Zechariah these are those whom the YHVH has sent to patrol the earth.
And they report, 'We have patrolled the earth, and behold,
all the earth is peaceful and quiet' (Zec 1:10-11)

We each find ourselves in the middle of the story of our lives, with the question, "What control do we have over writing the rest of the story of lives?"

Zechariah reveals that YHVH is receiving regular patrol reports concerning conditions on earth. Surely, an insight into these reports could prove helpful to each one of us as we seek to exert influence upon the future pages of our story.

The initial patrol report described by Zechariah was, "We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet" (Zec 1:10-11). But that was then. The current patrol report is, "We have patrolled the earth and behold, all the earth the earth is rumbling with wars and rumors of war."

However, the current patrol report to YHVH did contain some good news:

The Messianic Israel Alliance is continuing to move forward in its efforts to regather Your lost sheep of the whole house of Israel. While they realize that the first step in redeeming, reuniting and restoring Your people Israel is identifying them, they also know that laying the groundwork for the reunification of the two houses Ephraim and Judah is essential.

Since early this year, Angus Wootten, Co-founder of the MIA, with the blessings of the MIA Shepherd’s Council, has been in dialogue with the following members of Israel’s Nascent Sanhedrin: Chief Justice Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, Associate Justice Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, and Roger Grattan, their Emissary to North American. Roger participated in the recent MIA Regional Conference in Salt Lake, Utah, and will be speaking at the MIA International Conference in Franklin, Tennessee on Monday evening July30, 2007.

Angus in his recent letter to Rabbi Schwartz made several key points. Following is an excerpt from his letter:

Shalom Rabbi Schwartz:

We in the Messianic Israel Alliance thank you for your recent letter. It is gratifying to know that you number us among the god-fearing people who are partners with you, (the Nascent Sanhedrin, and the Jewish people), and with all whom worship the Almighty and spread the Word of HaShem. We appreciate your blessings, and your wish for our success in our endeavors, as we reach out to the lost sheep of the whole house of Israel..

Many years ago my wife and I had the opportunity to meet Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian Holocaust survivor who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. She was honored as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” by the State of Israel. During our time together she said, “I am glad to meet you now, after all we are going to spend eternity together.”

Thinking about what Corrie ten Boom said, and considering Maimonides stand on the authenticity of the Torah, that every word in the Torah was dictated to Moses by G-d... and that there is no difference between [the apparently trivial verses] and [the awesomely important verses]. I realized: If the promises in Torah to Judah are yes and amen, than the promises to Joseph are also yes and amen. So, knowing that Ephraim and Judah will be together in the service of HaShem in the world to come, then in the spirit of Corrie ten Boom we should be working together now in this world. Therefore, we are encouraged to have the opportunity to together strive for the fulfillment of the desires of HaShem’s heart to have the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob occupying in peace the land that He swore as an everlasting possession for them (Gen 15).

The kingdom of Israel was divided some 2967 years ago. And in those years our forefathers have proven over and over again that a divided kingdom cannot stand. Surely we are in agreement it is time to restore the kingdom to Israel and see the fulfillment of HaShem’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I do believe that the Nascent Sanhedrin with the establishment of a Special Court for Matters Concerning Bnei Noah is laying important groundwork for this coming restoration.

You lay this foundation when you in essence are welcoming those who demonstrate an awareness of the will of the Almighty for their lives, and are disseminating the Love of G-d, and are studying Torah and see themselves in some manner as being part of the people of Israel.

It is my fervent hope that we can build on the premises that the Court has established, “There is a basic minimum common to all "proper faiths," and this is the Noahide teachings.” And as I expressed in recent correspondence with your Associate Justice Rabbi Yeshayahu Hollander, this step is like the landing on the moon. It is a giant step forward, and the first step in the journey to determine how HaShem would have these "proper faiths" relate in this generation....

Following is Rabbi Schwartz latest letter of July 12, 2007:

Dear Mr. Wootten,

Thank you for your letter.

Again I would like to congratulate you and the members of your organization on the long spiritual journey you have made, and to wish you great success with God's help in your spiritual and organizational efforts.

As we pray in Psalms 115:

O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their deliverer and protector.
O family of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their deliverer and protector.
You loyal followers of the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their deliverer and protector.

The Lord takes notice of us, He will bless –
He will bless the family of Israel,
He will bless the family of Aaron,
He will bless his loyal followers, both young and old.
May he increase your numbers, yours and your children’s!

May you be blessed by the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth!
The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.
The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.
But we will praise the Lord now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

And as stated by Zephania [3:9]: Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me welcome praise. All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, and will worship him in unison.

Dear Mr. Wootten , you write: “We not only bless you, the Nascent Sanhedrin, and the people of the present State of Israel, but we thank you for serving on the front lines in the long and arduous battle to hold the Promised Land. The tents of Judah have come up first, hopefully HaShem will shortly open the way for the tents of Ephraim to join his brother (Zec 12:7).”

Indeed, we expect Moshiach to bring together all the lost tribes. In the meantime, we are of course, very interested in any information which could lead to an identification of descendants of the ten lost tribes. If you have any information – or even ideas – which could help identify descendants of Ephraim, or of any other descendants of the ten tribes, we would be most interested.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Yoel Schwartz

Hopefully, Rabbi Schwartz’s letter is an encouragement to every Messianic Believer. But it is also a giant challenge. The war currently being fought over the Promised Land is a demographic battle. Numbers will play a key role. You will note that in his letter Rabbi Schwartz prayed that our numbers would be increased. Why? For when the door opens to help Judah, and YHVH whistles for Ephraim to come from the west and join in the battle. If we don’t have the numbers we won’t be the help Judah needs.

We will be the essential help however, and be able to provide the needed numbers, if we will take to heart and follow the plan outlined in the Messianic Israel Alliance Herald magazine article How Will Israel Survive? The article is available at http://www.messianicisrael.com/news/briefings/how-will-israel-survive.html

Overcoming the massive challenges Israel faces means we cannot continue doing what we have so often done in the past when there was an important job to be done.

We need to be the "we-heard-it" body, who became the "we-did-it" body.

Angus Wootten, for the Patrol