On October 7, my family and I were in Jerusalem, serving at Succat Hallel, a prayer house offering up 24/7 prayer and worship for over 20 years in Jerusalem. I was outside walking in the early morning when I started to hear an unbelievable number of rockets being intercepted by the Iron Dome. It sounded like non-stop fireworks show in the distance. The wails of the air raid sirens pierced through that tranquil morning and sent me running to the shelter with my wife and young children. The memories of those first days are seared in my memory like the images from the 9/11 terror attacks on America.

Pray for your fellow intercessor.

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Since the first reports of the massacre along the Gaza border on the morning of October 7, the antichrist-inspired media immediately started spinning its own version of truth, in which maintaining the “narrative” holds more weight than the truth. What was most surprising to me following the attacks was the vile antisemitism taking place in our public schools, universities, the halls of Congress and in the public square in America and around the western world. We are seeing the rage of Satan on display as described in Psalms 2. While there were still babies laying in pools of their own blood and families burned alive still smoldering, I witnessed reporters (along with people who proclaim to be Christian) defend the Hamas terrorists. This antisemitic rhetoric came in the form of the same propaganda that was being pushed by Hamas and Iranian funded media outlets wrapped in “sophisticated” language and the “complexity” of the situation.

Until the last few weeks, it was difficult for me to see how the biblical prophecy could come to pass where every nation would turn their back on Israel (Zechariah 12:3, 14:2-3). But with the endemic cancer of antisemitism in the nations of the world the path to international rejection of the Jewish people is clear. Before the weeks following the terrorist attacks, I could never understand Holocaust denial or how people could take the side of the Nazis. We are now witnessing this same antichrist spirit prevail over the hearts of people who support the evil perpetuated by Hamas. Now I have witnessed how evil desires have overcome man in the absence of the light of the Holy Spirit. “From the river to the sea” means genocide of the Jews, just as in Nazi Germany. We need a generation of Dietrich Bonhoeffers to rise in this hour, take a stand, and refuse to be silenced.

I attended a special service on November 29 at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA where senior pastor Gary Hamrick facilitated a conversation with native Israeli Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel. Tsarfati’s mission is “to provide reliable and accurate reporting on developments in Israel and the region.” I watched the crowd of about 1,300 look on in shock as he detailed the brutality and torture massacre of October 7. His account felt weighty in the room.

I thought that surely this was not the first time people have heard these gruesome details. I asked a few people about whether they had heard what actually happened before that night, and the response was mixed. The fact that anyone could be in the audience without a clear picture of the atrocity carried out by the Hamas terrorists is a testament to how far the media has fallen. It also called attention to how important these type of church services and conversations are for us to be effective allies of the Jewish people and support God’s biblical narrative of Israel.

In the conversations I have had with Jews in Israel and the U.S. over the last two months since the war broke out, I have learned that their view of Christians is generally not all that favorable. They have consistently felt abandoned throughout history. Our support means more now than ever. On the plane ride back to the U.S., I had a lengthy conversation with an Orthodox Jewish woman. I told her about how we were in Jerusalem to pray for Israel. She was moved to tears when I told her about the millions of Christians who prayed for Israel during the Isaiah 62 fast in the spring of 2023. She was shocked and encouraged to learn about the level of support from Christians around the world. I think this is an indicator that God is softening the hearts of the Jewish people, that He will replace the hearts of stone with hearts of flesh.

The media consistently shows the pro-Hamas protests, which legitimizes them At the same time, the media downplays or fails to cover the pro-Israel demonstrations. On November 14, 2023, I attended the Pro-Israel march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, with nearly 300,000 in attendance. The headline from Associated Press (AP) that was parroted around the country read “Tens of thousands of supporters of Israel rally in Washington, crying ‘never again.’” I have been to many large gatherings on the Mall and this was by far the largest I have seen, far more than the “tens of thousands” the AP described. I held a sign that said “Christians stand with Israel” and received many heartfelt words of appreciation from Jews in attendance. The march also had bipartisan support, with speeches from many Democrats and Republicans from both chambers of Congress. The newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson received what was probably the biggest cheer when he stated how ridiculous the calls for a permanent cease fire were.

There’s more you haven’t seen in the media. The Wednesday before October 7, during Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles), thousands of Christians from all over the world gathered to march through the streets of Jerusalem to show support for Israel and the Jewish people. This type of thing would never see the light of day in the legacy media. It was beautiful to witness Jewish families watching the parade as the name of Yeshua, Jesus, was being exalted in the streets. I see this a partial fulfillment, or a shadow, of Zechariah 14 where the gentile nations who once opposed Israel would come up to worship alongside Israel during Sukkot and the nations who did so would be blessed. The groups from the nations would sing worship songs in their native style and language.  At the same time hundreds of thousands of Jewish families from all over the world were streaming up to Jerusalem to worship during Sukkot at the Western Wall. We need more of the global church to be on display in support and solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.

Along with many of my Christian brothers and sisters I am left with the question of what can I do? As the church of America we must not remain silent. The false doctrine of replacement theology must cease to exist. The even more insidious apathy of the self-absorbed western Church that ignores Israel must cease. We can no longer deny that the Bible that we read is centered around Israel from Genesis to Revelation. We can no longer ignore that the Jesus we serve was a Jew. While I do not feel like my voice of support reaches a particularly large audience, I know it made an impact for those few I spoke with and those people matter to God. Practically, how can we engage in the fight? We can pray, have the hard conversations in our friend groups or spheres of influence, give to organizations serving in Israel and even buy products made in Israel as their tourism industry is virtually non-existent now.

In this hour of history, we have the honor to be asked of God to take a stand for the “apple of His eye” and a people that were named by God. Will you stand and be a Hadassah (Esther) in this generation or will deliverance of the Jews come from another?

Would you like to understand the important role of Israel in the Bible? Order The Key to the Middle East, by Derek Prince, from IFA. Click here or call 800-USA-PRAY.

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