Tag Archives: Messiah

September 1, 2025 · 10:00 AM

Damage to our New Tel Aviv Center: My Reflection on Israel

On the morning of June 19, a powerful Iranian ballistic missile hit our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center. I think the best way to describe my sentiments about the bombing of our new center is by reflecting on my deep connection to Israel and the Jewish people.

My Personal Connection to Israel

I was raised in a traditional Jewish home and brought up to love the nation of Israel. Even though I was a New Yorker, every Jewish person I knew was a Zionist. Our heroes growing up were people like David Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, or Mickey Marcus (my grandfather’s favorite), the father of the Israeli Air Force.

As kids, we often talked about Israel, and I had always wanted to go there. Israel was just part of who we were, and I knew it was our true homeland. Israel grew out of the ashes of the greatest tragedy in Jewish history, and if we, as Jewish kids, took pride in anything, it was in Israel, with its Jewish army, its Jewish language (modern Hebrew), and so much more. Just knowing that Israel existed strengthened my Jewish identity and reminded me that if we were again persecuted, we could fight back because we had our own country.

Some critics of the Jewish people believe that what I have just described makes me guilty of dual loyalty, a typical antisemitic trope. This is unfounded. I am a proud Jewish person and a proud American; it has never been an either-or for me. I believe that God connected me to two nations I love and to whom I am loyal. When I became a believer in Jesus at nineteen years old, my feelings about Israel intensified because of my developing belief in God and the Bible. I felt more connected to the God of my fathers through the Jewish Messiah.

As I grew in the faith, my understanding of who I was as a Jewish person grew and matured as well. While Israel has always been part of my heart and soul, through Jesus, I became spiritually connected to Israel and more in love with the land than ever before. My Messiah grew up in Israel, and that is where His ministry and earthly life were centered. This only caused me to love the Lord and the land promised to my forefathers even more.

As the leader of a 131-year-old Mission to the Jewish people, I recognize that Israel now encompasses about half of the world’s Jewish population. I could not be more passionate about finding ways for the message of the Jewish Messiah to be proclaimed in the land of His birth. This commitment has caused me to be intensely involved with the work of Chosen People Ministries—Israel, which I consider to be the privilege of a lifetime. One of the greatest joys I have is caring for our Israeli staff, whom I believe are true heroes for the gospel.

History of Chosen People Ministries—Israel

Let me back up a little bit and tell you about the history of our Mission to the Jewish people in Israel. The Mission began before Israel became a modern state in 1948, with British missionaries under the British Mandate. Our workers served among the few hundred thousand Jewish people in the land, and they were intensively engaged in helping Jewish refugees from the Holocaust settle in Israel.  

The influx of Russian-speaking Jewish people to the land in the late 1980s and beyond transformed Chosen People Ministries, as many Russian-speaking Jewish people came to faith in Jesus and committed their lives to Him. Fifty percent of our work in Israel is now conducted by Russian-speaking Jewish people who immigrated to Israel, found the Lord, and gave their lives to serving Him in the land.

Several years ago, we decided to begin a work among the 4.7 million Israelis in the greater Tel Aviv area. We rented a space in an urban suburb called Ramat Gan, which is immediately adjacent to Tel Aviv, and began holding concerts, Sabbath dinners, Bible studies, moms’ groups, and so much more. The community and the work began to grow. A few years later, we decided that we needed a new center and began looking, but we could not find an appropriate fit for our needs. We then entered the time of the pandemic and paused our search.

Finally, by God’s grace, we found a new facility two-and-a-half times the size of the current one! This was a miracle because properties in the area were mostly larger apartment buildings and commercial retail properties. They were also very expensive—prices similar to Manhattan. But we knew we needed the space. Young Israelis were showing overwhelming interest in our programs. So, we trusted God and purchased this beautiful spot, which is near the light rail, a major form of transportation for young Israelis. We began to build out the space, as it was 4,000 square feet of unfinished cement on two floors when we purchased it.

Then, tragically, October 7 occurred, transforming the entire landscape of life and work in Israel.

I cannot tell you how much I still grieve for the remaining hostages and their families, as well as for all the lives lost. This was a devastating experience for Israel, yet, unfortunately, Israel is being regularly condemned for their response to the tragedy.

We completed the build-out project within two years, which is a major miracle.

In June, we took more than sixty people on our “Dedication Tour” of Israel, as our major goal of the trip was to dedicate the new facility. There was quite a bit of tension in the air because of the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. We all knew that the fountain of this hatred of Israel and distorted vision of life was coming from Iran. We were amazed that we had so many people coming with us to Israel and that none canceled. The tour was emotionally and spiritually moving, especially our visit to the Nova Music Festival memorial grounds and the city of Sderot, the scene of considerable violence on October 7. 

During our first few days in Israel, we began hearing rumblings of concern about the possibility that Iran could soon manufacture nuclear weapons. The Israeli leadership believed the threat of Iran attacking Israel was growing. So, after about four days of our tour, Israel attacked Iran and, as you would expect, Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones.

In previous trips to Israel, I heard the sirens, fled to bomb shelters, and heard the booms

of missiles from Gaza and Yemen, but the Iranian missiles were far fiercer and caused considerable damage. The experience of running to bomb shelters several times caused our friends and supporters on the trip to grow closer to the Jewish people and Israel in particular.

Damage to Our New Tel Aviv Center

On the day we left to return to the United States, my wife and I had just arrived at the airport when we heard air raid sirens screaming as missiles flew overhead toward Israel. We had no idea at that time that these were the missiles that would hit our brand-new, recently finished, and dedicated center on the morning of June 19. Thankfully, no one died in that attack, which is an incredible miracle.

I believe most of the damage within the new center is cosmetic and can be fixed over a few months. However, our center is located on the first two floors of a large condominium building. Structural damage to the building itself is far more problematic, and we are waiting for the city engineers to inform us of the building’s status. We will keep our lease on our prior rented facility, which lost all its windows from the missile blast. I believe this facility can be repaired quickly, and we will be able to continue our ministry. I will try to keep you further informed about what it will take for us to get into and repair the new center once the structural integrity is determined.

We know that the Lord Jesus will soon return, conquer His enemies, and sit on His rightful throne. We look forward to that glorious day, but until then, He has called us to make disciples of all nations—and that includes Israel. The apostle Paul said that the gospel is for all, but “to the Jew first”(Romans 1:16), so we will continue our work until He comes.

We need your prayers, support, and love more than ever before!

Thank you for taking the time to understand my heart for my own people and for the Jewish state. I deeply appreciate your love for the Lord, the Jewish Messiah.

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August 15, 2025 · 9:00 AM

Sheltering under His Wings

There is now a temporary peace between Israel and Iran, and we hope and pray it holds and that the actions of both the Israeli and United States military have neutralized the nuclear threat Iran posed to Israel and the free world.  

A New Understanding of Sheltering!

The word “sheltering” is the term our Israel staff families use to let us know they are safely in bomb shelters as missiles rain overhead from Iran, Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah.

This beautiful and impactful Hebrew word for shelter, סֵתֶר (seter), is found throughout the Bible, but especially in the Psalms. For example, one of the most well-known uses appears Psalm 91:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark (Psalm 91:1–4).

Seter is often used to refer to the secret place where God hides His saints. The following are some other wonderful and comforting passages where seter is used to describe God protecting His people:

  1.  “You are my hiding (סֵתֶר) place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).
  2.  “In the secret place (סֵתֶר) of His tent He will hide me” (Psalm 27:5).
  3. “You hide them in the secret place (סֵתֶר) of Your presence” (Psalm 31:20).

This word has taken on a new depth of meaning for me after spending a few weeks in Israel this summer. Over the past year and a half, my dear brothers and sisters in Israel have been bombarded by missiles from various sources: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and more recently and intensively, from Iran. Iran sent hundreds of drones and ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles loaded with explosives.

The first two waves came through Iranian proxies—Hamas and Hezbollah—who Iran has been supporting, arming, and encouraging! Let us not forget that on October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, mercilessly killing innocent young Israelis at a music festival, on an army base, and then turned their ire onto various settlements in what is known as the “Gaza envelope.” By the end of that day, more than 1,200 people were murdered, 250 were kidnapped, and since the defensive war began, more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers have been killed as well.

When the war in 2023 started, almost 700 days ago, our staff—mostly younger Israelis and many with small children—would rush to bomb shelters throughout the night and sometimes during the day. Through their WhatsApp group, they would let everyone know they were safe in their shelters by using the English word sheltering as a code word for safety.

Our Tel Aviv Messianic Center’s Dedication Tour Interrupted

In mid-June, I led a tour of sixty devoted followers of Jesus and lovers of Israel on our dedication tour that marked the opening of our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center. Little did we know that on our way through the tour, Israel would attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and many military positions to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Soon Iran’s proxies would regularly fire missiles, which drove us to visit the bomb shelters. For days we heard the blasting sirens at least twice a night and sometimes during the day.

Israel’s leaders had sufficient reason to believe that Iran and its military leaders had manufactured enough nuclear material to put together at least a half a dozen nuclear projectiles that would undoubtedly magnify their efforts to destroy Israel. The leaders of the Jewish state chose to act quickly to neutralize this threat, as well as the Iranian military infrastructure. Israel was able to stage a preemptive strike and, though not perfect, the Israeli Air Force was able to significantly reduce Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

However, Iran still launched hundreds of various types of missiles into Israel. Most were shot down by Israel and the United States, but some made it through, killing people and damaging homes, schools, hospitals, and other buildings, including our rented center and our new center, which was dedicated two days before the attack.

Helping Those Displaced by War

Let me tell you what happened immediately after Iran’s intensive bombing on Israel and then give you some idea of how you can help. I received this email from a staff member—at that time still at the last hotel where our group stayed—the day I began leading our sixty-plus tour participants out of Israel through Amman, Jordan:

When the tour group left, we noticed the hotel lobby filling with families from a building that took a direct hit from an Iranian rocket. There were 110 hotel rooms of people who arrived with over 100 children. I immediately went to the manager and asked if we can do something to help the children. They gave us a room that was used for displaced children earlier in the war. It was dirty and disorganized, so we cleaned it up and began offering the parents a place with games and crafts as well as helpers for their kids.

We have now coordinated with the hotel and have a team of social workers, along with a volunteer community group, who works with kids, but it’s not nearly enough. As some of us engaged the kids, others spoke and prayed with moms and offered an ear and comfort to people who were displaced and frazzled. We are also supplying some personal hygiene items and diapers. Since we were still at the hotel after the tour, we decided to prolong our stay for a week to try and serve these newly displaced Israeli families in practical ways and show them the love of God through Jesus the Messiah.

Please pray as the people don’t know how long they will stay here or where they will go. The children are very stressed by the sirens and the level of threat to their families and homes. 

Thank you for your prayers and for the support Chosen People Ministries is providing so that we can serve needy and hurting Israelis and their children.

Helping the Helpers!

Let me share a few ideas about how you can partner with us during Israel’s time of need. Our ministries in Israel must continue and increase more than ever before, as the need is overwhelming.

  1. Chosen People Ministries needs to meet the physical and material needs of Israelis in the name of Jesus, as the Messiah also fed and cared for those He was seeking to save.
  2. Israel needs the prayers and support of the global church:
    • Please pray for Israel’s defense, and for nations of the world and the media to be more supportive of Israel.
    • Pray for the victims of the Iranian regime whose ideology is shared by the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Please also pray that, along with Israelis, the innocent in those countries ruled by these terrorist groups discover the love of God and His ability to shelter us from evil.

It is wonderful to see how many Israelis and Jewish people outside Israel recognize that truly devoted Christians have a deep and abiding love for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

We know Israel is not perfect, nor is any country or human being. Because of that universal reality, we need to live our lives in the shelter of His presence and help others discover the real peace that comes from the presence of the Lord. More than anything else, the Jewish people need to know the Lord, and our global staff is bringing the gospel message to Israelis and Jewish people, young and old, around the globe.

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August 1, 2025 · 10:00 AM

Jesus Is Changing Lives In Israel

I recently returned from a difficult trip in Israel; the war with Iran began when I was there with about sixty staff and partners! You may have heard our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center was damaged by an Iranian missile. Please pray for us as we begin the repairs.

Despite these setbacks, we have seen remarkable growth take place since war started in October 2023, including eleven new believers whom our staff are now mentoring and discipling! What an encouraging sign of God’s work in Israel. Attendance at our Bible studies continues to increase, with many eagerly coming to engage deeply with Scripture.

So, allow me to share with you some wonderful testimonies of how Jesus is changing lives and resurrecting hope in the hearts of many forlorn Israelis who live beneath the grim shadow of war and hate.

  • Upon reaching rock bottom and planning to end her life, Devorah* encountered Jesus and came to faith! She began attending our young adult group and read through the entire New Testament. She also meets every other week with one of our staff for mentoring, Bible reading, and prayer. She is passionate about following the Lord and eager to use her large social media platform to share about the radical way Jesus has transformed her life. 
  • One of our ministry staff members, along with his Greek-Israeli friend, an accomplished bouzouki (a stringed instrument) player, unexpectedly found himself in high demand for concerts among Israeli soldiers. What began as an outreach to severely wounded soldiers in hospitals has grown into a broader and greater ministry where our staff member and his friend minister regularly through music and the Psalms to entire units! Our staff member explains, “We always make it clear that we are believers, that they are not alone, and that Christians in the United States are praying for them.” The impact is visible as many respond with weary but grateful smiles, singing, and even dancing! In one particularly moving moment, a young woman suffering from chronic pain was brought to tears as the team gathered around her in prayer. What began as a simple offering of compassion, the Lord has multiplied into a powerful display of love, encouragement, and hope amid overwhelming need.
  • A few months ago, one of our workers came across an elderly believer friend in the mall who needed strength to care for his ailing wife. Our staff members now make regular visits to his family, which has helped our friend better care for his wife. God wonderfully redeemed a dire situation!
  • At a recent Sabbath dinner, one of our staff members engaged in a meaningful conversation with a new believer, Hadas*, who began following Jesus only a few months ago. Hadas came with many questions, which led to a deep and enriching spiritual discussion involving several believers. Afterward, she shared that the conversation had significantly increased her understanding and sparked a desire in her to read and grow in her knowledge of the Bible!
  • Recently, one of our staff joined a ladies’ brunch and small prayer meeting where each woman shared how God had stretched her faith and revealed His faithfulness. One woman testified how the Lord led her to the right apartment outside Tel Aviv and then provided a car within her budget. Another woman shared how, just as her lease was ending and while she was still job hunting, God miraculously provided both a new job and an apartment nearby—right on time! We are grateful for this growing community and sisterhood where younger and older believers alike are able to come together and encourage and pray for one another. Praise God for such sweet fellowship!
  • Our staff recently had the tremendous privilege of exploring the book of Ruth with a group of young adults. We noticed that the young adults were not just listening but were engaging thoughtfully, reflecting personally, and connecting the teaching to their own lives. After the sessions, our staff had meaningful conversations with the men and women in attendance. Many shared how the study opened their eyes to new perspectives, challenged them to think deeply, and even stirred some to action. When the teaching ended, they did not just rush off to chit-chat but lingered, asked hard questions, and shared what was on their hearts. They wanted to pray together, wrestle with the truth of Scripture, and let it shape their lives. The Bible study is alive and bearing fruit! God’s truth is transforming lives!

As we transition into our new facility in Tel Aviv this month, we believe even greater opportunities for ministry lie ahead because of the Lord’s blessing on our work and because of your faithful prayers and support! We could not have made it this far without you. I pray and ask you to continue partnering with us to show the love of Jesus to His own people in this hour of dire need.

Let’s Act Now!

Like many heroes of the faith during World War II who saved Jewish lives and fought antisemitism, the actions we take now will write history, as the next generation of Bonhoeffers and ten Booms rise up to take their stand with God’s chosen people.

First of all, please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the safety and well-being of Jewish people in Israel and around the globe. I was recently in England where there are pro-Hamas protests almost every day throughout London. As the psalmist wrote, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you’” (Psalm 122:6).

This is a prayer with a promise. So, please pray for the Jewish people, for Israel, and for your Jewish friends and associates. Please pray that, by turning to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through Jesus the Messiah, the peace of Jesus would fill the hearts of Jewish people who are seeking answers to questions about the fragility of life.

