For the record, I am sharing this Mount Ephraim Newsletter of Stephen Spykerman from Great Britain, even though I am not fully convinced what to think about it. I have my prayerful reservations, but am keeping these things in mind like Jacob did with Joseph's dream (if that is an acceptable comparison) since
I am for the prophetic knowledge of the Israelite origins of the West to become known among Jews and non-Jews, among the "Gentilized" Israelites of the North and West, among the Anglo-Saxons and white peoples of Northwestern Europe.Must the Sabbath-keeping Church of God members (who agree on the basics of what
Herbert W. Armstrong taught) agree perfectly with others who profess to be Christians before we can work together? I've encouraged the Church of God to support Yair Davidiy of
Brit-Am Israel and he's a Torah-observant Jew who doesn't recognize Yeshua as the One but knows that we (Anglo-Saxons) are his brother
Joseph. May God lead and guide us, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and glorify His Name and fulfill His Word that Joseph and Judah will be reconciled.
For Zion's Sake,
David Ben-ArielMOUNT EPHRAIM NEWSLETTERNO: 5 – Monday, 29th January 2007
Dear Friends,
OUR LAST NEWSLETTER FELL INTO STRANGE HANDS
It was never my intention that our last Newsletter should fall into the hands of the Orthodox. This is especially the case because the content referred to our beloved Saviour Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, and King of the Jews. In my dealings with our Orthodox friends in Jerusalem, I invariably do not refer to the Captain of our Salvation, simply out of the utmost respect and in deference to their faith. Nevertheless, I know that they know I am a believer in Yeshua, and they know that I know that they know. What brings us to agreement is the belief that the Two Houses of Israel, Judah and Ephraim, are destined to come together into one UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, as prophesied by all of the prophets. We also believe that we live in the very days when these two nations will be reunited into one Kingdom once again.
LETTER DIVERTED BY DIVINE APPOINTMENT
Judging by the subsequent amazing developments the letter clearly had been placed in Orthodox hands by Divine appointment. Whilst in Jerusalem for the last three days of our stay we were invited to become part of a work which, for the past year, has been witnessing about the imminent return of the Lost House of Israel to none other than the Rabbis of Israel. Whilst this work initially has met with huge resistance the encouraging fact is that by now over 2,000 rabbis have been reached. Can you imagine how significant this is? It is the Rabbinate of Israel that controls the gates into the land – that is, the Gates through which Ephraim will have to enter the Land. Thus through this ongoing work YHVH, the Holy One of Israel, is re-charging/re-activating the mindset of the Rabbinical Gate keepers without anyone being aware of what He is doing behind the scenes.
SURPRISE RESPONSE FROM OVADYAH AVRAHAMI
Imagine my surprise when I received an Email from OvadYah Avrahami, an Orthodox gentleman (an Ephraimite-become-one with Judah) from the so-called ‘occupied territories’ in Israel, referring to our Newsletter in the most glowing terms. Apparently without knowing I had really lit this gentleman’s fire with my Newsletter comments that ‘The message simply has to go to Judah. It also resonates with the Word which states that, the WORD of the LORD shall go forth from ZION! As you may remember, I posed the question; does this WORD GOING FORTH FROM ZION INCLUDE HIS PROPHETIC WORD TO THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL? I then proceeded to demonstrate from the Scriptures that the answer was a resounding YES! Our Orthodox friend was also struck by my comments about the KEY OF DAVID being in Judah’s hands, as Judah ultimately holds the key to the tribes coming back home to the land of their fathers.
INVITATION TO JOIN THE KOL HA TOR PROJECT
OvadYah told me that my statements had opened a window in his understanding which he wished to share with me. i.e. If the reunion of the Two Houses of Israel is not ‘steered’ from Judah, it cannot be Scriptural, for, “The WORD of YHVH shall go forth from ZION!” i.e. His Plan, His Purpose, His Torah & His Kingdom! He then proceeded to tell me about the highly confidential KOL HA TOR Project of which he was the administrative coordinator. I was asked a number of pertinent questions such as my views on missionising and proselytizing the Jews etc. We then entered into an exchange of views, at the end of which he invited me to join a closed group of supporters for the KOL HA TOR PROJECT.
WHAT IS THE KOL HA TOR PROJECT?
