Sid Roth - God Spoke to Me and What He Said Brought Me to My Knees
What happens when an Israeli Jew with an orthodox background hears the audible voice of God? I mean, the forbidden word in Judaism is revealed. Next on this edition of "It's Supernatural"!
Sid Roth: Hello. I'm Sid Roth your investigative reporter. I'm here with an Israeli from a very unusual background. You see, his grandparents, in 1929, emigrated from Yemen to Israel. He's a Yemenite Jew. How important, Amnon Shor, was your family - your, as we say, your "mishpochah"?
Amnon Shor: Well you know, Grandpa, Sid, as you said, 1929, came to Israel an Orthodox Jew from the tribe of Judah. We know that that's my middle name, my father's first name, and so and so forth. They came back because Grandpa believed that this is the time of Messiah's redemption. Being a rabbi, he was very well versed in the Scripture and so he felt prompted, as he said to me, "By God", to come back to the land.
Sid Roth: So were you then the first generation to leave Israel after your family came back?
Amnon Shor: Well you know, it's amazing because my brother Gideon and myself are the first generation to be born in Israel, and then I'm the only one that actually does not live in Israel.
Sid Roth: Why did you leave?
Amnon Shor: Well I met my wife. I was working for the Israeli airline, and I met my wife Lynette, and she is an American; and it was a matter of choice for me to - for us as a married couple - to live in Israel or to live here, whereby I could go to school and study. And we decided that we would live here and eventually move back; move to Israel.
Sid Roth: You told me the door was kind of closed because you didn't want to be a rabbi.
Amnon Shor: I didn't want to be a rabbi, although I could live in Israel without being a rabbi, as you know.
Sid Roth: Right.
Amnon Shor: Not everybody is a rabbi there, you know. And so I decided at an early age, in my early teens, that I did not want to continue and pursue this life of Orthodox Judaism, to become a rabbi as did four of my cousins. So I threw the yarmulke, you know, the "kippah" as we call it, and no longer that I will observe the Sabbath. I will drive my car or other vehicle on the Sabbath, and so on and so forth.
Sid Roth: You came to the United States, and the thing that is so amazing to me as I've gotten to know Amnon, is he wasn't drinking, he wasn't on drugs, and all of a sudden he had what is known as an open vision. What happened?
Amnon Shor: Well Sid, I was on the California coast at a friend's house in 1988, and it was in early April. And I have seen a great, bright, amazing bright light that filled the room that I was in, and I was so startled and shocked. And what I have seen is that I'm back on Mount Sinai. And when I say I'm back on Mount Sinai, one has to understand that I served in the Sinai between 1971 and 1974, which included the Yom Kippur War, and so the territory was extremely familiar to me. And then later on, I was a tour guide that took people from all over the world through this - the area of Jerusalem in the Judean wilderness - into the Sinai, and it culminated on Mount Sinai. So the territory in the physical realm was very familiar to me. And here, years later, I'm seeing this, and I am not there. I'm on the California coast, and I'm asking, "What in the world is this"? You know, thoughts go through your mind, so, and I'm hearing my name being called, and I thought that I'm seeing some weird things. And then I say, I was saying, "What? What"? Then I realize that it must be God. And I said, "What, God"? And I haven't heard anything of that. You know, meanwhile, the time kind of went by. And it was early morning, and I was driving from this friend's house, which is about 150 miles to our home in central California, and I'm seeing the whole thing all over again.
Sid Roth: While you're driving?
Amnon Shor: While driving.
Sid Roth: It's a little dangerous, isn't it?
Amnon Shor: Oh very much so.
Sid Roth: I mean, you are driving and you're seeing this Sinai?
Amnon Shor: The whole night.
Sid Roth: Do you feel like you're there, or you're just seeing a television show?
Amnon Shor: No. I was behind the wheel of my car.
Sid Roth: Do you feel like you're in the Sinai?
Amnon Shor: No; no. I was there. I saw it like I was there. It's like my feet were standing on it. It was just so incredible.
Sid Roth: How did you see the road?
Amnon Shor: I don't know, Sid. I don't know. I left at 10:00 in the morning, and it takes about two and a half hours to get there, and I did not get home until late, late afternoon, almost by dinnertime.
Sid Roth: You must have been pretty startled. That's an understatement.
