitical feasts, the Passover. Every year at this time—and now for 3,500 years—we have remembered and engaged with the reality of God's miraculous redemption of our nation.

From generation to generation, His story has become ours. In 2016, however, the back story to Israel's original Passover seems strangely parallel to events today.

Exodus 1 recounts that after Jacob and his sons died in Egypt, the Israelites "became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them." (v.7) The rabbis teach that the ancient Hebrews experienced supernatural fruitfulness and multiplication. But then "a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt" (v.8). As we'll see momentarily, the first known instance of anti-Semitism followed.

Humankind's expression of its seemingly endless hatred of the Jewish people surfaces for the first time in Exodus 1. Now, the biblical text never suggests the Israelites did anything wrong, or in any way sought to harm the Egyptians. All they did was prosper by the blessing of YHVH. Nevertheless, listen to the words of an ancient pharaoh threatened by them for no apparent reason:

• "The Israelites have become much too numerous for us ...
• We must deal shrewdly with them or they will grow even more numerous
• ... they will join our enemies and fight against us." (v.9-10)

The pharaoh's shrewd dealing took the form of harsh slavery. Yet the more the Hebrews were cruelly abused and overworked, the more they multiplied. Therefore, as a last resort or "final solution," Egypt launched a genocidal campaign against them. Every male newborn Hebrew was drowned—until God intervened and delivered His people through very deep waters. (Because God curses those who curse Israel, the Egyptian male army drowned in the Red Sea. The Egyptians who joined with Israel in their exodus journey, He blessed.)

This insight into Passover's back story can help us stand firm against the rise of global anti-Semitism today. A world leader 3,500 years ago came to power who did not know about Joseph. It seems the history of this leader's nation was not especially important to him. As a result, he lacked an historical context with which to judge events taking place in his day. Without this context, the pharaoh elevated his subjective emotional perceptions of what was right or wrong to the level of objective truth. Proud and deceived, he acted out irrationally in that spirit.

When nations dismiss objective fact and moral truth, deception results. Anti-Semitism typically flares up. Through history, the Jewish nation has been targeted as a scapegoat for the ills of a threatened and angry society. Those ills are usually due, however, to that society's own disobedience to God. Sadly, this phenomenon is occurring in much of the world today. Consequently, many do not know (or care) about "Joseph" and his God.

They do not know historical and moral truth about Israel; they do not know Christian history; they do not know YHVH. You and I have a responsibility to reach and teach them, in love. And, to never give up!

The traditional Passover liturgy urges us all to engage with the ancient exodus as if it were our own. Next week, from one generation to the next, we will pass down the story of Joseph and his God. Then, by His grace, we will continue throughout the year to teach others the ways of Yahweh.

Together, let's complete the task to which we've been called. For redemption is coming. May all Israel soon be saved! 

Sandra Teplinsky has been in Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president and founder of Light of Zion, a Messianic outreach to Israel and the church based in California and Jerusalem.

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Discover an Often Neglected Key to Understanding Israel's Land Promise

 7/22/2015 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION   charisma news

The Torah still serves as the foundational holy text. (Wikimedia Commons)

These days, many are uncertain as to how to interpret Israel's land promise in light of the New Covenant. Many are unsure of how to respond to the denial of many Christians that promise still exists.

Sadly, no lack of controversy surrounds the subject. Many important principles of Scripture interpretation come into play. One often neglected key can help.

First, a quick bit of background needs to be set. Scholars generally agree that the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible. The Scriptures themselves teach us how to understand new and inspired revelation in light of earlier text.

The five books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch or Torah, serve as the foundational holy text. The Hebrew prophets and other writers built squarely on that foundation. Their newer writings amplified and applied God's Word, taking it to the next level of redemption history. Sometimes they described new covenants—like those God made through Abraham, Moses and David. Jeremiah described a profoundly new covenant in which God's Word would be engraved in human hearts.

Since the New Covenant is not the first of God's several covenants, how did the ancient writers of Scripture interpret newer covenants in light of earlier ones?

When new revelation was given to biblical authors, they never re-interpreted the pre-existing Word of God to accommodate their new revelation. Rather, new revelation was accepted as divine truth based on what had been previously acknowledged to be true

To qualify as holy canon, no new text could refute or replace the foundational meaning of earlier text. A critical test for judging the divine inspiration of any proposed new writing was its consistency with prior writings. If the proposed passage or scroll or covenant contradicted God's pre-established Word, it disqualified as Holy Scripture. In fact, any new covenant would be primarily interpreted in light of older covenants, never the other way around.

Yeshua and the New Covenant's Jewish authors would have been strongly influenced by this sacred principle. Therefore, when they give fresh meaning to an Old Covenant passage or principle, they build on or amplify, not abolish, the original contextual meaning of that passage or principle. (How many times have you read Scripture only to hear God speak deeper, fresh personal meaning to you each time?) Thus, the Messiah said He came to fulfill, not do away with, the Torah. He is not the terminator, but the perfection, completion and goal of all Hebrew Scripture.

