The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 4

The Baptism of Pagans

In contemporary Judaic religious tradition of the day, those pagans (non-Jewish people), who wished to convert to Judaism would have had to go through a very specific ritual of Baptism. Moreover, this was the very form of baptism that John was using to baptize Jewish people—which is one of the things that made him a Prophet.

In order to understand what John was doing you need a little more background.

The Direction of Judgment

First, the place judgment was considered to be in the direction of East. For example, when Israel was carried away captive to Babylon they went in the direction of East. When Adam & Eve sinned against God and were cast out of the Garden, it was in the direction of East. Going east into captivity is not considered a good thing, while coming Westward and entering into the Land of Promise is considered a very good thing!

The Baptism that John practiced was and is still known as the Baptism of Repentance. However, most Christians think of it as the repentance from sin, but it is more than that—It is repentance from Pagan anti-God practices! Here is how this form of baptism worked:

1.      If a non-Jewish person wanted to follow God, they had to prove their repentance from their pagan ways by going to the East side River Jordan. They would stand on the East side of the river, which represented the Pagan Side of the River, the side without God.

2.      When they were ready, they moved to the center of the river where a priest waited for them. Once in the middle of the river the priest asked them to proclaim all of the pagan things they were renouncing, which included their lifestyle, family, friends and their very name.

3.      Once they completed, the previously the non-Jewish person went through a death and dying experience by being “buried.” The priest would cause them to lie down back-first into the water as a sign of dying to their old life. When they rose up out of the water again they were no longer considered a pagan! They were considered “born” into a new life—one as a member of the Commonwealth of Israel.

4.      Now, risen from the dead, this person with their new life was proclaimed a first generation descendent of Abraham and given a new name, “So-and-so, the Son of Abraham” or “So-and-so, Daughter of Abraham.”

Don’t let go of this last point, it is important for what comes next…

Why is this significant?

Jesus did not need to go through this ritual of conversion from paganism to the religion of Israel, but he did so anyway. When his cousin John protested, Jesus explained, that it had to happen this way:

 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 

17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV)

As in Genesis 22, God speaks audibly so that those gathered can here and understand the words.

Here are some other important points to consider:

1.      Jesus was sinless. He did not need to go through this Baptism at all, but by humbling himself to doso anyway as a sinless man, it authorized him to take on the role and responsibility of the First Born Son. The Son of Righteousness, who did what was right even to his own hurt (Proverbs 11:19; 2 Peter 1:19).

2.      When Jesus “died” in the River Jordan, he died the death of a Martyr, someone who did not need to die for his own sins and pagan ways, but someone who was righteous dying for the pagan ways of others. Thus spiritually, he was “reborn” into the anointing that would allow him to physically take on the sins of all humanity so that he could physically die and be risen from the dead at a later time. This later death would take place on Mount Moriah (aka: The Temple Mount), where Isaac the son of Abraham was nearly sacrificed.

3.      When Jesus rose up out of the water he was given a new name. We do not know what that name is, only he knows it (Revelation 19:12). What we do know is that he was immediately, according to the tradition given a new name, “So-and-so, The Firstborn Son of Abraham.”

Only this time, Jesus the sinless man in fact became the replacement for Isaac as the first-born son Abraham! By going through the ritual of pagan baptism…

Jesus was literally anointed to die as a righteous man in Isaac’s place. This is why the Spirit of God descended in bodily form and God the Father’s own voice was heard for the first time in the History of the planet. It was a momentous occasion, the Father was, “…well pleased.”

In this baptism, Jesus took on Abraham’s Calling (Hebrews 11:8), and was given Abraham’s inheritance as his first-born son. Specifically: all of those from every nation on earth who believe on Jesus in faith. It might also be of note that Jesus acted with greater faith than Abraham and Isaac in that Jesus allowed himself to die, believing in faith that His Father would raise him up again from the dead! (James 2:23) Thus again, proving himself the righteous first-born heir of God’s Promise to Abraham (Hebrews 6:13, 11:17; Genesis 15).


Next Time, The Baptism of John Fully Exposed...

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The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 3

Isaac & Jesus

As mentioned previously, Isaac the son of Abraham nearly died at the hand of his father, Abraham in Genesis 22:

⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

 ⁷And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

 ⁸And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

 ⁹And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

 ¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

 ¹¹And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

 ¹²And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

 ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

 ¹⁴And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

 ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

 ¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

 ¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

 ¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (KJV)

Isaac was spared, but God always intended someone to take his place. Jesus was a direct descendent of Abraham through King David, on his mother’s side. The father of Jesus is God himself, Abraham’s best friend. This would be the same God who orchestrated the promise of Genesis 22, which means that one day, God would provide a way for the promise to ultimately come to fruition. This meant that someone was going to have to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah.

Before that could happen that someone, Jesus, had to be anointed in such a way that he could take Isaac’s place as the firstborn son of Abraham. And guess what? That’s what John did!

What was the baptism of John? What was it specifically that he was doing at the Jordan River?

Next time...when Pagans convert to Judaism...

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An Update from TOV Rose

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Michelle and I have had an active, but relaxing summer here in Minnesota. We’ve been spending a lot of time across the parking lot from our small home, that’s where the pool is, and the kids are swimming there about three hours every day. 

