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LIVING STONES TOURS
Encouraging Christians to visit the
Messianic Jewish Brethren in Israel
The current Palestinian intifada has decimated tourism in Israel. Tourism is down 80 % , inflicting major damage to
the Israeli economy. We believe
that the last days Church is called to be ‘RUTH’
to Israel. Life in 98% of
Israel
is normal and as safe as before the current troubles began. So why are 80% of Christians
canceling their tours ? Is it because of fear
based on misinformation, or is it because the secular tour operators are afraid to bring
groups due to problems with insurance etc ?
Is
it right that Christians be controlled by unbelievers and prevented from fulfilling the
Lord’s will ?
Whatever the reason, the Devil must
be wringing his hands in glee. The "Ruths" are staying at home instead of coming to stand with Israel in
her time of need. We have to pose the
question " If the Believers are afraid to come now when there is a small risk, who
will be
a ‘RUTH’ to Israel when the BIG TROUBLE breaks out
?
We at Out of Zion Ministries sense a
call to inspire and assist Christians to
continue with their plans to come to Israel in these days, intifada or no intifada. I have written the following article which I am
sending you to give to any Pastors or other people who you know are or were thinking about
coming to Israel, but may be having second thoughts or are unable to find a travel agent
who is willing to organize the tour.
The second purpose in this article is
to encourage Christians to connect with the Messianic Jewish Believers here in Israel.
Every year hundreds of thousands of Christians realize their dreams of a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land. For the majority of people,
this is a once in a life opportunity. However, the majority of Christian tour groups are missing a key aspect of what God is
doing in Israel in the times in which we live. This is a tragedy for all concerned and I
see it as a ploy of the Devil to keep Christians and Messianic Jews apart. He does not
want Christians to witness the miracle that is taking place in Israel today.
Acts 3:21 tells us that “Heaven
is retraining the Lord’s return until the time of the restoration of all things as
spoken by God through His holy prophets.”
Let’s go to the book of Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 to discover what it was the holy prophets said.
Ex 36:8 “O mountains of Israel, shoot forth your branches for my
people Israel are about to come” This scripture was
fulfilled on May 14th 1948 as the modern nation
of Israel was born in one day.
Ez 37:4
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6
“Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord, Surely I will cause breath to enter into
you and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live
” In the last 100 years, more than 5 million Jews have come home to Israel
from every corner of the Earth.
These
5 million ‘dry bones’ are the
fulfillment of the above prophetic scriptures.
Ez 37:9 “Prophecy
to the breath, prophesy son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God, Come
from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain that they may live”
I believe that this scripture is
currently being fulfilled in the amazing growth of the Messianic Jewish movement all over the world and more pointedly, in Israel. Since 1967,
the number of Messianic Jewish
congregations has grown from none to more than 400 world-wide and incredibly, there are
now more than 80 Messianic congregations in Israel. This is nothing short of a
‘modern miracle’ as these
congregations didn’t exist 33 years ago !
I call the standard Christian Holy
Land tours, ‘Dead Stones Tours’ !
Pilgrims
are taken to many of the ‘Holy’
sites to see the remaining dead stones, where it is claimed that the Lord
ministered 2000 years ago. That’s fine, but I have
a vision to see these pilgrims offered
‘Living Stones’ tours. Tours which
will visit the key ‘Holy’ sites
but more importantly, will also include
visits to local Messianic congregations.
Come
and see what the Lord is doing in Israel today.
Come
and worship with us at our Sabbath services.
We
are also willing to provide half-day or evening seminars.
Everyone will be blessed. The local Believers will be blessed to know that
our brothers and sisters in the nations care enough about us to visit us. The pilgrims will be blessed as they stand in the
midst of hundreds of those ‘dry bones’ who have now returned to their Land and
have come to know their Messiah. To see with
their own eyes and to stand in the midst of
the fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures.
Lets work together to see this
change. Lets put a stop to the disappointment of the Israeli Believers, who see the thousands of buses, full of brothers
and sisters in the Lord, drive by our meeting places,
oblivious to the fact that we are here or that we even exist. What a shame to come all that way, only to miss it by just a
few kilometres !
Out of Zion is prepared to assist you in any way be can to put together a
‘Living Stones Tour’. We
are offering to help find
accommodation
in guesthouses operated by local Believers and to supply guides who are Messianic Jews. We can also arrange rental vehicles, buses and
suggest which sites should be visited and which local Messianic congregations are open to
visiting groups.
If you are interested, please write to me at the mail or email address at the top of this letter.
May the Holy One of Israel
richly bless you.
In Messiah Yeshua
David
Silver.
OUT
OF ZION
kiwi@netvision.net.il
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UT
of ZION MINISTRIES