Dear Friends,
The word “scholar”—from a word meaning “in school”—suggests that genuine scholars are students rather than experts. This fine distinction supports the theory that the best teachers, despite their expertise, consider themselves life-long students.
As perpetual students, good Bible teachers continually strive to grow and learn. One way to do this is by reading; another is by interacting with other Messianic Jewish leaders.
Messianic Jewish Bible teachers from the world over attended the recent Borough Park Symposium in New York. This is an annual ministry conference for Jewish Believers in Jesus who are teachers and pastors. They submit their biblical assessments in theological papers and verbally present them to the assembly. Then, designated listeners comment on each paper’s subject matter. Finally, the floor is open for everyone to offer statements and ask questions of their own.
Many Bible students find these conferences boring and don’t attend, but I enjoy them. Beyond that, I praise God that finally, after 1,900 years of being snubbed, Jewish Believers in Jesus are becoming recognized Bible instructors. As one of them, I can tell you that we hunger to tell the Jesus story as seen with Jewish eyes. And not just individually, but helping each other with affirmation and critical reflection. This disciplined fellowship sharpens insights, strengthens friendships, and hones the Church.
The Christian Church has fostered some honorable thinkers during its two millennia. However, the striking absence of Jewish Bible teaching and teachers in many modern churches has made them New Testament domains. Omitting the Old Testament, it’s sad to say, was intentional and not accidental.
For evidence, you can read Michael Brown’s book, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood, offered with this letter. (By the way, he too attended the Borough Park Symposium.) As the title suggests, the Church has stained hands and some dark history to regret. The sinful betrayal and Christian abandonment of the Jews has resulted in the Jesus faith being framed with non-Jewish and sometimes anti-Jewish concepts. With the Church’s moorings in pagan rather than biblical culture, Jews have a difficult time seeing their Messiah. Remember, He was sent first to the Jews—and then, by extension, to non-Jews.
At last, Messianic Jewish theologians are stepping boldly onto the stage of theological relevance. We’ve studied at the seminaries, thus earning credibility to be heard there and elsewhere. Messianic Jewish teachers—like me, and Zola before me—challenge the prevailing Church wisdom and offer decidedly different (Jewish) perspectives. We also provoke more than a few Church leaders with our criticism of the Church’s lackluster performance in reaching out to the Jews—and by wanting to speak now as Jews, for Jews, and about the world’s greatest Jew: Jesus.
This ministry’s newest television series For Such A Time As This, now in post-production, is just such a story. We plan to broadcast it later this summer. Next, we plan to cover a miracle that is unfolding right before our very eyes—the rise of Messianic, Jewish-believing, Christian faith and practice. With your help, we plan to film an inspirational series of television shows about the hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jewish Believers in Jesus, their congregations, music, theology, and overall ministry.
The world is going to see it. You are going to love it.
Surely, you have a love for Jewish people, the Jewish homeland, and the Jewish Messiah, or you wouldn’t be on our mailing list. No man created the love you have, or put it within you. I am certain that such love comes from God, and that you’re reading this letter because, unlike too many others in this world, you actually care about the same issues I do. You sense that we’re in this together, by Divine design.
I’m blessed by your love for Jesus and for Jews. This upcoming series will expose viewers to communities that worship Jesus from Jewish moorings. Their worship is Hebraic, and their teachers are Messianic Jewish. Their congregations are a mixture of Jewish and non-Jewish Believers in Jesus. These gentile Believers have a deep and abiding affection for the community, and they yearn to participate in its success. After 1,900 years of abandonment and denigration, God is raising up congregations—not just leaders—to personify this story.
Just as the Messianic Jewish movement is becoming visible, I believe it’s time for Zola Levitt Presents to enhance the visibility of this prophecy-related story to a growing national audience. We want to look at the miracle of the spiritual revival of Messianic Jewish faith, along with the miracle of Israel’s re-emergence. Both enter the world with trials—as seems the case with all of God’s business. No progress in advancing Christ’s Kingdom goes uncontested.
Help me advance that Kingdom with this new TV series, For Such A Time As This. Of course, I’ll appreciate it greatly. More importantly, though, it will enable millions of viewers to experience the worship and teaching of the Messianic movement’s movers and shakers. You’ll be both inspired and informed.
