THE MESSIANIC JEWISH BIBLE INSTITUTE
Fall 2019
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FE ATURE ARTICLE
O U R H ISTO RIC A N N O UNCE ME NT THE NEW FUTURE OF MJBI
FOR ZION'S SAKE
S E I Z I N G A D I VI N E O P P ORTUNI T Y BY DR. WAYNE WILKS, JR. PAGE 12
THREE STR ATEGIC PILLLARS JEWISH FEASTS & HOLIDAYS
CO N TE N TS
Contact Information P.O. Box 610105 Dallas, TX 75261 (817) 552-3777 info@mjbi.org • mjbi.org
Online Schools
Fall 2019
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For Zion’s Sake
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FEATURE ARTICLE By Nic Lesmeister
By Nic Lesmeister
Gateway Center for Israel: The New Future of MJBI
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Seizing a Divine Opportunity
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Jewish Feasts and Holidays
By Dr. Wayne Wilks, Jr.
By Tara Kieschnick
School of Messianic Theology SMT@mjbi.org • smt.mjbi.org
The King’s University
Accredited Messianic Jewish Studies Program tali.snow@tku.edu • TKU.edu
International Schools ARGENTINA Argentina@mjbi.org MinisterioBetEl.org
RUSSIA Russia@mjbi.org
HUNGARY Hungary@mjbi.org
UKRAINE Ukraine@mjbi.org OrHaMashiah.org
POLAND Poland@mjbi.org
ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe@mjbi.org
Dates to remember September 2 Labor Day (US)
September 10 MJBI Fall Event "Love Israel" September 30 Rosh HaShana (Jewish New Year--5780) September 30–October 8 Yamin Nora'im (Days of Awe) October 9 Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) October 14–20 Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) October 21 Shmini Atzeret (8th Day of Sukkot) October 22 Simchat Torah (Celebration of Torah) November 11 Veteran's Day November 28 Thanksgiving
ECFA Accreditation MJBI is a long-time accredited member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. The ECFA sets Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, ranging from board of director requirements to strict financial accountability. As a member of ECFA, MJBI annually conducts a full, independent financial audit each year. You can be sure that your financial gifts to MJBI are being handled with the highest level of transparency, accountability and efficiency.
December 23–30 Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication) December 25 Christmas Day January 1 New Year's Day (Official start of the Gateway Center for Israel)
View this issue online
at m jb i .o rg /z ea lo u sma g a z i n e / f a l l - 2 0 1 9
FOR ZION’S SAKE NIC LESMEISTER
I
have to confess that each time our team has produced a new issue of Zealous Magazine recently, it has always been a temptation for me to say this is our “most memorable issue of Zealous yet!” I am glad I resisted this urge in the past because today I can safely say that this is the most memorable issue of Zealous Magazine yet! As you have already learned from the cover, we have some major, historic news to share with you. For well over a year, the Lord has been leading myself, Wayne, and the MJBI board on a surprising journey regarding our future as a ministry. If one year ago someone would have told me where the Lord would lead MJBI today, I would have hardly believed them. It would have seemed too amazing for my mind to comprehend. MJBI has always been a ministry that is yielded to the Holy Spirit. The founding of MJBI in Odessa, Ukraine was a surprise to Pastor Olen, Wayne, and Bonnie. The spreading of MJBI across five continents and ten countries was a surprise to the MJBI
board. My own coming to MJBI as Wayne’s "Joshua" was another surprise. I have always loved how the leaders and board of MJBI are open to following God’s leading. As you read the details of our exciting announcement and future in this issue of Zealous, I hope you are able to clearly witness how the Holy Spirit is leading us. Tabatha and I, Wayne and Bonnie, and our board of directors see an unbelievable future for our 23-year-old vision to see every Jewish person sincerely loved and given an opportunity to put their faith in their Messiah, Yeshua. I hope and pray our big announcement excites you as much as it does all of us.
