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MORNING STAR
A Multimedia Christian Publication

P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH 03060
Phone: 603-883-4624 Fax: 603-883-0466


EDITOR IN CHIEF
Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Pastor Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA

SENIOR EDITORS
Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA
Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA
Sharon Sanders - Jerusalem, Israel
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA
Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Jody Fauss - Lindale, TX
Joseph A. Nigro - Oradell, NJ
Jeannine Robinson - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Moishe Rosen - San Francisco, CA
Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA
Pastor Dale Strand - Dublin, CA
Rick Thrasher - Santa Clara, CA
J.C. Trudel - Naples, FL


SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions
Steve Paulovich - Pembroke, NH

SENIOR PUBLISHER - MACINTOSH Edition
Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH

SENIOR PUBLISHER - Hard Copy Edition
Ray Reed - Beaumont, TX

OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H.


DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION
Walter H. Bauer Jr. - Sugar Land, TX

AMERICA ONLINE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Jerry White - Germantown, MD

COMPUSERVE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Jorge Lopez - Lubbock, TX

GENIE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA

DELPHI NETWORK
Rev. Vince Gonzalez - Naples, FL


MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of
born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States
of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the
U.S. Postal Service or by electronic mail to one of several
computer networks:

INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com (Toby Trudel)
AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich)
GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson)
COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez)
DELPHI: VINCEGSR (Vince Gonzalez)
PRODIGY: xvsn02a (Vince Gonzalez)
FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer)
CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/0 (walter Bauer)
CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2013/0 (walter Bauer)
POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer)


To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows
viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff, P.O.
Box 131, Wheelersburg, OH 45694 - FIDONET: 1:2260/50
Editor's Letter
Editor's Letter
Hello and welcome to our twenty-sixth issue of MORNING STAR. Our
Feature area this month is dedicated to a Christian look at the
Feasts of Israel. As I mentioned in the October editor's
letter, you will find that we often present material in MORNING
STAR which focuses on the Jewish roots of our faith. I hope you
all find the material we have assembled on these Feasts to be
interesting and informative.

We are always looking for articles, stories and testimonies to
publish. MORNING STAR does not have a large writing staff - we
depend on our readers to submit material to keep us going. Some
of the columns you might consider writing for are; Testimony,
Education, Music, Mission Field and Ministry Focus. We can also
reprint material from other sources - with permission of course.

We need material for our Feature area as well. Upcoming topics
are; Victimization, Messianic studies, Prison ministries,
Deliverance from homosexuality, Women of/in the Bible, Prophecy
and Bible study.

Last month we began printing and distributing a hard copy
edition. As with any new project, there are "bugs" to work out.
(You can expect to see improvements, beginning with this issue!)
If any of you are receiving multiple copies of the magazine,
please write to us so that we can make an adjustment, thus
enabling someone else to be added to our mailing list.

Don't forget, donations are welcome and needed. We do not have
any funding for this project - it is coming out of the pockets
of a few individuals. Each 12-issue subscription costs us $18
to produce and mail. If you can afford a contribution, mail it
to our publisher, David's Mighty Men Inc., P.O. Box 5093,
Beaumont, TX 77726.

Finally, I would like to revive our "Letter to the Editor"
column, so feel free to write in with your comments, questions
and suggestions!

In service to Jesus - the Lord of All,

Toby Trudel
People Profile
People Profile
At the time of this interview, heavy rains continued to fall in
the American midwest. The flooding thus far has claimed fifty
lives, placed 17,000 square miles of land under water, caused
40,000 homes to be evacuated and $12 billion in damage to
property and crops.

MORNING STAR Editor-in-Chief, Toby Trudel conducted this
interview over the America Online network, with Will Speaker, an
evangelist and college student at William Jewell College in
Missouri. Will grew up in Hannibal, Missouri which is on the
mighty Mississippi River. Will now lives in the Kansas City
area near the Missouri river.


Toby: Will, how close was the Hannibal church and community to
the recent flooding?

Will: The church I will be referring to is the Prince Avenue
Baptist Church in Hannibal. This is the church I grew up in and
have had many contacts with them this summer of flooding. The
town of Hannibal is right on the Mississippi. And the church
was very close spiritually to what was going on. The physical
building was away from the flood though. 


Toby: Was there any levee or flood wall to protect you folks?

In recent years an issue of great concern arose in Hannibal
concerning the opportunity to build a levee. The questions were
of whether the levee would "look nice" or would it really
protect and would it be worth the money spent to build it. But,
the levee won out and was built. This is the first full year
for the downtown are to have a levee protecting it. During the
flooding the main area protected was the downtown area of
Hannibal. Often though the surrounding farm land would simply
have to suffer.


Toby: What is the situation as of today? Do people feel the
worse is over?

Will: The worse is over as far as the water is concerned. The
last time I was there they were able to take down the levee
walls over the downtown roads. But, there is still much clean up
to be done. Many feel that the worse is to come, that is the
cleanup process, and they won't fully recover financially or
emotionally for years after have such great losses.


Toby: What did the people in the area do to help out those in
need?

Will: Pisgah Baptist church in Kansas City was very helpful, but
it wasn't just the local churches and community that were
helping out. There were people from all over the country that
helped by sending sandbags, water and food. In the local
communities there were homeless shelters provided by school
systems who opened cafeterias and gymnasiums for people to sleep
in. Community centers were transformed into soup kitchens. 
Often local businesses in Kansas City would allow people to take
days off to help sandbag or to serve their fellow flood victims
in any way possible. Most recently the Red Cross and Salvation
Army have been picking up old mattresses and other furniture to
give to those who were victims of the flood.


Toby: Is there any specific situation you can tell us about
where someone was very thoughtful?

Will: Bayview Campers Park is a low lying campground just north
of Hannibal that was quickly losing ground to the flood waters. 
Tom Boland Ford, a local truck dealer lent several trucks and
several drivers to help move the trailers out as quickly as
possible. I believe they only lost one trailer after working
until 3:00 AM to clear them out . The people from Hannibal
LaGrange College were also very helpful in this endeavor.


Toby: How did the flooding affect the people in your church or
any other local churches you know of?

Will: The prayer opportunities increased dramatically of course
and each church helped out with feeding and clothing and housing
those without resources. Often the best help was having an arm
to wrap around you as you watched your house or property go
under water, helplessly. There were churches all over Missouri
donating food. One in St. Louis served 500,000 meals in just
the month of August.


Toby: I can only imagine the increase in stress level among all
the people having to cope. Did you find yourself busier than
ever ministering to people?

Will: The people in the churches really were wonderful. 
Everyone was a true leader. At times the stress went up when
another levee broke and then someone would say, "Well, let's get
to it." and everyone would somberly go back to work praying,
feeding, clothing, and caring. The real stress is now, as
people begin to return to the mess left behind. Often now is
the time when they are forgotten because there is little
coverage in the news now and the world thinks it is over... but
it has really just begun.	


Toby: What were some of the hardest situations to deal with?

Will: Watching. I didn't personally lose anything, but those
who lost everything and don't have insurance... well, What can
you really do but pray and hope.


Toby: If people were to ask you "Where is God through all of
this disaster", how would you respond?

Will: I would have to say, "Look all around, see the people and
even the country coming together... God is showing us we can
pull together for this situation, what about the rest of the
time... surely we can pull together to keep our kids off drugs,
or help the always homeless or care for each other... This is
what God is showing me."


Toby: Are there any final comments you would like to leave our
readers?

Toby, I would just like to remind readers that the flooding is
not really over. In some places the water hasn't gone down yet
or the cleanup has just begun. Winter will be upon us soon and
there will still be misplaced families. The prayers are still
needed and any help is cherished. To those who are praying,
Thank you. From those who have lost it all to those who have
held their hands, we say, Thank You.
Ministry Profile
Ministry Profile
THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL 

The First Thirty Years of the Messianic Jewish Movement
International

May 1 1963 - April 30 1993

By Manny and Sandra Brotman


In the middle 1950Õs, there were only small numbers of "Hebrew
Christians." They were in relatively few houses of worship.
Gospel literature for the Jewish people was very limited.
"Hebrew Christian" conferences were comparatively small. Hardly
any Jewish believers were on radio or television. Jewish
believers were being assimilated into Gentile churches, and
often losing their Jewish identify. For the most part,
born-again Christians were not well-equipped to share
scripturally "as a Jew, to the Jews;" and, consequently, not
many Jewish people were finding their Messiah.

WHY ARE THERE NOW THOUSANDS OF JEWISH BELIEVERS? What part has
The Messianic Jewish Movement International had in the move of
God's Spirit among the Jewish people?

1953 - GEORGE AND DORIS GRUEN OBEY THE CALL OF GOD

In 1953, George and Doris Gruen, with an old car, little
finances, and no certain place to live, obeyed God's call and
moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. God had called them to
bring the Good News of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to Jewish young
people. George established Young People's Fellowship where he
coached basketball and baseball teams. After the games, he
conducted Bible studies for the players (mostly Jewish young
men).

1954 - MANNY BROTMAN IS BORN AGAIN

Manny became the first Jewish teenager in George's program to
find the Messiah. As Manny went to the Lord's House, he received
a passion for souls and a world vision. His heart was so deeply
moved, that he cried out to God with tears, "Father, please give
us every Jew in the world for Messiah Jesus!"

1958 - MANNY BROTMAN AND AUDREY KITCHEN ARE MARRIED

God had prepared a "helpmeet" for Manny. When Audrey Yvonne
Kitchen was 6 years old, she was stricken with Bulbar Polio and
was completely paralyzed from the neck-down. She laid in an iron
lung with less than a year to live. She couldn't move her arms
or legs, or even swallow her own saliva. Audrey's parents found
the Lord and prayed for their dying daughter. God reversed the
"incurable" Bulbar Polio, and completely healed Audrey. The
Catholic doctor said, "This is a miracle!" God graciously gave
Audrey another 44 years of life. While at Bible College, God
gave Audrey a "Jewish heart" and called her into Jewish ministry
with Manny. For almost 28 years, she faithfully served her
Messiah, her husband and her children.

1959 - GOD LEADS MANNY AND AUDREY TO MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE

At MBI, a school of over 1,000 students, Manny was burdened to
discover there was no group praying regularly for the Jewish
people. He and another student began meeting weekly at 7:00 am
to pray and God raised up a Jewish Prayer Band. As Prayer Band
leader, he contacted Jewish ministries world-wide for prayer
requests. Manny learned there was only one missionary for every
25,000 Jewish people! He wondered, "How could every Jewish
person in the world be reached for Messiah?"

1961 - "SHALOM BIBLE POLL" REACHES OUT

In answer to prayers of the Jewish Prayer Band to reach
Chicago's 325,000 Jewish people, God led Manny to design SHALOM
BIBLE POLL. Over 40 students went out weekly, even in 15" snow
blizzards! Thousands of Jews were contacted & hundreds requested
free correspondence courses & Bibles. Multiplication was the
answer!

1963 - SHALOM IS INCORPORATED MAY 1, 1963

Seeing these results, the Executive Committee of The Hebrew
Christian Alliance of America, at its National Convention in
Detroit, voted a literature grant of $3,000 for SHALOM (PEACE),
Inc. God led Manny to enter the work full time with $10 a month
in promised contributions, and a family of four (Manny, Audrey,
Nathan & Joel).

1964 - SHALOM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL LAUNCHED

Manny began SHALOM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL to service responses
coming in from SHALOM BIBLE POLL and other Jewish ministries.
Thousands enrolled, without cost, and scores of Jewish people
got saved. Moody Correspondence School then worked 9 months with
Manny to create A TRUMPET IN ZION Course written entirely from
the Old Testament. Jewish people are still being saved through
this course available through MJMI.

1964 - FIRST CATALOG OF MESSIANIC MATERIALS

During 1964, SHALOM came out with its first pictorial catalog of
products, perhaps the first such catalog of messianic materials
ever produced. It offered, free of charge, Messianic
Correspondence Courses, SHALOM BIBLE POLL materials & display
racks. Since then, the ministry continues to create and research
messianic products worldwide, issue catalogs & maintain the
largest selection of messianic materials in existence.

1964 - THE DETROIT AND FLINT, MICHIGAN LITERATURE CRUSADES

A group of Christian leaders from Detroit wanted to reach the
nation's 5th largest city (2,500,000 people) with SHALOM BIBLE
POLL. After prayer and with only $100-a-month promised for
literature, we felt led to say "yes!" God miraculously provided.
34 churches and 500 young people took part. The American Bible
Society also provided literature. Every home in Detroit was
reached! Scores found the Lord right on their doorsteps. As many
as 400 Jewish families a day enrolled in the SHALOM
CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL! Flint, Michigan was also reached.

1965 - MESSIANIC TERMINOLOGY IS POPULARIZED

The SHALOM SHARING CARD (now called "The Messianic Soul-Winner's
Card") is probably the most important product ever created in
the history of this ministry. That is because the messianic
terminology it popularized is at the heart of the present,
successful, world-wide Messianic Jewish Movement. Messianic
terminology is central to becoming "as a Jew, to the Jews." In
1961, Manny was already teaching this terminology to the
students of Moody using the SHALOM BIBLE POLL.

