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August 17, 200512 Av 5765Dear Praying Friends,
God is moving. The earth is shaking. The foundations are shifting. The events in Israel at this hour are like a tsunami in the spirit. We have written in the past that what happens to physical Israel (in the natural realm) is a reflection of the spiritual state of the church. According to the life example of Yeshua Himself, God has called His body to serve the house of Israel (Rom 15:8). Satan’s ability to get to Israel is dependant on the church being asleep to the purposes and heart of God in this regard.
What comes to the nation of Israel will also come to the world. We are a prophetic people. God has spoken His message to the world through the life of Israel. Every major spiritual move in the church over the last 150 years has been preceded by some significant happening in the life of the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. With that as a basis, the expulsion of the residents from the Gaza Strip and the impending removal of others from Judea and Samaria should be heard as a warning and a wake- up call of the highest order. The Word of God declares: “...but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness-- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” (Rom 2:8-11)
Do not miss the signs of the times. Israel is being torn and divided. The government has come out as unresponsive to the will of the people, unfaithful to its own stated principles, repressive, and insensitive. As we wrote last month, the connection of the destruction of the communities in Gaza to the destruction of both Temples (by virtue of the dates being essentially the same) is a message from God that the same spirit is at work today as was in those former times. What followed the destruction of the Temple were the exile of the nation and the death of multitudes. We are not saying that what is coming will follow exactly what happened previously, but that a destructive spirit has been released on the world. Brother has turned against brother for a goal birthed in blindness, hardness of heart, and unbelief. It hadn’t occurred to us before, but this is the precise climate for the rise of the anti-Christ.
The underwater earthquake preceding the tsunami last December sent waves of destruction across the world. What is taking place in Israel will do the very same thing. It will hit the church and the world alike. It will emanate from the spirit realm and manifest in the natural. It feels to be akin to the dread releases prophesied in the book of Revelation. It will not be stopped.
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Along with moving in the earth the Lord has also moved us. We are now “moshavniks.” From living in the center of the city we have been transplanted to the hills of Judea. There are many reasons why the Lord has chosen to do this, not the least of which is a repositioning for ministry in the darkness that will be released in the coming days.
It is a good thing that we did not really know the effort it would take to accomplish our move. But by God’s amazing grace, as incredible as it sounds, the emotional strain of letting go of the Worship Center in Tel Aviv was non-existent. Each time God has moved us in our lives, this has been our testimony. The vision for the future swallows up even the temptation for sorrow.
In the natural, it has been exhausting. We (arni & yonit) left on a ministry trip two days after the move. Our furniture and belongings still sit wrapped and piled up in our mostly-finished house. The rest of the team has been working non-stop to set up their homes and the office. God was very merciful to send us away right after the move. Though the ministry has been intense and full, it’s been like a vacation compared to moving. We have received such royal treatment. And the word we have brought has been received as water on dry and thirsty land.
We started out near Frankfurt, Germany, at a weekend gathering of some eighty young adults from the aristocratic families of Germany. Some knew the Lord. Some were steeped in Catholicism and church tradition. Some were just worldly. Our message was simply about belonging to God and knowing Him personally. It seems that most everyone got something that was encouraging, challenging, and even revolutionary. The sense is that there will be another step to follow. The Lord really knit our hearts with the precious family that hosted the gathering. Please pray with us for the will of the Lord to unfold.
From there we flew to Singapore. What a place that is! In the natural, it is a striking combination of architectural wonders reaching into the sky, single-story enclaves of indigenous culture interspersed with parks filled with exotic foliage, and highways lined with beautiful trees. Everything is so wonderfully clean and cared for. At least equaling its natural beauty is the wonder of this forty-year-old nation’s economic accomplishments. They have no debt. Last year their surplus rose to 17%. But in the midst of all this is a fragmented society being driven to the breaking point. The stress to produce and be # 1 has overrun the sanctity of the family and left the nation with a declining birth rate and a plague of infertility. We ministered at a house of prayer and worship attended by people from different congregations. God called its director and abba out of the pastorate to found this work some years ago. We were able to be who we are and give what we have been given. The love and Presence of God was with us through all the nine meetings and over twelve hours of teaching and sharing. They have been gripped with the call to get free of the world, to minister to God, and to stand for the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel. Their relation to Israel is quite unique. All of the citizens have two passports...one for only Israel and one for all the rest of the world. There is a message from God here about the spiritual tie between our peoples. Furthermore, when they achieved their independence from Malaysia, Israel was the only country willing to train their army. Well, God knit us there also and has burdened us to help raise up a people to worship before the Throne in holiness and freedom. We sense that it won’t be long before we return to Singapore. We believe that they will play an important role in the life of Israel in the coming days. Please pray with us that we will all understand and fulfill our roles in God’s plan.
We then caught a shuttle flight to Malaysia and the city of Kuala Lumpur. Here, it is against the law to evangelize Muslims, who are in the overwhelming majority. This is our first journey to this part of the world. The population is largely made up of people of Chinese and Indian descent with a cosmopolitan mixture of others including Malays, Vietnamese, Indonesians, Filipinos, and a minority of the indigenous people of the land. We spoke one evening at a prayer house with translation into Chinese. The people were hungry to hear the message about worship and Israel. For many it was a confirmation of what they already had in their hearts. It was an honor and privilege to be sent to believers living amidst such darkness with a word to encourage their spirits and help them stand in the battle. We sense that this will not be our last time here either.
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With all the above, our burden for our land and our people is undiminished. The fact is that God specifically told us that for this next season we need to be traveling, and if we are obedient He will take care of everything else. With our move from Tel Aviv has come an expanded vision of ministry for the Emmaus Way team. Our peace is that God is with us and will complete what He has begun. We are doing our best to neither hold back nor run ahead. The hour is late and things are moving quickly. As we share the word we have been given, people’s hearts are stirred to come to the Land and minister to the Lord. May a facility to receive them soon appear in the Judean hills. The Lord knows when all the parts of the vision are in place. From where we sit, it seems like a go. Please pray with us for an open heaven and an open channel, that we might manifest the heart God has made known to us.
We are so thankful for your heart, your prayers, and your support for us. May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants... For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |