The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Two Witnesses”
In chapters 11–13, the sound of the seventh trumpet reveals the arrival of two witnesses. They bring the Gospel message during times of demonic-inspired misery as Satan and the antiChrist exert their evil rule.
Series: “Revelation: Unveiling the Visions”
The last book of the Bible is filled with veiled visions that look toward the ragged edge of human history. Dr. Jeffrey Seif walks us through each of the 22 chapters which include glorious visions and angelic visitations along with darkness and judgment. Amidst the turbulence of trying times, this series encourages you to release your fear of the future and focus on God’s plan of salvation and ultimate restoration. These eight programs also include insights from David and Kirsten Hart and music by Zola Levitt.

Caption transcript for Revelation: Unveiling the Visions — “Two Witnesses” (5/8)

  • 00:03 male announcer: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots"
  • 00:06 with insightful Bible teaching by Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
  • 00:10 ♪♪♪
  • 00:15 ♪♪♪
  • 00:23 CC BY ABERDEEN CAPTIONING 1-800-688-6621 WWW.ABERCAP.COM
  • 00:28 David: We are so glad you've joined us today.
  • 00:29 I'm David Hart.
  • 00:31 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 00:32 Jeffrey Seif: Jeffrey Seif here, and yes, really glad.
  • 00:35 They are here as well in chapter 11, verse 15.
  • 00:38 They're singing, "The kingdom of this world has become
  • 00:42 the kingdom of our Lord."
  • 00:44 Oh, for that day to come soon, yes?
  • 00:46 David: It's been such an interesting series already.
  • 00:49 I think maybe a takeaway for me is to remain faithful
  • 00:54 even in hardship.
  • 00:56 Kirsten: With its ups and downs.
  • 00:58 David: Ups and downs.
  • 00:59 Jeffrey: Yeah, and we're gonna see that here as we work
  • 01:00 our way through today's program.
  • 01:02 There's definitely some downs and there's some ups.
  • 01:03 It sounds a lot like life.
  • 01:05 Kirsten: And we have a dragon,
  • 01:06 but we're not gonna get into that.
  • 01:08 You can teach about the dragon. I don't like dragons.
  • 01:10 Jeffrey: Yeah, there's some persecution here that's
  • 01:11 unleashed against the Jews.
  • 01:13 I can talk about that personally, not just as
  • 01:15 a literary student and we'll get into it.
  • 01:18 David: That's right.
  • 01:19 Right now let's go to Dr. Seif's teaching on Revelation.
  • 01:22 ♪♪♪
  • 01:27 Jeffrey: Revelation chapter 11 opens up with a picture out
  • 01:31 of Ezekiel who, toward the end of his book, is beckoned
  • 01:34 to go and measure the temple.
  • 01:36 I mention that here because in chapter 11, verse 1, you have
  • 01:40 the command to do much the same.
  • 01:42 There are those in the temple worshiping,
  • 01:44 outside the courtyards are trampled, and then we're told
  • 01:48 that there are these two witnesses who are given voice
  • 01:52 to prophesy in these very difficult days,
  • 01:55 and hell comes against them but they keep speaking.
  • 01:58 We're told one of these two has power to shut up the heaven so
  • 02:03 there'll be no rain.
  • 02:05 And the other has power over waters to turn them into blood,
  • 02:08 et cetera.
  • 02:09 This reminds me of the days of Elijah and the days of Moses and
  • 02:12 some think these witnesses are akin to those personalities:
  • 02:15 one prays and shuts up the heavens, the other prays
  • 02:18 and the waters turn to blood.
  • 02:21 There's this supernatural element to their ministries.
  • 02:24 The point here and, by the way, when I think of Moses and
  • 02:26 Elijah, Moses was the greatest writing prophet; Elijah was
  • 02:31 the greatest non-writing prophet in the Hebrew Bible.
  • 02:35 There are some that minister in word, you know, the biblical
  • 02:39 Word, and there are some that have a prophetic word.
  • 02:43 People think of the differences between Spirit-filled churches,
  • 02:46 so-called, and non-Spirit filled.
  • 02:48 There's different varieties.
  • 02:50 The point is both these witnesses are giving voice in
  • 02:53 their own way and we're kind of thrown back to recall some
  • 02:57 biblical personalities.
  • 02:59 What happens, both of them become the object of demonic
  • 03:03 wrath and they're executed only to rise again.
