.jpg)
In late November, after being held hostage by Hamas for over 50 days, 17-year old Mia Lamberg clutching her beloved dog, Bella Bida, was released in a hostage deal that included her mother and her aunt Clara. Mia is shown here “perp walked” through a crowd of civilians in Gaza snapping pictures of their victorious hostage grab of a young Israeli. Many female hostages that were released from captivity have spoken to being victims of rapes and sexual assaults while in Hamas captivity. Even more women on October 7th were victims in a frenzied attack of unspeakable brutal – not only sexual assault but also horrific murders of entire families. How are Israelis to process that level of violence in their own land? What will God do to punish the wicked and vindicate and heal the innocents?
My cover story this week in Arrows from Zion is from the Tel Aviv Tiferet Yeshua congregation,
A Prophetic Warning: Did God Speak about Oct 7th BEFORE it happened?
by Tamar Afrait
Last year on Purim (March 7th, 2023), an announcement was made that there would be a historic global prayer initiative for Israel which would take place in May. By all accounts, this global prayer initiative, called “The Isaiah 62 Fast\Global 21 Day of Prayer for Israel”, was unprecedented: over five million believers from around the world committed to stand in prayer for Israel during that time.
One of my fellow worshippers at Tiferet Yeshua who had also heard about this prayer movement for Israel said to me, “What is going to happen here that God is raising up so much prayer for us right now? It’s kind of scary. There is definitely a reason that we are going to need this prayer.” If we had known what was really in store for us exactly 7 months later…frankly, we would have been terrified.
That horrific tragedy would strike our people on October 7th, the dimensions of which we are still living out today. However, as we gathered together as a congregation on zoom that day to seek the Lord, we recalled a prophetic word which was shared in our midst less than one month before and realized with awe that God had been lovingly preparing us for this moment.
God is Speaking to Us and to You | The idea of suffering and enduring persecution is terrifying and naturally something one wants to avoid. This is perhaps one of the main reasons the theology of pre-tribulation rapture is so largely embraced and advanced (Tiferet Yeshua leadership does not hold to a pre-tribulation rapture of believers). The point here is not to argue the theology of those differing positions. What I want to convey is that, here in Israel, we are experiencing a tribulation: a condensed, microcosm of the worst of human horrors (sadistic rape, torture, murder, captivity in abominable conditions) which has then been followed by a growing chorus of hate, blame and offence from many in the world.
God, however, in His mercy, spoke to us before it happened. Even though we had no idea how quickly and how literally the prophetic word would come to pass, it continues to be an encouragement and guide to us as we navigate this difficult, frightening and often confusing situation. This prophetic word strengthened us in the knowledge that God is sovereign, that He is motivated by perfect love for us, and that He will clearly speak to us in order to prepare us beforehand.
In this tribulation, we are discovering how incredibly present He is. We are also discovering how this tribulation is causing so many frivolous pleasures and worries of the world to simply evaporate. It is causing His Word and promises to burn within us. We do not see explicit promises in the Word of God to take us out of tribulation: on the contrary, Yeshua promises that we will have tribulation in the world (Jn. 16:33). However, the Word promises that God will be a very present help in tribulation (Ps. 46:1). Discovering that through experience is gold refined by fire!
A Word from the LORD | In September of 2023, Oren, a greatly gifted teacher at Tiferet Yeshua, submitted a word he had received from the Lord to Gil, our lead pastor. Oren, a truly humble and sincere man of God, explained to Gil that he had never heard a “word” from the Lord before and, furthermore, that nothing like this had ever happened to him. Oren described how on the evening of Rosh Ha Shanah he experienced an overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit and was moved to write words which he felt were barely His own.
After prayerfully considering the word and sharing it with our elders, Gil felt that Oren needed to share it with the whole congregation at the next service which was the service right before Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The timing was perfect, of course, because it was God’s timing: that service was dedicated to standing before God in humble repentance and intercession for our people.
Continue reading the Word given to Oren online
Donna: There was a cry this week I heard in a Zoom meeting as Joel Jelski of Fields of Wheat expressed the level of grief, pain, sorrow and hurt that Israel is reeling from still after 4 months since the attack on Oct. 7th. It is much more deeply felt than most people realize, then the PTSD of what their eyes have seen, and the shock of how the world concerns itself over what Gazans instead of having empathy for devastated Israelis.
That is why this Feb 9th issue has that as a major there in the ministry letters I have shared, also there is a strong theme of the prophetic too. What is happening is prophetic. The anguish, the terrors – these are what real people are experiencing as the devil challenges God for Israel as the place the throne of King Yeshua will be seated in Jerusalem – on earth as it is in Heaven. As people of this only true King, it is our duty to intercede as His kingdom is birthed in Israel. It is coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment