The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Exile and Return”
God changes circumstances to accomplish His will. For those living in ancient Judea, it was His will to allow the Babylonian captivity. As Jeff teaches us from a busy street in Jerusalem, the God of Israel has brought His people home, just as He promised.
Series: “The God of Miracles”
We can’t go far in the Bible without encountering a miracle. When the universe was created, the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). When all seemed hopeless, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:6). In this nine-part series, we show our miraculous God at work from Genesis to Revelation, with teachings from the Holy Land by Dr. Jeffrey Seif. We also hear testimonials from those who have experienced the Lord’s supernatural hand in their own lives.

Caption transcript for The God of Miracles: “Exile and Return” (4/9)

  • 00:01 David Hart: On today's program we see God changes circumstances to accomplish his will, both in Bible times
  • 00:08 and even today. Join us on "Our Jewish Roots" with Bible teaching from Israel
  • 00:12 with Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
  • 00:14 ♪♪♪
  • 00:19 narrator: To believe in the Bible is to believe in miracles.
  • 00:22 From Genesis to Revelation, the impossible became possible.
  • 00:27 As God's hand moved across space and time,
  • 00:31 land and the seas were created, graves opened,
  • 00:34 water turned to wine, the sick and lame healed.
  • 00:39 The land of Israel completely restored.
  • 00:43 Past, present, and future, he's the Alpha and Omega.
  • 00:48 He is the God of miracles.
  • 00:51 ♪♪♪
  • 00:57 David: Thank you for joining us today.
  • 00:59 I am David Hart.
  • 01:00 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 01:02 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I'm Jeffrey Seif.
  • 01:03 Kirsten: We're in our series all about the God of miracles
  • 01:05 and today we're talking about the miracle of--it's not--
  • 01:08 the miracle isn't exile.
  • 01:09 The miracle is the return.
  • 01:11 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, it's geopolitical,
  • 01:13 God working with circumstances in order to help people get to a
  • 01:17 better space in life.
  • 01:19 Kirsten: So you're gonna tell us God works through politics?
  • 01:21 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, there was a change of administration.
  • 01:23 We went from a Babylonian to a Persian.
  • 01:26 There's a change of heart, a change of policy,
  • 01:28 a change of circumstances, for those living in the realm.
  • 01:31 Individuals were allowed to go back to their respective lands.
  • 01:35 Case in point, Jews heading back to Judea.
  • 01:38 It's something that happened at a political level that affected
  • 01:41 a change at a personal and spiritual level.
  • 01:43 Kirsten: And again, in 1948, that encoupled good
  • 01:47 returns to the land.
  • 01:48 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Later on in the program,
  • 01:49 yeah, God works through political circumstances.
  • 01:52 Kirsten: Yes, he does.
  • 01:53 David: I believe where we're going right now,
  • 01:54 you were in the middle of the desert
  • 01:56 with nothing around, right?
  • 01:58 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Wadi Qelt.
  • 01:59 David: Yes, we take you to Israel for Dr. Seif's teaching
  • 02:01 right now.
  • 02:04 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Miracles happen in different ways on
  • 02:07 different days.
  • 02:09 I say that because in the Bible there's financial miracles,
  • 02:12 there's breakthroughs there, there's medical miracles,
  • 02:16 people that are blind, they're lame, and even dead.
  • 02:21 We examine these in Scripture and we examine them
  • 02:25 in this series.
  • 02:27 There's financial miracles, there's medical miracles,
  • 02:33 there's relationships that get restored,
  • 02:37 different ways, different days.
  • 02:39 I wanna look at a miracle now that has its origin in politics.
  • 02:45 I don't know about you, you know,
  • 02:47 to talk about religion and politics is pretty combustible.
  • 02:51 But there are some people that are looking for a breakthrough
  • 02:53 that are unhappy campers.
  • 02:55 And does the Lord sometimes work through political change?
  • 03:01 I mention that because I know the answer to the question.
  • 03:03 It was rhetorical. The answer is yes.
  • 03:05 And I know that because Jeremiah predicted it.
  • 03:09 Jeremiah saw misfortune coming to Judah as a judgment on Judah
  • 03:14 because of her sins.
