I Have a Friend Who's Jewish
Do You?

This book will bless you as you read it and give you understanding!

About the author:
Don Goldstein was raised in a very loving, Conservative Jewish home. He graduated Hebrew school and went to Shabbat services, as was expected of all “good Jewish boys.” Even though he could read Hebrew fluently and, of course, read from the Torah at his Bar Mitzvah, he never felt he got anything really meaningful out of his Judaism. Then, when he was 30, he was introduced to information in his Hebrew Scriptures that he had never heard before. Finally he understood true inner peace and joy. He also received the understanding of why he was alive and what his destiny was.

The Book
I Have a Friend Who's Jewish
Do You?

This booklet, written by a man with a recently humbled heart and spirit, was
researched for the modern-day Jew and non-Jew alike. However, speaking as a
Jew, most of our people are proud of our heritage, but spiritually, something is
missing. Our people are searching for spiritual fulfillment, serenity, contentment,
and can’t find it.
Since the beginning of time, men have been making up religions. They think that
by performing various man-made rituals, they can please G-d and look good in
the eyes of their family and friends. Do you really think G-d cares if you go to
synagogue or church and repeat prayers that you don’t even understand? Surely
G-d, the creator of the whole universe, is not impressed!
But do you know G-d? I mean really know Him, not just what people say about
Him. Now let’s be honest... Some of you reading this are probably thinking:
Maybe G-d loves me, but I don’t feel it. How am I supposed to have a relationship
with someone I can’t see, feel, or touch? Ahhhhhh, this is the million-dollar
question.
I’ve learned that G-d really does love me, and He is actively involved in everything
that goes on in my day-to-day life. Let me assure you, He loves you too, no
matter what you’ve done, good or bad. What a concept! But is it true?
If this little booklet is in your hands at a time in your life when you are ready to
hear the truth and act upon it, continue reading and you will find many answers
to your questions. Once you connect with G-d, your life will never be the same.
Let’s begin...

1
Before we begin
to explore what this booklet has to say, let me share with you some of the thoughts
and questions I had, which led me to seek the truth. First, how could our Scriptures,
which were written thousands of years ago, change my 21st Century life?
And why would I want to investigate that big old book now? Why should I even
believe what it says? Besides, who decided it is holy anyway?
What are the credentials of the Scriptures?
Some would say that not every prophecy in our Scriptures has come to pass.
Therefore, there are mistakes. Not so! As the years go on, more and more of these
seemingly impossible prophecies come true, right before our eyes. The fact is
that our Scriptures are 100% scientifically, mathematically, prophetically,
archaeologically, and historically accurate. They even make hundreds of detailed
predictions that have ALL come true! Did you know that? But how could that be?
Weren’t they written by mere men?
Here’s one of the miracles of the Scriptures itself, it was written by 40 different
writers. Some were fishermen - a doctor - some “IRS agents”, etc. These writers
were completely separated from each other (no e-mail, fax machines, or phones)
and they lived in different centuries. They all wrote on different topics, such as
religion, future events, ethics, science, philosophy, the creation of the universe,
etc. These different writings were gathered together into one book. One would
think you’d have total chaos, right? But instead, this book is in complete harmony.
Why? Because G-d, who knows the end from the beginning, chose each of
the people to write exactly as He inspired them. I’ll prove that soon.
Today, the Holy Scriptures have been translated into easy to understand English
and many other languages. You will find incredible things written in it. What this
little booklet is designed to do is to pull out just a few tidbits from our Scriptures,
in order to convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Scriptures are true,
powerful, and able to change your life!
But…
before we get into what G-d has to offer you, let’s look at the evidence that the
Scriptures were actually written by Him, through His chosen people. All of the
verses come from the Hebrew Scriptures, or “Old” Testament unless noted.
The first few pages will prove that only G-d could have written the Scriptures.
Some of you will love this first part…
2
Are our Scriptures scientifically accurate?
There was a time when men actually believed that the world was flat and held up
by three very big elephants. But do you remember Christopher Columbus? He
was very well versed in the Scriptures. He knew the Earth was round because of
what was written in Isaiah 40:21, 22. “Have you not heard? Has it not been told
you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned upon the circle of the earth…” In Hebrew the word for circle
actually means sphere. So Chris wasn’t so brave after all... But Noah – He sailed
on a wooden boat with two termites on board… That was brave!
Speaking of Noah, if he built
the ark today, he would be facing
delay after delay. First,
he’d be faced with needing a
building permit. Then he’d be
arguing with all the building
inspectors about the need for
a sanitation system. His
neighbors would be claiming
he violated the zoning laws
by building the ark in his
driveway. Getting wood
would also be a problem.
There’s a ban on cutting trees
to save the spotted owl, even
though he would be explaining
to the environmentalists
that he needed the wood to
save the owls. And he would
not be allowed to build the ark
without first filing an environmental
impact statement on
G-d’s proposed flood. I’m
sorry, I couldn’t resist.
How about the discovery that the Earth is suspended in space? (Job 26:7) “He
spreads out the north over the empty space, He suspends the earth upon nothing.”
This was only discovered in the last few centuries, yet written about thousands
of years ago in our Scriptures.
So was there really a flood? Well, there ARE over 500 flood legends from cultures
all over the world and there ARE all of those seashells imbedded in the top 3000
feet of rock on Mount Everest.
3
Speaking of such discoveries, in the sixteenth century men discovered that air
has weight. But, the oldest book in our Scriptures tells us this in Job 28:24,25
“For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to
establish a weight for the wind...”
How did Moses, who wrote the Torah, know about
germs and astronomy... did he have a microscope
and telescope hidden on his camel?
Unlike today, as many as 30 percent of women who gave birth in hospitals died
up until 1845. Back then doctors moved from patient to patient without washing
their hands. But G-d knew about the germs that were invisible to men, and gave
us instructions in our Torah that when dealing with the sick, we need to wash our
hands specifically in running water. Leviticus 15:13 ...and bathe his body in
running water; then he shall be clean.
We now know that it takes a year for the earth to travel around the sun and a
month for the moon to travel around the earth. How could Moses have known
when he wrote the Torah 3,500 years ago, that the “lights” (the sun and the
moon) were actually the determining factors of the year’s length? Genesis 1:14
“And G-d said, ‘Let bright lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the
night. They will be signs to mark off the seasons, the days, and the years.’”
How about evolution?
Many scientists are now more convinced that a hurricane has a better chance of
blowing through a junk yard and accidentally assembling a perfect F-16 fighter
jet than a man has of evolving from a single non-living cell!
Think about this: A single cell is vastly more complex than even our most sophisticated
computer. If you saw a brand new laptop computer sitting on a rock in the
middle of the desert, would you say, “Gee, I bet this formed out of raw metallic
elements tossed around over millions of years”?
No, you’d probably ask, “Who made this and why did he put it here?” I don’t
think you’d say it had no maker.
Charles Darwin, who is the originator of the theory of evolution, and the author
of The Origin Of The Species, admitted that millions of “missing links,’ (transitional
life forms), would have to be discovered in the fossil record to prove the
accuracy of his theory. Yet evolutionists have been unable to find ANY of the
missing links. Famous paleontologists at Harvard, the American, and even the
British Museum, report they have NOT A SINGLE EXAMPLE of evolutionary
transition.
4
Here’s what happened to the so-called “proofs”
of evolution...
Lucy
Nearly all
experts agree
Lucy was just
a 3 foot tall
chimpanze.
Heidelberg
Man
Built from a jaw
bone that was
conceded by
many to be quite
human.
Nebraska
Man
Scientifically
built up from
one tooth,
later found to
be the tooth of
an extinct pig.
Piltdown
Man
The jawbone
turned out to
belong to a
modern ape.
Peking
Man
Supposedly
500,000 years
old, but all evidence
has
disappeared.
Neanderthal
Man
At the international
Congress of Zoology
(1958) Dr. A. J.
E. Cove said his
e x a m i n a t i o n
showed that this
famous skeleton
found in France
nearly 50 years
ago is that of an old
man who suffered
from arthritis
New Guinea
Man
Dates way back to
1970. This species
has been found in
the region just
north of Australia.
Cro-Magnon
Man
One of the earliest
and best established
fossils is at
least equal in physique
and brain capacity
to modern
man... so what’s
the difference.
Modern Man
This genius thinks
we came from a
monkey.
5
But many people today still believe that the theory of evolution is a fact. In his
impressive book The Intelligent Universe, the distinguished astronomer Sir Fred
Hoyle concludes, “As biochemists discover more and more about the awesome
complexity of life, it is apparent that its chances of originating by accident are so
minute that they can be completely ruled out. Life cannot have arisen by chance.”
Even evolutionist Stephen Hawking, the best-known scientist since Albert
Einstein, has admitted “the universe and the laws of physics seem to have been
specifically designed for us. If any one of about 40 physical qualities had more
than slightly different values, life as we know it could not exist: Either atoms
would not be stable, or they wouldn’t combine into molecules... or the universe
would collapse before life could develop, etc.”
If you believe evolution is true and G-d did not create all things, then where did
the laws of the universe such as gravity and inertia come from? Tell me where the
space for the universe came from? Where did matter come from, and where did
the energy come from to do all the organizing required for evolution to begin? In
fact evolution would break the first law of thermodynamics: Energy can be
changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
If I took a roll of 50 pennies and dropped them on the ground, could I convince
you that they would land in five perfectly parallel rows of ten pennies each? Not
a chance. But some people still believe that highly complex organisms somehow
just fell into place...
Can you name just one building in the world that didn’t have a maker?
Can you name just one painting in the world that didn’t have a painter?
Can you name just one truck in the world that didn’t have a designer?
Would you consider a person who sees a building, painting, or truck and doesn’t
know that someone made them:
A. Intelligent
B. A fool
C. Someone who has an ulterior motive or hidden agenda
If there is in fact no evidence for evolution, why is the theory still promoted and
defended with such fervor? Here is what Sir Arthur Keith, who wrote the foreward
to the 100th edition of Darwin’s The Origin Of The Species admitted: “Evolution
is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the alternative is special
creation, and that is unthinkable.” 6
Even Darwin himself states in his own book, The Origin of the Species, “To
suppose that the eye, with so many parts all working together, could have formed
by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” What
else did Darwin say? “I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out
queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything: and to my astonishment
the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion out of them!”
Evolution can only be accepted on blind faith. BUT... you can prove that G-d
exists. Yes, a building proves that there is a builder and a painting is proof that
there is a painter. You don’t need to see the builder or the painter to know that he
exists, right? Well, creation proves there is a creator!
This then leads to the fair question: “Why can’t I see G-d?” Just because you
can’t see Him doesn’t negate His existance. You can’t see radio waves, but they
are passing right in front of your eyes as you are reading this. Nor can you see
the wind, but you know it exists too. G-d is an eternal Spirit who is immortal and
invisible, but who at times has shown Himself. We’ll discuss that soon.
Did you ever think about the fact that almost all forms of the more complex
creatures on earth require both male and female to reproduce? Then according to
evolution which came first? If you are reasoning well maybe... or perhaps... well
probably... or possibly male and female evolved over millions of years, then why
did evolution suddenly require both male and female to continue the species?
Scientifically speaking, the evolutionary theory breaks the second law of thermodynamics,
which is: All energy/matter goes from order to disorder. For example
metal eventually turns to rust. However, rust never turns back to pristine metal.
Consider this... If the earth were only one million years old, and using the assumption
of 43 years for an average human generation, if we calculate that each
family had 2.5 children then there would be trillions of people alive today on the
planet. Now we know that isn’t true and we also aren’t standing on an enormously
high mountain of bones from all the skeletons of our dead ancestors. So
how can the earth be 15 BILLION years old?
But... how can any honest and thinking 21st Century person believe in the Scriptures
that give the account of G-d creating the heavens and the earth in six days?
Let’s say that you are a certified genius with the highest IQ
ever. Putting that in perspective, let’s say that this circle represents
ALL the knowledge in the universe. Since you are so
intelligent we will say that you know an incredible 1% of all
knowledge! Is it possible that within the other 99% of knowledge
you still don’t have... lies the proof that G-d does exist?
7
Here’s what science just learned. Dr. Gerald Schroeder, a nuclear physicist with
his doctorate earned at the famous M.I.T. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
and a cosmologist (the branch of astrophysics that studies the origin and
structure of the universe) reveals more scientific evidence that the Bible can be
taken literally1.
It is now widely accepted in scientific circles that there was a “beginning” and a
“creator”. Compared to just 40 years ago when the concept of a six-day creation
was laughed at, the Big Bang is now commonly accepted as fact. A firm confirmation
of this theory came when physicists discovered that the entire earth is
bathing in a faint glow of radiation. Its waves follow the exact pattern of wavelength
expected in a giant explosion. This has been confirmed again and again.
Astronomers have determined that the expansion rate of the universe from the
beginning (Big Bang) is one million squared – that is a one followed by 12 zeroes
(1,000,000,000,000). Remember this number. We’re going to use it later.
With dimensional objects, we take for granted that the farther we are from an
object, the smaller it appears. As an example, the moon appears to be the size of
a quarter. Railroad tracks appear to come together (get smaller) as they get farther
away.
The same thing happens with time. It is as elastic as dimensional objects are.
Einstein’s theory of relativity that: time slows down for bodies in motion, was
proven by flying an atomic clock at a very high rate of speed and comparing it to
another atomic clock left at the airport. The one that was flown at high speed
“lost” time.
Now, as ridiculous as this seems, the six 24 hour days of creation AND the 15
billion years old age of our universe, are in fact, the same time period, depending
upon your perspective. Now stay with me here…
G-d measures time from “His” perspective, in other words from where He started
creation. We on the other hand measure time from here on earth; thus our different
perspectives vastly effect, or stretch time.
Let’s prove this from Einstein’s theory of relativity. The numbers that follow
come from the latest physics books and are used exclusively in physics laboratories
and review journals worldwide. For example, in The Big Bang, by Joseph Silk,
published by W.H. Freeman, or The Principles of Physical Cosmology by P.J.E.
Peeble (both are 100% secular science), we are told that the universe is a million
squared times larger today than at the time of the Big Bang. This means that the
universe has been stretching and stretching. So let’s illustrate this.
8
Let’s say that G-d is sitting at the point of the Big Bang and is having fun with His
new laser gun. He sends out a pulse of light and imprints on it the message “I’m
sending you a pulse of light every second.” The first pulse moves away from Him
at 186,000 miles per second (the speed of light). Then, a second later, G-d fires the
next pulse, and a second later the next, etc.
But as they are traveling away from G-d what is happening to the universe? It is
s t r e t c h i n g outward as time goes
on. Therefore, the space between the pulses is also stretching, and it is taking
longer and longer for the pulses to move through the expanded space. As the
first pulse arrives at our big dish antenna here on earth, we are very excited. But,
from our perspective the next pulse doesn’t arrive a second later, it arrives in
direct proportion to the amount of stretching or expansion the universe has gone
through up until that time. For arguments sake let’s say it takes 25 years for the
second pulse to reach us. Then were the pulses fired a second apart? Yes, from
G-d’s perspective. And are the pulses actually 25 years apart? Yes, from our
perspective.
I know this is a hard concept to understand, so let me say it another way. G-d fired
His laser gun from the point of the Big Bang 5 billion years ago. Let’s say it took
one year for the light to travel across the universe at that time and size. Now, if He
fired it 10 billion years ago, since the universe had more time to expand, wouldn’t
it take longer for the light to travel through the larger universe? Yes, of course it
would. Well, it still only took one second of G-d’s time. But, because the universe
kept expanding, it would appear to have taken longer to reach us, because we
measure time from our already expanded universe perspective. So one second
equals different time periods, depending upon where you are measuring the time.
Well, science says that the universe is about 15 billion years old. The Torah says
G-d created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. Do the math. Divide 15,000,000,000
(the estimated age of the universe) by 1,000,000,000,000 (the rate the universe is
expanding or stretching) = .015. Multiply .015 X 365 days in a year and this equals
approximately 6 (24 hour) days.
I thought this was pretty cool. The information comes from an entire scientific
textbook on the subject that I tried to boil down to a couple of pages. There is a
considerable amount of additional information needed by you, the reader, to
narrow this down further and more accurately. For a complete explanation, if
you’re up to it, read The Science of G-d by Gerald Schroeder1.
The point I am trying to make here is simply to prove that science and the Scriptures
are in agreement. It seems the more we learn, the more we discover how
“smart” our ancient Scriptures really are.
9
Did you know Moses was a scientist?
Our Scriptures specifically instruct us to perform
circumcisions on the eighth day?
Medical researchers have recently found that
three different blood clotting factors, Thrombin,
Vitamin K, and Pro-thrombin, are at their
highest level (about 110%) on the eighth day
of your life! Ask your doctor to verify this.
Now how would Moses have known that when
he wrote the Torah? I doubt Mrs. Moses gave
him a chemistry set for his 80th birthday.
Are our Scriptures historically correct?
Here’s what Dr. Nelson Glueck, the most outstanding Jewish archaeologist of
this century, wrote in his book, Rivers in the Desert: “It may be stated categorically
that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference.
Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear
outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And by the same
token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing
discoveries...”
Recent archaeological discoveries also confirmed these and many other biblical
persons and events: Abraham, King David, Moses, the place where the Israelites
crossed the Red Sea, King Nebuchadnezzar, the Tower of Babel, Joseph and the
seven years of famine, and many more!2
According to Scripture, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho, and
when they gave a shout the walls fell down. Dr. John Gerstang3, the director of
the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, discovered their ruins. But what
is truly amazing is what he actually found. In all sieges against a stone wall, the
invading armies pushed the walls into the city and ran over them. This is confirmed
by numerous archaeological finds. But at Jericho, the archaeological find
confirmed the walls fell outward! These walls were found to be 15 feet high and 10
feet thick! Only the supernatural power of G-d could have done this.
Three hundred seventy-seven (377) clay tablets4 were found belonging to the
two Pharaohs who ruled in 1500-1400 B.C., which accurately described the events
of the Exodus. They even had a picture of Charlton Heston on them... Just
kidding.
Manny “Bris” Mohel
10
Mount Sinai (now called Jabal al Lawz) has been
found in Saudi Arabia.5 Evidence was found that
matched the Exodus account. The rocks and dirt
at the top of the mountain are scorched a deep
black. At first you may think, it must be volcanic
rock. But when they split open some of the rocks,
the outside was melted stone, singed shiny black,
and the insides had a reddish-tan core. The rock is
in actuality, ordinary brown granite. According to
our Torah, in Exodus 19:18: “All Mount Sinai was
covered with smoke because the L-RD had descended on it in the form of fire.”
They also found the altar of the golden calf, the altar that Moses used for burnt
offerings, and the surrounding 12 pillars that our Scriptures said would be there,
one for each tribe of Israel. Plus, they found the rock that Moses struck to bring
forth water that flowed down the mountain. They also found the remains of the
river bed where the water was rushing down the side of this otherwise waterless
mountain in the desert, (this desert gets maybe a half inch of rain a DECADE), and so
on and so on… Read Exodus (in our Torah) and know that finding Mount Sinai is
more living proof of the authenticity of G-d’s Holy Scriptures being 100% accurate.
Are the Scriptures prophetically correct?
In my opinion, the answer to the validity and the power of the Scriptures does
NOT start with faith or belief. The unique signature on the Scripture is its fulfilled
prophecies. Prophecy is predicting what will happen before it happens. Present
day astrologers, mediums, psychics, etc. are not prophets from G-d since their
predictions are not 100% accurate. Why? G-d said His prophets would be 100%
accurate or they would be stoned to death. (So much for Nostradamus.) But our
Scriptures have proven themselves for thousands of years to be 100% accurate!
Here is a little bit of verifiable proof. Much more will be covered later.
Did you know that G-d told Abraham ahead of time that we (Jews) would be
enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, and we were? (Genesis 15:13) “Then the L-RD
said to him, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred
years.’”
Did you know that about 100 years before the Babylonian captivity, before the
Jews were even taken captive the first time, G-d told the Jewish prophet Isaiah
about the second time He would sovereignly bring us back into our own land. In
Isaiah 11:11, it says, “In that day the L-rd will bring back a remnant of His
people for the second time, returning them to the land of Israel…”
11
Isaiah prophesied 120 years before King Cyrus was even born that he would be
the king who would permit the Jews to return to their land... And Isaiah the
prophet calls him by name! Isaiah 44:28 ... “who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;’ he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”
Israel’s rebirth in the year 1948 and Jerusalem being recaptured in the year
1967 predicted in the Scriptures!
Did you know that in Ezekiel 4, G-d told the Jewish prophet Ezekiel to tell Israel
that they would suffer 430 years of judgment for their sins? We know that we
served the first 70 years of that judgment when our people were taken captive in
Babylon. So what does all of this have to do with anything? Well, let’s first
understand that in the Scripture, a year represents 360 days because it is based
on the Hebrew calendar. From the time of our captivity in Babylon which began in
606 B.C., add 70 years X 360 days for each year, then take into account the
calendar corrections they made in those years that were similar to our leap years,
and they were in captivity for the equivalent of 69 years (as we count years). Now
add 69 years to 606 B.C. and the Babylonian captivity ended in 537 B.C.
But did G-d just forget about the other 360 years? NO! G-d keeps His word. In
Leviticus 26, G-d tells us four times that He will multiply his punishments on us 7
times if we do not obey Him the first time! Oh boy, you mean we will be under His
judgment for 360 years X 7, or 2520 years? YES! Now, if you take the 2520 years
and make the same adjustments for leap years and changes in calendars over the
years and multiply the 360 days X 2520 years, you will have 907,200 days.
Now add 907,200 days to 537 B.C. (remember there is no 0 year) and you come to
1948! Do you remember David Ben Gurion declaring on international radio, using
Ezekiel as his authority, the restoring to us of Israel as the new Jewish state?
Is G-d consistent? We also know that in 587 B.C. Jerusalem fell. If you add the
same 69 Biblical years of captivity to 587 B.C., you come to 518 B.C. So let’s do it
again. Add the 907,200 days to 518 B.C. (remember there is no ‘0’ year) and you
come to 1967! You probably remember the stunning victory Israel had over her
enemies. As a result of the “Six Day War”, Israel regained control of Jerusalem in
the very year her punishment for disobedience ended!
Think about this... No other people group has ever been systematically exterminated,
forced to renounce their beliefs and their language, yet still remains. No
other people group has lost their language and got it back. Who am I talking
about? The Jews. We are proof that the Scriptures speak the truth. Isaiah 66:8
Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a
country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Israel was!
12
Is G-d still keeping His promises?
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you (Israel) and curse those who curse
you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
Do you remember the book or the movie entitled “The Perfect Storm”? It was
called this because according to meteorologists a “perfect storm” occurs only
once in a century. You are probably aware from watching the news that weather
patterns always move from west to east. Well the perfect storm formed in the
North Atlantic Ocean and moved over 1000 miles (backwards) from east to west.
This was one of the most powerful storms ever recorded. In fact, it had waves as
high as 100 feet, the highest ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean. When did
this storm occur? The exact day when President Bush (Sr.) was hosting the
Madrid peace conference, October 31, 1991. The storm severely damaged his
home in Maine. What was the purpose of the conference? To arrange for Israel to
give up land for peace and the American president was pushing it. On October 31,
1991 America and her president were personally put on notice by G-d!
Now before you say I am stretching it and this was just a coincidence, read about
the next 11 “SAME DAY” disasters. These are just the natural ones, not to
mention the stock market plunges that also occurred on the same days as Israel
was being asked or forced by the USA to give away God’s land.
Do you remember Hurricane Andrew? It hit Florida on August 23, 1992. Hurricane
Andrew left 205,000 homeless in Florida and Louisiana and cost America 30
billion dollars. The storm was so strong it actually destroyed the wind measuring
equipment and was later described as a 25-30 mile wide tornado by the National
Hurricane Center. What was going on that very day, this time in America? The
Madrid peace conference was again being hosted by President Bush (Sr.) and
again the discussion was to force Israel to give away land.
On January 16, 1994 President Clinton and Syria’s president Hafez Assad met in
Geneva to discuss Israel giving the Golan Heights of Israel to Syria. President
Clinton was quoted in the newspapers as saying “Israel must make concessions
that will be politically unpopular with many Israelis.” Within 24 hours the second
worst natural disaster to ever hit America (up to that time) struck in the form of a
6.9 earthquake in Southern California.
President Clinton in March of 1997 invited Yasser Arafat to the White House to
discuss Jerusalem’s status. As Mr. Arafat was flying here, a series of tornados
ripped across seven states. The worst damage was in President Clinton’s home
state of Arkansas, and also in Kentucky and Ohio. These massive storms caused
the worst flooding ever in the Ohio River and 13 counties were declared disaster
13
areas. Again on the exact day that America was messing with G-d’s land.
On January 21, 1998 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was summoned
to the White house to discuss land for peace. Shortly after the meeting, that same
day, the Monica Lewinski/President Clinton sex scandal became headline news.
Don’t mess with G-d or His people!
On September 27, 1998 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with Yasser
Arafat in preparation for discussing Israel giving away land again. On that same
day Hurricane George slammed into the Gulf Coast with 175 mph gusts and caused
another billion dollars in damage.
On October 17, 1998 as these talks continued incredibly powerful tornadoes and
ferocious rain devastated Texas. San Antonio got 20 inches of rain in ONE day!
The Guadalupe river swelled from its normal 150 feet in width to three to five miles
wide and swallowed whole towns. These floods continued until the day the talks
ended which was October 22nd. A record flood ravaged 25% of Texas and cost
America another billion dollars.
May 3, 1999 at 4:47pm CST in America was May 4th in Israel. This was the day that
President Clinton had arranged for Yasser Arafat to declare an independent state.
That same day, the most powerful tornadoes to ever hit the USA struck. Winds of
up to 316 mph and several F-4 and F-5 tornadoes struck simultaneously. One F-5
(sustained winds of over 260 mph) was literally a MILE WIDE, covered 80 miles,
lasted for over 4 HOURS and leveled everything in its path! F-5 tornadoes usually
last only 10-15 minutes at most, are a couple of hundred yards wide at most,
and are very rare, occurring about once per hundred tornadoes. Total damage
was in the billions and whole towns were leveled. The national Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration stated, “This is an outbreak of historic proportions,
no doubt about it.”
On September 13, 1999 Hurricane Floyd grew in ONE DAY to a category 5 hurricane.
This was the day that Israel was being forced by America to meet with one
of Yasser Arafat’s deputies to work out the “final status” details of Israel giving
away land. Then, on September 16th, Floyd pummeled North Carolina and caused
the second greatest evacuation in America’s history. Rains exceeding 20 inches
fell on eastern North Carolina which was just devastated two weeks before by
another huge rainmaker, Hurricane Dennis. Dennis also hit land on the exact day,
September 3rd, when Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with Yasser Arafat
and Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak to get the peace process going again and of
course for Israel to give up land. North Carolina suffered the loss of 100,000 pigs,
almost 2 and a half million chickens, and a half million turkeys. Twenty eight
counties were declared disaster areas. Again, America pays billions and billions
because we are turning our back on Israel.
14
So now we are up to President George W. Bush (Jr.). As he became president, he
tried to stay out of the Israel/Palestinian conflict. But on June 8th, 2001, he sent
CIA director George Tenet to the Middle East to further broker a land for peace
settlement. On that same day here at home, tropical storm Allison destroyed
25,000 homes and businesses and about 50,000 vehicles in Houston alone! The
city was closed for three days and Texas; President Bush’s (Jr.) home state paid
dearly for his move against the G-d of Israel - over 4 billion dollars in losses and
it didn’t stop there. This tropical storm continued into Florida and all the way up
the coast creating disaster areas as far north as Pennsylvania! Meteorologists
state that this was the worst tropical storm in history and in fact dumped as much
rain in 10 days as is normally released for the entire United States in one YEAR!
Hurricane Katrina: Israel’s disengagement evacuation and eviction from the Gaza
Strip began on Wednesday, August 17, and ended on Tuesday, August 23, 2005.
On that same day, Tropical Depression 12 formed and then quickly became Hurricane
Katrina, a fierce and enormous Category 4 hurricane that hit Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama - devastating the city of New Orleans. Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon saw the largest eviction of Jews in Israel’s history, and
President Bush saw the largest natural disaster and displacement of people in
U.S. history. Nine thousand Israelis were evicted by their government. Shortly
thereafter, one million Americans were evicted by Hurricane Katrina.
I think you get the point. America MUST stand behind Israel and NOT ask her to
give up any of the land that G-d gave to her. Here is what G-d said to America and
the rest of the world:
Zechariah 12:3,9,10 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden
for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed. For
my plan is to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Then I will
pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the
people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn
for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son
who has died.
After I learned what I have been sharing with you and read what you are about to
read, I understood for the first time in my life that G-d knows the future. He
actually matters. He’s relevant. He wants to make my life have meaning. When I
accepted that and took the chance of actually asking Him to communicate with
me, He did! If you desire to know G-d as He knows you right now, then put your
traditional religious thoughts behind you. Understand that G-d desires to love
you and care for you, for you are truly one of His children.
15
G-d is so interested in helping you obtain the best for your life that...
He is watching you read these words right now.
He is ready to grant you incredible blessings.
But you first need to understand and accept Him. It’s not about man-made rules
and regulations. And it’s not about religion. It’s about having a relationship with
your Creator, the Living G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Nothing, but you don’t need to get all
dressed up, go to synagogue, and put on
your kippah, tallit, and tefillin to talk to G-d.
Oh, and by the way, He knows English too!
Who is G-d?
Just as it is difficult to understand infinity because everything we experience is
finite, it is difficult to understand G-d who is a spirit, and eternity because of the
limitations of our minds. Remember, we think of everything in linear terms. ie:
having a beginning and an end, or a starting point and an ending point, or a
starting time and an ending time. But G-d is literally outside of time and space as
we are able to perceive it. Therefore, He is not constrained by time or space as we
are. That is why He can know what is going to happen tomorrow because it has
literally already happened from where He stands. Science has now proven that
there are at least ten dimensions but we can only perceive four.
Since G-d already knows things that we can’t even perceive of, those of us that
follow His direction just seem to have things work out. Some call it luck, some call
it coincidence, I call it blessed by being obedient. When you learn to stop thinking
about what if this, and yeh but that, and just start trusting, watch what
happens! G-d loves you, knows what is best beyond your ability to understand,
and He will take care of you if you will just cooperate.
16
This is what G-d says about Himself:
Isaiah 45:7-11, 21-23 I am the One who creates the light and makes the darkness.
I am the One who sends good times and bad times. I, the L-RD, am the One who
does these things. Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the
earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the
L-RD, created them. “Destruction is certain for those who argue with their
Creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with
the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you are doing it wrong!’ Does the pot
exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be!’ How terrible it would be if a newborn baby
said to its father and mother, ‘Why was I born? Why did you make me this
way?’”
This is what the L-RD, the Creator and Holy One of Israel , says: “Do you
question what I do? Do you give Me orders about the work of My hands? I am
the One who made the earth and created people to live on it. With My hands I
stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at My command. For
there is no other G-d but Me – a just G-d and a Savior – no, not one! Let all the
world look to Me for salvation! For I am G-d; there is no other. I have sworn by
My own name, and I will never go back on My word: Every knee will bow to Me,
and every tongue will confess allegiance to My name.”
In our Torah
in Genesis 18:14, G-d says, “Is anything too hard for the L-rd?” But our Scriptures
also say, in Isaiah 59:1-2, “our iniquities (sins) have separated us from our
G-d and He will not hear us.”
Are our Holy Scriptures contradictory? No! So then, how can we have a real and
personal relationship with our creator? In my experience, G-d is loving, accepting,
and very forgiving. But, because He is holy, He will not deal with us while our
life is still filled with un-forgiven sins. If you are saying to yourself, “I never sin,”
or “I am better than or not as bad as other people,” then stop reading and search
your heart honestly, so your mind and heart can be opened to G-d’s message for
you. G-d knows you do wrong and always will, so in order to be able to deal with
us, G-d gave us a plan. HIS plan...
So then... what is G-d’s plan?
17
G-d’s plan is simple. G-d showed us at Passover that we had to take the blood of
an innocent spotless lamb and apply it to our doorposts in order for the Angel of
Death to pass over our firstborn. He again showed us on Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement, that the blood of an innocent animal had to be offered up in payment
for our sins. In the Torah, in Leviticus 17:11, G-d said to Moses, “For the life of
the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for
yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for ones life.”
But in 70 A.D. our temple and the altar were destroyed so we could no longer offer
sacrifices for our sins. So since the temple was destroyed, did G-d just change
His mind? Does He now accept charity and good deeds instead of a blood sacrifice?
NO! G-d knew ahead of time that the temple would be destroyed, so He told
us through His prophets in our Scriptures of the substitutionary system of atonement
that He Himself would provide. G-d provided His own lamb, which we will
discuss later.
Before I go on, let me explain (in case you don’t know) that the rabbis wrote
commentaries on the different Scriptures. These are known as the Talmud, Midrash,
Targums, and Mishna.
Here’s an interesting story found in the Talmud.
