I write you today with a powerful sense of urgency. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the days in which we’re living are special. Unusual. Extraordinary, even.
This truth was highlighted for me several weeks ago when CIA Director John Brennan testified before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual “Worldwide Threats” hearing.
Brennan, who obviously has unique access to information about what is going on in our world, made a number of startling statements.
One in particular caught my attention.
In talking about the Middle East, he painted a grim picture of a region he said was facing “unprecedented” bloodshed.
In addressing threats the United States faces as the Middle East devolves further into chaos, Brennan said:
“The Middle East right now I think is racked by more instability and violence and inter-state conflict than we’ve seen certainly in the past 50 years. And the amount of bloodshed and humanitarian suffering is I think unprecedented.”
Of course, Brennan’s job is to analyze threats to the United States. But it goes without saying that the chaos he described represents an even greater threat to Israel.
As I write these words, Turkish and Saudi Arabian troops are poised to directly enter the conflict in Syria on the side of forces attempting to overthrow the Syrian dictator, Assad.
Meanwhile, Assad is backed by a growing Russian military presence as well as the Iran-backed forces of Hezbollah.
In the middle of this mess sits ISIS, a group now believed to possess chemical weapons.
More than one astute observer has described this as a recipe for World War III.
Three Lambs
Nearly each day, events unfold that are directly aligned with the Bible’s prophecies concerning the End Times.
Even so, as the Jewish observance of Passover rapidly approaches, I’m reminded that this is not the first time our world has gone through a volatile period with prophetic implications.
The fact is, three pivotal moments in the timeline of God’s unfolding plan of redemption through the ages have something very surprising in common: Lambs!
First: On the front end of that timeline is the Israelite exodus from Egypt.
On the night before God led His covenantally chosen People out of bondage and into their destiny, He instructed each household to sacrifice and consume a perfect lamb.
As you know, the blood of this lamb, painted on the doorposts of a home, protected the occupants from the death and destruction sweeping over Egypt that night.
The sacrifice of that Passover lamb did more than protect God’s people. It pointed to the coming of God’s ultimate remedy for Death in the middle of another period of global upheaval on His prophetic timeline.
Second: Yeshua (Jesus), who was and is our Passover Lamb.
Roughly 1,500 years after that first Passover, Yeshua fulfilled every aspect of Passover’s symbolism in His unblemished life and sacrificial death. The apostle Paul states it unequivocally:
. . . for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7 TLV).
The time of Yeshua’s first coming was an era of tremendous turmoil. Messianic expectation among God’s people was feverishly high. And the generation that witnessed His arrival experienced unspeakable troubles and upheavals in the years following.
Sound familiar? This brings us to our time.
Once again, we may very well be at a significant pivot point on God’s prophetic timeline.
Third: The book of Revelation depicts Yeshua as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
In the fifth chapter of Revelation we find an extraordinary glimpse into Heaven where Yeshua, our Passover Lamb, is the only One found worthy to break the seven seals of a great prophetic scroll.
Once again, at this pivotal moment in God’s plan for the ages, we see ...
. . . a Lamb standing, as having been slain . . . and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb . . . And they are singing a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals.
“For You were slain, and by Your blood You redeemed for God . . .” They were chanting with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”(Revelation 5:6-12 TLV)
He is worthy. And I believe He is coming soon.
Of course, that means time is of the essence. That’s why here at Jewish Voice we are doing everything we can to reach “the lost sheep of the House of Israel” while we can. We must.
Jewish hearts are opening. And I’m convinced this is yet another clear sign that we’re living in momentous times.
In Haggai chapter 2, and in other Old and New Covenant texts, God speaks of a latter-day outpouring upon the Jewish People and ultimately the Nations — one that will be greater than anything ever before seen.
In other words, the Messianic Movement is part of God’s divinely ordained vehicle for revival — not only for the Jewish People but also for all the world!
Bold, Aggressive Plans
I want you to understand that there is an inseparable connection between the salvation of the Jewish People, the restoration of the Nations, and the return of Yeshua.
The Jewish People are a primary indicator of God’s prophetic time clock!
If you want to see global revival and the swift return of Yeshua — and I know you do — one of the most meaningful and spiritually powerful things you can do is help get the Gospel to “the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”
That’s why I’m asking the Spirit of God to move clearly and powerfully upon your heart right now.
We have made bold, aggressive plans to reach more Jewish People than ever before with the Gospel this year, but over the last six months, for whatever reason, our donor support has fallen well below our budgeted targets.
We don’t want to hold back or delay those plans here at the very moment the harvest fields are beginning to ripen!
That’s why I’m asking for your very best gift today.
Your gift right now will be used prudently and powerfully to bring the Good News to Jewish People in powerful, sensitive, relatable ways.
Will you help?
I’m praying you will. And as a token of my thanks for any gift of support right now, I want to send you our remarkable DVD presentation called His Final Footsteps: Retracing the Last 24 Hours of Jesus’ Life.
I filmed this on location in Jerusalem and take you, site by site, to the key locations at which the Lamb of God fulfilled prophecy as He made His way to the place of sacrifice.
If God has blessed you with the means to give a lifesaving gift of $105 or more, I have selected two additional “thank you” gifts I’d love to send you. As you step forward to help with this urgent need, we’ll also send you the NEW companion 24-day devotional His Final Footsteps PLUS our amazing resource, Confessing the Hebrew Scriptures “Provision” edition book and companion CD.
The fact is, I need dear partners like you to respond right now. The CIA Director’s words were sobering. This is a significant moment in history.
So, I’m asking God for an outpouring of support from our friends before Passover begins just a few weeks from now.
