Our Guest Michael Lane
Sid: You know what if you understand the foundations of which the New Covenant was based and you see the Messiah and you feel a need to explain these foundations because he was speaking to Jewish people that knew that knew the Jewish scriptures of that time. Today most Jewish people traditional Jewish people don’t even know the Jewish scriptures. And most Christians and it’s our job to communicate the gospel to the Jew first we don’t even understand the Old Covenant and the Biblical prophecies, and so how in the world are we going to get together? And I believe God has culturally brought to the surface it’s like the Spirit of God people all over the world are getting interested in their Jewish roots and the Biblical Festivals and Christians are beginning to observe these festivals as tremendous times of unity for Christians from all different backgrounds to come together and lay down their differences and worship God. And the Spirit of God is going to show up in this unity and then Jewish people will really be provoked to jealousy. So there’s so much more in just the understanding there’s a prophetic understanding of the end time events hidden in these Biblical Festivals. But let’s just start with basics I have my friend Michael Lane on the telephone he’s a Jewish Believer in the Messiah an outstanding Bible teacher. And Michael as you know this week Friday night begins Rosh Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets and then 10 days later we have Yom Kippur. Give us a basic understanding of these events.
Michael: Rosh Hashanah which means the head of the year is the Jewish New Year. My mother actually gets New Year cards like during Christmas and New Year’s time. In America we would get Merry Christmas and Happy New Year kind of cards we would get in this Festival and Tishrei, which is September/October. This coming Friday my Mom will get New Years cards Happy New Year. Rosh Hashanah begins the 10 days of Ave traditionally when Jewish people are just for 10 days wondering whether they’re in the book of life and they’re humbling themselves. In the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur Leviticus 16, in fact I think that it says in three different places in four verses it says “Humble yourselves.” In you don’t humble yourselves I’m going to cut you off of Israel. And these people are just humbling and afflicting themselves. Kind David said “It’s good for me to be afflicted that I might learn your statues before I was afflicted I went astray but now I’ve kept Your word.” So these 10 days the Jewish people are wondering if they’re in the book of life or not in the book of life. And of course we know we’re in the book of life as born again believers but they’re still wondering whether or not their saved or not. And we’re looking towards the blood of the Lamb and of course our Messiah to be saved. But during these 10 days it’s an interesting number in scriptures weren’t the 3 children in Daniel’s time prove your servants for 10 days give us vegetables and water that we might not be defiled by Nebuchadnezzar. There in Revelation 2:10 Jesus tells Smyrna you’re going to be tested 10 days and Moses wrote the down the 10 Commandments, and the disciples tarried 10 days they didn’t know how long they’re were going to have to tarry. But 10’s an interesting number in the scriptures 10 is just the testing time and the humility time for Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. From the first day of the month up until the 10th day of the month, 10th day of month begins and that’s the Hebrew calendar the Day of Atonement. Even the shofar is shaped the Rosh Hashanah the letter that starts the “R” the Rosh that starts the word Rosh Hashanah the shofar they say traditionally they say that the shofar even looks like a resh the way it’s shaped interesting. But what will happen on the Day of Atonement Aaron the High Priest was the only time that he went into the Holy of Holies and he would take incense with him and sacrifices and he would bath first and wash. And Paul would speak of the washing of the word and regeneration. He would go in at that one time of year and everything that Paul, Paul was a walking Torah everything that he said he was just speaking of things that happen in these Feasts and things that happen in the Torah and the instruction from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Paul was just memorize all the scripture. By the time he was 6, 7, 8 years old he knew it all and he was just speaking about these feasts mostly. The golden censor ministry of Aaron he would go in with incense, we know that incense is just finely ground and it was in his hand that was how he got ordained. The word ordained means to fill the hand. They would put unleavened bread and incense and oral sometimes but we know that David years later said “May my prayer be counted as incense before thee. He was in the Holy of Holies in his little tent that he built for the Lord, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering, there was a morning and evening offering.” In Revelation in a couple of places there was just 4 Living Creatures and the 24 Elders they fell down before the Lamb each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense which were the prayers of the saints. So the saints, our prayers go up as incense as the morning and evening offering is we lift our hands. As we pray, as we intercede for our loved ones, or countries or Israel or Jerusalem it’s like incense going into the Lord’s nostrils. And He’s very pleased with that.
