A teaching ministry called to be a light to the Nations, to open blind eyes and set prisoners free from shackles of ignorance and anti-Jewish theology that plagued the Church for the last 2,000 years; and to develop the “Heart of Ruth”.  
Scriptural Basis from: 

 Isaiah 42: 6 “ I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, 
      And will hold Your hand; 
      I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, 
      As a light to the Gentiles, 
       7 To open blind eyes, 
      To bring out prisoners from the prison, 
      Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 
       8 I am the LORD, that is My name; 
      And My glory I will not give to another, 
      Nor My praise to carved images. 
       9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, 
      And new things I declare; 
      Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

Purpose Statement:
The word “Gentiles” in Hebrew is translated as “Nations”.  Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah are called to be a “Light to the Nations”.  
The purpose of this ministry is to:
#1. Open Blind Eyes (vs. 7): For 2,000 years the Gentile Church has been divorced from the Jewish Roots of its faith.  Our vision is to restore the Church’s appreciation for the Jewish roots of her faith.  In the past 40 years since Messianic Jewish Revival has taken place, and Jews have poured into the Kingdom of God, the Gentile Church has begun to open its eyes and take interest in the restoration of Israel.  We believe the time is ripe to open blind eyes in the Church and help Gentile Believers connect with this revival and support God’s plan for world revival and resurrection life as Paul said…
Romans 11:15
For if their (Israel’s) rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 

We also want to open blind eyes by confronting a lack of discernment in the Gentile Church from those that engage in “Christian Zionism”.  As the Gentile Church has begun to open their eyes to the Jewish Roots some, unfortunately, jump on bandwagons of error within Christian Zionist circles, the biggest example is that of John Hagee’s ministry “Christians United for Israel”, and his book entitled “In Defense of Israel”.  Most Christians are unaware of the theological errors that exist in his teachings. Here are some quotes from his book:
- If God intended for Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel, why didn't he authorize Jesus to use supernatural signs to prove he was God's Messiah, just as Moses had done? (p. 137)

- Jesus refused to produce a sign ... because it was not the Father's will, nor his, to be Messiah. (p 138)

- If Jesus wanted to be Messiah, why did he repeatedly tell his disciples and followers to "tell no one" about his supernatural accomplishments? (p. 139)

- The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews. (p. 140)

- They wanted him to be their Messiah, but he flatly refused. (p. 141)
- He refused to be their Messiah, choosing instead to be the Savior of the world (p. 143)

- Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of the Messiah in word or deed. (p. 145)

 

Another example of the Gentile Church’s “blind eyes” is the support it gives to the deceiving work of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of “On Wings of Eagles”.  “Many Christians have seen the infomercial on television from the “International Fellowship of Christians and Jews” also known as “On the Wings of Eagles”.  In the infomercial, a very emotional appeal is made by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein to bring Jewish people out of Russia to Israel and bring humanitarian aid to hurting and suffering Jewish people in the land of Israel.  The appeal is based upon prophetic promises.  Rabbi Eckstein is well versed in both the Old and New Testament promises.  His support comes from some prominent evangelical Christian leaders.  But most Christians are not aware that Rabbi Eckstein is a Jewish unbeliever who is vehemently opposed to bringing Jesus to the Jewish people. Rabbi Eckstein publicly censures evangelistic activity among Jewish people. (Light of Messiah Ministries).  

Gentile Christians are typically unaware that the dollars they give towards these “ministries” end up being used to persecute the Gospel and not promote it among the Jewish People.  When funds are given by the Church “BLINDLY” to unbelievers it ends up inevitably into the wrong hands and actually promotes persecution of Jewish believers in Israel.
Such as in this case:

On March 20th, 2008, 15-year-old Ami Ortiz stayed home from school. It was Purim – a Jewish festival in which holiday baskets are sent to friends and acquaintances to commemorate the Jews’ thwarting of Haman’s evil plot as recorded in the book of Esther in the Bible. To Ami’s delight, someone left a holiday package on the Ortiz family’s doorstep. When young Ami opened the package, it exploded in his face, filled his body with hundreds of pieces of shrapnel, and left him in critical condition. Ami’s father, David, is a pastor of a Messianic community in the town of Ariel. Apparently, this was not an attempt to injure a fifteen-year-old boy, but rather an attempt to murder a minister of the gospel in Israel. (Ortiz)
 
The Gentile Church needs to be educated on how it supports Israel, the Jewish People with biblical alternatives from the pop-culture media-saturated and deceiving messages that are popularly portrayed.  Just because Eckstein uses Paul Wilbur music on TV does NOT make him a “Messianic Jew”, to the surprise of many when we expose the truth.  Orthodox Jewish Terrorist Organizations such as “Yad L’chim” exist for the purpose of persecuting the Gospel and Messianic Jewish believers in Israel, and they want your money.  There are many cases like this beyond Ami Ortiz’s. 
Light to the Nations will open blind eyes and give alternatives to supporting Israel and the Jewish people that do not persecute the Gospel and our people.  

 

#2. Set Prisoners Free (vs. 7).  Light to the Nations wants to share the Good News of Messiah, the Jewish Roots of the Faith, and the Restoration of Israel with the Gentile Church.  Many non-Jews attend church but may not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and thus are not born again.  In our efforts to open blind eyes, we will also preach the Jewish Gospel to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.  Our hope is to see new believers come into the Kingdom and plug into a bible-believing Church that has the Heart of Ruth, and understands its relationship with the God of Israel, the People of Israel and the Land of Israel.  

What is the “Heart of Ruth”?
Ruth, a Gentile, took care of her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. She accepted the culture of the Jewish people and the belief of the Jewish God. Scripture records the vow she made:

“But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17) 

This is the “Heart of Ruth.”  She had a heart for all three components: 1. God of Israel, 2. People of Israel and 3. Land of Israel.  Light to the Nations is dedicated to encouraging all of the Gentile Church to develop the Heart of Ruth and grow her relationship to these three components of the Covenant.  

Light of Messiah Ministries. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http://www.lightofmessiah.org/resources/wingsofeagles.php 
Ortiz, L. (n.d.). The Ami Ortiz Story. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http://www.amiortiz.com/thetruestory.cfm