In other news, I’ve been calling churches to schedule speaking engagements for myself, my brother Jason, and my father, Mike. It’s a harder in the summer than at other times, and I’d appreciate your prayer heading into the fall, that God would significantly bless what I’m doing. If your congregation is interesting in having a Jewish follower of Jesus come to speak, please let me know. You can find a short list of my speaking topics here: http://speaking.tovrose.com/. I can be contacted easily enough via email: media@tovrose.com and 651-686-5600.

Another major thing I’d like to ask prayer for is an opportunity that we’ve been praying about for many years in partnership with another organization that reaches out to Jewish people with the- Gospel.  It looks like I am may be hosting a radio program beginning this fall. There are still many things to discuss before this is final. However, the show would be on a new Christian radio station covering a large portion of the upper mid-west. I wanted to open this up to anyone who would like to give input, would you happen to have any advice? Would you know anyone who might have me on air as a guest? Practice speaking into a microphone with lots of people listening is good!

Author and Radio Hosts, Dr. Michael Brown, Sid Roth and a few others have given me some great things to consider, but I want to hear from you as well. What would you like to hear about on the radio? What kind of guests? Topics?

Finally, after some craziness with hackers things are looking better now for  The New Messianic Version of the Bible. It has been doing very well. I can honestly say that Volume 1 and 3 of the preview editions are Amazon.com Best Sellers, in the Top 20 for Messianic books. And The Spiritual Roots of Disease books are also doing quite well, as is "The Fall of the American Babylon" which is an end-times prophesy study. Would you please pray that God would continue to bless and prosper these works for His glory?

You can find all of these right here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tov-Rose/e/B004WLJN1K

Your Brother,

-TOV

Tov Rose's The Invisible Ingredient

You don’t always know what doors God is going to open! So, I’m coming to you asking for prayer! Michelle and I have had an active, but relaxing summer here in Minnesota. We’ve been spending a lot of time across the parking lot from our small home, that’s where the pool is, and the kids are swimming there about three hours every day. Josiah turned eight years old this coming July, and of course he's having a pool party! You should see his abdominal muscles. We joke that he could put some body builders to shame.

In other news, I’ve been calling churches to schedule speaking engagements for myself, my brother Jason, and my father, Mike. It’s a harder in the summer than at other times, and I’d appreciate your prayer heading into the fall, that God would significantly bless what I’m doing. If your congregation is interesting in having a Jewish follower of Jesus come to speak, please let me know. You can find a short list of my speaking topics here: http://speaking.tovrose.com/

Another major thing I’d like to ask prayer for is an opportunity that we’ve been praying about for many years in partnership with another organization that reaches out to Jewish people with the Gospel.  It looks like I am may be hosting a radio program beginning this fall. There are still many things to discuss before this is final. However, the show would be on a new Christian radio station covering a large portion of the upper mid-west. I wanted to open this up to anyone who would like to give input, would you happen to have any advice? Would you know anyone who might have me on air as a guest? Practice speaking into a microphone with lots of people listening is good!

Author and Radio Hosts, Dr. Michael Brown, Sid Roth and a few others have given me some great things to consider, but I want to hear from you as well. What would you like to hear about on the radio? What kind of guests? Topics?

Finally, after some craziness with hackers things are looking better now for  The New Messianic Version of the Bible. It has been doing very well. I can honestly say that Volume 1 and 3 of the preview editions are Amazon.com Best Sellers, in the Top 20 for Messianic books. Would you please pray that God would continue to bless and prosper these works for His glory?

Your Brother,

-TOV

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Democrats falsely claim conservatives are racists. Let’s pretend for a moment it’s true… So what?

Democrats falsely claim conservatives are racists. Let’s pretend for a moment it’s true… So what?


From the moment that Barack Obama threw his hat into the ring for President, Democrats have been accusing those who disagree with him of being racists. They are of course being disingenuous, pernicious and at the end of the day, most importantly, wrong.

But what if they weren’t? Let’s say somehow the entire universe of conservatives was made up of racists… so what? Does it change the veracity of their stated disagreements with President Obama? If it were in fact the case that conservatives hate him because he is black does that mean that their well thought out, reasonable and clearly articulated reasons for opposing him are somehow less valid? No, of course it doesn’t.

This issue makes me think of hate crimes. I’ve never been a supporter of hate crime legislation. Not because I like crimes or hate, but because it’s the act that makes something a crime, not the real or imagined hate. If someone beats up someone else because of their race or sexual orientation or religion, they should be prosecuted for assault, period. Is a victim any less injured or dead because the perpetrator assaulted them for their money instead of their – fill in the blank characteristic? No, obviously not. That’s ridiculous. The criminal justice system should deal with the crime and not worry about trying to look into the soul of the criminal.

In the same way, politics should focus on people’s words and actions and not try and look into the souls of the various participants. Why? Because that is all we can really know about a person. As George Bush discovered with Vladimir Putin, it’s impossible to look into someone’s soul and know what is going on in there. Along those same lines, when Steve Jobs died I wrote that it was possible that he was selfish son of a bitch, but I’d never know. What I do know however is that his words and actions did a great deal of good for hundreds of millions of people around the world. It didn’t matter if Jobs thought PC users were mental dwarves when compared to the Mensa like intelligence demonstrated by those who use Macs. He opened up iTunes to everyone and changed the world of music. It’s what he did that changed the world not what was going on in his soul. But of course race plus politics is something altogether different.

