Dear Family in the Messiah Yeshua! Greetings and blessing from your brothers and sisters at “Holy Land Ministries in Israel”!
As we approach the feast of Purim, celebrated from Saturday evening 23rd March through to the evening of Monday 25th March 2024, in Israel thoughts are still filled with the events of October 7th and the continuing effects of the war with Hamas, Hezbollah and other Iranian terror proxies that is still taking its toll on Israeli citizens.
This makes the story of Purim especially bitter sweet. Bitter – as in the minds of many Israeli’s they feel they are facing the same unremitting hatred and existential threat just as they faced in the Babylonian exile recorded in the book of Esther. But in this same event God’s protection over His people is clearly, if covertly, seen.
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:1-4
We are pleased to include in this newsletter the following article on the feast of Purim written by our local Rabbi and dear brother in Messiah Yeshua.
Purim 5784
Although the Festival of Purim is not mentioned in the Torah, it nevertheless contains a great deal of revelation for the people of G-d. The enemy of the Jewish people in the Scroll of Esther is Haman. His objective was to totally destroy the people of G-d. In the end, he was not successful and received the judgment of G-d. The primary verse I would like to focus upon for this brief article is Esther 8:1a,
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, נָתַן הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ לְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה, אֶת-בֵּית הָמָן, צֹרֵר היהודיים (הַיְּהוּדִים)…
“On that day, King Ahchashverosh gave to Queen Esther the estate (house) of Haman, the enemy of the Jews….”
The Hebrew phrase בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא “On that day” relates specifically to judgment. The Scroll of Esther, and the events which are discussed in it, all took place in the past; however there are clear implications to the End Times. It is significant that the Hebrew term for the antichrist is צֹרֵר המשיח which is derived from the same word which is used to describe Haman in this verse. This teaches the reader that the antichrist will not be successful, as also Haman failed in his objective to exterminate the Jewish people.
Another important truth which is contained in this verse is that Esther received all the wealth from Haman’s estate. This reveals that believers will also receive an inheritance at the end of the world. This is supported by the well known verse,
וַעֲנָוִים יִירְשׁוּ-אָרֶץ וְהִתְעַנְּגוּ עַל-רֹב שָׁלוֹם
“The humble ones will inherit the earth and they will delight in abundant Shalom.”
Psalm 37:11
This Psalm states that those who are humble will inherit the earth. The word which means humble is frequently translated as the “meek”. This same word is used to describe Moses as the most humble man and this relates to him also being called the servant of the L-rd. Hence, a true servant of G-d must be humble and G-d will reward His faithful servants, this is the meaning of the phrase, “The humble ones will inherit the earth….” The second part of this verse teaches that the inheritance will be a source of great delight in abundant Shalom.
The Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם directly relates to the will of G-d being fulfilled and the outcome of His will being fulfilled. One should understand that the fulfilment of the will of G-d will bring about great delight for His people. What is frequently ignored by many believers is that it is the judgment of G-d which will bring about the destruction of evil and the fulfilment of G-d’s will. The Festival of Purim should remind the people of G-d that in the same way, Haman and those who participated in his plan to exterminate the Jews were defeated. This should provide the sure expectation that in the End Times, G-d will judge not only the antichrist, but all who participate in his purposes. In other words, there is a direct relationship between the judgment of G-d, the victory of His people and the will of G-d being fulfilled.
This is why John states in the book of Revelation,
“From afar standing on account of the fear of her torment, saying Woe, woe the great city of Babylon, the strong city, for in one hour your judgment has come, and the merchants of the earth are weeping and mourning for her because their cargo no one buys anymore. Cargo of gold and of silver and of precious stones and pearls and fine linen and of purple and of silk and of scarlet and of all citron wood and every vessel of ivory and every vessel of most precious wood and of bronze and of silver and of marble and cinnamon and spice and incenses and myrrh and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep and of horses and of chariots and of slaves and the souls of men. And your ripe fruit of desire of the soul which departed from you and all the rich things and the splendid things which have departed from you and no longer will they ever be found.
The merchants of these things, having been enriched from her, they will stand from afar because of the fear of her torment. They are weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe the great city, the one having been clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and having been adorned with gold and precious stones and pearl.
For in one hour she has been brought to desolation, such great wealth. And every captain and everyone which sells to a place as many as do business by the sea, they stood from afar. And they were crying seeing the smoke from her burning saying, What is like this great city?
They cast dust upon their heads, they were crying out, weeping and mourning saying, Woe, woe the great city in which were made wealthy all those having ships in the sea from her wealth. For in one hour she has been destroyed.
Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and the saints and the apostles, and the prophets, because G-d made judgment for your vindication from her. And one angel lifted up a strong stone as a great millstone and cast into the sea saying,
Thus the violence of Babylon, the great city, will be cast down and never will be found any longer. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will never be heard in you any longer and the craftsmen of all crafts shall never be found in you any longer and the sound of a millstone shall never be heard in you any longer. And the light of a lamp will never shine in you any longer and the voice of the groom and the bride will no longer be heard in you any longer, for your merchants the ones that were great of the earth because of your sorcery, they deceive all the nations and in her was found the blood of the prophets and the saints and all those having been slain on the earth.”
Revelation 18:10-24
Notice there is a strong dichotomy between those who were mourning and grieving over Babylon’s destruction and how Heaven and the saints, apostles and prophets were rejoicing. What were they rejoicing over? G-d’s judgment being poured out upon the Empire of the antichrist. In conclusion, the Scroll of Esther reveals a past victory of G-d’s Old Covenant people over an empire which desired to destroy them, which gives His New Covenant people assurance that the antichrist will not succeed in his evil desire to destroy first believers, and then Israel. G-d’s judgment will provide the Kingdom victory for His people. Praise the L-rd for His Righteous Judgment.
May you have a joyful and significant observance of Purim.
We would like to update you on some current projects that Holy Land Ministries is currently involved in, starting with the ministry to IDF personnel, especially lone soldiers.
On the first days of the war thousands of Israeli reservists rushed to their military base “as they were”, did not have the time to pack even the basic necessities such as tooth brushes etc.
In response to that many Israeli citizens were buying and sending quantities of those practical items for the soldiers, wishing they could do more to help.
Unfortunately today, we are already in the sixth month of the war and nobody knows how long it will last.
This is the longest and hardest war that our generation can remember. And though all of us are constantly and fervently praying for the victory over the terrorists, we also realise, with the great sadness, that this is not the last war that Israel will endure before real Shalom (Peace) will be finally established.
As Yeshua’s disciples we are longing and anticipating His return, knowing that this alone will bring the end of the harrowing, heart- breaking reality that we are facing now.
In these days more than ever we feel the urge to proclaim the Gospel of Peace, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Most of the Israeli soldiers who are going to battle today, do not know this Truth. Please pray with us, that this will change and the message of our Messiah will start to spread among the Israeli soldiers.
Recently we became involved with several projects helping the solders, but none of them have given us the opportunity to share the Gospel with the solders except the ministry to the “lone solders”. (Lone solders are those in the army who have no family in Israel).
Lone solders more than others need practical aid and a “family” support. This gives us an opportunity to build a personal relationship with the soldier as we help him practically and pray for his safety and personal needs.
Please meet single solder Robert, 22 years old. He was called into the Israeli Defense Force on the day after October the 7th and since then has been serving on the northern border of Israel close to Lebanon, defending us from the terrorists of “Hesbollah” and some local terrorist groups of “Hamas” located there.
Robert came to Israel alone at the age of 15, finished school, college and was drafted into the army.
Please pray with us for this precious young man, for his safety and protection, for the Lord’s will in his life and that the Gospel message will change Robert’s heart forever bringing him into eternal security and joy!
Please pray with us, dear Family, that in spite of our limited means and other limitations, we will be able to reach many more Israeli soldiers, like Robert, communicating to them the Good News of our Messiah and His eternal power, which protects everyone who trusts in Him.
Dear Family, please remember in your prayers our ministry to the elderly here in Israel.
At this difficult time our precious older wards need our care and prayers more than ever.
Due to the war many of our volunteers have left Israel and especially the city of Ashqelon (as Ashqelon is located only eight kilometres from Gaza).
Half of our elderly wards are living in Ashqelon and thus we have a great lack of workers able to help us look after them presently. It is very natural and understandable that many Israeli citizens feel very vulnerable and frightened during the war (this is why many of them left), but it is much more so for the senior citizens who even in normal times often feel helpless and insecure, as they are entirely dependent on others for their basic needs and safety.
We are sure that it is only because of your prayers that most of our dear elderly people are in relatively good health and even cheerful in spirit. When we ask them how we can pray for them at the moment their main reply would be “for the protection of the soldiers, return of the hostages and Israel’s victory in this terrible war”.
Dear Friends, please pray with us for the Lord’s provision of workers and volunteers in this particular ministry to the elderly, which we believe is very important and dear to the Lord’s heart.
And above all please pray for His continuous and abundant grace in the lives of these precious elderly Jewish people who have survived the Holocaust in the early stage of their lives and have recently been so vividly reminded of it again by the unspeakable horrors, demonstrated on the 7th of October even in their historical Homeland, in Israel.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for your are with me:Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”. Psalm 23:4
Included here are just a few of the elderly people HLM ministers to: From left to right – Vayeshlav, Lisa and Antonina.
