"Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Iranian and Hezbollah forces will not withdraw from Syria until the country is ‘liberated’ and its ‘territorial integrity is restored,’” The Jerusalem Post reported this week.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, rocket sirens blared throughout the early morning hours yesterday in the south, as 45 rockets and mortar shells were reported fired toward Israeli towns, prompting rounds of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas military sites in the Gaza Strip.
At least six rockets fired from the coastal enclave landed inside Israeli communities adjacent to the border, including one that struck just outside a kindergarten, Israeli officials said.
In the last two months, 488 fires were started through kite and balloon terror, destroying 7,166 acres of fields and forests along the border. Finally, in retaliation, the Israeli Air Force responded with the attacks against several known Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
In recent weeks, Israeli jets repeatedly have hit Iran and Hezbollah positions along the Syria-Israel border. In late May, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for all non-Syrian forces to leave the country, vowing to work with the U.S. to protect Israel’s borders with Syria. Then, this week, Iran and Hezbollah refused to pull back.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a non-government organization, reported, “All that has happened is a media withdrawal.”
Hezbollah is a Lebanese militant group and political party founded in 1985 with the two-fold goal of establishing an Islamic government across the Arab world and obliterating Israel. The U.S. State Department labeled it a terrorist organization in 1997.
“We do not want to destroy or kill or throw anyone into the sea,” said Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, responding to Russia’s demand. Speaking to Israeli citizens, he warned, “Get on your planes and boats and go back to the countries you came from. If you insist on the occupation, the day of the great war is coming, the day we will all pray in Jerusalem.”
Author, security consultant and analyst Joshua Gleis wrote for ynetnews.com this week that Hezbollah “has an abundance of sophisticated weaponry from Iran, Syria, China and Russia … the group has more rockets than nearly all NATO countries.”
Additionally, he says, “(Hezbollah) has cooperation and coordination with the (US-backed) Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as well as the Lebanese government. It has a government in Syria that owes it its very existence and which is awash with Iranian Revolutionary Guard ‘advisors’ that sit close to Israel’s borders. It has UAVs and missiles capable of targeting cities, ships and aircraft alike.
”Add to that the years of experience Hezbollah has gained in fighting US-backed forces such as the Kurds as well as terrorist groups such as ISIS, and Israel has itself one seriously formidable foe.”
In the meantime, Israel continues to prepare for war on all sides. Actions have included strengthening relationships with such countries as Saudi Arabia.
“Those who still use the term Israeli-Arab conflict, you are out of date,” said former Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon in a recent security meeting. “There are shared interests that have brought the Sunni Arab camp, led by Saudi Arabia, to be in the same boat with us.”
The enemies of Israel – and, therefore, enemies of God – will be thwarted
God’s will of peace for Israel will be realized
Do you want to know how to pray for Israel in greater detail and depth? Jewish Voice Ministries has put together this Intercessory Prayer Guide for Israel that provides focused, targeted requests to help you pray for the nation of God’s People. We hope this prayer guide can help both Messianic Jews and Christians pray their support for Israel.
1. Formation
Before Yeshua’s death, His earthly ministry focused on Jewish people. He told the Canaanite woman that He “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:21‒28). After His resurrection, He issued the Great Commission, commanding His disciples to take the Gospel into all the world (Matthew 28:16–20).
That message was confirmed in many ways throughout the book of Acts. Notable examples include when Peter was sent to Cornelius after a rooftop vision (Acts 10), and Phillip preached in Samaria and also explained the Scriptures to the Ethiopian (Acts 8). The Formation years of Jewish faith in Jesus extend from 33‒135 C.E., and the term Messianic Judaism would not be used for nearly 2,000 years.
2. Gentilization
As the Gospel was opened to the Gentiles and many came to believe in Yeshua, the question emerged of whether they were required to keep the Torah (Acts 15). This reveals that faith in Yeshua was considered a Jewish faith, not a new religion. By 135 C.E., a rift had grown between Jewish Believers and the rabbinical leaders of Judaism.
False notions sprung up that a Jewish person cannot believe in Yeshua, and if they do, they cannot remain Jewish. The Bar Kokhba Revolt furthered this division. The Roman Emperor Constantine severed the Christian Church’s connection with Judaism when he declared the Church officially divorced from the rites and practices of the Jewish people.
Successive centuries witnessed the progressive Gentilization of faith in Jesus. This period extends from 135 C.E. to about 1800 C.E., encompassing the Crusades and the Inquisition. During these violent episodes, Jewish people suffered intense persecution as politically powerful leaders of institutional Christianity” attempted to force them to renounce Judaism and “convert."
3. Jewish-Christian Renaissance
A resurgence of Jewish people coming to faith in Yeshua while retaining their Jewish identity occurred between 1800 and 1870 C.E. During this time, a number of individuals played essential roles in laying the groundwork for what would later become Messianic Judaism. Among these leaders was Joseph Rabinowitz, who founded the first Messianic Jewish congregation. There, Jewish Believers in Jesus could worship Him and freely maintain the practices of their Jewish heritage. The congregation, located in Kishinev, Moldova,* was called “Israelites of the New Covenant."