  • 03:16 But even with that said, in Jeremiah chapter 25,
  • 03:18 verse 12, it's noted there that this judgment,
  • 03:23 beginning with the annexation of Judea by Babylonia,
  • 03:27 to the eventual taking away into captivity
  • 03:30 is gonna last 70 years.
  • 03:32 After which, then, people are gonna return.
  • 03:34 Now, I'm interested in Ezra chapter 1.
  • 03:36 I wanna talk about a return that was facilitated
  • 03:39 by a regime change.
  • 03:42 When you talk about regime change today,
  • 03:44 it seems rather violent and I don't advocate for that in our
  • 03:47 own culture, even if I'm dissatisfied
  • 03:50 by a political position.
  • 03:52 You know, I exercise my right to speak and my right to vote and
  • 03:54 leave it at that.
  • 03:56 But there really was a regime change here.
  • 03:58 The Babylonians had taken the Judeans off into captivity.
  • 04:02 Eventually, however, they fell to the Persians.
  • 04:06 The Persians allowed the Judeans and others to return,
  • 04:09 again a political change.
  • 04:11 The net result, then, tens of thousands of Judeans came back
  • 04:16 through this way where we are right now.
  • 04:19 They bore the challenges of the wilderness 'cause God was
  • 04:22 guiding them through the wilderness
  • 04:24 to the place of their destiny.
  • 04:26 There's a fascinating story and it begins in Ezra 1.
  • 04:29 We're told: "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
  • 04:34 in order to accomplish the word of the Lord from the mouth of
  • 04:37 Jeremiah, the Lord spoke to Cyrus.
  • 04:40 He stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia."
  • 04:44 Says the Lord stirred up his spirit.
  • 04:46 There's a song that I love singing.
  • 04:48 It's called "Waymaker."
  • 04:50 ♪ Lord, even when I don't see it, you're working. ♪♪
  • 04:53 I mean, it's--here's something that had monumental implications
  • 04:59 that no one saw coming.
  • 05:00 It just happened.
  • 05:02 The Lord stirred up the Spirit.
  • 05:04 God can get into people's hearts and minds and facilitate change.
  • 05:09 That's where you get the word "omnipotent," by the way,
  • 05:11 a theological term: God is all-powerful.
  • 05:15 The net result then is that Cyrus says in verse 2 that the
  • 05:18 Lord's appointed him to build a house in Jerusalem.
  • 05:22 And then he beckons them, at verse 3,
  • 05:23 to go up and take care of the task.
  • 05:25 It's interesting that you wouldn't expect,
  • 05:29 you know, Cyrus to give voice to this but all of a sudden he gets
  • 05:33 on God's side of history and anointing
  • 05:37 and facilitates something.
  • 05:38 Listen, miracles are fascinating.
  • 05:41 You know, if Jesus, you know, does a financial miracle in your
  • 05:44 life, it's fascinating.
  • 05:46 A physical mealing in your--you know,
  • 05:48 a physical healing in your life, it's fascinating.
  • 05:51 A political miracle, we don't often think about that,
  • 05:55 but we run into that when we look at biblical literature,
  • 05:59 which is one of the reasons why we say that there is nothing
  • 06:02 that is too difficult for God.
  • 06:05 You might think that way because the things that occupy our minds
  • 06:09 oftentimes are the troubles of the day
  • 06:11 and they come in various forms.
  • 06:14 And you know, we play those scripts over.
  • 06:17 I'm so thankful to our partners that afforded us the opportunity
  • 06:21 to bring this series to you, a series of miracles,
  • 06:24 'cause I wanna remind you that irrespective of where
  • 06:27 circumstances find you, there's a real God in heaven
  • 06:31 and he's not just in heaven.
  • 06:32 He came to Earth and he doesn't just come
  • 06:34 into the world in general.
  • 06:36 He wants to come in your world in particular.
  • 06:38 And guess what?
  • 06:39 Miracles happen and, yes, even today.
  • 06:43 ♪♪♪
  • 06:50 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: My wife is always saying, "Drink, drink."
  • 06:54 She's always looking out for me, God bless her.
  • 06:56 I love her.
  • 06:58 I love pomegranate juice too.
  • 06:59 I'm glad I don't have to make it.
  • 07:01 They squeeze it and make it for me here on Ben Yehuda Street.
  • 07:08 Fascinating place, just up from Zion Square,
  • 07:11 here in Jerusalem.
  • 07:13 It's fascinating in part because of the person that the street
  • 07:17 is named after.
  • 07:20 I say that because Ben Yehuda himself participated in the
  • 07:24 modern miracle.
  • 07:26 I say that because Hebrew had been a dead language.
  • 07:29 Well, not altogether dead.
  • 07:31 It wasn't spoken of in modern world.
  • 07:34 It's the language of prayer and Hebrew text.
  • 07:37 Ben Yehuda is the one responsible for the modern
  • 07:40 language for the modern states.
  • 07:44 It's busy right now because the nation has come alive,
  • 07:49 but it wasn't always like that.
  • 07:53 What I wanna do is take you back to an ancient world,
  • 07:57 well, an ancient word from an ancient world.
  • 07:59 The man's name was Ezekiel and it comes from the word "chazaq"
  • 08:05 which means to be strong, and they needed strength too because
  • 08:09 Jews weren't here on Ben Yehuda Street.
  • 08:13 They weren't here in Jerusalem.
  • 08:16 They were savaged by time and circumstance.
  • 08:20 But Mr. Chazaq said, "Be strong," and he had a prophetic
  • 08:24 word that he was going to bring them back.
  • 08:29 And guess what?
  • 08:30 We're in a world called back which means we're in a world of
  • 08:34 prophecy being fulfilled.
  • 08:37 Don't take my word for it.
  • 08:39 Let's hear from the literature.
  • 08:40 In Ezekiel 37, in verse 12, he says hineh,
  • 08:48 which is the word "behold"; ani, "I."
  • 08:52 Now, the I that's talking is God.
  • 08:55 He says,
  • 08:56 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 08:58 "I will open your graves."
  • 09:05 Now, contextually, to the beginning of the chapter,
  • 09:09 he likens the nation state of Israel to dry, scattered bones.
  • 09:15 And here, he's giving voice to their resurrection.
  • 09:19 It would have seemed impossible in his day.
  • 09:21 He himself was startled by the vision.
  • 09:25 Today, interestingly, it is a very responsible argument that
  • 09:29 we're living in the fulfillment of a promise--
  • 09:32 that is, a modern-day miracle.
  • 09:38 When we talk about miracles, we're talking about suspension
  • 09:41 of the laws of nature.
  • 09:44 Now, there's physical miracles with body,
  • 09:46 financial miracles, but here we're looking at one that
  • 09:49 involves hundreds and thousands of millions of people coming
  • 09:54 hundreds and thousands of millions of miles.
  • 09:57 When you add it all up, from different places in the world,
  • 10:00 coming back here.
  • 10:04 There are a variety of reasons why Israel's beautiful
  • 10:06 in my mind's eye.
  • 10:08 Certainly, of Jewish extract myself,
  • 10:12 the re-emergence of a Jewish state in the ancestral homeland
  • 10:16 resonates with me.
  • 10:18 But you don't have to be Jew.
  • 10:19 You can see something in it of you.
  • 10:21 I mention that because the story of miracle is extremely
  • 10:25 important, not just the Jews needed it to re-present in the
  • 10:30 homeland but you might need a miracle yourself.
  • 10:35 Could it be that Israel itself is a testimony itself to a God
  • 10:40 who watches over his word to perform it?
  • 10:44 I mention that in Ezekiel's day they had been displaced from the
  • 10:47 ancestral homeland because of sin and circumstances that
  • 10:51 accumulated over quite some time.
  • 10:53 They are in Babylonia at the time of the writing and when he
  • 10:56 says he's gonna bring 'em back, he did there and then--
  • 10:59 that is, the Babylonians eventually fell to the Persians,
  • 11:03 subsequent to which the Persians allowed them to return.
  • 11:07 So you can say, "Well, Jeffrey, you're looking
  • 11:08 at fulfilled prophecy.
  • 11:10 Why do you wanna bring it forth in the modernity?"
  • 11:12 Well, indeed there was a partial fulfillment of it in antiquity,
  • 11:16 but as you read on through the prophet Ezekiel,
  • 11:19 he talks about the rebuilding of the temple,
  • 11:22 he talks about miracles happening through it to the
  • 11:25 world, things that haven't happened yet.
  • 11:27 So the Ezekiel text begs a future fulfillment which begs a
  • 11:33 present question--that is, are we living in a world of miracle
  • 11:39 with prophecy being fulfilled today?