Race has been an issue swirling around Barack Obama since he first declared his candidacy and then continued once he became President. There was the whole Jeremiah Wright deal and Obama’s spending two decades in his church but somehow inexplicably never hearing a single racist comment. There was his knee jerk reaction that the Cambridge police department “acted stupidly” without knowing the facts of the case. There was his attorney general dropping voter intimidation charges against the demonstrably guilty New Black Panther Party. And just last month the President revived African-Americans for Obama. Can one imagine the outrage if Mitt Romney created a Whites for Romney organization?

To the degree that race is an issue for President Obama, it’s either been because he is making it so or because his party is using it as a red herring to deflect criticism of their agenda. The most obvious example of the latter was during the ObamaCare debate when the Democrats famously accused protesters of using racial epithets and spitting on black congressmen. The late Andrew Breitbart did a good job of dispensing with those charges.

That brings us to the basic element of liberal politics. Their default position towards anyone who opposes Barack Obama and the Democratic Party’s socialist agenda is to accuse them of being racist and that is supposed to be the end of the conversation. In that kind of an environment a conservative simply cannot win – how do you disprove something for which the mere accusation itself is seemingly enough to prove guilt? You can’t. My suggestion therefore is to take a different tack altogether: Don’t try. Rather, I suggest playing the hypothetical card. Instead of trying to disprove the undisprovable, instead suggest: “Ok, let’s pretend I am what you have painted me to be, and let’s assume that’s not going to change… now let’s talk about the issues.”

Now of course many of the good and principled liberals will demure to discuss the issues because they feel it’s inappropriate to discuss politics with racists other than to demonstrate their own non-racist bona fides. In that case you might then suggest to them that if their leader can advocate sitting down and talking with people who want to wipe the United States off the face of the planet they might deign to talk with people who simply want to discuss things like the tax code, the EPA and healthcare.

Don’t hold your breath however. Apparently liberals / Democrats believe that if one is racist (or more accurately, is labeled racist by them) then you are simply not qualified to have a voice in the political arena and your issues need not be addressed. That’s quite a leap for a party whose Senate leader for a decade was a man who had been an Exalted Cyclops of the KKK and filibustered to block the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Conservatives need not acquiesce to the liberal’s attempt to stifle public discourse. By calling their bluff and taking the non sequitur of racism off the table, conservatives have the opportunity to expose the liberal agenda for what it is, nothing but a recipe for disaster of a cleptocratic nanny state. In doing so and by discussing the facts rather than letting Democrats malign the messengers of the messages they fear, perhaps we can once again allow the American people to focus on the real issues facing the country rather than parrying with shadows of a Democrat created illusion with no basis in reality. Top Books

Would You Read This Book? Is it interesting?

• Unlocking secrets in the Bible that have been hidden for centuries, author Tov Rose goes where no author has gone before in bringing an old revelation about God into the 21st Century. 
  
  Using the book of Genesis as practical application, Tov clearly shows which three names of God represent GOD the Father, and which others represent His Son, The Word of GOD. He doesn't stop there, however. 
  
  "I discuss a number of taboo subjects in this book," says Tov, "including some overlooked and ignored issues in Bible scholarship. For example, did you know that the very letters of the Divine Name can be translated into words and the actual vowel markings for the Unspeakable Name can be themselves translated into words? Just imagine what that does for Bible translation!" 
  
  Some of the topics covered in Genesis Unbound include:
  
  

-       How to identify the names of the Living Word of God in the Hebrew Bible

-       What three (3) Names of GOD are only ever used for GOD the Father?

-       The Name of God controversy in the today's Messianic movement

-       Why the Massoretes choose the vowel markings for the Divine Name, and are they of Inspired by God?

-       How do you translate the Hebrew Vowels, and what mysteries does doing so reveal? 

-       Who is the Biblical Abram/Abraham, from his own cultural perspective?

-       What are Hebrew Hieroglyphs and why they are important to modern scholarship and believers? 

-       What is the meaning of the Hebrew word, ET? And Why it is significant to Christians. 

-       What happens when you translate the names of every person, place and thing in the Book of Genesis?

-       Did you know that God said in Genesis that He took Abraham out of “The Fire of the Sorcerers” to bring him to a new land that he and his descendants would live in forever? And that Abraham’s brother’s name means, “burnt one”?

One thing is certain, this book promises to change the way you read and understand your Bible. Top Books

Why Jesus' First Miracle had to have been the First? (And Yes, Jesus Drank Wine)

he Bible makes a very important distinction between "strong drink" and wine. New Wine, especially, is a symbol of the coming of the Kingdom of God in the Old Testament.

I'm not sure where the theological stance comes that says Christians cannot drink wine, and that wine itself is evil. My understanding of Scripture is that you need to read it in context to get the meaning of a verse. At least that is what my seminary teachers and mentors always said, but for some reason when it comes to this Wine issue, the rules seem to go out the window! I don't get it. Jesus was Jewish and he was very much part of his own culture and was even accused of eating and drinking strong drink with sinners. Any honest scholar will tell you that he really was eating and drinking strong drink with sinners! He went to those who needed him and showed himself to be fully human and fully able to engage in all of life's experiences without sinning.

I can understand the caution of some pastors and clergy, trying to protect their members who have addiction problems, but you cannot deny the truth. The truth is this: Jesus drank, all of the priests of Israel were required to drink, Moses drank, Paul commands Timothy to drink -- Wine.

I can give you a little background teaching on how I deal with the issue:

Why did Jesus turn water into WINE? Because it was required to fulfill the Rabbi's traditions! He could not have fulfilled tradition by turning the water into some kind of drink other than wine. By-the-way, all of Jesus' miracles were to fulfill Rabbinic Tradition that stated ONLY Messiah could do these things, so Jesus had to do them to prove himself beyond a shadow of doubt to be Messiah. Here is the tradition concerning the Marriage Wine:

The Rabbis teach that Adam and Eve sinned by eating a fruit from a tree that was similar to a GRAPE. They teach that Adam and Eve sinned just prior to consummating their marriage, and that the "second creation story" isn't about the creation of the world, or of the Garden of Eden, but about the WEDDING of Adam & Eve. Thus it was a seven day wedding.

All formal Orthodox Jewish weddings are Seven Days in commemoration of Adam & Eve's wedding. At every one of those weddings you are required to serve the best WINE first and the worst WINE last, to commemorate the Sin of Adam & Eve.

Further, because Eve was the one through whom the Original sin came in the first place, all of her daughters are required to be ritually bathed each day of the seven day wedding ceremony. She is required to have stone jars filled with water (symbolizing leaking vessels filled with the Spirit of GOD). After each cleansing that day's jar was to be smashed so it could not be used again. However, this did not happen in the New Testament story, the jars were kept whole. However, as is the tradition, the head of the party served the BEST wine first and the WORST wine last, BUT they ran out of WINE too early!

That is the moment where the story in John 2 begins, "And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

 4Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

 5His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

 6And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

 7Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

 8And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

 9When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

 10And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

 11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him."

In other words this is what happened:
Jesus' mother saw an opportunity for Jesus to begin revealing himself to the world, but he knew that it was not time for the full revelation. However, he did do a very important thing. He had the six vessels (representing the cleansing of Eve of the original sin), filled with water (The Holy Spirit), then he turned the water into the BEST WINE, and all were surprised! Because you NEVER give the best wine (the NEW WINE) last!

Jesus with his first miracle used WINE and Rabbinic Tradition to personally reverse original sin...

We are the leaky vessels. We are filled with the Spirit which keeps us cleansed and we look forward to the day when we drink that Passover CUP of the Covenant with Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, when we drink with Him the New Wine of the Kingdom in the presence of His Father in Heaven.

Biblical Principles Concerning Ethics and Protocols Relating to New Testament Prophetic Ministry

Original: http://files.streamsministries.com/website_pdf_info/Convergence-Principles-and-Protocols.pdf?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2011+Convergence+Findings

Biblical Principles Concerning Ethics and Protocols

Relating to New Testament Prophetic Ministry

Originally compiled by John Paul Jackson and Marc Dupont

Editing team: John Paul Jackson, Marc Dupont, Loren Sandford,

John Sandford, Jim Goll and Bobby Connor

The Preamble

Within the contemporary church the term, “prophetic ministry,” can mean a great many things.  

Therefore we have attempted to outline a brief description of biblically based values and practices 

for New Testament prophetic ministers and prophets. The following are intended primarily for those 

called to trans-local ministries to the church at large. However, we also acknowledge many of these 

principles can be applied to individuals whose prophetic work does not extend beyond their local 

church. 

Some persons labeled as “prophets” may be more accurately categorized as “prophetic ministries.” 

While they may minister to the church at large, they primarily operate within the occasional “charisma” 

gift of prophecy. Others are called to bear the ministry of a prophet consistently as a primary calling.  

An established prophet will not only operate in the gift of prophecy, but will carry seasonal prophetic 

burdens and messages from God the Father to the wider church, and sometimes even to nations. His 

or her emphasis may be much more “the word of the Lord,” as opposed to “words from the Lord.” 

They may, at times, even give a prophetic rebuke or warning to the church, which should always be a 

message of grace, postured within the Father heart of God.

Our heart in preparing and submitting these values is neither to police, nor to correct any known 

individuals or situations. Rather, we are simply endeavoring to articulate biblical standards that can 

help ensure long-term fruitfulness both for prophetic ministries and the recipients of those ministries. 

Revelation 19:10 states: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Therefore, we wholeheartedly 

believe that the overriding theme, goal and vision of any biblically based New Testament prophetic 

ministry should be to make known the Person and ways of Christ Jesus. And while a prophetic 

ministry may often be accompanied by revelatory words, signs and wonders, healings and miracles, 

a true prophet will always seek to champion the Person of Christ, the gift-giver, more than the gifts. 

Because God’s will is for each disciple of Christ to be conformed to the image of Christ, we believe, as 

well, that God calls those who represent His will, voice, and ways to be living testimonies of Christ-like 

integrity, lived out within the context of healthy relationships that provide accountability. 

