Messiah Podcast

The biblical kings and prophets envisioned the Temple as a house of prayer for all nations. Right now, it’s only a house of prayer for Muslims—Jews and Christians are forbidden from praying where Jesus did. Our guest today, David Kiern, is a filmmaker whose passion is to see disciples of Jesus kindle a love for Israel and a passion for the Temple Mount. His newest film, “I Am Israel: The Mountain...

The American Messianic Jewish congregational movement as we know it today blossomed in the 1960s and ‘70s. These young congregations borrowed theological ideas from Judaism and from Christianity, but comparatively little work has been done to synthesize a truly original, authentic, relevant, and beautiful Messianic Jewish theology. Our guest today, Dr. Richard Harvey, is the only person in the wor...

For centuries, supersessionist assumptions in higher education led generations of academics to assume that Jesus came to abolish the Mosaic Law. Today, a new generation of professors and researchers is producing rigorous, meticulously cited work arguing for a different perspective—that Jesus kept the Torah, valued the Torah, and instructed his disciples to keep the Torah and keep practicing Judais...

Paul's relationship with Jewish law is notoriously difficult to grasp. In this episode, Dr. Matthew Novenson joins the podcast and proposes a new interpretive framework to make sense of the prolific apostle—Paul saw himself as a Jew, not at the end of Judaism, but at the end of history. Dr. Novenson is a Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of “Paul and...

The Soviet Union suppressed Judaism and Jewish identity for decades. Atheism was enforced by the state. But our guest today, Pinchas Shir, knew there was more to life than the material world. In the era of perestroika, he fled to the United States, and today, he’s a Messianic Jewish rabbi. Join us as Rabbi Shir unpacks his academic work on Jewish literature, meals and food in antiquity, and the im...

Followers of Yeshua are called to take up their cross—to become martyrs. This mandate inspired one filmmaker, Reed Smith, to explore the lives of those disciples who are risking everything to follow Yeshua. In the process, he found that the gospel message was inextricably tied to the exile and redemption of Israel. In this episode, filmmaker Reed Smith discusses the themes of his new film, Sojourn...

The Telepathy Tapes has become one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Severely autistic non-verbal children and adults have apparently always been able to read minds, and they’re receiving revelations from God that validate a Messianic Jewish perspective. Our guests today, First Fruits of Zion’s Director of Education, D. Thomas Lancaster, and Jeremiah Michael from the Bram Center for Messi...

For almost two decades, the doctors told her that her son was a lost cause—he would never speak, would never understand, would never function in society. Then, a miracle happened. Our guest today is Katie Asher from The Telepathy Tapes podcast, and her son Houston can read her thoughts. But that’s just the beginning of the story. She’s here today to tell us about Houston’s spiritual journey and wh...

The Middle East is in turmoil and anti-Muslim sentiment in the West has rarely been higher. Many are preparing for an apocalyptic battle in which Muslims are the enemy. Nevertheless, a chosen few have crossed oceans and borders to undertake missionary work in Muslim communities. Our guest today, Devon Phillips, spent years with Frontier Alliance International in Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Israel. Sh...

The Nazis lost World War II. But their legacy of anti-Semitism lives on, powered by demonic forces that have infiltrated even the church. So says Pastor Werner Oder, whose father was an SS officer, but whose life was completely transformed through Yeshua the Messiah. Pastor Oder is here to tell his story, talk about the rising tide of Jew hatred, and what we can do to stand for Israel. – Episode T...

The evangelical church is in the midst of a scandal epidemic. But the deeper issue is a misunderstanding of the gospel. Without repentance, the gospel loses its power, and so-called Christians persist in willful sin. Our guest today, Marc Tuzzolino, is on a mission to restore a first-century Jewish apocalyptic understanding of the gospel in the context of an accountability group for men who want t...

Within a year of the October 7 terror attacks, three outspokenly Zionist ministries were rocked by major scandals. The International House of Prayer, Frontier Alliance International, and Gateway Church in Texas. Has this been an attack by Satan from the outside or an awakening to a systemic problem from within? Our guest today, Joel Richardson, is the chair of FAI’s board of directors, and he’s he...

