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God still loves and has a plan for the Jewish people

May 30, 2017

Jerusalem

This year — 2017 — is in many ways a critical time for Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

June 7 marks the 50th anniversary of the recapture of the Old City of Jerusalem by Jewish military forces in the 1967 Six-Day War — the first time the Holy City of God had been completely in Jewish hands in almost 2,000 years.

2017 also is being celebrated as a 50th Jubilee Year in Jerusalem. And it happens to be the 50th anniversary of the US founding of Jewish Voice Ministries International.

It’s particularly important that May-June is the time of Shavuot (Pentecost) in the Jewish calendar. Shavuot — also called the Festival of Weeks — celebrates God’s giving of the Law to the Jewish people through Moses.

Shavuot is recognized as the time when God confirmed His pledge of commitment to the Jewish people. Many Jewish scholars see it as a kind of “wedding anniversary” of the relationship between God and His people.

This “wedding anniversary” of Shavuot is an affirmation that God was and is committed to a continuing relationship with the Jewish people.

And down through history, God has repeatedly demonstrated His commitment to this relationship . . .

  • First by calling Abraham and his descendants to be His chosen people
  • By the miracle of the Exodus, when God brought the Israelites up out of slavery in Egypt
  • Through the giving of the Law through Moses at Mt. Sinai, as celebrated at Shavuot
  • By the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Yeshua on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • And most recently, through the fulfillment of historic prophesies regarding Israel and Jerusalem

All these events point to the great truth that God still loves and has a plan for the Jewish people, for as Paul — referring to the Jewish people — says in Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

And these events remind us of the need for the Jewish people to fulfill their relationship with God by reclaiming the Messiah and coming to a saving knowledge of Yeshua.

And we who already have accepted Yeshua as Savior, whether Jewish or Gentile, now share in the covenant commitment God gave to and through the Jewish people. Because of that, we now have a responsibility to share the Good News with the world, most especially with the Jewish people who have not yet realized that Yeshua was and is the Messiah they have long awaited.

Jewish Voice Ministries International exists to fulfill this goal — to bring Jewish people to recognize Yeshua as Messiah and to accept Him as Savior.

We do this in many ways. Some of our efforts are directly evangelistic. But most often, we tell Jewish people about Yeshua in the context of caring for their physical needs.

For example, we’re now well into our annual “season” of humanitarian medical clinics among Jewish people in Africa. Jewish Voice works actively in Africa because tribal history and practices, together with genetic testing, demonstrate that many tribes in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere are, in fact, of Jewish ancestry — descended from the original Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Many of these Jewish descendants are poor and live in remote areas, with little access to medical care or other basic services. Some are isolated from the surrounding culture, ostracized because of their uniquely Jewish worship and cultural practices.

And all of them are in need of help!

That’s why God has called Jewish Voice Ministries to show His love for these, His people, by providing:

  • Water purifiers to fight disease
  • Medical care for people who have little or no access to doctors
  • Dental care to alleviate pain and save lives threatened by infections
  • Eye care for people who are blind or have limited sight, giving them back their sight by treating cataracts, trachoma, and vitamin A deficiency

These humanitarian ministries are critically important in themselves, and are in obedience to Yeshua’s command that we care for the needs of hurting people. Without the Jewish Voice medical clinics, many of these Jewish people simply would have to continue to live with pain, disease, and blindness.

But — as important as this help is — we are especially committed to meeting these physical needs so we may gain the opportunity to tell these Jewish people about Yeshua the Messiah.

Every patient treated at a Jewish Voice clinic is invited to receive prayer and hear the Good News of Yeshua. To date, the number of people served by our medical clinics is approaching 400,000, while thousands of our patients have reclaimed their Messiah by professing faith in Yeshua!

But none of this would be possible without the prayers and financial support you and other caring partners provide.

This Shavuot season, at this special time when so much is reminding us of God’s plan for the Jewish people, would you give to help them find and reclaim their Messiah?

Would you help share Yeshua with Jewish people who desperately need to hear the Good News, while also helping ease their physical pain?

The average cost of medical, dental, or eye care services through Jewish Voice clinics is only $30 per person. And when Jewish people come for treatment, we have the opportunity to share Yeshua, pray for them, and help them reclaim their Messiah.