By this principle, God's unconditional land promise to Abraham in Genesis 15, inherited by the Jewish people, still applies to them. Those promises have been amplified by the Mosaic covenant (law) and the prophets. By the New Covenant, they may also apply, on another level, to the metaphorical land of Christian hearts. Meanwhile, some Gentiles may also be called to live in Israel, just as some Gentile have always lived in the Promised Land.

Because the New Covenant was written in light of the Old, confusion results if we reverse that order and interpret the Old Covenant primarily in light of the New. Such an approach amounts to reading the Bible backwards. It almost guarantees the Scriptures will not be rightly understood.

Few of us would read a book by starting two-thirds into it, finish it and then pick up on page one. As an author, I wouldn't be too happy if that's how my writings were read! In this sober hour of history, God wants us to "rightly handle the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). Don't you?

Sandra Teplinsky has been in the Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president of Light of Zion, an outreach to Israel and the church based in Southern California and Jerusalem. She is an ordained minister and prophetic conference speaker, and has written several books and articles about Israel and the church.

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Remember This When You Tirelessly Stand With Israel

 7/9/2015 SANDRA TEPLINSKY/LIGHT OF ZION    charisma news

The relationship between the United States and Israel continues to deteriorate. (iStock photo )

Have you ever needed encouragement in your stance with Israel? You would hardly be human if you didn't.

For example, here is a partial, short list of global events targeting Israel in the past several days, even as the prayers and labors of many continue on her behalf:

1. The United Nations issues unbalanced condemnation against Israel for last year's Gaza War.
2. Palestinians submit war crimes charges against Israel to the International Criminal Court.
3.  The U.S. does not abide by its own law to withhold funding to the Palestinian Authority for submitting the criminal charges.
4. A new U.S. law permits boycott of products from Israel's West Bank—which is consistent with previously stated American intent for Israel to retreat to its 1949 Armistice lines.
5. The U.S. and other nations appear to surrender to Iran's strategy for obtaining nuclear weapons with which to annihilate Israel.
6. The U.S. Supreme Court concludes that West Jerusalem is not inside Israel
7. The Islamic State, aka ISIS, gains a presence inside Israel and issues a threat to overrun it
8. France revives efforts at the U.N. to create a Palestinian state (that would quickly be overrun by the Islamic State) based on 1949 Armistice lines and dividing Jerusalem
9. The large Church of Christ denomination joins the global BDS movement
10. Internationally funded, murderous terror by Palestinians against Israelis escalates during Ramadan. 

Israel is a stand-alone nation, and prophesied to be such, in Numbers 22-24. The Numbers passage takes on special significance this week (July 4-10) according to Jewish tradition. This is because observant Jews read and study set portions of the Hebrew Scriptures appointed for each week of the year.

At the end of a year, the entire Torah will have been read, along with most of the other Hebrew Scriptures. Then the cycle repeats. Numbers 22-24 comprises the reading set for this week. Some Messianic believers note a remarkable convergence of the traditional weekly portions and international events.

In Numbers 23:9, God describes His people as set apart and not "reckoned," or "counted among," or "considered the same as," all other peoples and nations. In context, He is blessing His people through a beautiful prophetic oracle.

But the Hebrew text does not refer solely to God's perspective of Israel. It implies that Israel does not—and should not—consider herself the same as the other nations. Therefore, perhaps we should not be too surprised that she is increasingly isolated, disenfranchised and even scapegoated by the world in these last days.

To be sure, God does not approve of the nations' unjust mistreatment of Israel. He does not want us participating in, or ignoring, that mistreatment. The more the nations curse her, the more He wants His followers from among the nations persevering by grace to bless her. The same passage reminds us, "May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed" (Numbers 24:9).

God will bless you who bless Israel, but that doesn't mean you're exempt from battle or hardship in this life. Blessing, as you know, can be costly. Yet God's rewards are ultimately of much greater value.

So when you find yourself tempted by discouragement in your stance for Israel, turn quickly to Him. Don't let discouragement morph into fleshly anger, or doubting His Word, or love growing cold, or quitting from weariness in doing well.

Instead, interact heart to heart with Yeshua, who was personally tempted by all these things. Tell Him how you feel. (He already knows but verbalizing is powerful.) Worship and praise Him as good, sovereign and victorious. Let the sure hope and beauty of His Word saturate into you. Soak in His Spirit, who is your Helper. And expect God to respond to you.

Maybe He wants simply to strengthen you with His limitless love and joy. Perhaps He wants to tweak your understanding or perspective, or refine you to be more like Yeshua.

Israel is about Him. Remember that neither Israel, nor you or I were ever meant to be "reckoned" among the nations. We have something and Someone much better than that to live for.

Sandra Teplinsky has been in the Messianic Jewish ministry since 1979. She is president of

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