The Seven Living Prophecies: What Israel and End-Time Prophecies Have to Do With You

Notes

INTRODUCTION

Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of the house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

—MATTHEW 13:52, NIV

TIZ AND I believe that this is a timely, prophetic, and much-needed message. The growing excitement and hunger we see among Christians who want to connect with their Jewish roots is amazing! We have been in the ministry for forty-five years and have taught on our Jewish roots for almost twenty-five years. We’ve never felt more excited or inspired about all that we see the Lord doing in our lives and ministries.

During our first fifteen or twenty years in the ministry, we pioneered and pastored seven different churches in different cities, including two in Australia. Opening seven new churches, often in unfamiliar cities and nations with no people and no help apart from what our kids offered, meant that we were in uncharted waters. It was extremely risky as well as exciting.

We studied, taught, preached, prayed, fasted, evangelized, and dedicated our lives to seeing people from all over the world come to the Lord. We saw thousands saved, healed, delivered, and set free. We believed for and saw great miracles every day. By the grace of God we were able to build large, strong churches. We hosted and preached at worldwide Bible conferences and held miracle crusades in many nations. We even launched a TV ministry, which continues today. And we were blessed to write books. God truly granted us global impact!

We also pioneered teachings that were not considered common or orthodox. Nearly thirty-five years ago, because of my background of family and inner-city anger, violence, crime, drug addiction, bondage, and negative generational patterns, I became desperate to find true and lasting freedom. I sought God and dug into the Word to find answers, help, and freedom. He showed me the biblical truth of generational curses, revealing not only how to break them but also how to sever the inner strongholds that keep us bound. This teaching broke the chains off my life and has kept me free, happy, and whole all these years.

Now I’ve had the privilege of serving Him as He does the same for tens of thousands of other people from every social background, walk of life, ethnicity, and nation. What the Lord did for me, He will do for you too!

MORE UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Tiz and I pioneered another uncharted area of ministry. From day one of our ministry we refused to accept division or any form of separation between races, nationalities, socioeconomic groups, religions, generations, or genders. Wherever we have lived, pastored, or ministered, we have made breaking down barriers a priority. In cities and nations where this is unheard of and unacceptable, we have torn down walls of division, pride, hatred, prejudice, sin, fear, misconceptions, and lies. In every church we have built, our motto has been No matter who you are, where you’ve come from, or what you’re going through, Jesus has a new beginning for you!

We have always made it clear that our churches would look like the united nations for Christ! We have made a stand and lost many people over this idea through the years. But we choose whom we lose. Whether those from the inner city streets or Wall Street, people from the big house (prison) or the White House, the Native American tribes or the Australian aborigines, the orphans in Haiti or the politicians and leaders of the world, Tiz and I always have loved, cared for, and opened our hearts and our churches to all. And we always will. We have decided that we will either stand united or fall divided.

People from every sphere of life and the world desperately need to know the love and acceptance of our God. They should experience some of it through those of us who already know His love and acceptance. This is genuinely the greatest way to live a blessed wonderful life! That’s why Tiz and I, as well as our family, have always stretched ourselves and pushed ourselves hard. We know what God has done for us, and we want to see Him do it for others. We love the ministry. We love God’s people. And we love His Word. We’ve been extremely honored, excited, and blessed to be part of what God is doing as He changes people’s lives.

A TURNING POINT

After our first twenty years or so in the ministry, we began to feel unrest in our spirits. Something was missing, and my spiritual zeal was going flat. The Word was becoming stale, and we weren’t seeing the promises and miracles of God manifested the way we saw them in the Bible. Both Tiz and I felt as though it was time for a change, and we seriously considered leaving the ministry and going into business.

About that time, friends invited us to go to Israel with them. We almost didn’t go. But God had a plan, and we said yes. I’ll share more about this later; suffice it to say for now that I had a startling revelation while visiting Capernaum: I realized that Jesus was a devout, Jewish Torah believer and follower! It dawned on me for the first time that He had not come to divert the world from Israel, the Jewish faith, or Torah practices. He came to save us and to bring Jewish people and the world back to our Jewish roots and foundations.