Amnon Shor: Yes. And I remember I had what was then a car phone, and I remember trying to call my wife, and it was dead. And this is an area that was completely covered because I talked to her on the way there to the coast, because our three young children were not feeling well at that time. And so I wanted to make sure that, you know, that I have contact with my wife.
Sid Roth: I'm just curious. When you got home did you tell your wife what happened?
Amnon Shor: I did. I didn't have to tell her. She said to me right away, "What happened to you"? And I said, "What do you mean, honey"? She said, "Your face". I said, "What about my face"? She said, "You're all red. It's like you have a sun tan".
Sid Roth: Were you outside?
Amnon Shor: Well part of the day, but it was an overcast day in early April. It was an overcast day, and part of it even rained. And if you look at me, you know, with my dark complexion, we simply don't get sunburn. And I grew up on the Mediterranean coast. And I looked, indeed lo and behold in the mirror, and I was red, like indeed, I was exposed to some great intense light or something.
Sid Roth: You know what? It reminds me of a type of burn you might get if you were out in the Sinai Desert. We'll be back just after this word.
Sid Roth: Hello. I'm Sid Roth your investigative reporter. I'm here with an Israeli, Amnon Shor. And Amnon is, for lack of better words, minding his own business, and a bright light comes in. He's not on drugs. He's not on alcohol. Bright light; brighter than he'd ever seen before. And he's used to the Sinai Desert. He's in the United States at this time, and he sees a vision of the Sinai Desert. He knows exactly. And he hears his name being called, "Amnon, Amnon". What does your name mean, by the way, in Hebrew?
Amnon Shor: A faithful son.
Sid Roth: Very interesting. So you hear this. You try to reach your wife by cell phone. And you come home. And you don't burn.
Amnon Shor: No.
Sid Roth: When you're out in the sun do you normally get sunburn?
Amnon Shor: No.
Sid Roth: Because of your complexion.
Amnon Shor: Right.
Sid Roth: Okay. But - and you weren't really out in the sun; it was raining during the day.
Amnon Shor: And it was kind of an early spring day. It was not summer at all.
Sid Roth: And what did your wife say to you when she saw you?
Amnon Shor: She said it looked like I have sunburn on my face; my forehead. And indeed, I looked in the mirror and it was pretty - pretty red. I don't ever recall getting to that point, you know, growing up.
Sid Roth: So did you tell your wife you heard a voice from God?
Amnon Shor: I started to tell her, to explain to her. I said, "You have to sit down". And so we sat down and we talked until about 4:30 in the morning. And she was so tired and exhausted. However, it was so amazing and intense that I tried to make sense of it, but I couldn’t; I really couldn't make sense. When she said, "What did you see"? I said - that's the words I used - I said, "I saw what I think was something like the burning bush". And she said, "Wow, this is really incredible". So I said - with that thought we tried to go to sleep somehow.
Sid Roth: Good luck.
Amnon Shor: Yeah right! So I managed to get somewhat close to two hours of sleep. But then the next morning I was taking a shower, you know, and shaving, and I heard the same thing. I saw the same thing, and I heard my voice being called again. And this time I was ready, and I said right away, "Yes, Lord, Ken Adonai", in Hebrew, "Ken Adonai," meaning "Yes, my Lord. "Adonai" in Hebrew literally means "my Lord". And he said, "Read the Book of Micah".
Sid Roth: Had you ever read the Book of Micah previously?
Amnon Shor: No.
Sid Roth: Wait a second. Coming from such a good Jewish background from Israel, you never read the Book of Micah?
Amnon Shor: Sid, you know; you very well know that there are certain scriptures within the prophetic books that are not read. They are called the forbidden chapters. One of them is Isaiah 53. Another one is Micah 5, and Daniel.
Sid Roth: So what happened when you read this?