Sid: You know Michael I’m having a thought since this Friday begins the 10days of Awe and repentance and then follows with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. We have to pray the Jewish people have their sins forgiven. And as Jewish people throughout the world are focusing “Is our Name in the Life?” What does this all mean? Is there life after death? What is this book of life? As Jewish people are focused on this I believe if Christians were to take their prayers like this incense and be praying for the salvation of the Jewish people in their community that literally what happened to you, what happened to… I mean there’s no logical explanation Michael of how here you were deep in the New Age and guru and India and just almost instantly you saw Jesus as the Messiah. That wasn’t an act because your sister was so persuasive it was an act of God!
Michael: Yeah, Yes.
Sid: And I really believe if our Mishpochah were to take the next 10 days and to pray and even on Yom Kippur to fast for the salvation of Jewish people in their city that when we get to heaven we’ll find out that literally history was changed as a result of these prayers.
Michael: I agree totally, totally the most important thing we can do is pray, yes, yes.
Sid: So on Yom Kippur I have recollections they’re not real good recollections from when I was a traditional Jew I used to go in the synagogue and we used to pray all day. And you know it would be one thing if we understood what we prayed but I was in an Orthodox Synagogue and I know how to read Hebrew beautifully but I didn’t understand a word of what I was praying. It was in the most boring thing in the world and then we were fasting and then I would see some of the men slip out of the Synagogue and go to the store and buy something to eat and then they’d come back and I’d see all of this hypocrisy. You know I was proud of being Jewish but I just saw religion is such hypocrisy and I understand that in Israel the average Israeli there is really offended by the religious Jews that are pushing their faith upon them. But what would happen if Jewish people saw the sense of the scriptures, saw that all of the scriptures all of these festivals speak of the Messiah? I believe the reason that God is restoring these Biblical festivals to Gentile Believers today is:
- They have insight in the times we’re living in and to understand the last days which you can’t understand.
- To unify Jews and Christians to become one.
Are you seeing, I mean you’ve been a believer over 30 years like myself have you seen an increase in Christians wanting to understand their Biblical Jewish Roots?
Michael: Yes our whole group has just started with a B&B which you started, you called me one day “Would you have a prayer meeting in Philadelphia and pray for Israel and the Jewish people in the Philadelphia area and our ministry? And I prayed about it a couple of days and I said “Yes.” I called you about two days later it was in the wintertime this was many years ago. I remember seeing it only lasted about an hour there was the snow, the little inch of snow flakes out on the ground were all… not all they were mostly Jewish stars and I called 2 other people within a mile and a half in both directions one of them being my sister and somebody else and they saw them out there. I took a picture and sent it to you and you put it in your newsletter.
Sid: I remember.
Michael: But yes, our whole group was started with our Bagels and Bible and intercession and as people have gathered and definitely.
Sid: Now what is your group, you have a home bible study a house church if you will.
Michael: Yeah.
Sid: What does your group on the Biblical Festivals?
Michael: Well, as I mentioned the other day we don’t necessarily build a Succah hut but there’s some talk…
Sid: Now a Succah is Tabernacles Jewish people have done this every year since the Exodus to remind us of what life was like with our people and it’s called a Succah, go ahead.
Michael: Right, we don’t necessarily do that but there’s some rumors I’ll be doing it on my deck this year. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Succah personally but we’ll if they want to do it maybe we’ll do it. Again we appreciate the spiritual blessings Paul writes that in Corinthians of what these feasts are or whether we do this or do that traditionally properly is irrelevant but that would understand all about the Lord. When Aaron goes into the Holy of Holies and he’s dressed in linen garments and he has incense in his hands he was actually taking a bath under the guidance of the Lord in the Tabernacle. Wow, that is so awesome. But we’re to understand that we are to do that now we’re priests of the Lord and we can actually put on our linen garments spiritually and we can have the incense with our prayer and we can be washed in the word and we can be regenerated. And for us it’s just a spiritual thing.
Sid: Tell you what Mishpochah the presence of God is starting to pour out on this broadcast because we’re yielding to the Spirit of God.
