Subject: Prayer Update from Israel (August 17, 2004)
To: "Israel Prayer Focus" <israel-prayer@lyris2.strategicprayer.net>
PRAYER UPDATE FROM ISRAEL (August 17, 2004)
1. 2,500 KOREAN BELIEVERS VISIT JERUSALEM.
Last week 2,500 Christians from South Korea visited Israel. Many of the pilgrims were college students, traveling from many parts of the world to be part of "Jerusalem Jesus March 2004," a Korean rally calling for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Earlier this year a large group of Koreans following a different "messiah", Mr Sung Moon, were also in Jerusalem for a march. This week's group of Believers in Jesus was received with favor by the Ministry of Tourism, which provided protection for their march. During their stay, they were also involved in much intercession at strategic locations in Jerusalem. Korean brothers and sisters have in the past 20 years moved under an incredible anointing for mobilization into far-flung parts of the world carrying the Gospel. This being so, Christians from Korea have tended to follow a line of theology which is in conflict with an understanding of God's present-day faithfulness to Israel as a nation, a land, and a people. There are signs that this is changing. Two respected knowledgeable figures from the Messianic community in Israel were asked to share in sessions about Messianic Judaism and God's purposes in the Land. One of these, our friend Ariel Blumenthal, writes:
"Our messages about restoration/revival for Israel and the Church were well received. From this experience and my time in Korea earlier this year, it seems that this new generation of Korean believers, zealous to preach the Gospel to the Nations, are also far more open than their predecessors to understanding God's continuing faithfulness to Israel and what this means to their Christian faith...There are some incredible seeds being planted, new winds blowing among this younger generation of Koreans. Please continue to pray for the deepening of links and relationships between us and the Korean believers."
As these dear brothers and sisters return from Israel to their Korea, or their countries of ministry
PLEASE PRAY:
*For safety from backlash from the enemy, who hates and fears united efforts to bless Israel and fight with her in the heavenlies.
*That seeds which the Holy Spirit has implanted into their consciousnesses during their stay will germinate into revelation, knowledge and understanding of God's purposes in Israel at this time...and how their standing with her in these purposes will play a key role in breaking into the end-time redemptive purposes of their own land.
*Protection and strengthening of ties between spiritual leaders in Korea and Messianic leaders in Israel; there are reports of certain large congregations which are beginning to embrace such ties as crucial, even to the point of requesting Israeli believers to come join with them for periods of time
*Great spiritual discernment among believers in S. Korea regarding the huge spiritual battle in the heavenlies over both North and South Korea; how to effectively stand, see strategically, and prevail for God's purposes for both countries.
2. DESECRATION CONTINUES.
Last week in a Jewish cemetery in New Zealand's capital, some 92 gravestones were smashed or desecrated, Nazi swastikas were carved in the lawns, and a Jewish prayer house was destroyed by fire. It was the second attack on the cemetery in less than a month. We read of an interview with one Jewish woman who had survived a Nazi death camp as a child, who stood in the rain weeping over her husband's broken gravestone as black memories from childhood flooded back into her consciousness. These events are being described as the worst anti-Semitic acts in New Zealand's history. Meanwhile, within the same week, in a cemetery in Lyon, France, at least 60 tombstones were daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti invoking Hitler--the third such attack in France this year. "How is it," asked Lyon's chief rabbi, "that after the Holocaust, someone can still attack Jews - even those who are dead - for the simple reason that they are Jews?" French Police have since arrested two suspects. A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister angered French authorities when he appealed to French Jews to leave a rising tide of anti-Semitism behind them and come home to Israel.
On Tuesday New Zealand lawmakers, in a special parliamentary motion, deplored the attacks and expressed "unequivocal condemnation of anti-Semitism, violence directed against Jews and Jewish religious and cultural institutions, and all forms of racial and ethnic hatred, persecution, and discrimination." The New Zealand Parliament sent the statement to Israel's Parliament, the Knesset.
PLEASE PRAY:
*For authorities in New Zealand and France to deal firmly and decisively with these outrages; and for citizens to rise up in righteous indignation, making their voices heard.
*We thank God for the steps taken by the New Zealand Parliament. Pray that God, for the sake of that land, would lead them in what steps to take next.
*For Believers in both countries to ascertain spiritual weaknesses in their histories; that where there are breaches they will be given revelation as to what to do to seal up those breaches.