1965 - THE MONTHLY JEWISH PRAYER CARD MINISTRY BEGINS

SHALOM began the JEWISH PRAYER CARD MINISTRY in the middle
1960's. Jewish-related prayer requests are printed on this Card
to be prayed for each day when believers read their Bibles. The
requests are for the salvation & needs of Jewish friends & many
Jewish ministries. Believers use this Card daily in 49
countries. Jewish people have been saved and miracles have
happened the very date the request was on the Card. When
thousands pray, God moves!

1965 - THE YOUNG HEBREW CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE IS BIRTHED

The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America Executive Committee
authorized the late Joseph Pfefer, its President, and the late
Nathan Stone, Professor of Jewish Studies at Moody Bible
Institute, to ask Manny and Audrey Brotman to establish a youth
Alliance chapter in Chicago. In answer to prayer, God performed
miracles and The Young Hebrew Christian Alliance of America was
born. Manny was elected its first President & appointed its
Executive Director. Young Jewish believers who grew up in the
Alliance have now matured and taken their places as spiritual
leaders.

1967 - THE PRINCIPLE OF MESSIANIC CROSS-CULTURAL EVANGELISM IS
DEVELOPED

God's Spirit revealed to Manny that almost any "tool" the Church
used for Gentile evangelism could be modified for Jewish
evangelism (by the right terminology & sequence of Scripture).
Applying that principle, SHALOM was first to successfully bridge
the gap from "The Four Spiritual Laws" to "THE FIVE JEWISH LAWS"
& other evangelism concepts. Many Jews & Gentiles world-wide
have found the Messiah thru the 390,000 copies distributed. It's
been asked, "Why wasn't such a simple principle used sooner?
Apparently, it is now God's time. The Billy Graham Assn. orders
MJMl's materials by the thousands for use by their 4,000 phone
counselors.

1969 - TRAINING MANUAL AND THE JEWISH BIBLE APPROACH CREATED 

In 1969, SHALOM moved its National Headquarters to North Miami
Beach, Florida. Manny continued to create messianic materials
such as A TRAINING MANUAL ON HOW TO SHARE THE MESSIAH and THE
JEWISH BIBLE APPROACH ("How to lead a Jewish person to the
Messiah directly from The Jewish Bible"). This training has
helped thousands of believers to become much more effective
witnesses for the Messiah. It also gave impetus to the fledgling
Messianic Jewish Movement & its messianic congregations.

1972 - SHALOM CHANGES ITS NAME TO THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT
INTERNATIONAL

The leadership of SHALOM became convinced that good materials
were only part of reaching the Jewish community. As long as Jews
felt no other Jews believed this way, they didn't want to be
"the only Jew that believed in Jesus." The Hebrew Christian
Alliance had not yet changed its name and "Jews for Jesus" was
just starting. SHALOM had already distributed over 1,000,000
pieces of literature. By putting this new corporate name on its
literature, this tremendous Jewish psychological need was now
being met. 

1972 - BETH MESSIAH SYNAGOGUE OF NORTH MIAMI BEACH STARTED

Manny & Audrey then began Beth Messiah Synagogue of North Miami
Beach. The idea was to provide a synagogue environment into
which Jewish people could come, feel comfortable and find their
Messiah. A number of Jewish people found the Lord during this
time in Florida, including a leading rabbi's secretary, a Jewish
young man, Steve Fatow, (now pastor of a large congregation) and
fourteen children, most of whom were Jewish. 

1973 - SHARING MESSIAH SEMINAR SPONSORED BY THE HEBREW CHRISTIAN
ALLIANCE

The Washington, D.C. Chapter of The Hebrew Christian Alliance
led by Sid Roth, Paul Liberman, Sandra Sheskin & Marc Sircus
asked Manny to come from Florida to teach an All-day Seminar on
"HOW TO SHARE THE MESSIAH." Monthly meetings of the HCA had been
running only about 30 people. They prayed & worked very hard.
Over 700 believers came from 10 states! It was the largest such
seminar ever held. At the event, Manny challenged them to have a
messianic synagogue like the one he and Audrey were pioneering
in Florida. They asked, "What should we call it?" Manny
suggested, "Beth Messiah Synagogue of Greater Washington, D.C."

1973 - BETH MESSIAH SYNAGOGUE OF GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C. IS BORN

In 1973, Manny became the Founding Rabbi of BETH MESSIAH
SYNAGOGUE with 17 people. Today, headed by Dr. Dan Juster, it is
attended by hundreds & has planted congregations in the USA &
abroad. Beth Messiah has been referred to as the first
successful messianic synagogue in modern times, structured after
traditional synagogues, not originating out of a Protestant
denomination or Jewish mission. As a flagship, it has become a
pattern for many congregations.

1975 - MESSIANIC YOUTH REVIVAL FLOURISHES AT MESSIAH '75

In 1970, Manny suggested the Alliance youth meet at Messiah
College. He was asked to be HCAA Conference Chairman for 1975
and called the event MESSIAH '75 with the Exec. Committee's
approval. This conference name pattern has continued ever since.
At MESSIAH '75, hundreds of youth worshipped God in Spirit & in
truth, representative of thousands of Jewish youth being saved
world-wide! The late Al Adler, Conference Registrar, said he
processed over 750 people, twice as many as any previous
conference! 

1976 - THE UNION OF MESSIANIC JEWISH SYNAGOGUES IS FORMED

At the '75 & '76 Alliance Conferences, Manny called together
leaders of the growing number of messianic congregations to form
a loose association for growth and a unified voice. It was
desired that The Union would be under the umbrella of The
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America or closely associated with
it. Manny was elected its first president; but the Union was
postponed until 1979. It was re-formed using Manny's original
By-Laws which were modified. The Union now has 68 affiliated
congregations!

196O'S TO 199O'S - SEMINARS HELP BUILD MESSIANIC MOVEMENT

The Messianic Jewish Movement International (MJMI) personnel are
pictured at Melodyland (CA.) teaching "Soul-Winning & How to
Share the Messiah" to over 1,000 believers who took off work on
a Monday. MJMI has taught thousands of believers in churches,
Bible schools, Jewish ministries and campus ministries how to
successfully share the Lord with Jews and Gentiles alike. These
seminars have birthed a number of congregations.

1950'S T0 1990'S - MJMI PIONEERS MEDIA FOR MESSIAH 

During the 1960's, Manny and Audrey hosted the weekly SHALOM
HOUR heard by many Chicago Jews on secular radio. During the
'70's, MJMI pioneered the nationally-syndicated MESSIANIC JEWISH
HOUR on 22 stations. Sid Roth, whom Manny taught Jewish
Evangelism, co-hosted MJMl's award-winning radio program. Manny
appeared on the 700 CLUB & taught its Head Counselors from
throughout the USA "How to Share The Messiah." Guest appearances
were also made on PTL, Trinity Broadcasting, 100 Huntley Street,
Channel 38 in Chicago and other TV stations to share messianic
testimonies, messianic music, teaching and TV Specials on
Israel. 

1987 - MANNY BROTMAN AND SANDRA FRANCES SHESKIN ARE WED

In the fullness of time, God began to reveal to many believers
that He was bringing Manny & Sandra Sheskin together in a
Kingdom marriage for Israel's salvation. Sandra is a Messianic
Jewess who has ministered internationally including The White
House, Russia, Israel, Korea, Europe & Africa as a concert
singer, recording artist & prophetic Bible teacher. She has
appeared on all the media listed above, THE TODAY SHOW and has
often been called, "The Sweet Singer of Israel." On April 25,
1987, Manny & Sandra were wed in Washington, D.C. with 1,200
guests present including rabbis and Israelis. 

1970'S TO 1990'S - SOME OF THE LARGER SPECIAL EVENTS GOD HAS
OPENED

EXPLO '72 in Dallas with over 90,000 believers in attendance:
Campus Crusade asked Manny to head up the Jewish Training &
exhibit of messianic materials. THE 1977 CHARISMATIC RENEWAL
CONFERENCE in Kansas City with over 40,000 in attendance: Sandra
was soloist & Manny was asked to teach & bring messianic
products. WASHINGTON FOR JESUS '88 in Washington, DC asked Manny
& Sandra to represent Messianic Jews in America. Sandra was the
only Jewish soloist & Manny shared and prayed. He asked
1,000,000 believers to stretch out their right hand in faith
towards the Flag of Israel as he led in prayer for Israel's
salvation & peace with satellite television coverage!
Afterwards, they both taught attendees Soul-Winning and Sharing
Messiah. 

1990'S - THE WORD OF THE LORD SHALL GO FORTH FROM JERUSALEM 

At SHALOM's first board meeting in 1963, Manny shared with the
Board of Directors his conviction that one day the ministry
would have its world headquarters in Jerusalem. When he gave
Sandra her engagement ring on the Mount of Olives overlooking
Jerusalem, they both knew that their hearts and lives were
forever inter-twined with that City and its people. Please pray
with us that operations will begin in Jerusalem this 30th year
of MJMl's existence, even as Yeshua's public ministry in Israel
began in His 30th year. 

THE FUTURE OF THE MESSIANIC JEWISH MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL

Now, there are no longer small numbers of "Hebrew Christians."
TODAY, there are thousands of Messianic Jews! In Acts 14:27,
Paul and Barnabas called together the Church to "rehearse all
that GOD had done WITH THEM." Eternal fruit is the result of GOD
& MAN being co-laborers. (1 Cor. 3:9) However longer Yeshua
tarries, we need your help! God will do His part. Will you do
yours? Will you pray for the peace of Jerusalem daily? (Psalm
122:6) Will you witness to your Jewish friends? (Rom. 1:16) Will
you give financially and generously (Rom. 15:27) so that ALL
Israel shall be saved (Rom. 11:26) "To GOD be the glory. GREAT
things HE has done!" Thank you and God bless you!


The Messianic Jewish Movement International
"Jews and Gentiles Working Together for Israel's Salvation!" 

USA: P.O. Box 30313, Bethesda, MD. 20824 
Phone: (301) 656-7575 - FAX: (301) 949-6367 
CANADA: Box 2090, Prescott, ON. KOE 1TO
ARGENTINA: Casilla De Correo 20 (1706) Haedo, Buenos Aires
HOLLAND: Postbus 23053, 1100 DN Amsterdam
Phone: (20) 696-0089 - FAX: (20) 691-6841
The Bookworm
The Bookworm
Browsing With The Bookworm

This was a difficult review to write. This book probably won't
make the best seller list. If you start it, you may not want to
finish it. But you should, for this is one of the most important
books to come along in years.


FINDING GOD
by Larry Crabb
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, MI, 1993


Dr. Larry Crabb is the founder and director of the Institute of
Biblical Counseling in Colorado. He also serves as a professor
in the Department of Biblical Counseling at Colorado Christian
University in Morrison, Colorado. He is the author of many books
on Biblical counseling and Christian growth. 

In this book Dr. Crabb says nothing new. He does present
questions and issues that are difficult for us to face. He
identifies the basic problem of Christian life as faulty
thinking about God. Much of contemporary Christianity, including
"Biblical Counselors," sees God as the one we can depend on. He
is expected to fix our lives, take away pain and provide comfort.

Instead, Crabb returns us to the teachings of Scripture. We are
created to know God, and to glorify Him. Today, people look to
God as the source of answers and solutions to the struggles of
life. It is this focus that leads us to so frequently ask: "Why
would God let this happen?"

Dr. Crabb correctly points out that we tend to use circumstances
around us, and in our own life, as evidence of God's goodness.
"If God is good, then He will fix my problem. Yes, He wants me
to grow. But if I am obedient and trusting, He should make my
situation easier to handle." This is not true.

Crabb's position in "Finding God," can be seen in this quote
from page 174: "Nothing matters more than developing a passion
for Christ as we try to handle life's struggles responsibly and
wisely. Our primary purpose is not to use God to solve problems
but to move through our problems toward finding God. We must
develop a confidence in God that keeps us going even when hard
problems continue. And that confidence develops only when
confidence in our strategies to make life work is shattered. For
that reason we can welcome ongoing difficulties that make us
question our ability to avoid or overcome them.

... Our passion for finding God is too weak. God reveals himself
to people who want to know him more than they want anything
else. As we struggle through the problems of life, the most
important question we can ask in not, "How can I solve my
problems?" but rather, "How can I develop a burning passion for
knowing Christ that will overwhelm all other passions and reduce
them to secondary concerns?""

Or as Thomas A. Kempis puts it: "If You'd ever really got
inside the mind of Jesus, ever had a single taste of His burning
love, considerations of your own loss or gain would mean nothing
to you."

In "Loving God," Larry Crabb identifies some of his own
struggles in coming closer to God. He shares his own failures,
his grief and his struggle with experiencing a sense of
hopelessness. He helps us understand that, if we are honest with
ourselves, we too all will have these struggles.

Yes, we do need to face the damage in our lives. We need to deal
with those problems that may require counseling. However, we are
to seek help, not to stop hurting, but so we can move beyond
our problems. We are to accept pain so we can know God
passionately. And when we give up the need for life to make
sense, and the desire for our struggles to end, then we can be
truly free. We will know God's goodness, not because of what we
see, but because we know that we will spend an eternity in His
presence. As we seek to know God better, we will be able to
trust in Him as our perfect and only resource.

Life would be so easy if we could control it by applying certain
formulas and patterns. However, Scripture tells us that because
this is a fallen world, nothing will ever make sense until a
loving God intervenes and restores His creation. The message of
Scripture, and our only hope is: "Even so come Lord Jesus."

"Finding God" is not a book of comforting platitudes. It will
make us uncomfortable because it exposes just how sinful and
selfish we really are. But it is also a book of hope. And the
only real hope we have as believers is finding God our Savior.

I pray that Christians will have a greater desire to know God
than to be comfortable, and "Finding God" can help us in this
process. Each of us as believers should not only pick up this
book, but not put it down until the last chapter is read.

May you be blessed through truth, not comfort.

Your friend, the Bookworm.
Praise and Prayer
Praise and Prayer
PRAISE AND PRAYER is our international prayer link column. Send
your praise report or prayer request to MORNING STAR for
publication in our next issue. Call on your brothers and sisters
worldwide and together we will call on God!


PRAISE REPORTS:

Bonnie in Illinois praises the Lord for answered prayers
concerning her Professor's mother from Pakistan.

Jonathan in Florida thanks the Lord for answered prayer for a
teaching job.

Denise in Florida praises the Lord for healing Mr. Larsen of
Legionaires' disease!

Mike thanks the Lord for having been at peace with his decision
to leave his previous job of 14 years for a new career.

Robert in North Carolina praises the Lord for the salvation of
two family members.

Chuck from Massachusetts praises the Lord for his aunt who was
totally broke but discovered funds she had left in a pension
plan to pay her debt to The Internal Revenue Service. 

Dale in Maryland thanks the Lord that his efforts are noticed at
work. He also praises the Lord that his friend Larry found a job
after being unemployed for a year.

Praise the Lord for the revival going on in Russia, as reported
by Joe from New Jersey who just returned from there.

Dennis in Massachusetts praises the Lord that he has been free
from alcohol for 8 years.

Vince in Florida thanks the Lord that 2 seventh graders accepted
Jesus as their Savior in his church recently.

Margo in California thanks the Lord that she quit smoking 27
years ago.

Steve in California is thankful that many Christians work at his
grocery store. 

Gregory in Georgia thanks the lord that his wife is finally
getting hired on a full time job. Pray for his new Christian
radio station WJCK. 

Praise the Lord for Ron in California who was baptized recently.
Pray for his mother, who is Jewish, that she may know Jesus as
her Messiah/Savior too. 

Bonnie in Illinois reports that her daughter Gwyn found a
teaching job and they will pay for her schooling so that she can
get her Master's degree!

Peggy in Missouri thanks the Lord that she has finished the
radiation treatments of breast cancer and is doing well! 

Craig in North Carolina thanks the Lord for a positive outcome
in a recent court appearance involving traffic violations. 

Bruce in Georgia praises the Lord for a promotion on his job.

Jonathan in Florida praises the Lord for a teaching job. 

William in Texas praises the Lord that he has been clean and
sober for two years.

Dale in Maryland thanks the Lord for answered prayer on his
wife's job.

Geoff in California thanks the Lord for the increased support to
Sepher Ministries.

Stephen in Kansas thanks the Lord for the joy of hosting a
Christian music radio program on a local secular station.

Praise God for 900 people being baptized in Tanzania, Africa,
including a village witch doctor, who now preaches Christ. Pray
for another missionary in the Philippines who needs
encouragement.

Lucinda in Georgia reports that after prayer, a child named Will
in Georgia, is down to only one insulin shot per day and his
blood sugar is under remarkable control. Praise the Lord! 
Another praise report is that Winnie Mainor had surgery due to
an aneurysm. It was done just in time, for it burst on the
operating table. She is stable now, thank the Lord! 

Margo in California praises God that last week her husband Mark
acknowledged Jesus as Lord and Savior. 

Janet in Indiana praises the Lord for improvement in her
eyesight and wonderful neighbors! 


PRAYER REQUESTS:

Will in Texas requests prayer for Kevin, who needs deliverance
from narcotics. Pray also for his friend Greg, who is going to
Japan for two years to teach English. 

Robert in North Carolina asks for prayer for his uncle who has a
kidney disease.

Continue to pray for a Pastor for Faith Baptist Church in
Cuthbert, Georgia.

Joe asks us to keep him in prayer as he begins his first year of
medical school.

Continue to pray for Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta, Georgia.

Pray for Toby in New Hampshire. He is having problems with
nerves in his arm following an infection and surgery on his
elbow.

Pray for Dominic in California concerning his job.

A.M. asks prayers for the salvation of her husband's 83 year-old
Jewish grandmother, Dolly, and 74 year-old Jewish father named
Bob.

Belinda in Kentucky asks prayer as her husband has been sent to
Somalia for six months. 

Pray for Charles in Virginia as he resumes his job as a public
school teacher this week.

Pray for a German exchange student in Texas.

Pray for Geoff, on the staff of Morning Star, who needs the
touch of the Lord on his back.

Pray for traveling mercies, for Paul in Maryland, as he goes
home to be with his family and friends for a weekend.

Pray that the Lord will open doors for the correct job for
Emma's husband.

Pray for Tom's father in Ohio who has a bone infection and also
his mom who is under much stress.

Keep in prayer our online brother Danny in Texas who has
diabetes type two. He also has financial needs and asks our
prayers for this.

Pray for Leona in Florida with liver cancer.

Pray for Don in Ohio who was fired from his job.

SW asks prayer for her mother who is going to Russia in October
to minister to the people.

Pray for the Smith Family in Wilmington N.C. 

Pray for Mr. Boatman who needs a bypass surgery.

Lee in Rhode Island asks prayer for his son, Mark who is having
seizures.

Eddie in Michigan asks us to pray for all involved in the UAW
talks in the auto industry.

Robert in North Carolina asks prayer for his Bible study
teacher, Mary Pierce, who is recovering from eye surgery.

Pray for salvation and deliverance for S. F. She is searching
and needs the comfort of the Holy Spirit. 

Pray for protection for the Jewish family in Georgia, who found
a cross burning in their yard and for those that are behind this
terrible action or condone it.

Pray for Reid who is at MIT in Massachusetts, and feels
depressed.

Pray for Dee in Texas who is depressed.

Pray that the Lord will make His will more clear concerning
P.D.'s job.

Pray for guidance for Amy in Alabama as she goes for an
interview with a temp. job service. 

Pray for Geoff's client in California who is very depressed.

Pray for Denise in Florida who is having surgery next month and
won't be able to work for 6 weeks and will have no sick pay. Her
husband, who is out of work, still has faith that the Lord will
provide.

David in California asks for prayer for a brother in the Lord
who is going deaf and doesn't know why. 

Marlin in Georgia prays for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
the church and community!

Pray that the Lord will lead Wendy to a place of worship and put
Christian friends in her life in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pray that the Lord will take care of a behavioral problem
concerning John in Pennsylvania.

Pray for Dianne from Massachusetts who had a nervous breakdown
due to abuse from her husband. Pray for salvation for the entire
family.

Pray for Bill Weaver in Arkansas; that the Lord will provide him
a place to live.

Pray for the Lord's will in the career path of Chuck in
Massachusetts.

Pray for Lori who is very depressed after her divorce.

Pray for Steve in California, that the Lord will intervene on
his job situation.

Pray for Brother Vince Gonzalez in Florida as he recovers from
knee surgery.

Pray for sister Mae Trudel in Florida as she recovers from back
surgery.

Anita in Ohio asks for prayer for her father-in-law Frank's
health. 

Pray for Krista and her husband from New York, who would like to
have a baby.

Leon in Georgia asks for prayer for protection of the school
children from all evil and harm.

Pray for Dan who is not feeling well.

Leslie in Florida asks for prayer for strength from the Lord.

Margo in California asks for prayer for Mark, her non-believing
husband. Pray also for Fauez who is a Moslem and wants to know
about Christianity. 

Pray for Robert who is suffering from cancer.

Pray for Don who struggles with his health.

Lyle in Connecticut asks for prayer for the new pastor who will
be moving into his church.

Steve in Mississippi is starting Seminary soon and asks for
prayers.

Kerry asks for prayers for salvation and guidance for Don. He
also asks for prayer for himself since he will be starting
college soon.

P.M. asks us to be in prayer about his finding a new church to
pastor. 

George in Pennsylvania asks us to pray for a friend who is a
single mother. Her youngest child came down with scarlet fever.

Russell in West Virginia asks prayer for his cousin, Greg; a
good Christian man, who has been diagnosed as having cancer on
his tongue. 

Robert in Louisiana seeks help from the Lord as he feels very
lonely and would like to meet a nice Christian girl.

Howard in California asks prayer for finances for his ministry
as it is having some very rough times right now.

Pray for Kevin in Houston as he embarks to bring more students
at his high school to Jesus.

Pray for Crystal in North Dakota who is depressed.

Pray for salvation for Shelly's sister Cicily.


INTERNATIONAL REQUESTS:

Frank in Virginia would appreciate our prayers as he and others
begin a church planting team to go to Thailand. 

Pray that the financial support will come in for a 3-week trip
of Russian Messianic Jews to Israel. 

Pray for a 14 year old girl in Sula, Honduras that the Lord will
lead her.

Joe in New Jersey asks for prayer for a man from Moscow who is
traveling the East Coast raising money for Bibles in Russia.

Pray for the Christians and other groups in Saudi Arabia who are
being harrassed since the Gulf War. 

Now more than ever, Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim. - Pray for the
Peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6a)
S.C.U.D. Warnings!
S.C.U.D. Warnings!
S piritual
 C ounterfeits
  U ndermining
   D octrine

W A R N I N G S

By Jerry Johnson


DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS OF THE FIRST PRESENTATIONAL CHURCH


1. We believe and support all of the doctrinal statements in the
Apostles' and Nicene Creed.

2. We believe that in order to show proper respect for God you
must dress up when attending church on Sundays, men in suits,
women in dresses. Wearing tennis shoes is a sign of spiritual
disrespect, rebellion and depravity. We won't even begin to tell
you what wearing shorts or blue jeans is a sign of.

3. We believe that we must be an example of all that is good in
Christianity, so when you are asked, "How are you?" you are to
respond, "Fine" regardless of how you are doing lest you cast
dispersions upon God's workings in your life.

4. We believe that King James English is for the devout. Common
English may be used for matters not pertaining to spiritual or
church issues. Slang is the tongue of the heathen and will not
be tolerated in these anointed halls. After all, if King James
English was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for us.

5. We believe that all members of all families must verbally
acknowledge and attest to the fact that they love attending our
church. To do less would deny the effectiveness of God's power
within the members of our church.

6. We believe that a prominent evidence of the call of God to
the ministry is the gray, three piece suit. We also believe that
since our staff have obviously been called of God (as evidenced
by said suits) we are to trust in them implicitly, as we would
the God who called them.

7. We believe any outward confession or admission of sin or
human failing proves to be a stumbling block to those who look
to the church for guidance, so all personal problems must be
kept secret, to be revealed only to mental health professionals
that have no religious affiliation.

8. We believe that any attention paid to doctrinal or Biblical
issues that are not crystal clear and free of any dispute or
debate is destabilizing to the believer and such topics are to
be wholly avoided upon fear of reprisal from the pastor, who
shall possess sole and final interpretive say on all such
matters.

9. We believe that if we live according to the above doctrinal
statements our church shall stand as a shining example of what
God can accomplish in the lives of his people.

Right.

And people in the Mississippi Valley have no idea what a sandbag
looks like.

I showed this intro to one of my co-workers and she said she
thought she knew a couple of churches that would probably be
willing to adopt the above doctrinal statement verbatim. I
decided to check, but they wouldn't let me within 100 yards.
(Just kidding... they let me in, but then kicked me out).



This column, the Church and "First Date Syndrome," was born out
of a mistake I made during a singles Sunday School class I was
teaching. You see, the way I write is pretty much the way I
teach, a bit on the edge. Well, while I was teaching I used some
slang that didn't sit well with two visitors who happened to be
from another large church in town that has a reputation for
being legalistic and performance oriented. Over the course of
the following week I got a gentle rebuke from not one, but three
different representatives from my church following a letter the
two people had written protesting my language.

Now, first of all, I freely admit that I was in error. My
singles group is used to my delivery and are very tolerant of my
style. However, I also know better than to sacrifice the message
to my method and on that particular Sunday, the two visitors
heard absolutely nothing but three uses of slang.

But the more I thought about it the more I came to realize that
my church, like most churches, has "First Date Syndrome."

Before I explain what that is, I have to preface myself by
saying that this topic is not truly a Spiritual Counterfeit as
much as it is a nuisance. It doesn't undermine doctrine as much
as get in its way.

We now return to our regularly scheduled column:

No doubt almost everyone that is reading this column has gone
through the process of a first date. You know what I mean: You
dress nicer than you usually do. And, you act different than you
usually do. You talk about things differently than you usually
do in order to impress someone doing the same thing to you.

It always amazed me that we acted that way in the guise of
"getting to know each other" when we weren't even acting like
ourselves.

Yet that is pretty much how most Christians have learned to
approach church, like a first date. We dress differently than
usual. We talk and act differently than usual while interacting
with people acting equally differently. And then we get upset
when the outside world accuses us of being hypocritical and
phony.

We're not exactly being up front and vulnerable!

If I work with someone in a secular setting and then, by some
odd circumstance, they happen to see me in an ecclesiastical
(church) setting, will they recognize me by anything but my
face? Will I be the same person I am at work, or at home, or
when I'm out with friends?

"Then that means you're failing to behave properly in the world,
while you are behaving properly in the church!"

You may choose to believe that, but the simple fact is, if I act
like I have it all together and I'm sweet all the time, I'm
faking it. After all, I John 1:8 states that if we claim to be
without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Oh, that's the difference! At church we aren't deceiving
ourselves, just everyone else!

"So we act and dress better at church, what harm is there in
that?"

Unfortunately, probably a lot more than we would care to admit.

"What?! Has some study come out saying that wearing suits and
being polite causes cancer?!"

In a sense, yes. I got into trouble because someone attending
the church had certain expectations regarding what a Sunday
School teacher is "supposed" to talk like. My church decided to
agree with the assessment. I now have to adjust my teaching
style for two people who will never attend the group again.

"So what's wrong with that?"

Expectations.

They can kill.

Over the past few years alone a number of televangelists,
preachers and even a very balanced pastor/theologian have come
into public disrepute because of sin that was hidden for a
number of years ... from everyone but the rumor mongers.

Why? Probably because everyone knows that pastors and church
leaders are to be shining examples of all that is good and
perfect and flawless in the church. And leaders who are supposed
to be examples of all that is good and perfect and flawless
CAN'T admit that they are tempted or, dare we say it, actually
human enough to fail and sin!

In that squeeze play they must find it hard to find someone that
they can be safely vulnerable with enough early enough in a
problem area to help them avoid it, rather than be forced to
hide it.

And that extends beyond the pastors into the congregation. If
everyone in the congregation seems to be doing so well, I must
be the only one struggling or sinning or being tempted. So, if I
am so bad and everyone else in this church is obviously doing so
well, they couldn't possibly be able to relate to my struggles.
And if I revealed them, I would probably be cast out since I am
the only sinner in the church!

"Now you're really stretching for a point here!"

I don't think so. It is a very sad but real fact that the rate
of incest and molestation among church attenders is NO DIFFERENT
than the population at large. Why should that be in the single
greatest area of potential healing and change?

I believe people who struggle with these sins feel forced to
hide them, until caught. This is because of the sins' severity,
combined with the fact that we in the church are functionally
taught to hide rather than to confess them.

"So it's our fault and not theirs?"

The sin is their fault, the lack of help is ours.

"But there are psychological and mental health systems available
to help these people!"

Probably, because the church never created the opportunity for
people to confess their sin and receive help within the church.

When the Pharisees complained that Jesus had a bunch of misfits
and weirdos around Him, He stated that it was the sick that need
the physician, not the healthy. Well, many churches right now
act like we're health clubs for the perfect rather than
hospitals for the needy. And then we wonder why so many people
are hurting.

I really am uncomfortable about the artificiality of church. I
am put into a position where I must try to second guess the
leadership's reaction to any revelation about my humanity and
not yet perfected spirit, before I can share something that
might offer some hope and encouragement to someone who feels
like they are the only one who is not succeeding.

Even within this column, if I overstep a boundary, someone might
reject my column (which would be no big deal), but also reject
Morning Star and all the other writers who contribute and miss a
real opportunity to be ministered to by this medium.

But for this column to have any reality at all, I must not do
what I am criticizing the church for. I cannot omit my own
failings, leaving the impression I have it all together ... I
don't.

My personal inclination was to reveal a couple of areas of
struggle which I have. At this point the staff of Morning Star,
(myself included) debated the wisdom, wondering whether the
revelation would overwhelm the message. (Just like it did in the
Sunday School class.) 

In light of that we'll take the more conservative course so we
won't unnecessarily offend. But, to be dead honest, if you knew
all the details of my private life you wouldn't read the column.

And, if I knew all the details of your private life, I wouldn't
want you reading it.

Sin is sin. They don't have to confess it to thousands of
readers; maybe just a close Christian friend, pastor or lay
leader. If we in the church would be more honest about the fact
we need the help of the Lord, maybe believers and unbelievers
both would come to see God and the church as a place to come for
help.

Also, if my editors actually printed this column intact, don't
blame them if you consider this column inappropriate. All they
did was allow me the privilege of trying to have integrity
within the topic I was addressing. I appreciate that.

Next time (if there IS a next time): White Noise Prayer
Commentary
Commentary
Guest Editorial

WISDOM

By Arno Froese
From MIDNIGHT CALL magazine, July 1993


When reading 1st Kings 4:34, And there came of all people to
hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which
had heard of his wisdom," we are reminded of the words of our
Lord Jesus, "...behold, a greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew
12:42). This soul-piercing statement was made in answer to the
request by the religious authorities [the Scribes and Pharisees)
wanting to experience a sign from the Lord.

It is needful to emphasize here that Jesus had already performed
many signs such as healing the leper, and the centurion's
servant grievously tormented with palsy. He also healed Peter's
mother-in-law who was sick with fever. He even commanded the
wind and the waves to cease, 

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed
him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea,
insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was
asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying,
Lord, save us: we perish And he saith unto them, Why are ye
fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the
winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men
marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey him!" (Matthew 8:23-27). 

This is exactly in accordance with the prophetic Word found in
Psalm 107:29, "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves
thereof are still" To the inquiry of John the Baptist who had
sent his disciples to confirm that Jesus was the Christ, our
Lord stated, "... Go and shew John again those things which ye
do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Matthew
11:4-6).

But these miraculous events were not enough to satisfy the
inquiring minds of the religious people. They persistently
asked, "... Master, we would see a sign from thee" (Matthew
12:38b). Without hesitancy, the Lord identifies the spiritual
and moral condition of the people at that time, "... An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no
sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas" (Verse
39).

Why, some may ask, did the Lord not simply show them an
additional sign and therewith prove beyond a shadow of doubt His
authority as the Christ, the Messiah of Israel? The answer is
vividly displayed in the Lord's choosing of the words "evil,"
"adulterous," and "sign." An evil person does not think he is
evil but has permitted himself to be deceived and therefore has
become blind to the truth. Take an adulterer: does such a person
in reality believe in the seriousness of the sin? Of course not!

Such a person has decided in their heart to disobey the clear
commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14).
Subsequently, the truth cannot enter their heart and therefore
they are enticed by their own fleshly lust and desire a special
sign.

Is it therefore surprising to read here and see in our news
media the excesses of crime and brutality on a daily basis? The
farther men slide away from God, the less their spirit and soul
are receptive to the things of God. As a result, they need the
"gospel" of destruction, of immorality, of crime, and chaos. The
media only reflects what men really desire!

The average American, we are told, is eager to digest an
increased amount of sensation, mystery, and the miraculous no
matter where it originates. Therewith, their mind is guided
towards the occult which is exploding worldwide

One would think that, for example, our politicians or the
intellectual elite, would continuously be occupied with God's
miracle, the miracle of the end time, the nation of Israel.
That, however, is far from the case. People in higher places,
our intellectuals who continuously teach and study, are no
longer capable of understanding the truth of God's miraculous
work regarding the nation of Israel.

Would the political leaders, for example, read what the Holy
Word of God prophesied thousands of years ago about the Jews
going back to Israel they would be forced by such facts to
acknowledge God's mighty miracles! The land is being revived; a
dead language has been restored, and a primitive band of escaped
refugees has established a military force that strikes fear in
the heart of the Arab nations surrounding them.

Yet, in reality, no politician, no government leader, and barely
any intellectual today admits that God is performing a miracle
through the nation of Israel!

Just as the confusion climaxed under the jurisdiction of the
Roman Empire at the time of Jesus, we witness today increased
turmoil and confusion the world over. What is the reason? The
world will soon see the second coming of Christ!

The simplicity of the Gospel is so plain that no special wisdom
is needed to understand it. Anyone can easily grasp the words
such as, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). 

It is this message which the Lord has entrusted to us to present
to the world, but it is contrary to the wisdom of the world.
Therefore, the Bible identifies the wisdom of the world as
"foolishness." The Apostle Paul writes, For the preaching of the
cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are
saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Here too, we
experience the fulfillment of the precious prophetic Word,
because the next verse reads, "For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent" (Verse 19).

May I ask you a question: Is your life guided by the wisdom of
God? Have you come to know the wisdom in person, the Lord Jesus
Christ? Then and only then will you experience the reality of
verse 24, But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (verse 24).

Invest your time in wisdom and not in the foolishness of the
world. The latter will perish but the wisdom of God will endure
for all eternity. The Apostle Paul continues in 1st Corinthians
2, and concludes in verse 9, "But as it is written, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
Therefore, be not slack in doing the will of God while here on
Earth because this promise is very personally directed to you!

Features
The Feasts of Israel
The Feasts of Israel
Editor's note: In this month's Feature section, we present
several articles about the Feasts of Israel. The following
piece by Moishe Rosen outlines the seven "major" feasts from the
Bible. Following this are articles on four of these feasts,
Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succoth. We have also
included material on two "minor" feasts - Purim and Hanukkah.


THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL

By Moishe Rosen


Many Christians do not realize that the seven feasts which God
commanded in Leviticus 23 are still observed by their Jewish
neighbors. The feasts, as given to Israel, bore a three-fold
significance. First there was the seasonal aspect of each
holiday; then the feasts were to be a memorial of God's dealings
with the Hebrews; and finally there was the prophetic symbolism
of God's dealings with His Church, which is made up of believing
Jews and believing Gentiles.

A study of the feasts of Israel will not only bring a greater
understanding of the Jewish roots of our faith; it will teach
the Christian much about God's plan of redemption throughout the
ages. Leviticus 23 lists these seven feasts in order of their
seasonal observance: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits,
Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Booths.

Passover, the first and probably best known feast, comes in the
spring, in the Jewish month of Nisan, also called Abib. Passover
commemorates the redemption of the Hebrews from Egyptian
slavery. On the first Passover each Hebrew household sacrificed
a perfect yearling lamb and sprinkled the blood on the
crosspiece and side posts of the door. The "Angel of Death"
passed over the houses which were protected by the blood of the
lamb, but where there was no blood, the first born was slain.
Even so, we are all slaves, in bondage to sin. We are redeemed
and set free by the blood of Jesus, the Messiah, the pure and
spotless Lamb of God. (l Peter 1:18,19)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread occurs simultaneously with
Passover. It begins the day after the Passover eve, and lasts
for seven days. Because they are so closely related in time and
purpose, the names are often interchangeable. During Passover
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Jewish people put away all
leaven from their houses and eat unleavened bread, or Matzo.
Leaven in Scripture is usually a symbol of sin; the unleavened
Matzo graphically portrays the pure and sinless Messiah. It is
pierced, even as our Lord was pierced by the nails in His hands
and feet and the Roman spear in His side; and it is striped in
the baking, reminding us that Isaiah said, ''But he was wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities .. and
with his stripes, we are healed.'' Isaiah 53:5.

The Feast of First Fruits is directly related to Passover and
Unleavened Bread, for it is to be celebrated on "the morrow
after the Sabbath," which means the day after the first day of
Unleavened Bread. In Bible times this holiday was a feast of
thanksgiving for the barley harvest, the first grain of the
season. The first harvest is viewed as a promise of the larger
harvest to come because the conditions which brought about the
first harvest will also bring the rest. Jesus the Messiah is the
First Fruit whom God raised from the dead. Just as the barley
harvest was the promise of more to come, He is our promise of
resurrection and eternal life, through faith in Him, for He has
conquered death and the grave.

Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, also is calculated from the
first feast, Passover. It comes 50 days after the Passover
sabbath, thus the name Pentecost, which means 50. This is a
Greek name, but the Jewish people call it Shavuot, which is the
Hebrew word for "weeks." Shavuot, too, is a harvest festival,
thanking God for the wheat harvest. According to oral tradition,
it is also the day that Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai. On
Shavuot, the priests offered two loaves of bread made from the
newly harvested grain. Unlike other offerings, these loaves were
baked with leaven. We see in the two loaves a type of God's
people, both Jews and Gentiles, given eternal life and made one
in the Messiah, Jesus, at the birth of the church on Pentecost.

After Pentecost, a long time elapses before the next feast. We
see in this, our present age of waiting for the return of the
Messiah Jesus. Then in the autumn, on Tishri, the seventh month
of the Jewish calendar, comes the Feast of Trumpets, more
commonly called Rosh Hashanah. This marks the beginning of the
civil year and is the Jewish New Year's Day. In Leviticus 2:24
God commanded the blowing of trumpets on the first day of the
seventh month to call the congregation of Israel together for a
very solemn assembly. According to Jewish teachings, Rosh
Hashanah is the beginning of ten days of judgment when all the
children of men pass before the Creator. The righteous are
written into the Book of Life, the wicked are condemned, and
those who are not wholly righteous nor wholly wicked are given
ten days to repent and thus escape judgment. We who are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life do not fear judgment, but rather we
look for His return when He shall come with the trumpet sound
and the voice of the Archangel to bring us into His sabbath of
rest.

The ten days of repentance and introspection lead into the most
solemn day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
It has become a time of fasting and prayer. It was the only time
in Bible days when the high priest could enter the Holy of
Holies. He went in before the Lord with the blood of a
sacrificed animal to beg forgiveness for the sins of the people.
Today there are no animal sacrifices and no Temple. The Jewish
people rely solely on repentance for forgiveness of sins, but
they have no assurance that God has heard and forgiven, for the
Scriptures teach in Leviticus 17:11 that atonement is in the
blood. When Christ offered His own blood as our atonement or
covering, the veil of the Temple was torn in two, signifying
that He had opened the way into the I Holy of Holies. By His
sacrifice all who believe now have access to God and a covering
for sin. We look forward to that great and final day of
atonement prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and 13:1 when all Israel
shall mourn for the Messiah and accept the atonement He has made.

The seventh and final feast is the Feast of Booths, known in
Hebrew as Succoth. In Bible days this was the final fall harvest
festival, a time of ingathering at Jerusalem. The Jewish people
built booth-like structures and lived in them during this feast
as a reminder of the temporary dwellings the Israelites had in
the wilderness. Even today many Jewish people build open-roofed,
three-sided huts for this festival. They decorate them with tree
boughs and autumn fruits to remind them of harvest.

Everyone in Israel who was able, came up to Jerusalem for this
harvest festival every year. The Temple worship for the holiday
included the ritual pouring of water from the Pool of Siloam,
symbolic of the prayers for the winter rains. It was at this
time that Jesus cried out, ". . .If any man thirst, let him come
unto me and drink." (John 7:37-38)

After Israel's final day of atonement the Feast of Booths will
be celebrated again in Jerusalem. (Zechariah 14:16)

Booths speaks of the final rest, as well as the final harvest.
John wrote in Revelation 21:3: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
It is our prayer that soon there will come the fulfillment of
all which He promised, saying, "... I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of
the fountain of the water of life freely." (Revelation 21:6)
A Believer's Passover
A Believer's Passover
A BELIEVER'S PASSOVER

by Steven Mark Klugman
Los Angeles, California


As a Jew, I have had the unique opportunity of experiencing
Passover from both the Jewish and Christian perspectives. My
first Passover as a Christian was a mind-blowing experience. I
could not believe that the holiday that I was celebrating was
not and had not always been a Christian holiday. As I read the
Seder Haggadah, I thought that some Christian had snuck in and
added pages to my prayer book. Had this always been there? I
asked myself. As a Hebrew Christian, I began to see that the
Passover was the most Jewish and the most Christian of the
holidays. This had been the case until the gentiles outnumbered
the Jewish believers in about A.D. 325.

The unfortunate, even tragic, split that occurred between Jewish
and Gentile believers left a permanent scar on the face of the
body of Christ. The Nicene Council outlawed the celebration of
Passover on threat of excommunication. This helped start the
process of severing the wild branch (the gentile believers) that
had been grafted into Israel from their natural and historical
roots. This division became so great that people in the Year of
the Lord 1993 are actually surprised to find out that the Bible
has two testaments. 

If you are a Jewish believer in Yeshua, you will no doubt be
asked at least a hundred times a year, How could a Jew be a
Christian? -- as if Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, and of course
our Lord himself, had not been Jewish. Even sadder is the state
of affairs where our Jewish brothers, who should be the natural
heirs of God's promises, can ask, How can I, a Jew, be a
Christian?

Perhaps in studying the Passover as the Jews have observed it
for countless centuries, gentile believers can gain a deeper
insight into their own roots. The Passover is the most direct
foreshadowing of the coming of the Messiah of any of the Jewish
festivals. Studying the Passover we can see how the Messiah
was to come and how it leads us to see Yeshua. First we see
Moses. Next, if you believe God is true, we see Yeshua.

Moses was a great (though not the greatest) deliverer of God's
people. Moses delivered Israel from physical bondage. As a man
of God, he longed to see a greater deliverer who would come. The
one who would deliver Israel from a greater bondage, the bondage
of sin.

What is so striking about the Passover is that Moses used the
same means to deliver Israel that Jesus would use hundreds of
years later -- the blood of a spotless lamb. In the latter
case, it was not only a spotless lamb, but a perfect lamb. Yet,
both deliverances came about not because of man's actions or
beliefs, but because of the blood of God's lamb. Israel's
first-born were not spared because of works so men might boast,
but it was through believing God's Word and obeying God's
command to paint the doorposts with the blood of a lamb that
Israel was redeemed. 

As a young Jewish boy, Passover meant lots of things to me. In
honesty, the most important was that I could stay home from
school. For my mother and sister it meant lots of hard work. The
Passover is considered so special and holy that a separate set
of dishes is used for the eight days of the Passover feast.
These dishes are not used at any time other than Passover. And
of course, they include not one but two sets of plates; one for
milk and dairy products, and one for meat. During the rest of
the year, two sets of dishes were kept, but they were not
considered holy enough to be used on Passover. Passover called
for the highest degree of commitment and required the entire
family to clean up their act. 

Before the coming of the first night, a night that would see the
first of two Passover Seders, or ritual meals, the entire house
had to be searched from top to bottom to rid the house of
chametz (anything that was leavened or unkosher). Traditionally,
the night before Passover the parents and children would go room
to room with a feather and a wooden spoon, to search for and
collect any crumbs that may have been missed during the earlier
cleaning. The family would then recite a special blessing: 

"May all leaven in my possession which I have not seen or
removed be regarded as nonexistent and considered as mere dust
of the earth."

As time went by and more Jews assimilated, or became
"Americanized" if you will, the rituals, especially the Kosher
dietary laws became more relaxed. Yet these assimilated Jews
would often keep Kosher for the eight days of Passover to honor
the God of their ancestors. The preparation for the Passover
feast may very well be where we get the tradition of "spring
cleaning." The Jewish mother would see to it that the house was
shining like new. The mother would set the table with the
special Passover plates and silverware, with her best tablecloth
and the finest of ornaments. Everyone settled down expectantly
for the coming of that special bride, the Passover Sabbath.

This holiday was so important to the Jewish people that it was
celebrated with a Seder on two consecutive nights. The Old
Covenant finds Passover significant enough to have God speak of
it three times. The first reference is in Exodus: 

"This month is for you to be the first month, the first month of
your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth
day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one
for each household. If any household is too small for a whole
lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor... 
Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides
and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the
lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the
fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast...
This is how you are to eat it with your cloak tucked into your
belt, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste: it is the
Lord's Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn. Note God himself and not an
angel contends for Israel... The blood will be a sign for you
on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will
pass over you" (Exodus 12:1-12). At a later date the day was
changed from the 10th of Nisan to the 14th.

Again in Deuteronomy, chapter 16, the Lord commands: "Observe
the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your
God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by
night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal
from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a
dwelling for his Name. Do not eat it with bread made with
yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of
affliction, because you left Egypt in haste... so that all the
days of your life you may remember the time of your departure
from Egypt (do this as often as you remember me)" (Deuteronomy
16:1-8).

In Leviticus, chapter 23, God commands Israel to celebrate
Passover and declares the command to celebrate to be "a lasting
ordinance for the generations to come wherever you live" 
(Leviticus 23:14).

Only if we understand the Passover from the Jewish perceptive
can we fully understand Christian communion. Knowing the liturgy
and order of the Passover Seder, we can identify which piece of
bread Jesus chose to use as a symbol of his body, and which
glass of wine he chose to be his blood. The blood that would be
shed for the many as a "new covenant." (See Matthew 26:27; Mark
14:24; Luke 22:20.)

The leader of the Seder, usually the father, makes use of three
special pieces of matzah (unleavened bread) during the Seder. As
a young Jewish boy, I had no idea why three pieces. As a
believer in Yeshua, of course, I now realize that the three
pieces symbolize the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Of the three members of the Trinity it is the middle matzah, the
second piece, that represents the Son. It was probably this that
Jesus broke and consecrated as his Body. The broken piece of
middle matzah is called the "afikomen." The middle matzah was
originally placed in a position of honor. But when broken, the
afikomen is removed from the place of honor. 

For the children, the ransom for the afikomen is the most
important part of the Seder. The Seder cannot end until the
afikomen is redeemed by the father from the children, who have
stolen it. The children vie for the honor of stealing the 
afikomen while the father happily looks the other way. Just
before the end of the Seder, the father will buy back the
afikomen from the child for whatever price the child asks.
Clearly, this middle piece stood for Jesus and His redemption
from sin for all God's children. Thus, when it came time to pay
the ransom, Jesus broke the afikoman and told his disciples the
true meaning of Passover.

The glass of wine Jesus drank was undoubtedly the fourth cup of
wine, the cup put aside for the return of Elijah. For thousands
of years, the Jewish people have celebrated the Passover and
have set aside a special glass to be drunk by Elijah when he
returns. This special glass shows the deep Messianic longing of
the Jewish people. 

The Seder starts with the words "Let all who are hungry come and
eat." and among the awaited guests for countless centuries has
been the prophet Elijah. In Jewish legend the ubiquitous Elijah
is the champion of the oppressed. He brings hope, cheer and
relief to the downtrodden. He performs miracles of rescue and
deliverance. His name is clearly associated with the coming of
the Messiah. When Jesus picked up the cup of Elijah he was
without doubt proclaiming himself the Messiah. 

Can you imagine the thrill and awe the twelve must have felt
when Jesus emptied a cup rightfully belonging only to the
Messiah. Not all Messianic Jews would agree that Jesus drank the
cup of Elijah. A very good argument can be made that the cup
referred to by Jesus as his blood was the third cup drank during
the Seder, the symbolic cup of redemption.

The symbolism of the lamb is striking and obvious, no doubt it
is well known to most readers, so we will pass quickly through
it. Jesus of course is referred to by Paul as our Passover lamb.
We are therefore enjoined to keep the feast (1 Corinthians
5:6-8). God in the exodus showed man clearly how he would redeem
him through the Messiah. With the sacrifice of a blameless
creature, with the washing of the blood, and by faith. Even
from the very beginning of Jesus' ministry he was called the
lamb of God. John first proclaimed "Behold the lamb of God
who takes away the Sin of the world" (John 1:29). 

The traditional Seder is comprised of 15 steps:

1. The sanctifying of the name of God (The Kiddush). Praised be
thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us in
life and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. 

2. Washing of the hands (u-r'hatz). Perhaps it was at this
point in the Seder that Jesus knelt down and washed his
disciples feet. (See John 13: 4-10.)

3. Eating the green vegetable (karpas). The green vegetable
symbolizes rebirth. It is dipped into salt water to remind the
people of the tears shed by the oppressed.

4. Breaking of the middle matzoth (yahatz). This is the piece
discussed above that is broken and use for the afikomen.

5. The telling of the Story of the Exodus (Maggid). Let all who
are hungry come and eat; all who are needy, come and celebrate
the Passover with us. In this section we find the famous "four
questions." These four questions are asked every year by the 
youngest male child in the household 

A. Why is this night different from all other nights?

B. Why on all other night do we eat all kinds of herbs, but on
this night we eat especially bitter herbs?

C. Why on all other nights we need not even once dip our herbs
in any condiment, but on this night we dip herbs twice: one
herb in salt water, and the bitter herbs in Haroset?

D. Why on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining,
but on this night we recline?

The main portion of the night will be taken up by the father
answering these four questions.

6. Washing the hands before the meal (Rathza)

7. The saying of the HaMotzi.

8. Reciting the blessing for the Matzah. This is perhaps an
early form of a communion. A piece of the uppermost matzah and
a piece of the broken middle matzah is distributed to each
participant. After salting the two pieces the father says a
blessing while reclining to the left.

9. Eating the bitter herbs (maror). Each participant is given a
bitter radish to dip into the haroset (horseradish) and it is
eaten by everyone at the Seder. This is done to remind the
people of the bitterness of slavery.

10. Eating the matzah and maror sandwich (korekh, sometimes
called Hillel's sandwich). This sandwich is meant to symbolize
the brick and mortar the children of Israel had to produce for
Pharaoh.

11. Eating the festival meal. The meal traditionally started
with the eating of an egg.

12. The Ransom and eating of the afikomen. Interestingly
enough, Jewish present-day theology holds that the afikomen is a
substitute for the Paschal Lamb. Hence, even Jewish thought
acknowledges the afikomen as the lamb of God.

13. Reciting the blessing after the meal. The third and fourth
glasses of wine are filled and the Seder is stopped long enough
for everyone to stand as the door is opened and Elijah is
invited to come in and partake of this cup.

14. Reciting the hallel. 

15. Concluding the Seder. The Seder always ends with these
words "Next year in Jerusalem." It ends with those three words
UNLESS you live in Jerusalem. Then, it ends with the words
"Next year the temple rebuilt!"

The Seder table was set beforehand with a symbolic plate
containing a roasted egg, green vegetables, bitter herbs, a
lamb's shank bone and haroset, a mixture of nuts, apples,
cinnamon and wine. In the center is place a large cup that
serves as Elijah's cup. Each participant, usually even the
children will have their own wine glass. The glasses are sipped,
on three occasions during the Seder. With an optional sip for
the Jewish martyrs of the Holocaust. 

Now that we have an outline for the Seder meal, let us briefly
examine some areas of particular interest to a Christian viewing
the Passover Seder. In the answering of the four questions, the
father draws on a parable about four sons; the wise son, the
rebellious son, the simple son, and the son who does not know
how to ask. The moral of the story is twofold; first the father
has the responsibility of educating and dealing with his son,
and second, no one can be a true Jew who does not see himself as
personally freed by God from bondage in Egypt. 

