Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
It has been a while since I last updated this blog. I have had several attempts to write but I seem to be suffering a blockage. Perhaps that is my message at this time – Deadlock. The whole world seems to be falling into a vortex of confusion and darkness, and Israel is at its epicenter. What can I say?
In the political realm Israel is at an impasse. The second round of national elections have once more resulted in deadlock, with the center-left Blue and White Party, led by Benny Gantz receiving 33 seats and the right wing Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, gaining only 32 seats. Neither party is able to garner sufficient coalition partners to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government. Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin has granted Netanyahu the first chance to form a government but Netanyahu apparently knows he cannot do so, and has stated that the only way forward is to form a national coalition government. Lengthy and heated discussions to this end have only cemented the stalemate. Gantz refuses to serve in a government with the Likud Party as long as Netanyahu faces indictment for three counts of fraud and corruption. Netanyahu will not step down because if he were to do so he would lose his immunity as Prime Minister and would likely go to jail if the courts find him guilty of the charges against him. There are also other intractable policies of both parties in which they refuse to compromise, such as the Blue and White Party’s policies which would allow public transportation on Shabbat, civil marriage, mixed prayer at the Western Wall and the drafting of ultra-orthodox yeshiva students into the army. These policies present a major stumbling block for the Likud Party because their support base consists of a majority of traditional and religious Jews for whom these policies are anathema. It seems like the only thing the opposing sides can agree upon is the desire to avoid a third round of elections, which everyone agrees would be a disaster for the nation and likely to result in yet another impasse.
What is the solution? I have no idea. The deep division between the traditional, religious but powerful minority and the liberal, secular majority, is nothing new in Israel. I have just finished reading the biography of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who was the driving force in the resurrection of the Hebrew language as the lingua franca of Israel, and who said this, in 1920,
“ For nearly forty years I have been working to separate religion and the state, haven’t I? I did it because I wanted Israel to to be able to develop freely; so that those who are Orthodox and those who are freethinkers could join in the resurrection of Israel. Only in that way could our new state ever be strong” (1).
This deep rift constantly threatens to tear the modern state of Israel apart, but somehow this miracle state not only survives but flourishes. I believe it will also survive this current leadership crisis somehow. You might ask, what is it that holds us together as a nation? Some might cite the unifying force of the adoption of Hebrew as the common language that unites Jews, who have come with their linguistic and cultural baggage from all the four corners of the globe, and for that we can thank Ben Yehuda for his vision and fanatical drive. Others will say it is our shared history and the collective memory of persecution and suffering during our exile. Still others will say there is nothing that binds Israelis closer together other than the constant reality of war and terrorism. For that we can thank our enemies. All these things are true, but it goes much deeper than that. We may squabble and disagree on all sorts of things but we are family, and what family does not squabble? The writer of Ben Yehuda’s biography, Robert St. John, reports that once in a public lecture in which he was attempting to explain the traditional spirit of the freedom of Jewish thought, he said that if three Jews were in one room there would be three opinions on any subject that arose. A Jewish heckler from the back of the hall shouted, ” You are obviously a goy (non-Jew). Otherwise you would know that if there were three Jews in the room there would be four opinions on any subject” (1). There are now 9 million inhabitants of the Land of Israel – 80% of whom are Jewish (2). How many opinions does that make?
Beyond the bonds of family ties lies something even more fundamental and powerful, and that is the call and purposes of God. Israel was formed by God, called and chosen to be His prophets carrying His revelation to the world. The people of Israel gave us the Bible and the Messiah, Yeshua, who brought salvation available for all mankind. For this purpose God has always protected Israel, even during the centuries of exile, and he will continue to do so in our day, until his plans for restoration are complete. It is God himself who holds us together, in spite of all our rebellion and sin, but the enemy, Satan, is doing his utmost to tear us apart and destroy us. The political and social conflicts in our society are just an outworking of the spiritual war taking place between God and His people, and Satan and his dark spiritual forces of evil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6: 12
SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE BODY OF YESHUA (JESUS)
The Body of Messiah in Israel and throughout the world is not immune to these struggles. We are caught up in this spiritual battle whether we like it or not, but God did not leave us defenseless or without arms. If we walk in the Holy Spirit we will be victorious in the end. God has given us armor to protect us, and weapons with which to overcome the attacks of the Enemy.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6: 10-17
The first item of armor mentioned in this passage is the “belt of truth”. I have over recent years noticed a disturbing trend in the Body of Yeshua worldwide. When I first came to the LORD in the 1970s one of the things that characterized new believers was their hunger for the Word of God. We studied it fervently, we memorized it (or at least tried to), we sang it, we loved it. Today very few believers seem to even read the Scriptures, much less study them, and many churches do not have regular Bible Study. Consequently many believers today, and even our leaders, do not have a firm foundation in the Truth and therefore cannot discern error or false teaching.
