~ Thursday 20th May 2010 ~

Compiled by David Soakell Tel: 01323 410810 E-mail david@cfi.org.uk Website: www.cfi.org.uk

The Word: Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel... And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud. I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever." (1 Kings 8:1, 10-13)

The festival of Shavuot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. (Acts 2:1-3)

Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore... lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" (Mark 13:33-37)

• Pointers for prayer: In the midst of Shavuot/Pentecost, please cry out to the LORD God that Israel would experience a mighty move of the power of the Holy Spirit throughout her land this week. (I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ezekiel 36:27; see also Ezekiel 37:14).

• Please continue to pray for strength and wisdom to the leaders in Israel, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu to deal with the threat from Hamas & Hezbollah. (See Isaiah 1:26)

• Pray for encouragement, strength and perseverance for the Israeli people in the face of constant physical and spiritual opposition. And continue to pray that ordinary Jewish and Arab people, whether living in Israel proper or what the world terms as the "Territories", will have a desire for reconciliation and to live side by side in peace and harmony.

Shavuot 2010 ~ is there yet hope? As I was writing these notes, we were approaching the time of Shavuot. In 2010, Shavuot fell on Wednesday, 19th of May. However, on the Jewish calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews would have been celebrating Shavuot on the sunset of Tuesday, 18th of May. Shavuot, or Pentecost as the church knows it by, is probably one of the most important holidays (holy days) in the Bible, yet how many of us actually even remember this time of the year? As you might expect, I believe God's Word, the Bible (Shavuot is partly the celebration of God blessing Israel with His Word, the Torah) is everlasting. I believe the Word of God (which includes the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament, and the New Testament) is the definitive Word of God. And I believe if we have doubts over this, our very foundations are in danger of collapsing. On top of this, I don’t believe for one moment that if God promises through an oath, one thing, that He could get it wrong and so change His mind. If He promises us everlasting life through the shedding of the blood of Yeshua (Jesus), then He’s not going to change His mind later! Is that a fair comment? So on that evaluation, I would say His everlasting covenant to Israel - the Jewish people - is what it says - EVERLASTING. For if it wasn’t, if God could change His mind about His promises to Israel, then what hope do we have about His promise to us as Christians?

In the above reading of Mark 13, we read Yeshua warning His hearers stating, "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. "It is like a man away on a journey.....or as the King James Version states: For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey [i.e. back to heaven after the Ascension], who left his house [the Church], and gave authority to his servants [Acts 1:8], and to every man his work [all Believers are called to something], and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, [second coming]... lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you [His disciples], I say unto all [all Believers through the ages, including us today].... Watch". One of the key commands to Believers in the last days, and none more important than now, is ‘watch & pray.’ This is particularly so in these days of the global "War on Terror" and the anti-Israel stance of the United Nations. Today, the Holy Spirit is seeking to prepare the church to be the Bride of Christ, and to awaken her to their responsibilities to the Jewish people, so that God's purposes for Israel and the Land might be accomplished.

We are also supposed to understand the times and seasons according to I Thessalonians 5, where Paul states “Therefore let us not sleep ...” etc… God intends us to understand the signs of the times. Events in the world are now coming so in line with the prophetic scriptures, that clearly the climax of the age and the return of the Messiah can't be too far off, as is also the restoration (in fullness) of Israel and her turning to the Messiah (Zechariah 12 & 13). It is within this framework that I believe we should expect great things at Shavuot. As mentioned, this celebration is a festival of God blessing Israel with His Torah, and the events of Acts 2 must be understood in light of this. Because it was God’s intention to bring the Jewish New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34) to the Jewish people in a Jewish way, God made maximum use of the Jewish festivals to convey new truths in ways that emphasized their connection with old truths. Thus God promised through Jeremiah, "I will write my Torah on their hearts." This He does as He gives His Holy Spirit. The same One God gives both Torah and Spirit (which thus are in a sense one) on the same one holiday, Shavuot/Pentecost, to the same one people, stretching through history from the fire on Mount Sinai to the tongues of fire at Jerusalem. Yes, we the Church should hunger for the power of the Holy Spirit and be activated by the power of this, but I also believe we need to be praying for the people God first revealed His word to. And so, for this very reason, it is my belief, that Satan wants to thwart God’s purposes, and this is what really lies behind today’s Middle East conflict. It is also my belief that, if Satan can deceive the Church first, then the rest of the world will easily swallow his lies. In a similar way as to how the Jewish people didn’t understand the times in Jesus’ day...the church today doesn’t appear to understand the days that we are living in...