The celebration of Passover instituted by God as a memorial for
all time is an affirmation of what God did for us, not for them,
not for you, but for me. This again is a clear foreshadowing of
the personal relationship each believe must have with the risen
Lord. We are saved because of what God did for us, not for them,
not for you, but for me, personally. It was my sins that sent
Jesus to the cross. It is my sins that were forgiven by God. And
it is I, who am made free from Sin by Jesus's death and
resurrection. Without this personal acknowledgment of sin and
personal repentance, the gentile or Jewish sinner remains just
that -- a sinner.

I would not argue that a non-Jewish believer should or should
not celebrate the Passover feast. This is a matter of personal
conscience. What I would suggest is that the believer read the
scriptures for themselves and decide accordingly. If after
consulting God's word the reader decides to celebrate the
Passover, a great deal of free material is available. Often
supermarkets will start giving out free Seder Haggadahs a few
weeks before Passover. More detailed information can be obtained
from a book located inside of your local synagogue.

Many Messianic Jewish groups have Haggadah's that are from a
believing perspective and can be used for your Seder if you
decide to have one. It is our hope that through this short
examination the reader can understand why of all the Jewish
festivals Passover gives the most complete picture of the
sacrificial work of Yeshua in his paying the price for our sin.
We must also admit that we hope all who read this article will
decide to experience the blessing of a Born-Again Passover. 

Next Year in Israel!
Hearing the Sound of the Shofar
Hearing the Sound of the Shofar
HEARING THE SOUND OF THE SHOFAR

By Joshua Moss
From THE JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER


The ritual most frequently associated with Rosh Hashanah, the
Jewish New Year (in most English translations of the Bible
called the Feast of Trumpets*), is the sounding of the "shofar"
(ram's horn) in the synagogue. By Jewish tradition, a person who
has not listened to the shofar has not observed the day. Hearing
the shofar means obedience to one of God's 248 positive
commandments to Israel found in the Pentateuch, or Torah. Rabbis
have said that the mitzvah (commandment) is not fulfilled by
merely hearing the shofar, as if by accident, but that the
hearer must listen with the specific "kavanah" (intention) of
fulfilling the biblical commandment. To enhance this observance
of Rosh Hashanah, various rabbis have suggested kavanot, or
ideas implied in the sounding of the shofar, upon which to focus.

The biblical command to hear the shofar is expressed in Numbers
29:1:

"And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you
shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work,
For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets [shofarim]."

The word "trumpets" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is
implied. Nor does the word shofar ever appear in the Hebrew text
of the Torah in connection with the holiday Jewish people call
Rosh Hashanah. In the passage quoted above, the holiday is
simply called "Yom T'uah", a day of blowing. However, it means
more than simply "blowing" a trumpet or ram's horn.

Three basic trumpet calls are sounded in the synagogue during
the Rosh Hashanah service. The first is the simple ÒtÕkiyahÓ,
one long, sustained blast. In ancient Israel, the t'kiyah was a
reassuring sound. It signaled that the watchmen guarding the
city were on duty and all was well. That sound periodically
divided up the watches of the day and night.

The second trumpet call sounded on the shofar consists of three
successive blasts called "shevarim". In ancient times shevarim
signaled some significant event the changing of the guard, the
arrival of an important person such as a king, or a call to
assemble and hear welcome news. The sound of shevarim was less
routine than the t'kiyah, but it was welcome because it meant
good tidings.

The third trumpet call, however the one mentioned in the Bible
in reference to the Feast of Trumpets is the sound of alarm. It
consists of nine rapid bursts on the shofar, referred to as
"t'ruah." The sound of the t'ruah alerted Israel that they were
under attack and that all the fighting men were needed to draw
together immediately for battle. The t'ruah might also be
sounded for some other calamity that required the immediate and
urgent convocation of all the people. Thus in most of the Bible
texts where t'ruah appears, the word is translated "alarm." A
simpler, better translation of the Hebrew phrase Yom T'ruah,
usually rendered "Feast of Trumpets," would be "Day of Alarm."
It has the advantage of being a very literal translation, and it
also communicates more of the flavor and intent of the holiday.

To use the Bible's own terms, then, Rosh Hashanah is the Day of
Alarm. The question arises: Why should Israel be alarmed? The
summer harvest season had ended. The barns were full of grain
and the storehouses were filled with fruit. What more could be
wanted or needed? The Torah (Pentateuch) gives the answer:

"When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD
your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that
you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His
commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command
you today, lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built
beautiful houses and dwell in them... and all that you have is
multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the
LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage... then you say in your heart, "My power and
the might of my hand have gained me this wealth." And you shall
remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to
get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to
your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you...
forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods... l testify
against you this day that you shall surely perish... because you
would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God
(Deuteronomy 8:10-14; 17-20)."

By instituting the fall festivals consisting of the Day of
Alarm, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths (forsaking
of secure homes to live in flimsy huts), God taught Israel an
important lesson: With God on her side, she need not fear
earthly calamities or earthly enemies. Likewise, she must not
seek security in earthly things but in her relationship with Him.

Rosh Hashanah (Yom T'ruah) was a preparation for "Yom Kippur",
the Day of Atonement. It was intended to turn minds away from
the secular affairs of the summer season to focus on spiritual
issues: God's holiness, the people's sin and the atonement God
had provided.

Ancient Israel needed to be periodically alarmed by the
awareness of sin that separated her from God, and by her need
for atonement. In the synagogue today the shofar sound of t'ruah
should still alarm people. It should still register as the sound
of an alert that points to the danger of remaining in sin
without atonement. The Hebrew Bible says, "Your iniquities have
separated you from your God" and "The soul who sins shall die"
(Isaiah 59:2; Ezekiel 18:4).

For us Jewish believers in Y'shua (Jesus) the kavanah, or
central theme upon hearing the shofar, is joy in the knowledge
that we have already allowed the seriousness of our sins to
alarm us; we have heard and received the good news that God has
atoned for sin, and that He delivers us from calamity through
the sacrifice of our righteous Messiah.


* In the Bible this holiday is never called Rosh Hashanah (the
New Year). It falls on the first day of the seventh month as
Moses reckoned time. Biblically, the Jewish religious year began
in spring, in the month of Nisan (the Passover season).
The Prayer That is Not a Prayer
The Prayer That is Not a Prayer
THE PRAYER THAT IS NOT A PRAYER
(A Messianic view of Yom Kippur)

By Joshua Moss

The most well known of all of the melodies of the synagogue, and
perhaps the most beloved of the passages of her prayer-book, is
the haunting melody of Kol Nidre. Yet this most significant
passage of the liturgy is not, properly speaking, a prayer at
all.

Kol Nidre marks the performance of a Jewish legal ceremony,
performed in the synagogue at the beginning of the Yom Kippur
ritual. Although it marks the beginning of the "evening
service" (ma'ariv), traditional practice demands that Kol Nidre
must be recited before sunset, because a legal annulment of vows
cannot take place after dark.

Before the haunting melody is chanted, a religious court is
formally convened: "biy-shi-vah shel ma-lah uvi-shi-vah shel
ma-tah," with the permission of the heavenly court and the
permission of the court beneath." Then the Kol Nidre itself is
invoked.

"Kol nidrei dindarna al nafshatana miyom kippurim zeh ad yom
kippurim haba, kulhon y'hon sh'ran."

All vows which we bind ourselves with, from this Yom Kippur
until next, may they be annulled." Kol Nidre contains wisdom,
central to the ancient Jewish tradition, which has been lost to
the thinking of most of us who are modern Jews. Many of us
tend to come to synagogue on the high holidays thinking that the
Days of Awe are the occasion for religious "New Year's
Resolutions." We think of the things we don't like about
ourselves and make a promise to ourselves to be different. We
are mistaken if we think that such resolutions are the
repentance that God requires from us. In fact, in Kol Nidre, we
ask forgiveness in advance not only for the fact that we
inevitable break such promises, but we say that we are sorry for
having made them at all. "All of our promises cause us grief,"
"Kulhon, icharatna v'hon."

The idea that our well-intentioned, but ill-conceived promises
of self-reformation somehow atone for our sins, flies in the
face of the teaching of scripture, and the noblest strains of
the siddur as well. When we pray, "avinu malkeinu, chaneinu ki
ein banu ma'asim," "Our Father, Our King, have pity on us
because we have no righteous deeds," we are casting ourselves
upon the grace of God. If our deeds are of no merit before the
King of Kings, of how much less value are our empty promises. 
Our natural human tendency is to rely on our own resources, to
think that we can solve our own problems, even in our
relationship with God. But the Bible shows us the better way.

In the book of Leviticus chapter 16 we read about the elaborate
ritual Moses commanded for the Day of Atonement. From the
complex observance we can distinguish three major themes:

1) Confession of Sin. Leviticus 16:21 tells us that the ritual
involved the High Priest, who represented the people before God,
confessing the sins of all Israel. Since confession was an
integral part of the Yom Kippur ritual, and since all Israelites
were commanded to participate (Leviticus 23:29), we may learn
from this that all people are guilty and in need of confession.

2) The Sacrificial Offering. The High Priest would offer two
goats as the special offering of the most holy day. One goat,
the scapegoat, would be driven away into the wilderness,
symbolically removing the guilt of the people. The other goat
would be slaughtered and offered up in fire. And the high
priest would take some of the blood of that sacrifice and do
something he never did on any other day of the year. He entered
the Most Holy Place, the part of the Holy Temple, hidden by a
double curtain, which was the Dwelling Place of the Glory of
God. He entered with the blood of the sacrifice. The blood of
the spotless substitute that, in a symbol, paid the penalty of
the children of Israel. For we deserved to die, but God
extended his pardon to us. He did not pardon us by ignoring the
consequences of our sins. But he acquitted us by visiting those
consequences upon the substitute he appointed.

3) Personal appropriation. The children of Israel were not
commanded to fast, nor to wear long faces, nor to make New
Year's resolutions. Rather we were commanded to confess our
sins, to witness the sacrifice of our substitute, and to
appropriate that sacrifice in our own hearts. "The priest shall
make atonement ... you shall humble your souls ... if there is
any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he
shall be cut off from his people." (Leviticus 16:29-34;
Leviticus 23:26-32) There were no meritorious acts of
self-abasement. We were not asked to compensate for our sins by
punishing ourselves. We were commanded to humbly appropriate
what God had done. To acknowledge that when God offered a
substitute to atone for us, that such a sacrifice was what we
needed. Rather than to seek to atone for our sins by our
supposed merits, we renounced any conception of our merits, in
order to receive God's mercy.

When the Holy Temple stood, the Day of Atonement, though
certainly a solemn day, was also a day of joy. When the High
Priest entered the chamber of God's presence with the blood of
the sacrifice, there was a hush of anxiety. People feared that
the Holy One might be displeased with his people. That he might
strike their representative dead in the Holy Place, and not
grant the people atonement. But when the High Priest emerged
alive from the Most Holy Place, the people let up a great shout,
for the joy of knowing that their sins had been atoned for.

Before Yeshua went to die be executed, he sat at a passover
table with his disciples. He explained to them that He was
God's lamb: or rather, that all the sacrificial lambs of the
ancient rituals were symbols of the reality which He fulfilled. 
His disciples were grieved when He spoke of His own death, but
He told them, "You now have sorrow; but I will see you again,
and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from
you." (John 16:22) 

When Jesus died, his disciples were filled with anxiety. They
had heard Yeshua's statements that he was about to suffer on
their behalf, but they had not comprehended his meaning. Until
three days later, when Yeshua, our great High Priest, emerged
alive. Then his followers had occasion for a shout of joy. And
in the strength of that joy they turned the world upside down. 
And in Yeshua's name they proclaimed the forgiveness of sins to
people of all nations. And if you and I will follow the lessons
of the Hebrew Bible as they point us to Yeshua, we can have that
joy as well, the joy that no one can take away. Hallelujah! 
Our High Priest has emerged alive. Our sin has been paid for,
our guilt has been removed. If we will not appropriate the
Lord's sacrifice, we will be cut off, but if we will humble
ourselves and accept his grace, God will accept us. Let us
rejoice in His love and His mercy.
Succoth - The Feast of Tabernacles
Succoth - The Feast of Tabernacles
SUCCOTH - THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES OR BOOTHS

by Victor Buksbazen
from the book THE GOSPEL IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL


"Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have
gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto
the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on
the eighth day shall be a sabbath. "And ye shall take you on the
first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees,
and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye
shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. "And ye shall
keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall
be a statue for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it
in the seventh month. "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all
that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: "That your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell
in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am
the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:39-43). 


An Agricultural and Thanksgiving Festival

The Feast of Tabernacles comes on the 15th of Tishri, the
seventh month according to the Bible calendar. This usually
coincides with the end of September or early October. 

Jews the world over, from Bombay to Brooklyn, and from Jerusalem
to San Francisco, are busy erecting booths, according to the
prescription the Lord gave to them through Moses in Leviticus
23:33-44. 

The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three great occasions
upon which God commanded the Children of Israel to assemble in
the Temple of Jerusalem, and present their sacrifices and
offerings unto the Lord. "They shall not appear before the Lord
empty" Deuteronomy 16:16. 