*For the Jewish families who are seeing the memorials over the bones of their elders and loved ones thus desecrated...that they would cry out to the God who sees all and who Watches over the sons and daughters of Jacob.
*That Jews who God is drawing back to the Land of their Fathers will hear and heed the call...and that the boundaries of that Land will be large enough to contain them.
3. TALKS OF "DISENGAGEMENT" EXPAND.
This week Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the four settlements in Judea and Samaria to be vacated under the Prime Minister's present Disengagement Plan, would only be a beginning; that Israel will eventually retreat from many more settlements....that the Plan is actually only a prelude of things to come. He said further, "The government is going to get rid of many settlements, and not just those willing to leave, IN ORDER TO COMBAT THE DAILY DISAGREEMENTS WITH THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD" (emphases ours). This from a man, who during his tenure as Mayor of Jerusalem was known for fiery speeches to visiting Christians in which he implied that Israel must never release her covenant lands, especially any part of Jerusalem. Olmert's latest pronouncement comes on the heals of a speech a few weeks ago in which he intimated that parts of Jerusalem would, in fact also have to be released from Jewish sovereignty.
Also this week Lt Gen Moshe Yaalon, the army chief of staff broke with traditional Israeli tradition which argues that the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in 1967, must maintain an Israeli presence lest northern Israeli towns once more become vulnerable to Syrian missile and infantry attacks. Yaalon told an Israeli paper that "from the point of view of military requirements, we could reach an agreement with Syria by giving up the Golan Heights. The army could defend Israel's borders wherever they are." Unlike Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights is in all but the "letter of the law" a full part of Israel proper, populated (with the exception of a small Druze community) by Israelis.
Such comments merely add to the confusion surrounding Israel's present government, Israel's demography, Israel's direction. Prime Minister Sharon criticized Olmert's remarks...but many are not convinced that Olmert is not merely a "trial balloon" regarding policies which may in fact be within Sharon's own considerations. His government is presently actually in a minority, and is courting the liberal Labour party and a large religious party in order to stay afloat and continue on the path towards the PM's plan (which would unilaterally remove Israel from Gaza and four settlements in Samaria within the next year).
PLEASE PRAY:
*That God will be in control of this nation which He brought back into existence 56 years ago.
*That He in whose hands are the hearts of kings, would harden those whom He would harden and soften those whom He would soften (During the Barak/Clinton administrations both Syria's Assad and the Palestinian Authority's Arafat inexplicably turned down astonishing offers of Israel-controlled territory).
*That the God of his forefathers would visit with Prime Minister Sharon and direct him during the time still allotted to him to lead Israel in counsels which are righteous ones for this land, and its peoples (both Jew and Arab).
*That God would raise up leaders who wait on Him, and whose decisions are thus led and guarded by "Tome v'Yosher" --integrity and uprightness (Psalm 25:21); whose vital decisions are NOT determined by "the daily disagreements with the nations of the world."
4. 90 SUICIDE BOMBINGS THWARTED SINCE FIRST OF YEAR.
Israeli security officials said this week that more than 90 would-be suicide bombings have been thwarted inside the "Green Line" and against Israeli targets in the disputed territories since the beginning of the year. We would add, that another way of putting this is that the bombings stopped being effectively carried out after the "spiritual leaders" of Hamas were taken out. We believe that there were evil spiritual lines of communication which were thrown into disarray by forceful intercession going up from God's people both inside and outside of the land. When the mantle of protection was pulled back from these evil men, they were destroyed...and the dark forces which were channeled through them were thrown into disarray ("Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies" --Eph 6:12).
We doubt not that there will be regroupings...reports this week focus on the increase of Iranian involvement in Palestinian terrorist activity (as well as the fact that Iran is on the threshold of developing an atomic bomb and a ballistic missile capable of delivering it to any city in Israel). Yet Israel's struggle is not against flesh and blood . . .
PLEASE PRAY:
*Continued praise for God's deliverance of His people Israel from their enemies.
*That worship/intercession cells in and outside of Israel with calls to stand in the gap for her, would receive their strategic assignments from the Captain of the Host of Israel, and would be strengthened with grace to affectively execute those assignments.
*That God will hear the threats against His covenant people emanating from Iran, and see the actual activities through which that country is already harassing Israel...that He would hear and see and judge, in order that Israel may be protected, and that that nation (Iran) may learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).
