The Bible, Torah and Israel

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The Bible and I became inseparable. Wherever I went I took her with me. I had lost so much precious time. When I finally encountered my Messiah I was already thirty, with no time to lose. But where I lived was neither a rabbi nor a pastor to teach me. Thus the Lord Himself taught me. At first He illustrated the Scriptures to me with visions of the night, putting the written Word into pictures which communicated its meaning¹⁵. Since G-d had shown Himself so merciful toward me, I wanted now to lead the life of a righteous Jew, observing the Law of Moses as closely as I could.

I failed miserably and constantly begged G-d for forgiveness until, I believe, He had enough of it. Thankfully, He sent Abraham in three consecutive night visions to teach me the foundations and basic doctrine of salvation¹⁶.

In October 1974 we left Italy, our home for 4 years, for the United States, and in May 1976 I was baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire¹⁷. In August of that same year the Lord began to speak to me about Israel. He reminded me of my natural origins and instructed me to return to my people and my heritage. I didn’t know of any other Jewish believers and I still knew my Messiah only by His Gentile Name, ‘Jesus’; until the day that the Father Himself within a word of prophetic instructions said, “For it is Yeshua in your midst - I Myself have named Him ‘Salvation’ - to Whom she shall give birth in your hearts on the day of her pangs.”

From then on He dealt with me on a regular basis regarding my Jewishness and my people.

These dealings of the Lord with Israel and her destiny; with Yeshua’s and my Jewishness; with my family and my mission, had a powerful effect upon what had been laying dormant. Patiently He put together the pieces of a large puzzle. He gave the voices of my blood a name. He restored and built up what had been torn down. He illuminated the bewilderment and constant sense of urgency throughout my childhood. Now all fell into place. Under His gentle guidance, the bewilderment of my youth was drawn out of the deep shadows into the light of comprehension.

He revealed to me His undying, incomparable love and yearning for His people Israel. He made me a partaker, or “burden-bearer,” of this love. A plan and purpose emerged which He had prepared for me from my mother’s womb¹⁸. It all had to do with the restoration and inheritance of the House of Israel and of my own house, and the involvement of the Gentiles. It was time to deal with the incomprehensible enormity of the Holocaust. It was time to open the “Pandora” box inside of me, and let G-d deal with its demons.

¹⁵I was accustomed to paying close attention to dreams. It was a sure avenue of instruction.

¹⁶To relate them here would take too much space and time, but it set matters straight for me right from the start. If you are interested in knowing those three visions, click on Three Visions, the title of which is "The Way of Righteousness"

¹⁷Matthew 3:11

¹⁸Gal. 1:15; Isaiah 49:1

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