EAGLES WINGS

"When shall we leave for Israel?"

"How will we know when it's time to go?"

"Should we go to Israel this year?"

I am asked those questions over and over, almost daily. We Ephraimites are eager to get home, aren't we? I know one couple who has actually built their cart and carries it with them in their car! I know another family convinced that the sign will be the parting of the Atlantic Ocean so we can walk across! Some are going over early for short trips to help work in the vineyards of the Jewish people, showing them our love and brotherhood. But it seems ALL of us are wondering how we will hear the "whistle" of YHVH and when we will begin the journey of the Greater Exodus.

So, what is my answer when I get those questions? I can only answer for myself. Every time (thus far) that I pray and ask the Ruach if it is time to go, I hear these words very clearly: "Not yet. Hunker down in your little yellow house. When it's time, I will send for you. Wait on Me - and do not run ahead of Me."

I remember the last time I was in Israel and a very wise person said to me, "Do not go to Israel unless you are assigned to go." I know that to be true. The spiritual warfare in the Land is 1000% stronger than anything we experience here. Jerusalem is, after all, Ground Zero in the battle! It is the City of the Great King, the place where YHVH put His Name - and Satan would like nothing better than to steal and control that piece of real estate! That's why it is always the focus of world news. Jerusalem is the timepiece of YHVH's entire story.

Today a sister wrote and asked my advice on when it will be time to emigrate to Israel - and in my answer, the Holy Spirit showed me something profound. I told her that YHVH is saying, "Wait on me..." and then the scripture in Isaiah 40:31 came to mind: "Those who wait on YHVH will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings of eagles..."

Wings of eagles! Where else in Scripture do we see this Hebrew idiom but in Exodus and Revelation - in the First Exodus and in the Greater Exodus! Exodus 19:4: "You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself." Revelation 12:14: "The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time, out of the serpent's reach."

What do "eagles wings" mean, then, but the supernatural deliverance of El Shaddai, rescuing His people first from bondage in Egypt, and then from the Luciferian New World Order? Being "carried on eagles' wings" in the Hebraic perspective is being protected and kept safe (out of Pharaoh/Antichrist's reach) - and what YHVH has done before, He will do again!

In the meantime, according to Isaiah 40:31, the way to renew our strength, clearly hear His Voice giving us the order to go, and then mount up on those eagles' wings...is to WAIT.

Crossing Over

I feel led to share a very prophetic dream I recently had. In this dream I was in a room with many dear old friends. Some of them were members of churches where I used to attend, and some were from a former Christian ministry of which I was a part. All of them were doing their best to coax and persuade me to abandon the path I have been traveling into the ancient paths (Hebrew Roots) of our faith. One dear old friend opened a beautiful box of Christmas ornaments made of glistening silver and she said, "These were part of my family's. Now they belong to you. Come back to us and sing with us again!"

Then three small children who were with me came over and began to tug on my sleeve. They urged, "C'mon, let's go. We need to move forward. Let's go!" I was feeling a deep, profound heartache, as if my heart were literally breaking in two, and I told them, "You go on ahead. I will catch up with you." When they'd left the room I walked over to the window and peered out. I watched as the three children took a grocery cart and began taking it up a steep path that was covered with very large rocks. I saw them doing their best to navigate over this difficult path. Then I turned back to the group of people in the room and firmly told them, "I cannot go back. I cannot and I will not turn back." Then I woke up.

There were tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew by the Spirit that this dream was from God and that a line was being drawn. But I was curious about the children, so I inquired of the Holy Spirit, "Who were they and what did this mean?" Immediately He responded to me, "They are the children of Israel. They are headed on the Second Exodus toward Mt. Zion - and the way is narrow and difficult. Catch up with them!"

In an amazing confirmation of this dream a dear sister sent me a prophecy she recently received that was so similar to my dream it left me reeling. This prophecy, from Bill Burns, also involved people getting ready to cross over a very difficult path to Zion, but being told they must leave all their baggage behind. Here is part of what Bill saw:

"At this point I began to see that each piece of baggage had a name on it. I saw bondage and unbelief labels on some, and others were called compromise, works of the flesh, fear, and many other things that had become attachments to this world. I had also noticed that those who carried brief cases had never set them down...not even for a moment.
The labels on the brief cases were identifying different kinds of ministries.

The Master then spoke, "The baggage that you have brought with you belongs to the Second Day, and you cannot bring it with you. You must decide, for those things cannot be brought into the Third Day. If you will leave your baggage and cross over by faith, I will deliver you from the bondages of the Second Day and bring you into the glory of the Third Day where all things become new. This is the time of the Great Crossover. Come, My people, for the bridge is finished. Cross over now before the night comes and the way cannot be found. Forget those things which are behind you, and press forward into a bright and glorious new day."