To: "Israel Prayer Focus" <israel-prayer@lyris2.strategicprayer.net>
PRAYER UPDATE FROM ISRAEL (August 17, 2004)
1. 2,500 KOREAN BELIEVERS VISIT JERUSALEM.
Last week 2,500 Christians from South Korea visited Israel. Many of the pilgrims were college students, traveling from many parts of the world to be part of "Jerusalem Jesus March 2004," a Korean rally calling for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Earlier this year a large group of Koreans following a different "messiah", Mr Sung Moon, were also in Jerusalem for a march. This week's group of Believers in Jesus was received with favor by the Ministry of Tourism, which provided protection for their march. During their stay, they were also involved in much intercession at strategic locations in Jerusalem. Korean brothers and sisters have in the past 20 years moved under an incredible anointing for mobilization into far-flung parts of the world carrying the Gospel. This being so, Christians from Korea have tended to follow a line of theology which is in conflict with an understanding of God's present-day faithfulness to Israel as a nation, a land, and a people. There are signs that this is changing. Two respected knowledgeable figures from the Messianic community in Israel were asked to share in sessions about Messianic Judaism and God's purposes in the Land. One of these, our friend Ariel Blumenthal, writes:
"Our messages about restoration/revival for Israel and the Church were well received. From this experience and my time in Korea earlier this year, it seems that this new generation of Korean believers, zealous to preach the Gospel to the Nations, are also far more open than their predecessors to understanding God's continuing faithfulness to Israel and what this means to their Christian faith...There are some incredible seeds being planted, new winds blowing among this younger generation of Koreans. Please continue to pray for the deepening of links and relationships between us and the Korean believers."
As these dear brothers and sisters return from Israel to their Korea, or their countries of ministry
PLEASE PRAY:
*For safety from backlash from the enemy, who hates and fears united efforts to bless Israel and fight with her in the heavenlies.
*That seeds which the Holy Spirit has implanted into their consciousnesses during their stay will germinate into revelation, knowledge and understanding of God's purposes in Israel at this time...and how their standing with her in these purposes will play a key role in breaking into the end-time redemptive purposes of their own land.
*Protection and strengthening of ties between spiritual leaders in Korea and Messianic leaders in Israel; there are reports of certain large congregations which are beginning to embrace such ties as crucial, even to the point of requesting Israeli believers to come join with them for periods of time
*Great spiritual discernment among believers in S. Korea regarding the huge spiritual battle in the heavenlies over both North and South Korea; how to effectively stand, see strategically, and prevail for God's purposes for both countries.
2. DESECRATION CONTINUES.
Last week in a Jewish cemetery in New Zealand's capital, some 92 gravestones were smashed or desecrated, Nazi swastikas were carved in the lawns, and a Jewish prayer house was destroyed by fire. It was the second attack on the cemetery in less than a month. We read of an interview with one Jewish woman who had survived a Nazi death camp as a child, who stood in the rain weeping over her husband's broken gravestone as black memories from childhood flooded back into her consciousness. These events are being described as the worst anti-Semitic acts in New Zealand's history. Meanwhile, within the same week, in a cemetery in Lyon, France, at least 60 tombstones were daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti invoking Hitler--the third such attack in France this year. "How is it," asked Lyon's chief rabbi, "that after the Holocaust, someone can still attack Jews - even those who are dead - for the simple reason that they are Jews?" French Police have since arrested two suspects. A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister angered French authorities when he appealed to French Jews to leave a rising tide of anti-Semitism behind them and come home to Israel.
On Tuesday New Zealand lawmakers, in a special parliamentary motion, deplored the attacks and expressed "unequivocal condemnation of anti-Semitism, violence directed against Jews and Jewish religious and cultural institutions, and all forms of racial and ethnic hatred, persecution, and discrimination." The New Zealand Parliament sent the statement to Israel's Parliament, the Knesset.
PLEASE PRAY:
*For authorities in New Zealand and France to deal firmly and decisively with these outrages; and for citizens to rise up in righteous indignation, making their voices heard.
*We thank God for the steps taken by the New Zealand Parliament. Pray that God, for the sake of that land, would lead them in what steps to take next.
*For Believers in both countries to ascertain spiritual weaknesses in their histories; that where there are breaches they will be given revelation as to what to do to seal up those breaches.