The Kol Ha Tor Project is an end-time prophetic work currently spearheaded by an Orthodox rabbi who is filled with a divine zeal and passion to convey the reality of, and to awaken the awareness of the now imminent return of the Lost House of Israel to his Rabbinical colleagues in the land. He has written a book in Hebrew, which reminds them of the rich layers of proofs to be found in the words of the great Sages of Israel. He also sites the emergence of the Christian Zionist movement and the massive surge of the Hebrew Roots Restoration movement as evidence that Hashem is stirring the Christian/Israelite world to return to Zion. Through his book and personal discussions with rabbis, he manages to quell their fears of being flooded by a proselytizing wave, by assuring them of the new and different spirit which is prevalent in this new ‘breed’ of Torah loving Ephraimites. Thus far some 2,000 books have already been distributed, and it has been officially included in the curriculum of one important Yeshiva with 200 rabbis in training. I can report that as a direct result of his efforts some 1,600 rabbis are now on side about the return of Ephraim, and their numbers are growing each week. Amongst those rabbis there are six who are of major national importance, and our aim is to multiply this number by a factor of at least ten, as it is only when we achieve this goal that the process becomes an unstoppable force for change.
WHAT IS THE OBJECT OF THIS PROJECT?
The main objective is to bring awareness to both the Houses of Judah and Ephraim of the need to make peace with each other in this 3000 year old ‘family feud’ between them in order to hasten or to make possible the establishment of God’s Kingdom – which requires the Return of the Shekinah Presence (the direct and visible Presence) of God. For this to happen there needs to be a huge mental shift in the hearts and minds of both the Rabbinate of Israel, (who hold the keys to entry for Ephraim) and the returning House of Ephraim (who generally refuse to pay the Rabbinate the respect they deserve as the Divinely mandated guardians of the Torah. Our rabbi is courageously tackling head on the massive prejudice that exist in the ranks of Judaism against Christianity spawned by millennia of Christian persecution. Through the centuries Jews have thus obtained a terribly jaundiced view of Jesus, the Christian Messiah.
JESUS IS NOT THE ANTICHRIST!
For those religious Jews who live by every precept of the Torah, the name of Jesus has become one of the vilest names under the sun. This is due mainly through the terrible things Christians have done to the Jews in that name, and then persisting in proselytizing them – even under the threat of the sword! They have come to look upon Jesus as an Anti-Christ, or Anti-Messiah. To try and change these ingrained attitudes is humanly virtually impossible, yet we know that with Our Heavenly Father, all things are possible. It is as a matter of correct perspective and awareness that our rabbi manages to influence them positively.
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES
The amazing thing is that the Kol Ha Tor Project has taken up this consummate task of bringing a healing of attitudes between Judah and Ephraim. Our rabbi has started by changing the perceptions of his own Rabbinical colleagues about their Prophetic responsibility towards Ephraim, the reality of the Prophetic fulfillment regarding the Return of Ephraim taking shape at this very time. He does this by pointing out how the original Torah foundation of the New Testament has been suppressed and high-jacked by the Roman State religion in the days of Emperor Constantine, and contrasts this with the current phenomenon of a Return to Torah amongst re-awakening Ephraim.
JESUS WAS TORAH OBSERVANT
The rabbi points out that the Gospels are not the raging anti-Semite sources they are made out to be in Judaism’s circles. Jesus, according to the NT record, being Torah observant himself, preached adherence to the Torah, and also that in many of his statements and so-called rebukes of the Jewish religious leaders, he actually upheld the Oral Law in a style similar to normal Rabbinic debate regarding differences of opinion or interpretation. The rabbi points out that, according to NT writings, most of the time Jesus/Yeshua would support the School of Hillel, whereas on occasion he would support the School of Shammai. In his view it was the influence of Rome which turned this sect into the Jew and rabbi hating religion of Christianity.
CHANGING JEWISH HEARTS AND MINDS
I must add here that our rabbi emphatically does not accept that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel, and neither does he accept the veracity of the New Testament as being the divinely inspired Word of YHVH. Nevertheless, this man is doing a wonderful work of pointing out to the Rabbis the Halachic Torah base of the NT, and the negative and contorting anti-Semitic onslaught of the Roman authorities against the Jewish influence in the NT. This immediately changes their conception of Christian Zionists and removes for them the threat of the ‘sword’. What is more, he is doing a work only an Orthodox Rabbi can do amongst the Rabbis – hence our confirmation that the Restoration must be ‘steered’ from out of Zion. It is noteworthy here that several attempts have been made towards the Rabbis over the last decade, regarding the promotion of the Restoration of the Two Houses of Israel. These were all driven by Messianic leaders, and they all failed miserably. The Kol Ha Tor project is the first of its kind, to be steered from within Judah, right in the heart of Jerusalem e.g. Zion! This courageous man of God deserves our unqualified support, and we should support him all we can.