When Yeshua called people to discipleship, he was using a first-century Jewish model of passing down faith in and faithfulness to the God of Israel from generation to generation. But for decades, the American Evangelical church has focused almost exclusively on evangelism. Our guest today, Dr. Robby Gallaty, is here to talk about how discipling people the way Yeshua did is the key to reaching the...

Yeshua called his followers to radical discipleship—a life lived entirely for the coming kingdom. His teachings equip us for the suffering and hardship we are destined to experience as we await that kingdom. For those from relatively affluent societies, this first-century Jewish model might seem archaic, but Yeshua’s apocalyptic worldview is still a foundational component of our faith. Bill Scofie...

Why did the church break away from Judaism? Why did a small group of followers of a first-century rabbi start a new religion that was different from his? This fall, as a new biblical year begins, First Fruits of Zion’s Torah Club small-group Bible study program embarks on a new journey. It’s called The Sent Ones: Acts of the Jewish Apostles. The Sent Ones will take students through the book of Act...

Messiah Podcast goes on location to scenic southern Michigan, where First Fruits of Zion now holds our premiere summer camp known as Camp Tzadi. Camp Tzadi provides a fun and meaningful summer experience for Messianic Jewish and Gentile teens, providing a space for rich spiritual encouragement and needed social connections with others of like mind. With microphone in hand, Jacob Fronczak roamed th...

Every year, on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, the Jewish people mourn the loss of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, along with a host of other tragedies that occurred on that same day throughout its history. Why would getting one step closer to its rebuilding instigate a war between Hamas and Israel? What is so important about this ancient building that would prompt a Gentile Christian from...

What happens after we die? Thousands of people have reported near-death experiences—brushes with death in which they encounter God, Jesus, angels, and departed family members—and have come back to tell us what awaits us on the other side. After Heidi Barr’s own near-death experience (NDE) she became a hospice nurse. She joins us today to share what it’s like to pass on and stories of her encounter...

Messianic Judaism is a prophetic movement of the Holy Spirit. Jews and Gentiles are recovering a Jewish reading of the New Testament and a body of Messiah that has room for both Jews and Gentiles to live out their respective roles and callings. The Hebrew Roots movement is something different. On this episode of Messiah Podcast, Daniel Thomas Lancaster (Education Director for First Fruits of Zion)...

Civil rights leaders in the black community have long been divided on their stance toward the existence of Israel. Some see the black struggle for civil rights as analogous to the Palestinian cause, while others, including Dr. King, were staunch allies of Israel, seeing the plight and eventual victory of the Jewish people as a model for the black community. Our guest today is the founder and CEO o...

From before the beginning of time, God planned to call out a people from among the nations and to bring a redeemer from among them. For centuries, the followers of Yeshua forgot that the unfolding of this history of redemption centers on the people of Israel. Our guest today, Dr. Gerald McDermott, has written A New History of Redemption, a book that puts Israel back at the center of God’s plan to...

The reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in Israel was a significant milestone in the unfolding of God’s end-times prophetic plan—a sign that the end is near. The recurring conflict in the Middle East is a harbinger of an apocalyptic battle yet to come—the war of Gog and Magog. Our guest today, Doctor Jeffrey Seif, has written a timely book about the role of Iran in this coming war and how this r...

As the Nazis attempted to eradicate the Jewish people from every corner of Europe, one country’s Jewish population actually grew, thanks to the tireless efforts of Metropolitan Stefan of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Messianic Jewish Rabbi Daniel Zion. Avi Mizrachi and his daughter Devorah share the harrowing story of the heroes who courageously and repeatedly put their lives on the line to sa...

The Epistle to the Hebrews constitutes one of the most difficult sections of the Bible for those of us who have embraced a Messianic Jewish perspective. Thankfully, D. Thomas Lancaster, First Fruits of Zion’s Director of Education, has spent years penning a commentary that will enrich and enlighten you. He joins Messiah Podcast to provide a sneak peek into the premise that unlocked the historical...

Every year, hundreds of disciples gather for Malchut, a summit for First Fruits of Zion Friends. We spend three days getting reacquainted, taking meals together, and recentering our vision for the kingdom. Today’s guests are some of the many Malchut 2024 attendees. You’ll hear about their heart for Messiah and his kingdom, how they came to embrace a Messianic Jewish perspective, and their joy at k...