4. Hebrew Christianity
Alliances of Jewish Believers began to form around the world between 1870 and 1960 C.E. This was a significant change within the realm of Jewish Believers in that, as followers of Jesus, they met to continue to identify as “Hebrews.” The Hebrew Christian Alliance of Great Britain was established in 1866 and, in 1915, the Hebrew Christian Alliance of America was founded. The international Hebrew Christian Alliance began in 1925, including representation from 18 nations. The era of Hebrew Christianity opened the way for what we know today as Messianic Judaism.
5. Messianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism’s genesis is intertwined with the Jesus Movement of the 1960s. During that revival, many young people with strong, ethnically Jewish backgrounds came to faith in Yeshua. Societal changes of that time offered these young Jewish people the freedom to maintain their Jewish heritage and practices while embracing faith in Jesus as their promised Messiah. The attitude shifted from “We’re Christians who happen to be Hebrew,” to “We are Jews who believe in Jesus,” representing a new mindset that shaped the modern movement of Messianic Judaism.
Since 1960, many new Messianic Jewish congregations, organizations and ministries were formed, including what would become Jewish Voice Ministries International, originally founded under the name Jewish Voice Broadcasts by Louis Kaplan in 1967. During this time, hundreds of Messianic congregations were established around the world, including in Israel. Today, more than 350,000 Messianic Jews worship in their own congregations worldwide, with approximately 20,000 of those residing in Israel.
Messianic Judaism remains a relatively new movement. In less than 60 years, Messianic Judaism has emerged as a vital indicator of God’s ongoing work within and commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. As Messianic Jews and congregations remain identifiably Jewish, the world sees that God is not finished with the Jewish people yet, and that the Gentile Christian Church has not replaced Israel. Messianic Judaism is drawing the world’s attention to the essential role of Israel – both the Land and her people – in God’s End-Time plans.
*More than 100 years after Joseph Rabinowitz established the first Messianic congregation, Jewish Voice Ministries’ Jonathan Bernis, at the time leading a Festival of Jewish Music & Dance in the same city of Kishinev, Moldova. Approximately half of the 40,000 people in attendance – an estimated 20,000 – came to faith in Messiah Yeshua.
As soon as we opened the Jewish Voice Outreach Clinic in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, the skies broke open with a downpour. But heavy rains discouraged none of the hundreds of people waiting in line to see medical professionals. An elderly woman near the front lavishly thanked two Jewish Voice Outreach Partners for being there. Throughout her verbal expressions of appreciation she never stopped kissing their hands.
The woman had come to the Jewish Voice Ministries Clinic for eye treatment. Vision issues are abundant in Debre Birhan, and we were blessed with two additional ophthalmologists on this Outreach team resulting in 3,258 eye treatments! Additionally 255 eye surgeries were completed during the short week. More importantly, we witnessed more than 400 professions of faith in Yeshua (Jesus), despite the prayer room’s off-site location.
The Debre Birhan Outreach team broke records, welcoming the most patients Jewish Voice has ever treated in a five-day Clinic – 15,919! Michael McClellan, JVMI’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, reminded the team that the accomplishment wasn’t about breaking a record. “It’s about not turning people away,” he said.
Debre Birhan, Ethiopia - 2018
You touched 15,919 lives in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, with your prayers and financial gifts through Jewish Voice Ministries. That’s an astonishing number of people who received care because of your partnership. Thank you for choosing to make a difference in their lives.
Help us continue to spread hope, healing and the Good News of Yeshua to Jewish people and their neighbors in Ethiopia
Thank You for your Faithful Prayers!
“The effective prayer of a righteous person is very powerful” – James 5:16 (TLV)
Thank you so much for your prayers during our recent Medical Outreach in Enfranz, Ethiopia. God used your prayer to undergird the ministry taking place in Ethiopia and we saw great fruit.
With your prayers, we were able to treat thousands of patients during the week. Hundreds visited the prayer room and many were transformed with new life in Messiah when they came to faith in Yeshua (Jesus). Your prayers also helped sustain the Outreach during a period of spiritual and physical oppression.
We ask for your continued prayer support as we look forward to our upcoming Outreach in Mberengwa, Zimbabwe. Sign up here to cover Mberengwa and our Outreach in prayer.
Thank you again for your faithful prayers,
Paula
Prayer Center Coordinator
At our recent Medical Outreach in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, Jewish Voice distributed an astounding 12,000 LifeStraws®. Thanks to the partnership of people like you, 12,000 men, women and children will enjoy a year or more of clean water.
That’s one year of freedom from the debilitating water-borne illnesses and possible death they would have endured drinking water from polluted rivers and wells. We can’t overstate the importance of what you, our partners, helped us accomplish.
But we can still do more. There are much more than 12,000 people in Debre Birhan and our other Outreach areas that could benefit from access to LifeStraws. We hope to eventually bring clean water to them all, just as we hope to reach them all with the Good News of Yeshua (Jesus), the true Living Water.
Please consider giving a LifeStraw today to make a critical difference in the life of a Jewish person or their neighbor.
Each LifeStraw costs just $15, or about the same as three cups of premium coffee. For the same amount as three mornings of caffeination, you can improve someone’s life for 365 mornings – and evenings.