If you can give a gift of any size now, I would be pleased to send you a copy of my book A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days. In this book, I draw from both the Old and New Covenant Scriptures to explain the meaning of many of today’s events, and what role each of us has in the End Times.

In addition, if you can give at least $100, I’ll also send you a beautiful reproduction of the Scripture scroll of the book of Ruth. This is especially appropriate now, as the Megillat (scroll) of Ruth is traditionally read aloud at Shavuot. Full of vivid art based on Ruth and both Hebrew and Greek biblical texts, this is a fascinating limited-edition reproduction of a parchment scroll.

NOW is the time for us to share Yeshua with the Jewish people. We must tell them of God’s ultimate plan for them, and help them reclaim their Messiah. Please give generously.

Thank you for your compassion and faithful support, and may God bless you.

 


 

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Shavuot – God Gives

May 25, 2017

Shavuot Greeting

Shavuot – God Gives

 

Shavuot (shah-voo-ote) is one of the seven biblically mandated feasts of Israel. There is to be a holy gathering and no regular work on this day. It is one of the three pilgrimage feasts commanded by God in Deuteronomy 16:16 in which all Jewish men were required to travel to Jerusalem to present their sacrifices to the priests for taking before the Lord.

 

Several names

Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, First Fruits, Harvest Feast, Pentecost. The Jewish holiday that falls on the 6th day of the Hebrew month Sivan goes by several names.

 

Shavuot and the Feast of Weeks

In Leviticus chapter 23, the Israelites were instructed to count seven Sabbaths, seven weeks, from the Sunday after Passover and then bring their offerings. Because the feast’s date is identified by this counting of weeks from Passover, it is called the Feast of Weeks. In Hebrew, the word Shavuot means “weeks.”

 

First Fruits and Harvest Feast

In biblical times, the holiday commemorated the completion of the wheat harvest. It was a time to give thanks to God for His sustaining provision of another harvest. The unique instruction of God for this moed (appointed time) is to offer, along with other burnt offerings, a sacrifice of two loaves of bread baked with hametz, or leaven. Because it is a gift from the first of the grain harvest, Shavuot is also called the Day of First Fruits or the Harvest Feast.

 

Pentecost

Pentecost means “fiftieth” and Shavuot was designated for the Sunday after the seventh Shabbat, or the fiftieth day, from Passover. It was on Shavuot fifty days after Yeshua’s (Jesus’) death and resurrection, and when all Israel was gathered in Jerusalem for this pilgrimage feast, that God miraculously gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in Believers. For this reason, Shavuot is also called Pentecost and Messianic Jews celebrate the gift of God’s Spirit with Believers.

 

Wheat in burlap sack on table

 

Today

The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and the Jewish people were again dispersed throughout the world.  With this, the observance of these appointed times changed. According to the book of Exodus, the giving of the Torah coincides closely with the timing of Shavuot. In the absence of a Temple at which to make sacrifices, today Shavuot commemorates God giving the Torah to His people at Mount Sinai.

 

When God gave the Torah, He revealed more of Himself to the children of Abraham. The people were able to know so much more about the glorious God they served. Following His commandments as given at Sinai set them apart and identified them as His people.

 

Today, Jewish Shavuot celebrations center on reading the Torah. The tradition is to stay up all night long studying it, reciting the Ten Commandments at dawn, and going to synagogue for a service with more readings.

 

His Law in our hearts

 

In Sinai, God wrote His law on tablets of stone. In Jeremiah 31:31-32, He declared there would come a day when He would write His Law upon our hearts. He fulfilled this prophecy on the Shavuot after Yeshua’s death when His Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire upon the gathered Believers of Acts chapter two. Henceforth, He imparts His Spirit to dwell within every new Believer.

 

Messianic Jews and Shavuot

 

Messianic Jews recognize that through the Torah we see our need for a Savior, and that led us to Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:24). At Shavuot, we celebrate God reaching down into human history to reveal Himself through the Torah and also the gift of His very presence with all Believers through His Holy Spirit.  It is a time to dedicate ourselves afresh to growing in His Word and the Spirit, gratitude for His provision, and rejoicing in His presence.

 

What is the Meaning of Shavuot?

Let's see how much you know about this Holiday and what it represents!

