Yom Kippur 2017
Dear Mishpocah (Family),
Tonight begins Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
As a young Jewish boy, I never understood this holiday. I only knew that we had to fast, which I didn’t like, but I could look forward to a big meal when the day was over. Later, I came to understand that Jesus is our atonement for sin—the fulfillment of Yom Kippur.
That sounds like Jesus!
My Orthodox Jewish father hated that I believed in Jesus and would not allow me to witness to him. I was shocked when one day he agreed to listen.
Immediately, I began reading to him Isaiah 53, the great Messianic prophecy written hundreds of years before Jesus. My father said: “Wait—you’re reading from a Christian Bible. That sounds like Jesus!” I showed him it was the Jewish Scriptures from a Jewish publisher. But he responded, “That’s not good enough. You need to get a Bible that’s inscribed by our Orthodox rabbi.”
Something wrong with that rabbi!
So the next day, I went straight to the rabbi and he was happy to give me an inscribed copy. Later, I showed the inscription to my father, who agreed it was kosher.
Again, I read Isaiah 53. Of course it didn’t read any differently; it still sounded like Jesus. So my father had to believe Jesus now, right? Instead, he declared, “I’ve always thought there was something wrong with that rabbi. I remember on Yom Kippur—the day of fasting—when I saw the rabbi eating in a restaurant!” (Years later, my father received Jesus on his deathbed.)
The set time to favor Zion
For centuries, Jewish people like my father have gone to extremes to avoid the truth about Jesus being our atonement. But now is the time God is removing the spiritual scales from Jewish eyes.
And we are positioned to bring in the greatest Jewish harvest in history. Look at what God is doing!
I just returned from Israel, where we saw more than 1,000 Jewish Israelis publicly proclaim Jesus as their Messiah. Approximately 9,000 Jewish people have now made a public profession at our outreaches in Israel and elsewhere over the last 3 ½ years.
- We have now distributed over 3 million Jewish evangelistic books to Jewish people worldwide.
- Our Middle East TV Network (METV) broadcasts the Good News daily to every home in Israel with a TV and throughout the Middle East!
- Not to mention our evangelistic TV show, our 24/7 It’s Supernatural! Network (ISN) and so much more!
When you partner with me with your prayers and finances, you are blessing Israel—the apple of God’s eye. The Jewish people we are raising up will be modern-day Paul the Apostles. And at Academy Rewards night in Heaven, you and I will share equally when Jesus gives out the rewards.
Please consider a special Yom Kippur offering to help me spread the Good News, to the Jew first.
Blessed Yom Kippur,
Sid Israel Roth