It's funny, isn't it, that many of us did not realize our baggage could include ministries we are hanging onto even after the season has ended. I am not so attached to any of my worldly possessions that I could not leave them behind in a New York minute! But my ministries? The Spirit had to show me in a dream that that is the "brief case" I have not wanted to set down.

This is the time of the Great Crossover - and the very word Hebrew means "to cross over." NOW is the time to leave behind the ministries of the past - doing things the way we did them in the Church - and CROSS OVER into a glorious new day! We cannot pour new wine into our old wineskins. We cannot take the brief cases with us. I don't want to stand at the window and watch as the children of Israel cross over into the Promised Land. I am a Hebrew, I am one of them, and this is my inheritance too! The Voice that spoke to me said, "Catch up with them!" So, I'm not looking back. I'm putting down my brief case and running toward that narrow, rocky path that will bring me at last to the Third Day!

Returning and Re-gathering

My dear friend Betty responded to my last post after she did a little research on the month of Cheshvan. She discovered that it was in the month of Cheshvan that Solomon's Temple was completed in Jerusalem. I found this very fascinating, since it appears that we are very close to seeing the third Temple being erected there; and if not the whole temple structure, then at least the Altar where the sacrifices will resume. We should all be cautioned not to speak against this event, since it was foretold in Scripture, and will most certainly be a sign once again to the world that Jerusalem is the City of the Great King, and belongs to Yahweh for eternity! The prophet Daniel tells us that "From the time that the daily sacrifices are abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days." (Daniel 12:11) When the sacrifices at the Altar are abolished, the Great Tribulation begins. But there must be an Altar established again in Israel for this prophecy to be fulfilled! Could it be in Cheshvan once again that we see the Altar restored? Did you happen to see the article about the gathering of stones from the Dead Sea for just this purpose? I have reprinted part of it below from the Arutz Sheva newspaper in Israel, dated July 29, 2009):

"The Temple Institute, which has already built many of the vessels for the Holy Temple, such as the ark and the menorah, has now embarked on a project to build the altar. Construction begins Thursday in Mitzpe Yericho (east of Jerusalem) at 5:30 p.m.
“Unfortunately, we cannot currently build the altar in its proper place, on the Temple Mount,” Temple Institute director Yehudah Glick said. “We are building an altar of the minimum possible size so that we will be able to transport it to the Temple when it is rebuilt." Even a minimum size altar will work out to be approximately 2 meters tall, 3 meters long, and 3 meters wide. Workers have collected around 10 cubic meters of rocks weighing several tons already.The rocks were gathered from the Dead Sea area and wrapped individually to assure they remain whole and are not touched by metal, as the Bible requires.“The Torah says that no iron tools should be used on the altar’s stones,” Glick explained. “The altar represents a connection to life and to the creation of the world. Iron is the opposite – it is used to build tools of war, death, and destruction.”The stones will be cemented together with a mixture of sand, clay, tar, and asphalt. “There are many positive developments recently with regard to the Temple,” Glick added. “Hundreds of Jews visited the Temple Mount this week, and more and more continue to come, after undergoing the requisite ritual immersion.”

Additionally Betty uncovered the fact that in the month of Cheshvan the Israelites returned to the Land following their captivity in Babylon. So, it is not only the month of completing the Temple, but of the re-gathering of the scattered Israelites! No wonder my heart is so deeply yearning to return this month! No wonder I was so awe-struck when reading Ephraim Frank's blog this morning. You will want to read it too, for it contains a thrilling account of an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi who had a powerful vision from the Holy Spirit regarding the return of Ephraim to the land of Israel, and the joining of the two sticks in the Father's hand (Ezekiel 37:19, 22). Read those scriptures. Then read the blog at this link: http://israeliteletters.blogspot.com/

Then pray - with all your heart - for Yahweh to re-gather His scattered ones and reunite them upon the mountains of Israel, and reveal Himself as the only True God of Israel as He states in Joel 2:27, "Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am YHVH your Elohim, and that there is no other!" AMEN!

A Stanger and Exile on Earth

Today the New Moon was cited in Israel. Happy Rosh Chodesh, we have just begun the month of Cheshvan! But why on earth am I watching the new moons? What am I looking for? More than ever in my spirit I realize that I am looking, longing, yearning for the signs of Messiah Yeshua's return. He gave us signs in the earth and signs in the heavens to watch, and I don't want to miss a single sign! It seems very, very quiet in the news and in the earth right now. It feels to me like a quiet before a great storm. And we know a great "storm" of war, famine, disease and death must occur in the earth before He returns. But my focus is solely on HIM, our soon-coming King, so that I might know what HE is doing and not concern myself with what the enemy is doing.

