The Old Testament. You’ve heard that it’s irrelevant; you’ve heard that it was superseded by the New Testament; you’ve heard that none of its laws and rituals are relevant today. But what if I told you that the Old Testament, properly understood, is the key to the New Testament and that it reveals God’s plan, his character, and his will to all of his people today? First Fruits of Zion has a small-group Bible study program designed to help you understand the first five books of the Bible on their own terms. It’s called Torah Club, and we have the author, D. Thomas Lancaster, and the director of Torah Club, Damian Eisner, here to tell us all about it. 

–  Highlights –

• What is Torah Club?
• What makes Torah Club different from every other small-group Bible study?
• Is the Old Testament even relevant any longer for Christians in the twenty-first century?
• How does knowing the historical context of first-century Judaism help disciples of Jesus?
• Understanding the Jewish people is critical to understanding the Jewish Scriptures.
• All about the Jewish annual reading cycle.
• Join us with a year of learning through the first five books of the Bible with “Unrolling the Scroll.”
• How to start a Torah Club or join a Torah Club?
• How will Torah Club help make the world a better place?
• What can a student hope to take away from a year of study from Genesis through Deuteronomy?

–  Resources –

Torah Club

HaYesod

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

Have you ever found a Bible verse confusing or frustrating? Or found two Bible verses that seem to contradict each other? Have you ever felt like something was missing from your toolbox during your Bible study? First Fruits of Zion has just rereleased a ten-week course designed to give you the tools you need to interpret the Bible in its original language, context, culture, time, and place. It’s called HaYesod: The Foundation, and the author, D. Thomas Lancaster, and principal instructor, Aaron Eby, are here to tell us all about it. 

–  Highlights –

• The inspiration behind the original creation of the HaYesod discipleship course in the 1990s.
• HaYesod means “The Foundation” and is a teaching series that lays a solid foundation of faith with a biblical understanding of the land, the people, and the Scriptures of Israel.
• HaYesod is a tool to equip believers to access the Messianic Jewish understanding of the Scriptures and to know Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, better.
• What is the benefit of understanding the Scriptures from a Messianic Jewish perspective?
• Many elements of traditional Christian interpretation of the Bible contain holes that have created instability in the faith of many believers.
• What changes have been made to the new version of HaYesod compared to older renderings?
• Why are the people of Israel the foundation of the Bible?
• The kingdom perspective of the gospel Yeshua taught.HaYesod is not designed to turn Christians into Jews.HaYesod is designed to inspire active discipleship to Jesus.
• What is distinction theology as a theological structure within HaYesod?
• Does First Fruits of Zion teach that Gentiles shouldn’t keep the Torah?
• HaYesod is a course consisting of ten video lessons filmed in a studio and on location throughout the land of Israel. An extensive workbook can be purchased to assist the learning process.
• How can students access the course individually or study as a group?Torah Club is a weekly international Bible study network that is a great way to continue learning after HaYesod: The Foundation.

–  Resources – 

HaYesod

Torah Club

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

Rosh HaShanah is a prominent Jewish holiday with many layers of significance. On the agricultural calendar, it represents the planting of cereal grains with the hope and prayer that the spring harvest will be successful. On a spiritual level, it represents the “sowing” of good deeds with the hope of a sweet year to come. Finally, it hints at events to come—the second coming, the final judgment, and the end of the world as we know it.

 – Highlights –

• What is the the biblical calendar?
• There are layers of meaning in the calendar including agricultural, historical, and prophetic.
• What is Rosh HaShanah about?
• What are some of the ways the Jewish people observe Rosh HaShanah?
• How Rosh HaShanah came to be known as the Day of Judgment.
• The parables of Yeshua are rich with Fall holiday themes.
• The season of repentance is a time for repentance, prayer, and charity.
• The Day of Judgment contains themes of the fear of God and drawing close to God.
• An annual accounting in the Fall holidays is a rehearsal for the final judgment at the end of time.
• All about the shofar: the Rosh HaShanah trumpet.
• Is there a connection between the shofar and the “last trump” spoken of by the Apostle Paul?
• How Jewish months were determined in biblical times
• The three books opened before the heavenly court on the high holidays.
• What does Rosh HaShanah teach us about the Great Tribulation and the Rapture?
• An overview of the end times from a Messianic Jewish perspective.

–  Resources – 

The Holy Days, D. Thomas Lancaster

HaYesod, The Festivals 

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

Can Jewish people keep the Old Testament law and their ancient traditions while following Jesus as their rabbi and Messiah? This phenomenon has been happening all over the world, and it’s called Messianic Judaism. Jacob Fronczak is joined by Stephanie Hamman and Aaron Eby, two Messianic Jews, to explore the origin, purpose, and destiny of Messianic Judaism and explain why it’s a foretaste of the kingdom of heaven.