The Talmud (Tractate Yoma 39:b) records in essence that on Yom Kippur (Day of
Atonement) it was customary to tie some red wool to the temple gate. Miraculously,
after the lamb died to take away or atone for our sin, the red wool always
turned white as a sign to the people that they had been forgiven. But from 30 AD
- 70 AD, the red wool tied to the temple gate remained red. The rabbis concluded
G-d was saying, “I will not forgive, I will not forgive.” Why is this relevant? The
beginning of this 40-year period coincides with G-d providing His own lamb to
make one-final-atonement for all of our sins? When the rabbis and the people
didn’t accept G-d’s plan for atonement, they were not forgiven.
G-d foretold this promise in our Hebrew Scriptures in Jeremiah 31:31, 32 when He
said, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of
Judah; it will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took
them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant.”
The ancient rabbis commenting on Jeremiah 31:31, 32 known as the Midrash
Tehelim, fol.3, col.4 said, “When the time of the advent of the Messiah will be
near, then the blessed G-d will say to Him: “With Him I will make a new covenant
and this is the time I will acknowledge Him as My Son, saying, ‘This day
have I begotten Thee.”’ So our ancient rabbis saw in this scripture that Messiah,
who would be G-d’s own Son, would usher in the new covenant. By the way, the
Dead Sea Scrolls speak about G-d’s Son in text (4Q246). It says, “Son of G-d He
shall be called, and they will name Him Son of the Most High…”
18
Another ancient rabbinical commentary on Jeremiah 31:31, 32 known as the
Midrash Talpiyot, 5 8a says, “He will sit and expound the new Torah which he
will give through the Messiah.”
If someone claims to be the Messiah today, he is unable to prove it, because
when the temple was destroyed, all the
birth records burned. Therefore, we can
no longer verify if a person is in the direct
lineage of King David as Scriptures tell
us the Messiah must be. So, how are we
to recognize our Messiah when He does
come? Our Jewish Scriptures (NOT just
the New Covenant) are very clear in detailing
Him so we will recognize Him. In
Isaiah 7:14, it says “...The virgin is with
child, and shall bring forth a son; and
she shall call His name Immanuel.”
(Immanuel means G-d with us.) Then this
child is further described in Isaiah 9:6,
“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on
His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G-d, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace,” By the way, if you’ve ever been told that almah
(the Hebrew word used for virgin) really means young maiden and does not
specifically refer to a virgin, then consider the following:
About two hundred years before Yeshua’s birth, the Hebrew Scriptures were
translated into Greek and called the Septuagint. The name comes from the seventy
Jewish rabbis who undertook the translation. (Some say 72 rabbis.) They
were aware of the miraculous nature of both the child and His birth, so when they
came to the word “almah”, they didn’t hesitate. They chose the Greek word
“parthenos”, which undeniably always means a woman who has never had sexual
relations of any kind with a man. In its six other uses in the Hebrew Scriptures, it
always means virgin... See Genesis 24:43 Exodus 2:8, Psalm 68:25, Proverbs 30:19,
and Song of Songs 1:3 and 6:8.
Of course they had no agenda about who the Messiah was at that time, since
their translation was done before Yeshua was even born. Do you know of anyone
who was born to a virgin? There is only one, and He is the man named
Yeshua, who is our Messiah!
If you’re saying, “So where’s the ‘peace’,” you may not have understood that
the peace Messiah offers is in our hearts! Yes, there is also a time when He will
bring peace upon the earth too, but that will happen later in time.
19
You may be saying we (Jews) don’t believe the
Messiah has come yet. But did you know that G-d
tells us exactly when He will come?
In Daniel 9:25-26, it says, “Know and understand this - From the issuing of the
decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One (Messiah), the
ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens’, (‘sevens’ means seven years), and
sixty-two ‘sevens’. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of
trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens, ‘the Anointed One will be cut off (killed)
and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come (Romans) will
destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (Second Temple)...” (Explanations
in parenthesis are not part of the original text).
If you add seven ‘sevens’ (7x7) = 49 years + sixty-two ‘sevens’ (62x7) = 434
years, you get 483 years. (49+434 = 483 years)
So what does this have to do with anything? Read on… Here is where our Scriptures
tell us when our Messiah would come:
As we just read, 483 years after the decree was given by King Artaxerxes to
rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah would be revealed and then killed, and the city of
Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed. According to the Encyclopedia
Britannica, Artaxerxes Longimanus became king of the Medo-Persian Empire in
465 B.C. Nehemiah 2:1, says: “In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of
King Artaxerxes when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to
the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why
does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness
of heart. I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever!
Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried
lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’ The king said to me,
‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the G-d of heaven, and I answered the
king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let
him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can
rebuild it. ‘Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How
long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to
send me; so I set a time.” In Hebrew tradition, when the day of the month is not
mentioned, then it is given to be the first of that month. In 445 B.C. (20 years
after the beginning of the King’s rule), the first day of the month of Nisan corresponds
to the 14th day of March. This date was confirmed by the British Royal
Observatory and reported by Sir Robert Anderson. On March 14th (First of Nisan)
of the year 445 B.C., King Artaxerxes gave the Jews permission to leave Babylon
20
and rebuild Jerusalem. Do you know that exactly 483 years later, (173,880 days) to
the very day, a man claiming to be the Son of G-d rode into Jerusalem and for the
first time, allowed Himself to be proclaimed the Messiah?
What does the Talmud say about these specific verses? In Megillah fol. 3a it
says, “...a Bath Kol (voice from Heaven) came forth and exclaimed, ‘Who is this
that has revealed My secrets to mankind?’ Jonathan B. Uzziel thereupon arose
and said, ‘It is I who have revealed Thy secrets to mankind. It is fully known to
Thee that I have not done this for my own honour or for the honour of my father’s
house, but for Thy honour I have done it, that dissension may not increase in
Israel. He further sought to reveal (by) a targum (the inner meaning) of the
Hagiographa, but a Bath Kol went forth and said, ‘Enough!’ What was the
reason? Because the date of the Messiah is foretold in it.”
But even with all of this evidence of who the Messiah would be, G-d knew we
Jews would still REJECT HIM. It is clear from Scripture that G-d was to give us
His Son, and in doing so G-d made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
21
The greatest prophecy in the Tanakh (Hebrew
Scriptures) about the Messiah is:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Isaiah 52:13, “See, My servant will act wisely; He will be raised and
lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were
appalled at Him -- His appearance was so disfigured beyond that
of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness--so will
He sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because
of Him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what
they have not heard, they will understand.”
Isaiah 53:1-12, “Who has believed our message and to whom has
the arm of the L-RD been revealed? He grew up before Him like a
tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground He had no beauty or
majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we
should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men,6 a man
of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men
hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely
He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. Yet we considered
Him stricken by G-d, smitten by Him, and afflicted.”
“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for
our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon
Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have
gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the L-RD
22
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to
the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He
did not open His mouth.7 By oppression and judgment He was taken
away. And who can speak of His descendants? For He was cut off
from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He
was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked 8 and with
the rich in His death,9 though He had done no violence, nor was
any deceit in His mouth.” 10
“Yet it was the L-rd’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer and
though the L-RD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His
offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the L-RD will prosper
in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the
light of life11 and be satisfied; by His knowledge My righteous servant
wil1 justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.”
“Therefore, I will give Him a portion among the great, and He
will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His
life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Let me repeat...
This is from our Jewish Scriptures, written
by the Jewish Prophet named Isaiah... over
700 years before Yeshua was even born!
23
But if you listen to today’s rabbis,
you would think that Isaiah 53 is not a prophecy about the Messiah. They say that
it is speaking of the nation of Israel. This not only doesn’t make sense, but it
totally disagrees with the Talmud, Targums and Midrash! Here’s why...
First, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:9 is an innocent person that is without
sin. When has Israel ever been without sin?
Second, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:4 suffers on account of the sins of
others. Israel therefore could not suffer on account of Israel.
Third, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:7 is willing to suffer. Since when has
the nation of Israel EVER suffered willingly or quietly?
Fourth, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:12 died. The nation of Israel has
certainly suffered, but we (Jewish race) have never died! Plus, notice how many
times the words “He” or “His” are used. This Messianic prophecy is speaking
about a person!
What do our learned ancient sages say about Isaiah 53?
Rabbi Moshe Kohen Ibn Crispin states that those, who for controversial reasons
apply the prophecy of the Suffering Servant to Israel, find it impossible to understand
the true meaning of this prophecy: …“having forsaken the knowledge of
our teachers, and inclined after the stubbornness of their own opinions…” Their
misinterpretation, he declares, “distorts the passage from its natural meaning,”
for “it was given of G-d as a description of the Messiah, whereby, when any
should claim to be the Messiah, to judge by the resemblance to it whether he
were the Messiah or not.” He also said “I’m pleased to interpret the passage in
accordance with the teachings of our rabbis, of the King Messiah… and adhere
to the literal sense. Thus I shall be free from forced and far-fetched interpretations
of which others are guilty.”
Rabbi Elijah de Vidas said: “Since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce
the effect of His being bruised, it follows that those who will not admit that
the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for themselves.”
In the Talmud, Sukkah 52a, it says this about Isaiah 53: “What is the cause of the
mourning (of Zechariah 12:10). ‘And 1 will pour out on the house of David and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look
on Me, the one they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as one mourns
24
for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”’
Did you catch it? The ancient rabbis not only knew the Messiah would be pierced,
but they also knew He would die!
Rabbi Isaac Abrabanel, a member of the Midrashim, remarked regarding Isaiah
53: “The first question is to ascertain to whom this prophecy refers, for the
learned among the Nazarenes expound it of the man who was crucified in Jerusalem
at the end of the Second Temple, and who, according to them, was the Son
of G-d and took flesh in the virgin’s womb, as is stated in their writings. Jonathan
ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah and this is also the
opinion of our learned men in the majority of their Midrashim.”
The ancient rabbinical Targum on Isaiah 53:10 says: “...my servant, the Messiah
in whom I am well pleased.”
The ancient rabbinical Targum on Isaiah 52:13 says: “Behold, my servant Messiah
shall prosper; He shall be high and increase, and be exceedingly strong...”
DEAD SEA SCROLLS
For over 40 years the Dead Sea Scrolls had been withheld from the academic
community. Remember that the Dead Sea Scrolls were written before 68AD while
the eyewitnesses to Yeshua’s life were still alive! They make clear reference to a
“suffering Messiah” whose hands and feet were pierced, who “suffered and died
for the sins of the people.”
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1949 significantly corroborates
evidence for the validity and continuity of our Scriptures. The ancient texts,
found hidden in pots in cliff-top caves confirm the reliability of the Old Testament
text.
It’s the REAL thing!
25
Are you having trouble dealing with what you’ve read?
Let’s dig a little more and we’ll find G-d’s plan for mankind’s redemption hidden
right in the genealogy of the very first man, Adam.12 If you list the descendants of
Adam in order from Adam to Noah they are: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel,
Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. So big deal. But Hebrew names
always have a meaning. For instance Adam means “man” and Seth means “appointed”.
Now if you translate the Hebrew names from their original Hebrew root
meaning into English, in the order of their birth, the meanings of the names spell
out a very significant sentence:
Now let’s read these translated names in order as a sentence…
Man – appointed – mortal – sorrow - the blessed G-d - shall come down - teaching
- His death shall bring - the despairing - rest - comfort.
WOW, here is G-d’s plan right in our own Torah! Is there any question that our
G-d is making sure we know of whom He is talking here? Here it is obvious that
G-d is making sure (again in our Hebrew Scriptures) that, if we are willing to look
for Him, we will unquestionably find Him!
Our Scriptures have
also been frighteningly accurate about the fact that man will attempt to annihilate
himself. Fortunately, the Messiah that is predicted to come will come, just as He
promises in the Scriptures, to bring everlasting peace on Earth. The sad part is
that everyone thinks they are going to be included in this peaceful time. But the
Scriptures are very clear in explaining that the only people who will survive will
be the people that accepted G-d’s plan for their atonement.
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Man
Appointed
Mortal
Sorrow
The blessed G-d
Shall come down
Teaching
His death shall bring
The despairing
Rest - comfort
26
When our youngest son was 18-years-old and read
this booklet, he was indignant!
He asked if I was actually so narrow minded that I was saying people who believe
in G-d, but not in Yeshua, would not enjoy this “peaceful” time or be welcomed
into heaven? “How about the non-Messianic Jews, the Hindus, the Buddhists?”
he asked, with a serious chip on his shoulder.
So as only a good Jew can do so eloquently, I answered his question with my
own questions. “What kind of a G-d would we have if He allowed us to choose
from man-made religions that all disagree with one another? How could you ever
really be sure? Does this sound like a loving G-d?” You’re in college. Go ask
some of your Hindu, or Muslim, or Buddhist friends this question. Ask them if
they are absolutely sure they will achieve nirvana or go to paradise when they
die. What you will find is they will all say something about their hope, and their
imperfections being a barrier. They have no assurance because their salvation
depends upon their own merit. I asked him as a Jew, was he sure he would make
it to heaven. And you know what he said to me? “All Jews go to heaven, we don’t
need a mediator. We are the chosen people!” Do you believe that too? If so, ask
yourself who’s being narrow-minded. We’ve always had a mediator such as
Moses and all the high priests. And if you don’t believe all Jews go to heaven,
then how do you know if you’re going to make it?
27
Before I go any further let me first share with you what Yeshua said:
“For G-d so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For G-d did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of G-d’s one and
only Son.”
Now I know this sounds like the only way is through belief in Christianity, but
that is NOT what it says!
OK, let’s start over. Is it OK to believe in or be a practicing atheist, Buddhist,
agnostic, or whatever religion you choose and still be considered Jewish? Yes, of
course it is and we all have family members who have been there, done that. Is it
OK to believe that all well meaning, sincere Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.
who worship from the depths of their hearts will all get to heaven? Yes, of course
it’s OK to believe that. So what’s the problem then? Believing something doesn’t
make it true any more than failing to believe truth makes it false. If you step out
onto an ice covered pond and the ice is too thin, no matter how much you believe,
you had better wear scuba gear. But if you step out onto very thick ice, it doesn’t
matter how little belief or faith you have, that ice will hold you. When
G-d told the Israelites to put the blood on the doorposts of their homes, this was
the ONLY way to save their first-born sons. Do you think they all believed it? Of
course they didn’t. You can be sure some of them thought Moses was nuts. Yet
all who did it were saved! Even the Egyptians who believed and obeyed G-d saw
their first-born sons live.
Truth is truth, regardless of how many people agree or disagree. After all, wouldn’t
you have to have been an idiot not to agree with everyone when they said the
sun revolves around the earth, and that the earth was flat. I mean come on, who
couldn’t see that! Yet everyone believed something that was false. Did that make
it true? No of course not.
Islam says that Yeshua did not die and come back from the dead. Christianity
says He did. One of these religions is wrong. Buddha, contrary to popular belief,
never claimed to be deity. In fact, he was agnostic about the question of whether
G-d even existed. Hindus believe in literally millions of gods. Jews and Christians
believe in one G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So who is right?
But you say we live in a world that demands tolerance. You are right. However,
tolerance must be clearly understood. Truth, by its very nature, is quite intolerant
28
of error. As an example, gravity is a truth whether you believe in it or not. You can
take all the opinion polls you want about gravity. In fact you could get everyone
on the planet to agree to suspend gravity for one hour, but I’ll bet you still
wouldn’t take just one step off a tall building. We all know deep inside there is
only one truth and everything else is false. Yes, we should be tolerant of other
points of view, but not to the point of being forced to agree that all points of view
are equally valid, especially those that are contradictory. That would be nonsense.
There is no issue of greater importance than where you will spend your eternity.
But you may still be asking, “How could a good G-d send someone to hell?” In a
sense, don’t we really send ourselves? Hasn’t G-d done everything necessary
for us to be forgiven, redeemed, cleansed and made fit to enter heaven? All we
need to do is accept His free gift of salvation! There is only one way and one
truth, G-d’s truth, as He has said so clearly.
Open your heart to truth and G-d Himself will tell you what is true. He has done it
through His Scriptures, He has done it through His verifiably fulfilled prophesies
about Yeshua, and He will speak into your life if you’ll just be honest and open
your heart.
Yeshua Himself said: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
By the way, my son accepted Yeshua as his Messiah 4 years later!
Is ours the last generation?
All through history, men have been saying the end is near. But never have we
been in a time when all of G-d’s last-days prophecies were being fulfilled in one
generation as our promised Messiah said they would be. Our Messiah foretold,
through the Jewish author, Matthew, in Matthew 24:32-34 that the generation
who sees the rebirth of the nation Israel (referred to in Scripture as when the
Olive tree - Israel blossoms) would be the last generation and would witness the
end of the world as we know it. A generation ranges between 40 and 100 years.