The goal of our presentation is Christ-like love and service from a pure heart. We do not present 

these principles and protocols from an assumed posture of authority or elitism. The spirit in which 

we present them is two-fold; Firstly, we desire to offer this as an appeal for Christ-centered unity 

of purpose among current prophetic ministries. Secondly, we wholeheartedly desire to see our colaborers bear witness to who Jesus is in every facet of ministry as they seek to prophetically serve the 

Body of Christ. 

pg 1Biblical Principles Concerning Ethics and Protocols

Relating to New Testament Prophetic Ministry

I. Concerning Beliefs and Practices 

1. The Bible, as the perfect revelation of Jesus and the infallible word of God, is the absolute 

standard for weighing and assessing all revelation (2Timothy 3:16, Col 2:18-19, John 

1:14).

A. While I treasure spiritual experiences from the Holy Spirit, I will not place 

subjective experiences and discernment above the Bible (Rev 19:10; Col 2:18-19). 

B. I will not allow my emotions or pride to rob me of utilizing the Bible as my standard 

for weighing a revelation and any interpretation I may attach to a revelation.

C. I will always speak a Bible-centric message. 

D. I will seek to draw all who hear me toward a greater relationship with the Father 

through Jesus, and to make the name of Jesus known in a biblical way.  

2. God values His Word as the expression of His name and nature (Psalms 138:2). Therefore, 

we hold truth as a necessity in prophecy.

A. I will always try not only to speak truth, but to speak prophetic words in a way 

that reflects the loving heart of God.

B. I will determine to always lovingly speak prophetic correction in such a way as to 

avoid condemnation toward those who receive the prophetic word.  

C. I will intend to always communicate hope for change through the transforming 

power of Jesus.

D. I commit to reflect the nature of my God by loving people more than my gift. 

E. Prophecy is a word from God.  I will try to speak it with both humility and 

confidence. 

F. While fearing God, I will not fear man. Whenever God directs me to release 

revelation I will not hold back through fear of man, fear of offending those with 

whom I am in relationship, or fear of losing popularity and/or opportunities to 

minister (Galatians 1:10, Proverbs 29:5). 

G. I commit to God’s call on my life to proclaim the ways and will of God ahead of the 

“success” of my ministry in the eyes of man or the church.

pg 2

3. I believe that prophetic accuracy is essential. I believe that the method and manner of 

delivery (the heart) of a prophecy is also important.  

A. I understand that voicing words from God is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. 

I aspire to have 100% accuracy in all I say. 

B. I will admit when I am wrong and take steps to acknowledge, repent and make 

restitution for my error in a prophecy or its delivery, in a manner appropriate to 

correct the error and the reason for the error. 

C. Repentance and restitution must also be appropriate to my sphere of influence 

and the scope of the prophetic word (Psalms 138:2).

4. If I do give an errant prophecy, I commit to full repentance. This will include:

A.   An apology. If I gave the prophecy to a private party, my apology must be to that 

party. If the prophecy was given to a group such as a church or the public, the 

apology must be given to that group.

B.    Biblical repentance does not mean saying, “I’m sorry” only to God, but also to those 

I have hurt. Most importantly, I must communicate that I am deeply concerned 

about the harm I have done or the hurt I have inflicted, and I will do whatever else 

is needed to help heal the wounds I have caused.

C.    With the help of wise counsel, I will seek to find if there is anything in my heart 

that caused this error, and deal with it through confession, repentance and action.

D.   I commit to continuing in accountability to a safe and loving authority whom I 

believe will support me and help me walk in integrity. I will not remove myself 

from this process even if painful to me and/or it seems that those to whom I am 

accountable are not treating me fairly. 

E.    I believe there are consequences to all actions. If my error is particularly serious 

or repeated, I will be willing to take time off from prophetic ministry until I and 

those in authority over me have discerned that I am ready to resume ministry.

5. Concerning supernatural manifestations, I will not substitute the seeking of angels, angelic 

activity, or other supernatural manifestations, over the seeking of God, His presence, and 

the truths contained in Scripture. The source of all truth is the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 11:14; 

Col 2:18-19). 

A. I believe that the character of Christ in me is more important to the Kingdom than 

my gift. It is the application and manifestation of God’s Word in my life. 

pg 3

B. I will not fall prey to idolatry by seeking to generate, initiate or exaggerate 

supernatural manifestations, no matter what may be expected by the church 

culture in which I speak.  

C. Likewise, I endeavor to allow the Holy Spirit to initiate how and when He releases 

supernatural manifestations and/or ministry through me.

D. If God does speak to me through angels, or causes certain manifestations, or gives 

particular types of revelation, I will communicate what I hear and see only as God 

directs. I will do so without elevating myself, my experience or revelation in any 

way that might detract from the Person of God Himself.

6. Understanding a prophetic word is vital to its implementation.  Therefore, I commit to 

being open to discuss, with appropriate leaders within the Body of Christ, the prophetic 

words I receive and interpretations of those words.  I will endeavor to do so because 

prophetic gifts are given to serve the people, not to promote the one who prophesies. 