Amnon Shor: Well Micah means "he is God". That's what "miCheyahu", and then immediately on the way down to reach for the Bible that was given to me by a friend that I never read, was sitting on the shelf for over a year, I said, "Wow, miCheyahu", you know, "He is God". And I started reading, and I got to Micah 5; and 5:2 says, "w’aTah Beyt-lechem ef'ratah tzaiyr lih'yot B'al'fey y'hudah".. "[And] you, Bethlehem … [the youngest one] of Judah, [from] you will come … [a] ruler … and [his] origin [is of everlasting]". And this literal translation of the Hebrew, I can tell you, Sid, what happened is that when I read that, I felt that some kind of a great power coming over me. And it is like your veil; something has been lifted, something has been taken away. And I saw, and I knew that this was the only one person that could fulfill that, and his name was Yeshua. You know as well as I do that we have been raised with the name of the Messiah - of Jesus in English - is a taboo; not to comment; not talk about it. We don't go to churches, we don't marry them, we don't do anything with them. As a matter of fact, we rarely even sit down and have dinner with them. And to me, it was just an unbelievable, amazing revelation because, you see -
Sid Roth: I have to ask you, did the thought cross your mind, "What will I tell my parents"?
Amnon Shor: Of course; of course. You know, I have a cousin that just married a gentile, and she's totally cut off. Uncle Saul cut her off, tore his garment, said Shiva on her, and never saw my cousin until the day he died.
Sid Roth: So I guess you just denied the experience and stopped believing in Yeshua?
Amnon Shor: No. No, no, no, no, no. Right away I knew that was indeed who it is. And I said, "O Lord", and I felt so dirty; so dirty; I couldn't even tell you. And I went down on my knees, and I started to cry.
Sid Roth: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Your background; like you - you went on your knees?
Amnon Shor: I did.
Sid Roth: Jews don't go on their knees.
Amnon Shor: I know. That's what I did, and there was absolutely nobody in that room. I had an office in the house and that was - the door was closed, and there was absolutely nobody there. And I went down on my knees, and I was just sobbing. I was just crying for about an hour or so; I don't know, I lost track of time, but I figured about that long. And I just remember just saying, "O Yeshua, oh, You are the ruler. You are the governor. You are the king". And all I remember saying, "Just be my Lord. Just be my king, and I will follow You, because You are the Messiah. You are indeed the forbidden one of Israel. You are the one that we have been forbidden to even think about".
Sid Roth: Strange happenings going on here - in the Amnon Shor household. We'll be back right after this word.
Sid Roth: I'm Sid Roth your investigative reporter. Before we go back to Amnon Shor, I mean, this bold Israeli soldier finds himself weeping and realizing that the prophet Micah was talking about the forbidden word in Judaism, Jesus or in Hebrew, Yeshua. But before we go back to Amnon, I want to have sort of like a mini-council meeting. I'm going to go into the production studio, talk to Janie DuVall and let's, I'm going to let you come into our discussion as to who's on next week. Who's our guest, Janie?
Janie DuVall: Sid, you'll be interviewing Mary Francis Varallo and this is a woman whose daughter was in the worst car accident. Her ear was hanging off, the artery to her heart was torn, her brain was like slush and for two and a half months, she was in a coma. But Mary kept on speaking supernatural words every single day to her daughter, and her daughter is, well her daughter is walking around today, but the MRI, the brain scan still says that the brain cells are dead.
Sid Roth: My goodness, did you get that? She's got dead brain cells. The MRI, this is the medical source, dead brain cells, and not just functioning good, she's a brilliant woman. I can't wait until next week. But Amnon, we left off at a very critical point. I mean, you are - this is the third time you find yourself on Mount Sinai, and all of a sudden there's like, in a vision form - coming from such a good Jewish background - and you're weeping. Are you a man that used to weep a lot?
Amnon Shor: No. I was a paratrooper in the Israeli Army. I fought in the war and...
Sid Roth: Why were you weeping?
Amnon Shor: Because I realized that the Messiah is indeed true, and the message about Him is real. And it's not just real; it's for today.
Sid Roth: But why were you weeping?
Amnon Shor: Because I realized that I was deprived, and I was full of sin and dirt, and I just needed cleansing.
Sid Roth: What happened next?
Amnon Shor: I asked Yeshua to be my Lord, and if - in the Hebrew language the word "Yeshua" means "salvation" - but it goes more than that. "Yeshua" means "salvation now". That's what the word "Yeshua" means. And so when it kind of resonated in my mind and I - then, I spoke it, and I said, "O Yeshua," and then I realized that I have to have Him now. And so I asked him at that moment on April of 1988, "Be my Lord. Be my savior. Be my Mashiach".
Sid Roth: Wait a second. Were you set up? Did some Christian tell you to say that?
Amnon Shor: No. No.