Jerusalem Day – She Was There

May 22, 2017

Pray Jerusalem

 

Jerusalem Day - She Was There

Chira had no idea her love for the Jewish people would land her smack in the middle of the Six-Day War in Jerusalem. As a new Believer, she had discovered God’s covenant love for the Jewish people, and they quickly secured a treasured place in her heart as well. She left her native Finland to work at a Finnish boarding school in Jerusalem.  Though bomb shelters and safe rooms had been required by law for every building in Israel since 1951, Chira probably never imagined herself scrambling into one as a fierce war screamed around her.

At the school, Chira was responsible for feeding 30-some students as well as adults. Those responsibilities continued once everyone entered the reinforced safety of the shelter. While airstrikes and artillery boomed above them, the school family hid out together. They didn’t know how long they would have to stay hunkered down and had no idea what the results of the war would be. Chira recalled, “We were lying on the floor in the bomb shelter wondering, ‘Do you think we are in the kingdom of Jordan or are we in the kingdom of Israel?’”

Background to the Six-Day War

In the Independence War in 1948, Jordan captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In 1950, they brazenly annexed them as part of Jordan. In 1967, tensions between Israel and the neighboring Arab countries grew increasingly volatile, particularly at the Syrian border to the northeast. From the Golan Heights, Syrian snipers frequently fired down on Israeli farmers below. In April of 1967, Syrian gunners fired on an Israeli tractor farming in the demilitarized zone, and a skirmish ensued. Israel ultimately responded with airstrikes on Syrian military positions and nearby villages.

Several weeks later, Egypt gained false information from Russia that Israel was amassing tens of thousands of troops to attack Syria and march into Damascus. Egypt pulled together its military resources and began positioning them in the Sinai Peninsula at Israel’s southern border. With that, Israel had no choice but to reinforce its own troops at the Sinai border. But in doing so, they sent along a message to Egypt saying, “Israel wants to make it clear to the government of Egypt that it has no aggressive intentions whatsoever against any Arab state at all” (Honest Reporting).

Arab hostility

The message failed to calm the adrenaline now coursing through the Arab nations surrounding Israel. Rather, they escalated their efforts, garnered additional allies, and grew feverishly intent on destroying Israel.

Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser declared:

The existence of Israel is in itself an aggression…what happened in 1948 was an aggression – an aggression against the Palestinian people. … (the crisis had developed because) Eshkol threatened to march on Damascus, occupy Syria, and overthrow the Syrian regime. It was our duty to come to the aid of our Arab brother. We will not accept any…coexistence with Israel…. Today, the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel…. The war with Israel is in effect since 1948 (The Six-Day War, Honest Reporting).

Cairo radio carried caustic messages that inflamed the already volatile situation including, “The Zionist barrack in Palestine is about to collapse and be destroyed. Every one of the hundred million Arabs has been living for the past 19 years on one hope – to live to see the day Israel is liquidated…. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is a total war which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence” (The Six-Day War, Honest Reporting).

To the south, east, and north Israel faced roughly 200,000 Arab forces fidgeting with zealous readiness to charge through her borders at any moment. With additional troops to draw from, the Arab alliance outnumbered Israel in soldier-power and had the upper hand with more weapons, tanks, and aircraft as well. Pressed, Israel determined its best defense was offense. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a surprise attack on Egypt’s air force destroying most of it in just a few hours (The Six-Day War, Honest Reporting).

Jordan engages

Israel appealed to Jordan to stay out of the conflict, but Jordanian military in Tel Aviv repeatedly barraged Jerusalem with artillery fire. Jordan continued its attacks and overtook the United Nations headquarters in Jerusalem. While Chira and the Finnish school residents hunkered down in their shelter, the war raged outside. Israeli troops fought hard to drive back the Jordanians from Jerusalem. “We didn’t know how the border was shifting,” Chira said. As she pondered what kingdom they were in, with deep trust she concluded: “We are in the kingdom of God.”

Israel victorious

Israel overcame Jordan’s forces, and in so doing retook eastern Jerusalem on June 7th. Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Dayan announced:

This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have united Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to part from it again. To our Arab neighbors we extend, also at this hour – and with added emphasis at this hour – our hand in peace. And to our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples’ holy places, and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety, and to live there together with others, in unity (The Six-Day War, Honest Reporting).

