Ebenezer Operation Exodus A ministry of Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA Issue 2/2013 Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:3 Signs of the TImes Ebenezer Operation Exodus
Signs Of The Times I n his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days that I will pour forth my Spirit I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth below... The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and the glorious day of the LORD shall come. (Acts 2:17 21; see also Joel 2:28 32) By Pete Stucken Vice-Chairman, Ebenezer Operation Exodus INTERNATIONAL Next year at Passover there will be a full lunar eclipse, a phenomenon also known as a blood moon. As the earth s shadow passes across the moon s surface, the moon will turn a deep copper-red. A full lunar eclipse is a relatively rare occurrence; even more so, a lunar eclipse on a Biblical feast day. The full lunar eclipse on Passover 2014 will be the beginning of a tetrad a sequence of four consecutive full lunar eclipses. Surprisingly, these four consecutive full lunar eclipses will occur on four Biblical feasts and will be bracketed by a pattern of solar eclipses in close proximity. Then GOD said: Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens for signs and for seasons (Genesis 1:14) Lance Lambert says in his October 2012 Middle East Update: Now, according to the rabbis, and I think that in this they are absolutely right, signs in the sun are for the Gentiles, or for the nations, and signs in the moon are for Israel, which means that God is saying something about Israel, seeking to gain attention about something that He is about to do or is doing, and secondly, something to do with the nations. Over the last 500 years, there have been three lunar tetrads falling precisely on Biblical feast days. A fourth will soon occur. Let s look at the three past occurrences and overlay some contemporary events. A lunar tetrad occurred on Passover and Tabernacles in 1493-1494. In the previous year, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had signed an edict for the forceful expulsion of the Jews from Spain. In that year they had sent Christopher Columbus on the voyage that led to the discovery of America hugely significant for the Jews of The lunar tetrad falls on: 15 April 2014, the first day of Passover (followed by a partial solar eclipse on 29 April 2014) 4 April 2015, the first day of Passover (preceded by a total solar eclipse on 20 March 2015, eve of the first day of the Biblical year 1 st Nisan 5775 on the Hebrew calendar) 8 October 2014, the eve of Tabernacles (followed by a partial solar eclipse on 23 October 2014) 28 September 2015, the first day of Tabernacles (preceded by a partial solar eclipse on 13 September 2015, the day before the Feast of Trumpets, which is Jewish Civil New Year s Day) 2
Images by NASA www.nasa.gov Europe and Russia, as America was to become a major safe haven for them. For the next four centuries there was no lunar tetrad coinciding with Biblical feast days. Then from the mid -20 th century, in the space of under 70 years, there were three lunar tetrads, and each fell precisely on Passover and Tabernacles. The first occurred at a time of profound prophetic fulfilment: Passover and Tabernacles 1949 1950. In that period Israel was blossoming as a newborn nation, following her formation on 15 May 1948 and her miraculous victory against overwhelming odds in the 1948-49 War of Independence. These were momentous events surrounding the restoration of the Jewish people and their nation, accompanied by the release of a growing stream of Jewish people making aliyah to their ancient homeland from all over the world. Another lunar tetrad fell precisely on the same Biblical feast days in 1967 and 1968. Each witnessed a blood moon at Passover and Tabernacles. In 1967 Jerusalem was being reunified, again in the midst of military conflict and triumph against overwhelming odds. Much land was added to Israel. Jerusalem, trampled underfoot by the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) for 19 centuries, was being restored to the Jews. Was this sign in the heavens marking the fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles? With the 2014 15 lunar tetrad approaching, what lies before Israel and those praying for her in these coming months? What momentous prophetic fulfilment might be approaching in this coming season? The signs in the heavens are surely alerting us, declaring Behold, He who keeps (guards; watches over) Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4 that the re-gathering of Israel is a vital part of the Lord s agenda, that Israel remains central to His redemptive purposes. Just as He is the watchman over His land and His people, so the Lord is inviting us to join with Him also as watchmen for Israel. Let s see the signs and prepare ourselves! Let s humbly ask for wisdom and understanding, diligently seeking the Lord for His direction in how to pray at this time. INTERNATIONAL The Biblical Feasts, or Feasts of the LORD, are set out in Leviticus 23. Further insights on this subject can be gained from: lancelambert.org (October 2012 and January 2013 Middle East Updates). 3
The Door Is Open The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? I see the branch of an almond tree, I replied. The Lord said to me, You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled. Jeremiah 1:11 12 By Debra Minotti National Director USA I recently took some time away to ask the Lord several questions, one being, What season are we in, and are we in line with your will? As I began to pray, I was struck and filled with joy and gratitude at what I saw happening in the USA. Please read the following words of Jewish people Ebenezer has helped make aliyah: What do I see? We are comforting, encouraging, and supporting their going! More churches and ministries are partnering with us! Thousands of people are preparing to make aliyah this year! They re going out with joy and being led forth in peace! As of today, the Jewish people are able to take their belongings! Today the door is open! Revelation 3:8: I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob give us great courage to walk through this open door fully and resolutely, because the day is beginning to dawn when aliyah will look different, and the courage we need will be reminiscent of that of those righteous gentiles non- Jewish people who, during the Holocaust, risked their lives to save Jewish people from Nazi persecution. We thank you for your generous support, and we trust it will continue with us in the days ahead. Please pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send in workers a network of those with a servant s heart to lead us into the days ahead. Please pray that the Jewish people in your own area would hear the call of the Lord to return to their promised land. 4 Eric My name is Eric and I am hoping to make aliyah because I firmly believe I have a part to play in the future of the State of Israel and in the future of my people, the Jewish people. As the grandson of Holocaust survivors and the son of a native-born Israeli, I have always wished to return to my homeland and help my people. Nathan As a religious Jew, furthermore, I strongly feel that it is the will of G-d for His chosen people to live in the land He designated for us in order to serve as a light unto the nations. Miriam writes to us from Israel: After all the horrible devastation in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from Hurricane Sandy, I wish I could get more people to come here. thank you so much. Toda Raba.