Jewish people feel threatened by the plague of antisemitism spreading throughout the world at this critical moment in human history. As Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The worst because Israelis and many Jewish people feel threatened by growing antisemitism in the West, and even in the United States; the best because Israelis are turning to spiritual truth to fill the void in their souls. Many, especially those under forty, are seeking hope, peace, and stability, and they are finding it through the love of Messiah Jesus. Please pray and take action against anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred around the globe, and continue to spread God’s Word to the Jewish people.

I always ask my Gentile believing brothers and sisters to think about sharing the gospel with the Jewish people and to keep Jewish evangelism from becoming the Great Omission of the Great Commission! As the apostle Paul shared 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.”

Paul reminds the Gentile believers to make the Jewish people jealous of the Jewish Messiah who lives in the heart of every true follower of Jesus. He wrote in Romans 11:11, “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.”

We recently held two gospel proclamation campaigns in both the United States (Shalom New York) and in London (Shalom London). These went well, although we did receive some opposition from anti-Israel protestors, who waved Hamas and Palestinian flags together, making it clear what these misinformed souls supported. The Lord gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with many of these who seem to hate the Jewish people, but for whom Jesus died. We spoke to hundreds of people about the Lord on the streets of these two great cities with a combined Jewish population of about three million.

We are about to walk into the hornets’ nest by beginning a residential university outreach at Columbia University. Undeterred by pro-Hamas and anti-Israel sentiments at the school, we will be renting an apartment and deploying three workers on campus. They will align their schedules with the university calendar and spend each day sharing the good news with students. We are doing the same at New York University, which has similar challenges with anti-Israel activists. 

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July 15, 2025 · 9:00 AM

Hineni! Isaiah’s Call and Ours

We live in turbulent times, which is why it is so important that we put our trust in the Lord and make ourselves available for service. We have an inspiring example of this in the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah. There is no place where the character and commitment of the prophet are more clearly seen than when God Himself called him to ministry (Isaiah 6).

Isaiah’s call came around 740 BCE, when the kingdom of Judah stood at a crossroads. King Uzziah, who had reigned for fifty-two years, was dead. With his passing came uncertainty, fear, and the looming shadow of Assyrian aggression on the horizon.

For Isaiah, this was not just a national crisis—it was personal. He had lived and prophesied during Uzziah’s reign, warning of God’s judgment upon a people whose hearts had grown cold. Now, as political stability crumbled, so, too, did any illusion that his words had made a difference. The vineyard of Israel, as he would later describe it, was about to be trampled and laid waste (Isaiah 5:5–6).

In this moment of profound despair and seeming failure, God revealed Himself to Isaiah in a way that would forever transform the prophet’s life.

A Vision of Glory

Isaiah described his extraordinary divine encounter as follows: “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).

Amid earthly loss and uncertainty, Isaiah was granted a glimpse of the true King who would never die, seated on His eternal throne, lifted above all others in the heavens. 

The terms used to describe God’s posture are “high and lifted up,” which also match the prophet’s description of the Messiah in Isaiah 52:13, “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” These words offer a further hint of the divine nature of the coming Servant of the Lord.

The imagery is striking as the train of God’s robe filled the entire Temple. This vision provides our first glimpse into the heart of Isaiah’s message—amid human frailty and failing kingdoms, God’s sovereign rule remains unshaken and all-encompassing.

Above this throne were the seraphim, fiery angelic beings whose very name recalls the “fiery serpents” of Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Numbers 21:4–9). Their thunderous chorus echoed through the Temple, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

The Hebrew word for “holy” (kadosh) means set apart. Three times, the seraphim declared God’s utter otherness—His complete separation from sin and creation. This repetition is not mere poetry but a profound expression of God’s triune nature, although Isaiah himself may not have fully comprehended this mystery. As the seraphim proclaimed God’s holiness, the very foundations of the Temple thresholds trembled, and smoke filled the sanctuary. 

The Cleansing of a Prophet

In the presence of this overwhelming holiness, Isaiah could only see one thing clearly—his own unworthiness, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). The Hebrew word for “ruined” (damah) means utterly destroyed. Isaiah recognized that his prophetic lips were unclean (tamey), the same term used throughout Leviticus to describe ritual impurity. 

Isaiah may have wondered how a man with unclean lips and an unclean heart could speak God’s holy word. How could he condemn Israel’s sin when he himself was so deeply flawed? Yet, God’s response to Isaiah’s confession reveals the core of the gospel message:

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven” (Isaiah 6:6–7).

The coal was not just any coal, but one taken from the altar of sacrifice—drenched in the blood of atonement. The seraph’s touch did not just cleanse Isaiah’s lips for prophetic speech. It provided comprehensive forgiveness. His iniquity was taken away, and his sin atoned for by the shed blood of the sacrifice (Leviticus 17:11).

Again, we see a foreshadowing of the Messiah. Just as Isaiah received cleansing through sacrificial blood, we receive forgiveness through the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua (Jesus). Additionally, like Isaiah, our cleansing is not just a one-time event from years ago but a daily reality that enables us to be intimate with God and prepares us for service. 

Saying Yes to God

Encountering God’s holiness and experiencing His cleansing grace positioned Isaiah to hear God’s call: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).

The Hebrew phrase, “Here am I” (hineni) is far more than a statement of physical presence. It is a declaration of complete availability and readiness to follow orders. Throughout Scripture, this response marks moments of profound encounter with God: Abraham said, “Hineni!” when God called him to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1); Moses said it when God spoke from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4); and Samuel said it when God called him as a boy in the Temple (1 Samuel 3:4).

Each of these instances represented a turning point—a moment when ordinary people made themselves fully available to an extraordinary God. 

The Challenge of Faith

What makes Isaiah’s story so remarkable is what happened after he said, “Hineni.” Isaiah received perhaps the most discouraging commission in Scripture:

Go, and tell this people: “Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.” Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed. (Isaiah 6:9–10)

God was essentially telling Isaiah he would preach, but the people would not listen, and his preaching would make their hearts harder. No wonder Isaiah responded with the anguished question: “Lord, how long?” The answer was equally devastating: “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, houses are without people and the land is utterly desolate” (Isaiah 6:11).

The Hebrew prophet teaches us some great lessons in evangelistic patience, which is what many of us who serve with Chosen People Ministries have learned. We know that the day is coming when the Lord will turn the hearts of the Jewish nation to Jesus (Romans 11:25–29), even though we are eager and pray for our Jewish people to come to know their Messiah right now. 

The Promise of the Remnant

Even amid this dire commissioning, God offered Isaiah a glimmer of hope about a faithful remnant, “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, and it will again be subject to burning, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump” (Isaiah 6:13).

This doctrine of a remnant runs throughout Scripture. The prophet predicts that even though Israel might be cut down like a tree, the stump—a faithful remnant—would remain, preserving the possibility of new growth. The apostle Paul would also later write: “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).

This remnant doctrine allows us to redefine success in evangelism. We are called to faithfulness, not visible results. We proclaim the gospel to all, knowing some will reject it while others—the remnant God has prepared—will receive it. The Lord has called us to faithfully proclaim the good news and let Him bring the good result!

Our Hineni Moment

What does Isaiah’s experience mean for us today? Like him, we live in uncertain times. Like him, we may feel our witness falls on deaf ears. Like him, we are painfully aware of our own unworthiness.

Yet Isaiah’s vision offers us hope. The same commission—difficult though it may be—comes with the same promise of a remnant who will believe.

Therefore, knowing His forgiveness and in obedience to His call:

  • We preach whether people respond positively or not.
  • We preach until the opportunity is no longer available.
  • We preach, confident in God’s promise to preserve a faithful remnant for Yeshua.

We do not measure our success by visible results but by our faithfulness to the gospel. Our motivation comes not from confidence in our own abilities but from a vision of God’s glory and grace through Jesus.

Are we ready to say hineni—to be available to God and to serve Him in bringing the message of Yeshua to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16)? May we, like Isaiah, be transformed by a vision of God’s holiness, cleansed by His grace and compelled by His call to say with sincere hearts, “Hineni, send me.”

Thank you for your love, faithful support, and prayers for our global staff who call on the Lord for His holy purposes while reaching Jewish people for the Messiah.

