Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos welcomes returning guest Shauna Manfredine.
Shauna is an author, artist, teacher, and speaker with Lighted Way Ministries, which broadcasts each Shabbat and hosts annual feasts and retreats. Manfredine discusses her focus on archeoastronomy, arguing the heavens contain Yahweh’s intended story and that paganism distorted original constellation meanings tied to Scripture, the twelve tribes, and prophecy. She describes tracing star and constellation names, shapes, and “tapestry” scenes (e.g., the Bowman’s arrow into the scorpion) and connects figures such as Perot’s “the Breaker” to David and Goliath. She presents her book Ancient Hebrew in the Stars, claiming the twenty-two-letter original alphabet appears in constellations worldwide, with meaning also conveyed by letter frequency, including a Shema message in letters appearing once. They share links to her sites, books, free magazine, and video platforms.
Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews author and teacher Dr. Dinah Dye about her book, The Greatest Exodus: A Divine Warrior Tradition, which she describes as a culmination of 45 years of studying Scripture. Dye explains how the Exodus and Passover story functions as a thread running through the entire Bible, reframing themes like creation, order and chaos, kingship, temple patterns, and God’s return of presence to His people. She discusses “combat myth” in the ancient Near East and how biblical writers used familiar cultural symbols without endorsing paganism, urging readers to move beyond proof-texting and theological “boxes” to see Scripture as a unified narrative. Dye outlines the book’s structure, showing the divine warrior/chaos pattern from Exodus through the Gospels (especially Matthew) and into Revelation, and hopes the book helps Christians understand biblical context amid current confusion about Israel and antisemitism.
Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! Host Stephanie Pavlantos interviews author, teacher, and pastor Jeff Brannan about his testimony, Torah-rooted teaching, and writing.
Jeff recounts coming to faith as a teen during his parents’ divorce, decades of ministry, and later intense study in Genesis—especially Genesis 6 and the Nephilim—which led him into Torah practice and cost him many ministry relationships. He describes his fiction series beginning with “Nephilim: A Giant Walkthrough History” and its prequel/sequel work “The End Is the Beginning,” connecting end-times themes like the Antichrist and deception, and he outlines teaching books on priestly garments and priestly service as allegories for salvation and spiritual life. Stephanie and Jeff emphasize humility, being teachable, and relying on the Holy Spirit for scriptural discernment. Jeff also summarizes his research-driven book “The Rise of Marcion,” tracing early heresies (including Marcion, Simon Magus, and Nicolaitans), their modern resurgence, and defenses of gospel authority.
The moment we think we do, we are guilty of pride and arrogance. Pride is sin.
The Lord made it clear:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Is. 55:8-9.
It is impossible for us to understand the thoughts and ways of the Lord.
Yet we fight and argue over what we think our limited understanding of the Bible says God is going to do and how it all plays out. We must continually ask for revelation from the Holy Spirit as we study God’s Word for ourselves.
How often do we ask the Lord to correct any of our bad theology and the lies we have believed?
As humans, we all have some flawed theology, and are even deceived in some areas. There are things we know, things we are completely wrong about, and things we know nothing about. Only God knows it all. It’s not what we think is true; it’s what He says is truth.
The Gospel of Yeshua
They say you can’t take it with you…but there is something we can take with us.
People.
We can take our spouses, kids, sisters, brothers, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and people we don’t know yet to Heaven with us.
Instead, we fight and argue over:
The shape of the Earth,
The true name of the Messiah and the Father and how to spell it and say it
Whether annihilation awaits the non-believers or eternal punishment,
End-time doctrine—pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, or no rapture…
The timing of the resurrection,
KJV vs. ESV, NIV, NASB….
None of those things are the Gospel of Christ. But we argue over them like they save us.
Restitution of All Things
We are called to share and teach the Gospel by first introducing them to Jesus so they can have eternal life through His death and resurrection. Jesus shed His blood so we can have abundant life. He died because the blood of perfect animals wasn’t enough to restore all of humanity and the universe. The Blood is why God will make a New Heaven and a New Earth. That is part of the Gospel and our goal as believers is to live with the Father forever on His New Earth, which is Heaven. God will restore all things to their original state before sin.
The Gospel is the restitution of ALL things. That’s the Good News—the news we should flood social media with and talk about.
When my son was seven or eight, he asked if a particular family member loved Jesus. We said, “No, he doesn’t believe in Jesus.” He burst into tears. He wept over this family member possibly not going to Heaven one day.
It convicted me. How often we weep and pray over those who may not go to Heaven with us?
Which is better, everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire or an actual second death that removes them from the universe forever? Are we really arguing over which way is best for God to punish the ones we love and will never see again unless their hearts change?
Does He Know You?
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 ESV.
These verses should concern us all. Are we doing the will of the Father? It is not enough to say, “I know Jesus.” He. Must. Know. Us.
Are we walking so close to Him that we turn right or left when He does? Or stop and rest when He does? Is His Word something we study and love? Do we obey Him? Do we hear His voice?
The prince of this world wants us to think way too highly of ourselves. He wants us to be unteachable, rude, and full of head knowledge instead of heart knowledge. His goal is to divide us by pitting us against one another. We can have different opinions about scripture; let’s not make it an argument, especially if it is not a topic that does not affect our salvation.
The older I get, the more I realize how brief life is. The Lord has humbled me in more ways than I care to share. Don’t make Him humble you; there’s a lot less grief if we humble ourselves before Him and let Him correct us.
Welcome to Grafted: Jewish Roots of Christianity! TikTok content creator, Laura Metzing is my guest. We had an awesome conversation about the end-times by looking at Revelation 19, Zechariah 14, and Israel.
Laura Metzing is a devoted wife, mother, and passionate homesteader who has found fulfillment in creating a life rooted in faith and family. A gifted singer, songwriter, and worship leader, Laura has long used her musical talents to inspire and uplift others.
Growing up as a pastor’s kid, she developed a deep connection to her faith, which has continued to evolve over the years. For the last two decades, Laura has followed the Torah, shaping her worldview and spiritual journey. Today, she shares her unique perspective with others as a TikTok and YouTube content creator, (@Womanofvalor4Yeshua) where she engages with her audience on topics of faith, spirituality, and end-times prophecy. Her passion for these discussions, combined with her personal experiences, makes her a relatable voice in the online community.
