March 2003

Remember March may come in like a lion

and go out like a lamb,

but Yeshua came in like a Lamb

and will come again as a Lion!

Warm Blessings in Messiah as winter is still upon us,

Each month’s newsletter is written the month before (due to lead time with the printer and mailing house), so the situation in Israel may have changed drastically by the time you read this letter. One thing will not change, however. The Arab nations will still be bent on the destruction of that tiny nation in the Middle East. There will still be hatred of Jews and a determination to annihilate them. The source of the hatred (ha satan, in English: satan) will still be very much alive, and will most likely be more active than ever as he sees his time growing short. The deceiver will still be busy at work convincing pastors and unsuspecting believers around the world that the Israelis are brutal aggressors who kill innocent Palestinian children. The media is a great asset to satan. People believe the lies they read in the press and Israel gets another black eye.

Irrational, supernatural hatred of the Jewish people is known as Anti-Semitism. Many years ago we read an article by Derek Prince in which he noted that anti-Semitism is the longest and deepest hatred of human history, enduring twenty-three centuries and still very much alive. There may have been other hatreds that surpassed it in intensity for a historical moment, but they are fleeting compared with anti-Semitism.

While scholars and theologians throughout the ages have postulated various explanations of anti-Semitism including theological, philosophical, sociological, and economic, we are convinced that the real root of anti-Semitism is spiritual. Neil has often remarked that in the age-old battle between God and satan, satan hates God and all that He represents. God has children, both Jews and Christians. Satan can get back at God by striking out at His children. The Jews are particularly good targets because satan has an additional reason to hate them: they gave the world the Messiah (who defeated him at the cross). The Jewish people, instead of being Christ-killers, (a hateful epithet given to us over the centuries,) are Christ-givers. This is the real taproot of anti-Semitism.

Derek Prince received the same revelation that God gave to Neil in a meeting one time at his local church in Jerusalem. To quote Derek: "...quite unexpectedly I heard myself say, ‘Anti-Semitism can be summed up in one word – Messiah!’ At that moment I understood that from its beginning anti-Semitism had one source – satan – who was motivated by the knowledge that the One who was to be his conqueror, the Messiah, would come through a people that would be specially prepared by God."

Derek went on to explain that he saw satan attempting to do two things with Israel as a nation, 1) entice them into idolatry, and 2) completely destroy them as a nation. Israel’s history of idolatry is made abundantly clear in the pages of the Old Covenant. Satan’s attempts to destroy Israel as a nation are there as well, but they are not always seen for what they are.

What do these six men have in common? A hatred of Jews, fueled by the accuser of the brethren, Satan. If the orders of Pharaoh in Egypt to murder all the Hebrew male babies had been efficiently followed, the Jewish nation would have ceased to exist. If Haman’s decree to exterminate all the Jews in the Persian empire had been carried out, there would have been no more Jewish nation. Why? Because all the Jews alive at that time were in exile. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian-Greek despot (of the Hanukkah story in the 2nd century B.C.) also had as his aim the assimilation and destruction of the Jewish people. The Maccabees, empowered by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob led a victorious revolt against Antiochus, assuring the survival of the Jewish people.

Hitler as a demon-possessed 20th century madman, assisted satan in exterminating 6,000,000 Jewish people. And even with this horrendous tragedy, God’s people continue to this day. The existence of the Jewish people is a miracle of God. Arafat will not win. Saddam Hussein will be defeated. The God of Israel empowered the midwives in Egypt. He anointed Esther and Mordecai with His Spirit in Persia. He gave holy boldness and supernatural might to the Maccabees. He breathed hope and Zionist zeal into the survivors of the Holocaust, and He is preparing angelic hosts to continue warring against terrorism.

As we celebrate Purim on March 17, 2003, we remember the great victory over Haman (satan) as recorded in the Book of Esther. This holiday is traditionally a very joyful one in Israel. Children dress in costumes and go to parties. This year will be different. Parents are much less willing to let their little ones travel the dangerous streets. (It must be so difficult to overcome the spirit of fear, especially without the Messiah in your heart. Pray for Israel and her children. Surround her with a hedge of protection.)

Satan does not want the Messiah to return to earth. Yeshua’s second coming signifies the completion of the devil’s defeat, when he will be banished from the earth. Two things must occur before the return of our King: 1) The gospel of the Kingdom must be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations (Matthew 24:14) and 2) The Jews in Jerusalem must say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:38-39) Satan is doing everything in His power to stop both these scriptural requisites from becoming reality. His attempts to hinder the work of proclaiming the Good News are obvious, especially to those of us in Jewish ministry. The opposition is fierce. Over the years we have had many people tell us that the technical problems they experience working with us never happen with non-Jewish clients.

The second prerequisite to the return of Messiah is much more subtle and a mystery to most believers. The Bible clearly says that Yeshua (Jesus) will not return to Jerusalem until the Jewish people welcome Him home, saying "Baruch ha ba b’shem Adonai" ("Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord") (Matthew 23:38-39). First of all, there must be Jewish people in Jerusalem to welcome Messiah back. If they are all thrown into the sea, fulfilling the desires of Arafat and Hussein, this will be impossible. Secondly, there must be Jewish hearts open to Yeshua. Do we have a role in this? Indeed we do!

The God TV Network based in the United Kingdom has been broadcasting our television program throughout Europe since January 2001. They have recently relocated their broadcast center to JERUSALEM! That means that Jewish Jewels is now beaming from the Holy Land. A dream come true: "...for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:3) GOD TV now reaches 80 percent of the world, including millions of homes in India! We praise the Lord for this marvelous, prophetic open door during our 25th anniversary year! Pray for GOD TV. You can be sure they have their share of opposition as they broadcast life in the city where satan will meet his final end.

Although the two major roles of our ministry are to share the Good News of the Messiah with our Jewish people, and to teach the Church about her Jewish roots, the Lord has used us for the past 25 years to help combat the vicious spirit of anti-Semitism. We have countless letters that testify of this. As we express over the airwaves a love for Jewish people, a love for our Jewish roots and a love for our Jewish Messiah, God touches hearts and heals old wounds. He also destroys the works of the devil. Halleluyah! We have been saving the following postcard we received in the Fall to share with you.

If you have never read Dr. Michael Brown’s book Our Hands Are Stained With Blood, this should be the month you order a copy. You can’t really understand the Jewish people’s resistance to the gospel today without an appreciation of the Church’s bloody history over the last thousand years.

AMEN is an acronym based on the Hebrew words that mean God is a merciful King. It is also the title of Jonathan Settel’s latest musical offering. Jonathan often appears on our TV program, Jewish Jewels, but he never just sings; Jonathan ministers. We know this album will minister to you.