Aliyah is holy
"Aliyah" is the term used to describe the
return of the Jewish people to their homeland. In Hebrew the word 'aliyah' means
to 'go up'. That is what a Jew does when they return home - they go UP
to Israel. Some go up to Ahsdod, some go up to Tel Aviv, some go up
to Haifa and some go 'all the way up' to Jerusalem. Once you arrive in
Jerusalem, there is no place you can go more up to - apart from Heaven
that is! The noun for a Jew, who makes Aliyah, is 'Olah' and interestingly this
same word means ' a burnt offering'. As one who made Aliyah from beautiful,
tranquil New Zealand 10 years ago, I can tell you that living in Israel at
times, I have felt like an Olah - a burnt offeriing, but Josie and I don't
regret our decision to obey the Lord's directive to make Aliyah.
Aliyah is Holy - Holy to the Lord. It is His idea. Throughout
the books of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Lord speaks about
Aliyah. There a literally hundreds of verses that speak about it. Here are but a
few examples.
Jeremiah 16:14-16 "Therefore behold, the days are
coming," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be said, 'The LORD
lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' but, 'The
LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and
from all the lands where He had driven them.' For I will bring them back into
their land which I gave to their fathers."
Isaiah 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from
afar, and will whistle to them from the end of the earth; surely they shall come
with speed, swiftly. ( more than 5 million Jews have come to Israel in
the last 100 years)
And He does not mean some of those from Russia and the
Ethiopians with a few from the West thrown in. The Lord means for ALL the
Jews to come home from every nation.
Ezekiel 20:40 "For on My holy mountain, on the
mountain height of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "there all the house of
Israel, ALL of them in the land, shall serve Me;"
I have heard many Christians speak against the nation of
Israel, saying that because the majority of Israeli Jews are still unredeemed,
this present form of Israel cannot be the one prophesied. I strongly suggest
that 'Christians' like this read the Bible before making such foolish
statements. Here is the process - first God will bring them home, THEN He
will clean them up.
Ezekiel 36:23-28 "And I will sanctify My great name,
which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their
midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord GOD,
"when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. "For I will take you
from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your
own land. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart
of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them. "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to
your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God."
Aliyah is a sign. It is a sign that the return of the Lord is
just ahead of us. Yeshua is coming back to Israel (not Palestine), to a united
Jerusalem under Jewish control and to the Jewish people, back in the Land that
God covenanted to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Psalm 105:6-11) and ready to welcome
the Messiah to Jerusalem with the words that will open the gates of Heaven to
release Him to come (Acts 3:21) - "Baruch Ha Bah B'Shem Adonai"
Matthew 23:39 The process is well under way - Israel is back as a nation,
more than 5 million Jews are home, and there are more than 80 Messianic
congregations in Israel who sing that song - Baruch Ha Bah B'Shem Adonai. And
the Lord says that it is a banner -a sign. Not a sign for the Jews, but a sign
to the nations.
Isaiah 11:11-12 It shall come to pass in that day that the
LORD shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His
people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam
and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner
for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather
together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Aliyah is a sign to the world that the Son of God is about to
return to rule the world from Jerusalem. That is why the Devil hates Aliyah.
That is why much of the world and sadly many Christians are opposing the return
of the Jews to the Land that is rightfully theirs. The places that the world and
the UN calls "the occupied territories" were given to the Jewish
people as an eternal promise
Psalm 105:9-11: The covenant which He made with Abraham,
and His oath to Isaac, And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an
everlasting covenant, Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the
allotment of your inheritance,"
This is the root of the problem in the Middle East. Satan is
using the Muslims to try to prevent the Jews living in their own land.
If Christians really mean it when they say
"Maranatha" - (Come Lord Jesus) then they must too get involved in
Aliyah. It is the plan of God for Gentile Christians to work with Him as He
brings the Jews home. It is your calling as a Gentile Christian.
Isaiah 49:22 - Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I
will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the
peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be
carried on their shoulders;"
Many are already involved. Christian organisations like
Ebinezer, Exobus, the ICEJ, Exodus, CFI and others have literally brought
hundreds of thousands of Jews home to Israel over the last 25 years. On buses,
ships and planes. If you are not involved, Josie & I want to encourage you
to pray and seek the Lord as to how He wants you involved. Do it today !!! Time
is short - Satan is busy preparing another Holocaust. The last few weeks have
seen a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism all over the world.
Jeremiah 16:16 "Behold, I will send for many
fishermen," says the LORD, "and they shall fish them; and afterward I
will send for many hunters,"
Christians need to wake up to Aliyah, but so do many
Messianic Jews. There are hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews all over the
world who are very comfortable where they are. They may pray for Israel, they
may send finances to Israel, but the Lord wants their bodies in Israel. They
have no vision for Aliyah. And many Messianic pastors have no vision for Aliyah.
They are keen to see new Jewish believers coming into their congregations, but
they do not want to see them leave - for Israel. This is very, very wrong. I
once heard a Messianic Jewish brother, who was a pioneer in the Messianic
movement, say that of all people, Messianic Jews should realise that God wants
us back where we belong - in ISRAEL. All Messianic congregations should be
'staging posts ', points of departure for the homeland.
Please intercede with us as we pray for the Church and the
Messianic Jews to wake up to Aliyah - it is of God and it is Holy.
Josie is leading an international intercessory network that specifcially
focuses on Aliyah. She sends out regular updated reports with facts,
figures, and statistics concerning Aliyah, and anti semitisim and specific
prayer requests. She also is sensing the urgency to increase the number of
people and the amount of intercession in this crucial area. If you are not
already on the Intercession for the Restoration of Israel mailing list,
and you wish to be included, please contact her at this email address. [email protected]
David Silver is a New Zealand born Messianic Jewish
evangelist, now living on Mt. Carmel in northern Israel.
He is the founder director of Out of Zion Ministries, a ministry called to the
Jewish people and the Church.
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