ZEALOUS Magazine
Nic Lesmeister Editor-in-Chief
PROJECT MANAGEMENT Tara Kieschnick Managing Editor
Preston Benjamin Editor
Sam Arnaud Editor
ART & DESIGN George Estrada Graphic Designer
SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook.com/mjbi.usa
For Zion’s Sake,
Twitter.com/mjbi Youtube.com/mjbiusa Instagram @mjbiusa
NIC LESMEISTER PRESIDENT & CEO
MJBI.org/zealousmagazine MJBI.org
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FEATURE ARTICLE
THE GATEWAY CENTER FOR ISRAEL
4 | FALL 2019
Our Historic Announcement for MJBI's Future BY NIC LE SME IS T E R , PRE SIDE N T & CEO
“Babe, I've been praying about our Taking over MJBI for Wayne and Bonnie was no calling. Listen to this...” easy commission. How do you fill the shoes of two These were the words out of Tabatha’s mouth on the Shabbat afternoon of July 28, 2018. She walked enthusiastically into the dining room of our home in DFW with the Bible laid open in her hands and her eyes wide. Earlier that week, she had been studying the book of Ephesians in her quiet times. As she read chapters two and three, the Lord illuminated some key Scriptures to her regarding our family's calling, and she was eager to share them to me. During the stillness of our kids' nap time, I was excitedly working on my laptop, writing out the vision for a new future for MJBI. For months, close friends and advisors had been encouraging me to compose an executive summary detailing this vision. Prayerfully I had not felt a “release” to do so, but I'd finally felt a peace to put my thoughts on paper that day. This vision was the culmination of a patient process that began in Ethiopia on July 19, 2011—the miraculous day when I was called into Jewish ministry, and when the Lord showed Wayne Wilks that I was his "Joshua".
of your greatest heroes? How do we build on their amazing legacy? When I started working for MJBI in the fall of 2015, these thoughts filled my mind. No one championed us like Wayne and Bonnie. “Go for it! Dream with heaven’s power! God is with you! We’re cheering you on!” These were the consistent encouragements we received from the Wilks. The first year I was President of MJBI, Wayne and I traveled extensively—nearly 175,000 miles in the air! On one of those trips, we stood on the balcony of a hotel overlooking the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. It had been in Budapest in 1999 that the Lord showed Wayne that MJBI would expand around the world from its single location in Odessa, Ukraine. As we overlooked the city that evening, I prayed the Lord would similarly show me how MJBI would expand under my leadership. In the fall of 2017, we were drawing close to solidifying MJBI’s newest school in Warsaw, Poland. This was a surprise from the Holy Spirit for all of us. In the epicenter of the Holocaust, God
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was breathing “life from the dead” (Rom. 11:15). As Europe’s first ever accredited Messianic studies degree took shape, I began to see something unique coming into focus. To launch this new school, five organizations collaborated with great trust in a short amount of time: MJBI, Gateway Church, Christian Fellowship North (Warsaw), Warsaw College of Theology, and Or HaMashiach (Valentin Sviontek’s Messianic congregation in Odessa).
