Shalom All,
Having worked for some time now on my Feast book update (see www.messianicisrael.com/news/marketplace-news/israels-feasts-and-their-fullness-expanded-edition-coming-soon.html), I have been feeling a prophetic sense of the time and opportunity that now lie before us. This year, Hanukkah, which means “Dedication,” has made me even more aware of the battle that lies ahead.

With Hanukkah now behind us, I would like to share an elaboration of something I recently posted on the Messianic Israel Talk Group ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Messianic_Israel_Talk ):

Last night we went to a Hanukkah party with some friends and collectively, they have lots of little people, so they staged a play for them. The grandfather briefly explained Hanukkah to the children, then the boys were given Star Wars type swords that light up, and the girls were given scarves to cover their heads. All the fathers went outside and put on capes and masks that made them look like fierce warriors. When the “warriors” came in, the little boys attacked them and fought with their swords.

I then noticed that one of the little girls was crying, and I immediately knew why: She wanted a sword too. I then saw that another little girl picked up a sword that a little boy had dropped and she began to fight, with the scarf on her head. When her grandmother gave the other little girl a sword, she too joined in the battle.

Seeing this made me think that we will always have the “Deborahs” among us, and I am probably one of them.

It also made me think that, when we do go to battle, our hearts must be right, for true victory belongs to YHVH alone. We will not be victorious if He is not leading us in the battle.

This little play, combined with my recent studies, made me feel that too many are not treating the revelation about Ephraim and Judah with the reverence it deserves. It is not just another truth, it is not something to quarrel over, it is instead something that marks the beginning of the end. When the divided house of Israel unites in Messiah, it will be empowered by the Ruach to stand.

The end time is a serious time. It is especially a time when our hearts must be right with our God. To enter into this time, we must regard our reunion with holy reverence, because it is about the Holy One restoring the Kingdom of David, with the Greater Son of David sitting on his throne.

This is not “business as usual,” and it is not just “another interesting teaching.” It is instead about the true meaning of “Dedication.” The restoration of the whole house of Israel is first about us being rededicated and cleansed: “‘In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten” (Jer 50:4-6).

To enter into this time of cleansing, we must first weep tears of true repentance, and we must want, with all our hearts, to see the Temple that needs no cleansing established in the earth: we must long to see Messiah Yeshua established here, in the Earth, as the Eternal King of Zion.

That is the cause to which we must now dedicate ourselves.

The One we follow said, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. .... He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. .... To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. .... I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. .... To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations. .... He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. .... To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” And, “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers. .... He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 17:14; 21:7, NIV).

We are told that we overcome evil because of the blood of the Lamb, because of the word of our testimony, and because we do not love our life even when faced with death (Rev 12:11).

The Maccabess were dedicated even unto to death, and we must have no less dedication.

For too long we have been taught that Israel’s restoration is “spiritual,” and that “the Lord will do it.” While true that Yeshua’s Kingdom is not of this world, it also is true that the Father always uses men to accomplish His purposes in the earth. And He wants to use us now.

The nation of Israel needs us now, like never before. The nation of Israel needs “all Israel” to be gathered like never before. We need each other, Judah and Ephraim. We need our God, we need His Spirit, and we need to have Messiah Yeshua come and reign in the Earth.

To have these things, we must dedicate ourselves to the purposes of our God.

May the “spirit of true dedication” stay with us even as Hanukkah ends.

Amen and Amen.
Batya