–  Highlights –

• What is Messianic Judaism? Steph and Aaron provide definitions of Messianic Judaism.
• Why is Messianic Judaism controversial within both Christianity and Judaism?
• How does distinction theology bring correction to replacement theology?
• Where do we find the basis for the existence of Messianic Judaism in the Bible?
• Why shouldn’t Jews who come to faith in Jesus convert to become Christians?
• Messianic Judaism is the practice of Judaism combined with a faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
• Messianic Judaism is not about recovering a first-century faith and practice while ignoring the development of modern Judaism.
• When did Messianic Judaism begin? Who were the first Messianic Jews? Did it start with Jews for Jesus?
• The emergence of Christianity out of Messianic Judaism?
• What is the spectrum of what it might look like for people who practice Messianic Judaism?
• How did the development of Judaism through the modern Enlightenment Era impact Messianic Judaism?
• Can Jews who believe in Jesus practice Judaism and observe the Torah?
• Does Messianic Judaism primarily exist as a way to missionize Jews?
• Who were the Messianic Jewish luminaries from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who shaped modern Messianic Judaism?

–  Resources –

Messianic Jewish Luminaries

Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Messiah Magazine

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

What did Paul mean when he talked about election? What can first-century Jewish ecclesiology, eschatology, and soteriology teach us about how the apostles handled these critical concepts? The hosts of the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast are back for the second half of our conversation about how a first-century Jewish apocalyptic worldview is key to understanding the theology of the New Testament.

–  Highlights –

• What was the key that unlocked the understanding of the Jewish Jesus and the Jewish apocalyptic gospel?
• How can we understand election and soteriology from a Jewish context?
• Contrasting the American Dream and the eternal sing-along with the first-century Jewish view of ecclesiology.
• Conceptualizing ecclesiology with concentric circles: Messianic Administration of Divine Glory in the World to ComeWhat do Gentile disciples have to look forward to when the biblical story of redemption seems to be centered on Israel?
• How does adopting a Jewish apocalyptic view of the gospel affect a person’s life and walk of faith?

–  Resources –

The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

As more and more people discover the Jewish identity of Jesus, voices from across the spectrum of Christian faith are beginning to chime in. In 2020 a pastor, a missionary, and a campus minister launched a podcast where they dive deep into the text of the Scriptures and explore the gospel as a first-century Jew would have understood it. In this episode of Messiah Podcast, we will begin a two-part discussion with them to hear about their own journey of discovery, where traditional Christian eschatology falls short, and what the gospel and eternal life meant to Jews in the days of Jesus and his apostles. We hope this conversation will encourage disciples of Jesus to boldly proclaim that the God of Israel will fulfill his covenant promises to the Jewish people and bring restoration to the world.

–  Highlights –

• How did the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast come to be?
• What is apocalypticism?
• What is the gospel in a first-century context?
• What was the first-century Jewish narrative for redemptive history?
• What are the various alternative Christian narratives of redemptive history?
• Could eternal life mean something other than strumming harps upon the clouds in a life after death?
• Did the Pharisees seek to make proselytes?
• What were Jewish expectations for non-Jewish people in Jewish eschatology.
• What are the three novelties that the followers of Yeshua introduced to Judaism?
• How did the religion of the Jewish Messiah move away from a Jewish centric apocalyptic perspective?
• What are the problems with Realized Eschatology?
• Did the apostles believe the Messiah’s return was imminent?

–  Resources –

The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

Jewish Israelis are religiously diverse; some practice Judaism, others are Christian, and still others are secular. Yet very few embrace traditional Judaism while also following Jesus. However, in the heart of the Holy City, the Bram Center for Messianic Jewish Learning stands as a witness for Messianic Judaism and a resource to hundreds of interested locals. In this episode of Messiah Podcast, we talk with Judi Abrams and Jeremiah Michael about the Bram Center and the impact it’s having in Jerusalem.

–  Highlights –

• What is the Bram Center in Jerusalem, and what makes it unique?
• Introductions and Aliyah stories from Jeremiah Michael and Judi Abrams.
• Who was Avram Poljak, and what was his vision for the future of Messianic Judaism?
• What kind of events take place at the Bram Center?
• Jewish opposition to Messianic believers in Israel.
• Why is Messianic Jewish learning important?
• What impact is the Bram Center having in Israel?