  • 03:07 Breath enters into them again in verse 11 and they stand up and
  • 03:12 this creates quite a stir.
  • 03:15 The point is, if I can speak to the moment here, that amidst the
  • 03:20 turbulence of trying times we're told that forces
  • 03:24 are invested against the righteous but they prevail.
  • 03:29 It's not just a good word for them here, it's a good word
  • 03:33 for me and you here.
  • 03:36 I mention that because when you read on through the chapter,
  • 03:40 before you get out of it, there's something of a praise
  • 03:43 service going on.
  • 03:44 That is to say, things get dark, true,
  • 03:47 but the light is about to shine.
  • 03:51 "The kingdom of this world," in verse 15, is going to be
  • 03:55 "the kingdom of our Lord and of his Anointed One.
  • 03:59 And he shall reign forever and ever."
  • 04:02 There's this cry even against the backdrop of a world gone bad
  • 04:06 that there is a new world coming.
  • 04:10 And that's the heart cry of every Christian, everyone who's
  • 04:12 been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • 04:16 We can give voice to that here.
  • 04:19 Here, even with these trumpets, with these negative things
  • 04:24 unleashed upon the earth, we see an emergent testimony.
  • 04:27 We see a word.
  • 04:29 We see a prophetic word, a biblical word.
  • 04:31 It keeps on going and eventually it wins at day's end,
  • 04:36 in verse 17: "We thank you, Adonai Elohei-Tzva'ot,"
  • 04:40 we thank you, God, the Lord of the Armies,
  • 04:43 the Lord of Hosts, "who is and was,
  • 04:46 because you have taken your great power
  • 04:48 and begun to reign."
  • 04:51 What a good word.
  • 04:53 He goes on to say, "The nations were enraged, but your wrath
  • 04:57 has come and the time for the dead to be judged--
  • 05:01 to reward your servants, the prophets and the saints,
  • 05:05 and those who fear your name, the small and the great,
  • 05:08 and to destroy the destroyers of the earth."
  • 05:13 It's worth considering the context of the text, where,
  • 05:20 around 95 AD, there is persecution going on
  • 05:24 in the empire.
  • 05:26 There's a king who sets himself up as Lord and God.
  • 05:29 Individuals are beckoned to do obeisance to him
  • 05:31 as to divinity.
  • 05:34 The early followers of Jesus just can't buy into that.
  • 05:37 They then are accused of being disloyal.
  • 05:40 They're marginalized and persecuted in the empire.
  • 05:43 They're seen as social undesirables.
  • 05:46 The first recipients of this message lived within that world.
  • 05:50 We live in a world today that's wrought with many perils but in
  • 05:54 North America, anyways, we're not really persecuted
  • 05:56 for our faith.
  • 05:58 Some people can be dismissive of us, but you don't have
  • 06:01 governmental structures really bearing down on the hard,
  • 06:04 certainly not like you had here.
  • 06:07 This author gives voice to the fact that the world is going
  • 06:10 to turn, that God's kingdom is going to come.
  • 06:16 His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
  • 06:19 That would have been a stretch to say that back then when the
  • 06:22 early followers of Jesus were a small cult at the ragged edge
  • 06:25 of civilization.
  • 06:27 Now, it's different and, indeed, it'll be different
  • 06:29 in the days to come.
  • 06:31 It's great to see and I love hearing it in the literature,
  • 06:34 the prophetic voice that gives voice to the ultimate triumph
  • 06:36 of God in human history.
  • 06:38 And that, by the way, is the good news behind
  • 06:40 the book of Revelation.
  • 06:42 There's a world here and we've just looked at it,
  • 06:44 and we'll look at it some more.
  • 06:46 There's sweeping disease, decay, despair,
  • 06:48 disorientation, and war.
  • 06:50 All of that is unleashed, but we see an emergent kingdom promised
  • 06:55 and we're gonna see that kingdom rise
  • 06:57 as we make our way through Revelation.
  • 07:00 Stay with me on the journey. There's a lot more to come.
  • 07:03 We're barely halfway through, as we look at Revelation
  • 07:07 and we look to unveil the visions noted therein.
  • 07:12 ♪♪♪
  • 07:22 Jeffrey: Revelation chapter 12 is a fascinating chapter.
  • 07:27 I want you to open it up and have a look here.
  • 07:29 The author has a vision.
  • 07:31 We're told in verse 1: "A sign appears in heaven: a woman."