That encounter with the Lord completely altered my life, doctrine, and destiny. The Lord not only revealed Jesus as a practicing Jewish man but opened my eyes to the far-reaching impact of His Jewishness on the foundations of Christian faith—past, present, and future.

Changing our thinking changed everything—our lives, family, ministry, and destiny. Our future took a drastic turn, and we knew that we had stepped into our true calling. God told me that He would teach me to read His Word through the eyes of a Jewish Jesus, and I would teach the same truths to the world.

Wow! I was suddenly infused with excitement and a hunger to dig deep into Scripture. I eagerly explored hidden truths, connected to our Jewish roots and ancient foundations, and discovered ancient truths, mysteries, wisdom, and keys to release God’s covenant promises and miracles. I knew that my purpose and goal were not just to saturate my mind with biblical truths and history but to discover the missing pieces and connect the dots of our faith. I was to build bridges from God’s original Word—the Torah—to the New Testament and to modern Christian theology and practices.

Tiz and I were to connect the dots of faith in yet more uncharted territory. Then we would see God’s promises and covenant become reality in our everyday lives. We would learn to take God’s Word and promises literally and personally—not as a book of history or an account of what God used to do but as a manual for today’s living. Day by day we would learn how to believe Him and take Him at His Word. He would show us how to see the miracles of the Bible become reality today. He would teach us how to live with age-old biblical convictions, tradition, and perspective in a totally modern world. And He would reveal how to build a strong marriage and family on His foundations of faith in a completely contemporary and relevant way.

When we returned to our church and told our staff and congregation what had happened, I said, This isn’t a new teaching series. This is our new direction, foundation, purpose, and future!

Today, I often share a funny illustration about God in a face-to-face conversation with Moses. God tells him, I’m going to raise you up as a prophet to the world. But there’s good news and bad news.

Moses asks, What’s the good news?

God replies, I’m going to show you things in the Word and give you prophetic insight that no one has ever heard before.

Moses says, Wow! That’s awesome! What’s the bad news?

God tells him, I’m going to show you things in the Word and give you prophetic insight that no one has ever heard before.

That’s funny, but it’s pretty much what happened as all of this evolved! When we began connecting with and teaching the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, the road was pretty rocky. We had to figure out how everything fit with our conventional Christian lives and church. It was a lot for us and the congregation to process. In the beginning it was not well received, to say the least! This truly was an uncharted course.

Now, twenty-five years later, the message of connecting to our Judeo-Christian roots has become fairly common and well received. Back then, however, it was neither. I don’t mean to be negative or dramatic, but we had to plow through thousands of years of religious traditions. We knew we had chosen the road less traveled, and we paid a heavy price in sticking with it. But we were able to condense thousands of years of teachings into a user-friendly guide that we could live in a real-time, real-life way. And we were able to take it to the world.

Tiz and I knew that God had opened our eyes and led us to new ground, so we pressed in deeper and pushed harder to take our church, our TV program, and our books there too. All of it was uncharted territory, and it was very exciting.

HEARTS TURNING TOWARD ISRAEL AND OUR JEWISH ROOTS

I’m thrilled to say that in the last several years, the teaching of our Jewish roots has taken off like a rocket. Ancient prophecies are unfolding before our very eyes, and hearts are turning and returning to Israel and the Jewish roots and foundations of our faith. This is happening in our church, our global TV program, our books, and our media and streaming ministry. People from every country, nationality, and background are spiritually hungry, fascinated, and searching for deeper truths and revelations in the Word. We’re seeing incredible response worldwide. And as our people are pressing in closer to God and His Word, He is pouring out His Spirit in signs, wonders, and miracles. This is happening because believers are connecting deeply to His Word, His covenant, and His promises. It is fresh, and it is life changing. It is also powerful and anointed. Testimonies continually pour in about the great miracles God is doing in people’s lives, health, families, businesses, ministries, and finances. It’s not just about gaining more head knowledge. It is about God changing lives and releasing His promises.