THIS generation will see G-d straighten out our mess!!! It’s time to wake up and
know that G-d is your only true salvation. Our G-d desires for you to prosper in an
honest system, His system!
Have you ever felt like your day-to-day pace is dizzying? Even trying to slow
down is difficult. There is so much information coming at us and at such a pace
29
as to make us crazy. The Internet, cell phones, rush here, rush there… Did you
know that more scientific knowledge has been amassed since 1960 than was generated
in the previous 5,000 years of recorded history? Did you know our Scriptures
speak about this? Daniel 12:1-4 ”At that time Michael, the archangel who
stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish
greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one
of your people whose name is written in the Book (of Life) will be rescued. Many
of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life
and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine as
bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars
forever. ...Many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
You are living in the generation that will see the promised return of Israel’s Messiah!
Will you be ready? Have you accepted G-d’s plan of salvation? His plan
will keep you safe from the destruction about to occur. Will your plan save you?
Once He returns, you won’t be given another chance!
OUR MESSIAH SAID...
“As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of G-d. For just as in
the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and being
given in marriage, until the very day when Noah went into the ark. People would
not believe what was going to happen until the flood actually arrived and swept
them all away. SO SHALL MY COMING BE.”
Again, I had trouble believing, so I dug deeper...
Science has developed a method of studying odds. It is called the science of
compound probabilities, a mathematical study of situations and the odds of
possible outcomes. One of the most amazing studies conducted using this method,
was recorded by Professor Peter Stoner in Science Speaks. The purpose of the
study was to determine the odds of one man in history fulfilling all the prophecies
recorded in the Scripture that point to the Jewish Messiah. There are over 300
Messianic prophecies in the Scriptures. Stoner chose just those that are clearly
defined and specific for his study. To begin, eight prophecies were chosen that
were totally beyond the human control of Yeshua:
1) His place of birth13 (Micah 5:2)
2) Time of birth14 (Daniel 9:25)
3) Manner of birth15 (Isaiah 7:14)
4) Betrayal16 (Zechariah 11:12, 13)
5) Manner of death17 (Psalm 22:16-18)
Notice the detail even down to the gambling for His robe.
6) Piercing of hands, feet, and side18 (Zechariah 12:10)
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7) People mocking19 (Psalm 22:7,8)
8) Burial20 (Isaiah 53:9)
The compound probability of just these eight prophecies being fulfilled is 1 in
100,000,000,000,000,000 (1 in 10 to the 17th power). To understand this number,
take that many silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They would
cover the entire state two feet deep. Next, mark a single silver dollar, fly over
Texas, and drop it anywhere. Then blindfold someone and let him parachute in
anywhere he wants. He should take his time; he only gets one pick and the coin
he picks must be the one you marked. What chance would he have of getting the
right one? Just the same chance that the prophets had of writing these eight prophecies
and having them all come true in any one man. Yeshua fulfilled them all! In
practical terms, would anyone fail to invest in a financial venture if the chance of
failure was one in 10 to the 17th power? This is how secure an investment it is to
believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. (Only the rewards are truly out of this world!)
Now let’s raise the odds using 48 prophecies. We find the chances of one man
fulfilling just 48 of these Messianic prophecies to be 1 in
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
(1 in 10 to the 157th power).
Yeshua fulfilled over 300 prophecies
It would take more faith to deceive your self that Yeshua is NOT the Messiah,
than to accept the FACT that He is!
Contemplate:
Refusing to choose is a form of choice.
Disbelief is a form of belief.
In choosing, we must not only use the intelligence
G-d gave us, but also our hearts.
“If there was one chance in a million that Yeshua is the actual
Messiah and is the only way to G-d, then you owe it to your good
sense just to look into it.”
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Yeshua Himself teaches us, by allowing us to choose
our own eternity...
“There was a certain rich man,” Yeshua said, “who was splendidly clothed and
lived each day in mirth and luxury. One day Eleazar, a diseased beggar, was
laid at his door. As he lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the
dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally the beggar died and was
carried by the angels to be with Abraham in the place of the righteous dead.
The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went into hell. There, in
torment, he saw Eleazar in the far distance with Abraham. ‘Father Abraham,’
he shouted, ‘have some pity! Send Eleazar over here if only to dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in these flames.’ But
Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything
you wanted, and Eleazar had nothing. So now he is here being comforted
and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us, and
anyone wanting to come to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one over
there can cross to us.’ Then the rich man said, ‘0 Father Abraham, then please
send him to my father’s home - for I have five brothers - to warn them about this
place of torment lest they come here when they die.’ But Abraham said, ‘The
Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them
any time they want to.’ The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t
bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will
turn from their sins.’ But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the
prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:19
Notice certain details:
On earth this man was rich and had all the toys. When he died, it was the beggar
that went to be with Abraham (the man G-d called His friend). Can we safely
assume this is heaven since the angels carried him there? But the rich man went
to the place of the dead and was in torment. His anguish and torment was from
the flames. Notice too that once dead, there was no changing places and no
going back to tell his unbelieving family. All we need in order to avoid hell is to
heed what is written in the Scriptures.
You may have heard people say “I would rather go to hell since that’s where all
my friends will be partying”. Well let me tell you if there is any party going on, it
is satan rejoicing at the number of people he deceived. Remember that this
sobering account about hell is told by Yeshua Himself.
There are those who accept that hell is a place of punishment, but believe that the
punishment is to be like in the womb - a sort of asleep. So is Adolph Hitler’s
punishment merely eternal sleep? Is his fate for being so incredibly evil such that
he doesn’t even know that he is being punished? I don’t think so!
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Scripture paints a different story. The rich man who found himself in hell was
conscious. He was able to feel pain, to thirst and to experience remorse. He
wasn’t asleep in the grave; he was in a place of “torment.”
The sad fact is that satan will lead many unsuspecting people directly into hell by
very clever deception. Which picture most accurately depicts what satan would
look like if he chooses to allow a person to see him?
None of the above. Satan is not stupid. He is a spirit being that usually speaks
into your mind but if he chooses to be seen, he will come in a form that pleases
you. Remember, satan is the father of all lies.
Do our Jewish Scriptures actually speak about satan?
Job 1:7 “Where have you come from?” the L-RD asked satan. And satan answered
the L-RD, “I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching
everything that’s going on.”
Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
angel of the L-RD, and satan standing at His right hand to accuse Him.
Zechariah 3:2 The L-RD said to satan “ The L-RD rebuke you, satan! Indeed, the
L-RD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!
Remember that accepting G-d’s FREE gift of salvation is our part in getting into
heaven. Tough huh?! So who decides if we go to heaven or hell?
We decide. The name Yeshua actually means salvation, so the work of salvation
is already done. All we have to do is choose Yeshua (salvation).
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G-d also gave us another FREE gift besides our salvation. It is called FREE will.
We get to use it for good or evil, right or wrong, G-d’s ways or satan’s ways, and
choosing between heaven or hell. Understand that if you don’t choose G-d’s
camp, you are drafted into satan’s camp by default.
Here’s a little story to help you remember this.
There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood Yeshua. On
the other side of the group stood satan. Separating them, running through the
group, was a fence.
The scene set, both Yeshua and satan began calling to the people in the group
and, one by one - each having made up his or her own mind – each went to either
Yeshua or satan. This kept going on. Soon enough, Yeshua had gathered around
Him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did satan.
But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence and sat on it.
Then Yeshua and His people left and disappeared. So too did satan and his
people. And the man on the fence sat alone. As this man sat, satan came back,
looking for something, which he appeared to have lost.
The man said, “Have you lost something?”
Satan looked straight at him and replied, “No, there you are . Come with me.” But,
said the man, “I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor Him.”
“That’s okay,” said satan. “I own the fence!”
Are you thinking; Can all that I’ve read, really be true?
The fact is; G-d loves us so much that He continues to delay His promised return
so that more people can be saved from satan’s grip. But He won’t delay forever...
Remember what G-d said in our Torah...
Deuteronomy 30:19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death,
between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice
you make . Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might
live!
These words that G-d wrote in His scriptures, were written for all men and women
throughout all time. They were written to you personally!
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Consider the wisdom of the brilliant philosopher Blaise Pascal:
“If G-d does not exist, then because of the positive teachings, you
lose nothing by believing in Him; but if G-d does exist and you
believe, you gain everything in eternal life. Of course, if G-d exists
and you reject Him, then everything is forfeited. There will be nothing
worse for the unbeliever than when he finds out that Yeshua is
the Messiah!”
Pay attention to the truth of Scripture here...
Yeshua said: But all who reject Me and My message will be judged at the day of
judgment by the truth I have spoken.
Rabbi Shaul’s 2nd letter to the people of Corinth in chapter 5 verse 10: For we
must all stand before Messiah to be judged. We will each receive whatever we
deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.
John’s revelation given to him by G-d in Revelation chapter 20 verses 12-15 I saw
the dead, both great and small, standing before G-d’s throne. And the books
were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according
to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. The sea
gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them. They
were all judged according to their deeds. ...And anyone whose name was not
found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The following Scriptures, expressed in letter form, were compiled by Jennifer
Berenbaum, when she was a 16-year-old student at Chalutzim Academy. Here’s
what G-d has to say to you directly from the Scriptures in His New Covenant...
My Dear Child,
I saved you by My special favor when you believed. And you cannot take credit
for this; it is a gift from Me. Salvation is not a reward for the good things you
have done, so you cannot boast about it.
For all have sinned, all fall short of My glorious standard. Yet now I, in My
gracious kindness, declare you not guilty. I have done this through Messiah,
who has freed you by taking away your sin.
If you say you have no sin, you are only fooling yourself and are refusing to
accept the truth. But if you confess your sin to Me, I am faithful and just to
forgive you and to cleanse you from every wrong.
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And I showed My great love for you by sending Messiah to die for you while you
were still a sinner. And since you have been made right in My sight by the blood
of Messiah, He will certainly save you from My judgment.
Messiah suffered when He died for your sin once for all time. He never sinned,
but He died for sinners that He might bring you safely home to Me. He suffered
physical death, but He was raised to life by the Spirit.
For My Son told you that He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come
to Me except through Him. I saved you, not because of the good things you have
done, but because of My mercy. I washed away your sin and gave you a new life
through the Holy Spirit.
For you no longer live, but Messiah lives in you. So live your life in this earthly
body by trusting My Son, who loved you and gave Himself for you.
For the wages of sin is death, but My free gift is eternal life through Messiah
Yeshua your Lord.
For there is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for
you to call on to save you.
For My Son assured you that unless you are born again, you can never see My
kingdom.
For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is L-rd and believe in your heart
that I raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your
heart that you are made right with Me, and it is by confessing with your mouth
that you are saved.
For I have reserved a priceless inheritance for you, my child. It is kept in heaven
for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. Now you
are no longer a slave, but My own child. And since you are My child, everything
I have belongs to you.
G-d doesn’t allow unforgiven sinners into heaven.
G-d can only accept into heaven those who have asked for forgiveness and have
accepted Yeshua as their atonement (covering) for those sins. But you may
believe you are doing OK and don’t need to ask G-d for His forgiveness. In fact
you might even believe you are a “good” person, especially when you compare
yourself to others. Our Scriptures give us G-d’s measuring stick. So let’s see how
you stand in G-d’s courtroom.
What you are about to read is GREAT because you WILL stand in that courtroom
soon enough and you don’t want to be on the outs with G-d then do you?
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G-d... I know that I have sinned by breaking your commandments. I recognize
that I have done wrong in Your sight, and today, right now, I want to get right
with You. I ask You to forgive my sins, I repent, and I commit my life into Your
hands.
I accept Your Son, Messiah Yeshua, into my heart and life. I believe He rose from
the dead as my permanent atonement for sin. Make me into the kind of person
that You want me to be. Strengthen me and guide me with Your righteous right
hand to live for You day by day. Thank you, G-d, for this wonderful gift of
salvation and eternal life with You!
The 10 Commandments - (NOT suggestions)
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. - Is G-d #1 in your life?
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Thou shalt not take the name of the L-rd G-d in vain. - Ever blasphemed?
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. - Ever worked on the sabbath?
Honor thy father and thy mother. - Have you ever been disobedient?
Thou shalt not murder.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. - Ever had sex outside of marriage?
Thou shalt not steal. - Ever stolen anything... ever?
Thou shalt not lie. - Ever told a lie?
Thou shalt not covet. - Ever wanted something that someone else had?
Remember that Yeshua said these words to you...“For G-d so loved the world that
He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but
have eternal life. G-d did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to
save it. “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust Him. But those who do not
trust Him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of G-d.
Pray this prayer now...
You can joke about this all you
want, but through this book,
G-d is talking to you right now.
If you are honest with yourself,
you have broken some of
these laws of G-d. So by G-d’s
standards will you be innocent
or guilty when He judges
you?
Does this concern you? If so...
How did you do?
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
I’m sure
glad my
name is
not ‘Thou’
If you’re saying “I can’t do this; I’m Jewish”
Here are some of the questions that I had before I could accept Yeshua haMashiach
(the Messiah) into my heart and soul as my atonement.
Why don’t the rabbis believe Yeshua is the Messiah?
First of all, many rabbis who have studied independently have become believers
in Yeshua. Have you ever heard of Rabbi Daniel Zion? Probably not, yet he was
the chief rabbi of Bulgaria during the Holocaust. He saved hundreds of Jewish
lives during that tragic period in our history. A hero, yes? In fact, he was so
highly respected by the Orthodox leaders in Jerusalem that in 1954, he was offered
the position of judge in Jerusalem’s Rabbinic court. So why do you never
hear about him? He was never accepted for the position because he was a believer
in Yeshua and would not renounce his beliefs. Also, see page 67 and read
why, after extensive research, Orthodox Rabbi Isadore Zwirn also chose to believe
in Yeshua.
In the yeshivas, when the students are studying to become rabbis, they are not
allowed to study the prophets without a rabbi there to explain what they are
reading. Furthermore, the studying is focused on other rabbis’ commentaries
(Talmud, Mishna, Targums, Midrash). The sad fact is they believe the commentaries
that previous rabbis wrote (by human wisdom and interpretation) are actually
more important than the written word of G-d. What chutzpah! Of course, they
hold the Torah in the highest esteem, but they don’t consider the prophecies as
important. How tragic! So what happened that has caused our people to be led so
astray by the rabbis who we depend on to teach us?
In the second century a man named Aquila produced a deliberately fraudulent
translation of the Scriptures.21 He did this under the direction of Rabbi Akiba, a
very anti-Messianic rabbi of the day. Remember the Scriptures called the
Septuagint that was translated by 70 top rabbis about 200 years before Yeshua?
Well, in Yeshua’s day, the Septuagint became disdained by the then current
rabbis because the Gentiles looked to them as their inspired Scriptures too, and
used them to argue the truth about Yeshua. So a new, non-threatening translation
was not only welcomed by the rabbis, but was endorsed by them as the proper
translation. The common folk just assumed that if the rabbis said this is the
“kosher” one, it must be OK. Sound familiar? When is the last time you checked
out what you’ve been told?
By retranslating words or eliminating them entirely, then publishing whole new
scriptures with words such as “virgin” changed to “young woman”, they were
eventually able to discredit the Messianic Jews.
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So who was this Aquila and why would he do this? Aquila was born a pagan, yet
wanted to be accepted by the Messianic Jews of the day. He was, except for one
problem: He couldn’t wean himself away from practicing astrology, which is
strictly forbidden in Scriptures. Since the Messianic Jews would not accept him
without his turning from astrology, he was humiliated and enrolled as a Jewish
proselyte and was circumcised. He devoted himself to learning Hebrew with the
objective of producing his new anti-Messianic “version” of our Holy Scriptures.
Now think about this... Whose word should YOU take regarding the true translation
of our Holy Scriptures: A pagan with a bad agenda, or 70 blood-born Jewish
rabbis who were considered the top scholars in their day?
Many of the rabbis, and common people as well, did put their trust in Yeshua.
The Brit Hadashah (New Covenant) has been proven over and over again to be
historically accurate. In what is called the Book of “Acts,” it is written in chapter
6, verse 7 that the number of (Jewish) believers in Jerusalem had multiplied
greatly, and that a great company of the priests (Levites) were also obedient to
faith in Yeshua. Again in chapter 21 verse 20, we are told that “...thousands
(Jews) have turned to faith in Yeshua, and are zealous for the Torah of
Moses.” As the years progressed, several occurrences brought about the breach
between the rabbis and those who put their trust in Yeshua. Each one of them is
very significant.
The Pharisees (separated ones) were the strictest,
most orthodox religious party of their day.