  • 07:36 And the woman in verse 2 is pregnant,
  • 07:39 crying out in birth pangs.
  • 07:41 In agony, ready to give birth.
  • 07:44 She's in travail.
  • 07:46 And then we're told in verse 3 that he sees this dragon,
  • 07:49 this beast.
  • 07:51 Now, the picture here is this beast presents to the woman,
  • 07:54 and the beast is about to devour the child when the child
  • 07:58 is brought forth.
  • 08:01 We're told this dragon appeared.
  • 08:02 His tail sweeps away the stars of heaven.
  • 08:05 "It stood before the woman who was about to give birth."
  • 08:08 Now people say, "I don't understand
  • 08:10 this book of Revelation."
  • 08:12 Okay, think 1st century, not 21st century.
  • 08:14 Just let the imagery sit there for a second.
  • 08:17 We're told in verse 5 the woman gives birth to a son,
  • 08:21 "a male child, who's to rule all the nations
  • 08:25 with a rod of iron."
  • 08:26 Ultimately, this child is destined to rule,
  • 08:30 to have superintendency.
  • 08:32 And we're told here the child was snatched away to God.
  • 08:36 So the child is born, has destiny all over it,
  • 08:39 and the child is spirited away on the quick.
  • 08:42 We're told the woman then flees into the wilderness
  • 08:45 for protection.
  • 08:47 In verse 7 then, this war breaks out in heaven between Michael
  • 08:52 and his angels, and against the dragon.
  • 08:55 There's this cosmic spiritual warfare going on.
  • 08:59 We're told in verse 9: "The great dragon was thrown down
  • 09:02 to earth, called the devil and Satan."
  • 09:06 So you can see how this plays out, that Satan tried to destroy
  • 09:11 the child but it didn't happen.
  • 09:13 You might remember when Jesus was born that the Matthean
  • 09:17 Gospel gives voice to the fact that Herod tried
  • 09:20 to snuff him out initially.
  • 09:22 It didn't happen.
  • 09:24 What happens here is war breaks out between the seed of
  • 09:29 Satan, the dragon, and his minions, and the woman
  • 09:33 and her children.
  • 09:34 We're told he was thrown down to earth and he then vents his fury
  • 09:41 on others who, in verse 11, "overcome him by the blood
  • 09:46 of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."
  • 09:49 There's a fascinating story here of a kind of spiritual warfare
  • 09:54 and the implications of it, I think, are profound.
  • 09:59 We look in the literature.
  • 10:00 We're told in verse 13: "The dragon saw that he'd been
  • 10:04 thrown to the earth, and he stalked the woman
  • 10:07 who gave birth to the male child."
  • 10:10 What happened, he wasn't able to kill the child so you have here
  • 10:14 the devil going after the woman who brought forth the child.
  • 10:19 Now, let me ask you the question: where did this Christ
  • 10:23 child come from?
  • 10:25 You look in the first breath of the New Testament:
  • 10:28 "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,
  • 10:32 the Son of Abraham."
  • 10:34 He comes from the Jewish people.
  • 10:37 Unable to destroy the Christ child here,
  • 10:41 you have this Satan investing his fury against the people
  • 10:48 who brought him into the world.
  • 10:51 Thus we get here at the essence and substance of anti-Semitism.
  • 10:56 It's an age-old question: why do people hate the Jews.
  • 11:00 From generation to generation, it's not that the Jews
  • 11:03 are a bad lot.
  • 11:05 And I know you don't hate the Jews 'cause you're watching one,
  • 11:08 that you invest money, some of you do, thank you,
  • 11:11 to help us support the program and pay
  • 11:14 these astronomical bills.
  • 11:16 But there are a lot of people that don't like Jewish people
  • 11:18 and Jewish perspective.
  • 11:20 And people wonder why.
  • 11:22 Jews aren't a bad lot.
  • 11:23 Pound for pound, we're good people on the whole.
  • 11:25 We work hard, we tend to do right, tend to be
  • 11:27 an ethical and moral people.
  • 11:29 You look in the jails, you don't see a lot of Jews therein.
  • 11:32 It's not like we're just leaching off of culture
  • 11:34 in some way.
  • 11:36 We carry our own weight.
  • 11:37 Why do people hate Jews?
  • 11:39 It's spiritual.
  • 11:40 The devil was not able to get the ultimate Son of the Jews,
  • 11:44 according to the text, but he invests himself in going
  • 11:47 after the people from which the Jews come.
  • 11:52 And this goes on into the future.
  • 11:56 We're told in verse 17 particularly,
  • 11:59 "The dragon became enraged at the woman
  • 12:02 and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring--
  • 12:06 those who keep the commandments of God and hold
  • 12:09 to the testimony of Yeshua."
  • 12:11 It seems here that not only the Jewish people generally,
  • 12:15 you know, have a target on their back, but Jewish believers
  • 12:18 in Yeshua, particularly, become the object of a kind
  • 12:21 of demon-inspired angst.
  • 12:27 I wanna thank you for supporting "Our Jewish Roots,"
  • 12:29 'cause our friends are not of this ilk.
  • 12:32 And we can use all the strong friends we can get
  • 12:35 because the strong, amen, enemies are pretty strong.
  • 12:37 That's the bad news.
  • 12:39 The good news, of course, is that God
  • 12:40 has everything under control, more to come.
  • 12:43 ♪♪♪
  • 12:49 David: Our resource this week, the series,
  • 12:51 "Revelation: Unveiling the Visions," on DVD.
  • 12:55 Dr. Jeffrey Seif walks through all 22 chapters of the book of
  • 12:59 Revelation from glorious visions and angelic visitations
  • 13:03 to darkness and judgment.
  • 13:05 Release your fear of the future and focus on God's plan
  • 13:08 of salvation and ultimate restoration.
  • 13:11 Get your own copy by contacting us and asking
  • 13:14 for the DVD series, "Revelation: Unveiling the Visions."
  • 13:21 David: If you only watch us on television,
  • 13:23 you're missing additional content available
  • 13:25 only on our social media sites: Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
  • 13:29 You can always visit our website which is home base
  • 13:32 for all of our ministry activities and information.
  • 13:36 There you can sign up for our free monthly newsletter,
  • 13:39 watch the TV program, or visit the online store.
  • 13:43 You can sign up for a tour of Israel and Petra
  • 13:46 or a cruise to Greece and Ephesus.
  • 13:49 Please contact us for more information.
  • 13:55 David: We're so glad you're with us,
  • 13:57 hopefully watching us every week.
  • 13:58 One of the things that many of you have not done is sign up
  • 14:02 for our Levitt Letter.
  • 14:04 It's information that we don't talk about necessarily
  • 14:08 on this program.
  • 14:09 We would love for you to sign up for that.
  • 14:11 Also, you can find us on YouTube.
  • 14:13 Kirsten: Right, social media sites.
  • 14:14 David: Yes, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, join us.
  • 14:17 Kirsten: People ask us all the time,
  • 14:18 "How can we support Israel?"
  • 14:21 One of the best ways, honestly, is to go to the land itself.
  • 14:25 We give you that opportunity two times a year.
  • 14:28 It's easy to sign up. Go to the Holy Land.
  • 14:31 Your life will be changed and you will help support Israelis.
  • 14:35 David: I know one of the ways you like to do that
  • 14:37 is to buy Israeli jewelry.
  • 14:38 Kirsten: I love Israeli jewelry.
  • 14:40 Well, you'll have opportunities to do that on the tour also.
  • 14:42 Now, let's go back to Dr. Seif's teaching
  • 14:44 on the book of Revelation.
  • 14:47 ♪♪♪
  • 14:51 Jeffrey: Harking to the previous segment,
  • 14:53 when we think of this war being enraged against the woman,
  • 14:57 those 1st century readers would have understood
  • 15:00 that Judea was wracked by war.
  • 15:03 To be sure, in the late '60s, war breaks out and the Jerusalem
  • 15:08 temple is destroyed and the population here is dispersed.
  • 15:12 Many go up north into Syria and Antioch.
  • 15:14 Some pivot and go to North Africa.
  • 15:17 But Judea is obliterated and not long after that as well,
  • 15:21 in the 130s AD, there'll be another war that'll break out
  • 15:24 and a good half a million dead there.
  • 15:27 Jewish people were pounded.
  • 15:30 It's like the Messiah came forth from the Jewish people in this
  • 15:33 world and pounded into the dust.
  • 15:36 You know, it's amazing, by the way, the Jewish people survived.
  • 15:39 I'm just telling you it's just something because we're punished
  • 15:44 out of proportion to our crimes, that is to say nobody's perfect
  • 15:47 in this world but we're not a bad lot.
  • 15:50 But have all this anger invested against us beyond--
  • 15:55 it pales, you know, there's no reasoning behind it.