As God reveals ancient mysteries in His Word, He is releasing His miracles in the world! The unchurched and churched, businesspeople and street people, young and old, and Christians and the Jewish people are coming together and realizing that we serve the same God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As we all work together to tikkun olam (repair a broken world), we are building bridges and God is restoring broken lives!

We are immensely honored and humbled that God would allow us to be a leading voice and influence in bringing this end-time message to people everywhere. We believe that we are truly in the beginning of the end-time outpouring of salvation and miracles! Without a doubt, this revelation is for such a time as this (Est. 4:14).

A HEART FOR GOD, HIS WORD, AND HIS PEOPLE

Tiz and I have been pastoring for more than forty years. What drives us to press into God’s Word through study and prayer is seeing people’s lives set free! Our life’s calling and purpose have led us to this place in this hour.

My whole life is about studying God’s Word and drawing out the meaning, truth, hidden mysteries, and nuggets of revelation—not for the sake of sounding deeply spiritual but to see God’s promises become real for us and for others, whether relationally, financially, physically, or in terms of the future.

The amazing thing about God’s Word is that it isn’t only about spiritual truths and principles. It is also about earthly, physical, and natural wisdom, guidance, and help for everyday life. Ancient biblical truths become today’s foundation and path to success. It is where we find victory, equipping, anointing, and miracles.

That is how it is with God. When you take hold and own the promises in His Word, they manifest in your life. Truly, when His mysteries are revealed, His miracles are released! That is my prayer for you as we take this journey together.

Regardless of what you might think, God’s Word is not legalistic or restrictive. The Law is actually the path to all of God’s goodness, joy, success, blessings, and miracles. If you place your life and world on this path, get ready to experience His absolute best life for you!

I’ve never been impressed by people who just spout deep, complex, or long-winded expositions. And I’m certainly not interested in doing it myself. My passion is to dig out deep truths that will change my life, my family, our congregations, and those who are lost, hopeless, desperate, and alone in the world. This book and these teachings are not just for those who know God and are hungry for more. They are also for those who don’t have a clue about God, the Bible, or church but have a hunger for more. Whether you are a seasoned believer, a new believer, or an unbeliever, this book and the truths it presents will change your life. How? By revealing how much God loves you and wants to release every blessing into your life and future!

I had no idea how far this journey would take us, but I knew it was the path for me, my family, our ministry, and our destiny. Every day since our first trip to Israel has been an amazing adventure of discovering the Jewish roots and covenants of our Christian faith and sharing them with the world. It has been a time of uncovering ancient mysteries in the Word, which in turn releases the miracles of God. The journey has not been for our personal understanding alone. It was always meant to be shared in order that God’s blessings and miracles might also be shared.

Join me on this exciting road! I invite you to open your heart, mind, and soul as we venture into uncharted waters and go treasure hunting in the ancient Word of God. Together we will get to know Jesus—our Jewish Rabbi, Messiah, and Savior. Join the quest to discover and recover the ancient stones and markers of our Jewish faith. Explore the foundations and God’s Torah—ancient Jewish wisdom from the prophets of old and from the apostles of our faith.

As God’s mysteries and prophecies are revealed to you, His miracles, blessings, and promises will be released into your life, your future, and your destiny.

Welcome! This is the journey of a lifetime!

—PASTOR LARRY

CHAPTER 1

JESUS, OUR JEWISH MESSIAH

I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.

—REVELATION 22:16

ONE OF THE Bible’s most important questions is the one Jesus asked His disciples: Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? (Matt. 16:13). In verse 14 they answered, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

Then Jesus asked the most important question in Scripture: "But who do you say that I am?" (v. 15).

What would our answer be if Jesus asked us this question? And why is the answer important? It’s because we cannot know all that Jesus has for us today until we know who He was two thousand years ago. We already know for certain that He was Jewish. So the first of our seven living prophecies, and one of the most important of our time, is rediscovering the Jewishness of Jesus.

LIVING PROPHECY 1

The mystery of God’s full intent through our Jewish Jesus has been hidden until now but will be made known to all the world and will usher in the great end-time outpouring of God.