  • 11:43 I say yes.
  • 11:46 And it's not just good news for Jews.
  • 11:48 It's good news for yous. And why is that?
  • 11:50 Because of the same God that watches over Israel,
  • 11:53 yes, that's the God that watches over you.
  • 11:57 ♪♪♪
  • 12:07 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Usually, when you make television,
  • 12:10 you like a nice quiet studio.
  • 12:14 Well, that ain't happening here.
  • 12:17 There's way too much life. That's a good thing.
  • 12:21 They're partying in the background.
  • 12:22 They're doing construction.
  • 12:24 You're gonna see a--you might hear a saw in a minute and see
  • 12:28 stuff all around you.
  • 12:30 Welcome to Jerusalem, a city that has come back to life,
  • 12:37 itself a testimony to God's loving kindness
  • 12:41 which endures forever.
  • 12:44 Not everybody felt that loving kindness.
  • 12:46 Ezekiel, whom I referred to earlier,
  • 12:50 gave voice to the fact that one time they weren't experiencing
  • 12:53 life; people were experiencing death.
  • 12:57 They were taken off into captivity in Babylonia and they
  • 13:02 felt that our hope is lost.
  • 13:07 It's explicit in the literature:
  • 13:08 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 13:09 "Our hope," we're told in Ezekiel 37:11,
  • 13:14 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 13:16 "We're cut off.
  • 13:18 Our hope is cut off from us."
  • 13:21 They felt that way, and I understand why they did because
  • 13:24 their circumstances attested to it.
  • 13:27 Speaking of which, I don't know what your circumstances are.
  • 13:32 I know those people back then could have very well felt that
  • 13:35 way for good reasons.
  • 13:38 And when you look at your life, you could very well think that
  • 13:41 way for good reason as well.
  • 13:44 I say that because you never know what a hearer is hearing in
  • 13:48 their inner dialogue.
  • 13:49 Someone comes up to you and says,
  • 13:51 "How are you doing?"
  • 13:52 You're gonna probably say, "Fine, thank you, and you?"
  • 13:54 Never mind what you say to the world,
  • 13:55 the question is what do you say to yourself?
  • 13:58 And sometimes, the language is very negative because the
  • 14:01 circumstances are abysmal.
  • 14:03 People can feel their hope is lost because people have been
  • 14:06 abandoned by people, significant others jettison which is very
  • 14:10 dispiriting, people can feel their hope is lost when their
  • 14:14 own body betrays them.
  • 14:17 People can feel their hope is lost when their circumstances
  • 14:20 betray them, when their finances dissipate,
  • 14:23 they lose a job.
  • 14:24 Different people can happen--different things can
  • 14:27 happen to different people to cause them to feel our hope is
  • 14:30 lost and, frankly, I can understand
  • 14:32 why they feel that way.
  • 14:34 What I can't understand is how people maintain that way when
  • 14:37 they open up the Bible because this just glares hope "from
  • 14:41 Genesis to maps," as my wife likes to say.
  • 14:44 From Genesis to Revelation, it is just full of hope.
  • 14:50 Speaking of getting over to maps, or closer to Revelation,
  • 14:53 I think of the Gospel of John.
  • 14:55 You might recall there were two sisters in the 11th chapter.
  • 14:58 They were out of hope. Their brother died.
  • 15:01 He's known as Lazarus, his Hebrew name was Eleazar.
  • 15:04 And they thought it was all over.
  • 15:07 And you know what happened?
  • 15:08 Yeshua showed up and raised him from the dead.
  • 15:10 You know, he raises up people from the dead,
  • 15:13 from difficult circumstances, he does.
  • 15:16 He brings it back to life.
  • 15:17 He does it with individuals, and here I'm coming to you from
  • 15:21 Israel, where he does it with a nation state.
  • 15:25 What are the prospects of a God like that for you in your own
  • 15:29 individual circumstances?
  • 15:31 I want you to know, I want you to be able
  • 15:34 to say what Jews say in Israel:
  • 15:36 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 15:39 "The people of Israel live."
  • 15:42 And that need not be simply a story over here;
  • 15:46 it can be a story on the other side of the camera where
  • 15:50 you're sitting right now.
  • 15:52 I want you to know, indeed, there's hope and there's hope
  • 15:55 for you.