They developed a response to the secularism
of the ruling class known as the Sadducees,
and modern Orthodox Jews are their direct
spiritual descendants. Because they took a
literal approach to Scripture, the Pharisees
should have been closer to Yeshua than any
of the other major religious parties. However,
they were amongst His most powerful enemies.
Much Pharisaic practice began with
the words of Torah, but were interpreted and
reinterpreted over successive years by many
different sages and rabbis.
Yeshua went out of His way to confront the Pharisees, and He denounced the
traditions that clouded the original intent of G-d’s word in the Scriptures. He
responded to them (in Mark 7:7-13) by quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah
(29:13), “... These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only
of rules taught by men.” In the uncompromising mind-set of the Pharisees, there
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could be no place for Yeshua! He was rejected and ultimately turned over for trial
as a heretic and a blasphemer. After the destruction of Jerusalem, it was the
Pharisees that became dominant in Judaism.
While still teaching on Earth, Yeshua warned His followers that when they saw
Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they should know its destruction was near. He
told them to flee to the mountains (Luke 21:20-21 in the New Covenant). In the
year 70 A.D., Titus Vespasian and his Roman legions came against Jerusalem.
After a period of siege, the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, the Temple set
on fire and the city destroyed. In obedience to the command of Yeshua, many of
the Messianic believers abandoned the city and took to the hills as instructed, so
they did not participate in its defense. This also created an atmosphere of animosity
toward Yeshua’s followers.
Life returned to an uneasy normalcy under the Romans for more than 60 years,
until Shimon Bar Kociba gathered an army to rid the land of their hated occupants.
Rabbi Akiba, one of the most venerated sages in Jewish history, changed
Shimon’s name to Bar Kochba, “Son of the Star”, and declared him to be the
Messiah. All Judeans were urged to fight under him, but the Messianic believers
refused to hail him as their Messiah. As a result, the followers of Yeshua were
again considered enemies of the traditional community and scattered abroad.
Bar Kochba was horribly defeated, and the Romans forbade Jews to live in Jerusalem.
As the years progressed, a combination of Anti-Semitic laws and the institutionalization
of the Christian faith produced a gap seemingly too wide to bridge. As
a Jew, I am painfully aware that many persecutions of my people have been
carried out in the name of Christ. But a true Christian could never condone such
behavior. Contrary to most Jews’ understanding, true Christianity is not a religion;
it is a relationship with G-d. Everyone who is a Catholic, Baptist, Protestant,
Lutheran, etc. is not necessarily a Christian. Surprised?
More significant than any of the above is that G-d declared through the Hebrew
prophets that the Messiah would be rejected by the rabbis and other leaders of
Israel and by the people, and be cut off, that is, put to death. G-d also said that the
shepherds of Israel caused the sheep (the people) to go astray.
Now, since these prophecies were made hundreds of
years before Yeshua’s birth, why do we find their fulfillment
so hard to accept?
40
Are the rabbis deliberately hiding this?
The really sad part is that they have actually gone out of their way to hide the
truth from us. Have you ever gone to synagogue and noticed that on Shabbat,
the Haftorah readings conclude at Isaiah
52:12; the very verse which begins the “Suffering
Servant” passage… and then the
readings pick up immediately after the 53rd
chapter of Isaiah? (See Pages 22 and 23)
Hmmm.
Herbert Loewe, a Reader in Rabbinics at
Cambridge University and co-author with
Claude Montefiore of A Rabbinic Anthology
had this to say on the subject:
“Quotations from the famous 53rd chapter
of Isaiah are rare in Rabbinic literature.
Because of the Christological (that is
Messianic) interpretation given to the
chapter by Christians, it is omitted from
the series of prophetical lessons
(Haftorah) for the Deuteronomy of Sabbaths…
The omission is deliberate and
striking.”
Why have the rabbis chosen to skip Isaiah 53?
Do they think G-d made a mistake in our Scriptures?
Or perhaps they don’t think you can handle the truth.
Please understand,
it is not my desire or intention to demean the rabbis of yesteryear or today. But
you must know that the rabbis have decided that their human interpretations and
commentaries carry more weight than the actual written Word of G-d, and this is
WRONG!
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Are other Jews accepting Him today?
YES, and in record numbers. According to the 1990 Council of Jewish Federations’
own extensive study of the American Jewish community, more than one
MILLION Jewish Americans have some positive belief in Yeshua! The Saturday
Evening Post, Oct. 26, 1929 quoted Albert Einstein, “As a child I received instruction
in both the Bible and the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by
the luminous figure of the Nazarene... No one can read the Gospels without
feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No
myth is filled with such life.”
Famous Jews such as Joseph
Pulitzer, Louis Pasteur, Sarah
Bernhardt, and the composer Felix
Mendelssohn all openly acknowledged
Yeshua as their Messiah.
Funny how, you don’t find book after
book written about the “fact”
that Yeshua did not come back to
life. In fact, the resurrection of
Yeshua is absolutely the most researched
and verified fact ever investigated.
You can be sure that if it
could be refuted, it would be.
Now think... Stop now and think...
Can a mere man die and really come back to life?
Messianic Judaism (Jews that believe in Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah) is a
stream of Judaism, just as being conservative or reformed are streams of Judaism.
Messianic Jews worship G-d in our many synagogues in America, Israel, and
throughout the world. See the back of this book to find a Messianic Synagogue
near you.
Jews from all walks of life accept Yeshua as their Messiah.
Read, They Thought for Themselves (see Bibliography) and see why a holocaust
survivor, a multimillionaire, a guru, an Orthodox Jew, etc. have accepted Yeshua.
If this surprises you, could it be that you are just not informed?
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If the L-rd is one, then what’s this business of G-d
having a Son, and the Holy Spirit?
Now if you are having trouble understanding that we believe in one G-d with a
triune nature (Father, Son, and Ruach haKodesh), you are either Jewish and have
had the Shema drilled into your head all your life, or you are just trying to reason
how three can be one. Perhaps this will help.
Just as you have a spirit, soul, and body but are considered “one”, so G-d is
“one”. Another example of this concept would be water is still one element
whether it is in the form of liquid (water), steam (gas), or ice (solid).
Jews grow up learning the “Shema”. (Known as such because Shema is the first
Hebrew word in the verse). It is like (but is not) the national anthem of Judaism.
Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad
“Hear O Israel the L-rd our G-d the L-rd is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4
The last word “echad” means “united”, i.e. “one”. Let’s look elsewhere in our
Torah in Genesis where the sentence structure is identical to Deuteronomy 6:4
and the word “echad” is used. When G-d is referring to two becoming “united” or
“one” in marriage He uses the word “echad”.
Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be
joined to his wife; and they shall become one (echad) flesh.
In Hebrew this would read “basar echad” or literally “flesh united as one”. There
is another word for “one” in the Hebrew language, “yachid”. It denotes a singular
one or an absolute one. If G-d had wanted to say that He was a singular one,
He would have said “Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohenu Adonai Yachid”, but He
didn’t. Instead He told us that He is “echad”, a unity of one.
Additionally in the Torah, G-d continues to show that He is echad, a unity of one.
Genesis 1:26, G-d said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness”.
Genesis 3:22 the L-rd G-d said, “The man has now become like one of Us, knowing
good and evil.”
Genesis 11:7, “Come, let Us go down and confuse their language so that they
will not understand each other.”
So when we are talking about Yeshua (Jesus) and the Ruach haKodesh (Holy
Spirit), we are speaking about G-d but naming His “parts”, (oy vay) similar to if I
were talking about your soul or your spirit we would still be talking about you.
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And just one more point on this subject. The very first two verses of our Scriptures
in the Torah read like this:
Genesis 1:1,2 In the beginning G-d (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit (Ruach)
of G-d was hovering over its surface.
Take note of two things. First, the word in Hebrew for G-d in this verse is Elohim.
Those who know Hebrew know that this is a plural form of the word. Second, that
G-d’s Ruach (Spirit) was hovering over the waters. So what is G-d telling us in the
very first verse of our torah?
Why does the Jewish prophet Isaiah say in Isaiah 48:16-18, Come closer and
listen. I have always told you plainly what would happen so you would have no
trouble understanding.” And now the Sovereign L-RD and His Spirit have sent
me with this message: “The L-RD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says:
I am the L-RD your G-d, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the
paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to My commands! Then you
would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling
like waves.”
What does the great Jewish historian Josephus
say, about Yeshua?
Josephus, a native of Israel and a Pharisee, was taken prisoner by the Romans.
He won favor with the Romans and received Roman citizenship and devoted
himself to writing a history of the Jewish people and their war with Rome. In his
extensive writings we find this passage about Yeshua:
“Now there was about that time, Yeshua a wise man, if it be lawful to call Him a
man, for He was a doer of wonderful works - a teacher of such men as receive the
truth with pleasure. He drew over to Him both many of the Jews and of the
Gentiles. He was the Messiah and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal
men amongst us had condemned Him to the cross, those that loved Him at
the first, did not forsake Him, for He appeared to them alive again the third day
as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning Him; and the tribe of Christians so named after Him are not
extinct at this day.”
I always thought the Holy Spirit was a Catholic thing...
Isaiah, one of our greatest Jewish prophets wrote; “Look at My Servant, whom
I strengthen. He is My chosen One, and I am pleased with Him. I have put My
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Spirit upon Him. He will reveal justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1 Also in Psalm
51:11, “Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing Spirit to sustain
me.”
Understand that at the time Moses wrote our Torah, the Jews were surrounded
by peoples who worshiped many gods. This is why the Ten Commandments
began with, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
What Deuteronomy 6:4 (the Shema) is really saying is we shouldn’t worship any
other god. In fact, Ibn Ezra, the great Jewish sage, translated the Shema, “Hear 0
Israel the L-rd our G-d the L-rd alone.”
The ancient, greatly revered rabbinical Zohar (vol, ii. P.43, versa., 22) which was
written just after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 AD) says, “How three
can be one, can only be known through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.”
G-d’s Spirit is part of G-d, just as your soul is part
of you.
Albert Einstein wrote, “Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of
science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe -
a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our
most modest powers must feel humble.”
Did you know that the NASAAmes Research Center in California analyzed the
elements found in the human body and they confirmed that Genesis 2:7 is actually
accurate? “And the L-RD G-d formed a man’s body from the dust of the
ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living
person.” They not only found that we are made of the same elements as those of
dirt, but did you notice that G-d breathed life into us?
Is there any proof we have a spirit within us?
In an experiment using precision scales, performed by Dr. Duncan MacDougal
and reported in “American Medicine,” 22 patients who were just hours from death
were placed onto special beds where the entire bed was on a very highly sensitive
scale. During the few hours before death the patients lost about 1/60th of an
ounce per minute from evaporating perspiration and from the moisture in their
respiration. The weight of the air in their lungs was so small it was negligible.
At the moment of each person’s death, the sudden loss of about ¾ of an ounce
of weight caused the balance bar on the scale to “clunk” in patient after patient.
This same experiment was repeated with dogs and no sudden loss occurred.
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I have been good, certainly better than so many
others… Surely, G-d will recognize this and my
name will be inscribed in His Book of Life, right?
Our G-d, who is holy, tells us some very direct things about ourselves, and our
place in eternity. In Proverbs 14:12, He puts us in our place. “There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Then in Isaiah 64:6, “All
of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags,” and in Isaiah 59:1,2, “Surely the arm of the L-rd is not too short to
save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your G-d; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
G-d is telling YOU directly that you can’t obtain salvation for your soul by
working for it!
I’m sorry, but just the name Jesus Christ
goes totally against my grain! Is this troubling you, too? Even though I was not
a religious Jew, I still refused to accept Yeshua as the Messiah, because in doing
so, I thought I would be turning my back on my Judaism and my people. First of
all, contrary to popular belief, virtually the entire New Covenant was written by
our own Jewish brothers. Rabbi Shaul (anglicized to Paul), a member of the highly
esteemed Pharisees was totally against Yeshua and severely persecuted the
Messianic Jews. It took a miracle of G-d Himself to lift the blindness and soften
the hardened heart of Rabbi Shaul before he acknowledged that Yeshua was, in
fact, our promised Messiah. Can you imagine the peer pressure that he had to
endure by proclaiming that Yeshua is the Messiah? After all, he was trained
directly under the greatly revered Rabbi Gamaliel, and was his star student. Rabbi
Shaul then went on to write much of the New Covenant.
“Yeshua” means “salvation” or “savior.” The Hebrew name “Yeshua” was translated
into the Greek as “Iosous.” Later “Iosous” was translated into English as
“Jesus.” But we cannot stop with just the name of Yeshua. We also have to deal
in the same manner with his “second name,” “Christ.” Once again, we see the
same kind of loss in the Jewish roots and meaning of His name. Most people do
not realize that “Christ” is not a second name like yours or mine, but is actually a
title, like president, king or prime minister. This extraordinary title originated in
our own Scriptures as “Mashiach,” which in Hebrew means “Anointed One.”
This title “Mashiach” or “Anointed One” eventually followed the same path that
the Hebrew name Yeshua did, i.e., from the Hebrew into the Greek as “Christos,”
which means “Anointed One” in that language. This was later translated into
English as “Christ.” Therefore, “Jesus Christ” literally in Hebrew is “Yeshua
haMashiach” (Yeshua the Messiah).
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Today’s Messianic Jews are some of the most devout and joyous Jews I have
ever met. However, we don’t follow empty religious traditions. We believe that
only G-d’s Word, both the
Tanakh and the New Covenant,
are the divinely inspired words
that G-d wants us to follow. My
wife and I are part of the Messianic
Jewish Alliance, whose
member synagogues reach literally
around the globe, including
Israel. Our Shabbat services are
an experience to behold. Besides
the singing and dancing to the
L-rd that King David commanded
us to do, there is one great difference
- we experience what it
means to be in the very presence
of the L-rd.
To see other Jews just like you, who have an inner peace and joy that radiates
from their innermost beings, is beautiful.
Why would G-d take on the form of a man?
Imagine trying to teach a bunch of highly intelligent ants about behavior, manners,
your species, the future, etc. As the ant looks up at you in awe because of
your size and miraculous abilities, he will only be able to relate to you as his mind
allows him to comprehend you. But, if you became an ant...
So, did G-d ever take human form before the Messiah came? Yes! In our Torah, in
Genesis 18:1, three men appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah at the plains of
Mamre. They had come to inform Abraham and Sarah of two matters. First, the
son that G-d had promised them would be born the next year (which he was).
Second, the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed. One of the
three visitors who gave them this information is designated as the L-rd:
Genesis 18:1 - “Then the L-rd appeared to him by the Terebinth trees of Mamre,
as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.” It then continues with
verses18:5 and 8 “ ‘Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and
then go on your way - now that you have come to your servant.’ ‘Very well,’ they
answered, ‘do as you say.’” ...“He then brought some curds and milk and the
calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood
near them under a tree.”
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Here the L-rd actually ate with Abraham! Did you notice that the L-rd actually ate milk
and meat together? So how did the Orthodox come up with the rule that you can’t do
that? Exodus 23:19 “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” This was simply
G-d’s way of telling us not to follow the pagan sacrificial practices of the peoples
around us. We were to remain a distinct nation. So the rabbis kept adding commentary
upon commentary until now, we just can’t eat milk and meat together. Oy vay!
Also, in Genesis 32, we find Jacob wrestling with a man all night long until Jacob
is finally disabled. The next morning Jacob realizes that it was G-d Himself that he
was wrestling with. Genesis 32:30 - “And Jacob called the name of the place
Peniel: ‘For I have seen G-d face to face, and my life was preserved.’”
Are you thinking, “I thought these were angels”? The Scriptures are very direct
here. If you look at the following passages, you’ll see that when G-d wanted to
say angels, or Angel of the L-rd, He said just that! Take a look at Genesis 16:9-13,
Genesis 22:11-14, Judges 6:11-24.
Oh, and by the way, just who was it that Adam heard walking in the Garden of
Eden if it wasn’t G-d? (Genesis 3:8)
How do we know that Yeshua’s followers didn’t just
make up great stories about Him?
Here are just a few things Yeshua did in front of crowds of people. He healed
people that were blind since birth, gave hearing back to the deaf, cured lepers,
had people who were unable to walk get up and walk, brought people who had
died back to life, instantly stopped a raging storm by telling it to cease, walked on
water, turned water into fine wine, and so much more.
Furthermore, He said these things would happen: He told everyone the exact day
that He would be crucified, the exact day He would rise again from the dead, that
He would be betrayed in Jerusalem by one of His own disciples, and that it would
be the Jewish leaders who would condemn Him to death and turn Him over to the
Gentiles. He predicted the destruction of the massive Jewish temple and even
said that not a single stone would be left upon another. (The Romans destroyed
the temple and set it on fire. Since the gold on the walls melted between the rocks,
every rock was pried apart to scrape the gold off).
