Sid Roth

Sid: And I’ve got 2 Jewish people on the telephone they’re married to each other that are red hot for the Messiah. I’ll speak first with Geoffrey Cohen. I’m speaking to them at their home at Ventura California.  And Geoffrey you were raised in South Africa and had a very good Orthodox upbringing are there many Jewish people in South Africa?

Geoff: Well when I was growing up there was about 120,000 I believe now it runs between 70 and 80,000.

Sid: It’s still a pretty pretty good size Jewish community.

Geoff: Yeah it’s very strong economically very strong in the business world over there.

Sid: Well tell me about your Orthodox Jewish background.

Geoff: Well I went to an Orthodox Jewish Schools really from kindergarten of which even kindergarten was Orthodox Jewish.  And most of my friends until my last 2 years of high school were all Jews so I had very little interaction with non-Jews of course that were around me time. But I was brought up in a very tight knit Jewish community because of Anti-Semitism in South Africa it made the Jewish Community even more tight knit.

Sid: You know I’m thinking as the world itself according to the word of God and according to what we’re seeing becomes increasing more anti-Semitic it will cause Jewish people to come back together if could have been lost in the United States but it will cause that. And what we’re believing is that it will cause Christians and Jews to bond together. But you did a nice Jewish thing you went to the university to study law.

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: Why did you go into the military was it required?

Geoff: Ah yeah I was actually in my second year of law in South Africa and I had to do it…it was mandatory to do the military it was never my desire to you know to serve in the military there because of apart-a and these things like that.

Sid: But you bumped into a lot of Anti-Semitism in the military why’s that.

Geoff: Well if you look at the historical roots of South Africa many of the Elfie-Connors that are the ancestors of the Dutch, German and French.  But they’re called Elfie-Connors and many of them during the II World War or the I World War were sympathetic of the Germans. And of course the Nazi’s World War II mainly because of the tension between the British and them because the global at the turn of the century.  And so of course there’s many Elfie-Connors who are wonderful Christians so that definitely the case but many of them are pretty Anti-Semitic because of that sort of Anti-British pro-German kind of sentiment that we experienced.

Sid: And you took up a very un-Jewish profession you took up boxing why is that?

Geoff: Yes well because although I’m not small I’m about 5’1 185 pounds which man Elfie-Connors are very big 200 pounds which describes normal over 6 ft.

Sid: Well I’ll just fit in fine there go ahead. (Laughing)

Geoff: (Laughing) Yeah so basically it was just to defend myself and I actually became quite good at boxing and so I was actually offered a professional boxing contract before I left the country. But I decided that boxing wasn’t for nice Jewish boys.

Sid: But what was why did you leave the country?

Geoff: Basically I just wanted to make my future outside of South Africa. In fact I would have gone to live in Israel and I would have served in the Israeli Army that was my desire but at that the time I was dating a nice Jewish girl in South Africa and because of my loyalty to her to stay in the country and go to the army.  But really my heart was to go to Israel and become a citizen and serve in the Israeli Army.

Sid: You eventually did go to Israel.

Geoff: I did.

Sid: And live on a kibbutz.

Geoff: Yes I did.

Sid: And you met a man by the name of Frank tell me about him.

Geoff: Yeah I hope Frank’s listening to this because I’ve been trying to contact him for about 16 years. (Laughing) All that I remember about him is that he was the son of the Vice Secretary of the America Navy I believe it was in 1984. But really stood out to me about him is that he was a true born again Christian. And basically what happened was while we were on the kibbutz called “Shyin we were sitting outside and having a drink or 2 and just talking about world politics.  And everybody had their opinion as is the case when you discuss politics you can have 20 opinions especially when many of them are Jewish you can have 100 opinions.

Sid: Of course a kibbutz is sort of a communal place that many Israelis live on and it was the way that Israel really started originally.

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: And so you’re just enjoying yourself and how did he start this subject?

Geoff: Well basically everybody was talking about their opinion of politics and if the Russians are right or the Americans are right or if the Arabs are right.  And everybody was trying to decide “Should Israel have invaded Lebanon in 1982 and they were discussing this and everybody had their opinion.  And then basically this guy started to speak and he said “The problem is not America, it’s not communism, it’s not capitalism he said the problem is sin.”  And I thought “Oh no here we go now this guy is going to preach to us this is all we need now.”

Sid: Had anyone ever preached to you now?