THE MO RRIS ’, THE WILKS ’, AND TU TO R SARA H W I N E AT S ECO ND MJB I U KRAINE GRAD UATIO N, 1 9 9 9
“What if we could replicate this around the world?” I thought to myself. "What if we could plant more and more programs to train leaders to reach the Jewish people? What if we could combine our efforts to do this more quickly and with greater influence?" In early 2018, I began to share with Wayne the idea of a new “center.” Well-known universities host centers as collaborative initiatives to solve some specific problem, like curing cancer, ending poverty, defending biblical values, etc. At these centers, experts come together to collectively advance solutions. Wayne and I had begun to see a major “problem” in Jewish ministry. The Church was not understanding the fullness of its Romans 11:11 mandate: "Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous." Paul saw that it was God’s plan to use the Church to lovingly, biblically, and sincerely "provoke envy" within the Jewish people—envy that would cause them to turn to Yeshua, their Messiah. And through this, we would see 6 | FALL 2019
“life from the dead” (Rom. 11:15), which would result in “all Israel being saved” (Rom. 11:26). What if we could build a center that would work to solve this “problem,” and model a healthy, biblical way to love and reach the Jewish people, one that would bring greater education to pastors with this calling, advancing the Romans 1:16 mandate of taking the Gospel “to the Jew first?” Wayne loved the idea and started sharing it with Pastor Kevin Grove, his overseer at Gateway Church, who is responsible for Gateway’s global ministries as well as Chairman of the Board for The King’s University. Pastor Kevin also loved the idea and wanted to hear more. But, as I mentioned earlier, I felt the Lord encouraging me to wait. Finally, on the afternoon of July 28, 2018, I felt released to write out the vision for this new center. I talked with Wayne, and he agreed that I should create an executive summary to review with Pastor Kevin. So I sat down at my computer that Saturday and typed out the vision. I was brimming with excitement. “Wow, the Lord showed you these Scriptures this week?!” is what I responded to Tabatha, amazed at the timing of this revelation. “Yes! Read this with me, Nic…” she said, as she began to read Ephesians 2 and 3. Then, she came to Ephesians 3:8-9 (TLV):
JEW ISH OUTREACH IN BRAZIL , 20 00
“This favor was given to me (Paul), the very least of His saints, to proclaim to the Gentiles the endless riches of the Messiah and to bring to light the plan of the mystery— which for ages was hidden in God, who created all things.” As soon as the words left Tabatha’s lips, it was as if lightning struck me. I had read these verses countless times, but they had never landed on me so personally like they did when Tabatha shared them that afternoon. I immediately sat back in my chair and exclaimed: “Oh my goodness, that really is our calling!” We both knew that we had been called to serve the Jewish people after my experience in Ethiopia in 2011. But, we felt there was still more to be understood. When Tabatha and I read Ephesians 3:8-9, it made greater sense. Like Paul, we began to see that we also are called to proclaim the Jewish Messiah to the Church, teaching church leaders the riches of their Jewish roots, but more importantly, the treasure of loving the Jewish people with the Gospel.
WHAT MJBI’S FOUNDERS ARE SAYING . . .
WAYNE AND I HAD BEGUN TO SEE A MAJOR 'PROBLEM’ IN JEWISH MINISTRY. THE CHURCH WAS NOT UNDERSTANDING THE FULLNESS OF ITS ROMANS 11:11 MANDATE.
“I believe the new Gateway Center for Israel is a Godordained progression in MJBI’s amazing 23 year history. I look forward to great things ahead.”
As mine and Tabatha's special conversation came to an end that Saturday, I finished typing up the proposed plan to merge the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute and Gateway Church Global Jewish Ministries to create the “Gateway Center for Israel.”
R A BBI JON AT H A N BE R NI S M JBI B O A R D C H A IR M A N PRESIDENT & CEO JEWISH VOICE
Wayne and Pastor Kevin excitedly affirmed this proposal. Pastors around the world have been getting a revelation for Jewish ministry in their communities thanks to Pastor Robert Morris' “to the Jew first / blessed to be a blessing” message, and many of them had been coming to Wayne, Gateway, and MJBI for help in understanding this and initiating it in their communities. In November 2018, we shared this vision and plan with Pastor Robert, Pastor Jimmy Evans, and the Gateway Church
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ON JANUARY 1, 2020, MJBI WILL OFFICIALLY TRANSITION TO BECOME THE GATEWAY CENTER FOR ISRAEL.