  • 15:56 Why is that? Because God still does miracles.
  • 16:04 Kirsten: I sure don't wanna discredit Dr. Seif's teaching
  • 16:08 but, Dr. Seif, you were walking with fresh pomegranate juice in
  • 16:14 the Holy Land on Ben Yehuda Street.
  • 16:16 Your teaching was fantastic, but I was distracted by the life and
  • 16:20 the drink that you had at your hand.
  • 16:22 That's such good stuff.
  • 16:23 You like the pomegranate juice too, yes?
  • 16:25 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Oh yeah, pomegranates and Israel
  • 16:27 kinda sorta go together.
  • 16:29 Kirsten: I know.
  • 16:30 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: In fact, Jews looked at the pomegranate
  • 16:31 as a symbol of Judaism in a variety of ways because of the
  • 16:34 seed count in the fruit.
  • 16:36 But it was yummy, it was tasty.
  • 16:38 Kirsten: It's good.
  • 16:40 And it's a miracle, right, to be back in that land drinking
  • 16:43 pomegranate juice.
  • 16:45 There's life going on and I love the shots of you at Ben Yehuda.
  • 16:49 The life is just active going on behind you.
  • 16:51 It wasn't so, take it 100 years ago, was it?
  • 16:54 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: No, it came back to life.
  • 16:55 And, you know, the fruits.
  • 16:57 The land has been known for its fruits,
  • 17:00 even referring to Israel as the land of milk and honey harks to
  • 17:03 something, and the various fruit products.
  • 17:05 The Bible references the figs and the olives and what have
  • 17:09 you, and it's also very tasty and so very delightful.
  • 17:14 David: Something that we really love about Israel
  • 17:16 when we go.
  • 17:17 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You know, Israel is a garden
  • 17:19 come back to life.
  • 17:20 It's where the Garden of Eden was originally,
  • 17:23 verdant, blossoming, but then through sin and circumstance,
  • 17:26 the world changed and people were kicked out.
  • 17:29 But if you look at Israel of the Promised Land,
  • 17:31 there is some kind of association with Eden and,
  • 17:33 with that, the wonderful fruits.
  • 17:35 David: And the miracle, sorry.
  • 17:36 Kirsten: Right, the miracles.
  • 17:38 And the covenant promise that God did bring his people back.
  • 17:40 He brought 'em back from exile and he brought 'em back to make
  • 17:44 Aliyah into the new land currently that we can see.
  • 17:47 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, and we see it in the series,
  • 17:48 and in this program, particularly,
  • 17:50 about how the miracle of God bringing people
  • 17:52 back to their place.
  • 17:54 You know, sin takes people off course,
  • 17:57 and the question is can God get us back on course and get us
  • 17:59 back to a good place in life?
  • 18:01 And the miracle power of God affords us the opportunity to
  • 18:05 get back and grow and live in love again.
  • 18:07 David: Amen. So much more in this program.
  • 18:09 Stay with us.
  • 18:12 David: Our resource this week,
  • 18:13 three beautiful magnets of Jerusalem,
  • 18:16 featuring photography by our own Kenneth Berg.
  • 18:19 These magnets are a wonderful addition for your refrigerator
  • 18:22 or filing cabinet, and a great reminder to pray for the peace
  • 18:26 of Jerusalem.
  • 18:27 Call 1-800-WONDERS or visit us at LEVITT.COM.
  • 18:31 Remember to connect with us on social media
  • 18:34 for so much extra content.
  • 18:36 Find us at "Our Jewish Roots."
  • 18:42 Kirsten: There's a term called "social media savvy."
  • 18:45 That simply means you know your way around social media sites
  • 18:49 and the different apps.
  • 18:50 We wanna make that easy for you.
  • 18:52 Simply look up "Our Jewish Roots" on whatever site you're
  • 18:57 on, and we guarantee we will give you extra hours,
  • 19:01 if you so choose, of bonus interviews and extra programs,
  • 19:05 lots to read, lots to view, on our social media sites.
  • 19:09 David: Can I also add to what Kirsten just said?
  • 19:11 Kirsten and I are honored to be a part of this series,
  • 19:14 "The God of Miracles."
  • 19:17 David: And speaking of miracles,
  • 19:18 certainly, downtown Jerusalem is just that.