  • 15:59 It's just inspired by something other than reasoning.
  • 16:02 And I think the book of Revelation gives
  • 16:04 a window into that.
  • 16:06 There is a kind of spiritual warfare at play.
  • 16:09 Speaking of spiritual warfare, our journey continues
  • 16:11 in the 13th chapter.
  • 16:13 The author sees these beasts coming out of the sea.
  • 16:17 He sees just more demon-inspired misery.
  • 16:23 He sees demonic forces in verse 7 invested against the kedoshim,
  • 16:28 against the saints, and they overcome them.
  • 16:32 We're seeing that this diabolical leader, this beast--
  • 16:35 by the way in the Johannine literature,
  • 16:38 in John's, you know, letters, he's the Antichrist.
  • 16:41 Here he's the beast.
  • 16:43 There's different languages for the devil
  • 16:45 when the devil has his day, but here a beast.
  • 16:48 He comes and we're told "he was given authority," temporarily
  • 16:53 "over every tribe, people, tongue, and nation.
  • 16:56 And all who dwell on the earth worship him--
  • 16:59 everyone whose name is not written from the foundation in
  • 17:02 the world in the Book of Life and of the Lamb."
  • 17:06 In Daniel we see the books are open, those that are in the Book
  • 17:10 of Life, those that are not in the Book of Life.
  • 17:13 Daniel also gives a vision into a climatic struggle,
  • 17:18 defiling authorities that persecute believers, et cetera.
  • 17:22 We're told here in verse 10 this environment, this mix, calls for
  • 17:28 "the perseverance and faith of the kedoshim," of the saints.
  • 17:33 Sometimes things get bad and we just have to fasten
  • 17:37 our seatbelts and persevere.
  • 17:41 Well, we'll go--we go on and we read about how this
  • 17:44 demonic-inspired person in the end of days
  • 17:46 "performs great signs," in verse 13.
  • 17:50 And in verse 14, "He deceives those who dwell on the earth
  • 17:54 through the signs that he is permitted to perform."
  • 17:58 We're seeing as well that he beckons individuals to make an
  • 18:01 image in the honor of him and becomes the object of adoration.
  • 18:07 You might recall Paul gives voice to the anti-Messiah taking
  • 18:12 his seat in the Temple of God and he proclaims himself
  • 18:15 that he is God, and he beckons people worship him.
  • 18:19 It sounds far-fetched. We're not used to that.
  • 18:21 In century one, they were.
  • 18:23 I mention that because it was not at all uncommon for emperors
  • 18:26 to come to power.
  • 18:28 They have coins minted to them that they are lord and god.
  • 18:31 They beckon people to worship them as a god.
  • 18:33 There's a state religion, and people are beckoned
  • 18:36 to do obeisance to an emperor as to a god.
  • 18:40 Much as in schools today, people do a pledge of allegiance
  • 18:45 to the flag, that similarly in antiquity they would do
  • 18:49 a certain gesture to the emperor as a god.
  • 18:52 It was just a sign of good citizenship.
  • 18:54 The problem is, is followers of Yeshua couldn't do it.
  • 18:57 It just didn't comport with their sensibility and thus
  • 19:00 they're construed as poor citizens and then, you know,
  • 19:03 the fight is on.
  • 19:05 We go on here and just see that the believers are jostled about
  • 19:11 as they just can't comport with the sensibilities
  • 19:13 of the regnant culture.
  • 19:15 It's like that today, too, I should say, that, you know,
  • 19:18 we just can't really abide the slaughter of the innocents
  • 19:20 in the womb.
  • 19:22 There's just certain things that people of faith just have to
  • 19:24 draw the line in the sand and say no, and then we're
  • 19:27 marginalized because of it and who knows what else
  • 19:29 will become of it.
  • 19:31 But it's all here.
  • 19:32 We're told as well, before we get out of the chapter, that
  • 19:35 wickedness is very prevalent here and the righteous are
  • 19:38 beckoned to just bear up underneath it and not get
  • 19:43 the mark of the beast, interestingly.
  • 19:45 It's a interesting term here, that this anti-Messiah
  • 19:49 causes all to worship him and to receive a mark on their hand
  • 19:53 and on their forehead.
  • 19:56 And no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark.
  • 19:59 And then we're told later on, the mark of the beast
  • 20:02 is the number 666.
  • 20:06 And you're saying, "Jeffrey, can you tell us what
  • 20:08 that's all about?"
