Why is tonight different from all other nights?

Blessings to you all in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach, (Jesus the Messiah).  As we enter into this Holy season of Passover and Resurrection Sunday, there is connection between the two holidays that should "connect the dots" for those truly seeking Truth.   I remember the first Passover Seder (a Seder is a diner that recounts the Exodus story) that Rance and I attended, about 15 years ago.  We were astounded by the Biblical truths that were overlooked for many years, never having been taught the connection in church.  Ever since then, our hearts have burned within us regarding Biblical Truths and fulfilled and to be fulfilled Bible prophecy in the "Jewish Holidays", or as we prefer to call them, "God's appointed times".  Just this morning I received the following email from Messianic Bible Project.  (A wonderful ministry worthy of support)  How they explained it was so perfect that I wanted to share it with you, in the hopes that you will be ministered to in the Truth of the Word of God.  Shalom, Happy Passover, and blessings upon you on "HE IS RISEN DAY!"  Brandy Cook

Shalom Friends,

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are
healed.”  (Isaiah 53: 5)

Tonight, the Biblical Festival of Passover (Pesach) begins, coinciding
this year with Good Friday.

On Sunday, as Passover continues, Believers will celebrate the resurrection of
Yeshua on Easter.

Friday at sunset, the eight-day celebration of Passover begins.
Jewish people will mark the beginning of this prophetic holiday,
which foreshadows the salvation wrought for all mankind
by Yeshua, with a ceremonial meal called the Seder, in which
the story of deliverance from slavery in Egypt is retold.

Around the world, as the Jewish People commemorate their exodus from slavery in

Egypt, and celebrate the saving power of the God of Israel, Believers in Yeshua
(Jesus)—both Jewish and Gentile—will celebrate freedom from slavery to sin.

This freedom, the salvation of Israel and all mankind, was accomplished through
the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), as the
sacrificial Passover Lamb.  

“Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will
appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are
waiting for Him.”  (Hebrews 9:8) 

Though Yeshua endured an agonizing death to atone for the sin of the world,
He rose again on the third day.  Because He was completely sinless, death
could not hold Him.  Had He not borne our sins, He wouldn't have died at all.

In fulfillment of Scripture, Yeshua became our guilt offering, paying the price
for sin once and for all.

“…though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring
and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”
(Isaiah 53:10)

While the guilt offerings on the altar of the Temple could only cover sin,
Yeshua’s death and resurrection actually removed sin for all time.

As Yochanan (John) said when he saw Yeshua coming to him at the Jordan River,
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  (John 1:29)

The Passover Lamb: When being Passed Over is a Miracle

“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you
really are.  For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”  (1 Corinthians 5:7)

Passover is rich in lessons for all Believers in Yeshua.

Were you ever passed over as a child when the sports team was being chosen?For a child, being passed over could be devastating.  Likewise, as adults,
being passed over for a promotion, raise, or a prestigious role can be very frustrating.

But being “passed over” during the first Passover was a miracle of deliverance.

During the very first Passover in Egypt, so that God’s judgment of Egypt would
pass over, the children of Israel were required to choose an unblemished lamb,
kill it, and place its blood over the doorposts and lintels of their dwelling places.

The Signs on the Door, by James Tissot

Today, 3500 years later, we are able to celebrate the Passover in all of its’
prophetic fulfillment.

We have the opportunity to place the blood of the perfect, chosen Lamb of God,
Yeshua, over the hearts and homes, so that by faith, we too will be spared from
the Divine judgment due to fall on this world.  This too is a miracle of deliverance.

“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are; and
when I see the blood, I will pass over you [pasachti], and there shall no
plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”  (Exodus 12:13)

In Hebrew, the word for I will pass over is pasachti וּפָסַחְתִּי, which comes
from the word pesach, which means to hop, to skip over or spare, and to pass over.

The Angel of Death and the First Passover

Brandy, our salvation was wrought at such a great price.

The Messiah died in our place and paid the price for the sins that we
committed.

And despite celebrating the Passover year after year, so many Jewish
people do not know Yeshua!

Please click to bring Yeshua (Jesus) to the Jewish People now at Passover

Jewish men and women flock to the Western (Wailing) Wall on Pesach (Passover).

Yeshua is Prepared for Burial

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus [Yeshua].  …
With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.”  (John 19: 38)

On Good Friday, Christians remember the horrific death that Yeshua suffered on
our behalf.