Is there anyone else in all of human history who did miracles like these? So here’s
my question: Since He was doing these miracles in front of huge crowds, many of
whom were His enemies, wouldn’t it have been easy to discredit Him? But instead,
here’s what was recorded in the New Covenant in the book of John 11:45 and 3:1...
“Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Miriam (Mary), and had
seen what Yeshua did, put their faith in Him. But some of them went to the
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Pharisees and told them what Yeshua had done. Then the chief priests and the
Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’
they asked ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let Him go
on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and
take away both our place and our nation.’ Then one of them, named Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not
realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the
whole nation perish.’”
“... Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the
Jewish ruling council, He came to Yeshua at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know
You are a teacher who has come from G-d. For no one could perform the miraculous
signs You are doing if G-d were not with Him.’”
The Jewish leaders themselves
openly acknowledged Yeshua’s miracles.
Does the Tanakh ever actually say the Messiah would
be crucified?
In Psalm 22, it says, “But I am a worm and not
a man, scorned by men and despised by the
people. All who see Me mock Me; they hurl
insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the
L-RD; let the L-RD rescue Him. Let Him deliver
Him, since He delights in Him.’...Dogs
have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has
encircled Me, they have pierced My hands
and My feet. I can count all My bones; people
stare and gloat over Me. They divide My garments
among them and cast lots for My clothing.”
Historical records clearly point out that at His crucifixion, they did in fact gamble
for Yeshua’s clothing, and the crowds taunted and jeered Him.
Zechariah 12:10 - “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One
they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child,
and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
What I find most interesting about these two prophecies is this: since G-d, as Spirit,
cannot be physically pierced, this prophecy must refer to G-d in the flesh! By the way,
these were written hundreds of years before crucifixion was even a thought.
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Is the shedding of blood the only way to atone for sins?
Since there is no longer a temple, the modern rabbis say that the blood atonement
is not necessary for the forgiveness of sin. They say that giving of tzedakah
(charity) and doing enough good deeds will earn you your ticket to heaven.
But here is what the Talmud, Zevahim 6a says regarding Leviticus 17:11: “Surely
atonement can be made only with the blood, as it says, ‘For it is the blood that
maketh atonement by reason of the life!’”
Now, some may argue that you can also receive atonement by offering flour unto
the L-rd. They get this idea from Leviticus 5:11 - “If, however, he cannot afford
two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth
of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it,
because it is a sin offering.
But you must never pluck a verse out of context in order to make a point. This
verse continues in Leviticus 5:12 and 13
He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial
portion and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the L-RD by fire.
It is a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of
these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven.”
As you can see, the use of flour wouldn’t have made atonement for sin; it was
only effectual when added on top of the blood sacrifices of the whole community.
The flour offering allowed the poor person to join in on the communal sacrifice.
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Let me again bring forth this fact:
G-d’s original plan for our atonement always required the blood of an innocent
lamb. Now His Son does this once and forever - for all of us! Here is more of the
conversation between one of the Pharisees and Yeshua as recorded in the New
Covenant in John 3:1-21...
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the
Jewish ruling council. He came to Yeshua at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know
you are a teacher who has come from G-d. For no one could perform the miraculous
signs You are doing if G-d were not with Him.’ In reply Yeshua declared, ‘I
tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of G-d unless he is born again.’
‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked ‘Surely he cannot
enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born.’ Yeshua answered, ‘I tell
you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of G-d unless he is born of water
and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You
should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell
where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the
Spirit.’ ‘How can this be?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘You are Israel’s teacher,’ said
Yeshua, ‘and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak
of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not
accept Our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not
believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever
gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven - the Son of Man (Son
of G-d). Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, (in our Torah in Numbers
21:8, 9) so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him
may have eternal life.”
“For G-d so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For G-d did not send His
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of G-d’s one and
only Son.”
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the
light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that
what he has done has been done through G-d.”
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How can we really KNOW that Yeshua died and
was actually resurrected?
First of all, let me repeat that this is the MOST documented fact in ALL of
history. Even His enemies admitted it.
Simon Greenleaf, the Royal professor of law who helped to bring the Harvard
Law School to preeminence and has been called the greatest authority on legal
evidences in the history of the world, challenged the resurrection and became a
believer. Frank Morison, a British lawyer who set out to write a book challenging
the resurrection, wound up writing Who Moved the Stone and became a staunch
supporter of His resurrection.
Here’s a short list of some of the evidences:
• His tomb was empty. Producing His body would have been the best
defense the unbelievers could have used to stop the spread of early
Messianic Judaism. Remember, all of His initial followers were Jewish.
• The whole legion of Roman guards would have been put to death if they
allowed anyone to break the government seal and take the body. No
payoff is worth dying for.
• After He died, He appeared to over 500 people, was physically touched,
and ate with His followers.
• Do you think 11 of the Jewish disciples gave-up their lives for a lie?
• He absolutely died. In addition to the nails in His hands and feet, the
Roman soldier thrust a spear in His side and blood AND water came
out. Water only separates out of the blood after a person dies. He was
then wrapped for three days, from head to toe, including the covering of
His mouth and nose in mummy like fashion.
• The people who wrote the New Testament did so within only a few
years of His death and resurrection. Therefore, the enemies of Yeshua
who were alive at that time would have written volumes refuting it, but
they didn’t because they were there and they knew it was true.
• Now, do some of your own research and you will also be totally convinced
that Yeshua not only died, but RAISED HIMSELF from the
dead. Who else has EVER done that?
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Why does G-d allow so much suffering?
People are afflicted with every disease, type of pain, suffering and death imaginable.
Everything from cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, emphysema, Parkinson’s
etc. Think of all the multitudes of people born with crippling diseases or mental
incompetance. These facts should convince you that something is radically wrong.
If G-d is so“all-loving”, as we are told, then either:
1) G-d screwed up big-time when He made everything (He’s incompetent);
2) G-d is a sicky, who gets His thrills from seeing kids die of leukemia;
3) Something is radically wrong between G-d and man.
These are our choices...Since the Scriptures tell us that numbers one and two are
clearly wrong, then something between man and G-d is radically wrong and the
Scriptures tells us exactly what it is. Man is continually committing atrocities.
Unfortunately, many people cite pain and suffering as an excuse to reject G-d,
when their very existence is the core reason why we should accept Him. What?
What are you saying... Are you nuts Don? What in the world are you talking
about? What I am saying is that Scripture gives us the explanation for these
incredibly unpleasant things.
The Scriptures tell us that G-d cursed the whole earth and everything in it because
of Adam’s sin. Sin and suffering cannot be separated. In the beginning, G-d
created a perfect man and woman, who lived in a perfect world without suffering. It
was literally heaven on earth. They were given one simple rule. Do not eat of the
fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when they decided to
disobey G-d, sin came into the world, bringing death and suffering with it.
Now let’s be honest here. Isn’t sin enticing and fun? Aren’t many of the pleasures
of this world really the sources of our present suffering? Let’s take fast
foods. They taste great; they are addicting; they are easy, and they are very
popular. But what has been the result of leaving God’s planned menu for us and
instead eating processed foods that are high in calories, fat, sugar, salt, etc.?
We are fat, weak, tired all the time, and suffering from the diseases of poor nutrition.
That is why societies that still eat their indigenous foods are healthy and
strong, but when those same people leave their “backwards” homeland and start
eating modern, processed food they get fat, weak, tired, and start to suffer from
all the “modern” plagues like - cancer, heart disease, arthritis, etc.
So you see the source of our pleasure is actually the cause of our suffering. But
instead of obeying G-d’s dietary laws and asking Him to change our appetite, we
prefer temporary pleasures, thus intensifying our pain and suffering.
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The issues of pain and suffering and horrible deaths are glaring evidence that
man has rejected G-d—all is not well here on earth. All these things should cause
the rational person to investigate the claims of the Scriptures, which are G-d’s
Words to us.
But you may still be thinking as C.S. Lewis put it so well:“If G-d were good, He
would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if G-d were almighty, He
would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore,
G-d lacks either goodness, or power, or both.” So again, why does G-d
allow so much seemingly random and horrific suffering to continue?
This issue requires examination from different viewpoints. First of all, suffering is
not part of G-d’s original plan for His creations. See Genesis 1-2. But after man
sinned the first time, all hell broke loose, literally! Which brings us to the question:
if G-d is almighty, why did He allow man to sin the first time? Again, we Jews
love to answer tough questions with our own questions. Well, here it is: How
would you feel if you wanted to sin and G-d wouldn’t let you? Would you be
ticked off the first time? Would you get really angry the fifth time? Would you be
arguing with G-d that it’s no big deal, and besides everyone else is doing it?
Do you think that eventually you would love or hate G-d? The true love of G-d
comes in His allowing us free will, even when our choice is wrong. Now, given
this choice, we have clearly chosen to break G-d’s laws. Yet these laws were
never meant to repress us, but to keep us from harm. The result of our disobedience
has been suffering. Again as C.S. Lewis put it:
“It would, no doubt, have been possible for G-d to remove by miracle the results
of the first sin ever committed by a human being, but this would not have been
much good unless He was prepared to remove the results of the second sin, and
of the third, and so on and so on forever. If the miracles ceased, then sooner or
later we might have reached our present lamentable situation; if they did not,
then a world, thus continually under propped and corrected by Divine interference,
would have been a world in which nothing important ever depended on
human choice, and in which choice itself would soon cease from the certainty
that one of the apparent alternatives before you would lead to no results and
was therefore not really an alternative.”
I don’t know about you, but I remember my earliest time of really thinking about
G-d and what life was all about. It was when my mother died. She was too young
(52) and I still needed her. I was so angry with G-d. After all, my mom was active
in helping those in the community. She was in the prime of her life and was
stricken by a long and painful bout with cancer. However, through it all, this
event got me to consider life’s meaning for the first time. Through her pain and
suffering, it forced me, a diehard agnostic, to think about G-d.
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Let’s be honest; if G-d always made everything great, wouldn’t we want more?
Wouldn’t we complain about others having it better? G-d must allow us, we who
do wrong, to suffer the consequences of our behavior. Look at those who were
never disciplined, never spanked, and never grounded. They are so self-centered
and unruly that they’re almost impossible to deal with. Were you happy when
your parents punished you? I wasn’t either, but in the end, it was for my betterment.
Yeshua used the example of a gardener pruning his vines to make them
more fruitful. By removing the weak branches, the vine grows stronger.
An attorney and circuit judge, Christopher Compston, wrote this in his book
Recovering From Divorce:
“Over twenty-three years ago, my first son Harry died after only thirty-six hours.
At the time, his death seemed monstrously unfair and, in one sense, it undoubtedly
was. Now, with hindsight, I am quite certain his death was one of the best
things that ever happened to me in that it began the process of breaking me
down so that, with G-d’s grace, I could begin to understand how other people
felt and how other people suffered.”
G-d often uses suffering to bring about His good and perfect will and purposes.
If you know the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-50, you know that Joseph was
persecuted by his brothers, thrown into a well, sold into slavery, unjustly thrown
into jail, etc. However, at the age of 30, he was elevated to the position of ruler
over all of Egypt. This enabled him to save not only the lives of his family, but
also the lives of all of G-d’s people.
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Perhaps you remember reading what Joseph said to his brothers when he disclosed
to them who he was in Genesis 50:20 - “You intended to harm me, but
G-d intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives.” Do you think that while Joseph was being beaten in prison he
understood why he was suffering? Since he had done nothing to deserve his
punishment, you can be sure he didn’t have a clue. But he did have a personal
relationship with G-d, and he trusted not only that G-d was in control, but that
there must also be a good reason for his suffering.
Because Pharaoh saw evidence of G-d working in Joseph’s life, even in the midst
of suffering, he ultimately put him in charge of all of Egypt. Can’t you just see a
Pharaoh choosing a Jewish slave from a jail cell to run his whole country? G-d is
in control, and if we choose to go with His perfect program, our lives ultimately
work out for the best. As Rabbi Shaul said in his letter to the Romans (8:28) “And
we know that in all things G-d works for the good of those who love Him, who
have been called according to His purpose.”
But you may ask, why do I have to suffer, when others who behave much worse
than I do seem to have it all? Our lives are much like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece
representing a day. We can only see the pieces in which we have already lived,
but G-d sees the whole puzzle. After all, He has the box top with the picture on it.
Yet, even though we can’t see the big picture, we keep trying to arrange the
pieces of the puzzle, even forcing them to fit when we, with our limited vision,
don’t like the way things are going. When you choose to allow G-d to help you,
your life will become beautifully ordered. Speaking from experience, I’ve done it
my way, and I’ve let G-d do it His way. G-d’s way is infinitely better!
If we are willing to suffer now to enable His perfect will to be worked out, then
just look at a few of the promises He makes to us: All of creation will ultimately
be restored; Yeshua will return to earth to establish a new heaven and a new
earth; there will be no more crying, pain, or suffering; we will no longer be sick;
and we will get to spend all of eternity bathing in the presence of our loving G-d.
We live in a materialistic world that has virtually lost the eternal perspective. We,
you and I, need to look long term and put our suffering into its proper context of
eternity.
G-d never asks us to understand Him, but just to trust Him. Even though it will
hurt, don’t we ask our children to trust us when we take them to the doctor for a
shot? Isn’t it because we love them, and see the bigger picture, and know that this
will protect their health? But from the child’s point of view, it certainly doesn’t
feel very loving when the needle goes in, does it?
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But how about the six million Jews?
How in the world can I say that we have a loving G-d when He allowed 12 million
(6 million Jewish) innocent men, women, and children to die in the Holocaust?
Although we all know in our heads that it was Hitler’s craziness that killed so
many Jews and others, let’s face it, most of our hearts cry out, WHY, G-D?!?!
Why didn’t You stop it? Don’t You know what it is like to suffer? The best way I
know to respond to this valid question is by allowing you to read a little anonymously
written playlet, “The Long Silence,” that poignantly addresses this issue:
“At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before
G-d’s throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some
groups near the front talked heatedly - not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.
‘Can G-d judge us? How can He know about suffering?’ snapped a
young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a
Nazi concentration camp. ‘We endured terror... beatings... torture... death!’
“In another group, a young man lowered his collar, ‘What about this?’ he demanded,
showing an ugly rope burn. “Lynched, for no crime other than being
black!” In another crowd, a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes. “Why should
I suffer?” she murmured. “It wasn’t my fault.” Far out across the plain there
were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint for the evil and suffering
He permitted in His world. How lucky G-d was to live in heaven where everything
was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or
hatred. What did G-d know of all that man was forced to endure in this world?
For G-d leads a pretty sheltered life, they said.
“So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered
the most. A Jew, a young black man, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed
arthritic, a crack baby. In the center of the plain they consulted with
each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.
Before G-d could be qualified to be their judge, He must endure what they
endured. Their decision was that G-d should be sentenced to live on earth - as
a man!
“Let Him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of His birth be doubted. Give Him a
work so difficult that even His family will think Him out of His mind when He
tries to do it. Let Him be betrayed by His closest friends. Let Him face false
charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let
Him be tortured. At the last, let Him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then
let Him die. Let Him die so that there can be no doubt that He died. Let there be
a great host of witnesses to verify it. As each leader announced his portion of the
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sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled.
And when the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a
long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. For suddenly all
knew that G-d had already served His sentence.”
So know this: when you suffer, G-d suffers with you! But also know that it is how
you respond to the time of suffering that is so important. We should ask ourselves
if our suffering is a result of our own sin and the consequences that accompany
it. If it is, then we should ask G-d to forgive us and cleanse us, and we should turn
away (repent) from continuing in that sin.
We should also ask G-d what He is trying to teach us through it. We should ask
G-d what He wants us to do. Now, I know some of you have never spoken to
G-d other than to use His name while cursing. But He will forgive you if you ask
Him. He is compassionate, merciful, and overflowing with grace.
Likewise, when we see others suffering, we are called to be compassionate. Usually,
the best thing we can do is just put our arm around the hurting person. As
Rabbi Shaul said in the New Covenant in Romans 12:5, “So in Messiah, we who
are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Finally, has G-d given us the model of how to suffer and a hope worth holding
onto? Look at the very end of Yeshua’s life. By G-d allowing us our human
freedom, we see Him paying the ultimate price. G-d allowed His only Son to die
because we abused the freedom He grants us. We see that those who intended the
nailing of Yeshua to the cross for evil were in actuality living out G-d’s perfect
plan for redeeming humanity. He allowed us to kill His own perfect Son to atone
for, or cover, our sins. If you will simply accept Yeshua, His suffering makes you
clean, now and forever.
