Tag Archives: israel

April 15, 2021 · 8:00 AM

What is Next for Israel?

Dear friend of God’s chosen people,

It is my joy to introduce you to Dr. Michael Rydelnik, the director of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible Institute and the radio host for Open Line on Moody Radio, which airs every Saturday at 9:00 am. Chosen People Ministries has enjoyed the service of dozens of Moody Jewish Studies graduates working on our staff in the United States, Israel, and worldwide!

Michael is a dear friend of mine who came to know the Lord through Chosen People Ministries. His wife, Eva, has served on the Chosen People Ministries staff for multiple decades.

I asked Michael if we could share his article, which focuses on why Israel is evidence of the reality of God and the truth of the Scriptures! Scripture often calls Israel a “witness” or a “light to the nations.” These names capture Israel’s fundamental calling to bring blessings to the world. This call is clearly depicted in Genesis 12:1–3 when God told Abraham that it would be through Israel that all the world’s nations would be blessed. Jesus relayed something similar to the woman at the well when He said, “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Today, Israel is blessing others as the “vaccine nation,” leading the world in the percentage of citizens vaccinated against COVID-19 and providing invaluable information about the vaccine. Israel is often a shining example in some unexpected ways!

I know Dr. Rydelnik’s teaching will spiritually enrich you! And as always, thank you for your faithful prayers, love, and support for YOUR Mission to the Jewish People.

Your brother in Messiah,

Mitch

Is the Modern State of Israel the Fulfillment of Prophecy?

by Dr. Michael Rydelnik

Even if we concede for the moment that the Jewish people’s continuing presence is evidence for the reliability of the Bible, we are well within our rights to raise other concerns. What, for example, is the connection between the Jewish people and the highly contested real estate in the Middle East that makes up modern-day Israel? For some, the relationship between God’s covenant promise to preserve the Jewish people and the equally emphasized “Promised Land” is highly problematic. Today even some committed Jews and Christians may wonder what relationship the present day State of Israel has with the land it sits on. In 1948, varying numbers of Orthodox Jews were horrified that anyone could even consider a Jewish state based upon modern notions of nationality in place of a kingdom under the Messiah’s reign. This sentiment persists today.

Yet, politics aside, it cannot be denied that not only have the children of Israel endured despite the harsh treatment they have received, but against all odds, after 2,000 years of exile, the Jewish people have once again returned to the Land of Israel as the biblical prophets promised they would. The Hebrew prophets foretold a day when God would draw His people back to Israel. Although centuries of dispersion caused this aspiration to retreat into the far background of Jewish life, it never fully disappeared. If nothing else, the hope that is voiced every year during Passover—“Next year in Jerusalem!”— serves as an annual reminder of the Jewish people’s lost heritage.

So unlikely did a realistic restoration of the Jews to their Land seem that throughout church history, Christians, for the most part, could not conceive of a literal fulfillment of this promise. Therefore, many believers in Jesus interpreted these prophecies figuratively or historically—if they thought of them at all. However, some believers in the nineteenth century did indeed take the promise of a return literally and began to anticipate a Jewish return to the Land of Israel. Thus, you could say that what has become known as Christian or biblical Zionism was birthed at the same time or even earlier than rising Jewish aspirations for modern statehood promoted by Theodore Herzl.

Statehood and the Promise of the Bible

Is the existence of the modern State of Israel a further validation of Scripture’s reliability along the same lines as that of the Jewish people’s continuing presence in the world? Consider the following conditions set out in the scriptural record.

First of all, a national spiritual regeneration by turning to Jesus is not a biblical prerequisite for a major movement of Jewish people returning to and possessing the Land of Israel. In fact, the prophet Zechariah indicated the Jewish people would turn to God, through the Messiah, only after returning to Israel (Zech.12:10; 13:1). Likewise, the prophet Ezekiel stated God’s promise, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land” (Ezek. 36:24). The passage continues, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean…. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:25–26). Note that the spiritual regeneration of Israel follows the restoration of the Jewish people to the Land. Thus regathered, Israel will, as a nation, turn in faith toward the promised Messiah.

Second, the Bible predicts Israel would return to the Land in stages. Ezekiel 37 contains the stark and unforgettable vision of a valley of dry bones. The bones come to life in stages: first sinews on the bones, then flesh, then skin, and finally, the breath of life (Ezek. 37:6–10). Then God tells Ezekiel, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezek. 37:11). This vivid depiction of the Jewish people’s restoration to their Promised Land is well in keeping with what is actually occurring. The regathering does not occur instantaneously; rather, it is a process culminating when the nation as a whole receives the Messiah according to Jewish expectation.

The dry bones represent Israel in exile, without hope. The process of the bones coming together with sinew, flesh, and skin refers to the successive waves of returning Jews before Israel’s rebirth. This is, in fact, how the Jewish people have returned to the Land. There were five separate aliyot (immigration waves) from 1881 to 1939, returning Jewish people from Europe to the Promised Land. After Israel’s birth in 1948, an estimated one million European Jewish survivors of the Holocaust came to Israel, followed by a majority of the 800,000 Jewish people driven from their homes in Arab countries. More recently, 1.5 million Jewish people fled the Former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel. These immigration waves show how the Jewish people have returned in stages. The body without breath represents unbelieving Israel, restored but not yet regenerated. Finally, according to this passage, God breathes life into these bodies, representing the day when all Israel turns to the Messiah.

Third, the Bible predicts Israel would return to her Land through persecution. The Hebrew Scripture says of Israel, “For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers” (Jer. 16:15). God will use “fishermen” and “hunters” to pursue His people back to Israel (Jer. 16:16). This metaphor for persecution has been literally fulfilled in Israel’s rebirth. Since the birth of modern Zionism, the primary motivation for return to the Land of Israel has been anti-Jewish persecution. In the last hundred years, Czarist pogroms, Polish economic discrimination, Nazi genocide, Arab hatred, Soviet repression, and more recently, an alarming rise in European and North American antisemitism have driven Jewish people back to their homeland.

Fourth, the Bible predicts that, after a period of exile, the children of Israel would return to reestablish national identity, thus setting the stage for the arrival of the Messiah and the consummation of history as we know it. At that time, the Messiah will deliver Israel from her enemies (Zech. 14:3).

Ask yourself, do the facts of history—particularly the emergence of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East—line up sufficiently with the predictions of the Hebrew Bible to form a credible connection? Since Israel has returned in unbelief, in stages, through persecution, the establishment of the modern State of Israel likely fulfills the predictions of the ancient Hebrew prophets and sets the stage for events yet to come.

The return to Zion is powerful evidence of the truth of Scripture. It is beyond remarkable that God would restore a dispersed and persecuted people to their Land after two thousand years of exile. Given the relationship between these events and the predictions of the Bible, would you say it is more or less likely that this has truly come about by the hand of God?

And if the above is true—what impact should this have on our lives? Certainly, we should pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6)! Also, if the return of Jesus is linked to the Jewish people turning to Him, then how should we view Jewish evangelism today? This question is answered by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:11–29! As God’s people, we must do all we can to reach Jewish people with the message of the gospel!

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November 13, 2020 · 9:00 AM

Interview with Joel C. Rosenberg

Shalom, dear friends.

We are living in sensational days! Along with our concerns about COVID-19, the economy, political division, social unrest, the aftermath (hopefully) of wildfires, hurricanes, and more, we also see the unfolding of a new day for Israel and her relationships with her neighbors in the Middle East.

Perhaps this is a reminder that God’s plan for our world marches on in the midst of it all! It reminds me of the verse I latched onto as my guide during these last eight months. The writer of Proverbs says to each of us, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Therefore, we always have hope, and no matter what happens, we know the Lord will fulfill His promises in Scripture. Those of us who know Him as our Savior and Messiah can count on His leading and caring for us throughout this life (Romans 8:28)! I take great comfort in knowing that He never loses control and that His Spirit is never locked down!

We can tangibly know this truth because tiny Israel remains at the very center of God’s prophetic plan. The events in the Middle East are unfolding quickly, and Israel is becoming even more established. I see this as the next phase of the fulfillment of end-times prophecies.

With everything else going on, I would not want us to miss the significant realignment of nations in the Middle East regarding Israel.

There is no one better to give us the backstory of these recent landmark events than our friend, Joel C. Rosenberg. Joel lives in Jerusalem, and we have partnered with him on more conferences than I can count. Joel agreed to let me interview him, so we dedicate the rest of this newsletter to the interview.

Joel is a best-selling author and founder of The Joshua Fund and the brand-new media outlet, Near East Media. I asked him to enlighten us on the importance of the recent Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

So, strap in, and off we go!

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Joel, thank you for taking the time to tell us part of the backstory behind the recent peace agreements signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain on September 15, 2020.

First of all, can you clarify the different terminology used to describe the nature of the agreements recently signed?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

In effect, the Abraham Accords are peace treaties and full normalization treaties between the State of Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, with the United States as the broker and witness to the agreements. Those who criticize the accords, saying that these are not “real peace treaties,” are mistaken. It is narrow-minded to think, after a century of hostility in the Middle East, that two Arab states making real, warm peace treaties with Israel—the first two Arab countries to make peace with Israel in more than a quarter of a century—is somehow illegitimate or not serious. If you think about it, it is an offensive thought. I think it reflects more of the partisan nature of what is going on in Washington right now than the reality. Regardless of how one feels about President Trump, he deserves enormous credit for brokering these deals.

The most important element is that these agreements will lead to far warmer and far fuller peace relationships with Israel and these two Arab states than with the two previous peace treaty signers, Egypt and Jordan.

The one key difference is that Egypt and Jordan were in direct military conflict with Israel, and those peace treaties ended that. The 1979 and 1994 treaties kept those borders quiet for decades. While the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain never actually entered a military conflict, they were at war with Israel. They participated in the economic sanctions and embargoes against Israel. They constantly voted against Israel with the rest of the Arab world at the United Nations. They fully participated in the isolation and de-legitimization campaign against Israel for many years, though not recently. There has been real warming of those relationships in recent years, but they have decided to go public and make it formal. It is very exciting.

The flags of the United States, United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Bahrain flutter along a road in Netanya, Israel, September 14, 2020. REUTERS / Alamy Stock Phot

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

What practical differences do you think the treaties will make economically, politically, and even to tourism between the Gulf states and Israel?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Well, if you notice, the first set of memorandums of understanding and other legal documents signed in the days leading up to and following the signing of the Abraham Accords were very practical. They indicate how much benefit both sides will get—or all sides are going to get—from these agreements. There are agreements on civil aviation. For instance, there will be direct flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain. Those are, by the way, going to go through Saudi airspace. The Saudis are not yet ready to make peace with Israel, but they have agreed to let Israeli, Emirati, Bahraini, and other planes fly through their airspace. This concession is a huge step forward.

The other agreements are regarding banking, private property rights, and setting up small business agreements. The United Arab Emirates has now required every hotel in the country to have kosher meals. That has not happened in Egypt; it has not happened in Jordan. We are talking about major financial deals already in motion.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Do you think that Oman and some of the other Gulf states are going to follow suit?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Yes, I think there is a list of countries that are actively considering this. Oman would certainly be near or at the top of the list. The Sultan of Oman invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit two years ago, and then publicized that trip with photos and video. That was very dramatic. That sultan has since passed away. There is a new sultan in power, but there is no reason to think that he disagrees with his predecessor. But, does he feel like he has solidified his leadership and is ready to make such a big decision? That is a good question. I do not have an answer for that yet; we will see.

If Sudan were now to make peace with Israel, that would be exciting. It would be dramatic, but I would note that Sudan also figures prominently in a prophecy of a future war against Israel—the conflict known in Ezekiel 38 and 39 as the War of Gog and Magog. I would not hold your breath for a full normalization, but maybe that prophetic war is many, many years off. No one knows for sure, of course.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

We do not know when these prophetic events will take place, right? So, we should take peace when we can get it!

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Exactly.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Have the UAE, Bahrain, or even some of the other countries you have mentioned considered Israel a place where they can invest funds? Such an investment would boost the Israeli economy.

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Yes. In talking to officials from both countries over the last few weeks since the signing of the Abraham Accords, I know that there are numerous business deals and venture capital deals in the works. Again, this is the most significant transformation in Arab-Israeli relations, I think, in the history of the modern State of Israel. These treaties will surpass the peace deals of Egypt and Jordan in the sense that the Abraham Accords are going to set the new model of what peace and normalization can be and what they should be.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Joel, I was privileged to follow your travels at times, as your friend, and was even invited to be part of one of those trips to visit some of the Middle Eastern countries. You brought several key evangelicals to visit, get to know, and extend goodwill to those countries. You were able to see the backstory unfolding in a lot of these nations. Can you tell us a little about what you have discovered?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

I would be happy to. It is extraordinary that evangelicals have had a front-row seat to what has been developing over the last several years. The Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, commonly known by his initials, MBZ, invited me to bring a delegation of evangelical leaders to visit him in the capital of Abu Dhabi in the fall of 2018. I took a group of about ten evangelical leaders with me. Among other meetings that we had in the country, we spent two hours in the palace in an off-the-record meeting with MBZ. There are many things, unfortunately, that I cannot share, but I can share this now:  We communicated to the crown prince that, when it came to the issue of peacemaking and Israel, there were three things we, as evangelicals, wanted him to know.

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, acknowledge applause and wave to the crowd after delivering remarks at the Abraham Accords signing, September 15, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House, Washington, D.C. Geopix / Alamy Stock Photo

Number one, we love Israel, and we love the Jewish people, and, for evangelicals, this is a theological position, not a political position. He needed to know that we are deeply committed to Israel’s security, freedom, prosperity, and sovereignty. We wanted him to know that. Number two, Jesus commands us to love our neighbors. We did not want him to think that, because we love Israel, we hate the Palestinians, or Arabs, or Muslims more broadly. Some evangelicals have struggled with language or even positions that are not reflective of Jesus’ command. We wanted to communicate to him that we are commanded to love our neighbors. We do not always know how. We find our way, but we wanted him to know that we do not see it as either/or, that we love both. And while we believe that Israel has a special and unique place in God’s plan and purpose in the region, we want there to be peace today, and we want to build better relations with the Arab and Muslim world.

The third point we made to him was that we are commanded in the Scriptures to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Sixty million evangelicals in the United States alone are praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and we are looking at who will be the next Arab leader to make peace with Israel. As the leader of the delegation, I was the one that made these three points and stressed a little on the third one, “We would love it to be you.” He shocked us by saying, “Joel, I’m ready. I am ready to make peace with Israel, and I believe that the time is coming very soon.” That shocked us because—and I am not saying that we would say these three things in some pro forma way—we did not expect anyone to say back to us what MBZ said. We have said this to numerous Arab leaders in the region; he was the first to say that he was ready.

The question we began to discuss with him is, “How did you get to that point, and where do you go from here?” In these last two years, I have stayed in very close communication with the inner circle around the crown prince. Even up through the summer, I was in direct communications with them because I am writing a non-fiction book that will come out in the fall of 2021, timed with the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Twenty years after 9/11, the book looks at who the bad guys were, who the good guys were, and how our fight with radical Islam is going. It also looks at which Arab countries are fighting radical Islam very actively, and which countries want a much closer relationship with the United States and are even trending toward peace with Israel. The third section will address, “What is the state of the Church and religious freedom in the Middle East?”

I have been working on this book with a lot of exclusive material from these six delegations that I have led. All that to say, it became clear in July, when I was here in Washington meeting with the UAE ambassador, that they were ready, that they had actually put an offer on the table for Netanyahu, through the White House, and that those negotiations were in motion. I said to myself, “You have got to be kidding me.” I knew they were heading in that direction, but it was dramatic.

I will say that I was surprised by how quickly things accelerated this summer, especially when the big topic in Israel was whether Netanyahu would annex or apply Israeli sovereign law over large swaths of Judea and Samaria, which the world commonly knows as the West Bank. That was Netanyahu’s objective all summer, and that seemed to preclude any possibility of peace with the Arab states.

I was making the argument that, while I support the expansion of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria—the biblical heartland—over time, I believed that a peace treaty with one of the Gulf states was a higher objective for Israel in the near term. And I was making that case publicly and in quite a lonely fashion. It is in part because I knew it was possible, but it still stunned me. It is like when you have been praying, as Christians, as Messianic Jews, for decades for the peace of Jerusalem. It is a little like praying for Peter to be released from prison, then he knocked on your front door, and you cannot even believe that he is standing there.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

You are a bit stunned by it all.

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Yeah. We know that God can answer these prayers, but we do not always expect the answer to come so quickly! This summer was a game-changing moment.

The flags of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the United States light up the Old City Walls of Jerusalem to celebrate the signing of the historic peace treaties in Washington, D.C. Nir Alon / Alamy Stock Photo

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

How are the Palestinians reacting to all of this? Then, if you could also tell us, how is the person-on-the-street, the average Israeli, responding to these new events?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

I have not seen any polling yet. Remember, and actually, it is hard to remember at times, that the Palestinian territories are not free societies. They really do not have the freedom to say whatever they want. It does not mean that you will not find Palestinians who tell you, but there, in Gaza, Hamas—the terrorist organization—is in charge. It is very hard to get somebody’s real, direct opinion. In the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, this is tyranny. Mahmoud Abbas is now serving, I think, the fifteenth year of his four-year elected term. There is no freedom there.

I think we are beginning to see fissures inside Palestinian society. And so, we need to pray, as Christians and as Messianic Jews, for the Palestinian people.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Could you take one minute and tell us all about All Arab News and All Israel News, and your role as President and CEO of Near East Media?

Joel C. Rosenberg:

Yes, I am continuing my work to advance the Joshua Fund, which is essentially a mutual fund to invest in the growth and the strength of the Church and the Messianic body in Israel and throughout five neighboring Arab countries, as well as the Palestinian territories. We also believe that the media bias against Israel, against peace, against the values that we hold dear—anti-Christian media—is so bad that I decided to launch two new websites. One is called All Israel News, and the other is All Arab News. All Israel News is allisrael.com, and the Arab news is allarab.news.

We will provide links to all the really good and credible coverage in the Israeli press, Arab press, and American and other media. There is good reporting out there, but most Christians and Messianic Jews do not have the time to go sifting through dozens of websites to figure out what is real, what is important, what is credible. These sites will become what I call one-stop shopping. We link to all the most important stories in the region. We are also providing original reporting, exclusive interviews, and analysis: what is happening, why is it important, and how do we fit it into the larger picture as evangelicals. We are very distinctly and specifically focused on communicating to the world’s 600 million evangelicals what is happening in Israel and the region and why it matters.

Dr. Mitch Glaser:

Joel, thank you so much. I appreciate it, and we pray God’s blessings on All Israel News and All Arab News, and we thank you for your time, so shalom and blessings.

I am grateful for the time you were willing to speak with me. I know that those who read The Chosen People newsletter will appreciate this insightful information and pray for Israel, the Palestinians, the Middle East, and you.

Joel C. Rosenberg:

My pleasure.

I hope you enjoyed the interview! I hope it will help you continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And please remember to pray for our staff who are bringing the gospel to Jewish people worldwide, including Israel.

We are so grateful for you!

Your brother in the Messiah,

Mitch Glaser

P.S. There is much more to this conversation! To hear the full interview, visit ourhopepodcast.com.

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July 31, 2020 · 8:00 AM

Looking for Answers Only God Can Provide

Dear Friend,

Shalom in His grace. I hope and pray you are well, healthy, and serving the Lord with joy!

I want to share a great story with you of how a young Israeli came to faith through our Isaiah 53 Explained Facebook ads and the follow-up so wonderfully and faithfully carried out by Randall and Luda, two of our staff members in Israel. Randall wrote to me, and I think he should tell the story!

Hi Mitch,

“M” (name left out for privacy purposes) is a young man, twenty-five years old, originally from Uruguay, who immigrated to Israel with his family in his early teens. He was very good at soccer and played professionally. He has some believing family members, perhaps grandparents, but they were not active in a congregation, so there was not much influence on “M.”

Curiously, when he would see pictures of Jesus, he had a feeling that He was somehow watching over him and that, because of Jesus, everything would be all right. After his father’s recent death, we happened to follow up on his request for your Hebrew Isaiah 53 Explained book.

Somehow, Rachel (one of our Israeli staff members) got to the post office during the COVID-19 crisis to send him a Hebrew New Testament. He was delighted, as he had no biblical knowledge other than Bible classes in Israeli school.

“M” is very friendly and, at first, may have viewed us in light of his focus on education—as just an interesting learning experience. However, he was strongly attracted to the Word, the message of the gospel, and the person of Jesus. After several weekly ZOOM meetings, he agreed to pray to ask for forgiveness for his sins and receive Jesus as Savior.

The Isaiah 53 outreach is a great privilege. The book has opened dialogue with hundreds or even thousands of Israelis, apart from the exposure on the internet.

Now, “M” is trying to finish his high school comprehensive exams, which he never did because of chasing his soccer career.

He is between jobs and is also changing apartments soon. Over the next couple of ZOOM sessions, we plan to discuss linking him with other believers.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Randall

There are many others in Israel, the United States, and worldwide who have come to faith during the pandemic! Our inability to sit face-to-face or mask-to-mask with people who are ready to give their lives to the Lord does not limit God’s saving power.

He is working powerfully among His chosen people around the globe. If I have learned anything from the pandemic, it is this: all people, including my Jewish people, are looking for answers that only God can provide.

And the harder the times, the more intense the search!

A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

I came to faith during the Jesus movement after almost being killed in a drug deal and finding little meaning in the lifestyle I embraced in my late teenage years. It was a dark time, and I was searching without realizing it. I also had no idea what I was looking for, but I knew I needed a new lease on life—a new beginning!

My two Jewish best friends accepted the Lord during those days and shared the gospel with me. I heard their words, but they did not make sense. As a Jewish person, my impulse was to reject Jesus out of hand. After all, whoever heard of Jews believing in Jesus?! I had not, and I had never met a Jewish person who believed in Jesus before my two friends came to faith.

Thank God, He did not give up on me. After months of searching, answered prayers, and reading the New Testament, I accepted the Lord as my Messiah and Savior. And just like “M,” I grew to love the Bible. From then on, all I wanted was to serve the Lord and tell others about Him! I feel the same today as I did then, almost five decades ago!

THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS JEWISH, TOO!

I remember when I discovered that the Apostle Paul was Jewish. That was a shock. I understood that Jesus was Jewish, but the Jewish community generally views Paul as a renegade. I continued to read the Epistles he wrote with this new understanding, and along with Abraham, Moses, King David, and (of course) Jesus, Paul became one of my Jewish heroes.

I had many of the same questions that Paul had. For example, Why did the Jewish people not believe in Jesus when He first came? Why have my ancestors and leaders of the Jewish community generally rejected Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah? Has God rejected the Jewish people for rejecting Jesus?

Paul, or Rabbi Saul, answered these questions in the book of Romans, especially in chapters 9 to 11. I was so impressed with his burden for his Jewish people.

Paul wrote,

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh…. (Romans 9:1–3)

In simple terms, Paul said he was willing to go to hell if it meant that a Jewish person might go to heaven. Paul had a deep burden for his people.

In Romans 10:1, we also learn that Paul prayed for the salvation of his people. He wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” The apostles struggled through many of the same challenges I had when I first came to faith.

Did all Israel reject Yeshua? Did God reject the Jewish people? No! The proof is that Paul, himself, in Romans 11:1, declared that he was a Jew! Had God rejected the Jewish people for their unbelief? No! Paul was living evidence of God’s faithfulness.

Paul was a Jewish believer, but he also said there is a remnant of Jewish people who believe in Jesus, preserved by God throughout time. Did Paul believe that God rejected His chosen people because they had decided not to follow Jesus? Heaven forbid!

Paul told the Roman believers that there is a remnant today, just as there was in ancient Israel (Romans 11:2– 4). He recounted the story that appears in 2 Kings 18 when, following a great victory over the prophets of Ba’al, Elijah traveled to the desert. He told the Lord he felt all alone, and God showed him that he had company. There were seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Ba’al.

Paul stated a principle for the ages based upon this story when he wrote,

“In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (Romans 11:5).

I am part of this remnant today, as is “M.” We are not alone, though for now, we are a growing few.

The Lord is preserving a remnant today for His glory, though we know that one day the entire nation of Israel will come to Jesus. In Romans 11, Paul concluded that God has not rejected the Jewish people and that a day is coming when the Jewish people who are alive at the time of the Second Coming will turn to Jesus.

For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation— that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:25–26)

THE SPECIAL MANDATE FOR GENTILE BELIEVERS (ROMANS 11:11)

Paul answered another critical question in this triad of chapters. What is the Gentile believer’s role in God’s plan for the Jewish people?

The apostle said there is a biblical mandate for Gentiles in the Body of Messiah to reach Jewish people with the gospel message. In fact, according to Paul’s statement in Romans 11:11, the Gentiles are to make the Jewish people jealous.

As a mission to the Jews, we understand that we are to help our Gentile brothers and sisters accomplish this great work. It is part of our organizational mission statement to help (empower and equip) our brothers and sisters in the church to evangelize and disciple Jewish people.

Chosen People Ministries hopes to encourage, provide materials, and build strategic bridges with Gentiles in the Body of Messiah to fulfill this mandate in the twenty-first century.

We are partners in the gospel, and together we will reach Jews like me, “M,” and many others for the Savior.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. Let us look forward to the great future God has prepared for those who love Him as we try to help as many as we can to love Him too.

Blessings,
Mitch

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July 3, 2020 · 9:00 AM

Moving Forward in Hope

Shalom, dear friend in the Messiah. I hope and pray that life is getting a little better for you and that you are adjusting to serving the Lord in a world where COVID-19 lockdowns are easing. This infectious disease and our efforts to mitigate its rapid and terrible impact on human life came at a high cost. The shutting down of society has led to severe economic repercussions and the loss of a sense of wellbeing as a nation. This crisis has been felt across the globe. Hopefully, we are entering a new season where the virus is better understood and controlled, and scientists are closer to creating treatments and a vaccine. Like you, I am trusting the Lord and approaching the days ahead with hope, looking forward to all He will do through Your Mission to the Jewish People. Due to the pandemic, there were many missed events, services, Bible studies, weddings, funerals, and family celebrations. However, those losses pale compared to the more than 100,000 people in the United States who died from COVID-19 and the suffering their loved ones have experienced. We suffered considerably in New York City as the virus spread and killed countless moms and dads, grandparents, and others, as we are now discovering. And we are not totally out of the woods yet! But, thank God, we are on our way. The brothers and sisters who serve with Chosen People Ministries have also suffered a great deal of loss because of the coronavirus. We have missed seeing our loved ones face-to-face and worshipping in person with our spiritual community. I am especially sad for those who could not visit their elderly parents and for those who lost loved ones from the disease but were unable to have a decent burial attended by family and friends. Some of us are also tired of working from our homes. We are ready to cope with whatever changes will be demanded of us when we get back to our offices, from wearing masks to social distancing and the inability to eat lunch together in our common room! MESSIAH IN THE PASSOVER AND YOUR MISSIONARIES Due to the timing of the coronavirus lockdowns, Jewish people, including myself, were unable to celebrate the Jewish holidays in person, most notably Passover, which is always such a sweet and joy-filled, family-oriented time. Many of our staff and their families celebrated Passover Seders through Zoom because they were unable to get together physically. It was not easy to enjoy eating our matzo ball soup separated from the rest of our family! I imagine that Gentile Christians felt equally disappointed about their Easter services, which are significant evangelistic opportunities for so many local churches! During this Passover season, we were also unable to make our regular visits to a large number of churches. Throughout the United States, churches had scheduled Chosen People Ministries for more than six hundred “Messiah in the Passover” presentations during March, April, and May. All of these were canceled because of restrictions placed on churches during the pandemic. We also had scheduled evangelistic Passover Seders and banquets at our Messianic congregations, centers, and branches in the regions where we minister. Generally, during this season, we would personally meet hundreds of new friends, prayer partners, supporters, and the not-yet-believing Jewish friends of congregants who would view our presentations as an opportunity to bring their friends to church. These cancellations represent a considerable loss of opportunity to demonstrate the link between the Last Supper and Passover and how Yeshua, the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world beautifully fulfills them both! It was also a loss of funding for our dedicated and faithful missionary staff. By God’s grace, we did experiment with some virtual Passover celebrations. I enjoyed an online Passover Seder with my family and presented Messiah in the Passover to my broader spiritual family through the wonders of Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube. I am so grateful for the creative ways our missionaries found to preach the gospel online and reach out to Jewish people through one-on-one conversations by phone and Zoom meetings. They have also expanded their Bible teaching ministries, discipleship of new Jewish believers, and even continued their ministry to local churches using the excellent digital tools many of us have recently discovered. Yet, we cannot truly recapture what we lost because we only celebrate the festival of Passover annually. You cannot turn back the clock! I am reticent to tell you how much money was lost that would have supported our missionaries during this season. Yet, a beautiful passage of promise in the book of Joel illustrates how the Lord is able and faithful to restore what the locusts have eaten. The prophet Joel wrote:
Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame. Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other; and My people will never be put to shame. (Joel 2:25–27)
LET’S CELEBRATE I know the Lord will take care of our staff, and this is why I am planning another online video-based celebration on Thursday, July 23, at 7:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. We will join in Messianic worship and invite Chosen People Ministries missionaries from around the globe to share what God is doing in their lives and their work for the Lord. We will also pray together and have a brief time of questions and answers. Thank you so much for your love and faithfulness. Your brother in the Messiah, Mitch