Today a blog by Homer Owen really touched my heart. Homer cited this scripture and made the following comment: “By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow-heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10

"In the 13th verse of this same chapter we are told that Abraham did not receive the promises made to him but rejoiced anyway and welcomed them from a distance. He had to maintain an attitude of being a stranger and exile on the earth. God had prepared a city for Abraham in heaven and he keep his eye on this heavenly or everlasting reward."

So it is for us, beloved. We too are strangers and exiles on the earth. I never felt more an exile than I did during the great Feast of Sukkot, which I celebrated in Oklahoma. I mean I'm pretty sure Oklahoma is NOT the Promised Land! Smile. So I have to maintain Abraham's attitude of understanding that I am just an exile here, waiting to go HOME. Longing to go home. Yearning to go home.

Our Messiah did not come this Sukkot to establish His City, whose architect and builder is is God, setting up His reign upon the Earth for 1000 years. Maybe next Sukkot? Or the one following that? Let us watch the new moons and the seasons, and keep our eyes on this heavenly or everlasting reward! And let us rejoice anyway, as Abraham did, and welcome the promises from a distance...

I Enter the Holy of Holies

Shabbat Shalom on this day of our Simchat Torah (the joy of the Torah)! I have just returned from 7 days in Oklahoma celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) with Mike & Kathy Clayton and about 76 other wonderful Israelites! We camped in the woods and the deluge of rain reminded me of Sukkot in Jerusalem in 2005 when I first came to understand YHVH's outpoured blessing of rain during the Feast days. It never dampened our spirits or our hearts, even when the rain came pouring through our dining tent! It was a week of worship, fellowship, and rehearsals for the in-breaking Kingdom of Yeshua.

The thing I never quite got over was how strange we must have looked to the world - especially on Saturday evening when we had the awesome privilege of "entering the Holy of Holies." To describe this experience to you is most difficult - there are really no words to convey the Power and Glory of YHVH's Presence that visited us that night. But I will do my best to share what it was like to enter the Holy of Holies - even though we were simply preparing for what is yet to come.

The tabernacle looked like white linen curtains with only the light of the menorah shining through, the sweet fragrance of incense wafting above. Approaching the brazen altar with fear and trembling, I put my "sacrifice" into the fire to be burned. My sacrifice was a paper on which I had written that which I desired to be burned from me. I tore the paper into pieces and tossed it into the coals. Suddenly a tall column of fire erupted and CONSUMED my paper. YHVH had come down and literally consumed my offering. Inside the tabernacle I lit the menorah and asked Him that no darkness would ever again be found in me and that I might continually shine forth HIS Light in the world. I also asked Him for keener discernment, that I will know WHEN to shine the Light and when to separate myself. Amen.

I moved to the Table of Showbread - and there I utterly lost control and began to sob. I asked Father, "Why am I so overcome by the showbread?" I heard the Ruach clearly say, "Because I am your only Provider. This is the hidden manna, preserved for Israel in the final journey." Do I need stored food? Not much. Do I need silver or gold? Not really. Retirement accounts? No. He cannot give me the miracle until I have nothing.

Next I came to the Altar of Incense. Frankincense burned as a sweet fragrance. I watched the smoke ascend as the prayers of YHVH's people. And then I came upon the execution stake where He died - because we cannot enter the Holy of Holies but through His Blood. I prostrated myself and grabbed the foot of the stake. I held on tight - and I wept. What else have I to hold onto? Then - at last - I entered the Holy of Holies, behind the veil. I worshiped the Holy One of Israel. And I came to the full, astonishing reality that I - and a tiny remnant of others in the world - are rehearsing for the Kingdom! We are keeping His moedim. And HE is here to meet with us! His Presence was so powerful I could not walk straight as I tried to leave, but staggered as if drunk. I was overcome by the Shechinah in that Holy Place, and suddenly knew that if it were any heavier I could not have stood up or walked at all!

Outside I stared up at the stars and wondered, "Are you pleased with us, YHVH? Are you blessed at the desire of our hearts to meet with You; to keep your moedim and to learn to follow Your ways? Your Torah is LIFE to us! We washed our hands in the bronze laver. There was no towel. The water is the WORD, and we don't want the WORD to depart from us! Give me clean hands and a pure heart. Take not your Holy Spirit from me. Fill me with your Light. Your tabernacle is Messiah Yeshua: water, blood and light. And now Your tabernacle is me: water, blood and light. Dead flesh. Sweet fragrance. Living bread. Holy and set apart.