Let me tell you my own story...
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In 1984, when I was 30 years old, I was challenged by a Christian couple to read
my Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament of the Bible). They said that Jesus was the
Messiah first for Jewish people and then for the Gentiles. Well we all know that
we Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah! Hrmph!!!
To make a long story short, after investigating in my own Hebrew Scriptures I
came to the conclusion that they were right. About two years later, after unsuccessfully
trying to share my new found faith with my Jewish friends and family,
G-d had me write this book. It was to answer the questions that I have been
addressing here.
Well as strange as what I am about to tell you may seem, it is all true. This little
book has satan VERY upset! Why? Because after reading it, many Jews and
Gentiles have decided that Yeshua is in fact who He said He is - the Messiah. So
what happened that was strange? Sit down. This part gets a little weird, but is true.
We printed 1,000 books at first. So far… so good. Fortunately, satan didn’t know
what the future would hold so this book was not a threat to him. Well, when we
went to edit the second printing of 3,000 books we were about to have a severe
thunder storm. So I did what I always do. I unplugged the computer and printer,
AND pulled the internet connection cable out too. In other words, the computer
was 100% free-standing and not connected to anything.
The next morning when I entered the office it smelled really bad. After plugging
everything back in, when I went to turn on the computer it did nothing, absolutely
nothing. I wound up taking it to a repair shop. They told me that it was hit
by a direct lightening strike. They said this because the entire insides were melted
and charred black. I knew better. It was sitting in a windowless basement surrounded
by poured concrete walls. Satan had struck for the first time.
A few years later, as I was finishing the editing of another updated printing the
attack came upon me personally. I finished the updating on a Friday afternoon.
That evening, we went to Shabbat services. I began to feel ill. The next day, I had
a stomach ache. It wasn’t too bad, but I wasn’t used to this, as I have always had
a strong stomach. So I took some Pepto Bismol and forgot about it. By Sunday, it
got worse and I figured it must be gas, so I took tablets to reduce gas. They didn’t
work. By Sunday night, I was in severe pain, and at 3:00 AM, we went to the
emergency room. At first they thought perhaps it was my appendix. But, since I
had pain all around my body, they ruled that out. It took until 5:00 PM on Monday
for them to decide that perhaps I had appendicitis, and they scheduled surgery.
My wife was told I would be out in about an hour as the appendix had not burst.
Several hours later, the surgeon came out and told her that, in fact, my appendix
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had burst, probably back on Friday, and that he didn’t think I would survive the
amount of poison that was released into my body. These doctors told my wife
they had done all they could, and it was in G-d’s hands now. The next thing I
remember, it was five days later, and I stayed in the hospital for a total of 13 days.
I was very weak, pumped full of strong antibiotics, and it took a couple of months
to recover. This was the first time satan tried to kill me.
Not long after, we needed to print another 7,000 books. Again, right at the time of
final editing, I had a massive heart attack and was told I wasn’t going to survive it.
They called it a widow maker, and they told my wife and me to say goodbye to one
another. Well, a short helicopter ride later and three stents placed into my heart, I
pulled through by G-d’s grace. Understand that thousands of people were praying
for me, as by now G-d had used this book to make quite an impact and was well
known worldwide. This was the second time that satan tried to kill me.
But out of this terrible attack came our desire to help people recover and lower
their blood pressure and cholesterol without taking drugs or pills, and without
the side effects of chemicals. We now have a business where we offer an allnatural
drink that does just that, and G-d has provided thousands of happy
customers.
When I turned 50, my wife and I went on a cruise to celebrate. Just before we left
we needed to get the book to the printer again. Was I thinking? “Oh no!” Yes, I
was, so I rushed the book off to the printer. Get it out of here quick, I thought! So
what happens? The disc I sent to the printer didn’t work. So the printer went to
use the disc he had saved to print it with the last time. But their protected copy
that they stored in a vault was corrupted and couldn’t be read either. They
couldn’t believe it as this had NEVER happened to them before.
About this same time I started to feel very tired and my mind was fuzzy. I figured
I was just tired and was looking forward to the time off. We got the book fixed,
sent it to the printer and off we went. By the second day of the cruise, I was very
ill with a high fever. By the 5th day, I was in a wheel chair, highly anemic, and was
told I had to leave the ship and go to a hospital immediately. They found that I
had Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, and they gave me about 2 weeks to live. My
bone marrow was over 90% cancerous. When did I get really sick? On the day
that 8,000 books arrived at our home.
They told me at Moffit Cancer Hospital that if I made it, I would be there for 6-8 weeks
After the first round of chemo was done, they were to do a bone marrow biopsy to
see how much they got and to decide when to do the next round. They told me their
goal was to reduce the amount of cancer cells to 70%-75% or they would not continue
the treatment, but would send me home to die.
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As I was lying on the table, waiting for everyone to come in and do the biopsy, I
prayed a simple prayer to G-d. I said “G-d, you know I’m going to die if you don’t
give me a miracle. But I’m not looking for a regular miracle, but one that this hospital
will talk about for years. And G-d please let me know tomorrow as Jackie (my wife)
is suffering so.” The instant I stopped speaking, it felt like I was being electrocuted...
starting across my forehead and working horizontally down to my toes. It
was so intense my whole body arched off the table, yet I was connected to nothing
and was not on any drugs! The next day, the doctor who did the biopsy comes
running into the room, out of breath. She says that they can’t find ANY cancer! She
couldn’t believe it because EVERYBODY has cancer cells. They sent me home after
being there just 3 ½ weeks, without getting any infections, and in full remission.
Now after this happened, the cancer hospital was insisting on my doing 4 more
much stronger chemos, as this type of Leukemia ALWAYS comes right back. So
they let my body recover for a month and a half and then did another bone
marrow biopsy to make sure I was still in remission before they could start the
second chemo (I still had no cancer cells). I didn’t know what to do. Everything
I read about my condition, and every doctor I spoke to said that I was in for the
fight of my life, and that I could expect the cancer to come back even stronger,
and probably untreatable, if I didn’t follow through with the 4 additional chemos.
The statistics of survival were awful even if I did the chemo, but my chances
without it were virtually non-existent.
On top of this, our son was getting married in just four months, and I desperately
wanted to be there. So, even though G-d touched me on that table, and even
though so many people think I am so strong in my faith, I was too weak to just let
G-d be G-d and do nothing, so I had the next chemo.
To put it mildly, it was awful. It was 30 times stronger that the previous. I had
periods of blindness and at times, I couldn’t even put a sentence together intelligently.
It was a mistake! In the meantime I have a friend that was a head of
another major hospital that had been following my case. Based on the blood tests
and the fact that I was now recovering so strongly, he felt that the hospital may
have misdiagnosed my condition as nobody recovers from this type of Leukemia.
He recommended that I have an attorney get the records from the day I was admitted
to the hospital all the way through my treatment. We did, and the doctor for the
attorney confirmed that I did in fact have ACUTE Myelogenous Leukemia.
As of 18 months later, and without the 3 additional chemos, the latest bone marrow
biopsy again showed there are NO cancer cells anywhere! What does this have to
do with anything you should even care about? It should give you HOPE! There is
a G-d in heaven that loves you, cares about you personally, and knows what is best
not only for you, but for those whose lives you touch. He truly desires to have a
personal relationship with you. He MADE you and He is just waiting for you to
come to Him. So once again, G-d turned that which was intended for evil into good.
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“Why should I let you into heaven?”
What will you say?
Hint: Telling Him about all the good things you’ve done in your life won’t gain
you entrance. Yes, your good deeds will determine your status, but only if you
get in.
BEFORE, you read on…
What will you say?
(Don’t turn the page until you’ve answered)
STOP
Listen, when you die, maybe today, maybe tomorrow or maybe in 50 years, you
will have to face G-d! He will then ask you this one very important question...
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Our G-d is a righteous G-d. He is your creator and He will also be your final judge.
So when you come to Him at those “pearly gates” you will be measured by His
one simple standard... Have you accepted Yeshua? If not, then let’s try this
again to see if you will measure up and get your “ticket” on your terms, or be sent
away to the place the Scriptures call the “place of everlasting shame”... AKA hell
Have you ever told a lie for any reason (including fibs and “white” lies)?
Have you ever stolen anything... irregardless of its value... even years ago?
Have you ever coveted what someone else has?
Have you ever used the L-rd’s name in vain (used G-d’s name when cursing)?
Have you ever had sex outside of marriage?
So... Have you broken some of these laws of G-d. Then by G-d’s standards will
you be innocent or guilty when He judges you? Again, does this concern you?
Now let me ask you a question. Are you already justifying in your mind that you
are better than most people, or that you are only human, or that you only stole a
little thing and that’s when you were little, or everyone else is like me so I guess
nobody’s going to be admitted to heaven???
Maybe you gave back what you stole and you said you were sorry and even
asked G-d to forgive you. Or you told that “white” lie because you didn’t want to
hurt the persons feelings or to “help them out.”
So, when you get to stand before G-d, like every single person in the world will do
after they die, will you be hoping that He will be a good judge and listen to your
reasons and that He’ll let you off? Let’s go into a courtroom and try that one.
“Well, you see judge I was really hungry, and I needed to feed my kids. I am really
sorry, and you know that I DID pay the guy back...And besides that was a long
time ago and I don’t steal anymore...”
Now, if the judge is a “good” judge, will he let you go? Or will he still be required
to find you guilty according to the law? Will it matter that you said you are sorry,
or will the law still require you to pay the fine? If the judge is lenient he may tell
you that, if you can come up with $500,000 today he will let you go, otherwise you
must go to jail.
Just at that moment, as the shackles are being put on you, an unknown person
comes running into the courtroom and pays your fine. Would you be overjoyed,
or would you stop him? Or would you say “I don’t know you or believe in you
and I would rather go to prison and never see my family again than accept your
free gift?” Of course not. You would be eternally grateful.This is exactly what
Yeshua did for you! He saves you from eternity in a very bad place.
In our Scriptures in Daniel 12;1,2 it says, “But at that time every one of your
people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. Many of those whose
bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to
shame and everlasting contempt.” Well, the judge of the universe, the G-d who
created you and loves you, is the righteous judge who must condemn you... AND
He is the benevolent, loving friend who offers to pay your fine. BUT...
In order for Him to pay the fine for all of the commandments you broke, you must
turn to Him BEFORE you die (before you get to court) and say from your heart:
“L-rd, I have broken Your commandments, and I am sorry. Please
accept my apology. I will try my best to stop sinning, and I ask You to
forgive me and wipe the slate clean. I accept the fact that You already
sent Yeshua the Messiah into the courtroom for those whose
names are written in Your Book of Life and their fines are paid in
full. I thank You that You have allowed me a way to avoid going to
prison (hell), and are assuring me that by turning to You and accepting
Your Son Yeshua as my Messiah (saviour), my fine is paid and
my name is now in the Book of Life. Thank You!”
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Did you say that prayer? If not ask yourself this
question…
Have you come to the point in your spiritual life that you know for
sure, that if you died today, you would go to heaven?
If not, what are you going to do about it?
Turn your back on G-d and go to hell?
Turn to Him and receive His eternal blessings?
If you ask G-d
into your life it will have a profound effect on the rest of your life. Real inner peace
and joy will be yours. I didn’t say that everything would be a bed of roses
because it won’t always be. But you will have the G-d of the universe who
personally created you, to help you and to bring purpose into your life
So reach out to G-d right now. Invite Him into your life. Don’t think you have to
get things straightened out first. Without Him, you never will! That’s why He
sent the Messiah. Right now, this very moment is a crucial moment in your life.
G-d is watching and lovingly waiting. Don’t allow excuses, indifference, or lies to
rob you of the greatest love you’ll ever know.
Say this prayer now and get right with G-d, before it is too late!
G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
I know that I have sinned. I recognize that I have done wrong in
Your sight, and today, right now, I want to get right with You. I ask
You to forgive my sins, I repent, and I commit my life into Your hands.
I accept Your Son, Messiah Yeshua, into my heart and life. I believe
He rose from the dead as my permanent atonement for sin. Help
make me into the kind of person that You want me to be. Strengthen
me, guide me, and help me with Your righteous right hand to live for
You day by day.
Thank you, G-d, for this wonderful gift of salvation that You promised
and that I have now received in my Messiah.
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OY - VAY! Peer pressure…
This simple, yet complicated issue was clouded for my wife and me by the fear of
what everyone else would say and think. This decision is between you and
G-d! Don’t expect any lightning bolts or thunder. But, G-d’s new-found peace will
enter into your spirit. Even when satan attacks you. As you begin to have a
stronger relationship with G-d, an awesome, yet gentle voice will dwell within
you. It is G-d’s Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) joining with you to guide you and
help you every minute of every day. And what’s great is that when you really
listen to what G-d’s Spirit is telling you, you will NEVER make a mistake!
Well, speaking as a man, as a self-starter, as a go-getter used to making things
happen, it really is much nicer sitting in the back seat, relaxed, knowing that
someone who has much more power than I is in control of all things. G-d always
has my best interests in mind, so the ultimate outcome is ALWAYS better than I
could have imagined! All you have to do is listen and obey.
What can you do now?
Begin by reading G-d’s Word, the Scriptures. I suggest you get a modern translation.
I remember when I first began to read from the New Covenant, I thought it
was going to be Christian. I was AMAZED! It is written almost entirely by Jews
(mostly by a rabbi and a doctor)! You’re in for a great and exciting adventure!
Welcome to the growing family of believers who have done the most important
thing anyone can ever do... We’ve accepted our JEWISH MESSIAH!
Do you know what the word Bible stands for?
Believer’s InstructionsBeforeLeaving Earth
Contemplate:
Why is it that we read self-help books, novels, philosophy books, and books
written by famous men?
Yet, we find it so hard to read G-d’s own instruction book to us, His creations?
Today, it is written in plain, easy-to-read and
easy-to-understand, modern-day English.
Read it and be AMAZED!
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An Orthodox Rabbi Finds the Messiah
By Rabbi Isidor Zwirn with Bob Owen (By permission of Messianic Vision)
If I were to give any credit (or blame) to anyone concerning one of the most
momentous moments of my life, it would have to go to the Rabbi who was teaching
the class I was attending. He told our class never to study the Zionist prophecies
that dealt with the coming of the Messiah, unless another Rabbi was present
to interpret for us what we were reading. That did it. If anyone tells me not to
read a book without an interpreter to give me the truth about what I am reading,
I am just rebel enough to be sure and do it. I was trained to read and think for
myself. I was trained, as is any Jew, to Doresh or research the Torah. I came from
a long line of Orthodox Jews. My father wanted me to become a Rabbi, as did all
Jewish fathers. For the past 200 years or so, any orthodox Jew who wanted his
son to become a rabbi would send his son to a Yeshivah, or “House of research.”
Before a boy could be accepted as a Yeshivah student at the age of six, he must
already know how to pray in Hebrew - and understand what he is saying. For me
to achieve this somewhat advanced level of learning by age six, my father - as
well as all other fathers who desired to train their sons for the rabbinate at the
Yeshivah of Rabbi Jacob Joseph in New York City - started teaching me to pray
from the orthodox prayer books from the time I was only three or four years old.
From the very first day of our instruction in the Yeshivah, our textbook was the
Torah, and of course, the Torah was in Hebrew. Each student would be called
upon in turn, when he must read the next sentence and give his interpretation of
the verse, in other words, telling what it meant.
The teaching rabbi would then give other rabbis’ interpretation of that verse, and
encourage all the students to participate in the dialogue that ensued. Often this
dialogue would center on the meaning of a single word in the sentence. Such a
discussion gave rise to the standing joke that whenever two Jews meet for conversation,
you can expect three or four opinions.
Basically, that is how we studied, both in Yeshivah and in our homes. This method
taught us love and respect for the honest opinions of others, even though their
opinions might differ or conflict with our own. This same respect for the opinions
of others was expressed when we began to research the Talmud and other
religious books that we studied.
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As a young Jewish boy and young man, the same Bet Hamidrash (house of
research), a humanistic and rationalistic approach to learning, continued in the
Torah, Spinozah and Kabbalah classes I took under Harry Waton. Although not
an ordained Rabbi, Harry Waton was acclaimed by many as being one of the
greatest teachers of Torah in the 20th century.
Some years after my marriage - because of the asthma I had contracted in New
York City - my wife, two children and I moved to California, where I became
associated with an Orthodox synagogue and was appointed Zionist Rabbi, with
the primary responsibilities of researching Zionist Judaism and preparing students
for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah. It was this very love of mine to research the
Torah for these young people that led me to begin to ask questions... the answers
to which were to drastically and irrevocably alter the course of my life.