Sid Roth: Had you ever seen someone do something?
Amnon Shor: No; no. I was raised, I told you, Orthodox. I was never part of any Christian church, except one time I went to a Christmas celebration and I thought there was going to be a guillotine at the door slashing my head and splitting my head.
Sid Roth: I understand.
Amnon Shor: You know, half-open, killing me because I dared to cross the line. That's how I felt years before.
Sid Roth: Now obviously your family was not ecstatic when you said you were a Believer in Jesus as the Messiah. But something very unusual started happening to your dad.
Amnon Shor: Yes. That's an understatement to say they were not ecstatic. I was very concerned about how to share with them. I prayed to the Lord and I said, "O God, you know, they need to know, but with love". And I said, "Please Lord, if this is your will, I would pray that they would not reject me". So I shared with them, and by doing so, all I did is look with my father and my brother, and my grandfather, and my oldest uncle, which is also a rabbi, we looked at the Old Testament. And I said, "This is for you to decide. I'm just pointing you to those prophecies, and it's for you to make a decision". Years later, years - I mean years - about a dozen years later, and it was just recently a little over a year or so ago, my father almost died; almost died. He was in a coma when I arrived in Israel. I sped directly to the hospital, and he was there lying in a coma. I got a hold of the doctor and I asked her, I said, "Doctor, tell me how much time my father has". And she says, "Well he has a 20 percent chance of surviving through the night". And I was really shocked, and on the other hand was mad at my brother for not letting me know earlier so I could be there to speak with him to hear his last words. You know, you want to do that.
Sid Roth: Sure.
Amnon Shor: You want to say your good-byes. And I remember sitting there in the hospital room and I was weeping, and I said, "O Lord, if this is Your will, take him now. If it is Your will that he would stay, give him his faculties back". And I was just praying over him. I was sitting there, and I put my mouth into my father's ear and for about 20 minutes I whispered the name "Yeshua". That's all I said.
Sid Roth: Why did you do that?
Amnon Shor: Because it means "salvation". Maybe - I don't know all the supernatural activities that, you know, happens between the time you die and the time you reach the Throne of God. Maybe God will give him a thought; something, you know, that he will be able to make a decision, and I wanted that to be his last word in his mind, "Yeshua". And for about 20 minutes or so, that's all I said in his ears. And I kissed him on his forehead, and I left. And that was my good-bye. And it was Tuesday evening; and I had people that were with me; some dignitaries that were with me that I was showing around the land and keeping around; keeping in contact with my family. And indeed he survived the night, and he was coming around very, very slowly. However, by Friday, I came back to see him and the bed was all made up as I entered the hospital room. And I was really shocked. And I said, "Oh my, he's died. He's gone and nobody told me". So I ran to the station of the nurses' station, and I said, "Where's my father? Where's Mr. Shor? Where's Judah"? His name is Judah. I said, "Where is Judah Shor"? And she said, "Oh they never told you"? She said, "It's a miracle". She said, "It's an absolute miracle. He just bounced back. And we called your brother, and he came about an hour ago, and took him home".
Sid Roth: He had that miracle, and then what did he tell you about Yeshua, quickly?
Amnon Shor: Quickly, what he said; he said, "Son, let me tell you something". He took me to front yard and he says - looked me in the eye - and he said, "Son, what you say about Yeshua, that he is the Messiah," he says, "I have no problem believing that He is". And I looked at him and I said, "Daddy, Father, do you understand"? "Abba", that's what we say in Hebrew. We don't say "daddy", we say "Abba". "What are you saying"? He says, "That's what I'm saying to you; that I am not opposed to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah".
Sid Roth: "Yeshua, Yeshua. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus". That's what he said. There is power in the name. The Hebrew for Jesus is "Yeshua". There is so much power in the name of Yeshua. Yeshua. I mean, some of you can actually feel the presence of God, the same thing that Amnon went through. Yeshua. Some of you are beginning to weep. That's time to do the same thing as Amnon did. That is your time. You can feel the presence of God is - tell God you're sorry for your sins. Believe the blood of Jesus washed that away, and you are clean. You are clean. You are clean. And now that you are clean, you want an experiential knowledge of God. Say, "Yeshua become real to me. I make you my Lord. Come inside of me". Someone's head has just been healed, and someone's back has just been healed, in Yeshua's name.