Ezekiel 28 - 25
Thus says the Lord God
"When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered,
and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles,
then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob.
And they will dwell safely there, build houses and vineyards;
yes they will dwell securely, when I execute judgements on all those around them who despise them.
Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
A few years ago I found myself browsing through a Christian mail order music catalogue having decided to send a small token of appreciation to a fellow Christian I had discovered was an advocate for Christian Friends of Israel. Integrity Europe was promoting the C.D The Road to Jerusalem and I considered this might be appropriate. When the album arrived I thought it prudent to listen to a few tracks before sending it on.
Kadosh (HOLY) by Susana Allen is without question the most beautiful rendition I have ever heard
and it was my introduction to the Jewish music scene which stirs the blood and captures the heart, and yes, makes you want to dance and praise the Lord. It was also the beginning of a very personal journey to the roots of my faith. I can't remember how many copies I purchased over the following months but they all winged their way to fellow Christians with the same dramatic effect. Mighty is our God who has always used musicians, writers and poets to reach his children.
Now I needed to search for the history of a people who for centuries had been persecuted and reviled for
the murder of the Christ. It was not a people but the religious leaders of the day who engineered the death of an innocent man whose very preaching they considered threatening and dangerous. Pharisees, monarchs, governments and denominations have happily disposed of any man challenging their leadership and authority. Perhaps today, at least in the western world it would be less dramatic, maybe the accusation of being mentally impaired, dysfunctional, quietly missing, an unexplainable death. In the dark corners of the Middle East the cry remains, death to the infidels, Christian and Jew alike and for those who leave Islam to follow Christ, decapitation. But we have to remember many in the past have been murdered in the equally blood history of the church.
The internet is a wonderful search engine. There is no excuse for ignorance, seek and you shall find at the touch of a keyboard. I decided to search for a historical Jesus outside scripture and I found the evidence when I entered the name Flavius Josephus Matityahu the first century Romano/Jewish historian and hagiographer who was credited by many to be the first to record the earliest history of Jesus Christ outside of the gospels. Although he also mentions James his brother, strangely he does not mention Peter, Paul or any of the twelve apostles.
Further delving revealed there is no letter J in the Hebrew alphabet. The letter J was unknown in any alphabet until the early 14th century. In the 1611 version of the KJV of the bible the Lord was Iesous
and James his brother Iames but the Jews called their Messiah Yahshua. Yah - part of their Hebrew name for God - Yahweh and shua - meaning salvation or deliverance. Yeshua HaMashiach - Jesus the Messiah is the translation more commonly used.
Further discussion with a fellow Christian led me to "Sound Doctrine for the Remnant" Two dedicated
servants of the Lord aware of the growing apostasy in the Church had compiled a library of teaching by various bible expositors. FREE OF CHARGE. Blessed by their obedience to Matthew 10 I now had access to the teaching of the late great Dwight Pryor, Jacob Prasch and David Hocking to mentioned just a few. Studio Scotland Limited produced The Daniel Project accurately pointing to biblical prophesy that has already taken place.
In the growing Apostasy that is moving towards one church under Rome there is confusion and misinterpretation of scripture some teach that the Jesus they proclaim removed Israel from the picture. The sheep are very obviously being led astray. One fellow Christian commented
"In its missionary zeal the church has dishonoured our Lord, the Jew, Yeshua and has demeaned and even demoralised its brothers and sisters after the flesh, the Jewish people - all in the name of Jesus's love.
John Wycliffe one of the earliest opponents of Papal authority prophesied the future and was charged with blasphemy, pride and heresy. He considered the Pope and the Antichrist practically equivalent concepts. Bible translation was widely diffused in the 15th century. The NVJ borrowed heavily from Wycliffe New Testament translation. Thankfully the church has little power today whereas in the dark past any challenge to their leadership would probably have resulted in death by fire as a heretic, although they still find subtle ways to rid themselves of disruptive elements in both clergy and congregation.
Religion
Flinging wide the heavy doors
smooth and cold the marble floors.
Precious relics glisten,
frozen angels listen,
statues view the empty pews.
In finery and rank they move
to their appointed place,
blank stares on each pasty face.
Bloody history whispers in the dark
on this place it leaves its mark.
Shining in the murky drizzle, hidden by the pageantry.
seeking the broken, bruised and lonely,
their church the street, their faces unnoticed,
precious sons and daughters scatters seeds of love and hope.
Talitha Hills
2003
Scripture reveals salvation is to the Jew and then the Gentile. A person is born a Jew but accepting Christ he/she becomes a Messianic Jew and thousands are turning to the Messiah they missed. A Christian cannot become a Jew. We are blessed and privileged to be grafted into vine. We are not the root. We have acquired our salvation through our Jewish Messiah THE high priest of the church and no man take can take role.
The ugly face of anti.semitism and ethnic cleansing still rages in dark corners of our world. Death to the Jew and Christian labelled infidels. In this once Christian country the Balfour Declaration has been broken twice and political elements support further division. Beware the God of Abraham - he will not be mocked. As Keren Pryor so beautifully penned "The footsteps of our Messiah and King are drawing rapidly nearer. May we indeed be ready and prepared to meet our beloved bridegroom Yeshua.
The Lord will return, not to the hallowed corridors of Canterbury, Lambeth Palace or Rome, but to Mount Zion His Holy city. Those who truly follow Him have nothing to fear. Those who are blind and deaf will see His glory and bow the knee. Our Holy God will never break His covenant with His chosen people - Israel.
I continue to follow my Hebrew Lord believing I can only petition and pray for as the book of Zechariah 4 - 6 teaches
NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER,
BUT BY MY SPIRIT.
SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS.
Perhaps the beautiful interpretation of Steve Merkel's - Even so - by Paul Wilber on his album Lion of Judah say it all:
Even so, Even so,
Even so Yeshua come
All creation cries for the returning of our King
Come and take your place on your throne Jerusalem.
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