Topics:<\/b> Atonement; Divine Power; False Beliefs; Healing<\/p>\n
References:<\/b> Matthew 24:4\u20135; 2 Corinthians 11:14\u201315<\/p>\n
It is midnight in Israel, and three hundred worshipers gather in a floodlit enclosure as they thump tambourines and clap hands in the warm night. They sing ya\u2019ase shalom<\/i>, which means \u201che will make peace.\u201d Though the words refer to God, the crowd thinks of another.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will clean the people,\u201d says Rabbi Yaakov Ifargan, thirty-four, slinging candles into a brazier until the flame rises six meters and wax sizzles onto the dusty ground. Ifargan is the most prominent new leader in a wave of cabalistic mysticism sweeping Israel, particularly among the 60 percent of the population known as Mizrahis, those who have emigrated from North Africa and the Middle East. Ifargan is a tzaddik<\/i>, a holy man.<\/p>\n
Almost four hours into this ceremony, the rabbi turns to a row of followers confined to their wheelchairs sweating near the fire. \u201cAre you a believer?\u201d he asks. Gabriel Rafael, twenty-two, has multiple sclerosis. People in the crowd raise him by his arms. He takes a few steps, scuffing his feet through the dirt, then collapses into his wheelchair. Those around him wait to hear that a miracle has taken place. What they hear instead is Gabriel say, \u201cI do<\/i> feel stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hardly enough\u2014and far short of what the true Messiah offers: complete healing through the cleansing power of his blood.<\/p>\n
\u2014Matt Rees, \u201cMiracle Makers,\u201d Time<\/i> (September 25, 2000)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Topics: Atonement; Divine Power; False Beliefs; Healing References: Matthew 24:4\u20135; 2 Corinthians 11:14\u201315 It is midnight in Israel, and three hundred worshipers gather in a floodlit enclosure as they thump tambourines and clap hands in the warm night. They sing ya\u2019ase shalom, which means \u201che will make peace.\u201d Though the words refer to God, the … Continue reading “INCOMPLETE
\n CLEANSING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}