In my double duty as Zionist Rabbi and teacher, I began delving into the more
than 150 prophecies relating to Zionism. To my astonishment, I realized that
more than 90 percent of these Zionist prophecies had to do with either the Messiah
or the Messianic age and the road to peace. My research soon brought me
face to face with questions that I could not avoid: “Did Yeshua actually fulfill all
the prophecies of His coming, as the Christians claim?” Why had I never heard
those scriptures discussed? I had no other choice but to seek out the answers,
which I prepared to do.
I heard the Goyim, the Gentiles, accepted the Messiahship of Yeshua by faith,
which I could not understand. I was a Jew. My training demanded that I research
the scriptures as I had been taught and had always done. The claims that Yeshua
was the promised Messiah would have to be thoroughly investigated and researched,
which I would do. I would see for myself if the Yeshua of the Gentile’s
New Testament was actually the Messiah of the Torah.
I had never read the “Gentile” New Testament, nor had any Christian ever attempted
to try to bring me to his church or his belief. I was not sick or terminally
ill or faced with some catastrophic tragedy. I was well and in my right mind. So
in the tradition of the Yeshivah student, I set about to check every single prophesy
having to do with the coming of the Messiah. I would do this with integrity,
taking them one at a time. I knew that this was the only way I could come to know
Adonai, also called “My Son” (Psalm 2:7), “The Son of G-d” (Daniel 3:25), and
“The Son of Man” (Daniel 7:13). As I started to research, I began to realize that
this divine person must be the same “child” of which Isaiah spoke: ”for a child
shall be born, a son has been given…” and of which the prophets vision also
foresaw that “The government shall be on His shoulder: and His name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor to the Strong G-d, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
(or ruler) of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6,7 literal translation from the Hebrew).
68
I don’t remember exactly how long my investigation took, because I was still
involved with my synagogue work. Though I was eager to find the answer, I was
not in a hurry. All told, I suppose my intensive research took close to six months,
during which I meticulously checked and rechecked each prophecy, carefully
tabulating my results. It was while reading the first few chapters of Isaiah that I
really began to see G-d’s hand at work in bringing all of His people together. The
long awaited Jewish Messiah would have a part in this. The momentum increased
as I moved into chapters 7 through 10 of Isaiah, which I read with growing
excitement.
Isaiah 11 (remember, I was doing my research in Hebrew) opened with what was
to me a very startling statement, beginning with the very first verse - and there
shall come forth a shoot (a rod) of Jesse (King David’s father), and a branch
(Netzer, meaning preserver, one who watched over, one who guards) would blossom
and bear fruit - continuing throughout the chapter. Having already read the
first chapters of Isaiah, which gave me the necessary background, my inner tension
mounted as I quickly realized that this Netzer, or branch, that Isaiah was
describing in the first verse could not possibly be any other person than the promised
Messiah!
Like a detective about to solve a case, I moved into the next verse. I read, “And
the Spirit of the L-rd shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
L-rd... and it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth
for an ensign of the peoples, unto Him shall the nations (Gentiles) seek; and His
resting place shall be glorious (or exalted)” (verses 2:10). 1 realized that the
Messiah would stand as a “signal or ensign” to His followers. I knew that the
Messiah had been sought by the Gentiles, and that they had honored or “made
glorious” His resting place, the cross. I was astounded that I had never seen this
so clearly before. I asked myself, “Did this shoot of Jesse actually fulfill the
prophecy of Isaiah? Did that barren stump become a fruitful vine by the spring,
with it’s branches running over the wall?” I didn’t as yet know the answers to
these questions.
The second prophecy that caused me to stop and think was the thirty-first chapter
of Jeremiah. In it G-d speaks about His “people that were left of the sword.”
Biblical scholars agree that this prophecy refers to the promised restoration of
the Northern Kingdom and the ten (lost) tribes and/or survivors of the “Holocaust”
that befell the northern tribes under Ephraim.
As I read these and the following words, I realized that they could be speaking of
only one people: “Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with
affection have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shall be built, 0
69
virgin of Israel... again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of
Samaria.”
The next few verses gripped me: “For there shall be a day, that the Notzrim (the
watchmen, protectors, preservers of Israel) shall proclaim from the hills of
Ephraim: ‘Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, unto Yehovah our G-d.’” And they
shall come, a great multitude, “singing with gladness for Jacob.” And shouting,
“0 L-rd, save thy people the remnant of Israel.” The prophet foretold that all of
G-d’s peoples (both Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, the Southern
Kingdom) would return. And G-d said, “I will bring them from the North Country,
and gather them from the uttermost parts of the Earth... a great multitude
shall return” (verses 5-7).
I began to see what G-d was getting at in verses 22 and 23 when He promised that
He would “turn their captivity... and Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell
therein together.” What I was reading staggered my intellect. Though it was to
be some time before I fully understood the import of what I was discovering, I
could now see for the first time that G-d’s plan has always been for His people to
be one, all of them united under the banner of the “Shoot of Jesse.” I researched
on, scripture after scripture, prophecy after prophecy.
Psalm 110 gripped me as I read “The L-rd (Yehovah) said unto my L-rd (Adonai):
‘Sit thou at my right hand (who other than the Messiah would Yehovah sit at His
right hand?) Until I make thine enemies thy footstool (verse 1)’”. By itself this
scripture (including the rest of the psalm) was powerful; but coming on the heels
of the others, it was dynamite! I turned to Isaiah 52 and researched it word by
word; then Psalm 19... Deuteronomy 32... Isaiah 65... Isaiah 29 and Isaiah 59, all
of them in that order. For months the evidence piled up... Finally, as does any
researcher after truth, whether a scientist, logician or theologian, I reached the
point where any more effort would have resulted in diminishing returns. Now I
must sift and analyze the facts as I had found them.
I opened my now bulging notebook and carefully examined my notes. They were
all in order. My logic was impeccable. All that remained was to note and state the
results. I drew a deep breath and wrote: “Every single prophecy concerning the
coming of Yeshua is true, and has come to pass exactly as predicted by the prophets
of Israel.” At this point I paused, realizing, the import of my actions. All my life
I had been Jewish and proud of it. Nothing that I did would ever change that. Not
even the step I was about to make. Because... All of the prophets had been Jewish.
The Torah, the entire Tanakh was Jewish. All of my research had come from
the Tanakh. Nevertheless, I was convinced that my conclusions were accurate.
And now that the evidence had been gathered and the conclusions drawn, what
70
was I to do? I did what every honest seeker after truth does when the truth is
revealed: I simply accepted it. With my own lips I said, “Yeshua haMashiach
(Hebrew for Jesus the Messiah)...” And with those words, with admission, I,
Orthodox Rabbi Isidor Zwirn, became a follower of the Messiah.
I had often read the prophets’ promise of the New Covenant G-d would make with
His people “behold, days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with
their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt, my covenant which they broke... but this covenant I will make with the
house of Israel after those days, I will put my law within them, and on their heart
I will write it; and I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah
31:31-33).
And now as I took the Brit Hadesha (Hebrew for New Covenant) in my hands, I
realized I was seeing absolute proof of the veracity, the literal fulfillment of the
prophets’ words. This was G-d’s new covenant with His people. The long awaited,
eagerly anticipated Messiah had come. And in so doing, He had instituted a New
Age. I, who had so often looked for Messiah to come, had met Him, and was now
one of His many students! Even now, there is a quiet and growing excitement
within me as I realize the truth of my words.
There is also within me a growing desire for all of my Jewish family to research
the scriptures as I have done, and to verify for themselves, the truths that I have
verified for myself. From the day that I realized that the Jewish Messiah had
already come, nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed. I am still as
Jewish as ever. I have rejected neither my people nor my culture. I have simply
recognized from the scriptures the Jewish Messiah, and I have willingly begun to
follow Him.

71
1 Science of G-d, Gerald Schroeder, Broadway Books, 130 Avenue of the Americas, New
York, NY 10020
2 Signature Of G-d, Grant R. Jeffrey, Frontier Research Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 129,
Station “U”, Toronto, Ontario M8Z5M4
3 Scientific Analysis of Genesis, Dr. Bruce F. Blick, Ph.D, Hearthstone Publishing, P.O.
Box 815, Oklahoma City, OK 73101
4 Scientific Analysis of Genesis, Dr. Bruce F. Blick, Ph.D, Hearthstone Publishing, P.O.
Box 815, Oklahoma City, OK 73101
5 In Search of The Mountain of G-d, Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook, Broadman and
Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN
6 Fulfilled in John 1:11 – “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive
Him.”
7 Fulfilled in Matthew 27:12 – “When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders,
He gave no answer. Then Pilate asked Him, ‘Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing
against You?’ But Yeshua made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great
amazement of the governor.”
8 Fulfilled in Luke 23:33 – “When they came to the place called the Skull, there they
crucified Him, along with the criminals--one on His right, the other on His left.”
9 Fulfilled in Matthew 27:5, 7 – “As evening approached, there came a rich man from
Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Yeshua. Going to Pilate,
he asked for Yeshua’s body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the
body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut
out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”
10 Fulfilled in Luke 23:13 – “Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the
people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people
to rebellion. I have examined Him in your presence and have found no basis for your
charges against Him. Neither has Herod for he sent Him back to us; as you can see, He
has done nothing to deserve death.”
11 Fulfilled in Luke 24:1 – “On the first day of the week very early in the morning, the
women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled
away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the L-rd Yeshua.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like
lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the
ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is
not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee:
‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified
72
and on the third day be raised again.’ “Then they remembered His words.”
12 Cosmic Codes, Chuck Missler, Koinonia House, P.O. Box D, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816
http://www.khouse.org
13 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of
you will come for Me One who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
14 “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler comes, there will be seven “sevens,” and
sixty-two “sevens.”
15 “Therefore, the L-rd Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”
16 “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty
pieces of silver. And the L-RD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ - the handsome price at
which they priced me!’ So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of
the L-RD to the potter.”
17 “Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evil men has encircled Me, they have pierced My
hands and My feet. I can count all My bones; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide
My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.”
18 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of
grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have pierced. And they will
mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one
grieves for a firstborn son.”
19 “All who see Me mock Me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the L-RD;
let the L-RD rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.’”
20 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had
done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”
21 The End of History Messiah Conspiracy, Philip N. Moore, The Conspiracy Inc., P.O.
Box 12227, Atlanta, GA 30355,
22 Journey Into Eternity, Grant R. Jeffrey, Frontier Research Publications, Inc., P.O. Box
129, Station “U”, Toronto, Ontario M8Z5M4
A special thanks...
For the years of work that Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron put into their Way of the
Master program from which many of the concepts contained in this booklet found their
inspiration. May G-d bless you both!
73
Messianic Jewish Resources
74
Other interesting books:
What the Rabbis Know about the Messiah by Rachmiel Frydland
Messianic Publishing Company
P.O. Box 37062, Cincinnati, OH 45222
(Talmudic and other extrabiblical proofs of Yeshua being Messiah)
Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus by Michael L. Brown
Baker Books
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516
(Thorough and scholarly responses to the most common objections)
Ready With an Answer by John Ankerburg and John Weldon
Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, OR 97402
(Detailed discussion on the authenticity of Scriptures and belief in Yeshua)
They Thought for Themselves by Sid Roth
MV Press
P.O. Box 1918, Brunswick, GA 31521
(Testimonies of Jewish Believers from all walks of life)
Yeshua the Messiah by Rabbi David Chernoff
Kesher Ministries International
7501 Haverford Ave,. Philadelphia, PA 19151
(Basic discussion of the Messiahship of Yeshua from a Messianic Rabbi)
Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell
Here’s Life Publishers
San Bernardino, CA 92402
(Detailed Biblical proofs of God and the Bible’s authenticity)
The Signature of G-d and The Handwriting of G-d
by Grant R. Jeffrey
Frontier Research Publications, Inc.
P.O. Box 129, Station “U”, Toronto, Ontario Nl8Z5M4
(Scientific, archaeologic, mathematic, and prophetic proofs in Scripture)
75
The End of History Messiah Conspiracy by Philip N. Moore
The Conspiracy, Inc.
P.O. Box 12227, Atlanta, GA 30355 (800) 726-7432
(Talmudic and other extrabiblical proofs of Yeshua being Messiah)
Show Me G-d by Fred Heeren
Searchlight Publications
326 S. Wille Ave., Wheeling, IL 60090 (708) 541-5200
(Detailed scientific proofs in Scripture)
Born a Jew …Die a Jew by Yohanna Chernoff
Kesher Ministries International
7501 Haverford Ave,. Philadelphia, PA 19151
(The late Rabbi Martin Chernoff’s wife’s telling the history of the
revival of modern-day Messianic Judaism)
Israel The Blessing or the Curse by John McTernan & Bill Koenig
Hearthstone Publishing
P.O. Box 815 Oklahoma City, OK 73101
1-888-891-3300
G-d’s Appointed Times by Barney Kasdan
Lederer Messianic Jewish Resources
800-773-6574
(Scriptural study of the Feasts and their Messianic fulfillments in Yeshua)
G-d’s Appointed Customs by Barney Kasdan
Lederer Messianic Jewish Resources
800-773-6574
(Scriptural study of the Biblical customs within Messianic Judaism)
Growing to Maturity by Daniel C. Juster
529 Jefferson St. NE. Alburquerque, NM 87108
Phone # 1-800-692-8652
E-mail: office@umjc.org
(Overview of Messianic Jewish life by a Messianic Jewish Rabbi)
The Search for Messiah by Mark Eastman, M.D. & Chuck Smith
The Word for Today
Box 8000, Costa Mesa, CA 92628 (714) 979-0706
(Scientific, archaeologic, mathematic, and prophetic proofs in Scripture)
76
OK L-rd... Now What?
Table of Contents:
New Believers - Section #1
· How do I know what my purpose and calling is for my life?
· Who is G-d?
· Who is Yeshua (Jesus) and Who is the Ruach haKodesh (Holy
Spirit)?
· What is the Bible?
· Where is Yeshua now and where is the peace He was supposed to
bring?
· Why was Yeshua born into a human body to live with us?
· How do I obtain my salvation and what about those who never heard
of Yeshua?
· How do I go about studying the Bible?
Growing to love G-d more each day - Section #2
· Why am I always hearing about repentance?
· How do I truly forgive those who have hurt me?
· Satan and Hell, are they real or bad fiction?
· How to have a personal relationship with a G-d you can’t see?
· How do I know G-d’s will for my life if He doesn’t speak to me from a
burning bush?
· What is a “quiet time” and how do I have one?
· How can someone like me become useful to G-d?
· How do I pray and why don’t I always get answers to my prayers?
· How can you know whether a revelation you receive is from G-d, your
own desires, or satan?
· What to do when you are up to your ears in alligators (HUNGRY
alligators)?
· How do I overcome my lack of faith?
· What is Spiritual authority and how does it apply to me?
· What promises does G-d make about your finances?
· What does G-d require of me as a believer?
· Where can I find a Messianic Synagogue?
Scriptures to assist your growth - Section #3
· What Scriptures should I turn to if I want to pray for something?
This Book is available for FREE at:
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Don’s Second Book...
Messianic Resources
Messianic Times Newspaper
Toll Free - USA & Canada - 1-866-612-7770 - or 905-685-4072
E-mail: office@messianictimes.com
Website: www.messianictimes.com
Free Newsletters From Israel
Dugit - Avi and Chaya Mizrachi
P.O. Box 11174 TelAviv, 61111, Israel
011-972-3621-2108
(USA) P.O. Box 1875 Silverdale,WA 98383
Toll Free - 1-866-308-9756
E-mail: dugit@dugit.org Website: www.dugit.org
Maoz Israel - Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram
P.O. Box 535788 Grand Prairie, TX 75053
Toll Free - 800-856-7060 - or - 011-972-3540-8494
E-mail: maozusa@maozisrael.org - Website: www.maozisrael.org
Find a local Messianic Jewish Congregation
Contact:
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
P.O. Box 274 Springfield, Pa 19064
Phone # 1-800-225-MJAA (6522)
E-Mail: info@mjaa.org - Website: www.mjaa.org
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations
529 Jefferson St. NE. Alburquerque, NM 87108
Phone # 1-800-692-8652
E-mail: office@umjc.org - Website: www.umjc.org
Top Quality Messianic Jewish Music
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Concerts Available
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Children/Youth Music
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Concerts Available

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My second book is available for free at this same website. This book is dedicated to:The G-d ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob Thanks to all of my family and friends whoinvested hours reviewing and proofreading this booklet. Special thanks to my friend and Rabbi Steve Weiler, for his wisdom, insight, and support. in extra special thanks to my best friend on earth,
Jackie She truly is my Proverbs 31 wife