*For the Jewish families who are seeing the memorials over the bones of their elders and loved ones thus desecrated...that they would cry out to the God who sees all and who Watches over the sons and daughters of Jacob.
*That Jews who God is drawing back to the Land of their Fathers will hear and heed the call...and that the boundaries of that Land will be large enough to contain them.
3. TALKS OF "DISENGAGEMENT" EXPAND.
This week Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the four settlements in Judea and Samaria to be vacated under the Prime Minister's present Disengagement Plan, would only be a beginning; that Israel will eventually retreat from many more settlements....that the Plan is actually only a prelude of things to come. He said further, "The government is going to get rid of many settlements, and not just those willing to leave, IN ORDER TO COMBAT THE DAILY DISAGREEMENTS WITH THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD" (emphases ours). This from a man, who during his tenure as Mayor of Jerusalem was known for fiery speeches to visiting Christians in which he implied that Israel must never release her covenant lands, especially any part of Jerusalem. Olmert's latest pronouncement comes on the heals of a speech a few weeks ago in which he intimated that parts of Jerusalem would, in fact also have to be released from Jewish sovereignty.
Also this week Lt Gen Moshe Yaalon, the army chief of staff broke with traditional Israeli tradition which argues that the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in 1967, must maintain an Israeli presence lest northern Israeli towns once more become vulnerable to Syrian missile and infantry attacks. Yaalon told an Israeli paper that "from the point of view of military requirements, we could reach an agreement with Syria by giving up the Golan Heights. The army could defend Israel's borders wherever they are." Unlike Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights is in all but the "letter of the law" a full part of Israel proper, populated (with the exception of a small Druze community) by Israelis.
Such comments merely add to the confusion surrounding Israel's present government, Israel's demography, Israel's direction. Prime Minister Sharon criticized Olmert's remarks...but many are not convinced that Olmert is not merely a "trial balloon" regarding policies which may in fact be within Sharon's own considerations. His government is presently actually in a minority, and is courting the liberal Labour party and a large religious party in order to stay afloat and continue on the path towards the PM's plan (which would unilaterally remove Israel from Gaza and four settlements in Samaria within the next year).
PLEASE PRAY:
*That God will be in control of this nation which He brought back into existence 56 years ago.
*That He in whose hands are the hearts of kings, would harden those whom He would harden and soften those whom He would soften (During the Barak/Clinton administrations both Syria's Assad and the Palestinian Authority's Arafat inexplicably turned down astonishing offers of Israel-controlled territory).
*That the God of his forefathers would visit with Prime Minister Sharon and direct him during the time still allotted to him to lead Israel in counsels which are righteous ones for this land, and its peoples (both Jew and Arab).
*That God would raise up leaders who wait on Him, and whose decisions are thus led and guarded by "Tome v'Yosher" --integrity and uprightness (Psalm 25:21); whose vital decisions are NOT determined by "the daily disagreements with the nations of the world."
4. 90 SUICIDE BOMBINGS THWARTED SINCE FIRST OF YEAR.
Israeli security officials said this week that more than 90 would-be suicide bombings have been thwarted inside the "Green Line" and against Israeli targets in the disputed territories since the beginning of the year. We would add, that another way of putting this is that the bombings stopped being effectively carried out after the "spiritual leaders" of Hamas were taken out. We believe that there were evil spiritual lines of communication which were thrown into disarray by forceful intercession going up from God's people both inside and outside of the land. When the mantle of protection was pulled back from these evil men, they were destroyed...and the dark forces which were channeled through them were thrown into disarray ("Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies" --Eph 6:12).
We doubt not that there will be regroupings...reports this week focus on the increase of Iranian involvement in Palestinian terrorist activity (as well as the fact that Iran is on the threshold of developing an atomic bomb and a ballistic missile capable of delivering it to any city in Israel). Yet Israel's struggle is not against flesh and blood . . .
PLEASE PRAY:
*Continued praise for God's deliverance of His people Israel from their enemies.
*That worship/intercession cells in and outside of Israel with calls to stand in the gap for her, would receive their strategic assignments from the Captain of the Host of Israel, and would be strengthened with grace to affectively execute those assignments.
*That God will hear the threats against His covenant people emanating from Iran, and see the actual activities through which that country is already harassing Israel...that He would hear and see and judge, in order that Israel may be protected, and that that nation (Iran) may learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).