elders. After being silent for over 15 minutes of discussion, Pastor Robert spoke up but was immediately overcome with emotion. Through tears, he voiced his excitement for this new initiative. He looked back on the historic Shady Grove elders' meeting in 1994, when the Lord gave him, Wayne, and Pastor Olen Griffing the revelation of taking the Gospel “to the Jew first.” He could clearly see God was reconnecting us all for something greater ahead. The Gateway elders unanimously approved the plan and vision, and everyone in the room knew we had just experienced a holy moment. In January 2019, our MJBI Board of Directors met to discuss everything that was happening. Jonathan Bernis, the Chairman of the Board since our founding in 1996, helped us all see that MJBI was moving from a “building-the-Messianic-community” ministry model to a “serving-the-Messianic-community” model. He voiced his great excitement for this, as did the other members of the board. It was unanimously approved to move forward with the plan to adopt MJBI into Gateway Church to create the new Gateway Center for Israel. 8 | FALL 2019
On January 1, 2020, MJBI will officially transition to become the Gateway Center for Israel. We will close our offices at the end of 2019, and myself and Sam Arnaud will become employees of Gateway. The Gateway Center for Israel will continue to support MJBI Odessa, our Poland school, and the Zimbabwe Kadima program until graduation in September 2020. Our few smaller programs in other countries will be given indigenous control or supported by sister ministries. Our online School of Messianic Theology (SMT) will continue, and we will begin to build new resources in partnership with The King’s University and the Gateway Church Network. We plan to gather influential church leaders for seminars, host events in countries around the world, and support the Messianic Jewish community with even greater intentionality. We will launch new podcasts, online training, and web articles that will help church leaders better love, understand and reach Israel and the Jewish people. Each month, Wayne and I meet influential pastors who tell us God has been speaking to them about reaching
and loving the Jewish people—from London to Tokyo to Moscow to Sao Paulo! These pastors are interested in starting Jewish services in their churches, hosting outreaches to their local Jewish communities, or supporting Messianic ministry. Though a legal entity called MJBI will no longer exist, the vision and mission of the MJBI are being carried on in the Gateway Center for Israel at an even greater level of influence. Because of this, we prayerfully hope that you will continue to financially support our new ministry. You are not simply giving a gift to Gateway Church. You are supporting the Gateway Center for Israel specifically, where MJBI lives on with a tremendously increased impact. We will be sharing more detailed information with you in the days and months to come. I sincerely hope you can join us for our September 10 event with Pastor Robert at Gateway’s Dallas campus. You will be hearing much more about our vision for the Center, and
N I C A N D T R A N S L ATOR PASTOR KATS UM I S U N AG A , JA PA N PASTOR ’S CON F E R E N CE , 2 0 19
how you can join with us to see Romans 11:11 and 11:26 become a reality in our lifetime! Tabatha and I are honored to continue building on the legacy that Wayne and Bonnie laid for MJBI. As Wayne’s Joshua, I am overjoyed to know that I will be working under him in the new Center and that God has brought us together to declare the endless riches of Yeshua to Israel and the Nations!
WHAT MJBI’S FOUNDERS ARE SAYING . . .
"MJBI has played a key role in preparing new leaders for Messianic Jewish
ministry around the world. As one who has witnessed the progress from the
beginning, I am very excited to see a new synergy forming between MJBI and Gateway Church. The new Gateway Center for Israel allows Nic and his team
to reach a much greater audience, furthering the potential of reaching Jewish people around the world with the Good News of our Messiah Yeshua!"
M A R T Y WA L D M A N FOUNDING RABBI OF BARUCH HASHEM MESSIANIC SYNAGOGUE
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A NS W ER ING KEY Q UE S T IONS
1. Does MJBI still need financial support? Yes, please! Our international ministries are running until the end of 2019, and some will continue beyond that. We sincerely need the support of our donors to continue training our students for Jewish ministry. 2. Are donations needed for the new Center, too? After 2019 ends, we truly desire for you to continue supporting the mission and vision of the Gateway Center for Israel as well. For the first time, your donations will go 100% towards supporting Jewish ministry around the world. There will be no administrative use of your funds. Every penny will go straight into Jewish ministry! 3. What is happening to MJBI's schools? Nearly all of our international training schools and programs will continue through the end of 2019. Some will be transitioned over to partner ministries and others will continue to be overseen and funded through the Gateway Center for Israel. 4. What is happening to MJBI's website, newsletters and other resources? We will continue updating our website, sending you valuable resources both through postal mailing and eblasts, as well as engaging with you on social media through the end of 2019. In early 2020, we'll transition our digital resources over to our new website and merge MJBI’s social media with that of the new Gateway Center for Israel. 5. What about the current MJBI staff and offices? MJBI’s office will permanently close on December 31, 2019. Nic Lesmeister and Sam Arnaud will transition to Gateway Church as full-time employees on January 1, 2020, working at the Gateway Center for Israel. The MJBI Board of Directors will conclude and dissolve as well. In the meantime, our office hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. Please feel free to contact us during those hours at (817) 864-9300, or email us at info@mjbi.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT MJBI.ORG/QUESTIONS
10 | FALL 2019
T HR E E S T R AT E G IC P IL L A R S
THE STRATEGIC VISION OF THE GATEWAY CENTER FOR ISRAEL The Gateway Center for Israel stands on three strategic pillars. This broadened strategy emerges from the core vision and mission of MJBI.