The great revivalist Duncan Campbell once wrote, "How is it that while we make such great claims for the power of the Gospel, we see so little of the supernatural in operation? Is there any reason why the Church today cannot everywhere equal the Church at Pentecost? I feel this is a question we ought to face with an open mind and an honest heart. What did the early Church have that we do not possess today? Nothing but the Holy Spirit, nothing but the power of God. Here I would suggest that one of the main secrets of success in the early Church lay in the fact that the early believers believed in unction (act of anointing) from on high and not entertainment from men." As these words stung my conscience, I pondered, "is there yet hope for us today?” The battle for Israel is raging. Our workers in the field need much prayer. Let us hope that the church will not desire entertainment, but hunger and desire for a mighty move of God through His Holy Spirit today, both in the body of Messiah (the Church) and in the nation of Israel.

All night prayer and learning session Throughout Shavuot, there is a Jewish practice of learning from the Scriptures all night. Although it wasn't quite at Shavuot, we do read of an incident regarding this practice in Acts 20, where a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sank into a deep sleep... and as Sha'ul (Paul) kept on talking, the poor chap fell down from the third floor and died. Yet when Paul went down and prayed, the chap was brought back to life. And then what happened? When he had gone back up and had broken bread, he kept on teaching them until daybreak! In Judaism, this is actually a custom, rather than a commandment, but it is an expression of their desire to draw closer to God. This, I believe is another area that we need to be praying into. Imagine how the nation of Israel would be if there was another Pentecost during these all-nighters! Along with this being a desire to draw closer to God, it is also carried out to counter the behaviour of the Jews who slept at Mount Sinai instead of waiting for the giving of the Torah. By staying up the entire night and studying, their descendants strive to rectify the slight caused to the honour of the Torah. As always, prayers and "learning" were also held throughout the night at the Western Wall (the Kotel) in Jerusalem on Tuesday night. According to sources, the Jerusalem hotels were packed to capacity as tourists waited with anticipation for the event. And right before dawn, tens of thousands of Jews could be seen making their way to the Western Wall for the prayer service. On the way, hospitality tables and tents were set up to serve refreshments, this is in memory of the traditional hospitality during the "aliya laregel" (coming to Jerusalem for Passover, Sukkoth and Shavuot as prescribed in the Torah) in Temple times. The Kotel was jam-packed on Shavuot morning and participants could make kiddush and have light refreshments there or on their way home after services. Elsewhere in Israel, the Breslov and Chabad Chassidic movements held all-night Torah study sessions in Tel Aviv, as will the national religious Tzohar organisation.

Meanwhile, down by the Dead Sea, in anticipation of the Shavuot holiday, a battalion of Israeli soldiers (IDF) visited the Judean Desert fortress of Masada to watch a scribe write a Torah scroll. However, the soldiers ended up participating in the process. Rabbi Shai Abramovich, ensconced in a special glass-encased chamber within the ancient synagogue atop the wind-swept archaeological site, guided each soldier as he wrote a letter in the Torah. Rabbi Shimon Elharar, the rabbi of Masada and director of the Chabad-Lubavitch centre at the Dead Sea, had invited the IDF to participate in the writing of the Torah after noticing their deep interest. Rabbi Elharar, a disciple of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, worked together with Eitan Campbell, director of the Masada National Park, to bring the ancient synagogue back to life from the ruins. The Word coming to life!!!! Now that's something to pray into! As the situation with Israel's enemies increases, may we pray that the nation of Israel truly seeks the LORD God of Israel.

Former US General warns of Chemical Attacks against Israel As I've mentioning on numerous occasions in these News Report & Prayer Updates, we need to press in with our intercession regarding the situation with Israel's enemies. Israel is under constant threat from Iranian and Syrian-backed terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The Jewish nation’s very existence is threatened by the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran, which has malevolently warned of another Holocaust, and Syria plays a significant role in the ever-growing rocket arsenal in the hands of Hezbollah, and the transfer of weapons to this terrorist group occurs consistently from Syria. I believe we need to seriously pray against the potential Hezbollah offensive which, according to sources, includes chemically armed SCUD missiles with a 450 kilometre range, and against pre-emptive strikes on Israeli air fields.

In a recent email I received this week, the question was asked, "Is the Middle East situation getting scary? You bet!" Well, things are hotting up, and if you do nothing else today (apart from read this report of course), take 10 minutes or so to watch this interview with former US General Paul E. Valleley. Paul has been monitoring the "chess board manoeuvres" of the players that most likely will go up against Israel, of which he feels could be as early as the summer of 2010. If this happens, as Velleley predicts, this summer may well be the tipping point, and our world could change for the worse. Having said that, I personally don't feel a major war is likely... at least not for some time, however, this is the Middle East, and we need to be praying into this, as situations can quickly change. Having listened to former US General Paul E. Valleley speak regarding the potential threat, the sender of the email stated, "I strongly urge we all make sure our spiritual destiny is secure in Jesus Christ. His return is fast approaching." Well, as Yeshua stated in Mark 13:33-37, He could come any time... and yes we need to be ready. To watch the film clip of the interview with Paul E. Valleley click here: http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=136

In related news, Syrian President Bashar Assad told the Lebanese paper As-Safir in an interview published on Tuesday that Israeli President Shimon Peres recently sent him a message via Russia offering to return the disputed Golan Heights in exchange for a promise that Damascus would sever its ties with Iran and several regional terrorist groups. The report claimed that Assad had stated that Peres delivered the message to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during a visit to Moscow last week. Medvedev then embarked on a visit to Turkey and Syria, where he also met with Hamas officials in Damascus. The report stated that Peres’ office confirmed that he had sent a message to Assad through Medvedev, but that he had not offered the Golan. According to the clarification, Peres stressed that "Israel does not plan to attack Syria” and is "prepared to immediately engage in peace talks with the Syrians." He added, however, that Jerusalem would "not allow Syria to continue to two-time Israel by demanding a withdrawal from the Golan Heights on the one hand while setting up Iranian missiles on the mountains of the North." Assad had insisted, "We do not trust the Israelis ... we are ready for war or peace at any moment." Assad added that it seems armed “resistance” is necessary for achieving peace. "If you are not strong, you are not respected," Assad said. As already mentioned in previous weeks reports, Syria has reportedly shipped advanced missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, raising tensions in the region. Israeli analysts say that Syria transferred highly accurate M-600 medium-range rockets in order to target the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv and longer range Scud-D ballistic missiles to target the Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev.

A Mosque at Ground Zero? According to an article published by Dr. Wafa Sultan (a Syrian-certified psychiatrist and author of the book, "The God That Hates."), there is to be a new mosque planned in New York near "Ground Zero," only two blocks from where the World Trade Centre used to be. According to the report, this mosque is headed by an Imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the Cordoba Initiative, who proposes to convert the now-shuttered Burlington Coat Factory on Park Place into an Islamic Cultural Centre which would contain a mosque. The report states, "It is crucial to study the supremacist ideology of Islam and to recognise, for example, that the building of a mosque especially at Ground Zero is viewed by Muslims as a decisive victory over the infidels in Islam's march to establish its ultimate goal: the submission of all others to Islam and to Sharia Law." As I could not receive permission from the author in time for the release of this report, I suggest you read the report in full here: http://www.hudsonny.org/2010/05/mosque-at-ground-zero-equals-victory.php (apologies for those reading this via the postal service).

Don't mention the Bible This next report brought a smile to my face as chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat recently criticised the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for quoting from the Bible in order to draw a connection between Jerusalem and the Jews. In his Jerusalem Day address to the Knesset marking the 43rd anniversary of the reunification of the city under Israeli control, Netanyahu highlighted the prominent place Jerusalem holds in the Jewish Bible, where it is mentioned no fewer than 850 times (including the times the city is referred to as "Zion"). However, the next day, Erekat told Reuters News that he found it "distasteful, this use of religion to incite hatred and fear." Hmmm... so Benjamin Netanyahu is not allowed to declare the truth from Scripture due to him using religion to "incite hatred and fear". But of course the Palestinian Authority, along with Hamas can educate their children to "incite hatred and fear" by being obedient to Islam?

Erekat insisted that the eastern half of Jerusalem is "an occupied Palestinian town" that must be surrendered by Israel. The Arab Palestinians have certainly been working hard over the past few decades to erase the Jewish peoples millennia-old history in Jerusalem, including claims that there never was a Jewish House of God (Solomon's/Herod's Temple) on the Temple Mount and that Yeshua (Jesus) was in fact a Palestinian Arab.
And finally... It's not all doom and gloom This next short article should spark a bit of hope, and enable you to realise it's not all doom and gloom. There is now a “Palestinian Zionist Organization” that has established its own website. The website notes that “more and more Palestinians” are going public in their support for Israel. Just last month, Mosab Hassan Yousef – the son of a Hamas founder and leader – published his autobiography, detailing how he spied for Israel for a decade, preventing dozens of suicide attacks and exposing numerous terrorist groups. He later converted to Christianity and moved to the U.S. There is also Walid Shoebat, who was born in Bethlehem, the grandson of the Mukhtar of Beit Sahour. Shoebat joined the PLO in his youth, and was involved in attacks against Israel, and later moved to the U.S. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Shoebat became an active advocate against Islamism and a fervent supporter of the State of Israel, arguing that parallels exist between radical Islam and Nazism. The latest Arab to show his public support for Israel is Elias Issa. He says his goal is “to show the world why it must support the Jewish people and to distance itself from the terrorist Palestinian government.” Statements on the new website include warnings that a new Palestinian Authority state, if it were to arise, would “become the most terrorist state in the world… The Palestinians don't believe in a two-state solution; they only believe in a one-state solution - a land called Palestine [which] does not involve any Jewishness."

According to the website, The Palestinian Zionist Organization is: "Against the lying and deceitful activities of the terrorist Palestinian Government led by Hamas and Fatah; Against the lies that the Palestinians show the world media so the world ALWAYS blames Israel!; Against the 'Land for Peace' policy forced by the USA and the UN. The only thing that Israel receives in return for land are rockets send by Hamas and Fatah. 'Land for Peace' is one big Palestinian lie!; Against a Palestinian State. This Palestinian State will become the most terroristic state in the world! Official Hamas documents show that they will only use every 'new inch of land' to destroy the nation of Israel. Politics does not change the hearts of people!; Against the Palestinian child abuse by Hamas and Fatah who turn children into suicide bombers; Against the division of Jerusalem. The Palestinians will only use their part of Jerusalem to terrorize the Jewish part of Jerusalem." The site is well worth checking out and encouraging other groups (especially Christian groups who are against Israel). Click here to find out more: http://www.palestinianzionistorganization.com/

David Soakell

Sources: Unless otherwise stated: Personal sources throughout Israel along with The Jerusalem Post, BBC News, Arutz-7 News, Israeli Embassy London, Independent Media Review and Analysis & Israel National Radio