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June 2, 2025 · 9:00 AM

Prophecy and Politics in the Middle East 

Shalom, in the name of the Prince of Peace—Jesus the Messiah. I am now in Israel, and we are touring the country with two busloads full of faithful prayer partners and watchmen for Jerusalem (Isaiah 62:6–7). We are also celebrating the dedication of our new Tel Aviv Messianic Center. What a joyous occasion! 

The Lord is moving powerfully in the Holy Land! Young adults are coming to faith in Jesus as Messiah, and the entire body of believers, tempered by suffering, is growing by leaps and bounds. The number of people coming to the Lord is more than I have ever seen, and the maturity of leaders and congregants is remarkable. It is so true that we grow the most through adversity. 

I can also confirm that the entire nation of Israel is under incredible stress. Political tensions are virtually intolerable, and there are still dozens of hostages and hostage families who have not seen their loved ones for almost two years. 

So again, please pray for our staff, many of whom are quite young and are going through hardships that are causing them to grow up more quickly than we would wish. So many of the believers in the land are still running in and out of bomb shelters and back and forth between reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces and civilian life. They desperately need our love, support, and, most of all, our prayers. Please join us in begging the Lord for the peace of Jerusalem by praying for the local Israeli believers and, especially, for the Israel staff of Your Mission to the Jewish People. 

PROPHECY AND POLITICS

As believers, we must also understand that today’s events were predicted in the Bible. This helps remind us that we serve a God who knows the beginning and the end and holds Israel in His covenantal grip. 

When praying for the Jewish people and for Israel, it is very helpful to understand the landscape of the modern Middle East through the eyes and words of the Jewish prophets.

The biblical prophecies about the nations surrounding Israel provide a framework for understanding current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The prophet Zechariah speaks of Jerusalem becoming “a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around” (Zechariah 12:2), and that there will come a time when all nations will gather against Jerusalem: “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:3). 

These verses seem to describe the current tensions with Israel as she is surrounded by nations with varying degrees of hostility. These developments, which suggest the prophetic scenario of nations gathering against Jerusalem, may very well be unfolding before our eyes.

The Bible, through the prophet Zechariah as well as Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, assures us that God will act on behalf of His chosen people Israel and prevent the nation from being destroyed. The Messiah Jesus will return in glory and majesty to rule on David’s throne and rescue His people who will recognize Him in His coming. The main text to keep in mind as you read the remainder of this president’s prayer letter is Zechariah 12:9–10:

And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

ESCALATING THREATS IN THE REGION

Let us take a few moments to find out the major Middle East players and assess what Israel might face today and tomorrow from her neighbors. We will look at the current Middle East through the lens of Scripture by learning more about some of Israel’s neighbors: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Iraq, and Yemen. The escalating threats from Iran and Lebanon in particular represent a serious concern for Israel’s security for several reasons at this present moment.

Iran

Iran maintains openly hostile relations with Israel, with its leadership continuing to threaten Israel’s existence. The country actively supports armed proxies across the region, including Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, the Houthis, and various militias in Syria and Iraq. Iran’s nuclear program represents an existential threat to Israel, and Israeli leaders have repeatedly stated they will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Israel has increased cyber and intelligence operations targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and supply chains in response to these threats.

Syria

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria is now under a transitional government led by Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir. It has a temporary constitution signed in March 2025, placing the country under Islamist rule. Israel continues to conduct airstrikes targeting Iranian supply lines and militia bases inside Syria. The northern border remains volatile, especially following the recent Hezbollah conflict.

Lebanon

After a devastating recent war with Israel, Lebanon formed a new government under President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, aiming to implement reforms and reduce Hezbollah’s influence. However, Hezbollah, while pushed back during the 2024 war, was not eliminated. Israel continues to hold Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah’s actions. While the new Lebanese government has pledged reform, Israel remains wary and continues heavy surveillance and occasional cross-border operations.

Russia (Gog/Magog)

Russia’s continued involvement in Middle Eastern affairs, particularly its support of Iran’s nuclear program, potentially places it in a position to fulfill the prophetic role described in Ezekiel 38–39 (Gog/Magog) of leading a coalition against Israel. Russia’s threat to Israel has been evolving through its growing alignment with Iran and continued influence in Syria. Despite the fall of Assad altering some dynamics, Russia still coordinates its Israel posture in sync with Syria. While diplomatic channels remain open between Russia and Israel, especially regarding air operations over Syria, Russia’s deepening relationship with Iran poses a threat. Israel walks a careful line, avoiding open alignment with NATO to preserve its operational freedom near Russian military assets in Syria. 

Iraq (Babylon)

The prophetic significance of Babylon (modern Iraq) keeps this nation relevant and could be part of the potential end-time coalition that will gather against Israel (Jeremiah 50–51; Revelation 17–18). While Iraq does not pose as direct a threat to Israel as Iran or Syria, it remains a concern due to the presence of Iranian-backed militias operating in the country. Israel monitors these groups and has allegedly carried out covert strikes against them. Iraq’s constitutional opposition to normalization with Israel and strong pro-Palestinian public sentiment create a hostile environment. 

Yemen

Yemen represents a more complex case. The country has been embroiled in civil war since 2014, with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling significant territory. The Houthis have demonstrated hostility toward Israel, particularly during the Gaza conflict. The Houthis continue to launch missiles and drones toward Israeli territory.

OUR ROLE AS JESUS FOLLOWERS IN THESE LAST DAYS

These escalating threats from nations that will rise against Israel in the end times align with biblical prophecies. This current grouping of nations hostile to Israel underscores the importance of standing with Israel, both spiritually and practically. As these prophetic scenarios potentially unfold, Israel will need support from those who understand God’s promises regarding His people. We need to pray for the Jewish people during this heart-wrenching season, especially for the hostages and for the leaders of the nation. 

We can also take some joy in knowing that the number of Israelis who follow Jesus as their Messiah is growing. For example, our Psalms of Hope Campaign, where we offer a free download of a modern Hebrew version of the Psalms, has crossed the 5,000-download mark, which is incredible. To think that so many Israelis are seeking a more intimate relationship with God through reading the Psalms is encouraging. Those who downloaded the Psalms are now one step closer to finding Jesus, who often quoted the many prophecies about Himself in the Psalms. 

After spending time with our staff for the last two weeks, I am again impressed with their love and dedication for the Lord and our Jewish people. 

We believe now is the time to reach Israelis with the gospel, as we see the storm clouds rising and the vision of the Middle East envisioned by the prophets of Israel beginning to take shape. 

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April 15, 2025 · 9:00 AM

The Resurrection of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures

Shalom and Happy Resurrection Day!

I still remember the day when, as a young, nineteen-year-old Jewish man, I realized that Jesus was the Messiah and that He died for my sins and rose from the dead. Boy, was I surprised! 

I had a somewhat secular upbringing with elements of Modern Orthodox Jewish tradition. I knew what I should believe and observe, but my mom and dad did not believe or follow it all, and neither did I. Yet, for some reason, my parents wanted me to have a traditional bar mitzvah (coming-of-age ceremony) at the age of thirteen. 

To this day, I am grateful they made that choice because the preparation gave me a much stronger education in Jewish life and faith than most of my friends. As a Jewish believer in Jesus, having this background has been a great blessing throughout my decades of walking with the Lord. 

Before accepting Jesus as my Messiah, I was growing more and more secular every day as my peers had tremendous influence over me! I do not remember ever thinking seriously about the Jewish belief in resurrection—aside from a vague understanding that, when the Messiah comes, He would raise the dead. 

My two best friends had come to faith in Jesus and challenged me to believe as well. I began reading the Hebrew Scriptures, but only to challenge their new-found faith. I considered belief in Jesus to be quite unkosher, but I found that “my Bible” spoke to my heart, so I asked God to show me the truth. Most importantly, I asked God, “How do I get to You? Show me the way.” 

That evening, the Lord gave me exactly what I needed. By God’s grace, I found a New Testament in the most extraordinary way—in a phone booth in the middle of the redwood forest in Northern California, where I was working as a camp counselor for an outdoor education program. I read through the Gospels and discovered a Jewish Jesus who fulfilled the Old Testament Messianic prophecies and hope of the Jewish people—and a big part of that involved His resurrection. I believed the gospel—that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead, conquering death. 

Further, since Jesus rose, I will, one day, rise as well! It is a glorious hope, and if we need anything today in this world, it is hope. My hope is built upon His rising from the dead, and it endures the most difficult circumstances. I cannot wait to see Him face to face! 

As Paul so eloquently wrote in his introduction to his epistle to the Romans: 

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:1–4, emphasis added) 

I fervently pray that my Jewish family and community will recognize that resurrection is a very Jewish belief, and it should not be strange for a Jewish person to believe the Messiah would rise from the dead. 

There is a group of Jewish people called the Lubavitch Hasidim who believe their rebbe, who died decades ago, will, one day, rise from the grave. They even base this view on Isaiah 53! Though I know this is a minority position, it still gives me hope that my Jewish people can be persuaded of the magnificent truth of the resurrection.

RESURRECTION IN SCRIPTURE

Let us briefly walk through Scripture, and maybe you will have the opportunity to share these passages with a Jewish friend during this wonderful resurrection season. 

First, we learn from the apostle Paul’s chapter on the resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15, that Jesus’ resurrection was predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures: 

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1–4, emphasis added) 

We might ask where the resurrection of the Messiah was predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures, as Paul proclaims. We can turn to one of the most well-known prophecies about the Messiah in Isaiah 53: 

By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:8–9, emphasis added) 

This passage is important, as the Servant of the Lord must have died to rise, of course! Isaiah’s words in the final verse of this chapter speak clearly of the Messiah’s death for our sins: “Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). 

Old Testament prophecy predicted Messiah’s suffering and death for the sins of the Jewish people and the nations, as well as His resurrection. Isaiah wrote: 

But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53:10) 

We also see the hope of the resurrection predicted in the Psalms, where King David spoke prophetically. In Psalm 16, David referred to the afterlife: 

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:10–11) 

This passage refers to someone greater than King David. The Jewish apostle Peter confirmed that David was speaking about the risen Messiah: 

Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. (Acts 2:29–31, emphasis added)

Immediately after quoting from Psalm 16, Peter proclaimed the promise of the resurrection once again through the mouth of King David by quoting another of his psalms, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’” (Psalm 110:1). 

The Lord of King David is, of course, Jesus—the Messiah and the greater Son of David! 

There is another prophecy of Messiah’s resurrection that is more of a prophetic picture of a future event than an explicit prophecy. In the Passover story, the smeared blood of the perfect lamb during the first Passover in Egypt points to a greater “Lamb of God” and a more powerful redemption from the bondage of sin: “ For Christ our Passover [lamb] also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). 

Paul also envisioned a prophetic picture of Messiah’s resurrection embedded in the Festival of First Fruits. 

Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” (Leviticus 23:10–11) 

Paul linked the waving of the sheaf of grain (the first fruit) from this festival mentioned in Leviticus, which takes place on the day after the Sabbath—Sunday. Therefore, this picture of the Festival of First Fruits alludes to the Passion, when Jesus died as the Lamb of God and rose as the first fruits of the coming resurrection. He was the first to rise, and all those who accept Him as their Savior will follow. 

Paul, a well-trained first-century Pharisee, understood these parallels and pointed them out under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, especially to his Jewish readers. 

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20–23, emphasis added) 

If Jesus died on a Friday and rose on a Sunday, then the resurrection may well have happened on the Festival of First Fruits. 

With so much written in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jewish people should have been expecting the atoning death and resurrection of the Messiah. We have the joy of reminding our Jewish friends and family of the Jewishness of the resurrection and that Jesus perfectly fulfills these predictions. 

May the Lord fill you with His power and hope, and please pray for the Jewish people during this Passover and Easter season. The Jewish people desperately need hope in this post-October 7 environment. 

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January 15, 2025 · 9:00 AM

Israel and Jewish Evangelism Today

Happy New Year! I hope and pray 2025 will be a fruitful year as you and I serve the Lord. 

There is a wonderful story about the relationship between John Wilkinson, a Gentile missionary who founded the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, and J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission (now OMF International). Every January, Taylor would send Wilkinson a gift with a note attached, “To the Jew first.” Wilkinson would then send the same amount back as a gift to Taylor for his work among the Chinese with a note that read, “And also to the Gentiles.” This true story nicely captures what we will learn in this letter: how we can prioritize reaching Jewish people and still reach the world as commanded by our Messiah prior to His ascension.

There is no doubt that Jewish people need to consciously accept Jesus to obtain salvation and have access to God the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This saving faith grows out of a Spirit-enlightened understanding of the gospel brought about by embracing Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah (John 3:16–17, 16:8).

It is also clear God made promises to the nation of Israel. While these promises do not guarantee the salvation of every Jewish person, they do assure us that the people of Israel will play an important role in the final chapter of the drama of redemption outlined in the Scriptures.

Believing what the Bible tells us about Israel’s guaranteed role in the future should not dampen our enthusiasm to proclaim the gospel among Jewish people today. Our hearts should be inspired to fervently proclaim the gospel to Jewish people, knowing the time is near and that the salvation of the Jewish remnant is linked to the second coming of the Messiah Jesus.

An End-Times Motivation for Jewish Evangelism

Until recent days, a key factor in motivating many Christians to reach Jewish people with the gospel was the belief that the salvation of the Jewish remnant was connected to the coming of the Lord. The wide acceptance of this end-times inspiration for Jewish missions was also broadly understood among churches throughout the world.

Today, Jewish people and Jewish evangelism have somewhat fallen out of favor among Christians as Israel and Jewish people are not as noticeably needy of redemption. Many Western Christians have sided politically with Palestinians, viewing Israel and Jewish people more negatively, and have directed their “mission impulse” toward social justice issues and evangelizing Arabs, particularly Muslims. I applaud proclaiming the gospel among all people groups. However, many Christians passionate about evangelizing Muslims have embraced a one-sided view of Israel that conflicts with the facts of what is happening in the Middle East and with the Bible itself.

This shift in sympathies is now commonplace in the United Kingdom, northern and central Europe, and it is rising in North America, too. Those who do not take the biblical prophecies about the land of Israel in a literal sense are fueling these shifting sympathies, leading to a declining interest in Jewish evangelism.

This is why understanding the end-times rationale for Jewish missions and the role of Jewish people in the plan of God is critical. It is my hope that Gentile Christians will be moved by the Scriptures to bring the good news to God’s chosen people.

“To the Jew First” (Romans 1:16)

There are several critical passages which should undergird an end-times motivation for Jewish missions. One of the most important is 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.”

Those engaged in Jewish evangelism are familiar with this passage and understand its importance in motivating the church toward Jewish evangelism. This brief verse has been interpreted in a number of different ways, but more often than not, it is used to emphasize the importance of Gentile Christians reaching Jewish people with the gospel.

I would suggest that one of the reasons the apostle Paul believed the gospel should go to Jewish people first was because of his understanding of the events of the last days. When Romans 1:16 is viewed in this way, the urgency of Jewish evangelism becomes evident. One cannot fully understand Romans 1:16 without understanding Paul’s conclusion in Romans 11, where he speaks about the end-times repentance of the remnant of Israel and their reception of Jesus as Savior. If we look closely, the priority described in Romans 1:16 is founded on Romans 11:25–27 (and more fully on 11:11–29) and must be viewed in light of the role Jewish people play in the second coming of Christ.

Paul is not suggesting that the Roman believers withhold the gospel from the Gentiles until every Jewish person in the world is reached. Neither is the apostle implying that the gospel has already come to Jewish people first and that this priority no longer applies to the mission of the church today. Romans 1:16 was written in the present tense. Therefore, if the gospel is still “the power of God for salvation” and is still for “everyone who believes,” then the gospel is still “to the Jew first.”

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, focused his ministry on reaching non-Jewish people with the gospel message. Yet, this did not lessen his concern for the salvation of Jewish people. Wherever Paul went in his ministry among the Gentiles, he also preached the gospel to Jewish people living in that area (Acts 13:13–52, 14:1–5, 18:7–11, 19:8–10). He would make sure this was his first evangelistic effort in a particular city before he spoke to the Gentiles. The salvation of Jewish people was an ever-present concern for Paul, and his actions described in the book of Acts reveal his understanding of what he penned in Romans 1:16.

The apostle’s argument may be summarized (and connected with Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:39) as follows: When Jewish people are successfully evangelized, then Jesus the Messiah will return. There was an end-times urgency in the tone of Paul’s preaching and in his letter to the Roman believers, encouraging them to prioritize outreach to Jewish people. His theology was enacted in his own strategy for mission. And this is why we should follow suit. In effect, Paul argued that if the church desired to witness the second coming of Christ, Jewish people must be evangelized.

The church cannot neglect Jewish evangelism: Jewish evangelism should not become the great omission of the Great Commission, and the church must make Jewish evangelism a priority because of Romans 1:16. 

“All Israel Will Be Saved” (Romans 11) 

Paul connected the priority of reaching Jewish people with the end times, and he argued that God has not cast off His people Israel despite their national rejection of Jesus the Messiah (Romans 11). His concluding statement proving God is not finished with Israel is that “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:25–27). Furthermore, he wrote:

Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Rom 11:12, 15).

God has not rejected Jewish people (Rom 11:1) but rather has preserved a remnant within the nation (Rom 11:5) until the remnant becomes the nation. In this passage, the apostle tells us that in the end, God will save “all Israel,” which I believe refers to the entirety of the nation of Israel alive at that time.

This monumental end-times event takes place after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. It is evident from this passage that prior to the salvation of national Israel and the end of days there is a time when God will be at work among the Gentiles in a special way—grafting numerous “wild branches” into the olive tree as described in Romans 11:16–24.

In summary, Jewish people will return to the God of our fathers by accepting the Messiah. The nations will then witness the return of the Lord Jesus. God has not rejected His people because He is always faithful to His promises (Rom 11:29).

Reaching Jewish people with the gospel must become a priority for all Christians as, ultimately, the salvation of Jewish people ushers in Jesus’ second coming and releases the fullness of God’s blessings to the whole world. 

Outreach to Jewish people begins with you! Through your prayers, giving, and witnessing to your Jewish friends, the plan of God will go forth in power! We cannot allow Jewish evangelism to become the great omission of the Great Commission.

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October 15, 2024 · 9:00 AM

Never Again, Never Alone

NEVER AGAIN

We thought the world had learned its lesson. We thought humanity had grasped the gravity of antisemitism. We thought we had friends who stood with us. We held onto the hope we would never again witness this amount of senseless brutality. But on October 7, 2023, Hamas’ savage attack on innocent Jewish people shattered those illusions. The subsequent upswell of antisemitic rhetoric has been hard to believe and even more hurtful to experience.

“Never Again”—the Jewish community’s determined vow against another genocide after the horrors of the Holocaust—now feels like a hollow echo. It is natural to feel helpless in the face of enormous evil and shattered dreams. It is normal to wonder how something like this could happen again, despite all the Jewish community’s efforts to build a safe haven for ourselves. But in a world with shattered hopes, we now wonder if there is any lasting hope left to grasp.

NEVER ALONE

However, even as our hopes seem shattered, there is an unbroken promise—a promise enduring the test of time—which has seen Jewish people through the darkest moments of history and can carry us through despite the growing intensity of attacks on Israel and global antisemitism.

This promise is not given by man but by the God of Israel. In the Torah, He made an eternal covenant with our ancestors, a covenant binding Him to us and to the land of Israel forever (Genesis 15). This covenant is not based on the worthiness of Jewish people but founded on God’s love and faithfulness for His chosen people.

As Moses, our lawgiver, wrote,

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)

According to Moses, God promised to be our God and called upon us to be His people. He vowed to dwell among us, guide us, protect us, and defend us, and despite our failures and shortcomings, He has remained faithful to His promises.

Throughout history, God has proven Himself to be a shield of protection around Jewish people. Whether our persecutors were Haman, Hitler, or Hamas, He has intervened on our behalf countless times—often in miraculous ways—to deliver us from harm and danger. Even when Jewish people felt abandoned or forgotten, He was always present, working behind the scenes to bring about redemption and restoration.

He is still deeply engaged today, even amid the interminable suffering Jewish people have endured over the last year, especially Israelis who lost loved ones on October 7 and during its aftermath.

UNEXPECTED FRIENDS

We are not alone in another sense as well. There are countless followers of Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah, who believe the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and they also believe Jewish people still play a significant role in God’s plan for the ages. In a world where Jewish people seem to be losing friends and are feeling increasingly isolated, we might remember how Christians also used to be viewed as enemies and persecutors. However, times have changed, and today’s sincere, Bible-believing Christians are now some of our greatest supporters.

As one Anglican Christian said recently, “If antisemites want to harm the Jewish people, then they have to get through us first!” How powerful! What an expression of love and support. This amazing show of support and backing by Christians may open us up as Jewish people to take a new look at the claims of Yeshua to be the Jewish Messiah.

Yet, the support we as Jewish people receive today from the Christian community can sometimes be confusing because of an uncomfortable history of “Christian” persecution. The Crusades, pogroms, and even the Holocaust are often believed to be the cumulative result of a long history of Christian antisemitism.

This is why it is so critical for Christians and Jewish people to understand there are many beliefs tying us together. One of them is a mutual understanding of how God made a covenant with Jewish people, which He will never repeal. Consider this biblical promise:

Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs from before Me,” declares the Lord, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35–36)

The continued existence of the sun, moon, and stars—and even the waves hitting the Tel Aviv seashore—is evidence of God’s continued preservation of the people of Israel. Many followers of Jesus recognize this fact, passionately insisting anyone who is opposed to the Jewish state and people is opposed to God Himself.

A DEEPER REASON

However, there is an even deeper significance behind the advocacy of Christians on behalf of Israel. Christians often view the modern State of Israel as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and believe God will fulfill His remaining promises of bringing a lasting peace to Israel when Yeshua returns.

The Christian commitment to Israel and Jewish people stems from a profound understanding of Yeshua’s identity as the Jewish Messiah. Yeshua identified as a Jewish person; He was one of us. He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). He came to Jewish people first, and only later did His message have an impact on Gentiles all over the world.

Followers of Yeshua see Him as the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, as central to the redemption narrative throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, and the embodiment of God’s love for His people. Yeshua also came to bring unity between Jewish people and Gentiles and to reconcile humanity to God. As Messianic Jews, we believe Yeshua came to offer forgiveness of sin to all who put their trust in Him: to our Jewish people and to Gentiles alike. The Jewish prophet Isaiah foretold the Messiah’s atoning death for our sins:

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:3b–6)

By forgiving our sins, Yeshua provides us with a true and lasting hope nobody can ever take away or destroy. He said,

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

Yeshua gives us a peace transcending the troubles and horrific terrorist acts of this world. When all else fails, including our calls for “Never Again,” our Messiah remains faithful and true. We are never alone when we trust in Him. We know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be faithful to keep His promises to His chosen people—forever!

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October 1, 2024 · 9:00 AM

Memorializing October 7, 2023

It has been one year since the most horrific attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. What is even more tragic is this gruesome attack took place in Israel, which was founded to be a safe and peaceful homeland for Jewish people—especially for survivors of the Holocaust, which ended a mere three years before the country was established on May 14, 1948.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER OCTOBER 7?

Let us review what transpired one year ago on October 7, 2023.

Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip entered Israel, unprovoked, to murder, rape, torture, kidnap, and terrorize innocent Israelis. This attack was far more than an act of war, as evidenced by Hamas’ brutality toward innocent Jewish civilians, including young and old, babies, Holocaust survivors, and other noncombatants. These were crimes against Jewish people and against humanity.

On this tragic Sabbath, Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 250 innocent victims, and began what has become a seemingly endless war in Gaza. As with any war, far too many blameless people on both sides have been killed and are suffering displacement from their homes, even one year later. This conflict has led to the terrible loss of life and injury to thousands of Gazans because Hamas victimizes its own citizens, using men, women, and children as human shields.

The hostages kidnapped on this fateful day were treated with inhumane cruelty. We have since learned many of the more than one hundred hostages remaining in Gaza have already died. Some are lost and cannot be found. This is heartbreaking, especially for their families.

THE FALLOUT FROM OCTOBER 7

The attacks on Israel intensified on April 14, 2024, when Iran launched a direct attack on Israel by sending drones, rockets, and missiles to strike civilian and military targets within Israel. This attack was torturous for all Israelis who endured the long wait for the missiles to strike and the bombs to drop. Most Israelis could not have known Israel and her allies would destroy 99 percent of the rocket and missile barrage. Still, Iran’s direct attacks raised the stakes and added to the threat of a regional conflict.