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June 1, 2020 · 9:00 AM

God’s Work in Israel During COVID-19

Shalom, dear friends!

You have been on my heart and in my prayers. I pray that you are staying
safe and healthy. Even if the coronavirus has not impacted you directly, I am sure that you are feeling its economic and social consequences. We need to pray fervently for one another and rely upon the Lord and His Spirit, not only to survive but to thrive during these difficult days.

We recently celebrated the final spring feast, Pentecost, or Shavuot in
Hebrew. It is the day commemorating the giving of the Holy Spirit. According to the book of Acts, it is the Holy Spirit that empowers and encourages us to be witnesses for the Lord “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Evangelism has been a little more difficult these days with limited travel, let alone to the ends of the earth.

However, I recently heard the lockdown referred to as “confining but not
defining.” Our circumstances motivate us to find new ways to accomplish
the tasks to which the Lord calls us. You could even call our quarantine an
opportunity of the tallest order! We might be speaking to more people about Jesus by way of Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime than we did before the pandemic began!

A THORN IN THE FLESH

I cannot help but think of our current predicament as a proverbial thorn in
the flesh.

Paul wrote about his thorn. He referred to it as his weakness. But rather
than dwelling on whatever that weakness was, he wrote, “I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me”
(2 Corinthians 12:9b). And many other verses allude to the same principle—
that in our weakness and in our limitations, God reveals Himself to be strong.

As we use the creativity God has given us to find solutions, the Lord
Himself is glorified, and our ministry is magnified. I believe this is what Paul was encouraging us to do.

I have not seen the Apostle Paul’s dedication and passion for the gospel
so clearly replicated in recent years as I have seen expressed by a Russianspeaking, ex-homeless person living in Israel and serving among elderly Holocaust survivors—who now also has a brand-new kidney! One of the high honors I have had in serving the Lord among the Jewish people is working with Maxim.

THE GOSPEL GOES FORTH IN ISRAEL

Despite a mandatory lockdown in the Holy Land, many logistical obstacles, and a very recent kidney transplant, Maxim has found new ways to continue bringing the good news of Messiah Jesus to the Jewish people of
Israel.

I could tell you all about it, but I would very much like you to hear about the amazing work that God is doing in Maxim’s own words. He recently sent me this update:

I hope you had a lovely Passover holiday. I also hope you are staying healthy and well during this difficult time. With God’s help, we will get through the crisis. We pray for your situation in America.

In Israel, we are still under quarantine. Most people are staying at home. It is not easy, especially for older people. Each restriction is tough on those who are vulnerable or “at risk.” We are not allowed to visit them in person. Despite that, we keep serving these people. Every day we make dozens of calls, talking to the elderly, supporting them, and sending them videos via WhatsApp. With some of them, we are also able to do video chats.

In Haifa, we are doing Bible classes online with the elderly group there. For Passover, we prepared and distributed food packages to those in need. We also stay in touch via phone.

In Tel Aviv and central Israel, we recently distributed more than sixty packages of food to the elderly. We talk with them on the phone every day, as well

Because of my surgery, I must avoid contact with people. I am so grateful that my wife, Slavna, and our friend, Luda, took my responsibilities upon themselves. In Jerusalem, we, along with our volunteers, distributed protective masks that were sent to us by our friends in Hong Kong for people in the retirement homes. We also distributed food packages to those in need and stayed in contact with those we served.

Now, we are working on a new four-week ministry project. Every week, we plan on doing online concerts with different worship teams. The presentations will include many of the songs loved by these people, worship, and a message. We hope to stream them to all of our regions.

Despite all the difficulties, we are trying to do something to support our people. We pray for the future when we will finally be able to meet them again in person. We also pray for the possibilities of bringing a group of our elderly people somewhere to rest after the quarantine is over, maybe by taking a trip or at least some kind of tour. With all of the stress brought on by the isolation, relaxation is vital and much needed, so we hope God will provide something like this. Please also pray for the families of our Holocaust survivors. Many of them have lost their jobs and are now facing challenging times. We are trying to stay in touch with them and help them whenever possible. Due to the current situation, there are many new opportunities to reach out to people who have been closed-minded in the past.

Unfortunately, we also have had some sad news. Devorah* from Sderot passed away. She was the leader of the Sderot Holocaust Survivors Club. Because of coronavirus, nobody was allowed to attend the funeral. She was buried on Saturday at 11:00 p.m. by people from the funeral home. Her only family, a son who is very mentally ill, was unable to provide anything for the burial site. However, we hope that when we have the finances, we will be able to get a headstone for her.

We are thankful to God that, even in this difficult time, He gives us possibilities to serve and share the good news. We thank you and all of your friends who help to make ministry possible here.

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Maxim

*not her real name

CONTINUING THE MINISTRY

It is so encouraging to hear how God is working despite the circumstances! He is strong and able when we are not, and nothing can thwart His plans and purposes, not a virus, wars, economic hardship, or governmental restrictions. All it takes is a passionate heart devoted to Jesus, like that of Paul or Maxim, to be used by God in the power of His Spirit.

In the power of God’s Spirit, He provides for Your Mission to the Jewish People.

Thank you for your faithfulness.

Blessings in the Messiah,
Mitch

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March 2, 2020 · 10:00 AM

Three New Missionaries Join Us in Israel!

Shalom in His grace. As you probably know, we had a wonderful year celebrating our 125th anniversary. As we turn our eyes to the future, I want to take a moment to honor God by remembering the past. Rabbi Leopold Cohn—our founder—along with hundreds of missionaries, board members, prayer partners, and faithful supporters are now part of that host of heavenly witnesses cheering us on towards the future (Hebrews 12:1–3)!

We now must move forward in serving the Lord among His chosen people until He comes again!

Our missionaries will continue our everyday ministries, presenting Jesus the Messiah one-on-one and heart-to-heart to Jewish people in the dozens of cities and nineteen countries in which we serve.

We will continue teaching Bible studies, planting and leading Messianic congregations, serving poor and elderly Jewish people, and hosting children’s camps through the leadership provided by our Messianic Centers in densely populated Jewish communities such as Brooklyn, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and another half-dozen cities around the world.

Our leadership has prayerfully decided to focus on three distinct essential ministries.

We are calling this effort our To the Jew First campaign. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:16:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Allow me to summarize the three parts of the campaign:

ISRAEL

We will continue to build our work in Israel. We now have twenty-five staff members serving in the Holy Land, but we need more! We are finding that Israelis are more open today to the gospel than ever before, and we want to seize the moment!

DIGITAL MEDIA

We will intensify our ministry through digital media—utilizing the web, social media and videos—using all these modern tools God has made available to us to proclaim the gospel and disciple those who come to faith.

THE JOSHUA INITIATIVE

Finally, we will invest more time, treasure, and talent in mentoring the next generation of missionaries to the Jewish people. We have started new and unique ministries on many campuses, training more and more new leaders at our Charles Feinberg Center in Brooklyn, and bringing young adults together in training conferences to send into the harvest.

GOD IS DOING AMAZING THINGS IN ISRAEL!

Our ministry over the last two decades in the Holy Land has touched the lives of thousands of Russian Jewish immigrants and elderly Holocaust survivors, children through our camping programs, and many others through church planting and the general work of evangelism.

The Lord brought the right people to the right place for the right moment of ministry!

We are thrilled to see a second-generation movement of the Holy Spirit within Israel.

Many of those who are now serving the Lord in Israel are young Israelis whose parents became believers decades ago. This new generation of Israeli Messianic Jews is serving the Lord among their friends and family members in the Land.

They were raised in Israel, speak fluent Hebrew, served in the army, and many want to serve in full-time Jewish ministry. We are focusing on this next generation of Israeli young adults and families.

We will certainly not forget the older and very precious Israelis. But now, we must turn our attention to the next generation of Israelis, especially those who live in the greater Tel Aviv area, which has the largest population in Israel. For example, we are now active in a suburban community called Ramat Gan, which is adjacent to Tel Aviv. Ramat Gan and the surrounding area has about a half-million Israelis without one congregation or church. And—until we moved into the area—there were no missionaries serving them at all.

We now rent an attractive sixteen-hundred-square foot center in Ramat Gan, where we have some younger staff members already in place. Yet, for the last two years, we have been specifically praying for God to bring new staff members who are native-born Israelis and are willing and able to serve the Lord with Your Mission to the Jewish People.

Praise God—over the last twelve months, He has answered our prayers!

I have now served as the leader of Chosen People Ministries for twenty-three years, and what a joy it has been. I must say, that in more than two decades of service, I never thought that I would see such openness in Israel, nor such high-quality young people with a willingness to serve.

We now have three wonderfully gifted young Israelis who are well-trained and ready to move forward in service for the Lord. In fact, we have already taken two of them on our staff, and the third is just about to begin. These three staff members are currently involved in the ministry in the Tel Aviv area; meeting with younger adults and families, conducting Bible studies, mother’s groups, outreach concerts, Sabbath dinners for millennials, and hosting a series of regular public lectures that are gospel-centered and appealing to the more secular Israelis living in the area.

I have included their pictures and a little more information about each of these young missionaries with so much potential, talent, and willingness to serve the Lord.

rsz_motiMordechai “Moti” was born in 1984 in Haifa, Israel, the only child of an Orthodox Moroccan Jewish family. As a young adult, Moti learned radio broadcasting and served in the Israel Defense Forces between 2003–2006. Moti traveled to the United States in 2007 pursuing his dream of becoming a photographer. He took classes at Photo Manhattan in New York while also working as a kosher supervisor on the Upper West Side. During this time, he became acquainted with Chosen People Ministries. He was challenged to read the Bible for himself and seek God on his own terms. After much prayer, thought, and study, Moti came to believe that Jesus was, in fact, his Jewish Messiah. When Moti returned to Israel in 2010, he signed up for classes at the Israel College of the Bible (ICB) to learn the Bible in a deeper way. Currently, Moti works with youth, soldiers, and students, teaching the Bible and sharing the good news in Israel. Moti and his wife, Orel, are both passionate about reaching their fellow Israelis, especially working with youth and young adults.

AyeletAyelet was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and was raised in a Messianic Jewish family. She came to believe the Bible and placed her faith in Yeshua at an early age. By the age of five, she was sharing the gospel. In her teens, she became active in camp and youth ministry. Ayelet always appreciated the cultural diversity in Israeli society, with Jews from all over the world. The Lord led her to study anthropology, Bible and theology, and apologetics, with a desire to minister to her diverse people in a culturally sensitive and biblically accurate way.

God has given Ayelet a heart for Israel and the nations, and she feels called to the work of discipleship, biblical teaching, evangelism, and missions. She recently completed her studies at Talbot Seminary, where she received a Master of Arts degree. Ayelet is excited to serve at the Ramat Gan center in outreach and discipleship. She desires to equip and challenge Jewish Israeli believers, calling our people to faith in Yeshua.

rsz_davidDavid was born in Latvia to a family of Jewish believers in Jesus. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Israel and then served in the Israel Defense Forces. David committed his life to the Lord at the age of seventeen while reading John 3:16 in a weekly congregation service. God’s love for him suddenly became so apparent and alive, he was amazed and devoted his life to serve and live for Him. David and his wife, Victoria, have always had a heart to share the gospel and make disciples by opening their home for fellowship, evangelism, and studying the Bible.

Currently, David is volunteering as the associate pastor at a large Hebrew-speaking congregation in Tel Aviv. In 2019, David joined the staff of Chosen People Ministries. David and Victoria are wholeheartedly committed to ministry at the Ramat Gan center, facilitating Café and Music nights, seminars, Sabbath dinners, and many other events. They have two children: Orel and Emanuel.

I know that so many more Israelis will hear the gospel and be saved because we invest in the lives and futures of these young missionaries. Three young Israelis like these do not come along every day.

We have a big vision—to share the gospel with hundreds of thousands of Israelis in Ramat Gan and the surrounding neighborhood. Finally, by God’s grace, we have the available people to serve!

I believe the Lord is about to do something marvelous, and you and I can have a part in this!

I hope you have enjoyed this brief introduction to David, Moti, and Ayelet.

For Jesus and for Israel,
Mitch

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February 3, 2020 · 6:00 AM

I am excited about 2020—are you?

Shalom in our Messiah!

Happy New Year! Your Mission to the Jewish People is now entering our 126th year of ministry. We had many wonderful celebrations for our 125th year including conferences, banquets, and evangelistic ministries in New York, Israel, and around the globe.

We spoke to more than 5,000 Jewish people about Jesus during our summer outreach in New York City and housed almost 2,000 young Israelis traveling in New Zealand who heard the gospel through our staff and volunteers. We also met almost 10,000 Jewish people online, many of whom asked for the free copy of our evangelistic book, Isaiah 53 Explained, in English and Hebrew!