7. Words from God should encourage, train and equip the Body of Christ to conform to the 

image of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). I will endeavor to always help the Body of Christ 

perceive the Person of Christ more clearly and to hunger for Him and His ways (Col. 1: 

8-10, Eph. 1:17-18).  

8. Ephesians 4 ministries are to equip the Body of Christ to receive, develop and mature, 

rather than to cultivate an audience of spectators for our gifting. Thus, we hold in high 

regard the priesthood of each believer in Christ (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 8:14; Isaiah 61:6).

A. I commit to preaching sound doctrine rather than dividing the Body of Christ 

through non-scriptural doctrines designed to amaze my audience and develop a 

following (2Tim 4:3-4).

B. I will not use the gift God has given me in a reckless manner that might cause 

others to stumble or misunderstand God and His ways (Jer. 23:32).

C. I commit to help Christian leaders and trainers discern between the operation of 

God-given spiritual gifts and human psychic abilities (Daniel 2:27-28; 4:8-9). 

D. I commit to help train the Body of Christ to discern between true, Holy Spiritinspired revelation and mere human intuition, New Age pseudo-spirituality or 

psychic abilities (1John 4:1).

E. I will intentionally try to communicate revelation and the interpretation of 

revelation in ways that encourage, strengthen, and comfort the recipient(s) of the 

word (1 Corinthians 14:3).

pg 4

F. I will seek to avoid prophesying anything that controls or manipulates the lives 

of others. 

G. When giving a prophetic word, I will seek to always encourage hearers to 

biblically and prayerfully weigh it rather than to take it without consideration (1 

Corinthians 14:29). 

9. I commit to help train the Body of Christ to discern between genuine encounters with God 

and other pseudo-spiritual experiences, as well as to help the Body of Christ understand 

the various degrees of revelation and their relative levels of importance.

10. I commit to refusing to prostitute the revelatory gifting God has given me by attaching a 

fee to a prophetic word* (Micah 3:11).

A. I will not use a prophetic word or prophetic ministry to manipulate people to give 

financially to me, and or the ministry I lead (2 Peter 2:15). 

B. I will not lead people to believe that the prophetic word will be triggered or 

influenced by a gift.

*Accepting honorariums, gifts or travel remuneration is acceptable.  This is different 

than prophesying for an agreed amount of money, and is equivalent to a pastor 

receiving a salary.

II. Concerning My Life in Representing Christ Jesus Prophetically

1. I commit to living, modeling and championing the character of Christ. I believe Christ-like 

character to be more important than operating out of gifting  (2 Cor. 7:1). 

A. I choose to consistently promote and model the ways of Christ more than simply 

communicate revelation. 

B. When it comes to representing Christ Jesus, I believe that I not only have a message, 

but that I am the message. 

2. I believe that wisdom from above is “reasonable and peaceable.” I will place high value on 

Christ-like humility, and shun prophetic arrogance (James 3:17). 

pg 5

3. I commit to having an accountability group in place to whom I will hold my lifestyle, 

marriage and ministry accountable.

A. I commit to living a life free of substance abuse, love of money, extra-marital sex, 

pornography, pride and unforgiveness/bitterness. 

B. I commit to living out God’s high value of love and covenant emotionally, spiritually 

and physically with the “spouse of my youth,” to the best of my ability. 

C. I will guard my heart and make a covenant with my eyes not to look upon another 

in a lustful manner.

4. I commit to being free from both the love of money and the love of appearing successful in 

the eyes of man. I commit to choosing venues to host my ministry, based on the leading of 

the Holy Spirit as opposed to the size of the crowd or financial remuneration. 

5. I commit to being not only a person of prayer and worship but a continual student of the 

Bible and the ways of God.

6. I commit to honor the Lord by honoring and strengthening His delegated authority in the 

Body of Christ.

A. I will honor and strengthen local pastors and church leaders as God’s-appointed 

shepherds and gatekeepers for their local congregations.

B. I will not usurp the authority of the local leadership in the Body where I am called 

to speak.

7. I commit to perceiving myself as a servant to both the church at large and the local church 

as God gives me opportunity. 

A. I will not view congregations and other ministries as mere platforms, or tools to 

facilitate my vision and calling. 

B. I will not steal another leader’s people or leadership in order to build my ministry.

8. I commit to financial, ethical and moral purity, and will not use the Body of Christ to 

advance my ministry nor build my own empire. My endeavor is to imitate Jesus’ example 

of servanthood, and only do as I see the Father doing.

pg 6

III. The Nature of Authentic Prophetic Ministry

• Bible-centric —Bear/bare witness, expose, declare and establish the truth of Scripture. 

• Salvation-centric – Declare, teach and demonstrate the gospel of the Kingdom of God with 

signs and wonders following (Mark 16:20).

• Jesus-centric – Edify, comfort, encourage and exhort believers and the church in the way 

to Jesus as well as the way of Jesus. 

• God-centric - Demonstrate in word, deed and manner the character of the Father:  love, 

righteousness, justice, compassion, mercy, majesty and holiness.

