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From: Rabbi Moshe Joseph Koniuchowsky (:ravmoshe@bellsouth.net)
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: [YourArmsToIsraelNews] AND HE DREW NEAR...................


FROM MESSIANIC ISRAEL ALLIANCE FRIEND AND ASSOCIATE RABBI MORDECHAI SILVER. RAV SILVER IS FROM THE REMNANT HOUSE OF JUDAH! RAV SILVER CAME TO TWO-HOUSE BREAKTHROUGH, THROUGH THIS MINISTRY AND THROUGH OUR POSTED WRITINGS. WITHIN ONE WEEK OF FINDING THIS LIBERATING TRUTH, HE TOLD HIS FLOCK IN NEW MEXICO (TODAY 2 FLOCKS) THAT THEY WERE A MESSIANIC ISRAEL CONGREGATION. MAY YAHWEH ALMIGHTY CONTINUE TO RAISE UP OTHERS FROM JUDAH THROUGH OUR WRITINGS AND OUTREACHES, WHO WILL THEN TAKE THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE WITH THEIR RETURNING BROTHERS FROM THE HOUSE OF EPHRAIM.


           VAYIGASH-AND HE DREW NEAR
                        Gen. 44:18-47:27;                             
                        Ezek. 37:15-28
                        Luke 15:11-32

In the Portion Vayigash, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and bids them bring their father Jacob to Egypt, and at long last, after many a journey, the family is reunited. Looking back on all that transpired among them, Joseph says to his brothers: Elohim sent me ahead of you to assure your survival in the land and to keep you alive, for a great deliverance (45:7). We do not know how our life's journey will turn out.

Jacob sets out with all that was his - all his possessions. "All" includes our spiritual possessions; when we spend them with ardor we enrich ourselves no less than we do our companions of the road.

Genesis/Bereisheet 45:1-5, 14-15

1 Now Joseph could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him, so he called out, "Remove everyone from before me!" Thus no one remained with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 He cried in a loud voice. Egypt heard, and Pharaoh's household heard. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me, if you please," and they came close. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother - it is me, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now, be not distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me here, for it was to be a provider that God sent me ahead of you. 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 He then kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; afterwards his brothers conversed with him.

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. As Joseph ([non-Jewish Israel) reveals himself to his brothers, who make up the future nation of Israel, so we are seeing Joseph revealing himself in our time to his brother Judah. As Joseph revealed himself to his brothers we have seen our Messiah Yeshua reveal Himself to us. Yeshua does not hide nor keep Himself hidden since that day two thousand years ago that rose from the grave. He presents Himself as Joseph presented himself before all the tribes of Israel. Yeshua wept for His people as Joseph wept over his brothers. Yeshua shed tears over Jerusalem and in that day when He stands before all of Israel He will weep for joy at seeing His people reunited as one nation, come back together, nor longer as separate but united as one called Israel. Not a Jewish Israel or a Christian Israel but an Israel made up of both Judah and Ephraim united together in our Messiah Yeshua.

Ezekiel 37:15-28

15 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying: 16 Now you, son of man, take yourself one wooden tablet and write upon it, "For Judah and the Children of Israel, his comrades," and take another wooden tablet and write upon it, "For Joseph, the wooden tablet of Ephraim, and all the Children of Israel, his comrades." 17 And bring close to yourself, one to the other, like a single wooden tablet, and they shall become one in your hand. 18 Now when the children of your people say to you, "Will you not tell us what these are to you?" 19 speak to them, "Thus says my Lord Yahweh/Elohim - Behold! -- I take the wooden tablet of Joseph, which is in Ephraim's hand, and of the tribes of Israel his comrades, and shall place them with it together with the wooden tablet of Judah, and I will make them one wooden tablet, and they shall become one in my hand. 20 And the wooden tablets upon which you will write shall be in your hand, in their sight." 21 Then speak to them, "Thus says my Lord Yahweh/Elohim - Behold! -- I take the Children of Israel from among the nations to which they went, and I shall gather them from around and I shall bring them to their soil. 22 I shall make them into a single nation in the land upon Israel's hills, and a single king shall be for them all as a king; and they shall no longer be two nations, no longer divided into two kingdoms [Believing Jews and Christians]again. 23 They will no longer be contaminated with their idols and their abhorrent things and with all their rebellious sins; and I shall save them from all their habitations in which they sinned, and I shall purify them, and they shall be for a people unto Me, and I will be for a God unto them. 24 My servant David will be king over them, and there will be a single shepherd for all of them; they will go in My ordinances and they will observe My decrees and perform them. 25 They will dwell on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, within which your forefathers dwelt, and they shall dwell upon it -- they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David will be prince for them, forever. 26 "I shall seal a covenant of peace with them, an eternal covenant shall it be with them; and I shall emplace them and I shall increase them, and I shall place My Sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place shall be upon them, and I shall be for a God unto them, and they shall be unto Me for a people. 28 Then the nations shall know that I am Yahweh, Who sanctifies Israel, when My Sanctuary is among them forever."