Yeshua warned us that the days would come when the Body would be infiltrated by ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’, men and women who would teach and prophesy false doctrines and lead many astray. Those days are surely upon us. Here in Israel as well as elsewhere there are many such. We need to pray for discernment and be watchful. These wolves appear as sincerely honorable men and women, who pose as great leaders filled with the ‘Holy Spirit’, but if we look closely at their teachings and their lives, we will see that the spirit they are filled with is far from holy. They are also deceived by their own teachings and lead many astray.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” .
Matthew 7:15
The second item of armor mentioned in the Ephesians 6 passage is the breastplate of righteousness. In the book of Titus (1:15) it says, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure“. I believe that if we are careful to maintain our purity of moral conduct according to the principles given us by God, then God will protect us from error. If we practice sin however, then we open the door for corruption and deception.
This is also true about purity of doctrine. I am deeply distressed by the subtle infiltration of the occult and New Age practices into the Body here in Israel and elsewhere. There seems to be little concern or discernment about this in our congregations. For example a couple of years ago I sought counselling at a center here in Jerusalem connected with the King of Kings ministry. During my second session I was encouraged to carry out a visualization technique. I refused to do so because visualization is clearly an occult practice (1) and I believe it opens the door to demonic influence. I was horrified that this was being promoted in one of the most influential Messianic ministries in this city.
Another thing that concerns me in the Body today is the running after miracles and ecstatic experiences. God does perform miracles and when we come under the anointing of the Holy Spirit there is a sense of extreme joy and ecstasy, but there seems to be little awareness amongst believers in the Land that Satan can copy miracles (see Exodus 7:11 for example) and counterfeit ecstatic experience. We must be careful to discern the difference between true manifestations of the Holy Spirit and the counterfeit (but real) manifestations of evil spirits.
Impure practices and doctrines also create division in the Body, yet these deceiving spirits also often promote and preach unity, while accusing those who speak out against them as being divisive. The desire for unity sounds all very spiritual but there are some things we must shun and separate ourselves from. Many of the false teachers proclaim an ecumenical uniting of the Church bringing about a worldwide revival in the end times. There is no Scriptural support for such a view – in fact, the opposite is true. The Bible teaches that in the end times there will be a time of deception and many will be deceived, and this will result in betrayal and hatred within the Body, and love will grow cold. The end times will not be see a worldwide revival but rather the lukewarm church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22). The only worldwide religion of the end times will be the One World Church of the Antichrist that will wage war against the true Church of Yeshua.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matthew 24: 9-13
Yesterday someone sent me this video which is an expose of some of what is happening in the Body here in the Land. It is rather shocking, and I warn you it has some rather graphic content, but it will give you some food for prayer! (It is in Hebrew but if you click on the CC at the bottom of the screen you will get subtitles in English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nkzkbUkLMQ&t=899s
I thank God this is just one extreme sector of the Messianic movement in Israel and there are those who are willing to speak out against it, but I fear this movement is gaining strength. You can read more about the Tikkun movement on their website https://tikkun.tv/important-announcement-about-tikkun-leadership-2020-from-asher-intrater/ . Note the conference they are due to hold in Jacksonville, Florida on the 15-16th of next month (November).
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;”
Isaiah 5: 20
Wow this got to be a rather heavy blog – but I guess we are living in dark and heavy times. Still all is not hopeless. God is in control and there is still much of beauty, light and truth in the world, if we have eyes to see it (and turn off the TV!).
This last week we celebrated Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), known in the Bible as the Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6, Leviticus 23:23-25)
On the second day of this festival I took a walk with a friend in Jerusalem’s Gazelle Park. Now that the vegetation around the ponds there is getting established it is attracting a good variety of water birds. Here are some of the photos I took that day:
This coming week, on Wednesday, we will celebrate Yom Kippur (the day of Atonement) and then beginning on the eve of Sunday the 13th, the Feast of Succot. Yom Kippur is the day in which Israel comes to a stop. It is forbidden to travel by car on the roads and a holy hush descends upon the Land. The observant fast for more than 24 hours, forgoing all food, drink, cigarettes and sexual intercourse. They spend many of those hours in the synagogues praying. They seek to be written in the Book of Life. I thank God that in Yeshua our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we know we do not need to fast or afflict ourselves to get saved. Nevertheless many believers here in the Land fast and pray during this day as an act of identification with our people and also taking the opportunity to pray for their salvation. Please join us in prayer during these Festivals, known collectively as the High Holy Days, the most solemn days of the Jewish calendar.
As I have been writing this we have been rejoicing in the first rains of the coming winter. How lovely the sweet smell of that first rain. It is a reminder of the goodness of God, who brings rain in its season upon the righteous and the evil alike. Hallelujah!
References:
- Robert St. John, 1952, “Tongue of the Prophets” Dolphin Books, NY
- https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5597686,00.html
- http://www.letusreason.org/NAM22.htm