PILLAR 1 // RECLAIM
Reclaim the understanding of Israel and the Jewish people within the Church and the Christian worldview When Paul wrote to the Roman church that “salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous” (Rom. 11:11), he was making an impassioned case that God had not rejected, replaced, or superseded Israel, even though they did not corporately embrace Yeshua as Messiah. In the centuries following Paul's letter to the Romans, the Christian Church progressively divorced itself from her Jewish roots and from the Jewish people as a whole. Ugly anti-Semitism followed in the Middle Ages, culminating in the horrific atrocities of the Holocaust.
Today, the majority of Christian seminaries and denominations teach that the Church has replaced Israel outrightly or subversively. God is still waking and shaking the Church from an incorrect understanding of Israel and the Jewish people. The Gateway Center for Israel will inspire and reclaim the Church's theology on Israel and the Jewish people. We will stand to correct unhealthy, imbalanced, and inaccurate thinking and practice on Israel, and we will lead with a trustworthy model of the Church’s role in lovingly provoking the Jewish people to consider faith in their Messiah, Yeshua.
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RECLAIM + ADVANCE + RESHAPE PILLAR 2 // ADVANCE
Advance the message of taking the Gospel "to the Jew first" (Romans 1:16) Paul clearly understood the heart of God towards the Jewish people. They were and are His "firstborn among the nations" (Ex. 4:22) and His "special possession" (Deut. 7:6). Paul knew that Yeshua had come specifically for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24), because they were and are God's Covenant People, whom God predestined to use to bless every nation of the earth (Gen. 12:3). Pastor Robert Morris has been influencing pastors around the world to take the Gospel "to the Jew first," and to make Israel a priority in their churches. Gateway Church has been a leading advocate for supporting Messianic Jewish ministry since the church was founded.
The Gateway Center for Israel will advance ministry "to the Jew first" in an even greater measure than Gateway or MJBI did individually. We will empower more churches and leaders to share the Gospel with the Jewish people and to support Messianic Jewish ministries all over the world. We will also offer more relevant teaching and training for leaders called to reach the Jewish people. Through seminars, events, online courses, podcasts, blogs, articles, and seminary programs, we believe that we will see many more churches and church leaders taking the Gospel to the Jew first in every corner of the earth!
WHAT MJBI’S FOUNDERS ARE SAYING . . .
"I sense a profound joy and broad opportunity at the prospect of combining the legacy of the MJBI with the prophetic calling upon Gateway Church and Pastor Robert Morris to bless the Jewish people and teach key church leaders around the world to do the same. The merging of these two ministries will form a much-needed new entity that will serve to preach and promote a revival of reconciliation and end-time harvest as both Jews and Gentiles are gathered unto Jesus, the Jewish Messiah and Lord of all nations."
BONNIE SAUL WILKS, MJBI CO-FOUNDER A U T H O R , “ S A B B AT H : A G I F T O F T I M E ”
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PILLAR 3 // RESHAPE
Reshape the understanding of Christians and the Church within the Jewish worldview It has always been difficult for MJBI to have a strong relationship with the non-believing Jewish community. The broader Jewish community wants nothing to do with Messianic Jews, claiming that one cannot be Jewish and follow Jesus at the same time. However, Jewish people in Israel and the diaspora are making new, strong relationships with (Gentile) Evangelical Christians. With fewer friends in the world each year, Jewish people are growing to trust that they can count on Evangelicals to stand with them in dark times. Because of the great influence and trust of Gateway Church, many Jewish leaders and organizations are building relationships with Pastor Robert, Wayne, and myself (Nic).
