May 1, 2007

13 Iyar, 5767

Dear Praying Friends,

From time to time we have received feedback that our letters are somewhat long.  With so much happening in such short spans of time, there is often too much to say to shorten the letters...try as we may.  However, we realize that not everyone that desires to stay in the loop of our life and work is necessarily interested in all the different subjects appearing in each letter.  So we’ll be listing the various sections at the beginning so you might have the option of reading through the letter selectively.  We hope this helps.

In this letter we share about:

- A March of Life in Germany

- A word about Munich

- A perspective from the Lord concerning the treatment of Holocaust survivors

- Our burden for the youth…the “Fourth Generation”

- Life in Israel

- Emmaus Way news

March of Life

Four years ago the Lord opened our hearts to understand certain things concerning Germany and its relationship to the Jewish people pertaining to the plan of God.  From April 12^th-15^th I (Arni) was privileged to take part in a walk, organized by our friends at TOS Ministries in Tubingen, from the Swabian Alps to the Dachau concentration camp in the city of Munich.  It was planned along a route used by the Nazis towards the end of the war to move prisoners from various work camps in Swabia to Dachau for extermination.   Back in September the Holy Spirit spoke to Jobst Bittner (the leader of TOS) to gather a company to cover this bloodstained ground with a March of Life where the spirit of death had left its mark.  Brethren from South America, Ireland, the USA, and Israel joined with a company of some three hundred local believers.  Along the way we stopped at the site of former camps to repent and worship.  In nearly every place, as we took the Lord’s Supper, we could feel the atmosphere change.

The March began on the site of one of the first camps established in Germany.  Except for a ramp-like platform and a sign, there was no evidence of what was once there.  The open green field, devoid of any symbols recalling the past, left us with a distinct awareness of the enduring silence of the lives that had been extinguished there.  It “just so happened” that the day we gathered, April 12^th, was the anniversary of the camp’s closure 62 years before.  And the last day of the March, April 15^th, “just happened” to be the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. The fact that the significance of these dates was unknown when they were “chosen” strengthened our assurance that we were walking out something that was more than a ceremonial time of commemoration, remembrance, and repentance.  We believe that this event accomplished something in the spiritual realm that will affect Germany, Israel, and ultimately all the nations. 

A New Day for Munich

Germany is key to all of Europe.  Sharing borders with eight nations both pictures and actualizes this.  Germany’s ability to get away with planning and implementing the Holocaust over a twelve-year period, with the world standing by watching, was not a circumstantial occurrence…(in our opinion of course).  It is a reflection of an anointing and calling for leadership that was perverted.  About six months ago I called Jobst to share an impression from the Lord concerning the strategic position of the city of Munich in the life of Germany and the subsequent need to proclaim blessing over Munich, calling her into her God-given destiny.  Munich’s position in releasing Hitler’s poison throughout all of Germany is understood by many with whom we have spoken as being in keeping with her anointing for bringing things from the conceptual spiritual realm into living material reality.  As I shared this with Jobst, he told me his vision to organize a march to Dachau in Munich.  We both sensed that this march would carry a seed of life from Tubingen, which has historically been a place where ideologies were conceived, to be birthed in Munich. 

As many of you reading this letter are not Germans, we hope that you will be able to relate to the spiritual dynamics in Germany, as we have come to see them, in their connection to God’s plan for the salvation of Israel.   As Israel plays a central role in God’s plan, Germany has such a position in the life of Israel. And what happens in Munich has the potential to affect all Germany.  We ask you to stand with us in praying for the unfolding of God’s plan in light of this strategic insight.

A Perspective from the Lord

During the march I was impacted by a weighty thought that I believe the Lord would have us consider.  We know from the Scriptures that a central aspect of the choseness of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was to receive God’s Law as the instrument through which the darkness of man’s heart would be revealed.  This was necessary to show us our need for salvation in order to prepare the way for Messiah Yeshua.  And though the Jewish people alone bore the weight of God’s judgment for sin, the rest of the nations were no different from them.  Unfortunately, the nations, as well as the Church for the most part, have failed to recognize God’s mercy on them in that He required only the Jews to bear this unbearable weight.  They have even considered the children of Israel smitten of God, despised, and rejected. This nation-son of God, in a way similar to Yeshua, suffered to bring blessing to the rest of the nations.  With this as a foundational understanding, here is what I received:  As Israel is to the gentile world, so the victims of the Holocaust are to the children of Israel.   As Israel stood before God on behalf of all the nations, the victims of the Holocaust stood before the evil one on behalf of all of Israel.  As it behooves the nations to relate to the Jews as having served them, so it behooves the people of God, both Israel and the Church, to acknowledge and honor those among us that suffered and died in the greatest expression of the depravity of man without God. 

Of all the events of human history, there is no other that could in any way be said to approximate the crucifixion of Yeshua, aside from the Holocaust.  The Lord knew what was coming when He made the judgment of nations contingent on how they treated the Jews…the least of His brethren (Matt. 25).  The treatment of the survivors of the Holocaust in Israel is a sorry situation for both natural Israel and the Body of Messiah.  Of the 250,000 survivors alive today in the land of Israel, over one third are living below the poverty level.  More than likely this matter has had a significant effect on the spiritual atmosphere in Israel and in the Church.  It is unlikely that we will find a quick, easy, or painless solution to this serious, difficult, and complex matter.  We can view the issue from a personal standpoint and consider how much lightly esteeming this people has cost the Church in blessing; or we can imagine how these who have survived so much horror must feel and be moved with compassion for them.  On the positive side, every year, scores of German youth come to Israel as volunteers to serve the survivors with programs supported and facilitated by the German government.  Please earnestly pray for the survivors’ salvation…many of them are very old.