OUR MEETING IN JERUSALEM
It took me nearly a whole day searching on the Internet to find our hotel in Jerusalem. Then on the 22nd January we finally booked into room 712 on the seventh floor. No sooner had we unpacked our cases than the telephone rang and it was Ovadyah Avrahami saying hello from room number 612 immediately below us. It transpired that OvadYah and his wife had been presented with a gift of a whole weeks stay in the same hotel we were in. Another divine appointment if ever there was one!! We subsequently spent many hours over the next three days in discussions with OvadYah and the rabbi, whose name I cannot mention because of the highly sensitive nature of his mission. In our discussions I was invited to translate my “WHO ARE YOU AMERICA?” booklet into Hebrew, so that it too can be printed in Israel. Our message with its dramatic full colour illustrations would then be taken down the same rabbinical channel, as further confirmation of the message about the imminent return of Ephraim.
THE DOOR INTO JUDAH IS NOW OPENING!
This is surely a momentous development – to me it is the fulfillment of a dream! Thousands of rabbis are BEING WOKEN UP to the extraordinary news that Judah’s long lost brothers of the House of Israel are in the spiritual process of being re-identified to their ancient Hebraic ancestry. For the moment we are concentrating our message on the religious leaders of Israel, and there will come a time when we will impart it to the secular leaders also. For the moment though the decision is to hold fire on this, as Israel is currently cursed with the worst anti-Israel & anti-G-d government in its history.
THE RABBIS ARE PETRIFIED AT THE PROSPECT OF MILLIONS OF RETURNING MESSIANICS.
Can we not understand their fears? They are afraid the Jewish society is going to be swamped by Christians with an evangelizing zeal to make converts of Jews. They are also most afraid of assimilation, as their sons and daughters are swept away in marriage to the newcomers. The Tanach (O.T.) prophesied that this kind of reaction would occur. Ezekiel prophesied that in the end times Judah would fear the return of her wayward brothers to the point where they will not want to receive them: “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’” V17 Therefore say, “Thus says the LORD GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” V19-20 “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11: 15,17,19-20. The prophecy is that they will be given the land of Israel. Notice it does not mention that they will be given the land of Judah. In other words those returning Israelites will be given the former territory of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to dwell in. This fact alone should make Judah feel a whole lot better. This is the very point our rabbi makes to the rabbis he speaks to.
REMEMBER THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON?
Yeshua in his parable of the ‘Prodigal Son’ in Luke 15:11-32 speaks of a certain man who had two sons. The allegorical interpretation is that of a father who had two sons, e.g. one representing the House of Israel and the other the House of Judah. The son representing Israel asks to be given his inheritance, only to go away and waste his inheritance on riotous living. He end up totally destitute taking care of another mans pigs. He then comes to his senses and returns to his father’s house where he is received with great joy. His father orders the fatted calf to be slaughtered and makes a great feast for his prodigal son. The story then goes on to relate that the faithful son who had stayed at home with his father, e.g. Judah was upset and would not join the party. The parable goes on to relate the fathers words to Judah: “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found!”
Can you imagine what a celebration there will be both in heaven and in all the earth when both the Houses of Judah and Israel become One again, having been separated for 2,700 long years? Can you imagine what a party that will be when finally Messiah Ben David rules over the REUNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL?
YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED FOR THIS KINGDOM WORK
Did Y’shua not ask his disciples to pray “THY KINGDOM COME?” Well, with this Kol Ha Tor Project now in full swing in Judah we can do a lot more than pray. We can become doers of the word and not hearers only by generously contributing to this vital groundbreaking work. At the moment our project to the Rabbinical Gate keepers of Israel has barely a score of supporters who finance the operation. Some months there are only enough funds to print just a hundred Hebrew books, when we need to print thousands more. The rabbi in question also has considerable other responsibilities, and he needs to take on administrative staff to lighten his almost impossible load, so that he can spend more time on the work that matters to us all.
The work of Mount Ephraim too needs the funds to translate our publications into Hebrew, so that our confirmatory message may go down that same Rabbinical trail, thus hugely reinforcing the message already given. It will go to rabbis who have already been mentally prepared to receive it. Yet, despite all of this, none of us can accomplish anything if others do not jump in to help us. Now is the time to really get behind this work, not just with your prayers but also with your tithes, offerings and funds. I estimate that only some $ 25,000.00 is needed to complete this phase of our work. By the way, for those of you who wondered about the meaning of Kol Ha Tor – it means – ‘The Voice of the Turtledove.’ That same voice is right now calling for your support!
Yours until the reunification of the whole house of Israel,
Stephen Spykerman MOUNT EPHRAIM PUBLISHING
The Coach House 2 Woodman’s Court Shaftesbury Dorset SP7 8PY Great Britain
E-mail: stephen@mountephraim.info
P.S. Can you think of a better way to bless Israel than to let the Jewish people know who and where their Lost Israelite brothers are? Our work relies on His providence which is invariably expressed through His people. You feel the Holy Spirit is leading you to support the work of Kol Ha Tor & Mount Ephraim you can simply send a contribution to the above address, or contact us by Email for further details.