What will make the Gateway Center for Israel different in our relationship with the non-believing Jewish community is that we will be very forthright about our belief that Yeshua is their Messiah. Too many Christian, Israelrelated initiatives hide the Gospel from their Jewish relationships, in an effort not to offend the Jewish people. We will model an honest but sincere relationship with the Jewish community. We will demonstrate our affection and honor for the Jewishness of our faith in Jesus and will be very clear that we support the Messianic Jewish community at all costs. We sincerely love and support the Jewish communities around the world, but we will not be silent in sharing our faith in Yeshua, either.
WHAT MJBI’S FOUNDERS ARE SAYING . . .
“What is happening with MJBI and Gateway is a God-thing. When Pastor Robert was an elder at Shady Grove Church, he was key in the launch of MJBI. I sense the Lord has chosen this moment to move us closer to accomplishing the original vision of the MJBI, and that this “adoption” will be like MJBI on steroids!”
PA S T O R O L E N G R I F F I N G , A P O S T O L I C E L D E R O F G AT E WAY C H U R C H FOUNDING MJBI BOARD MEMBER
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SEIZING A DIVINE OPPOR T UNIT Y By Dr. Wayne Wilks, Jr., MJBI President Emeritus
I
n 1994, I was a staff-elder at Shady Grove Church serving under Olen Griffing, along with Robert Morris, the current pastor of Gateway Church. God began to speak to our eldership about the value of “to the Jew first.” One year later, Bonnie, Julia, and I were called by God to leave the comforts of our home in Texas and move to Odessa, Ukraine, and form the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute in support of Jonathan Bernis’ Hear O Israel Festivals. Pastor Olen, Pastor Robert, and the SGC elders laid hands on us in 1996 and sent me out as their first elder into missions, “to the Jew first.” Pastor Robert was sent out and formed Gateway Church in 2000. From the beginning, he carried “to the Jew first” as a foundational value of Gateway, even giving Gateway’s first check each month to the MJBI! While the MJBI has had a great impact for 23 years, by God’s grace, we began to sense the wind of God blowing on something new in early 2018. 14 | FALL 2019
Nic Lesmeister, the MJBI Board, the Gateway Church elders, and Pastor Robert all affirmed a new entity that God was forming at Gateway, adopting the legacy of the MJBI. Pastor Robert’s teaching of “to the Jew first” has been opening many doors for the MJBI, as well as influencing key church and seminary leaders around the world. This new entity would
THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME MUST BE SEIZED DURING THE LIFETIME OF THE OPPORTUNITY. prayerfully steward this modern move of God for Israel. In January of 2020, the MJBI lifecycle will conclude in order that this new entity can emerge, the “Gateway Center for Israel.” Nic, passionate and called to influence emerging leaders for Israel, will direct this new initiative with my oversight at Gateway. In light of this supernatural leading of the Holy Spirit, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes: "The
opportunity of a lifetime must be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity." The MJBI was formed to address the critical need of training leaders for the Jewish harvest, and I am humbled that MJBI has, indeed, fulfilled this role. I am thankful that there are now MJBI graduates serving around the world in Yeshua's service. And now, the Gateway Center for Israel is seizing on a new opportunity to influence pastors and Christian leaders to embrace Israel and stand with the Messianic community. Few are currently laboring in this field. The influence of Pastor Robert and Gateway Church affords us a great window of opportunity! May our efforts bring glory to His name, for it is His Kingdom that we seek to promote above all else. Thank you for your love and support all these years. We have successfully run this race together. Please join us in running this new race, to seize this divine opportunity!
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Yamim Nora'im
“These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times…and these feasts will be a statute to you forever…” Leviticus 23:4, 41
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CHAG SAMEACH —HAPPY HOLIDAYS—FROM THE STAFF OF MJBI!