The Fourth Generation

The Spirit of the Lord continues to keep our attention on God’s desire to move among the youth of Israel.  From year to year we can visibly see the level of spiritual hunger and openness to Yeshua increase.  We have understood that the youth of Germany are in a special position to be used to reach the hearts of Israelis and have given ourselves to see an Israel-focused prayer movement birthed in Germany.  The other day we sensed that the Holy Spirit desires to call the youth of the world to this and not just Germany.  After all, the promise of God is that Israel’s salvation is life from the dead for the world.  We believe that the stage is set for such a movement.

Please read the following very prayerfully. What happened in the spirit forty years ago when the Temple Mount came back into Israel’s control?  Our people, those that acknowledge our choseness by God, affirm that the center of Israel is Jerusalem.  Israel cannot be complete without Jerusalem.  If our calling as a people is to worship, and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the historical geographical focal point relating to our worship, than Jerusalem is not complete without the Temple Mount.  As the physical mirrors the spiritual, the physical status of Jerusalem pictures the spiritual status of our people.  Between the exodus from Egyptian bondage and our entrance into the Promised Land there was an interim period of forty years in the wilderness.  The year 1947/48 marked the re-establishment of a political state.  We suggest that the retaking of the Old City in the Six Day War in 1967 was a marking point towards the restoration of Israel as a spiritual entity. The last forty years have been a period during which the generation that planted the country twenty years earlier grew further and further from our divine calling, becoming more and more secular and materialistic.  The Six Day War was a high point both naturally and spiritually.  However, since then we have been on a declining path that has brought us to where we are today.  Concerning our national vision, our moral and spiritual state, quality of government, and our relations with our Arab cousins, we are at the lowest point ever in modern history.  The good news is that in the years from 1967 through the 70’s, while the youth in the West were experiencing a spiritual awakening and rebirth, a generation was being physically born in Israel called to lead our people into our spiritual destiny, and many of them are already doing just that.  

We write all this to declare to you the wonder of the hour we are now in.  Though God is outside of time, all throughout history we see how certain dates and times were appointed to release the plan of God into the physical realm.  It is the way of the Spirit to call forth a company of worshipers and intercessors to pray in that which the Lord is about to do.  Do you hear the call?  Do you feel the wind of the Spirit rising in the East?  Is your heart stirred with a passion for the glory of the Lord?  Do you yearn for Israel’s salvation and the victorious return of the Lord?  If yes, then join the great company of midwives laboring to give spiritual birth to a generation in Israel that have not given their hearts to the god of this world but are waiting for the light of day to dawn.  Never before have we seen more clearly that the restoration of the Spirit of God to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will only be accomplished through tears and intercession. 

The Emmaus Way Center in the hills surrounding Jerusalem is dedicated to the actualization of all that we’ve written here.  We believe that there is a special grace here for worship, intercession, teaching, and revelation awaiting those that would pick up this burden for the Fourth Generation.   So we invite you to come as individuals or in groups to lay hold of what we’ve been laid hold of for…the manifestation of the glory of God to the Jew first and also to the nations.  We can accommodate approximately 14-20 persons. For more information, details, and reservations you can contact Michael at: Michael@emmausway.org.

Life in Israel

The newspaper headlines in the past week announced that our army is seriously preparing for war with Syria.  Our northern neighbor has amassed great stockpiles of rockets and missiles and has 400,000 regular troops.  They have twice stated their intention to attack us.  Since the Israeli evacuation of Gaza, it is a known fact that Hamas has continued to receive sophisticated weapons across the Egyptian border.  They have openly declared that the truce with Israel is over.  And Iran, who sits at the head of this mountain of hate, looks toward the day when they will be able to wipe Israel off the face of the map with the push of a button.  War is as sure as Satan’s hatred of God and His people. 

While the dark clouds gather around us, our leaders face charges of financial corruption, moral misconduct, and incompetence.  Who can imagine what it will be like when the fullness of this hour comes to pass?  Surely those who know their God will be strong and do exploits.

We so appreciate your prayers and support as the Holy Spirit works to make the Bride ready.

Emmaus Way News

Thus far we have not had sufficient response to hold a School of Worship on the proposed dates from June 17^th - 28^th.  If you are considering joining us please contact Michael@emmausway.org.  Within the next week or so we will decide whether to reschedule the School for sometime in August.  The two schools we ran last year turned out to be a great blessing for all that participated.  Though the teaching can be accessed through our website, having a set-apart time dedicated to preparing a place for the Presence of the Lord with a company of like-minded brethren is life changing.

We are looking for volunteers to help care for the practical side of managing the Center and grounds.  The areas of service are hospitality, administration, cooking, grounds keeping, gardening, and simple maintenance. The openings are for individuals or couples and for periods of three months or more.  Interested persons should contact Arni Klein at: arni@emmausway.org.

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And finally, May God bless you from Zion!

Your servants…

For the Glory of His Name, 

   Arni and Yonit