Our I Found Shalom video testimonies were viewed by millions!

We prayed with Jewish people to receive Jesus as their Savior everywhere from New York City to Tel Aviv, as well as Jerusalem, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, and in many other countries around the world.

What a year, and by God’s grace we have now expanded our ministries into nineteen countries!

Last year, we took every opportunity to honor our spiritual forefathers who laid a solid and lasting foundation for Chosen People Ministries. But now, it is time to pivot toward the future and look ahead to the opportunities for Jewish evangelism in 2020 and beyond!

After all, we really do not know how much time we have until Jesus returns.

Do you believe we are in the end times? I do, and let me tell you why.

  • Israel now has the largest population of Jewish people in the world.
  • Israel is surrounded by enemies—especially the new coalition between Iran, Russia, and Syria in the north. This is especially dangerous, and we need to keep our eyes open and focus our prayers on this concerning situation.
  • Missiles continue to rain on Israel from Gaza, again funded by Iran.
  • Internally, Israel is in deep trouble because it has been unable to elect a prime minister, which creates instability within the country.

Followers of Jesus have been expecting His return at any moment since the day He ascended. I cannot imagine that Peter, Paul, and the other apostles thought it would take more than 2,000 years.  The fact that we have expected His return in every generation since the ascension does not mean we can become lax and not eagerly await His return today!

I still believe the Lord is coming soon! In fact, according to Zechariah 12:10, where the prophet tells us that Israel will ultimately look to the one who was pierced, Jerusalem needs to be in Jewish hands for this prophecy to be fulfilled. This happened, of course, in 1967!

When speaking of His return, it is true that “of that day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36), but we should not ignore the obvious signs of the times!

There is a growing remnant of Jewish people in Israel and around the world starting to believe in Jesus. There are probably more Jewish believers in the world now than ever before with an increasing number of Messianic Jewish believers in the Holy Land. There are more than 150 congregations in Israel, and thousands of young Israelis are now serving the Lord….in the Land!  This is clearly a sign of His soon return in light of what Paul wrote in Romans 11:25–29!

Chosen People Ministries is in the midst of this exciting time through our ministries in Jerusalem, Ramat Gan (Tel Aviv), Galilee, and northern Israel.

I believe we need to preach the good news to the Jewish people more intensively than ever before!

Next Steps in 2020

This is exactly what your Mission to the Jewish People plans to do in 2020!

And this is why we are initiating our To the Jew First Campaign, based upon Romans 1:16, where Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

We will focus on three critical areas:

Israel

We are intensifying our outreach in the Holy Land—doing more and more as the Lord enables. We hope one day soon to purchase a center in Tel Aviv. For now, renting a center in the heart of Ramat Gan, one of the largest, most populated, but unreached suburbs in Israel. This has been an exciting venture as we continue to reach younger and more secular Israelis each week through our concerts, Bible studies, evangelistic lectures, and Sabbath dinners.

There were almost forty people who are not yet believers at our last outreach Sabbath dinner, along with protestors standing outside the doors of our little center in Ramat Gan!

We now have more than twenty staff serving the Lord in Israel, and most of them are native Israelis. Our efforts among Holocaust survivors, children’s camps, congregational planting, and much more is all going well!  Thank you for your prayers and for your ongoing support for this work in Israel.

Opportunities Online

We are maximizing the use of digital media in Israel, the United States, and around the globe for the gospel.

We now have more than one hundred testimonies of Jewish believers online.

Our Isaiah 53 campaign continues, and we are meeting lots of Jewish seekers online!  The campaign costs about five dollars per book, including advertising and shipping costs.

This year we will send out more than 10,000 Hebrew Isaiah 53 Explained books to Israelis!

We also developed a full range of online discipleship Bible studies so Jewish people seeking the Lord can study the Bible and grow in their faith once they become believers.

The Joshua Initiative

Finally, we are increasing our efforts around the globe to train young believers to serve the Lord.

This is what we call the Joshua Initiative.

This includes those seriously studying the Word of God and learning more about Jewish evangelism at our Charles L. Feinberg Seminary program in Brooklyn. Thank God, our beloved supporters enabled us to purchase the Feinberg Center’s facility without debt!

You can tell how excited I am about entering 2020 and beginning our 126th year of Jewish ministry!

I would rather be disappointed if He does not come today, tomorrow, or even this year. I still believe we need to do all we can with the greatest sense of urgency to proclaim the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles each and every day.

So, call me a fanatic!  I suppose I am and if you want to know why, please watch my testimony on our I Found Shalom web site and you will know why!

Please join me with your prayers and efforts in reaching out to a dark and broken world—to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

Have a Happy New Year and know that our staff loves and appreciates you. We could not do all we do without your partnership.

Blessings in 2020—however long we have to enjoy it!

Your brother and fellow fanatic,

Mitch (Romans 1:16)

 

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September 16, 2019 · 9:42 AM

Israel, the Apple of God’s Eye

by Charles L. Feinberg
Written in 1964 and published in the book, Israel, in 1980

That Which Is So Precious

A man guards the apple of his eye because it is dear to him. It is considered by every man as one of his most precious possessions. The psalmist prayed to the Lord: “Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Thy wings” (Psalm 17:8). No one is interested in bargaining away the apple of his eye, nor in exchanging it for some trifling object. God considers the Jew as His precious possession. God has set His love on Israel and they are very precious to Him. Moses told them in the wilderness: “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:7–8). Second, the apple of the eye indicates that which is so easily injured.

That Which Is So Easily Injured

It is not necessary to thrust a knife into the eye to cause excruciating agony and injure it. A splinter, an eyelash, a speck of dust, or a touch will bring real pain. We need to be exceedingly careful how we conduct ourselves toward the Jew. He may appear without protector, but any injury hurts the heart of God, as He has repeatedly stated in the Word of God.

Third, the apple of the eye is that which is impossible to repair.

That Which Is Impossible to Repair

Parts of the human body can be injured and mutilated, and yet some type of replacement can be made. Hands, feet, and bones in the body have been replaced by skillful surgeons, or so treated that they are still useful. But the pupil of the eye cannot be repaired once it is severely injured. Some injuries to Israel, God’s people, cannot be repaired. How can the slaughter of six million Jews in Europe ever be repaired? How can this multiplied injury be righted? Impossible! And to think that everyone who touched them—let alone cremated them—was touching the apple of God’s eye!

Fourth, the apple of the eye is that which allows the light to penetrate.

That Which Allows the Light to Penetrate

The pupil of the eye is the entrance through which the light rays from without penetrate to the retina so that we may see the objects before us. Israel is God’s entrance way for the light of His Word and His salvation to enter the world. One day Jesus the Messiah said to a Samaritan woman: “You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). These words of the Messiah and Savior were in perfect accord with the declaration in Isaiah (43:10-12): “‘You are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you, so you are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I am God.’” This was the intention of God for Israel and still is.

Fifth, the apple of the eye is that which is so carefully protected.

That Which Is So Carefully Protected

Remarkable and abundant provision is made for the protection of the pupil of the eye, of which many people are unaware. The protection consists of: (1) the strong frontal bones (to guard against a blow); (2) the brow and eyelash (to protect against dust); (3) the lid (to guard against painful glare); and (4) the tear glands (to provide continuous cleansing). With Israel is the omnipotent power of God committed to protect them. The psalmist clearly recounts the protecting hand of God over His people:

He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as the portion of your inheritance,” when they were only a few men in number, very few, and strangers in it. And they wandered about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. He permitted no man to oppress them, and He reproved kings for their sakes: “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” Psalm 105:8–15

Remember, God’s hand of protection is upon Israel as a nation, and He will not suffer them to cease as a people.

That Which Causes Intense Pain When Injured

When a man’s pupil has been injured, he feels intense pain. And this pain can be so great that he becomes sick. To injure Israel is to cause God intense pain. He says: “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). When Israel is mistreated, God reckons that His very name, His own excellence, is blasphemed (Isaiah 52:5).

We never dare to forget that he who touches Israel for ill will not go unpunished. Nations as well as individuals have proved the truth of this passage of Scripture. On the other hand, we must also remember that he who touches Israel for good, will not go unrewarded (Matthew 25:40). You, too, have something you must keep in mind. You must be willing to open your eyes to see the glory and the beauty of the Messiah or you will never be able to behold the glorious sight!

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July 16, 2019 · 3:12 PM

Ministry Update from Israel

Shalom from Israel!

As I write to you, I am looking out over the beautiful Dead Sea. I am in Israel for several weeks to encourage our twenty-five staff members serving the Lord in the Holy Land. What a joy to see the power of God unleashed in Israel today.

But first of all, let me thank you for praying for Chosen People Ministries. We could not do this work without your love, encouragement, prayers, and faithful support!

I believe our ministry is in good health in all areas: spiritually, financially, theologically, and strategically. I thank God daily for the wonderful sense of unity within our ministry, from the board level to the staff. We have so much to be thankful for over the course of more than a century of ministry.

Our staff continues to be filled with vision for the future and an enduring passion for the salvation of our Jewish people. The heartfelt cry of those who serve with Chosen People Ministries resonates with the words of the great Apostle Paul who wrote: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them (the Jewish people) is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1).

Please allow me to reflect for a moment on some of what the Lord has accomplished through our dedicated staff this past year in His Land!

We maintain two outreach facilities: one in Jerusalem, which we own, and another in greater Tel Aviv, which we rent—the Ramat Gan Messianic Center. Through these facilities and others, we distribute food and relief across the country, sponsor concerts, Sabbath meals, Bible studies, and ministries to young parents and their children.

Our Isaiah 53 online campaign continues to reap good results in Israel. During this past fiscal year, we received more than 3,000 requests for the Isaiah 53 Explained book in Hebrew. Of these requests, 90 percent are from non-believers.

We continue a robust program of children’s camping programs in Israel, as well as trips for Israeli children to Poland and Germany. During this past year, we had more than 600 children and teens in our programs, with dozens of decisions for the Lord among the young people we are serving.

Our ministry among Holocaust survivors continues to thrive as we serve this rapidly diminishing community throughout Israel. We sense an urgency for this ministry, as Holocaust survivors will not be with us for much longer. Maxim Katz, our dedicated staff member who needs a kidney transplant, is the one who leads this ministry. He continues to need our prayers.

We are also serving the next generation of Israeli Messianic leaders by training them through our Living Waters mentoring retreats each summer. We usually take a group of 35–40 leaders, which includes husbands and wives, and oftentimes children. We usually go to a hotel on the beach for a retreat and provide a speaker from the United States who addresses a relevant topic. It is our vision to help equip both vocational Christian workers as well as those in a variety of occupations, including army careers, to develop in their leadership as they serve the Lord through their local congregations or in some type of ministry.

Our Partnership
Thanks so much for your prayers and faithful support. Without you, none of the above would be possible. We are partners in the gospel! We are looking forward to the most intensive outreach we have ever had as we bring more than 125 people to serve on the streets of New York City from July 27 until August 10, 2019.

Again, Zhava and I are grateful for the opportunity to serve with Chosen People Ministries in the United States and around the globe in reaching our Jewish people for Jesus! The fiscal year 2019 was a year of good growth and celebration of our 125 years of faithful service to the Lord, and we look forward to continued celebrations through the end of December. We are especially looking forward to our November 15 banquet in New York City, which is part of our Chosen People Ministries heritage weekend. For more information, please visit chosenpeople.com/anniversarygala.

Thanks for caring, and have a blessed remainder of the summer!

Your brother in the Messiah,

Dr. Mitch Glaser
President, Chosen People Ministries

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August 15, 2018 · 4:55 PM

Israeli Soldier Encounters Yeshua

Shalom from Jerusalem! I am writing this quick note from the Holy Land. I have been here for a month working with our staff, participating in Chosen People Ministries’ celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel, mentoring young leaders, and sharing the gospel with Israelis.

We also organized a special outreach event at our Ramat Gan/Greater Tel Aviv Center. We invited all those who have responded to our Hebrew Facebook ads by ordering a copy of the book I wrote, Isaiah 53 Explained. It was billed as a Meet the Author event. Of course, the author of Isaiah 53 is only Isaiah in part, since God Himself is the true author of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16)! So, they came to meet me, but I was hoping and praying they would meet Him!

A handful of Israeli non-believers attended, for which I was grateful. The conversations were lively with a lot of interaction, and they respectfully listened as I shared the truth of the gospel from this great chapter of the Bible. Afterward, I spoke with Ronit,* a young woman currently in the army who attended the event in her fatigues! She came with another young female soldier from her unit who was her friend. Ronit approached me with a copy of Isaiah 53 Explained in Hebrew and asked if I would sign the book. I did, and I also asked her what she thought of my talk. She was all smiles and told me how much she enjoyed it. Then she said something I will never forget. I asked her if she had heard about Jesus before and she said, “Absolutely!” When I asked how, she hugged her friend and said, “This is my friend and she has been talking to me about the Messiah…and it is beginning to make sense to me.” She replied that there was another female soldier who was a believer in her unit, and with a big smile said, “They are the best people I have ever met!”

I was delightfully surprised by her heartfelt and evident respect and love for her two believing friends. There is no doubt in my mind that she is not far from the kingdom. I was reminded of the power of our personal witness in word and through our lives! As Peter describes,

“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15).

Please keep reading for another moment and let me explain what really goes into my being able to meet a young woman like Ronit.

First of all, we need to write and edit books like Isaiah 53 Explained. We had to print the book and pay for the mailing costs, Facebook ads, and rent for a center in very expensive Tel Aviv. Remember, we cannot easily rent a church or another facility for an outreach as there is only one church within twenty-five miles of our center!

I am so grateful for your sacrificial gifts that help us make the message of the gospel known to a sinful and broken world.

In fact, if this precious young soldier is the only person that ever comes to faith because of the ways God uses our very “human and frail” efforts, then I will be satisfied and rejoice. But, we know there will be others and that God is faithful to His word. As Paul writes, “So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Please continue to pray for the work of Chosen People Ministries. You have a vital part in bringing the gospel to Jewish people in Israel, Brooklyn, and around the globe through your prayers, support, and encouragement.

Thanks so much and I pray you have a great rest of the summer.

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