By June 11, the war was over, and for the first time in 2,000 years, Jerusalem was unified under Israel control.

Jerusalem Day

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that historic event. On the 28th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (May 24, 2017, beginning the evening of May 23), Israel and Jewish people the world over will celebrate Jerusalem Day. Ceremonies and festivities across the nation will commemorate the victory, honor the heroes, and entertain celebrants gathered together all throughout Israel.

Prophetic Significance

It has been fifty years since Jerusalem was released from Gentile rule.

Fifty has always been a notable number in the Bible. Fifty years marked the biblical jubilee year in which servants were freed, debts released, and all property was returned to its original owners. Fifty days after Passover is the Feast of Shavuot, or Feast of Weeks. It is a pilgrimage feast that Jewish people returned to Jerusalem to observe. Fifty days after the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), on Shavuot, God bestowed the Holy Spirit to dwell within each Believer.

In Luke chapter 21 Yeshua foretold the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem that would take place in 70 A.D. He went on to speak of the turmoil to occur in the Last Days. And He spoke of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).

Chira Kaplan was there

Chira

Chira Kaplan, before she married Jewish Voice founder Louis Kaplan, was there in Jerusalem when it came out of Gentile hands. After spending three days and nights huddled together in the bomb shelter, the residents of the Finnish school emerged to a free Jerusalem.

"When the war was over, we had the privilege of walking to the Wailing Wall with the throngs of Jewish people who went into the Old City while there were still snipers, but there were soldiers along the way to protect us. It was the Feast of Shavuot, or Pentecost, a pilgrim feast, and it was very special to be able to experience this moment that Jesus proclaimed when He spoke about the End Times – that Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And now, Jerusalem was united and in the hands of Israel, and we went and experienced the same joy as King David when he wrote in a psalm, 'I rejoiced when they said, "Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates O’ Jerusalem"' (Psalm 122:2).

Another fifty-year story

The restoration of Jerusalem to Israel heightened interest in the fledgling nation at the same time the Jesus Movement was drawing many Jewish young people to the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua. It hardly seems a coincidence that just six months before the epic results of the Six-Day War, God led Louis Kaplan, a Messianic Jewish Believer, to launch a ministry focused on reaching Jewish people with the Gospel. The year 2017 marks not only the 50th anniversary of a free Jerusalem but the 50th anniversary of Jewish Voice Ministries as well.

Jonathan Bernis is leading a Jewish Voice tour to Israel during which some 300 guests will join the festivities on Jerusalem Day. Together they’ll celebrate with Israel the jubilee anniversary of Jerusalem’s liberation; prophecy fulfilled and God’s ultimate plan of redemption; His heart to see all Israel saved; and also how He has called JVMI to be a part of bringing that to fruition.
 

PRAY  FOR ISRAEL INFOGRAPHIC 


Congratulations Israel!

Jerusalem Day

Encouraging News out of the Middle East

May 18, 2017

There’s encouraging news out of the Middle East this week. As a friend of Jewish Voice Ministries, you’ll want to know what’s going on, I’m sure.
 

Here’s the latest…

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan’s King Abdullah, and other Muslim leaders to join his meeting with President Trump in Riyadh this weekend. Abbas has reportedly agreed to attend.

The meeting is now shaping up to be a sort of Middle East summit that will kick off the President’s first foreign tour since taking office. He’ll also visit Israel and the Vatican.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Saudi-hosted “Arab, Islamic, and American Summit” is expected to address key problems in the Middle East and open a dialogue about forging new security partnerships.

Observers had earlier been quoted in The Times of Israel as saying the meeting suggests three goals: building partnerships in the Muslim world against terrorism, laying groundwork for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and constructing an anti-Iranian coalition.

Meanwhile, Abbas is reportedly preparing to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump in Jerusalem next week, following the Saudi gathering.

At a press conference in Ramallah, Abbas said, “We affirmed to [President Trump] that we are ready to cooperate with him and meet the Israeli prime minister under his auspices in order to make peace.”

That’s encouraging. But will it actually lead to a meaningful peace discussion? Though I so want to be optimistic, there’s good reason to be skeptical. The PA has said it wants peace. But the terror group continues to use each cease-fire, each peace summit, each opportunity as a “time-out,” during which it replenishes its arms stockpile, reloads its rocket launchers, and digs more attack tunnels into Israel.