Geoff: You know they had and I but I never touched home with me because I thought that it was God’s way of reaching the Gentiles,  I thought that Jesus came for the Gentiles and that’s very nick for now the Gentiles can also have a relationship with God as well as us Jews. And so I was very happy for all of the Gentiles that the too could know God. But I believe that us Jews just go directly to God we didn’t need a mediator.  But I’ve since determined that that’s not the case but that’s what I believed.  And so I never heard the gospel presented in a way that was relevant to me or it made any sense to me.

Sid: But what did he say that had an impact on an Orthodox Jew from South Africa?

Geoff: Well seriously it wasn’t what he said although it was partly what he said.  But what really had tremendous impact on me was this man’s zeal that he was absolutely willing to lay down his life for what he believed.  And with the people around him I mean we some people got pretty mad at him so I just saw that he wasn’t wavering he was unmoved and he was fearless in his faith so that his conviction about what he believed is what’s impressed me the most. But then when he began to explain what sin was for the first time it made sense to me because many people don’t know this many Jewish people don’t have a normal concept of original sin like a Christian would know to be born in sin. Maybe not a real understanding of what sin is or what sin is and I didn’t.  And he said basically every person is selfish and that’s why ever country and every nation wants their way and their culture and everything to predominate because they think that’s the best one.  And because of that basic selfish nature people clash with each with each other and so for the first time it began to make sense.  I thought “Oh that makes sense that’s why there’s wars and we clash and things like that because people are basically selfish.  And so I began to understand what sin was for the first time and I began to make sense. And then he explained how the Lord had come into his life and set him free from a life of drug addiction and peer pressure and growing up in very high circles.  Which I did as well in South Africa because my father was a very successful businessman so growing up under that pressure of can I make it can I follow in my Dad’s footsteps and all of that kind of thing. And his Dad being high in Washington he’d gone through the same kind of thing. And then he’d gotten saved and set free and filled with the Holy Spirit and he knew that his identity was in the Messiah in Yeshua in Jesus.  And so he was secure now in his identity.  And so that’s when it made a strong impression on me and began to make sense.

Sid: Now did you know that Jesus was Jewish?

Geoff: No I didn’t I thought maybe He was a Catholic or He was like one of those priests that wear those giant hats that are about 3 feet high or something like that.

Sid: When did you find out that Jesus was Jewish?

Geoff: Well Frank began to talk to me well this happened to Jesus in Jerusalem and that happened to Jesus in Jerusalem and all of the various things that happened to Jesus and how they bought monuments where Jesus was supposed to have wept. And another church where you know He stopped and looked at someone and He was kind of cynical about you know building a church everywhere that Jesus was supposed to done something. And it wasn’t that that struck me but I thought why are you talking about Jesus in Jerusalem what was He doing there?

Sid: Hmm.

Geoff: And so for the first time I began to think you mean Jesus might be Jewish? I mean if He’s Jewish why did these people who call themselves Christians hate the Jews it didn’t make any sense to me.  So I presumed of course that He can’t be Jewish because then non-Jews couldn’t possibly hate the Jews if He was Jewish then they would love the Jews automatically.  So that’s why it kind of confused me.  And I thought if He really is Jewish then you know this something I really have to look into.

Sid: Well you not only looked into it you had an encounter at the Jaffa Gate where I’ve been many times in Jerusalem.

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: Tell me the circumstances.

Geoff: Well basically after maybe a few days after Frank had shared with us and had been kind of a clash between him and some of the people that didn’t believe in the Lord I had planned to go to Jerusalem. And so what happened was when I went to Jerusalem is go to the Arab market or the shuck was the call it and you get really good bargains there.  And I was with a friend of mine that was traveling with me a friend of mine from Zimbabwe and as we walked into the Jaffa Gate on your immediate left there is the Arab market you probably remember this there is long passage way whatever you call it a market on either side.

Sid: Yes.

Geoff: And we were just beginning to walk towards the market when all of  a sudden Jesus appeared to me as real as this television is or my house is or as real as you are on the other side but even more so.  Jesus appeared he was standing about 20 feet away from me…

Sid: How did He look?

Geoff: Well he was dressed as He was 2000 years ago so He was wearing a robe but really the most striking thing more than anything else was His eyes.  And people say “Well how did you know it was Jesus?” Well basically that’s my thing well how do you know that you saw God?  I was looking at eternity and eternity was looking at me and when He looked at me it was incredible it was like He knew everything about me because right through me I was looking at eternity past and eternity future and yet He totally accepted me and loved me unconditionally and He spoke a word to me without opening his mouth and there’s no way for me to explain that its just what happened. And that one word was Hineini which means “Here am I in Hebrew.”

Sid: Hold that thought Mishpochah we’re going to pick up right here tomorrow….