In 2008 Time contributor David Van Biema wrote about re-Judaizing Jesus, one of the ten ideas that are changing the world.¹ He described the growing phenomenon that is restoring the truth of a Jewish Jesus and changing the destiny of the church. He also quoted New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine, who said, If you get the [Jewish] context wrong, you will certainly get Jesus wrong.²

The article claimed that Christianity’s journey in this regard began by cherry-picking Jewish texts, so that Christians separated their idea of Judaism’s dry legalism from their sense of a Savior who embodied God’s new covenant of love. Once they realized that Jesus was born a Jew and did Jewish things, Christians acknowledged that both He and the apostle Paul saw themselves as Jews. Today many Christians admit that although Jesus rewove His Jewish ideas, He never rejected them.³

I wrote this book because recognizing Jesus’ Jewishness is essential, especially for the church. Currently Christians fall into four categories on the issue. One group denies Jesus’ Jewishness altogether. Their position, whether they realize it or not, denies scriptural truth and is rooted in a spirit of anti-Semitism. The second group hasn’t thought about Jesus as being Jewish and wonders whether it matters or has any relevance. The third group accepts Jesus’ Jewishness in much the same way they accept Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, or Jerry Seinfeld being Jewish. People in the fourth group, however, realize that Jesus was Jewish not only by blood but by religion, lifestyle practices, and traditions. They also recognize that He never stopped being Jewish in any way.

What difference does it make? All the difference in the world! When we embrace the teachings not of a Protestant or Catholic Jesus but of a Jesus who was born, lived, and died Jewish, we embrace a paramount truth for ourselves and the world. It’s a far cry from what most Gentile Christians have been led to believe: that Jesus abandoned Jewish religious practices such as Sabbath keeping, obedience to the Torah, kosher eating, and celebrating the feasts.

Imagine the most famous Jewish person of all time being remembered as a Christian! Even His name was changed from the Hebrew Yehoshua (often shortened to Yeshua) to the Greek form, Jesus.⁴ And although followers called Him Rabbi, many Bible translations changed the title to Teacher, which sounds less Hebraic. Even the name of His homeland was changed from Israel to Palestine.

Understanding or rediscovering the Jewishness of Jesus does more than help us understand what Scripture says about the past; it is also the key to a future where Jewish people and Christians walk together.

A JEWISH JESUS CHANGES US

What does God’s Word tell us about a Jewish Jesus and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What are the revelations of Bible prophecy that await our understanding, and how will they change our lives? The Book of Acts shows us what to expect when the Messiah returns:

It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.

—ACTS 2:17

This speaks of the latter rain, the great outpouring of God’s power and Spirit that every child of God longs to see—a time of signs, wonders, and great miracles of every conceivable kind. Prophecies that are true to God’s Word show we are on the threshold of God’s anointing being poured out like never before. Haggai 2:9 says, The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house (NIV). It’s not a matter of maybe. The Lord said, it "will be greater."

How do we prepare for what God is about to do? I’ve heard it said that if you know where you came from, there is no limit on what you can accomplish or where you can go. And that is absolutely right. You cannot understand where you are going until you know where you have been. That wisdom is true for the children of God. We need to recognize our Jewish Jesus and our Jewish roots. That is the first step toward restoring unity between Jewish people and the church.

In the article The New Judaizers Dan Hummel wrote about how American Pentecostals incorporate Jewish trappings into their theology, traditions, and politics. He explains that incorporating Jewish symbols and practices . . . has usually been regarded as dangerous to the gatekeepers of Christian orthodoxy and is therefore called Judaizing. Hummel adds that the early church father Ignatius said that Judaizing was absurd because Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism [embraced] Christianity.⁵

Not surprisingly, the term Judaizing became a term of derision.⁶ However, this Christian mindset was challenged in the late twentieth century with outside help from biblical scholars, including Professor Joseph Klausner, who wrote that Jesus is the most Jewish of Jews . . . more Jewish even than Hillel.⁷

Let me pause here to