What a famous passage of Scripture. Here we have the promise of Yahweh that one-day He would bring back together Judah and Ephraim and make them one in His hand. Some say that Judah and Ephraim become one with Ephraim being added to Judah and therefore everyone becomes Jewish. If this were so then we would be Judahites and not Israelites! But Scripture does not say this. What it does say is that Ephraim and his companions and Judah and his companions will be made one stick or tree in the hand of God. Is God Jewish? Is God a Christian? Think about it. God is God and transcends all labels, denominations, religious persuasions and any such attempts at categorizing Him. He will not be put into a box and cornered. He is outside the box and He places the labels on us. Just as early Believers in Yeshua were called Followers of the Way and Nazarenes, these were not what God chose to call His children. No matter what you choose to call yourself God has chosen the final designation for you and that name is Israel. This takes into account every single denomination that is Christianity and Judaism because what we become when we accept Yeshua as our Messiah is an Israelite. Not an Orthodox, Reform or Conservative Jew, not a Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal or Charismatic just to name a few. Our identity is in Him. We are called Children of Israel, the Children of a Living God.

Embrace it, submerse yourself in it, and hold it close to you. You are a chosen people, a Holy Nation, a people chosen by God because you chose to accept Yeshua as Messiah. God is the final judge of who and what we are.

Luke 15:11-32 EPHRAIM AND JUDAH-THE TWO SONS

11 Again Yeshua said, "A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of the estate that will be mine.' So the father divided the property between them. 13 As soon as he could convert his share into cash, the younger son left home and went off to a distant country, where he squandered his money in reckless living. 14 But after he had spent it all, a severe famine arose throughout that country, and he began to feel the pinch. 15 `So he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him any. 17 "At last he came to his senses and said, `Any number of my father's hired workers have food to spare; and here I am, starving to death! 18 I'm going to get up and go back to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.' " 20 So he got up and started back to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him warmly. 21 His son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son-' 22 but his father said to his slaves, `Quick, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him; and put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet; 23 and bring the calf that has been fattened up, and kill it; let's eat and have a celebration! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he's alive again! He was lost, but now he has been found!' And they began celebrating. 25 "Now his older son was in the field. As he came close to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked, `What's going on?' 27 The servant told him, `Your brother has come back, and your father has slaughtered the calf that was fattened up, because he has gotten him back safe and sound.' 28 But the older son became angry and refused to go inside. "So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 `Look,' the son answered, `I have worked for you all these years, and I have never disobeyed your orders. But you have never even given me a young goat, so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 Yet this son of yours comes, who squandered your property with prostitutes, and for him you slaughter the fattened calf!' 31 `Son, you are always with me,' said the father, `and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead but has come back to life-he was lost but has been found.' "

In this well-known parable called the Parable of the Prodigal Son we see the truth and reality of what Yeshua is trying to teach here. What He was trying to teach the people of His day and what He is trying to teach us today is that the day is coming when Ephraim will return to God and His Torah. Ephraim wanted to go his own way and try to make it on his own even to the point of squandering the inheritance given to him by the Father.

The older son Judah stayed with his Father and kept to the Torah. But the day came when the younger son, Ephraim, realized that even as a servant in his Father's house, he would better off than the way he was in the world at that time. But when he returned to his Father and offered to be a servant in his Father's home the Fatherwould not have it. The Father restored His younger son to his former place in his house and the older brother Judah resented this. Judah had made a place for himself in the Father's house as His sole heir since his brother had left. But upon his brother's return Judah refused to accept his brother back because he liked being the only son and only heir to the Father. But the Father would not have it. He said to Judah, rejoice that your brother has returned home and be happy for him. You are still my eldest son and you have remained me while your brother was gone. Your brother is not returning to take your place but will stand alongside you in my presence. You will teach your brother my ways and then you will both be my children reunited as one family. No longer will Judah go his way and Ephraim his. You will both come together and live alongside one another united through faith in Yeshua and keeping My Torah so that you will please Me and not yourselves.

Protect what I have given to you, stand by one another, unite as true brothers and help one another. Judah teach your brother Torah. Ephraim teach your brother Judah about Yeshua. Together you will claim your place as My children, My people that I will call Israel. You are Israel!

I know that at the end of my time all that I accomplish will seem small. This is my prayer: Give me work till my life shall end, and life till my work is done.

BY RABBI MORDECHAI SILVER

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