Category: Blog

Growing up in Israel in the seventies and eighties, Christmas was a far-off Christian holiday that I had no idea about other than the images of the beautiful lights, Christmas trees and decorations we saw in pictures and movies from America and Europe. Today, many Israelis visit Arab Christian villages and neighborhoods during the Christmas season to enjoy the lights and the Christmas cheer. But, for the most part, no one would know it is Christmas in Israel on December 25^th—it’s just like any other day.

Experiencing Christmas for the First Time

In my early twenties, after I came to faith in Yeshua, my wife and I moved to the United States. It was then that I had my first taste of this Christmas holiday that I as a Jew had never personally seen or celebrated. I have to say that the beautiful lights and decorations, the holiday parties and get-togethers made that dark and cold time of the year truly joyful and beautiful —which is saying a lot for me as an Israeli who loves sunshine and has a hard time with the cold. It was special being together with fellow believers during Christmas church services worshiping the “King of Israel”, and the words of many Christmas songs celebrating the birth of the Jewish Messiah in my homeland, Israel, touched me deeply.

Little Baby Jesus

Of course, beyond the secular consumerism and materialism that infiltrates much of the Christmas season in the US—there was one thing about the holiday that felt a little strange to me: the widespread Christmas focus on Yeshua as a baby. I was already a believer, but I had not spent time thinking of Him as a baby. Other than His birth, the New Testament offers no information about Yeshua’s infancy or childhood before his 12^th year. However, as I thought more about this “baby Jesus” focus during Christmas, I realized that Isaiah the prophet spoke of the child Messiah and described Him in terms that we rarely, if at all, hear during Christmas. The terms Isaiah uses to describe this special Child are a majestic description of His mighty and awesome character and calling.

What Child is This?

Isaiah 9:6 describes the Child who will carry the government on His shoulders: God’s juxtaposing the smallness and weakness of a human child with the weight of this mighty calling on His shoulders highlights the incomprehensible plan of salvation in such an astounding way.

Next come the heavy titles this Child carries: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God , Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  If we focus on each title, it reveals who Yeshua is, His calling and identity. Usually knowledge of Hebrew does not give any “hands up” in understanding the Bible—the Spirit of God ensured that there are accurate and true translations in every language. There are times, however, where nuances in the Hebrew open up different levels of meaning and connections which are otherwise lost in translation.

Pele Yoetz (Wonderful Counselor) – if we allow Yeshua to be our personal counselor, He will do wonders in our lives! “Pele” is the Hebrew word for “wonder”, and Messiah’s name as “Wonderful” recalls a scene in the Torah where the “Man God” in the form of the Angel of YHVH describes Himself to the father of Samson in Judges 13:18, saying: “My name is wonderful (pelee)”.

El Geebor (Mighty God) – this title makes absolutely clear that the Messiah who is born a human child is the Mighty God himself!

Avi Ad (Everlasting Father, or…?) – this title can be a little confusing because Yeshua is God the Son, but He is not God the Father. So, what does this mean? Here, understanding the Hebrew can be helpful; looking at the Hebrew grammar, “Avi Ad’ can just as easily be translated as “Father of Eternity” which makes much more sense: it is only through Yeshua that we have eternal life. He is the Father of our eternal life.

Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace) – this Child is the bringer of peace: first in our hearts in this age, and, in the Messianic age, He will be the one who brings global peace—a great task indeed!

 

To all of those who are celebrating the birth of our Messiah this Christmas season, I pray that the deep and awesome revelation of the Child who is Mighty God fills yours hearts with wonder and light!

 

A young man asks: “If Yeshua really is the Messiah, then what should I do?”

Recently a young man reached out to us through our Hebrew website and asked if we could get in touch with him.  After several phone conversations, we understood that he had been reading the New Testament and was interested in studying with someone to learn more. Kosta, who devotes his time to outreach and discipling new believers, scheduled a meeting with him to start studying the foundations of the faith. During their meetings, Kosta felt the need to focus on the love of God and how it is that the Messiah could atone for sins. This young man was open, eager and, after studying together with Kosta, he said it was clear that Yeshua is the Messiah promised Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures. “What should I do then?” he asked.

As Jews, our spiritual reference is orthodox Judaism, and the idea of becoming more “religious” or seeking God means doing certain things like keeping the Sabbath, wearing a kippa, and praying certain prayers and blessings every day.

When he asked, “What am I required to do?” Kosta told him that the first action he needed to take was in his heart: “Receive Yeshua into your heart as Lord and Savior and ask Him to be Lord over your life.” On that same day, he prayed to receive Yeshua as His Lord and Savior.

Wanting to be Immersed

Kosta stays in touch with this young man on a regular basis: due to his work schedule, it is hard for him to make it to our Friday services, so he watches the livestream of our service. Something special about this young man is his love of spending time reading and searching the Scripture. While reading the New Testament, he came across passages describing the need to immerse in water in the name of the Father, the Son. During discipleship at Tiferet Yeshua, we do not rush to water immersion: we want to make sure people understand the foundations of their faith and know what it means to surrender their lives to the Lord. However, this young man was so anxious to follow through with the requirements of his faith that he decided to immerse himself in a spring of water while on a tour visiting springs of the Jordan River in the north of Israel!

It is amazing to see how he truly loves Yeshua and is growing in his faith through God’s wonderful grace on him.

Falling in love with a believer, then falling in love with her Savior

This is a love story in every way. D. grew up friends with a family of believers from Tiferet Yeshua. Since a young age, he knew about his friends’ faith and that they attended a Messianic congregation every week. For him, their faith was something that didn’t bother him, but it didn’t interest him either. While D. was best friends with the son, and he enjoyed spending time with their family, he eventually fell in love with his friend’s sister, a strong believer. After his army service, he mustered the courage to tell her. She and her family made clear that if he was serious about his feelings for her, he would have to be open to seriously learning about her faith.

Because he wanted to show the love of his life that he was serious, he began attending services with her and her family at Tiferet Yeshua—as far as he was concerned, he was there for her, the girl he loves and wants to marry. However, it was clear that D. was not terribly interested in or connecting with what was happening around him in the congregation—during worship he would be in the fellowship hall, and during the message he would be distracted on his phone. Kosta reached out to him to schedule a meeting with him, thinking maybe time one-on-one would be the best way to connect with him. During the meeting, Kosta went through the main Messianic prophesies in the Hebrew Scriptures with D., particularly Isaiah 53. Overall, their time together was positive and eye-opening for him, but it was clear that D. was still not interested in making any serious spiritual commitments. He comes from a religious family where “religious requirements” were forced on him.

But for the love of his life, D. continued coming to services at Tiferet Yeshua. Then something happened: during one service, he decided to put his phone down and listen to the message. On that day, our friend Yuval Yanai gave a powerful message, and God used it to unlock this young man’s heart. It touched him in such a powerful and special way, we could see just by looking at him that something was happening. A week later, someone shared a word of knowledge during the service that someone suffering pain in their shoulder should come forward for healing. The word was for D.: he came forward and was healed on the spot.

The following week, D. was back in the service. This time, he participated in the worship, clearly experiencing the Lord, and he listened intently to the message. After the service, Gil prayed with him to receive Yeshua as his Lord and Savior. Some of us who didn’t know that he had just prayed to receive the Lord saw him later that evening, and told him, “Your face is shining!” Since then, the change in this young man is visible, and he is on fire for the Lord. He is studying with Kosta, reading the Bible daily on his own and already wants to commit his life publicly through water immersion.    

 

  

The only way to grow in our faith is to get to know God, and the best way to do that is by spending time getting to know Him in His Word. This last year, God put it on my heart to start a weekly group that would facilitate studying the Word together and encourage a lifestyle of reading the Bible. After the High holy days, I started weekly “P’nima” meetings at Tiferet Yeshua: in Hebrew p’nima means to go inside or enter deeply into something. My vision and prayer for these “Going Deeper” meetings was that God would draw all of us deeper into His Word, closer to His heart, and knit us closer to one another.

As each week has passed, more people began showing up to our meetings: new believers, mature believers and seekers too. God is bringing people to our meetings who are serious about drawing nearer to Him through His Word and discovering more of the depths of His love for us. Each week I am touched and amazed by the spiritual hunger and sincerity that people bring with them and how beautifully God is revealing Himself to us through our studying and meditating on His Word together and praying for one another. All of us are also greatly blessed by the insights and revelations of God’s Word different people are sharing. Our meetings are lively, interesting, and new people are showing up every week!

 

 

Over the past couple of years, Israeli believers have been reaching out to us for discipleship; they may have come to faith years ago, but they never connected with other believers, whether it be in congregations or home groups. In their isolation, their faith did not mature, and they ended up going back to living in the ways of the world. Here in Israel, there are many challenges and hurdles people face in coming to faith in Yeshua as the Messiah. Once they do, believers endure an immense amount of spiritual pressure aimed at keeping them weak, isolated and not living in surrender to God.

Hearing the gospel and accepting that Yeshua is the Messiah is incredibly important first step in our journey of faith. However, it is critical that it doesn’t stop there. Providing a place where Hebrew-speaking Israelis can gather together, study the Word of God, and be strengthened and encouraged in their faith is critical for the growth and health of the Body of Messiah in Israel.

We are excited and expectantly praying about the things God will continue doing in our “Going Deeper” meetings! Please keep these meetings in your prayers, that He would use them to draw all of us deeper into His Word, closer to His heart, and knit us closer together to one another. 

While our focus during Hanukkah is on the miraculous Maccabee victory over the greatest army in the world at that time and on the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jersualem, this holiday offers us some imporant insights if we ask the right questions. A good question to ask might be, “What led up to the Greek attack and takeover of the Temple in Jerusalem?   

Hanukkah in a Nutshell

For those who are not familiar with the Hanukkah story, it commemorates the victory of the Maccabees, a band of devout Jews, over the Greek armies led by Antiochus IV, Greek King of the Seleucid empire, in 168 BC. Antiochus had outlawed Jewish worship and defiled the Holy Temple with idol worship (pigs were sacrificed on the altars and a statue of Zeus was placed in the Temple).

What Led to the Greek Invasion?

In getting to our original question – “What led up to tyhe Greek attack and takeover of the Temple in Jerusalem?” – we need only to look at the generation preceding Antiochus IV which set the stage for him to do his dirty deeds in Jerusalem. The conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC had spread Greek culture all throughout the ancient Middle East, and many Jews living in Judea began adopting the ways of the pervasive Greek culture. At that time, man was the measure of all things in Greek culture, and individual intellect, physical strength and beauty were its ideals. It goes without saying that these Greek ideals are diametrically opposed to biblical ones.

The Greek culture infiltrates the priesthood

To the Jews living in Jerusalem\Judea during the 2^nd century BC, the world culture was Greek. To adopt Greek culture was to gain access and influence in the Greek world system. It affected the way people dressed, spoke, the way they did business and government. Jerusalem actually prospered under Antiochus the III, and Greek influence had even reached members of the priesthood who had adopted Greek culture alongside their service of God in the Temple.

By the time Antiochus IV showed up, he was able to leverage control over the office of the High Priest, insuring they would be friendly and open to Greek culture. With help from the High Priest, Antiochus built a Greek gymnasium, a place where men practiced nude sports, just a stones throw from the Temple. For all the observant Jews, a line had been crossed, and they threw out the Hellenized High Priest. That is when Antiochus IV got heavy-handed and decided to teach the Jews a lesson for messing with his setup. The mask came off and his real agenda became clear: total takeover.

Hanukkah Lessons

Antiochus did not come out of nowhere. He came after the Jews in Judea went through a process of adopting the mindset and worldview of the Greeks. Today, we each are the temples of God, and we live in a world culture that is still very much Greek: self-centered, intellectual, and obsessed with physical beauty. We all struggle with renewing our minds with the Word of God and putting on the Mind of Messiah in the face of the culture that surrounds us. The Hanukkah story shows us that adopting the ways and mindset of the world can lead us to a point of erecting idols in our hearts, making us weak and vulnerable to succumbing to the enemy.

A sad note on the amazing Maccabee victory is that within a generation the Maccabees had themselves become power-hungry and adopted Greek culture alongside their Temple worship. It is not surprising that less than a hundred years later, the Messiah would be born who is the only answer for our constant struggle with the outside world: being born again within so we can shine His light without.

May we all know Yeshua’s grace and blessings to be able to shine His light this holiday season!

by Gil Afriat

 

This is a story about Menny, a very special person who joined Tiferet Yeshua. Recently after one of our services, Menny walked up to Debby, Tiferet Yeshua secretary, and asked her, “Debby, how do you know Yeshua is alive? I know He is alive because He raised me from the dead. But how do you know He’s alive?”

Over the summer we shared the amazing story of how Menny first reached out to us. He was looking for a cerain English-speaking church in the area, but somehow God led him to us, a Hebrew-speaking congregation of Jewish believers instead. When Menny first showed up at Tiferet Yeshua, he told Kosta in Hebrew, “I am a Christian now because I believe in Yeshu the Christian”. The name “Yeshu” in Hebrew is a derogatory term given Him by the rabbis. Menny had never heard His real Hebrew name. He also did not know that there were other Jewish followers of Yeshua. Since he first reached out to us, we have had the privilege of getting to know Menny and to hear his amazing testimony. Menny often says, “What happened to me is not normal.” We agree, but we serve an amazing God who sometimes uses extraordinary circumstances and experiences to reveal Himself to us, like he did with Menny.

The day Menny died:
After his military service in the IDF, Menny took a trip to the US and ended up staying for good. In November 2014, Menny was a married father of five children, working in real estate and construction when he started renovations on an old Victorian building he had bought. The building had been damaged in a fire, but inspections had found the building structurally sound for renovation. While Menny was working over a high gable on the second floor, that section of the building collapsed, and Menny plummeted 30 feet and was then buried under the building debris. After being airlifted to a nearby hospital, his medical records show that he had no signs of life upon arrival. After they succeeded to resuscitate him, they began the fight for his life.

 

For over a year Menny was in a coma. The way Menny describes it: “My head was smashed apart. My whole right side is filled with titanium becuase my bones shattered from the fall.” Menny woke up from the coma after a year and a half and had to begin intensive physiotherapy to relearn how to do everything. At least, that is what they told him, because he barely remembers those first couple years after he woke up from the coma. During that time, Menny could not speak. He was relearning how to swallow, feed himself, to walk. Eventually, the doctors determined that Menny had significant brain damage and sent him to a nursing home. Somewhere along the line Menny started speaking again. It was then he started to share his experience, where he had gone and the person he had met—the reason why he was still alive.

“Your name is not in this book”
When Menny tells his story, he starts with a caveat: “Listen, I know I have problems.” What he means is that it not as easy for him to speak as it used to be, and sometimes he can’t find the right word. But one thing is for sure: his memory is crystal clear. We found  local newspaper accounts of the building collapse which mention Menny by name and his injury, and all the details he remembers are exact. While Menny was in the nursing home, a woman minister from a local church who volunteered there started taking walks with Menny as part of his physical therapy routine. She told him it was a miracle that he was still alive. He then told her the real story of his miracle:

“When I died, I went up into the universe, into the next world. It wasn’t a dream. I came to a man who had an open book on a stand in front of him. I approached him and told him, ‘My name is Menny Mor. Where do I go?’ The man just looked at me. I knew he was the one who was supposed to tell me where to go. So, I ask him again, ‘Where do I go? To the left or to the right?’ Then he said to me, ‘You are not written in this book. I am sending you back to where you came from.’”

Menny thought that the man he saw could not be God because no one can see God and live. But he also knew that the man he interacted with had authority and that he saved Menny’s earthly life by sending him back again. The minister who accompanied Menny on these walks told him the identity of the man he had met: Jesus, the Son of God. The Messiah. The way, the truth and the life. To Menny it made perfect sense: if anyone wants to go the Father, they must go through this man, Jesus, to whom was given all authority. As the minister continued to share about this Jesus with Menny, that He was a personal friend and savior, Menny gave his heart to Him and discovered that His presence was with him all the time.

A Miraculous Recovery and Call back to Israel
Despite the doctor’s assessment that Menny had serious brain damage, he kept improving and he was able to speak again. Before long, Menny’s son who had come to visit him said, “Abba, we have to get you out of here! You don’t belong here.” Menny left the nursing home and continued improving. He started driving again after passing a three-hour test of his mental fitness. His faith in the Jesus who had saved him continued strong too, and he told his family all about it. Needless to say, they told him to stop talking nonsense. They told him, “That’s your brain damage talking!” Menny stayed in touch with the Christian minister who volunteered at the nursing home, and she encouraged Menny to go back to Israel: “God gave the Land to your people. That is where you belong.” So, after forty years in America, Menny returned to Israel a very different man.

Learning the Hebrew Name of His Savior
After Menny returned to Israel, his minister friend continued to stay in touch and disciple him. After the covid restrictions in Israel were eased, she encouraged him to get connected with a local church. She sent him the name of an English-speaking Lutheran church in the area, but the number she sent him was our number instead. It seems that God wanted Menny to get to know the Jewish identity of His Savior and to learn His Hebrew name, Yeshua.

I talk to Yeshua all the time
For someone who has gone through so much suffering, you would never know from Menny’s attitude. He is happy, has a great sense of humor, is outgoing and is full of life. He also shines the light of Yeshua. “I talk to Yeshua all the time,” he says, “When I’m walking, at night when I can’t sleep. I talk to Him and ask Him to help me.” It is clear that Menny has a very special and deep connection with the Lord Yeshua through his experience after the accident, but Menny is also growing in the depth and understanding of His faith, getting to know the Jewish side of His Savior by reading the New Testament. Last week Menny decided that he wanted to make a declaration of his faith in water immersion, accompanied by pastors from Tiferet Yeshua leadership team and other friends. A week later, we asked him how he feels: “I feel new, like if I think about the future there is nothing that upsets me. Just peace.”

 

by Tamar Afriat

Last month, we had the opportunity to celebrate and honor Tiferet Yeshua’s founders, Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram, for the occasion of Ari’s 80th birthday. Ari and Shira founded Tiferet Yeshua congregation twenty-five years ago in their basement in Ramat HaSharon. Under their leadership, Tiferet Yeshua became what it is today: a thriving, Hebrew-speaking congregation in the heart of Tel Aviv, committed to discipleship and evangelism and a light to our city. Several of us gave tributes to Ari and Shira during the celebration, and we wanted to share them with you. It turned out that we all focused of the same special things about Ari and Shira: their priceless investment into who we are today as a congregation.

Roots that go deep – by Moti Cohen

I would like to share a little bit about the beginning of Tiferet Yeshua congregation which started out in Ari and Shira’s house. That simply means that Ari and Shira opened their house in order to build the congregation, which says a lot: today when I host people at my house, be it ten, twenty people, I know how much work goes into preparing and then cleaning up afterwards. Back then in the beginning days of Tiferet Yeshua, week after week, Ari and Shira hosted the whole congregation at their house. And from that place of opening their home to everyone, just like Abraham our father opened up his tent, the gift of warmth and hospitality has become an important part of our congregation. Today at Tiferet Yeshua, when our Friday meeting ends, it does not actually end because people stay on for much longer to talk, eat, and spend time together, just like family. These are the roots that Ari and Shira put down for the congregation back in those days when they hosted the congregation at their home.

Tireless Workers

What was the congregation like back then in the Sorko-Ram’s basement in Ramat HaSharon? Who was on the worship team? Ari and Shira. Who would pick up and drop people off at their homes late in the evening after gatherings? Ari and Shira. Who would preach and teach? Ari, Shira, and later on, Asher. Today Asher is a regular teacher here at Tiferet Yeshua. Back in the beginning days of Tiferet Yeshua, right after Asher arrived to Israel as a new immigrant with broken Hebrew, Ari recognized that he had a teaching gift and would encourage Asher to give messages in the congregation. With his typical family warmth and acceptance, Ari gave Asher a place to teach in this congregation of native Israelis, even with his beginner’s Hebrew.

Visionaries

Ari and Shira had a vision that Tiferet Yeshua congregation would be Hebrew-speaking only – no translation to other languages. The worship, preaching and fellowship would all be in Hebrew. We see the fruit of that today in that our congregation is still one of few congregations in Israel that is Hebrew only and does not have translation into other languages. Ari and Shira also made Tiferet Yeshua a place where teachers, evangelists and leaders have a place to grow and mature. Tiferet Yeshua has produced much fruit, and not just here in our midst. When I have the opportunity to visit other congregations throughout the Land, I see people there in leadership positions, people who are an integral part of their congregations, who started out here in Tiferet Yeshua.

An orphan who became a father-figure to many

On the occasion of Ari’s 80^th birthday celebration, we want to thank both Ari and Shira for their loving and generous hearts. Ari and Shira are a spiritual father and mother for me. And I am not the only one. For many people, Ari is a father figure, and many have been welcomed into his and Shira’s spiritual family. That is especially amazing considering the fact that Ari grew up as an orphan, without a father and mother. Despite that, God has made him into a loving father figure to so many people. We are so grateful for Ari’s life and that he continues to be a father and grandfather here at Tiferet Yeshua.

The warm family home that became a congregation – by Shosh Navon, beloved grandmother of Tiferet Yeshua

First of all, as Ari’s “older sister”, I can say from the grand heights of my 89 years, that fountains of youth still flow in you Ari at your young age of 80!

Dear, beloved Ari, at your arrival of this age of honor, you are not just a hero, you are the crown of this congregation, and Shira is the diamond in it. I remember those days of meeting in the “cave” in Ramat HaSharon, your warm and pleasant home that you opened for a gathering of believers. I say “cave” because when I came for the first time, I naively thought, “This must be the cave of the Rashbi!” I searched the for the ‘carob tree’, but I did not find it. Instead, I found the cave of Yeshua and His abundant love that has accompanied me to this day.

Since then, as they say, ‘much water has flowed’ in the Yarkon River, and, after several incarnations, congregation Tiferet Yeshua arrived at this our permanent address here in Tel Aviv, thanks to Ari’s initiative. Today we are so proud of you, Ari and Shira, and of this our “palace of prayer”, where Yeshua, Beloved of our hearts, shines forth from every corner. We wish you and us many more years of love and togetherness as the Tiferet Yeshua family.

Healing from the heart of a true spiritual father – by Tamar Afriat, worship pastor  

When I first arrived at Tiferet Yeshua congregation over fifteen years ago, I came as a sheep wounded by a pastor from another congregation. Back then, I had made the cynical decision not to trust a spiritual leader again. I had been so hurt and disappointed by my former pastor that I mistakenly thought that expecting the worst was the way to manage any future hurt. However, God had so much grace on me, despite my immature decision, and within a matter of years, I realized that I was healed from that “pastor” wound and from my own rash vow. The means that God had used to heal me were none other than Ari himself.

With Ari as my pastor, I got to know a man who was open, honest, and loving. And I could see that he was doing his absolute best to serve God and pastor His flock. Paul told the Corinthians that they did not have many spiritual fathers, and I know well that true spiritual fathers are rare. God has given Ari the special gift of being a spiritual father, and there are quite a few of us here at Tiferet Yeshua for whom Ari is a real spiritual father. With Ari as my pastor, I felt seen, appreciated, encouraged, supported and safe. Today I know how rare and special it is to have someone like that in your life.

When Gil and I stepped into the pastoral role here at Tiferet Yeshua six years ago, we knew that we were stepping up to serve a congregation with a deep and enduring spiritual heritage: first and foremost, Yeshua as the center, anointed teaching and worship, evangelism, and a sincere family openness and warmth. These are the foundations established by Ari and Shira. Even though I am in the pastoral role today, I still feel the support and encouragement from my pastor, Ari, and I continue to be inspired by Shira, by her work ethic, her positive outlook and vision, and by her enduring passion for God and advancing His kingdom here in Israel. What a wonderful heritage we have received from them!

“…He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”

~Matthew 10:1

At congregation Tiferet Yeshua, Friday is our busiest day: our services begin at four in the afternoon and fellowship after the main service goes until after eight in the evening. On Fridays, I arrive at the congregation in the morning to make sure things are ready for the service. On the afternoon of Friday September the 10^th, just two hours before our service starts, our office phone rang – something that doesn’t happen very often, especially Fridays. On the line was a young man who said he had already called and sent messages to two other congregations that day and that no one was available. I wasn’t surprised: here in Israel, Fridays are when families and businesses are busy getting ready for the Sabbath and many congregations are preparing for their services. On Fridays in particular, I am usually not in the office right next to the phone. It was God’s perfect timing that I was there to answer his call!

Deliverance or a Psychiatrist

The man on the line with me told me that he was in a crisis and needed deliverance from demonic oppression ASAP. He wanted to come that day to our services so he could be delivered. While I was thinking to myself, “Ok, deliverance in our main service with all the people here…that could be messy,” I told him, “Of course we can minister to you, and we will be happy to do it after the service if you can make it here today.” He proceeded to tell me that his mother and older brother who are believers led him to the Lord several months before. Since then, he had been trying to grow in his faith but was unable to get free from addictive behaviors. The more he tried, the more he felt oppressed by darkness and confusion. The small fellowship they were a part of in their town was supporting him in prayer but were unequipped to delve into the spiritual side of the issues he was facing. Finally, his brother told him, “You either need to find a pastor who can deliver you or go to a psychiatrist!”

Desperate for Help

When I understood that he lived in a town in the south of Israel, a two-hour drive away, I asked him if he had a way to make it all the way to Tel Aviv. “I work until four in the afternoon, and I don’t know if I can get access to a car from a friend or family member to drive,” he told me. He would not be able to take public transportation because all public transportation in Israel stops in the early afternoon on Fridays for the Sabbath. I immediately shared with the leadership team about him and asked them to be praying for this young man who was desperate for help and needed to find a way to get to us from the South. After the service that evening, at six thirty, the young man from the South showed up: he had paid a taxi 1,000 shekels to drive him all the way to Tel Aviv after he got off work!

A Powerful Anointing for Deliverance

It was close to seven when I sat down with him in our sanctuary together with Kosta from our ministry team. Many people were heading home, and those that remained were in our fellowship area on the other side of the building. The young man shared with us more of his story, and we began praying for him. As we were praying for him, it was clear that he needed deliverance: he felt sick and was having a hard time breathing. As Kosta continued to pray for him, I went to find Pastor Gil who was taking with someone in the fellowship area. Gil joined us, and for the next several hours this young man experienced a powerful and dramatic deliverance. By God’s grace, very few people were left in the building, and those who were, it was God’s perfect plan that they were there: at one point, someone thought they smelled sulphur coming from the sanctuary and came to investigate. When they came in, they began experiencing spiritual deliverance themselves as well! Praise God that we were there as a team so that we could minister to those dear souls as the power of the Lord’s Spirit and love were touching them to set them free!

A Sign of Blessing

Late that evening, the Lord put it on my heart to drive this young man back home: he had just been through a dramatic and exhausting deliverance and had made such an effort to come. On the way to bring him home, the very first rain of the season began to fall: we both took it as a beautiful sign of blessing for him. In Israel, it does not rain from June until September or October, and when the rains finally come after the long hot summer, it is a great blessing indeed!

Light in his Face

The young man stayed in touch with us the following week, and Kosta and I met with him again to strengthen and encourage him. The following Friday he returned with his mother and brother. All of us were shocked: he looked like a completely different person and his face was filled with light! Even though he lives two hours away, he is committed to coming to Tiferet Yeshua and is looking into getting a car so that he can manage the commute. I am so honored that God allowed us to be a part of this wonderful young man’s journey to freedom in Yeshua, and I am so excited how the Lord is moving in our midst and working through us together as one on our ministry team for His kingdom!

“Thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah.” ~Corinthians 15:57

***A Word on demonic oppression in the lives of  believers*** When we are born again, our spirits are born again, the Holy Spirit indwells our spirits, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. However, in our souls (thoughts and emotions) and in our flesh, we continue our struggle with sin with increasing victory through the empowering of the Holy Spirit. In those areas we still struggle (the soul and flesh), we can indeed experience demonic oppression.

If you are unsure whether or not you believe that the born-again believer can experience demonic oppression, if you are struggling with fear, anxiety, depression, or persistent sinful behaviors you cannot seem to get free from, we highly suggest this this powerful teaching by Derek Prince on deliverance from demonic oppression. We also highly recommend this excellent book on the subject: Deliver Us from Evil by Don Basham

by Deborah Luquer

The Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is unique among the biblical holidays in that God commands us three times to be joyful before Him during this holiday.

Two times in Deuteronomy 16:13-15:

 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days… And you shall rejoice in your feast…Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

And also in Leviticus 23:33-40:

…and you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

The Feast of Tabernacles is unique in its insistence that we be joyful during this holiday. We are commanded once to be joyful during the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost). What about the other biblical holidays?

 

Passover, the Day of Atonement and the Day of Trumpeting: Serious and Solemn

Passover and the Day of Trumpeting speak about suffering and trials, albeit suffering and tribulation through which come salvation and redemption. It is difficult to be joyful through suffering and trials, like a woman in labor; no woman is joyful when experiencing painful contractions. But when the baby is born, there is then great joy! In the same way, Passover points to the sacrifice of the Messiah, the terrible suffering of God on our behalf, to redeem us and bring us from death to life. The Day of Trumpeting (Yom Tru’ah) points to the days of tribulation in the end times before the Lord returns, to God’s judgements during that time and to Jacob’s trouble during that time from which he will be saved.

The Day of Atonement is a solemn day of “afflicting our souls” and repentance. Prophetically, it points to the period during the great tribulation called Jacob’s Trouble when the people of Israel will cry out to God for mercy in repentance and mourning and will receive a collective revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, “the One they have pierced”. (Zechariah 12:10)

 

The Festival of Weeks\ First Fruits (Shavuot\Bikkurim) – Joy!

The Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy) commands us to be joyful on the biblical festival of Weeks\First Fruits which is firstly an agricultural holiday: on this holiday the first fruits of the early harvest were brought into the Holy Temple. It was on this holiday in the New Testament when the first Jewish believers were gathered in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit fell on them, revealing to us this holiday’s prophetic meaning. So the Festival of Weeks is a joyful agricultural celebration, a celebration of the joy of the Holy Spirit and the First Fruits of the gospel which went forth unto the nations after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

 

Tabernacles\Ingathering (Sukkot\Aseef) – A Much Greater Joy!

Three times the Torah commands us to be joyful before the Lord on this festival. Like the Festival of Weeks, Tabernacles is an agricultural holiday called Ingathering:

“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest (Weeks) with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering (Sukkot) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.” ~Exodus 23:16

If the Festival of Weeks prophetically pointed to the firstfruits of the gospel, then the Festival of Tabernacles points to the final harvest when God the Father says to the angels in heaven, “Gather the wheat into my barns!” However, this holiday is not only pointing to the great and final harvest. Tabernacles points to the greatest joy imaginable in this creation: the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom here on earth, the redemption of all creation and a return of all things to their proper place under the rule of Yeshua the Messiah here on earth.

The Thousand-Year Messianic Kingdom

Revelation 20:1-6, Isaiah 11:1-10

When Yeshua returns at the end of the great tribulation and destroys the Antichrist and all his armies, He will then rule and reign here on earth for a thousand years, together with resurrected believers who “shall be priests of God and of the Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6) What will this kingdom be like? The prophet Isaiah gives us a detailed picture in chapter 11 which shows the King Messiah ruling the nations in justice, wisdom and the knowledge of God. It is interesting to note how the prophet Isaiah describes the King Messiah as the “Root of Jesse”, that is, the source of the Davidic lineage as God His creator, and as “a branch…from the stump of Jesse”, that is Yeshua as a man directly descended from the Davidic lineage.

Tabernacles – The Greatest Joy Imaginable

The greatest joy that we can know is Yeshua reigning and ruling over the earth in justice, truth and love, filling the earth with peace and the knowledge of the LORD. During this thousand-year Messianic kingdom, the prophet Isaiah describes creation being restored to its proper order, in Edenic peace and innocence, with all people living how God intended: under the kingship of His Son, in justice, peace, and the knowledge of God.

This is such a great and profound joy, all nations will continue to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the Messiah’s kingdom:

“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.” ~Zechariah 14:16

But God is inviting us to participate in that joy now, ahead of time, during the Feast of Tabernacles, to look ahead with joy and anticipation to that amazing time when the Tabernacle of God will be with us here on earth. This is the greatest joy conceivable to us in this world – Yeshua the Messiah, here on earth, ruling and reigning with His cherished Bride, the redeemed believers, and seeing the earth and all its peoples filled with the knowledge of the Lord: this joy is every heart’s deep desire to return to the beauty and innocence of the Garden of Eden and man and woman’s intimate communion with God.

 

 

 

The fall biblical holidays are upon us, the first of which is the Day of Trumpeting, commonly known as Rosh HaShanah. All the biblical holidays point us to Yeshua, no less this important holy day. God commands the children of Israel to observe this day this way:

“‘On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.” ~Numbers 29:1

“‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.” ~Leviticus 23:24

As the bible passages describe, the Day of Trumpeting begins on the first day of the 7^th month of the Hebrew calendar, not the first—meaning this day is actually not Rosh HaShanah (the New Year). The biblical New Year is in the spring on the first of the Hebrew month of Nissan. The tradition of calling The Day of Trumpeting the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) was a later unrelated rabbinic addition.

The bible describes the Day of Trumpeting (YOM TRUAH) as a holy day which is to be a day of trumpeting and a memorial of trumpeting. Beyond those descriptions, God does not give us a lot of information about this holiday.

Because this is the information we are given, let’s try to understand the meaning of “trumpeting” and “a memorial of trumpeting”

Insights into Trumpeting: Numbers 10:1-7

“The Lord said to Moses: ^‘Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.’” ~Numbers 10:1-2

This passage lays out that there are two different kinds of trumpeting:

Trumpet calls (T’KIAH) are to gather the camp together at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Trumpeting blasts (TRUAH) were to send out the camps on their way.

Another Meaning of Trumpeting (TRUAH – trumpet blasts):  

“When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets (TRUAH). Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.”  ~Numbers 10:9

In this passage, God tells us that when the enemy comes against our land, we should sound the trumpet to be remembered before the LORD our God, and He will send us rescue and salvation. This brings us back to how the bible originallydescribes this holiday: Trumpeting(TRUAH ) and a memorial of trumpeting (ZIKARON TRUAH).

We know that all the biblical holidays point to the Lord Yeshua. The spring biblical holidays are connected to the events surrounding His first coming.

Passover – Yeshua was sacrificed as the perfect Passover Lamb

Shavuot (Pentecost, Festival of First Fruits ) – the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first believers in Jerusalem, the first fruits.

With the clue from the passage in Numbers about sounding the trumpet when the enemy comes against our land, we can connect The Day of Trumpeting with the return of the Lord.

The Fall Holidays and the Second Coming

The fall holidays, first and foremost the Day of Trumpeting, are connected to the Lord’s second coming. The Bible informs us that in the end times the antichrist will arise to oppress all the nations and force them to worship him as God. We also know that he will gather many armies to attack Israel.

Joel 2:1-2 describes this:

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
     a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come.

 

Further on in this passage, the prophet describes the antichrist armies coming upon the Land of Israel like a burning fire. Before them, the land is like Eden, behind them, it is desolation. When this happens, the prophet tells us to blow the trumpet (shofar) in Zion, to call out to God for deliverance and salvation. A memorial of trumpeting – this is what this holiday is pointing to: trumpeting to call for deliverance and salvation from our enemies.

 

There’s something else that is connected to TRUAH (trumpeting) if you recall we discovered in Numbers 10: sending out the camps. What camps will begin moving in response to our trumpeting on this holiday? The camps of the host of heaven under the leadership of Yeshua, the Commander of the hosts of heaven, will begin to move on this day when the Trumpet is sounded in Zion as a cry to God for help.

 

The Heavenly Armies on the Move: Revelation 19:11-21

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war… The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” ~Revelation 19:11, 14-15

 

In Revelation 19:11-21 we see a clear picture of Yeshua leading hosts of heaven to destroy the antichrist, the kings of the earth and the armies they lead.  Where will this great battle take place? In Jerusalem. The bible tells us that the Lord will descend upon the Mount of Olives to destroy the armies of the antichrist encamped against the city in Zechariah 14:

 

^“I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped…Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”

 

The Lord will descend upon the Mount of Olives, it will be split in two, its halves moving north and south, opening up a valley where the refugees of Jerusalem will flee, and He will destroy all the armies of the antichrist.

Zechariah 14:5

“Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”

Notice that not only are all the armies of heaven are with the LORD Yeshua. He is also accompanied by the “holy ones”, believers who have been raptured will return together with Him to rescue Jerusalem and the people of Israel.

Zechariah 14:9

“The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”

That will be the day that the blessed thousand-year reign of the Messiah will begin here on earth, His kingdom of justice, truth, and peace, when all creation will surrender to the love and righteous of our Lord God and to Yeshua the Messiah. He will be enthroned on the Temple Mount and will reign over Israel and the whole earth from Jerusalem.

 

The Day of Trumpeting – A prophetic act until that day comes

Each year when we observe the day of trumpeting, we are prophetically calling out “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD”. As we observe the Day of Trumpeting, we are prophetically declaring that day when all the inhabitants of Jerusalem will see Yeshua coming in the clouds and cry out to Him whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12), the Son of David and the Son of God! May our hearts seek Him in this season and be sensitive to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Bride: God wants to prepare us to live in deeper levels of love and holiness, to be His witnesses now in these challenging times and in periods of greater trials and tribulations that will come upon us in the last days.

 

 

On Sunday, August 15th Tiferet Yeshua’s WhatsApp women’s group exploded with messages: a fire was raging out of control in the Jerusalem hills and a dear family from Tiferet Yeshua with five children, plus grandparents living with them, was stranded in their village because the fire had cut off all access roads. The wife was in Jerusalem when the fire broke out and her husband was at home with all five children and the grandparents. “They are waiting for the rescue services to evacuate them by helicopter,” was the voice message she sent in the WhatsApp group. You could hear in her voice the shock of the reality that she as a mother and wife was facing at that moment: everything most precious to her in the world was surrounded by flames with no way out. She was in constant contact with her husband, but there was no way for her reach them. All she could do was pray and wait. 

In the meantime, people were sharing pictures of eerily smoke-darkened skies from Jerusalem all the way to the Jordan River Valley near the Dead Sea. Another hour went by and still the family had not been evacuated. 

Finally later in the evening we got word that the family had been successfully rescued by helicopter. It’s hard to imagine your children from ages one to fourteen are being evacuated by helicopter from a fire that’s burning out of control. Hours after the whole ordeal began, at midnight, the children were finally reunited with their mother. The father stayed behind because he is a volunteer firefighter with their village fire brigade. He said that when they left their village, the fire was a meter from their house and shrubs in their yard were starting to catch fire. “In ten minutes,” he thought, “we won’t have a house left.”

(scenes of devastation around the family’s village)

The next day the Lord put on our hearts this verse from Psalm 125:2

יְרוּשָׁלִַם הָרִים סָבִיב לָהּ וַיהוָה סָבִיב לְעַמּוֹ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד-עוֹלָם

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people,

both now and forevermore. 

As we were standing in prayer for this family and all the people having to flee for their lives from the flames, this verse encouraged us that God would surround them in protection, just as the mountains around Jerusalem, where this fire was raging, surround her. This family is beloved in Tiferet Yeshua and has the gift of “bringing in guests” to their home: many of us have been graciously and warmly hosted for wonderful Shabbat and holiday dinners. Their village is nestled on the top of forested rise in the Jerusalem Hills, and the views from their home are breathtaking – pine covered hills in every direction. 

The next day after their dramatic rescue from the fire, the father sent word that not only had their house survived, but the trees surrounding their home were not touched by the fire. When they look out from their windows, they still see green. Another family of believers in their neighborhood experienced the same thing.

The wife said she felt God’s grace surrounding her in the moments of sheer terror over her family, and that grace upon grace has been been carrying them through the whole ordeal day by day. While they have not been allowed back into their home, they asked us to share the story of the amazing grace the Lord has been pouring out on them during this whole ordeal – that even when flames of terror are surrounding us, the Lord surrounds us with His protection and grace.