In conjunction with the series and its interviews, I plan to link www.levitt.com to congregation listings with most of the world’s Messianic Jewish congregations. Together, you and I can pray that the souls who visit those sites will find a local congregation, visit, and participate. Please join me in strengthening the Messianic movement, and pray that it will grow by a few thousand Believers as a result of our efforts—mine and yours.
Here’s something you might not realize about the nature of a broadcast ministry such as ours. Many fine ministries raise funds to feed the hungry, fly Jews from Europe to Israel, and help the needy in other worthwhile ways. Do I oppose devoting dollars to food, blankets, airline tickets to Israel, or church buildings? No.
Many of our viewers love Jesus. They enjoy seeing Him as a Jewish Messiah rather than a Greco-Roman invention. They love Israel. Such viewers get connected from our program to all sorts of Messianic Jewish endeavors and outreaches. Resources follow that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Devoted Believers often approach me and say: “Love your program, Jeff. Got turned on to some new concepts. Now I’m helping Jews in this or that situation… Now I’m part of a Messianic Jewish community. I want to thank you for being a doorway.”
I’m honored to be such a doorway. If you read our Levitt Letter magazine, you see that some readers consider me a doormat. But the grief from their criticism is counterbalanced by friends like you and by a sense that all things, including this ministry’s efforts, work together for good (Romans 8:28).
At the beginning of this letter, I commended the virtues of learning. Let me tell you about one book that I recently read: Dr. Richard Harvey’s Mapping Messianic Jewish Theology (Paternoster, 2009). Professor Darrell Bock, of the Dallas Theological Seminary, called it a “superb introduction to an often neglected sphere in the body of Christ.” My friend Dr. Dan Juster also commended it, saying: “This is the right book to read to gain a broad understanding of the issues” in Messianic Jewish thought. Another friend, Messianic theologian Dr. Mark Kinzer, said: it’s a “pioneering study of enormous value for those outside the movement…”
If you’re thinking about traveling to Israel, please come with us this fall. More than 75 people have already registered. Our travel manager, Tracie, can reserve you a place over the phone with a refundable deposit by credit card. We offer extensions to Greece and Petra to optimize your time in the Holy Land. Our tour dates are:
October 12-27: Grand Athens (Greece and Israel)
October 12-31: Ultra Grand (Greece, Israel, and Petra)
October 17-27: Deluxe (Israel)
October 17-31: Grand Petra (Israel and Petra)
For more information, including pricing and itineraries, you can find our brochure and registration form at levitt.com; just click on “tours.” Or call (214) 696-9760 and talk to Tracie about your plans and request a free tour folder.
Perhaps you want to go, but you’re afraid of
the cost, the time away from family or work, or
something else such as security. As we know,
the flame of fear can sometimes burn brighter
than the fire of faith. Don’t let that happen to you. If God is prompting you
to go to Israel, go! Don’t do it for me. Do it because it’s something that God
wants you to do for reasons that are unique to you and Him.
Thanks again for staying tuned through these prophetic times. And, please, “pray for the peace of Jerusalem!”
Blessings,
Jeff
P.S. Our nationally-syndicated television ministry bears abundant fruit, but we must take care of the tree. Please help us stay strong and fruitful as we dig in and stand up for truths that many in the Church and world seem ready to ignore. I’m asking for your help in funding the unique television series on the Messianic Jewish movement.
Dear Jeff,
It is an absolute must for the Christian Church to welcome Jews and the Messianic Jewish movement with open arms.
“Here’s my gift for June. I love how you add Jewish perspective to my Christian experience. Please show the story, as you described, around the world.”
In this twelve-part TV series, Dr. Jeffrey Seif sheds light on the Apostle Paul, his movements, and his message. After examining Paul’s travels throughout the Roman Empire, Jeff analyzes Paul’s divinely inspired letters to early Church congregations, preserved in the New Testament.
Thirteen of the New Testament’s 27 books bear Paul’s seal and signature. Consequently, he is the New Testament’s principal interpreter of what it means to be “Christian.” Jeff looks closely at Paul and the fact that the major “Christian” interpreter lived, acted, and thought as a “Jewish rabbi.” St. Paul, a rabbi?
From the first “Christian” persecutions of the Jews in the fourth century to the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, from Israel-bashing in today’s press to anti-Semitism in today’s pulpits, this shocking and painful book tells the tragic story of the “Church” and the Jewish people.