For the past eight years, Abbas has stubbornly held to two key preconditions that have stalled meaningful peace talks: the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and a freeze on West Bank settlement activity and Jewish building in East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu has consistently said he is willing to meet with Abbas, but only if the preconditions are dropped.

Direct talks between Abbas and Netanyahu were rare during the Obama administration. In fact, their last substantive meeting was in 2010.

Still, the White House said late last week that the President will use his trip to work for a “just and lasting peace” between Israel and the Palestinians, including the Palestinian goal of “self-determination.”

U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said the President’s meetings with Israeli leaders are aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations. “He [President Trump] will reaffirm America’s unshakable bond to the Jewish state,” he said.

While Middle East peace prospects have alternated between somewhat possible and absolutely zero dating back to Israel’s birth in 1948, we may have reason to hope that, this time, progress can be made. For the sake of our allies in Israel, the Jewish people we care about so much, and the Muslims we’re called to love in Yeshua’s name, I hope you’ll join me in praying that genuine peace advances across the region. Nothing less than precious lives are at stake.

With your prayers for peace, I hope you’ll strongly consider making a special gift to Jewish Voice. We need you to stand with us. Your partnership is what moves this ministry forward.

Through your generosity, you share healing and hope with Jewish people in need worldwide. Without you, we can’t deliver humanitarian aid (medical, dental, and eye care), the Gospel, discipleship, leadership development at Messianic congregations in Africa, or clean water.

You provide the encouragement, the prayers, and the financial support that make it happen. And I thank you sincerely.

To show our appreciation for your gift of $40 or more today, we’ll send you a set of books that will inform and inspire you. You’ll receive the book 10 Amazing Muslims Touched by God, containing stories of Muslims coming to faith in Yeshua (Jesus). You’ll also get the history-packed booklet Is Peace Possible? to help you sort out the facts about the Middle East conflict. Each book will serve to help you share with others about how God is moving in history and revealing Himself as Savior.

Thank you again for your support and prayers — and God bless you.

 

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Who We Are

May 08, 2017

Israel Who we are

Shalom! As you likely know, the word shalom means “peace.” Did you know that the word also means “completeness” or “prosperity”? That’s why it is a wonderful greeting! Although we haven’t met, I wish you shalom, and would like to introduce myself and the ministry I serve.

My name is Jonathan Bernis; I am CEO and President of Jewish Voice Ministries International. I am also a Jewish man who has recognized the truth that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the hope and salvation of all mankind. I have been called by Yeshua (Jesus) to share the truth of His love and mercy by serving at Jewish Voice Ministries, a ministry founded in 1967, and celebrating 50 years of ministry very soon. It is amazing what miraculous works God has done in and through Jewish Voice so far and we are really looking forward to what He has in store for us!

Want to do more
right now?

Our mission at Jewish Voice Ministries International is from Romans 1:16 where the apostle Paul states, “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

We are living in very exciting times, watching God miraculously open the eyes of the Jewish People to their Messiah (Jesus) in fulfillment of a prophecy written by the apostle Paul in Romans 11 verses 25 and 26, “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved...”

This passage clearly tells us that the Lord has ordained a set time in history for the blindness to come off the eyes of the Jewish People in anticipation of the day when all Israel is saved. I believe we are living in those days. Now is the time God has ordained for the restoration of the Jewish People in preparation for the return of the Messiah. Jewish Voice is so grateful to be included in God’s plan to proclaim the Good News to the Jew first and also to the Nations.

We have a tremendous sense of urgency surrounding our calling and believe that ministries like ours that are focused on reaching God’s Chosen People are destined to move into central focus as the Church understands the role Israel and the Jewish People play in the Last Days preceding the return of the Messiah.

It is because of this urgent call that we have developed a global mission and multi-faceted approach to outreach using television, print, and online media, as well as on-the-ground medical and humanitarian outreaches in remote parts of the world reaching the “Lost Tribes of Israel” that God is gathering back to Himself. I invite you to connect with us in the ways showing in the sidebar to the right. Through them, you will discover the miraculous ways God is at work around the globe using Jewish Voice Ministries to be His hands and feet. I hope you are encouraged by the amazing ways God is working in the world.

Shalom – prosperity and peace to you

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