© March 29, 2013 Revive Israel Ministries

Blood of the Lamb

By Asher Intrater (Part Two)

During the season of Passover, the weekly traditional Torah readings are found in Leviticus. Thus there is an association in the minds of religious Jews between the Temple sacrifices and the Passover lamb.

The blood of the lamb on the doorposts is a symbol and a sign (Exodus 12:13). The lamb of God is Yeshua (John 1:29, 36); the blood came from his side when he was pierced (John 19:34); the wooden doorposts represent the wood of the cross.   

There is power in the blood of the lamb. What is the secret of its spiritual power?

Revelation 1:5
He loved us and set us free from our sins in his own blood.

Are you struggling with sin? Is some bad behavior holding you in bondage? The blood of Yeshua has set you free and delivered you from that captivity. His blood is proof that you are loved. Meditating on the blood of Yeshua will break the power of sin over your life.

Revelation 5:9
You have purchased them to God by your blood.

Do you feel that no one cares about you? Your worth is determined by how much someone will pay for you. Yeshua purchased you at the price of his own blood. That's how much he wants you. That's how much you are worth in his eyes. Your sense of worthlessness is gone forever.

Revelation 7:14
They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

Do you feel guilty, ashamed and unclean? The blood of Yeshua "washes your robes" and "makes them white." Only the blood of Yeshua can reach your conscience and set you free from guilt (Hebrews 9:14; 10:22).

Are you wounded in the deepest place of your heart? Nothing external or superficial can reach it. The blood of Yeshua comes from the deepest place of his heart to touch you in the deepest place in your heart. This spiritual power heals you deep within.

By Cody Archer

Over the last two years, I have had five different religious Jewish men approach me in different places in the city (mostly in family parks), seeking gay sex (to put it bluntly). I could write pages about each of these different encounters, some parts would make you laugh, but mostly they would make you want to cry as you see the depth of brokenness and religious pressure these men are living under.
  
To the eyes of many, these men are seen as upright and God fearing because of the clothes they wear and the sect of Judaism they adhere to, but God is not deceived. He sees their hypocrisy, pain, loneliness, rejection and confusion.  God’s holy and just heart is moved in anger as sexual perversion is pursued openly, and countless children are sexually abused behind closed doors.
 
On the other side, God’s heart is overflowing in love and compassion towards these men. He longs that they would turn to their own Messiah, Yeshua, who shed His blood for them to receive forgiveness, be cleansed, and set free to live truly holy lives.

Due to the disastrous situation in Syria, the governments of Turkey and Israel agreed this week to resume diplomatic relations that have been cut off since the Gaza flotilla disaster in 2010.  Israel agreed to issue an official apology for the incident.

To refresh your memory, the Mavi Marmara was sent along with other ships by the IHH "humanitarian relief foundation," a known terrorist supporting organization with connections to Hamas, to "break the Israeli blockade."  The Israeli Navy issued a warning, demanding that the Marmara dock in Ashdod. After the Marmara's refusal, Israeli Commandos boarded the ship in the middle of the night on May 31, 2010.

Turkish activists attacked the Israeli soldiers with knives and metal beams. They claimed the Israeli soldiers opened fire first. In the incident 9 activists were killed and 10 Israeli soldiers hospitalized.

The apology was probably a wise step by the Israeli government, as cooperation with Turkey this coming year is strategically imperative. Israeli commentator Rivka Lissik claimed that the apology was unjustified, comparing it to Turkish involvement in the infamous "Struma" affair.  

In 1941, when the fascist regime was in power in Romania, thousands of Jews were massacred or forced to leave their homes.  On 12 December, a decommissioned German cattle barge, The Struma, suitable for carrying 100 head of cattle, set sail for Palestine with 768 Romanian Jews on board (393 men, 272 women and 103 children).  

On December 15, it reached Istanbul.  Due to engine problems, the ship was not able to continue. The Struma docked in Istanbul, with the passengers still on board. After 70 days the Turkish government had the ship dragged out 5 miles offshore into the Black Sea, where it was left stranded, without food, water or ability to sail.

On February 25, 1942, an explosion ripped open the ship.  One report was that it was hit by a Soviet torpedo; another that it bumped into a mine in the open sea.  The ship sank. All the passengers drowned except one, David Stoliar. Clinging to a wooden beam all night in the freezing water, he alone survived to give a first-hand report.

[No apology was issued by the Turkish government.]