Just recently I was asked to write an article for the 10 Days Prayer Movement. This new and exciting Prayer Ministry has a vision to mobilize the church to pray and intercede around the Feasts of the Lord; and it is spreading like wild fire across the United States.
This movement was founded by spiritual leader Jonathan Friz, who has been given this vision to help unite the body of Messiah/Christ into a deeper prayer and intercessory focus, and what better time to do this than around God’s Feast dates?
As some of you may know, those who have read my articles, I truly believe that the Feasts of the Lord are appointed times to come before Him for all of His children, and that during these dates, the heavens are just that much more open and receptive. It is like the openings to the portals of heaven are wider during these times.
Here is the article and the link to the 10 Days Prayer Movement, which commences on Oct. 2 in numerous cities across the country. Please visit the site for more information:
The Hope of Salvation for the Jewish People
As we draw close to the end days before Yeshua/Jesus returns, Israel’s salvation becomes paramount in God’s plan to glorify His Son upon the earth (Ezek. 36:22-27).
When we read Romans 11 carefully, we can see that the apostle Paul asks three separate questions relating to Israel’s plight and journey and in the third question he asks is: “Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all.” He then goes on to explain how the Gentile part of the family has a significant role to play in Israel’s salvation experience, to help draw them to jealousy and to release God’s mercy back to them (Rom. 11:11; 30,31).
In fact, I believe that the whole purpose of Romans chapters 9 and 10 is to lay a foundation to help unravel the great complexity of Israel’s salvation experience, which apart from the remnant of Jewish believers (Question 1, Rom. 11:1-6), would come down at the end.
This salvation experience has already begun in a number of ways: in the natural realm through the re-establishment of Israel as a nation, with over 7 million Jews already being drawn back to the promised land from over a 100 nations. Spiritually, we have witnessed the beginning of Israel’s awakening through the Messianic Movement, which began en masse in the late 1960s after Israel took back the physical domain of Jerusalem.
These Jewish Messianic believers and those in the church now make up the modern remnant of Israel. It’s paramount for Gentile believers to reconnect with Messianic believers as one family to help reunite the kingdom between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:19). Gentile believers have a role to fully encourage and bless them into their Jewish identity, so they may reflect Yeshua back to their own people as a Jewish faith.
Restoration and Reconnection
If you are willing to accept it, Israel’s restoration has begun. But God needs our help to complete it, as we have a most crucial role to play. So we must be willing to make adjustments for this time, just as the Jewish believers did when the Gentiles first started to come in. “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins” (Rom. 11:25-27; Deut. 30:4-6; Ezek. 36:22-27).
As this happens, God will not take anything away from the Gentile church but rather bring us into the fullness of the harvest through the unveiling of this mystery that is happening before our very eyes, as His covenants toward Israel are fulfilled. This is a key element here to our understanding in God’s end-times glory plan and the two are intricately linked together.
This is why we must now spiritually reconnect to our roots and heritage, as we will never fulfill our end time call as a church operating as a separate entity away from Israel. Nor have we replaced them, but rather are a part of them (Eph. 2:19,20). It may have been permissible to act this way during the “time of the Gentiles,” but as we move into this season of fulfillment, we need to reconnect spiritually as family in order for this spiritual transaction to properly work through us.
Unity Through Diversity
When the apostle Paul wrote about the unity of The One New Man (Galatians 3:28,29), he never meant to eliminate the distinction between Jew and Gentile.
When the church was first formed, the Gentiles coming in were naturally associated to its Jewish roots and expression without having to follow the law. However, when Rome took over the church it looked to eliminate this influence and set it apart and so its link to Israel was severed. The unfortunate influence of these successionist teachings have affected the church for some 1,600 years and now need to be broken off of us.
Just look at how Paul behaved when he returned to Jerusalem and how apparent it was that the apostles living there were still following Jewish customs (Acts 20:20-26). This is why he used the example of a man and a woman in the same text. As Jewish and Gentile believers, and as men and women, we are now one through Messiah/Christ in the Spirit through our salvation and are now co-heirs; however, we still perform different roles and have different expressions.
This has become apparent through the Messianic movement and their differing expressions of the faith. Gentiles were not called to practice exactly the same way Jews do, which was seen through the Church in Jerusalem, but also now in the way in which Messianic believers worship and celebrate. Yet we are called to be one in Spirit with Israel’s Remnant; to love one another as Messiah loves His church. Especially now so our Lord can return to us, we must be re-united as one family; to be able to freely bless each other from within the unity of the one new man.
Our Father in heaven is longing for this reconnection. It is His design and footprint for this time and the very heart of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, that His end-times power would be unleashed upon His church through the unity of Jew and Gentile.
We are entering a new day in the Spirit, and He is beginning to draw His body together back into the fullness of the one new man so greater unity and power will flow through us to reach a lost and dying world. In this light, there is a huge need for prayer and intercession to help bring this about, not only for Israel’s salvation, but also to awaken the church into this end-times role. {eoa}
Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of G-d in the last days. His message focuses on the unity, love and healing that the Father wants to bring between Jew and Gentile yet clearly points out the differences and misunderstandings between the two groups. Now is the time to look more carefully into this mystery to make way for healing and reconnection in the Spirit. For more information, please visit reconnectingministries.org.
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