• Sovereignty-centric - Bring glory to God alone.  His name, His acts, and His Glory are 

inseparable. He exercises His will through His Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, 

Immutability and Eternality, as He chooses.

pg 7

Tov Rose: Personal Update, Passover/Easter, Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Tov Rose: Personal Update, Passover/Easter, Upcoming Speaking Engagements Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. February 2012 In This Issue Tov Rose: Personal Update Passover/Easter Upcoming Speaking Engagements Keep Up With Us Facebook Twitter Personal Update By Tov Rose Thank you for praying with us! We’ve had wonderful success raising new financial supporters. Praise God! However, due to the economy, some have reduced or stopped supporting us! At a time when we are attempting to reach our target support level, we are still $2500 short every month. Starting this month, Michelle and I have begun calling churches to schedule speaking engagements for me in partnership with Midwest Hebrew Ministries, which is a wonderful way to help raise support. If you could help open the door at your church or congregation that would help a lot! Michelle and I have some wonderful ministry opportunities before us, like helping revitalize a local organization that has a heart for helping Jewish people understand and know their own Messiah, Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew), organizing missions trips to help the poor of Israel, and helping to organize trips for pastors and educators to Israel to teach ministers there to disciple believers. The pastors in Israel are short on discipleship skills, while strong in Evangelism. We are partnering more closely with my Israel-based brother with his private Christian school in Israel, and working to bring missions teams to Israel to help struggling congregations and persecuted believers, as is done by American Christians in many other countries around the world. We need your help! Should everyone receiving our prayer letters increase their giving by $17 a month; we’d reach our monthly target salary. If a few people would give a special financial gift, we should be able to begin moving forward with confidence. Should a few people consider supporting us for the first time or renewing their support, we could make our goal. We know that not everyone is able and we understand. It’s not easy living on a tight budget, praying every month for enough to come in. Even if you’re not able to support us financially, would you pray with us that enough comes in for us, all of those people who do support us? How can you help? 1. Increase your monthly praying. 2. Increase your monthly giving (if you are able). 3. Invite Tov to speak at your church or group. 4. Host a lunch or dinner where you share about our ministry with people you know, encouraging them to pray for us and support us. Ask them to contact us directly to learn more! We can provide video and other materials for this. 5. Actively share about what we are doing with those around you. 6. Contact your local Christian Radio Station encouraging them to interview me about my ministry and books 7. Buy some books! :-) Please contact me with questions. We can also send materials about our ministry. Anyone wanting to support us financially may do so through PayPal, using the email address: chaplains@thechaplains.org. You can also send a gift to us in care of: Tov & Michelle Rose c/o Midwest Hebrew Ministries P.O. Box 43953 Minneapolis, MN, 55443 Blessings in Yeshua (Jesus), -TOV    Tov & Michelle Rose  651-686-5600  PO BOX 22231 | Saint Paul | MN 55122  Email: Chaplains@TheChaplains.org  TheChaplains.org | TovRose.com  Facebook.com/TovRose TOV Rose is the author of several books, including The New Messianic Version of the Bible, The Book of GOD: For Men, The Paranormal GOD, The Paranormal Seams of the Hebrew Bible, Fall of the American Babylon, Volume 1, Is It Not Written In The Book of Jasher?, Is It Not Written In The Book of Enoch?, and the upcoming, Book of GOD: Genesis Unbound. Invite TOV and Michelle to your event, or schedule an interview! Phone: 651-686-5600 or  http://www.TovRose.com/         IMPORTANT: The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential. They are intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you have received this email by mistake, please notify the sender immediately and do not disclose the contents to anyone or make copies thereof. EVIDENCES OF JESUS' RESURRECTION "I claim to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history ..." - E. M. Blaiklock - Professor of Classics, Auckland University The Resurrection of Christ is the most powerful event in history.  It has affected the last 2000 years of history and politics, from peasants to kings to nations.  Christianity has spread across the entire world, into every country and into a vast number of ethnic groups and languages. Billions of people have experienced the life-giving, healing, forgiveness and freedom offered by God because Jesus Christ conquered death and rose again from the grave. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:12-22 that without the resurrection of Christ, the Christian faith is useless. "And if Christ be not raised," Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." There are many skeptics who disregard the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth as a fable.  However, the evidence for Jesus' resurrection is extremely strong, even to the point of converting some who sought to disprove it: The Empty Tomb: Though well-trained Roman soldiers guarded the tomb of Jesus Christ, it was empty 3 days after Jesus' death as Jesus had repeatedly foretold (Matt 12:40, Mark 8:31).  The guards had fled (a death penalty offense). The massive stone had been rolled away, and the body was gone – and was never produced by the enemies of the Christians.  The linen grave clothes in which the Jews bury their dead were still in the tomb, undisturbed. From the Jewish historian Josephus to a compilation of 5th-century Jewish writings called the "Toledoth Jeshu", even Jewish sources and traditions admit that the tomb was empty.  The body was never found. Living Witnesses:  There were a multitude of witnesses who saw Jesus Christ alive after his death.  The disciples, the travelers on the road to Emmaus and a number of women all spoke to Jesus alive. Thomas doubted until he was able to put his fingers into Jesus' wounds (John 20:26-27).  He later spread the Gospel all the way to India.  The apostle Paul tells of 500 people to whom Jesus appeared at one time, most of whom were still alive and available for questioning when Paul wrote his letter  (1 Cor 15:6).  