The war intensified when Hezbollah, perched on Israel’s northern border, started shelling those within the reach of its rockets and missiles, which are more powerful than those of Hamas in Gaza. We also see another mounting war, even more ominous than the one in Israel and Gaza, plaguing Jewish people today. There is a growing, global wave of online antisemitism along with increased attacks upon Jewish people throughout the world. The numbers speak for themselves as antisemitic incidents against Jewish people living outside of Israel have tripled over the last twelve months.1

The actions of Hamas were antisemitic in nature. There is a long history of Islamic antisemitism beginning with the Koran and other early Islamic writings, and we believe this tragic history of Islamic antisemitism influenced Hamas terrorists to commit those horrible atrocities against innocent Jewish people last October.

Let’s face it—angry adherents to the jihadist principles promoted by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups simply hate Jewish people!

MESSIAH, OUR ULTIMATE HOPE FOR PEACE

Even though the conflict and impact of October 7 is ongoing a year later, it would still be beneficial to pause for a moment of reflection. Let’s consider what happened on this tragic Saturday and consider how we should continue to respond to the growing problem of global antisemitism.

I hope thinking this through together will help us today and tomorrow as we draw closer to the glorious day when the Messiah Jesus will return and reign as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace. As the prophet Isaiah wrote,

And He will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. (Isa 2:4)

We know the Bible teaches the end of days, as described by Jesus himself, includes wars and rumors of wars that will escalate and intensify, like birth pangs, until He returns (Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13). So, the hostilities in the Middle East horrify us, but we also turn our eyes to a greater day promised by God of an enduring peace. One day our Redeemer will return to save His people and establish His kingdom of peace and righteousness. We believe this promise, and, by His grace and in the power of His Spirit, we should live today in light of tomorrow (Acts 1:9–11).

FOUR LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE PAST YEAR

1. Our commitment to Israel and Jewish people must be founded upon Scripture.

Our commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel should not fluctuate with the news cycle, or the reporting of our favorite channel, or trusted websites. The news about Israel and the war is constantly changing. The actions of the Israeli government are hard to track and evaluate, as is true for our own country. It can be exhausting keeping up!

As believers, we know there is only one unchanging source of information we can turn to for comfort, inspiration, and a deeper, unbiased understanding of the swirling events we read about each day: the Word of God! Our position on Israel and the role of Jewish people in the plan of God should be biblical. As I told a friend as we were speaking about this issue—with tongue firmly planted in my cheek—“There is actually quite a bit written about Israel and the Jewish people in the Bible!”

The Bible is God’s final word on Israel and Jewish people. Though we might have slightly differing points of view of God’s purposes for Israel, the Scriptures are still the best source for information to better inform us of God’s plan, which is the lens through which we should view the conflicts in the Middle East. The Word of God should certainly guide our prayer life. We can all agree with the psalmist who firmly says to regularly “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps 122:6).

I am encouraged by some very significant trends about the Israel-Hamas war through a survey we did last March. It appears many American Christians believe we should support Israel because she has a right to defend herself and because Israel is the best ally the United States has in the Middle East. These are good reasons to support Israel, and many of us believe this, but the foundation for our ongoing support needs to have a biblical rationale, or it can easily be undone. Christians need to think biblically in all areas and believe God’s word is the final authority on all matters, including how we understand the role of Israel and Jewish people in God’s plan (Genesis 12:1–3, 15:18; Acts 1:6–8).

2. The attacks of October 7 were driven by a festering hatred of Jewish people by classical Islam, intensified by a radical jihadist Islam.

Historic forms of antisemitism are now re-packaged with political and human rights verbiage, viciously used for hundreds of years against Jewish people before the modern State of Israel was established. We see this on the right, the left, and in Islamist extremism. All too often the newer and more politically-oriented arguments against the modern State of Israel obfuscate the underlying antisemitic arguments, tropes, and conspiracy theories.

For hundreds of years the rights of Jewish people were severely limited in many countries. My people were forced to live in ghettos in western Europe and the Pale of Settlement in eastern Europe where Jewish influence could be more easily controlled. This strategy of geographic exclusion and Jewish containment enabled governments to keep Jewish people away from the mainstream culture. In North Africa, Spain, and a variety of Arab countries, Jewish people were heavily taxed by Muslims who controlled the political systems. Sometimes, Jewish and Muslim communities lived together peacefully, but there was always a reason why Muslims felt superior to their Jewish neighbors. As Islam grew and spread throughout the Middle East, traditions developed in the Muslim world identifying Jerusalem as a Muslim and not a Jewish possession.

Various Muslim and Middle Eastern mischaracterizations of Jewish people are well known and have fueled a depth of hatred against Jewish people going well beyond the seventy-five-plus years of modern Israel’s existence. There is no denying October 7, 2023, elevated this historic Islamic antisemitism, harkening back to the seventh century, to a new genocidal level. Hamas terrorists dehumanized Israelis through torture, rape, and other horrific acts of violence.

Embedded anti-Jewish sentiments in the Muslim world in general were exacerbated by the Iranian revolution, social media, and the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948. Adherents to Hamas’ violent ideology are not only hostile to Jewish people but also to the Bible, Western civilization, and God Himself.

We need to pray for even the most violent of jihadists and not return hate for hate. Let’s encourage missions among them as the best way to bring about peace in the Middle East and to protect the values we cherish is to bring the gospel to those who oppose us. When people come to Jesus, their lives and worldviews are transformed. We do need to love our enemies, whoever they might be!

3. The devil is behind this world’s hostility toward Jewish people.

However, we must come to grips with the spiritual battle we face today in the Middle East. As Bible-believers, we recognize Satan’s hand in shaping modern antisemitism. The Scriptures teach us the source of antisemitism is the devil himself. Antisemitism, called “the oldest hatred,” has plagued the children of Abraham since his call from Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 12:1–3).

When God called Abraham to father the chosen people, Satan made Jewish people the target of his fury. The evil one has tried to eradicate the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in every age and in endless ways to prevent God from using Israel as His instrument of redemption and blessing through the Jewish Messiah. We cannot view antisemitism as merely some type of nationalistic, political, or ethnic hatred but, rather, as a cosmological effort on the part of the devil to destroy Jewish people and disrupt the plan of God.

True Christians need to take up spiritual arms to fight this spiritual battle, as Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against

the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

By God’s grace, believers worldwide must exhibit love toward Jewish people and oppose antisemitism because we believe in the Bible, the Jewish Messiah, and the covenants God forged with the sons and daughters of Israel. This is critical today because, more than ever, the Jewish community needs real friends amid this rising sea of antisemitism.

What a wonderful testimony it would be to Jewish people if Christians stood against the enemies of Jewish people, testifying through our actions how those who follow the Jewish Messiah love Jewish people.

4. Believers in Jesus should act on behalf of Jewish people and oppose antisemitism.

There is a very popular statement attributed to the brilliant Jewish scientist, Albert Einstein, who was very concerned about antisemitism as he lived through the horrors of the Nazi period and was one of the scientists saved by the Allies: “If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”2

This reminds me of the words of Isaiah, who wrote: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning” (Isa 62:1). We cannot remain silent when Jewish people are under siege! God still has His holy hand upon His chosen people; they are still the apple of His eye. We are speaking of the Savior’s earthly family, and if we love Him then we must love His people!

God will never allow His chosen people to be destroyed (Amos 9:8). If you choose to be an enemy of Jewish people and seek the destruction of God’s people, then you stand in opposition to God’s purposes in this world. He promised to bless those who bless Jewish people because through Jewish people He brings blessings to the world (Gen 12:1–3).

As followers of the Messiah Jesus, whether Jewish or Gentile, we recognize our humanity demands and even compels us to raise our voices and not remain silent about antisemitism. All racial hatred is antithetical to the biblical message and human decency, as the Almighty, blessed be He, created each of us in His image.

When the Jewish people are under siege, we must be diligent in standing for and with Jewish people. We must also remember the suffering of innocent Gazan families, whom Hamas leaders deliberately put in harm’s way, as Jesus died for us all!

