Messiah Podcast

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 conversat...

One can’t help but notice that anti-Semitic attacks and sentiments are on the rise throughout the United States and around the world. A new survey from the Anti-Defamation League shows the number of people who espouse anti-Jewish stereotypes and conspiracy theories has DOUBLED since 2019. On this episode of Messiah Podcast, we interview Joshua Turnil, the Director of Jews for Jesus in Paris. He ha...

Most people are looking to find their other half—their soulmates. This is a very Jewish concept called “bashert,” the one meant for you. Of course, it’s easier said than done! Today, anyone looking for his or her partner has countless resources available, including thousands of apps and websites designed with algorithms to drop that special person directly into someone’s inbox. However, many peopl...

Springtime brings new beginnings, including the launch of a new season of Messiah Podcast! The season three debut introduces our new co-host and producer, Stephanie Hamman, to our podcast audience. This episode also says farewell to departing co-host, Damian Eisner, director of Torah Club. Damian and Jacob interview Stephanie to introduce her to the audience, and Stephanie interviews Damian about...

One of the largest churches in America is mainstreaming Christianity’s Jewish roots. Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, holds Sabbath services, devotes a significant amount of finances to present Yeshua to the Jewish people, and strives to educate their church body about their Jewish roots. Pastor Robert Morris believes the success of the church he leads is due to their priority of taking the gos...

“Once upon a time, I was a supersessionist,” admits today’s guest, Dr. Gerald R. McDermott. But then his eyes were opened to a whole new perspective on the Bible. The missing piece was the centrality of Israel and the Jewish people. He now calls this the key to understanding Jesus, the gospel, and the whole Bible. His newfound perspective shaped his teaching as a seminary professor and can be foun...

The key to unlocking the context of the book of Ephesians has eluded Bible interpreters since the advent of replacement theology. Did Jesus abolish the “law of commandments expressed in ordinances?” How are Gentile believers “fellow heirs?” Who are the spiritual forces being battled with the famed “Armor of God?” D. Thomas Lancaster believes he has discovered the missing key and has completed a ne...

We have new worship songs coming out on a weekly basis, but what if we could go back to the original worship experience—what David heard and felt when he wrote his psalms, what Moses and the Israelites sang when they stood before the Tabernacle. What does worship sound like in God's own language? Our guest today is Messianic music artist Troy Mitchell who has dedicated his career to setting G...

The New Testament was written in Greek, but were its authors working from Hebrew originals? Our guest today, Dr. Brad Young, has written numerous works exploring the possibility that Hebrew ideas and Hebrew vocabulary lie behind the Greek text and that this Hebrew undertext is the key to understanding Jesus and the apostles.  – Episode Chapters – 0:00 – Welcome to the Messiah Podcast with hosts Da...

Yeshua came with a message of salvation and redemption for the world. This salvation was offered first to the Jewish people. However, Jewish evangelism over the past two thousand years only seems to have distanced Yeshua from his people. “Missionary” is a dirty word in Judaism, and there are some good historical reasons for that. So what should we do, or what can we do to bridge the gap? This Mess...

It doesn’t take a particularly observant person to see that the world is broken and in desperate need of redemption. Why does this state of brokenness and exile persist? The sages of Judaism say that the Second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred. Yeshua the Messiah came with the antidote and the key to redemption: baseless love. This Messiah Podcast Selects episode features a lecture...

The eruption of war in Ukraine has left millions of civilians displaced and lacking basic necessities. Many humanitarian organizations have tried to help. Our guest is Dr. Michael Schiffman, the executive director of Chevra, an organization that has spent the last twenty-nine years feeding the hungry in Ukraine and the rest of the former Soviet Union. Learn what it means to be the hands and feet o...

An Orthodox rabbi fought Nazis in his own government to secure the preservation of the Jewish community in Bulgaria during World War II. After the war, he led them to Israel. He also had a vision of the risen Yeshua and was an outspoken believer without abandoning Judaism. His name is Daniel Zion. Our guest is Brian Reed, the author of an extensive biography on this great Jewish hero. – Chapters –...