When several people testify in a courtroom that they witnessed an event, and their accounts are found consistent with each other, their testimony is considered factual information.  Jesus Christ was seen alive many times by hundreds of different people over the course of forty days after his death (John 20-21, Acts 1:3). The Disciples:  Christ's followers, who had been fearful and who had run away when Jesus was arrested, were completely changed after the Resurrection and became courageous witnesses.  Peter, who had denied knowing Christ when recognized by a simple servant girl, became the powerfully bold leader of those who had seen Christ alive, speaking to the thousands gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Shavuot – Pentecost.   A person may die for a lie if they do not know it is a lie.  But people do not give their lives up and face severe persecution to spread a lie they themselves invented.   The fact that the disciples willingly suffered beatings and persecution and death is strong evidence that they had actually witnessed the resurrection they refused to stop telling people about. Saul of Tarsus:  A devoutly religious Pharisee, who persecuted the Church and had Christ's followers thrown in prison, Paul had his life absolutely changed by his encounter with Christ.  He became a devoted follower of Christ himself, spreading the Gospel throughout Turkey and Greece in the face of beatings and shipwrecks and imprisonment and, finally, execution. "If the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt." - F. F. Bruce, Manchester University Skeptics' Arguments Against the Resurrection: The Hallucination Theory claims that the witnesses who met the resurrected Jesus were all "seeing things" - they were hallucinating.  However, this goes against common sense as well as psychological principles. Five hundred people do not all hallucinate the same thing.  Jesus appeared to many people at many different times.  Also, the body was never produced. The Swoon Theory argues that Jesus did not die – that he simply fainted from loss of blood and exhaustion.  However, this also goes against common sense.  The Romans were professionals who severely whipped Jesus, hung him on a cross, and then stabbed him in the side with a spear to make sure he was dead. He was in the grave for three days, wrapped head to foot in a burial cloth, without food or water or medical treatment.  When he appeared to his disciples he was completely whole and healthy and his appearance inspired awe and worship that lasted throughout the rest of the disciples' lives. The Disciples Faked the Resurrection:  Discouraged, fearful fishermen and former tax collectors, whose teacher had been viciously murdered, were in little position to take on a detachment of trained Roman soldiers guarding the tomb.  They would have had to create a fantastic plan in order to fight off or bribe the professional soldiers, raid the tomb, unbind the grave clothes from Christ's body, take the body away, and hide it where nobody would ever find it. The Roman soldiers faced death if they failed in their guard duty, and the disciples had little money for bribing anybody.  Many people would have had to be involved in the conspiracy, and all those involved would not only have known the truth, but would know that they were risking meeting the same fate as their recently crucified leader. And what purpose could it possibly serve, if Jesus were dead?  They would have had nothing to gain.  Their leader was gone and they would have only faced persecution and death for their invented resurrection story. And again, the disciples' attitudes completely changed after the Resurrection and especially after Pentecost. They became bold and courageous in spreading their message, fearless of beatings or imprisonment. They never sought to fight Rome or to establish any position or kingdom or authority for themselves.  They had nothing to gain, physically speaking.  They simply went about the known world, telling their story in spite of persecution and suffering, poverty and ridicule. Their message quickly spread across the Middle East and Europe and even into Asia without any military conquest or political support involved - and in spite of strong opposition. Only belief and hope based in the reality of their experiences would have produced such dedication in the lives of Christ's followers. His Miracles Today: Perhaps the greatest evidence today of Christ's resurrection is the work that he is still doing in the lives of every day people.  In the name of Jesus, people are still being healed emotionally and physically and spiritually by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.  Sinners are being freed from the burden and pain and shame of sin – sometimes immediately, sometimes after long years of steady work by the Holy Spirit in their lives.  Hearts are being mended and lives are being turned around.   The best evidence today is the faithful follower of Christ who can say, "He saved me, and I am not the person I used to be" just as the apostles testified 2000 years ago. (For more in-depth coverage of the above arguments, as well as many further evidences and related information, please see the links below.) Related Links: Evidence for the Resurrection - Leadership U Contemporary Scholarship and the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Leadership U The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F.F. Bruce Evidence Supporting the Bible - CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry His Unfamiliar Face - Koinonia House The Jesus Tomb - Koinonia House Reflections of His Image: Pride vs. Humility - Koinonia House   The New Messianic Version of the Bible - This changes everything. Get it:http://www.TheBookOfGod.org/ The preview editions of Volume 1, Volume III and Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, available now! Looking for all of Tov's Books? They are here: http://www.amazon.com/Tov-Rose/e/B004WLJN1K

Copyright © 2012 TovRose.com, All rights reserved. Not everyone remembers how they got on someone's mailing list. Everyone on this list agreed to be in touch with Tov Rose in one form or other. Since I am Tov Rose, I'm keeping in touch! Hello! How are YOU? :-) Please be in touch! Don't forget to tell your friends about this new book. They really do want to know about it! The Book of GOD:Everything you Ever wanted to know about God that no one would tell you! by Tov Rose Get it here: https://www.createspace.com/3582133 Our mailing address is: TovRose.com PO BOX 22231 PO BOX 22231 Saint Paul, MN 55122 Add us to your address book