Jacqueline s Story Everything Will Be Over Soon. As I attended a recent Holocaust Remembrance Day service at a local synagogue, I realized that it is the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors more than any other generation who want to know and understand the survivors stories, and many are making aliyah. By Kathy Ardino Aliyah Director In fact, most of those we assist are the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors young singles and couples with small children. I watched as the second and third generation of survivors lit candles in memory of their parents/ grandparents, whose painful stories were being read aloud. You could have heard a pin drop in that synagogue. We are currently helping a daughter (Jacqueline) and grandson (Jonathan) of Holocaust survivors make aliyah. As I spoke with Jacqueline, she shared her parents story, and I asked her if I could share it with you: My father, who was born into an observant family in Poland, was living in Berlin when he met my mother in 1936; my mother was 18, my father 27. My mother s family members were German assimilated Jews. My parents married in 1937 and my brother was born a year later. In October 1938, Nazi Storm Troopers took my father and other Poles to the Polish border. On that freezing night, the Jews were ordered to run to the border. My father thought they would be shot. The Jews ran to the border but the Poles did not let them enter. (At the time, Germany and Poland were in diplomatic conflict.) They stayed outdoors until the Polish authorities eventually let them in. In 1939, my father boarded a ship to the United States. He was sponsored by distant cousins who gave him $20 and wished him good luck. In Berlin my mother and infant brother lived in her mother s home. One night in 1939, the Storm Troopers took them away, but since my mother was married to a Polish citizen, she was also considered Polish; this saved their lives. When Mom was in France, waiting to board a ship, her mother and sister called her by phone from Germany, telling her not to leave Europe, that Everything will be over soon. In New York my parents lived in a tenement and my mother worked in a sweatshop. My father was a salesman who taught himself ten English words from the dictionary every day. He was determined to speak English without a foreign accent. After my parents died at the ages of 92 and 86, I learned of all the relatives and property we had lost in the Holocaust. When the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum came online, I learned that my mother s mother and her younger sister had been exterminated at Minsk, Belorussia. I think of these two women, alone, struggling together through years of persecution, shot and left in a ditch with countless others, and the terror and fear they endured. I have never seen photographs of them; I only know their names my grandmother Meta Simon and my redheaded aunt Liselotte Simon. May they rest in peace. When Jacqueline told me that her grandmother had said, Everything will be over soon, I was saddened, recalling the awful reality of the Holocaust, which would soon follow. Thank you for helping those from the USA to immigrate to Israel now without the distress and concerns Jacqueline s mother had. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. USA 5
He Guided Them Home We had great joy in seeing Emma and her family fly off to Israel. We have seen the Lord Himself guiding them, providing for them all along the way. By Yuriy and Zhanna Uzbekistan leaders Emma was brought up by her mother Frieda. She married and had a son and a daughter. Her husband dreamed of going to Israel, aware of it being God s will for Jewish people. Sadly, he died of meningitis, the dream unfulfilled. Emma was afraid of making aliyah alone and Frieda refused to go. The family s application progressed swiftly. We provided the fares for them to fly from Bukhara to Tashkent, Uzbekistan s capital, for an Israeli consulate appointment. Thankfully, the consul gave them permission to make aliyah. FSU We first met Emma in 2007 after a Jewish charity asked us to help the family. Emma s meager wage as a cleaner, supplemented only by Frieda s tiny pension, was not enough for them to survive. But last June Emma finally persuaded her to make aliyah. Discovering Their Pain By Vadim Rabochiy Director of Eastern European Region In helping Jewish people make aliyah we often discover the pain they have in their hearts. Gennady and Tanya made the decision to move to Israel because their two-year-old son Denis had cancer and could not receive proper treatment in Ukraine. Ebenezer prayer partners raised funds to help pay for the family s documents, and then on a very wintry day we took them on the long journey to Kiev s Borispol Airport. As we drove, Gennady and Tanya said that when they heard the diagnosis on Denis it seemed like a death sentence. Then they remembered we had told them about the opportunity they had to go to Israel. Gennady wished he had listened to us more at the time instead of his relatives, who advised us to postpone making aliyah and to wait until everything was all right. But today we are happy because we going for our future! 6 Gennady, Tatiana and Denis.
One Vision Two Nations: Living At Peace With One Another Dear Ebenezer friends in the United States, In Acts 17:26 Paul tells us that From one man God made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth, and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. By Pastor David Cummings National Coordinator Operation Exodus Canada Recently representatives of Ebenezer Operation Exodus from the USA and Canada have begun to sense that the border between our nations, and the border between the US and Mexico, are strategically important. According to Paul, God made every nation, including your nation and ours, but determined beforehand that we would live on opposite sides of an international border. As Americans and Canadians, we re neighbors living at peace with one another, and yet it apparently matters to God that our two nations remain distinct. Our God is a God of unity and peace, and yet the creation testifies continuously to a glorious unity in diversity that delights our Father s heart. He intends that we would join Him in celebrating all that makes us different and unique as His people, yet cherish a profound unity in the Spirit in the bonds of peace. So our sense of the strategic importance of the international borders to the north and south of your nation has to do with what we hold in common and with the strategic differences between our nations too. So Ebenezer USA and Operation Exodus Canada have joined arms and hearts in an unprecedented way in these days, encouraging one another in our separate national spheres of responsibility, while joining forces in the interests of the grand and holy enterprise of the ingathering of Israel, specifically from North America. Towards the end of Paul s first letter to the Thessalonians, he declares, The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. When all is said and done, and Israel has been gathered from all the nations where they once were scattered, God will have done all He said. Our unity in diversity primarily manifest in continuing worship, prayer and intercession is rooted and grounded in this confidence: He who scattered them will gather them, and will watch over His flock like a shepherd. May His blessing be upon us as our two nations under God align with this glorious end-times ingathering and homecoming. USA / CANADA American and Canadian teams linking arms and joining hearts one vision. 7
Things Can Happen All At Once Visiting the USA recently, as with my previous visit, filled me with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency. Things can happen all at once. By Shirley Lawrenson Olim Liaison, Jerusalem Israel As I talked with people from groups and churches, as well as Ebenezer Emergency Fund supporters and potential olim (immigrants to Israel), I felt a sense that suddenly things can and will change for aliyah in the USA. As I listened to everyone I spent time with, I knew that every heart has a voice. There is an excitement to see what the Lord is going to do next. There is an expectation to see the doors open wider for aliyah from the US. And with joy and excitement I sensed a readiness. There is much work to be done. The words in Psalm 40:3 came to mind: He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God The aliyah we now see taking place from the USA consists of only the first few drops of the tsunami of Jews who have yet to make aliyah. The light is green; let s be ready to go! Shirley with Leslie from the Russian Community Life Center, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY. Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA PO Box 568 Lancaster, NY 14086 Phone: 716.681.6300 Fax: 716.681.6304 info@ebenezerusa.org www.ebenezerusa.org Ebenezer Emergency Fund International Ebenezer House, 5a Poole Road Bournemouth BH2 5QJ. UK Telephone: +44 (0) 1202 294455 enquiries@ebenezer-ef.org www.operation-exodus.org Operation Exodus is an instrument of the Lord to encourage and help the Jewish people return to the Land of Israel from the land of the north and all the nations and to proclaim God s Kingdom purposes for their return. Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity. We are affiliated with Ebenezer Emergency Fund International, which started in 1991 with just three people but now has representatives in over 51 countries worldwide. All articles in this publication Ebenezer Emergency Fund International and Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA. Please contact our US office if you would like to be added to our mailing list. This publication is FREE, but donations are warmly welcomed. Nonprofit corporation, contributions are deductible to the extent provided by law. Name Address Zip Phone E-mail q YES, I want to support the work of Ebenezer Operation Exodus with a gift of q $5 q $10 q $25 Other $ Make checks payable to Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA I want to make my q Monthly Auto Deduction q One-Time Gift q Automatic Checking/Savings (ACH) call 716.681.6300 q Credit/Debit Please circle credit card Evangelical Council For Financial Accountability Acc #: Exp. Date: CSC#: (Security Code) Signature: Issue 2.13 Ebenezer Emergency Fund USA P.O. Box 568 Lancaster, NY 14086 Tel: 716.681.6300 www.ebenezerusa.org