  • 19:21 Amazingly, during its long history,
  • 19:24 Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times,
  • 19:27 captured 44 times, besieged 23 times,
  • 19:31 and destroyed twice.
  • 19:33 And yet, to witness its downtown streets is to witness a miracle.
  • 19:38 The capital of Israel has risen miraculously from the ashes and
  • 19:42 become a thriving municipality with wonderful shops,
  • 19:46 restaurants, and a light rail system that can take you
  • 19:50 virtually anywhere you need to go.
  • 19:52 It's here that the magazine "Israel Today" is headquartered.
  • 19:56 An international publication staffed by reporters and editors
  • 19:59 that seek to bring a biblical perspective
  • 20:02 to current events in Israel.
  • 20:04 Theirs is a dedicated mission to help you stay informed
  • 20:08 and pray informed.
  • 20:10 The magazine's editor, David Lazarus,
  • 20:13 tells us the story of how he came to faith.
  • 20:18 David Lazarus: So you wanna talk about miracles?
  • 20:19 I'll tell you a miracle.
  • 20:22 I was living in the Sinai Desert.
  • 20:23 When was that?
  • 20:25 Over 40 years ago.
  • 20:28 Why was I in the Sinai Desert?
  • 20:29 Well, I was sick and tired of this crazy,
  • 20:31 fakakta, mixed-up world, and I made a hut for myself on a sand
  • 20:36 dune down there, under a palm tree,
  • 20:38 and I lived there for 3 years.
  • 20:41 I used to go fishing in the Red Sea.
  • 20:44 And one day I was fixing my nets,
  • 20:46 sitting on the sand dune, and it occurred to me or it came to me,
  • 20:52 I have no explanation, that Jesus--
  • 20:57 this, of all the things in the world, is the Messiah
  • 21:03 for the Jewish people.
  • 21:04 I'm like, "What is this?
  • 21:08 How is this possible?"
  • 21:10 And this was a life-transforming encounter that I had with Jesus,
  • 21:17 or Yeshua, as we called him.
  • 21:20 Of course, with me, it was that guy that we don't talk about.
  • 21:26 And I can only stand this to be a miracle because there really
  • 21:31 is no natural way that this could have happened.
  • 21:38 There's no reason.
  • 21:40 It was God intervening in the natural order of things,
  • 21:50 to come to a Jew in the middle of the desert and reveal himself
  • 21:55 to me.
  • 21:57 And I say that this is a miracle,
  • 22:00 first of all, because it was transformational.
  • 22:03 My life was instantly transformed.
  • 22:07 I mean, I became a dedicated, you know,
  • 22:10 disciple and followed Yeshua for the rest of my life.
  • 22:16 And I see this also, not just as a personal testimony to the
  • 22:22 power, let's say the willingness of God to continue to pour his
  • 22:27 love on my people regardless of time or space,
  • 22:35 and unhooked, or unhinged even, to human endeavors to make that
  • 22:42 kind of a thing happen.
  • 22:44 When a miracle happened in the Bible,
  • 22:46 it was written down and then these stories were passed down
  • 22:50 from generation to generation.
  • 22:53 And this story, my story, and the story of many others,
  • 22:57 of my friends, actually, from here in Israel,
  • 23:00 this is back in the '60s and 1970s,
  • 23:03 had similar encounters with Jesus.
  • 23:08 This is something that represents something
  • 23:10 much bigger than ourselves.
  • 23:12 This is a story.
  • 23:14 If you will, this is a biblical story.
  • 23:16 You know, if we were still writing the Bible today,
  • 23:19 this is one of the things that would be recorded
  • 23:22 and that would be told.
  • 23:24 That my people, these people, came back to this land and,
  • 23:29 after 2000 years of a veil--is it?--
  • 23:36 I don't even know, but after--
  • 23:39 we came to a place of history where
  • 23:41 the children of Israel could never--
  • 23:43 could not recognize Yeshua.
  • 23:47 So I praise God for his working in our world and in our lives
  • 23:56 today through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
  • 24:01 Thank you.
  • 24:04 David: It is so encouraging to us to see people like David
  • 24:07 Lazarus who have had a God miracle in their life.
  • 24:11 It's happening in Israel today, yes?
  • 24:13 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, and he's been that tip of that spear
  • 24:15 for a number of years.
  • 24:16 Now he reports on it in a variety of ways and he's a
  • 24:19 personal testimony of the miraculous.