The Jewish feasts are ripe with prophetic meaning and fulfillment by Yeshua. Further study and/or observance of these “forever statutes” can bring great dimension and abundant life to a “grafted-in” believer. For more information on the scriptural basis, traditions, and recipes pertaining to the Jewish Feasts, please go to our website: mjbi.org/learn/jewishholidays.
There are seven “appointed times” mentioned in the Torah. The first three are in the autumn (referred to as the High Holidays) and include the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teru'ah, which is also known as the Jewish New Year, or Rosh HaShana—Head of the Year), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Booths (Sukkot). The other four are in the spring, beginning with Passover (Pesach), the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) and First Fruits (Yom HaBikkurim). For 49 days, Jews count the Omer, leading up to the final spring feast, the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost). The Lord also set aside the seventh day, or Sabbath, of each week as a holy, designated day of rest. Over the years, other minor holidays were added to commemorate important events in the Jewish calendar. These include Purim in early spring, Tisha B’Av in the summer, Simchat Torah in the fall, and Hanukkah in the winter.
hen the children of Israel were delivered out of Egyptian slavery, God instituted special feasts, or “appointed times,” throughout the agricultural year to celebrate, remember, repent, and give thanks. The Jewish calendar is based on these feasts which are set on a lunar cycle. It was well established by the time of the Babylonian captivity and predates by centuries the universally-accepted, solar-based Gregorian (or civil) calendar finalized in the 1500s. Because the Jewish calendar is shorter in days than the Gregorian, the feast dates change from year to year on commonly used western calendars.
W
Rosh HaShana
by Tara Kieschnick, MJBI Media and Communications Manager
Instagram: @mjbiusa
smt.mjbi.org
SCHOOL OF MESSIANIC THEOLOGY
“The Ninth of Av” --fast and mourning day that commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem.
July 30, 2020 AV 9, 5780
Tish’a B’Av
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"Feast of Weeks" or “Pentecost”—commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai as well as the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.
Seven weeks of counting to Shavuot, beginning the second night of Pesach to the night before Shavuot (total of 49 days).
"First Fruits"—Celebration of exodus from Egypt and Yeshua's sacrifice and resurrection.
"Passover" week, which includes: "Feast of Unleavened Bread"
“Lots”—celebration and remembrance of God’s deliverance of His people through Queen Esther and Mordechai over the evil Haman during the Babylonian captivity.
“Festival of Lights” or “Dedication”—celebrates the miracle of the oil during the Maccabees’ victory over Greek defilement of the Temple.
May 29, 2020 SIVAN 6, 5780
April 21-June 8, 2020 NISAN 23– SIVAN 5, 5780
April 9–15, 2020 NISAN 15-22, 5780
March 10, 2020 ADAR 14, 5780
December 23-30, 2019 KISLEV 25-TEVET 2, 5780
“Rejoicing in the Law”—celebrates the beginning of the yearly Torah reading cycle. (In Israel, this day is combined with Shmini Atzeret)
Shavuot
Days of the Omer
Yom HaBikkurim
Chag HaMatzot
Pesach
Purim
Hanukkah
October 22, 2018 TISHRI 23, 5780
October 21, 2019 TISHRI 22, 5780
Shmini Atzeret Simchat Torah
“Feast of Tabernacles” or “Booths”—harvest festival commemorating the period of wandering in the wilderness.
October 14–20, 2019 TISHRI 15-21, 5780
Sukkot
“The 8th Day of Assembly”— closing festival set aside for blessing, prayers for rain, and spiritual reflection as Sukkot ends.
“Day of Atonement”—holiest day in Jewish calendar—fasting day of self-searching, repentance, and restitution.
“Days of Awe”—days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur meant for reflection and preparation for repentance.
“Head of the Year” or “Feast of Trumpets” —Jewish New Year.
DESCRIPTION
October 9, 2019 TISHRI 10, 5780
Sept. 30–Oct. 8, 2019 TISHRI 2–9, 5780
September 30, 2019 TISHRI 1, 5780
DATES
Yom Kippur
Yom Teruah
HOLIDAY
Jewish Feasts & Holidays
Cut along this line
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