Believers also read how Joseph (Yosef) of Arimathea and Nicodemus
(Nakdimon) came to Pilate to ask for Yeshua’s body.

Because Jewish burial customarily takes place within 24 hours, in keeping with
Jewish practice, they sought to bury Yeshua right away.  

They also prepared Yeshua’s body for burial with tahara, ritual purification.
In this ritual, the body is cleansed, and then dried and dressed in takhrikhim,
a simple white shroud  (Mark 15:46-47).

“Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
Taking Yeshua’s body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of
linen.  This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.”  (John 19: 39–40) 

Although Yosef and Nakdimon carefully prepared
Yeshua's body for burial, when the women came to
the tomb after High Shabbat had ended, it was
empty and the burial linen was left to the side.
Yeshua had already risen from the dead.

When Yosef and Nakdimon performed the mitzvah of preparing Yeshua’s body
for burial, they were performing the duties of the Khevra Kadisha—an
organization that ensures the body is correctly prepared for burial and
protected from desecration.

By wrapping Yeshua in linen, they were practicing the custom of takhrikhim,
providing the proper burial garment for the deceased.

Since the Sabbath was quickly approaching, there was insufficient time to
complete the preparations before the holy day of the Passover began; therefore,
Yeshua was placed in a sealed tomb until the close of the High Sabbath day.

Thus, Yeshua was buried in a rich man’s tomb in fulfillment of the Messianic
prophecy in Isaiah 53:

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death,
though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”  (Isaiah 53:9)

However, more important than how Yeshua was buried is that He rose from the
dead and gained victory over death.  Hallelujah!

Both spiritual and physical death has been defeated through Yeshua’s victory,
as Saul of Tarsus (Paul) said:

“But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits [bikkurim]
of those who have fallen asleep.   For since death came through a man [Adam],
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die,
so in Messiah all will be made alive.  (1 Corinthians 15:20–22) 

This is the ‘Good News’ that we want to share with all Jewish people, so that
they can be sure of their place in the ‘olam habah’ (the world to come).

If you can help share this Passover Good News, click here now

Please help us reach the Jewish People, such as these ultra-Orthodox
Jewish men in Israel, with the Good News of Yeshua.

If Death is the Result of Sin, How could Yeshua die Sinless?

Since Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection occurred in a Hebraic context,
examining Jewish customs surrounding death, burial, mourning and resurrection
can further our understanding of Good Friday and Easter.

Originally, God did not create mankind to suffer death.

The first book of the Torah, Bereshit (Genesis), reveals death as the judgment
of God upon mankind for their spiritual fall in the Garden of Eden.

After Adam and Chava (Eve) failed their test of obedience, God said:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the
ground [adamah], since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you
will return.”  (Genesis 3:19)  

When Adam and Eve sinned, all of mankind came under the curse of the
broken law.  Yeshua redeemed us from that curse.

The name Adam was taken from the word for ground or earth—adamah, since
the man (Adam) was taken from the ground (adamah).

This Hebrew word play reveals a spiritual truth: sin has brought physical death
to all of mankind and with it, a return to the earth (adamah).

Thus ends a person’s physical existence on earth, with the soul separating from
the body.

Yeshua’s death, however, was not due to His own sin, since He was sinless.  He
died when He took upon Himself the sins of the world.

“But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins.  And in Him
is no sin.”  (1 John 3:5)

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and John report that Yeshua was handed over
to the Roman soldiers, who clothed Him in a ragged scarlet cloak, jammed a
crown of thorns on His head, and mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  

Resurrection: a Jewish Belief

Traditionally, the rabbis believe that every Jew will be resurrected and
experience spiritual life.

As is written in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), “The dust returns to the ground it
came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”  (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews describes the great men and women of faith.
Some women received their dead back to life again, while “others were tortured
and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.”
(Hebrews 11:35)

The Tanakh (Old Testament) also describes a resurrection from the dead
and subsequent judgment.

The Hebrew prophet Daniel gives an account of what will happen in the last days:

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting
life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”  (Daniel 12:2)

The empty tomb

Kria: The Jewish custom of Rending the Garments

“Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many
days.”  (Genesis 37:34)

In Judaism, there are seven immediate family members who are expected to
observe a seven-day mourning period: the father, mother, daughter, son,
brother, sister, and spouse.

These seven mourners participate in a special tradition.