  • 24:22 Kirsten: He's a personal testimony.
  • 24:24 The country or state of Israel is an absolute
  • 24:27 modern-day miracle, hands down.
  • 24:30 People that don't believe in miracles anymore just need to
  • 24:32 look at Israel.
  • 24:34 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, and one miracle's worth 100 sermons.
  • 24:36 People need to see stories of God at work in the world,
  • 24:40 'cause it invites them to consider the possibilities for
  • 24:43 their own life.
  • 24:45 It's better than lecturing on miracles.
  • 24:47 A testimony of a transformation, of a suspension of the laws of
  • 24:51 nature, divine intervention, a testimony of that effect invites
  • 24:56 people to consider implications for their own life.
  • 24:59 Extremely powerful.
  • 25:00 Kirsten: And also to consider keeping
  • 25:02 this program alive financially.
  • 25:06 We wanna continue bringing you the miracle of Israel,
  • 25:10 the miracle of Jewish people turning to their Messiah.
  • 25:14 We can only do it with your help.
  • 25:16 So, thank you in advance for voting for this program to stay
  • 25:20 on air, financially.
  • 25:21 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You know, I've been around this program
  • 25:23 for a couple of years and so have you.
  • 25:24 It's 46 years old.
  • 25:26 I've seen occasions when we were really up against the ropes,
  • 25:28 but the Lord touched someone to send a significant donation to
  • 25:33 kind of push us forward, and I think our own existence,
  • 25:36 to your point, 46 years on television, is a miracle.
  • 25:39 Kirsten: It is, and we're thankful
  • 25:41 for all our viewers and--
  • 25:43 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: All of our friends, yes.
  • 25:44 Kirsten: --more next week.
  • 25:45 David: We have a song from our founder, Zola Levitt.
  • 25:47 But before we do that, we end with--
  • 25:49 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Always like this.
  • 25:50 Next week, let's do it again.
  • 25:52 Till then, Shaalu shalom Yerushalayim.
  • 25:54 Kirsten: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 25:57 ♪ So rise now and walk ♪
  • 26:01 ♪ Through the loveliness of Israel ♪
  • 26:05 ♪ And all that you can see ♪
  • 26:10 ♪ I give it unto thee ♪
  • 26:21 ♪ Out of thee I'll make a mighty nation ♪
  • 26:24 ♪ Out of thee ♪
  • 26:26 ♪ I'll bless the other lands ♪
  • 26:29 ♪ Thy children are my children ♪
  • 26:33 ♪ I give the Promised Land of Israel ♪
  • 26:37 ♪ I give my land to thee ♪
  • 26:40 ♪ Get thee out and journey into Canaan ♪
  • 26:45 ♪ Leave thy land and leave thy father's house ♪
  • 26:49 ♪ Unto the land I give thee ♪
  • 26:53 ♪ I give the Promised Land of Israel ♪
  • 26:57 ♪ I give my land to thee ♪
  • 27:01 ♪ Unto the land I give thee ♪
  • 27:05 ♪ I give my land to thee ♪
  • 27:12 ♪ To thee ♪
  • 27:17 David: Join us right now for additional content that is only
  • 27:20 available on our social media sites.
  • 27:23 Visit our website, levitt.com, for the current and past
  • 27:26 programs, the television schedule,
  • 27:29 tour information, and our free monthly newsletter which is full
  • 27:33 of insightful articles and news commentary.
  • 27:36 View it online or we can ship it directly
  • 27:38 to your mailbox every month.
  • 27:41 Also on our website is the online store.
  • 27:43 There, you can order this week's resource or you can always give
  • 27:47 us a call at 1-800-WONDERS.
  • 27:50 Your donations to Zola Levitt Ministries helps us to support
  • 27:53 these organizations as they bless Israel.
  • 27:56 Please remember we depend on tax-deductible donations from
  • 27:59 viewers like you.
  • 28:01 ♪♪♪
  • 28:09 ♪♪♪
  • 28:19 ♪♪♪

Episodes in this series

  1. The Holy Spirit
  2. The Exodus
  3. Death and Life
  4. Exile and Return
  5. The Incarnation
  6. Our Daily Bread
  7. The Physical Realm
  8. Our Greatest Need
  9. Bonus interviews

Guest organizations and links