–  Resources –

The Bram Center

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

Interpreters of the Epistle to the Hebrews have long taught that its author took the view that Jesus canceled the Torah, the Law of Moses, along with all its sacrifices and rituals. However, our guest today, Dr. David Moffit, has taken a different perspective. He walks us through his intensive study of the concepts of atonement and reconciliation in the Old and New Testaments. He concludes that Hebrews can find its place among other Jewish works of the Second Temple Era, as its author had nothing but respect for Moses and the Torah.

–  Highlights –

• How Dr. David Moffit came to think differently about atonement.
• The surprising impact of the resurrection of Jesus on understanding the book of Hebrews. 
• Understanding Jesus’ sacrificial death in light of the Levitical sacrificial system.
• What did the slaughter of animals accomplish in the Levitical system?
• What was the focal point of Jesus’ sacrifice?
• What does killing an animal on the altar of the Tabernacle or Temple accomplish?
• Understanding the various types of sacrifices and their basic functions.
• What is atonement, and why is it necessary?
• Does Hebrews 3 eliminate the Levitical system?
• Melchizedek, Hebrews 7, and a heavenly priesthood.
• Does the book of Hebrews regard the Torah as relevant or authoritative?
• How can Jesus be a high priest even though he is not from the tribe of Levi?
• Was it Jesus’ death or his ascension that accomplished the work of atonement?
• What is Dr. David Moffit’s next book project?

–  Resources –

Rethinking the Atonement, by Dr. David Moffit

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

We’re in the middle of a new Artificial Intelligence boom. AI large language models communicate freely in natural language. AI image generation and editing tools make it possible to do in minutes what used to take hours—and the tech is only getting better. In this episode of Messiah Podcast, our very own Aaron Eby walks us through how the technology works and gives us an idea of how followers of Yeshua can use it to enhance their Bible study. He also answers the question weighing on all our minds: Will this thing come alive and kill us all?

–  Highlights –

• Aaron Eby’s boyhood and becoming a software engineer and an AI enthusiast.
• What is Artificial Intelligence?
• How Artificial Intelligence originated and developed over time.
• Neural networks and applying mathematical formulas to predictive language learning.
• Organizations and companies responsible for the development of AI.
• The importance of the democratization of AI.
• The problem of AI hallucination.
• Can Artificial Intelligence have emotions?
• Does AI have a mind of its own?
• Passing the Turing test in Artificial Intelligence.
• Neural network for translation purposes.
• Harnessing the power of ChatGPT for Bible study.
• ChatGPT as a study partner.
• Will it be possible for AI to take over the world? 
• AI, Revelation, and the Mark of the Beast.
• The future of the workforce in light of Artificial Intelligence.
• Does AI have consciousness?
• Should believers be worried about the future development of AI?

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.

The Bible is jam-packed with God’s promises to Israel. However, traditional Christian theology appropriates these promises for the church, thereby denying that the Jewish people have the glorious future the prophets foretold for them. The mission of First Fruits of Zion is to reconcile the disciples of Jesus to these prophetic promises. Our guest is Boaz Michael, the founder of FFOZ. Our conversation centers on understanding the intentions and impetus behind our new mission statement, how to understand these promises better, and how their fulfillment through the Jewish people will bring unique blessing for the whole world.

–  Highlights –

• The humble origins of First Fruits of Zion in 1992 with the publication of “Israel Today.”
• Formulating the commentary and theological framework that would become Torah Club.
• The Four Restorations that have been the driving force behind First Fruits of Zion.
• Coming to understand the gospel of the kingdom from Messianic Jewish disciples of Yeshua from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries.
• Reconciliation takes place when Gentile Christians around the world move closer to the Jewish people by learning the historical Jewish interpretations of the Bible through Torah Club.
• The systemic presence of anti-Semitism and supersessionism within Christian theology.
• Reframing the words of the prophets to the Jewish people.
• How do God’s promises to the Jewish people affect Gentile Christians?
• The practical impact that First Fruits of Zion and our message is having around the world.
• Bringing Jews in Israel to a reconciliation with the gospel of the kingdom through the Bram Center.

–  Resources –

Love In the Messianic Age, Paul Philip Levertoff

Tent of David, Boaz Michael

– Who is Messiah Podcast? –

Messiah Podcast is a production of First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), a Messianic Jewish education organization dedicated to reconciling disciples of Yeshua with God's prophetic promises to Israel.

Messiah Podcast is made possible by the generosity of our First Fruits of Zion Friends. FFOZ Friends help advance our mission while gaining access to exclusive Messianic Jewish teachings and resources. If you want to partner with us in spreading the message of the kingdom to all nations, become an FFOZ Friend today.