  • 20:10 That's the question.
  • 20:12 The answer is no, that there's various opinions out there.
  • 20:14 You're invited to google.
  • 20:16 All that I can say is that at day's end, individuals are
  • 20:20 beckoned to subscribe to the wicked world ruler and buy into
  • 20:25 his program in different ways and there is a kind of civil
  • 20:29 disobedience that's called for, even to the harm of the person
  • 20:34 because they just can't subscribe to it.
  • 20:36 I would encourage you to be guided by biblical virtue, you
  • 20:40 know, and if you're asked to make a decision between this
  • 20:43 or biblical virtue, go with the biblical virtue.
  • 20:46 You might have to pay a little price for it but at the end of
  • 20:48 the day, it is what it is.
  • 20:50 And speaking of the end of the day, a day is coming and we'll
  • 20:53 receive our reward in heaven when we hear the words,
  • 20:56 "Well done, good and faithful servant."
  • 20:59 Well, we'll hear that at the end.
  • 21:01 We're at the end of this one right now and thank you for
  • 21:03 going with me on the journey as we're taking a look at the book
  • 21:06 in Revelation and trying to see the mysteries behind the veil,
  • 21:10 behind the visions.
  • 21:12 God bless. Let's do it again.
  • 21:15 ♪♪♪
  • 21:21 ♪ Where are you? ♪
  • 21:24 ♪ Lord, help me ♪
  • 21:26 ♪ Give me an answer ♪
  • 21:29 ♪ Forsaken and broken, I'm so afraid ♪
  • 21:37 ♪ Day and night I cry to you ♪
  • 21:40 ♪ my very deepest need ♪
  • 21:45 ♪ Let me hear your voice ♪
  • 22:00 ♪ Lord, if I sin, you'll forgive my offenses ♪
  • 22:16 ♪ Lord, don't forget ♪
  • 22:23 ♪ don't forsake me, your servant ♪
  • 22:31 ♪ Oh, my God ♪
  • 22:35 ♪♪♪
  • 22:44 ♪ Acquainted with sorrow, a man who knows grief ♪
  • 22:52 ♪ Familiar with suffering, a man like me ♪
  • 23:00 ♪ Surely he will come to meet my very deepest needs ♪
  • 23:08 ♪ God has answered me ♪
  • 23:16 ♪ God has answered me ♪♪
  • 23:28 David: That was a song by our founder, Zola Levitt.
  • 23:29 We hope you enjoy his music.
  • 23:31 Today we are halfway through this series on Revelation.
  • 23:34 Lots of ups and downs.
  • 23:36 We call it a rollercoaster ride.
  • 23:37 Lot more to come, yes?
  • 23:39 Jeffrey: That's the ride of the Jewish people,
  • 23:40 a lot of ups and downs.
  • 23:42 Kirsten: Okay, I mentioned this dragon in our little first
  • 23:45 segment together, but this dragon is coming to devour
  • 23:49 a child and--but also it's a nation.
  • 23:52 Jeffrey: Well, according to the literature here in
  • 23:55 the 12th chapter, this beast goes after this Messianic child.
  • 24:00 Unsuccessful with that, this horrific beast goes after that
  • 24:05 which brought the child into the world and the offspring of that,
  • 24:08 so we're looking at the people of Israel, the nation of Israel.
  • 24:12 And certainly, you find wars in century one where Rome vents
  • 24:17 its fury hard and fast against the Jewish people,
  • 24:21 resulting in the destruction of the temple.
  • 24:23 Kirsten: So much though.
  • 24:25 It's been throughout history.
  • 24:26 I mean, don't you have family that survived the Holocaust?
  • 24:29 Jeffrey: Yeah, my mother was smuggled
  • 24:31 out of Nazi Germany by nuns.
  • 24:33 You know, and frankly, I'm just amazed that there are any Jewish
  • 24:37 people that believe in Jesus because Jewish people are
  • 24:40 predisposed to look at Christian people as anti-Jewish because of
  • 24:44 just a checkered history because of all of that and, growing
  • 24:50 up, I used to--you hear, "You dirty Jew,
  • 24:54 you killed Christ," 'cause I was born
  • 24:56 and raised religious Jew.
  • 24:57 Kirsten: Did you literally hear that?
  • 24:59 Jeffrey: Yes, when I was 12, 13 years old,
  • 25:00 I was accused of killing Christ.