To symbolize how death rips the fabric of life, their garments are symbolically
ripped just before the funeral.

In this tradition called kria, the parents and children rend the garment on
their left, closest to the heart.  Spouses and siblings tear their garments on
the right.

While this may seem like an odd tradition, it dates back to Biblical times
(Genesis 37:34).

In fact, at the moment of Yeshua’s death, the Heavenly Father also seemed to
observed kria in His grief over the death of His son of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook and the rocks split.”  (Matthew 27:51)

Thankfully, Yeshua’s death wasn’t the final word.

Just as He promised, death couldn’t hold Him (John 2:18–22; Matthew 26:31–32).

“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our
justification.”  (Romans 4:25)

The sting of death is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), and in Yeshua, death has lost
its sting!

Therefore, we can live confidently without any fear of death or dying, as we
know that when we pass from this life, our lives continue eternally with our
loving Father in Heaven.

Please click now at Easter/Passover to bring Yeshua to Israel and the World 

Your gifts will make a difference for eternity.

YOU, Your Children, Israel & Bible Prophecy

Children. The joy of our hearts. Our little ones can make us laugh or cry. They can cause us the greatest contentment and the deepest pain. It is our children that cause us to stop whatever we are doing in an instant.  No matter how busy we are, if our children are in trouble, nothing else matters. It is our children’s laughter that makes us think that even for just one moment in time, all is okay in the world. It is our children that cause us to weep uncontrollably, when they choose to walk down the wrong path in life. And it is our children, who give us the reason to run to them rejoicing, when they come home. Children.

You may be thinking, what do my children have to do with this article about Israel, Bible Prophecy and the Church?  Everything.  For God’s chosen people the Jews are God’s children, as we are who believe.  And the Father’s heart is broken, broken for His people Israel.  As Jesus taught us in the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, so longs the Father’s heart for His firstborn, Israel to come home.  To know their Messiah.  To believe in the One who He sent.  Read Romans 10:1, Romans 11 and Jeremiah 31:31-37.

“Sing, O heavens! Be joyful all the earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.  But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you, see I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:13-16

God loves Israel. The Jewish people are not forgotten in the eyes of the Father.Consider the words of Zechariah 2:8 when the Lord says about the Jews, “… for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”   In other words, in the Hebraic interpretation of this verse, you could read it to understand that “He who touches Israel pokes God in the eye.”

Some of you may be thinking right now, “I thought the Jewish people were from the Old Testament and didn’t exist anymore.”  Some others reading this may be thinking, “I thought Israel was rejected by God and now I am Israel”. Yet others of you may be thinking, “What does Israel have to do with me as a Christian?”  Dear ones, with the love of God I respectfully share with you today, that the Lord is inviting you to take a deeper look into His heart. I think we would all agree that He wants ALL of our heart. We call out in prayer consistently crying, “Lord, I am yours, I surrender to you, and I want your will, I want what YOU want.”  In return, I also believe He wants us to have ALL of His heart, and a huge portion of His heart is ISRAEL. Israel did not cease to exist. Israel, as a people and a nation, are alive today and a FULFILLMENT OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY.

We are living in an hour that is experiencing more fulfilled Bible prophecies since Jesus went to the cross.   Just within the past 100 years, more ancient prophecies spoken by God through the prophets of old are coming true IN OUR LIFETIME.

The first century church was predominantly Jewish. Jesus’ disciples were all Jews. Jesus was, is and always will be a Jew.  He was born in Bethlehem, Israel. He grew up in Nazareth, Israel. He spend a good part of His ministry in the Galilee area, in Israel.  And he was crucified and ressurection from the dead, in Jerusalem, Israel. The same Land of Israel that existed thousands of years ago, is still there today. We have been there several times and I can testify to the fact that EVERY WORD OF THE BIBLE IS TRUE, AND MODERN DAY ISRAEL IS A FULFILLMENT OF ANCIENT BIBLICAL PROPHECY. And it is God’s heart, that His Bride, the Church, pray for, bless and comfort His firstborn, Israel the children of Abraham, with God’s Biblical love.

(I took this picture in Israel last year.  

This is the Sea of Galilee with the Golan Heights in the background)

May the 14th, 1948. Consider the scripture written by the Jewish prophet Isaiah in chapter 66 verse 8. It says  “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord…..”. This incredible promise, this ancient prophecy was fulfilled only 61 short years ago. IN OUR GENERATION, on May the 14th, 1948 when Israel was reborn as a nation according to God’s promise, we have witnessed this scripture fulfilled.