Everyone wants to go to heaven when they die. But that’s not the end of the story. Reading the New Testament through Jewish eyes paints a far more detailed picture of our final destiny. After a short sojourn in Paradise, we will experience resurrection from the dead, the Messianic Kingdom, and an even greater epoch to follow: the World to Come. –  Chapters – (0:00) Welcome to Messiah Podcast with...

For thousands of years, people have wondered what happens to the soul after death. Our materialistic culture rejects the existence of an afterlife, but millions of people have undergone what has come to be called near-death experiences (NDEs), and they’ve come back from the other side with incredible stories to tell. Our guest today is Heidi Barr, a Jewish girl who had nothing to do with Christian...

What happens after we die? We know that eventually we’ll be raised to life and spend eternity in the World to Come, but what happens before that? What does the soul experience in the moments after death? To answer this question, you’d have to talk to someone who died and came back to life. Well, it turns out there are millions of people who claim to have experienced just that. Our Messiah Podcast...

Jesus is Jewish—but what does that mean for his billions of followers? Our guest, Dr. Jen Rosner, joins Messiah Podcast to talk about her forthcoming book, Finding Messiah, in which she documents her own struggle with her identity as a Jewish follower of Jesus and her insights from years of academic study of the New Testament. Learn how Messianic Judaism is having an impact in the academic world a...

Evangelical theology places an incredible emphasis on the atoning death of the Messiah. He died so that our sins could be forgiven so that we could have eternal life. But what about the resurrection? The Romans crucified countless Jews, but only one was raised to life, suggesting that the resurrection deserves pride of place as the cornerstone of our faith. This edition of Messiah Podcast features...

What inspired a famous Christian songwriter to adopt a Messianic Jewish perspective? Aaron Shust, best known for his hit song “My Savior My God,” joins Messiah Podcast to tell the story of his journey from mainstream Christian music artist to Torah Club Student. Learn how God prepared Aaron’s heart for this journey, how his first trip to Israel changed his perspective, and how honoring the Sabbath...

Have Christians lost the original meaning and intention of first-century baptism? The New Testament treats it as an “elementary principle,” but its purpose and method have been anything but elementary in most of Christian history. A look at the Jewish perspective will cast some important insights on this biblical ritual. This edition of Messiah Podcast features a select article from Messiah Magazi...

Yeshua came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, but what exactly is the kingdom? What happened to the message of the kingdom? Why did the church lose that hope? Could it have been because the kingdom is too Jewish? This edition of Messiah Podcast features a select lecture by D. Thomas Lancaster, Education Director of First Fruits of Zion. –  Chapter – (0:00) Welcome to Messiah Podcast! (2:08...

Spinning tops and fried potato pancakes are great, but what is the real meaning of Hanukkah? Aaron Eby, First Fruits of Zion Senior Educator, joins Messiah Podcast to share the little-known history of this famous holiday. What happened to make Hanukkah such an enduring holiday? Why did Jesus celebrate Hanukkah? And why should his followers celebrate it today? Hint: It involves much more than dreid...

A deeply entrenched doctrine of Christianity states that all people are born with a sin nature and, by virtue of being a descendent of Adam, are inherently skewed toward evil and damned to hell from birth. Is this a biblical truth? While the concept of an evil inclination is present within Judaism, the two ideas are very different. Should Messianic Judaism follow the rest of Judaism in rejecting t...

Orthodox Jews and Messianic Jews may have significant differences. However, both groups have growing initiatives seeking to help Christians properly relate to the Torah in recent times. Our guest on Messiah Podcast is David Nekrutman, an Orthodox Jewish theologian who authored a new book entitled "Your Sabbath Invitation." The discussion centers on David's experience as an Orthodox...

Why are Baptists turning to Torah Club to know Jesus better? Why are Christians worldwide seeking Torah as a fundamental component for discipleship today? Baptists are long known for their love of Israel and diligence in reading the Word of God, but many of them are finding new meaning and richness from a Jewish reading of the Bible. Southern Baptist Pastor Keith Price joins Messiah Podcast to dis...