  • 25:02 I remember thinking, I didn't know who Christ was.
  • 25:03 I could have killed my sister at the time, but not Christ.
  • 25:05 David: So you're really a miracle that you're sitting here
  • 25:07 teaching Messianic teaching.
  • 25:08 Jeffrey: I think it's a miracle for any Jewish person
  • 25:10 to accept Jesus.
  • 25:12 For a Jewish person to be a Christian, it's kind of like
  • 25:14 from a Jewish perspective, it's like a black person
  • 25:16 joining the Ku Klux Klan.
  • 25:18 It just doesn't look like a place for Jews.
  • 25:21 And people just scratch their heads, but you know,
  • 25:24 we live in a day and time when the Lord's just reaching out
  • 25:28 to more and more Jewish people.
  • 25:30 And not only are Jewish people coming to know the Lord like
  • 25:32 myself, my wife, and others, but there are non-Jewish Christian
  • 25:36 people that are falling in love with the Jews
  • 25:38 and that's why you tune into something like this.
  • 25:41 Yeah, I, as a younger person, you know, accepted the Lord
  • 25:44 and went to Bible college seminary,
  • 25:46 became a ministry professor and now I'm--
  • 25:49 Kirsten: I just wanna jump in and I don't know if this
  • 25:51 is even our place to do it, just to apologize.
  • 25:55 I mean, as a whole, I think this program would like to apologize
  • 25:59 to Jewish people.
  • 26:00 If you are Jewish and you're watching, gosh, what we--
  • 26:03 what the church has done, that's how we--
  • 26:05 we grew up in the church.
  • 26:07 Thankfully, the two of us did not grow up
  • 26:09 in Jewish-hating churches.
  • 26:12 But I can't even imagine what you walked through having
  • 26:15 someone say that you're a Christ-killer.
  • 26:17 Jeffrey: I think that people that support us,
  • 26:19 personally, emotionally, spiritually, financially,
  • 26:23 are sensitive to that.
  • 26:24 They know the images of the Holocaust and they just--
  • 26:27 it's a way of showing love for the Jewish people.
  • 26:30 Unfortunately, a lot of our friends are getting older,
  • 26:33 I'm getting older, you know, I'm 64.
  • 26:35 Kirsten: You don't look a day over 60.
  • 26:37 Jeffrey: Well, you're kind.
  • 26:39 And the younger generation, the extent to which they have these
  • 26:42 appreciations, I don't know, but that's why I so appreciate you
  • 26:46 because young people watch television and they watch
  • 26:48 the Internet, they watch videos and they watch us.
  • 26:51 Thank you for your support, your friendship, to help us
  • 26:54 to tell the story.
  • 26:56 David: Can you give us a taste of what's coming
  • 26:57 next week at all?
  • 26:59 Jeffrey: Well, you know, more of Revelation.
  • 27:01 There's some good, there's some bad, and there's some ugly.
  • 27:03 Stay tuned for it.
  • 27:04 Hey, listen, thank you so much for your friendship,
  • 27:07 for going with us on the journey.
  • 27:09 As you go now, shaalu shalom Yerushalayim.
  • 27:13 David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 27:17 David: Join us right now for additional content that is only
  • 27:20 available on our social media sites:
  • 27:22 Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
  • 27:25 Visit our website, levitt.com, for the current and past
  • 27:28 programs, the television schedule, tour information,
  • 27:32 and our free monthly newsletter which is full of insightful
  • 27:35 articles and news commentary.
  • 27:37 View it online or we can ship it directly
  • 27:39 to your mailbox every month.
  • 27:42 Also on our website is the online store.
  • 27:45 There, you can order this week's resource, or you can always
  • 27:48 give us a call at 1-800-WONDERS.
  • 27:51 Your donations to "Our Jewish Roots" help us
  • 27:54 to support these organizations as they bless Israel.
  • 27:58 Please remember we depend on tax-deductible donations
  • 28:01 from viewers like you.
  • 28:04 ♪♪♪
  • 28:14 ♪♪♪
  • 28:19 ♪♪♪
  • 28:25 David: This has been a paid program brought to you
  • 28:27 by Zola Levitt Ministries.

Episodes in this series

  1. Message to the Churches
  2. Vision of Heaven
  3. The Six Seals
  4. Impending Judgments
  5. Two Witnesses
  6. 144,000 Jewish Believers
  7. The Greater They Fall
  8. Ultimate Triumph

Guest organizations and links