Within the last 100 years, (and most since 1948), over 6 million Jews, the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are now living in the ancient Land of Israel. These people have come “home” from the countries from which they were scattered! There are still Jews living in other countries that are still in the process of Ezekiel 37 including MEXICO. God is inviting you to participate with Him in these last days, in bringing the Jewish people back to their Land according to His Word. Please read Isaiah 43: 1-6 and Isaiah 49: 13-22, focusing on verse 22. There are over 85 scriptures that refer to God brining His people back to the Land of Israel. It’s happening now!

Church of the Living God, Messiah Y’shua, Jesus Christ is about to return! The Word of God tells us that the Jews would be re-gathered again a second time (some in unbelief) to THEIR OWN LAND before Jesus comes back. This was impossible until this generation, when Israel became a nation again in 1948. Open your heart and ask the Holy Spirit reveal to you the immensity of this. The Word tells us God would plant Israel back in their own land before Messiah’s return. Again, I encourage you to read Ezekiel 37. You are living in the day and hour of this prophetic chapter! Make sure your lamps are trimmed!  Be about your Father’s business!  Be ready to preach the Gospel! Be ready to follow the Lamb wherever He goes! Desire to want all of Him, including His heart for His children, the people of Israel!

Everything God is doing to wind up history centers around the nation of Israel, God’s prophetic “time clock.”  Nothing can change the Word of God and His plan. And He desires that ALL of His children, both Jew and Gentile, come home to His heart.

I hear all the time here amongst my Christian friends here in Mexico, “God is so faithful, at times we forget about Him, but He never forgets about us.” And this is a true saying. For the Father never, ever forgets about His children. Both Jew and Gentile alike.

Written by
Brandy Cook

History repeats itself---and YOU are the target!

Dear friends,

Peace and grace to you in Jesus name!

If you have been reading my main blog at www.lastdaysreview.blogspot.com, you know that the Lord has blessed me greatly with readership in many countries of the world. However as our internet ministry has grown, it has become apparent that more articles are needed on a greater variety of subjects. To accommodate our readers, many of whom have varied interest levels, we have now added two new blogs. The one you are reading is dedicated to articles having to do with Israel and as such is titled, ISRAEL'S COVENANTS. The third blog is entitled www.backtolifebasics.blogspot.com and is dedicated to church, family and fellowship type issues.

In today's article, I have chosen to forward---with permission--an article originally posted by JERRY GOLDEN ministries. This entry illustrates our humanistic tendency to "BELIEVE ALL THINGS" that have been written or published by "whatever source" without bothering to check the facts. Unfortunately, todays news sources are literally peppered with misinformation and frequently downright lies. The favorite target for misinformation is Israel. Also, history really does repeat itself.

Just as the church---and much of the world turned a blind eye to the public threats and ultimate ravages of the Nazis during WW2, once again many people and nations are doing exactly the same thing when they hear threats from nations harboring and training terrorists. Invariably our response is "They wouldn't really do that would they"?

The answer of course is YES, they really would and most certainly will. When we hear of entire nations and terrorist groups loudly proclaiming their desire to wipe out Israel and exterminate the Jews, we should be paying close attention and raising our voices even louder in a collective NO, NOT AGAIN YOU WON"T!!!

A German's View on Islam

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'


We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.


The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful Muslim majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.


Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians -- most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.


And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:


#1 -- Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.


#2 -- Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

#3 -- Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

#4 -- Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this message without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.

BACK TO PASTOR RANCE:

This point is particularly poignant when it comes to two very important topics. Number 1 is a growing sentiment against Israel which is becoming more anti semitic by the day. The second and no less important, is what appears to be a worldwide demonization of Christianity in general.

The question is simply this? If there are really an estimated 2 BILLION professing Christians on the face of the globe today, then why does roughly 1/3 of the entire worlds population sit on their hands and do nothing about these things?

I guarantee you that when 2 BILLION anybody's stand up and raise their collective voices in unity-----------------THE WORLD WILL LISTEN!!!

We do not have to stand still for political correctness!
We do not have to accept the taking away of our Christians rights!
We do not have to stand still and watch threats of another holocaust against our Jewish brethren!

God bless you all,
Pastor Rance.