The Feast is primarily agricultural in its character. It is a
joyous occasion. The harvest has been brought in from the
fields, the groves and the orchards. Barns and sheds are full.
Hearts, too, are full of praise and thanksgiving for God's
bounties. It is "The Feast of Ingathering," or Israel's
Thanksgiving Festival - "The Feast," as the Gospel of John 7:37
calls it. 

The Rabbis say, "He who has not seen Jerusalem during the Feast
of Tabernacles does not know what rejoicing means." With a
little imagination one can see God's people streaming toward the
Holy Temple, from every town, village and hamlet in Israel, and
from distant lands abroad. They bring their tithes and freewill
offerings, and fulfilled vows. At that time the emptied Temple
treasury was opened, to be filled again by the gifts of the
faithful, so that the poor and the needy throughout the land
might be satisfied. 


The Feast of Tabernacles - Commemorative

Apart from its agricultural character, the Feast of Tabernacles
also commemorates God's mighty deliverance of His people from
Egypt and their 40 years of wilderness wandering, when they
dwelt in tents and tabernacles. 

Israel must never forget that for 40 years they were led by the
hand of God, nor that they were pilgrims to a better land where
God abideth. And so for the last 3500 years Jews have been
observing Succoth, the Feast of Booths, building little
tabernacles or booths, with walls of plaited branches and with
thatched roofs, which afford shade by day, but permit the stars
to gaze down by night upon the Children of Israel as they
faithfully fulfill the ancient command: "Ye shall dwell in
booths seven days." 


The Lulav and the Ethrog

In ancient times there was a controversy between the Sadducees
and the Pharisees concerning the booths. The Sadducees held that
the "boughs of goodly trees" pertained to the building of the
booths. The Pharisees on the other hand were of the opinion that
the branches were meant to be carried in the hands by the
celebrating people. This they called the lulav. Eventually a
compromise was reached. The booths of branches satisfied the
Sadducees. In addition the people used in their celebration a
lulav which is made of branches of palms, myrtles and willows,
all fastened with a golden thread. These branches of palms or
"lulav" were waved in the Temple during certain parts of the
service. 

Beside the lulav, every Jew came to the Temple holding an
"ethrog," or citrus fruit, symbolic of the fruit of the Promised
Land. The booths, the lulav, and the ethrog, or citrus fruit,
are basic symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles. 


The Prophetic Character of the Feast of Tabernacles

Numerous sacrifices were offered in the Temple bullocks, rams
and goats for a sin-offering. The first day of the Feast
thirteen bullocks were offered, twelve the next day, eleven the
third, diminishing every day until seven bullocks were offered
on the seventh day, making a total of seventy. 

The Rabbis explain that this number of seventy bullocks was a
sacrifice on behalf of the seventy nations of the world, looking
toward their conversion to the God of Israel and their gathering
under the Shekinah glory. 

The Feast of Tabernacles, like the other feasts of Israel,
focuses the attention of God's people both on the past, on what
God has done, and on the future, on what God will do. The
prophetic message of the Feast of Tabernacles is that there is
shelter in the Tabernacle of God under the wings of the Shekinah
glory, for the Jew first, and also the Gentile nations. 


Wells of Salvation

There were two outstanding features which characterized the
Temple service of the Feast of Tabernacles. (1) The pouring of
water in the Temple. (2) The brilliant illumination of the
Temple. 

A specially appointed priest was sent to the Pool of Siloam with
a golden pitcher to bring water from the Pool. This was poured
by the high priest into a basin at the foot of the altar. From
another pitcher wine was poured into the same basin. These
mingled together and flowed through special pipes back to the
Brook of Kidron again. 

The significance of the pouring of water was twofold. First, it
was a symbolic and ritual prayer for abundant rain. Summer was
at an end. Winter and the rainy season was about begin. Upon
abundant rain Israel then depended as now for her daily bread.
Hence the prayers for the gates of Heaven to open and for
abundant rain. Even today in the synagogue much prayer for rain
is offered at this time. The pouring of water was a visual
interpretation of God's grace in sending rain. 

Secondly, the ritual of water libation went beyond the merely
physical; it was prophetic and Messianic in its hope, looking
toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only upon Israel,
but also the believers of all the nations under the reign of
Messiah King. 


The Day of the Great Hosanna

The ritual of water pouring lasted six days, climaxing on the
seventh day, which concluded the Feast of Tabernacles. This day
was called Hoshana Rabba, The Day of the Great Hosanna. It has a
special messianic significance. The pouring of the water from
the golden pitcher took place amidst the blasting of the
trumpets by the priests and the singing of sacred music by the
Levites, while the people, waving their lulavs, or palm
branches, chanted the Hallel, Psalms 113-118.

The closing words of Psalm 118 are these: 

"Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the
Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is
the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with
cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I
will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee." 

From the words "Save Now" (in Hebrew "Hoshana"), this day was
known as the "Great Hosanna." It was peculiarly Messianic in
nature, a prayer for the speedy salvation through the Messiah.
This is why our Saviour was greeted on another occasion with the
waving of palm branches and the words, "Hosanna to the son of
David," meaning, "Save us Son of David." This is important for
the understanding of what happened when the Lord attended the
Temple service on the day of the "Great Hosanna." 

It was while all this was going on, the pouring of the water
from the Pool of Siloam into the altar basin, the blasting of
the trumpets by the priests, the singing of the Psalms by the
Levites, and the prayers of the people, "Save now, I beseech
thee, O Lord," when the Messianic fervor was at the highest
pitch, that the Lord Jesus stood in the Temple crying: 

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). What our Saviour
said by implication was: "I am the answer to your prayers." 

The Messianic claim of our Saviour was clearly understood by
all. It must have come like a bolt from the blue. Here was the
One claiming to be the answer to the fervent hope and prayer of
long centuries and many generations. Could He, the carpenter's
son of Nazareth, be the long expected Messiah? 

"So there was a division among the People" (John 7:43). 

In modern times the Jews observe on the last day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, the Day of the Great Hosanna, the custom of
striking "The Arba'ah," the branches of the willow, three times
in an effort to shed all the leaves, which represent sins. 


A Messianic Prayer

At this time special Messianic prayers are said. Here is one of
the prayers for the day: 

"A voice heralds, heralds and saith: Turn unto me and be ye
saved, today if ye hear my voice Behold the man who sprang forth
Branch is his name David himself Stand up! Be buried in the dust
no longer! Ye who dwell in the dust Wake up and sing. Glad will
be the people when he ruleth The name of the ungodly shall
perish But to His anointed, the Messiah David, he giveth grace
Grant salvation to the eternal people To David and to his seed
forever The voice heralds and saith."

Upon the completion of this prayer the leaves of the willow
branches are struck three times on the benches of the synagogue.
With each falling leaf a sin falls away from the one who prays.
But "The Man who sprang forth, the Messiah David," who alone is
able to bring forgiveness of sins, is still unknown in Israel.

 
Temple Lights and the Light of the World 

Another central feature of the Feast of Tabernacles was the
illumination of the Temple in Jerusalem. The festive pilgrims
came to the Temple bearing lights and torches, while in the
Temple itself the golden candlesticks were lighted, transforming
the Temple into one brilliant focus of light which illuminated
most of Jerusalem and surroundings. What an eloquent symbol of
the Sanctuary of God which was to be a light of the world! 

Amidst all this splendor and the brilliant lights of the Temple,
our Saviour stood proclaiming: "I am the light of the world." 

Without true knowledge of the rites and symbols of the Feast of
Tabernacles, we miss the profound significance of our Lord's
pronouncements in the Temple. 

Thus the three aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles stand out
boldly: A harvest Thanksgiving, a national commemoration of
redemption, and faith's leap into the future, when Jehovah shall
gather the nations in the Messianic Kingdom of His blessed Son,
the Lord Jesus. 

With this in mind we understand the vision of Zechariah: 

"And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all
nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year
to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the
feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come
up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship
the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain"
(Zechariah 14:16, 17). 

Now we can understand why the punishment for the non-attendance
at the Feast of Tabernacles was to be the withholding of the
rain. The Feast of Tabernacles was preeminently the season when
God vouchsafed to His people abundant rain. But beyond that, we
see even further that the punishment for willful refusal to come
and worship the Lord must be the withholding of the outpouring
of the blessed Holy Spirit from those who were invited to come
but would not. 

The Apostle John looking toward the greater Feast of Ingathering
writes: 

"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands: "And cried with a
loud voice, saying, salvation (Hosanna) to our God which sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9,10).
The Hidden Meaning of Hanukkah
The Hidden Meaning of Hanukkah
THE HIDDEN MEANING OF HANUKKAH 

By Rich Robinson
From the JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER


Everyone who ever grew up in a Jewish home knows the meaning of
Hanukkah. It is the celebration of the heroic Maccabean victory
over the wicked oppressors of the Jews. As children we loved to
hear the story retold every year. It was the time to spin the
"dreidl" and maybe win a little money, or maybe lose some! No
matter. Who cared about winning or losing when a batch of fresh
latkes (delicious potato pancakes that no two people ever made
the same way) was waiting in the kitchen?

But even when momentarily the latkes seemed the most important
part of Hanukkah, we knew that above all it was time to think
about the "miracle" of the Hanukkah lights, the reason we lit
the menorah: After three years of fighting, the Maccabees
regained the Temple that had been captured and defiled by the
madman, Antiochus Epiphanes, and his henchmen. Legend says that
ironically, in spite of the astonishing victory, there was not
enough oil left to keep the sacred lamp stand burning for more
than one day. It would take a messenger a week to bring fresh
supplies, but who wanted to wait that long to rededicate the
sanctuary at a time like that? Miraculously, the story goes,
they lit the lamp stand and the oil amazingly lasted a full
eight days until a new supply could be obtained.

This is the Hanukkah we all knew and loved as children, and it
is the Hanukkah most of us Jews know today. But hidden within
the very word "Hanukkah" lies a meaning almost no one considers.
Hanukkah is not only the Festival of Lights, the joyous
celebration of the Maccabean victories but, in a sense, a Jewish
New Year!

There seem to be several new beginnings in Judaism. Jewish
people celebrate the first of Tishri as Rosh Hashanah, the
Jewish New Year, which generally falls in September or October,
depending on the lunar calendar. In Exodus 12:2, Nisan, the
month of Passover, is called the "first month" but it has not
been celebrated that way for thousands of years. Another verse
(Exodus 23:16) implies that the agricultural year ends in the
fall . To make things more confusing, the rabbis spoke of four
different new years: for kings, for the tithing of animals, for
the general calendar and for trees. (1) And finally modern Jews
from Western cultures join the rest of society in celebrating
the first of January as the time to "turn over a new leaf."

With all these new beginnings, why would anyone want to add
Hanukkah as a Jewish New Year? The answer lies in the Hebrew
word "hanukkah". Most people would translate it "dedication" or
"consecration," and that is partly correct. But the word does
not stress dedication to God or to any one as much as it
emphasizes a new beginning. A better translation of hanukkah
would be "inauguration."

The word is found in the Old Testament in its verbal form, ''to
inaugurate." We can also translate it ''to dedicate" if we use
the term in the sense of dedicating a given thing to a new use
instead of "dedication to God." Of course. it is understood that
everything should be dedicated to God, but that is not the main
idea of this word.

We encounter "hanukkahs" (inaugurations) throughout the Bible. A
new home that was built and not yet put to use not yet
"inaugurated" or "dedicated" entitled a soldier to a military
exemption. The completion of the Tabernacle called for the
dedication or inauguration of the altar, as did the completion
of Solomon's Temple and that of the Second Temple, which was
completed upon the return from captivity in Babylon. In these
cases, Israel's worship system was beginning anew. The altar and
the temple had their hanukkahs, not with lights and dreidl
games. but with joyful .sacrifices and presentations of gold and
silver utensils.

In the Book of Hebrews we are reminded by the Greek equivalent
of the Hebrew hanukkah that the Law of Moses was inaugurated
with sacrificial blood, and that under the New Covenant, the
sacrifice of Y'shua inaugurates a new way to God.

We see then that hanukkahs mentioned in the Bible have to do
with new or renewed ways of worship and approach to God. This
renewal is the hidden meaning of Hanukkah, "hidden" because the
holiday is not very often thought of in this way by those who
celebrate it.

The lights, the games and the food remind us of the joy that
always accompanied the renewal of worship in Bible times. For
believers today, it is a joy that should accompany our
realization that in Y'shua, God has inaugurated a new way of
approach to Him, just as He did when He inaugurated the Law of
Moses.

Of course, salvation is, and always by God's grace even in Old
Testament times. But the specifics of worship a approach to God
sometimes changed. At other times, it was enough to renew the
old way of worship, as when the Second Temple was dedicated.

Whether the miracle of the oil real happened, no one can say for
sure. Certainly God can perform miracles whenever He pleases,
but this one miracle is not found in the Scriptures. As for the
Maccabees, certainly their victory was real, but if we make them
the victors rather than God, we miss the point. As for the
dreidl games and the latkes, well, there's always time for fun
and games. But Hanukkah celebrates the renewal of the nation's
worship by the cleansing of the Temple and restoration of the
altar in a new era of worship.

Hanukkah is the Festival of Light but it is also the Festival of
Renewal don't know that anyone will start calling Hanukkah by
that name, but as believe we can certainly make it a time of
spiritual renewal as we rededicate our lives to God.