We are also asking for your prayer support of our mission work in Kyrgyzstan.
About two years ago we received a request for help from the Messianic believers in Yeshua in that distant and strange Asian country located on the Chinese and Russian border, called Kyrgyzstan or Kirghizia.
To our surprise we have discovered there local believers in Yeshua who feel a deep love for Israel and earnestly seek connection and help from the Jewish Messianic believers in Israel.
“Many people shall come and say, ‘come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths’. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of God from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3 NKJV)
This wonderful prophetic verse is usually connected with the future millennial reign of our Messiah Yeshua at His second Coming.
As we know in our time, most of the Christian communities have their own religious practices and traditions formed by the many centuries of Christianity in their own religious cultures outside of Israel, this is why we were so surprised to receive this call from our brothers and sisters in Kyrgyzstan, far away from Israel.
Though we have always used various opportunities to bless our suffering brothers and sisters from the third world counties by sending them some little financial support, we have never been involved in a serious missionary work outside of Israel or provided our teaching materials to the believers there.
At this time, as we were approached by the Messianic group in Kyrgyzstan, to help them to share in their country the Good News of the Messiah of Israel we felt led to act upon this prophetic call and to share with them the materials and teaching “out of Zion” based upon Isaiah 2:3
And so our help at this time to the local Messianic believers in Kirghizia consists of supporting the charity work among the local poor and at the same time providing them with the Biblical /Torah teaching, also using the materials of our rabbi, a devoted disciple of the Messiah Yeshua here in Israel.
Kyrgyzstan is a predominately muslim country at this time in history. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union in the nineties of the last century, Kyrgyzstan was under the rule of soviet Russia and after its fall, became an easy prey for the islamic influence and propaganda mainly coming from Turkey.
It could be said till very recently, that the majority of this country were practicing a “very moderate islam” and were not showing much religious zeal for the islamic practices and ideas. Very few Kirghiz people knew or cared to know where Israel is (except for the Messianic believers there) and what Israel has to do with the Middle East conflict etc.
All this changed overnight after October the 7th to the great astonishment of our team there. They have called us and warned that no one from Israel should travel to their country at this time, because it has become extremely dangerous. The islamic activists everywhere are spreading horrible lies about Israelis; with demonic cynicism they are blaming them for the unspeakable atrocities committed by the “hamas” terrorist on the 7th of October, and even actually saying that those videos show the Israeli Zionist killing the Palestinians. They are now the Kirghiz muslims to join “hamas” and protect “their Palestinian brothers from the Israel’s genocide”.
As we said, until very recently very few from the local people in Kyrgyzstan knew where Israel was (except for the local believers in Yeshua), and now Israel has become the target of burning hatred for many due to the demonic lies and aggressive propaganda of the islamic media there.
Dear Friends, we are asking your prayers for our ministry team in Kyrgyzstan whom we continue to support and seek the Lord’s guidance together as all these dramatic events are happening in front of our eyes so rapidly.
Please pray for the Lord’s protection and wisdom for our team there, as they continue to do the work and spread the Good News and light of our Messiah in the middle of this spiritual darkness in Kyrgyzstan.
We are asking your specific prayers for our team leader there, Amir (we don’t publish his real name now for security reasons).
This precious brother came to faith in Yeshua many years ago and has been repeatedly persecuted for his ministry and testimony about Yeshua in his country. Amir was a very radical and committed muslim in his early youth till he had a personal dramatic encounter with the living God through His Blessed Son Yeshua the Messiah. Amir also has done a serious study of the Koran and has come to the deep conviction that the character of Allah has nothing to do with the God of Israel revealed in the Torah /in the Bible. Moreover the character of Allah is the direct opposite of the Character of the true Holy God and therefore the person of Allah is rather pure “Shaitan” (Satanic ) manifestation in order to deceive and destroy those muslims following him . Of course this is a very “radical “view in this, or any, muslim country.
After these conclusions our brother identified himself openly with the God of Israel and His Son Yeshua HaMashiach. He has set the flag of Israel over the roof of his house and also used every opportunity to bless Israel and the Jewish people. Needless to say that this open attitude is a dangerous position in islamic Kyrgyzstan especially after all the recent events.
One of the ministry projects at the moment that our brother, with the rest of the team, is working on now, beside the charity work and evangelism, is the fight against the Islamic terrorists propaganda. He is doing this by translating into Kirghiz language and sharing the true testimonies of the events taking place in Israel.
Please pray with us that our dear brother and the rest of the team there will be strengthened and protected in their life and ministry even at this challenging time as they are spreading the Truth and the Light of the Messiah of Israel in their homeland in Kyrgyzstan!
Have a joyful and significant Purim, dear Family
Holy Land Ministries 