Jesus Christ is reaching out to ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, with some of them beginning to re-examine their beliefs while experiencing a "spiritual meltdown of historic proportions."
Reports are coming out that hundreds of these ultra-Orthodox Jews, called haredim, are taking personal risk by reading "forbidden" material about Jesus Christ in order "to find Him."
The haredim are doing this because they are starving for the real Word of the Lord, according to Kehila News, which based its report from an Hebrew-language article published earlier this month on MyNet, the news site of the Israeli city of Petach Tikva.
The report says the ultra-Orthodox Jews' new-found interest in Jesus is remarkable since they are known to "literally spend all their waking hours in Torah learning."
Kehila News says the article published on MyNet actually intended to warn residents of Petach Tikva of the "propaganda" being peddled by Messianic Jews, or those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the saviour of mankind.
For years, the Hebrew-language website has been accusing the Messianic community of practicing deceit by following Jewish customs while embracing Jesus Christ, the same charge made by the haredim, according to Kehila News.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews also reportedly accuse Messianic community leaders of being motivated by lucrative salaries, recruiting new believers through entrapment, and indoctrinating minors so that they would be swayed to leave the Jewish faith.
These accusations led to legislation that seeks to suppress religious freedom in Israel.
Moreover, ultra-Orthodox Jews have become wary of Christian events, fearing that such gatherings could lead to more Jews embracing the Christian faith. Because of this concern, the Jerusalem Municipality had to consult the city's Rabbis before allowing Christians to host events in the city in June of last year.
However, MyNet also had something good to say about Messianic Jews, saying they might actually be good for the nation, and that followers of Christ may have more to fear from the haredim than vice versa.
MyNet asked some Israeli believers why they think ultra-Orthodox Jews are hostile towards them. Some answered that the haredim are actually not hostile since some of them "come to accept us after they get to know us." Others answered that "they are against us no matter what we do."
The news portal commented that the "real reason" behind the anti-missionary panic in Petach Tikva could be that the "Messiah is so powerfully reaching those of our people who have lived all their lives 'behind the Torah Curtain,'" that even the haredi are recognising the truth about Jesus now.