So, let us take to heart the messages of this hour and commit to saying something and doing something, especially on behalf of Jewish people in Israel and around the globe.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

It is time to act! Here are some practical steps you and your church can take to stand with God’s chosen people today.

Pray 

As believers in Jesus the Jewish Messiah, we can pray for Jewish people. This is so important, and I hope you will consider holding a special time of prayer or even offering just a simple prayer on behalf of Jewish people at your services October 5–6 in commemoration of the first anniversary of the attacks on Israel of October 7!

Chosen People Ministries can provide your church with a short video or two, bulletin inserts, and other resources to effectively and sensitively bring attention to the Middle East crisis at your services October 5–6.

Reach out

Please consider reaching out to your local Jewish community to let them know you stand with Jewish people. If there are commemorative events on October 7 sponsored by your local Jewish community, try to attend and let your Jewish friends know you care.

Give

Please pray about making a special gift to Your Mission to the Jewish People to be used in proclaiming the good news today. We are doing so much to help our Jewish family and friends know Jesus is the Messiah and the One who brings ultimate safety and peace to Israel, to Jewish people around the world, and to our individual hearts.

Participate

Consider attending the Moody Summit against Antisemitism, sponsored by Moody Bible Institute and Chosen People Ministries, scheduled for November 9 in Chicago.

As the Savior said, “Peace [shalom] I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Jesus also said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Please join us in bringing the message of the Prince of Peace to a war-torn and fractured world in desperate need of the hope and redemption only available through Jesus the Messiah—“to the Jew first” and also to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16).

Thanks for caring and for your generosity.

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September 19, 2024 · 2:49 PM

Blow a Trumpet in Zion

Jewish people are getting ready to celebrate the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, at the very beginning of next month. I hope you take the time to wish a Jewish friend, Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday)! 

During Rosh Hashanah, we have a wonderful Jewish tradition of serving apples and honey to family and friends, representing our wishes for them to enjoy a happy and sweet year! So, do not be shy. Bring over a nice plate of apples and honey to a Jewish friend or a Rosh Hashanah card as an act of kindness to build your friendships with the Jewish people in your life. 

A HIGH HOLIDAY GIFT FOR CHRISTIAN CHILDREN

I also have some great news for you: We have completed our latest Jewish holiday animated video—this one is about the Jewish New Year and is ideal for Sunday school-age kids. 

We would love to see this resource help Christian children understand their Jewish neighbors and begin to develop a love for Jewish people at a young age. This animated video is delightful and has a very powerful gospel presentation geared for children. You can show it to a Sunday school class, at a Christian school or homeschool group, in your own home, at a Good News Club, or at a Vacation Bible School. All you need is a phone, tablet, or television. 

So, dear friend, mom, dad, or grandparent, please use the video. Who knows, maybe you will have the opportunity to show the animation to a Jewish child or two as well! 

THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS POINT TO JESUS

I love the Jewish holidays because God designed each one to promote some of the most significant themes of Scripture, which describe His person, plan, and promises. Let me start by giving you a few essential facts about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. 

MORE ABOUT THE JEWISH NEW YEAR

I must first tell you the words “New Year” or Rosh Hashanah (“the head of the year”) are not used in the Bible. Jewish tradition, however, connects it to Leviticus chapter 23:23, which mentions a day of rest and a day of trumpet (or shofar) blasts. This holiday also falls in the seventh month of the year. 

The Hebrew calendar is quite different from the Gregorian calendar most widely used today, and the Hebrew month Tishrei, the seventh month, usually aligns with our September or October, which is why the holiday is observed in the fall. 

Why do Jewish people observe the New Year in the seventh month? It is a good question, which most Jewish people cannot answer. But if you saw the movie Fiddler on the Roof, you probably remember the song, “Tradition!” Jewish tradition tells us the New Year should be linked to the holiday described in the biblical text as the month of the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn. 

Tradition is not bad, but you must be able to separate tradition from Scripture. The Hebrew word rosh means “head,” and shanah means “year.” So, the festival named in the Bible as the “Blowing of the Shofar” is now viewed as the “Head of the Year,” or Rosh Hashanah, and the holiday when we blow the shofar. 

May I take us one step deeper into the Jewish background and meaning of Hebrew terms? The Hebrew Bible does not include the word “blowing” (Lev 23:24). The Hebrew word used, teruah, is one of the sounds the shofar makes when blown! I find it best to translate the term as “toot toot.” Of course, I smile when I write this. But it is true; the literal name of the festival is a sound. But it is a very important sound. 

We must dive even deeper, though, into the overall background of the Jewish festivals to better understand this first holiday of the seventh month! 

THE FESTIVALS’ ROAD TO REDEMPTION

We find the seven great festivals of Jewish people meticulously detailed in Leviticus 23. All the festivals point to the past, the present, and the future in one way or another as each festival is prophetic. To help you understand Rosh Hashanah—the first fall festival—let us examine the Sabbath and the spring festivals. 

The Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3):

Leviticus 23 begins by introducing us to the archetypal festival, the weekly Sabbath. 

The Sabbath, which is in many ways the foundation for the seven annual festivals, looks back to God’s rest from His labor after creating the heavens and the earth in six days. Moses then commanded Jewish people to cease from work every seventh day from Sinai onward. However, many Jewish people fully understand how the past and present Sabbath also points to a greater Sabbath to come, when the ultimate Davidic King will sit on the throne of David, and there will be peace throughout the earth (Isaiah 9:7). We believe this Davidic King is none other than Jesus, the Jewish Messiah for all. 

Passover and Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5–8):

The first holiday of the Jewish year points to the redeeming Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in a greater way than the lamb slain by the Israelites in Egypt and whose blood they splashed upon their doorposts. 

We know Jesus, the Messiah, fulfills this prophetic picture. The Festival of Unleavened Bread is a picture of how He lived a life without sin, as leaven is a symbol of sin. But this prophetic roadmap to redemption does not end with His death! 

First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9–14):

The Feast of First Fruits is the third festival in the spring. This holiday was divinely scheduled to fall the day after the Sabbath related to Passover. Jesus died on Friday, the beginning of the Sabbath, and was in the grave Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday, then He rose in power as “the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). 

Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) (Leviticus 23:15–21):

Pentecost (from the Greek word meaning “fifty”) is next and is the day God chose for the Holy Spirit to fall upon the early band of Messianic Jewish future evangelists, who obediently waited for the promise of the Father. 

Many Jewish sages and scholars believe the first Pentecost reflects the giving of the law at Mount Sinai when the Israelites saw similar signs and wonders as God Himself gave new revelation. 

A GREATER ISAAC

Hashanah (Lev 23:23–25). At the heart of this first fall festival is the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn. In Jewish tradition, this looks back to Genesis chapter 22, known as the Akedah in Hebrew, which translates to “binding” or “tying” in English. 

This passage describes Abraham’s son Isaac, who was bound to the altar by his loving and obedient father whom God tested to see if he would kill his son with a knife as a sign of his faith. Thank God we know his hand was stayed, and God provided a ram caught by its horns in the thicket as a substitutionary sacrifice for Isaac. His potential sacrifice on Mount Moriah represented the first of multiple thousands of animal sacrifices eventually offered at this same location where King Solomon later built the Temple. 

Isaac is a type—a pattern—of the Messiah. He was innocent, beloved by his father, and almost sacrificed, though there was no reason for his untimely death. God called Abraham to climb the mountain and sacrifice his son as a test. The shofar is blown to remind Jewish people of Abraham’s obedience and Isaac’s willingness to be sacrificed. As Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians, we are certain this prophetic pattern was fulfilled in the death and ultimate resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. God, in His great love, sent His only perfect Son to atone for the sins of all humanity. 

Yet, we still wait for another blowing of the shofar one day, which will announce the coming of the Lord. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor 15:52). 

We pray for the salvation of Jewish people and all people! We especially pray many Jewish people today will recognize the greater Isaac, Jesus, who through His atoning sacrifice, sets us free from sin and death at the very moment we give our lives to Him and recognize He is our Savior and Lord! Our staff in the United States, Israel, and eighteen other countries around the globe proclaim this message to our beloved Jewish people. 

While we long for His return, we also want more time because we hope to see so many others come to faith. Nevertheless, our hearts still cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). May we hear the sound of the heavenly trumpet soon! 

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