M A Y 2 0 0 7 - 5 7 6 7 Shavuot (Pentecost) Shalom, Have you ever counted the omer, in expectation of the day of Shavuot? This is the day God gave us the Word of God on Mt. Sinai 3500 years ago, and on the same day 2000 years ago God gave the first Believers in Yeshua - the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)! And with your help, since our ministry has a plan and vision of giving every Jewish person their own Free Messianic Prophecy Bible, this biblical holiday of Shavuot is especially important, since this was the day that God first gave the world the Word of God! This is one of the most powerful prophecies describing how Jeremiah 31:31-33 was fulfilled: "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." What is the Counting of the Omer and Shavuot? This year I began counting of the Omer which leads up to the day of Shavuot on May 23. So, on the day after the Sabbath of Passover, according to the Jewish feasts that God commands us to keep in Leviticus 23:15, I spent these days counting the omer which means counting down "each day" in expectation of the coming day of Shavuot - also known to Christians as the day of Pentecost! (I couldn't keep all of the holiday requirements because according to the Bible I have to offer up seven lambs, a bull, and two rams via the priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, etc.) During these 49 days God did MIRACLES in the desert! The Jews were dehydrated and needed water - when they arrived at Marah, the water was bitter, so God told Moses to cast a tree into the waters - and they turned into sweet waters! When they arrived in the wilderness, there was no food in the desert so God miraculously sent manna (bread) from heaven. In the morning when the dew lifted from the ground, there was a frost left and it was bread that tasted like honey wafers! Each person gathered up an Omer of it, each day! And then God miraculously provided meat - quails (small birds) each night for their dinner! And then they had no water in the desert, so God told Moses to strike a rock and miraculously water came out of it! These 49 days were a time of preparation and introspection for the Jews. Each day was a day further away from Egypt, and a day closer to becoming a nation set apart for God at Shavuot. I always looked at this holiday as one that only Orthodox Jews keep, however, Yeshua, the Apostles, and all the disciples counted the Omer 2000 years ago! God tells us to count down "each day," so He obviously wanted us to be in expectation of something! And that something is Shavuot! Click Here to make a donation to the Bible Project. Why is Shavuot important? It was on Shavuot, that we first received the Word of God! On Shavuot, Moses received the first part of the written Word of God, the Torah. That's why you have a Bible today! It was also on the day of Shavuot, that the Lord originally sent His Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) - which today indwells in me and you! When the day of Shavuot (Pentecost) came, they were all together in one place. Those who accepted his message were immersed (baptized), and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:1,41) Yeshua had risen from the dead and walked around Jerusalem for 40 days. He then met with the apostles and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they are given the Holy Spirit. Many of Yeshua's most faithful followers, about 120 of them, were gathered together (probably not far from the apartment where I lived for eight years in Jerusalem), and then, suddenly a sound like a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. All of them were filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and they began to speak in other tongues. Acts 2:2 Jeremiah foretold this amazing prophecy about the Law (Torah) which was given to Moses on Shavuot 3500 years ago, which was later fulfilled on that exact same day of Shavuot 2000 years ago - when the Holy Spirit indwelled the first Messianic Jewish Believers. "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Jeremiah 31:31-33. Do we really understand the holiness and power of having this Spirit of God within us? This is the same Holy Spirit Who hovered over the waters during Creation, and Who raised Yeshua from the dead. What else could we ever want more in life than to be filled with Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit)? However, Jewish people today do not believe in Yeshua, and therefore they do not have the Holy Spirit, the comforter Who is given to all who believe. Today in Israel, there are approximately 80 Messianic Jewish congregations, and 10,000 Messianic Jews; about 2000 of them live in Jerusalem. Although this may sound like a lot of Jewish Believers, out of 5.5 million Jewish people in Israel, 99.9% of Israelis still do not know Yeshua! However, I believe that we are in the end of days and that soon the prophecy in Joel 2:28 will be fulfilled: "I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. As Jewish and Christian Believers are armed with our new Messianic Prophecy Bible, and our outreach workers/evangelists in Israel and throughout the United States and Canada are full of the Spirit of God doing outreach daily, incredible doors of opportunity will open up! I can personally testify as a result of daily conversations I have with Israelis, European and Russian Jews, as well as Jews throughout North America including rabbis from all different Jewish denominations, Chassidim, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox - that they are increasingly open to examining the Messianic prophecies that speak about Yeshua! Please remember that as a non-profit ministry our Bible will only be published and given out for Free because of supporters like you, and all gifts are 100% tax-deductible. I want to wish you a special Shavuot this year, and ask you to pray for the Jewish people because they do not know Yeshua, or have the Holy Spirit. I also want to encourage you to read the book of Acts, and get a vision of your relationship with the Holy Spirit, and how this will empower you to have a closer walk with God our Father. On behalf of Jewish people around the world who need to know Yeshua, I am asking you to make a difference today, and bless the Jewish people so they will be able to read a Messianic Prophecy Bible and find eternal life. Please use the enclosed envelope to send back your Shavuot Offering so we can reach the Jewish people. With all my brotherly love in Yeshua, Zev Isaacs Founder P.S. Just as God gave us His Word and His Holy Spirit on Shavuot, together with your help, our ministry can give back to the Jewish people the opportunity to know their Messiah Yeshua - and receive the Holy Spirit!