The traditional Jewish New Year the first of Tishri is a
contemplative holy day in which we mingle the hope for sweet new
year with the need to repent and make our hearts right before
God. The secular new year on the first of January is another
time to ask how we can serve God in the coming year. And if we
think of the hidden Hanukkah as a Jewish New Year, the season of
our renewal, we have a third opportunity to rededicate our lives
to the service of God.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. and you are not
your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God
in your body and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians
6:19-20).

As the Maccabees gave the Temple a fresh start and renewed the
spiritual life of the nation, let us rededicate our own lives
and serve God with a renewed commitment, even in this season.


(1) Bloch, Abraham P., "The Biblical and Historical Background
of the Jewish Holy Days" (New York: Ktav, 1978), p.20.
A Messianic Look at Purim
A Messianic Look at Purim
A MESSIANIC LOOK AT PURIM

(Adapted from an article by Mark Stover)


The Jewish holiday of Purim entails an atmosphere of merriment.
Plays called "Purimspiels" enact the story of the book of
Esther. Young Jewish girls participate in Queen Esther beauty
pageants. During the plays and at the synagogue readings of the
Megillah (Scroll of Esther), children drown out every mention of
Haman's name with greggers (noisemakers) while adults stamp
their feet, boo and hiss. Some people send gifts to the poor,
and everyone enjoys the traditional three-cornered poppyseed or
prune pastries called harnantaschen.

Yet behind all the feasting and merriment lies a somber message:
the near destruction of the Jewish people. Purim reminds us that
Jewish survival often hangs by a thread of circumstance but the
matter is in God's hand.

The events recorded in the book of Esther took place in
fifth-century Persia. Though they are real, the court intrigue,
dramatic confrontations, heroes and villains could be a plot for
a melodrama: Esther, the beautiful Jewish teenager, becomes
queen of Persia. Haman, the ambitious, arrogant bureaucrat,
turns his envy of godly Mordecai into a vendetta against the
entire Jewish population of Persia. Mordecai, Esther's cousin,
appeals to her for help. She cautiously agrees to approach the
king, but she has kept her religious and ethnic identity a
secret. After hosting two banquets for Haman and the king,
Esther reveals her Jewish identity. In the presence of Haman she
tells the king of Haman's treacherous plot to destroy the Jewish
people. Haman and his sons are taken away and executed. Mordecai
becomes prime minister and receives great honor. Esther remains
queen, and the Jewish people are spared from extermination. A
Minor Holiday?

Purim is classified as one of the "minor" holidays in the Jewish
calendar, but that is not the assessment of the ancient rabbis.
Many believed that the book of Esther was intended to illustrate
God at work behind the scenes. That interpretation makes sense
in light of the biblical text that neglects to mention the name
of God or the concept of religion, and merely hints at the
ritual of prayer. (1)

More than one sage compared Purim to the "major" holiday of Yom
Kippur. (2) The Hasidim (an Orthodox sect of Judaism)
interpreted Purim as a classic case of Kiddush Ha-Shem (the
sanctification of the Name) where individual Jews were willing
to die rather than forsake their faith. (3)

The theme of preservation under severe hardship and genocidal
threats runs throughout Jewish history. Thus at Purim Haman is
seen as a metaphor of evil like Pharaoh, Antiochus Epiphanes,
Chmielnicki (who conducted the pogroms), or even Adolph Hitler.
(In a speech in 1944, Hitler actually said that if the Nazis
were defeated, the Jewish people could celebrate "a second
triumphant Purim.")

The Curse of Amalek

The rabbinical interpretation of Purim that lies at the heart of
the book of Esther, however, is the Amalekites curse. (5) In
Esther 3:1 Haman is referred to as an Agagite, a descendant of
Agag, King of Amalek.

Israel's first encounter with the Amalekites is recorded in
Exodus 17. (6) After the Exodus, as the Israelites wandered in
the wilderness prior to settling in the promised land, the
Amalekites were the first of the Canaanite nations to attack
them. For this arrogance, God punished the Amalekites with the
ultimate ignominy of the ancient Near East: the blotting out of
their name.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the
book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will
utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
"... the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to
generation" (Exodus 17:14,16).

In Numbers 24:20, the disgraced prophet Balaam states, "Amalek
was first among the nations, but shall be last until he
perishes."

The shame of the Amalekites was memorialized in Moses' farewell
speech to Israel: Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as
you were coming out of Egypt.... Therefore it shall be, when the
LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around,
in the land which the LORD your God is giving you... that you
will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You
shall not forget (Deuteronomy 25:17,19).

At Purim the idea of blotting out the memory of the Amalekite
descendant Haman has taken many forms. The Jews of ancient
Persia and Babylon burned an effigy of Haman. In the 1800s Jews
in Eastern Europe wrote the name of Haman on the soles of their
shoes, and at the mention of his name stamped their feet,
erasing the writing into the ground. Modern Purim customs
include the use of noisemakers, cap pistols and the like to
drown out Haman's name.

Cursing or blotting out the names of evil men is found
throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The verb most often used in
this context is machah, which means "to blot out" or "to
obliterate." It occurs 35 times in various forms, often
describing the actions of God to "blot out" the name or the
memory of particular individuals or nations. Sometimes it refers
to the "blotting out" of sin. It is the word used in the
Pentateuch for God's promise to blot out the name of Amalek, but
it is also used several times in reference to God's anger toward
the people of Israel.

What's in a Name?

Names were much more meaningful in ancient times. They
symbolized who a person was, not merely what he or she was
called by others. We find a striking illustration of this in
Exodus, chapter 33, where Moses asked God to reveal Himself in a
more personal way. And he said, "Please show me Your glory."
Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and
I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you" (verses 18,19).

In other words, to receive an illuminated knowledge of God,
Moses would hear God's name proclaimed in his presence.

In ancient times people were given names to illuminate or
illustrate their character. A name could invoke honor, respect,
fear, pity, scorn or ridicule. For example, when Jacob's name
was changed to Israel, he went from being known as the
supplanter (one who took his brother's birthright) to being the
one who wrestled with God and prevailed (Genesis 32).

One of life's most important objectives was to pass on a good
name to one's descendants. The good name would endure through
many generations. It meant honor even after death. On the other
hand, if a name was forgotten or blotted out, it brought shame.

Against such a background, we can see the severity of God's
curse on the Amalekites in consigning their name and memory to
oblivion, so that the only mention of them is one of ignominy.
Yet despite Israel's attempts to forget this arrogant nation,
the name of Amalek came back to haunt them several hundred years
later.

Agag, King of Amalek

Israel's problem with the Amalekites was aggravated during
Saul's reign as the first king of Israel. Saul had severe
character flaws that eventually destroyed the monarchy he
established. One such flaw was his tendency to disregard
complete obedience to God's decrees.

I Samuel 15:9 records that Saul ignored God's command to destroy
the entire city of Amalek. Its inhabitants were the biological
and spiritual descendants of the nation God had cursed in the
wilderness. Yet after Saul and his army won the battle, they
spared King Agag and the best of the livestock and all that was
good. This refusal of Saul to carry out God's judgment on Agag
not only cost Saul his throne, but brought grief to a future
generation of Israel.

Haman the Agagite

It would seem that the enmity between Mordecai and Haman in the
book of Esther was the dramatic climax of a feud that had lasted
almost a thousand years. Not only was Haman an Agagite, but
Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin and a descendant of
Kish, who was the father of Saul.

First there were Moses and Amalek, then Saul and Agag, and
finally Mordecai and Haman. In the book of Esther the curse on
Amalek and the obliteration of his name recurred. In the
celebration of Purim we Jews, along with all of Israel, join
Mordecai in blotting out the name of Haman and, by transference,
the names of Agag and Amalek.

It is no coincidence, then, that at Purim we make noise and try
to drown out the reader's voice every time Haman's name is
mentioned in the reading of the Megillah. Like those Jews who
follow the ancient tradition of writing Haman's name on the
soles of their shoes, every time we stamp our feet, boo and hiss
and make noise at the mention of Haman, we obliterate the name
that God has cursed and judged.

The name of Haman is shameful and should be blotted out, if only
symbolically, for it stands for evil, hatred and rebellion
against the God of Israel. In contrast, the names of Esther and
Mordecai bring joyful remembrance, and are to be honored.

Haman ended up on the very gallows he had constructed for
Mordecai. For us moderns, hanging conjures up the image of a
limp body suspended by a rope with a noose around the victim's
neck. However, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, (7)
in ancient Persia hanging was a much more painful form of
execution. The condemned person did not hang from a noose, but
was impaled on a stake and lifted high in the air, an early form
of crucifixion. Thus Haman's crime and punishment remind us of
the passage in Deuteronomy 21:23b: "...he who is hanged is
accursed of God."

The Triumph of Good over Evil

Purim reminds us of God's faithfulness and the quintessential
triumph of the righteous victim over the evil oppressor. There
are those today who see the meaning of Purim only in terms of
good deeds overpowering the Hamans of this world. Yet reality
tells us that despite our many good and noble efforts to work
within social and political frameworks, there are too many evil
Hamans for the Esthers and Mordecais of this world to handle.

The only way to rebuild the world is for it to be turned upside
down once again then finally it will be right side up. Y'shua,
the innocent Messiah, willingly took the place of the guilty,
and the weight of such a sacrifice was enough to swing the world
back to an upright position where people could face God and ask
forgiveness. Instead of an evil Haman hanging from the gallows,
Y'shua, the innocent one, made that sacrifice. And though He was
hung on a tree, His name is not blotted out or cursed. It has
become the name that brings life and salvation a name that is
above all other names, before which some day all will (in the
words of the Hebrew Aleinu prayer) "bend the knee and bow down."
(8)

This Purim, as Jewish people follow tradition and blot out the
name of Amalek, Haman and their kind, may they also consider the
claims of Y'shua, whose very name means "salvation." He offers
life and peace to all, both Jews and Gentiles, who trust in His
name. And all who follow Him according to the New Covenant will
have their own names inscribed in the Book of Life, where they
can never be blotted out. (9)

Cursed be Haman and his kind! Blessed be Mordecai and Esther,
and all those who are faithful to the God of Israel!


(1) Fox, Michael V., "The Religion of the Book of Esther,"
Judaism 39:2 (Spring 1990), p. 137.

(2) "Purim," in Encyclopedia Judaica, edited by Cecil Roth, New
York: Macmillan, 1972, p. 1392.

(3) Lowenthal, Tali, "Early Hasidic Teachings: Esoteric
Mysticism, or a Medium of Communal Leadership?" Journal of
Jewish Studies 37:1 (1986), pp. 58-75.

(4) New York Times, 1/31/44, p.4.

(5) Berg, Sandra Beth, "The Book of Esther," Ph.D. dissertation,
Vanderbilt University, 1977, pp. 67-68. Also see Birnbaum,
Philip, translator, Daily Prayer Book: Ha-Siddur HaShalem. New
York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1949, pp. 727-730. The
traditional Hebrew liturgy for Purim includes an alphabetic
acrostic poem that describes Haman as a "hateful branch (netzer)
of the seed of Amalek." Cf. Isaiah 11:1, which speaks of the
righteous "branch (netzer) of the seed of Jesse," a prophetic
reference to the Messiah.

(6) Exodus 17:8-16 is the Torah portion read on Purim morning.

(7) Herodotus 3.125, 1229;4.43.

(8) Bimbaum, pp. 413414. Cf. similar passages in Philippians
2:9-11, and Isaiah 45:23.

(9) Revelation 3:5.

Studies
New In Christ
New In Christ
The NEW IN CHRIST column is dedicated to the basic teachings of
Biblical Christianity. In this month's column, we continue our
article from volume 3.1 on what it means to be "born again" into
a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The editorial staff at
MORNING STAR encourages all readers to use this information to
witness to those who don't know the Jesus and to help new
Christians grow in their walk with the Lord.

In this month's column, we continue our article from volume 3.1
on what it means to be "born again" into a saving relationship
with Jesus Christ. Future issues will deal with other topics.
The editorial staff at MORNING STAR encourages all readers to
use this information to witness to those who don't know Jesus
and to help new Christians grow in their walk with the Lord.


WHY DO I HAVE TO BE "BORN AGAIN"?
(Part 2 of a 2-part article)

By Toby Trudel


God's Word teaches that as soon as you make a true commitment to
God in your heart to turn from all sin and accept Jesus as Lord
and Savior, you are saved (will be going to heaven). It's
important to realize that you are NOT saved by the number or
quality of good and bad things you do or don't do in this life. 

Some religions teach the idea that one can get to heaven by
fulfilling certain religious obligations, partaking in special
sacraments, or reciting specific prayers. This is simply not
true, according to the Bible. The born-again Gospel of Jesus
Christ makes it perfectly clear THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT
that you are saved by faith only, not by anything that YOU can
do yourself. A few places you can find this critically
important teaching are: Acts 13:38,39, 15:11, 16:31; John
3:16-18; Romans 1:17, 3:28-31, 4:5, 9:32, 11:6; II Corinthians
3:6; Galatians 2:16, 3:2-5, 3:11,12, 3:22-26, 5:4; Philippians
3:9; I Timothy 1:9; and Titus 3:4-7.

You can't earn the right to go to heaven, it's a free gift. 

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this
not from yourselves, it is the gift