Israel and the Church

Israel is
a window on the Church and the world. What happens
in Israel often precedes events in the Church and in the nations.
Really I should have said that something is not happening -
Israel and the Church have both been under attack and both are
not responding in any effective way. Let’s look first at
Israel, then the Church.

Israel has been under attack. The Muslim world has a deep
hatred for the nation of Israel. Since the UN voted Israel into
being in 1948, the Muslim world has worked overtime to bring
about the removal of Israel and the restoration of the land to
the Palestinians. Even as late as 1967, there was never any talk
of a Palestinian state or a Palestinian people. In fact the
Jewish residents of the land were called Palestinians then.
Israel was attacked immediately after statehood was granted in
1948, then major wars broke out in 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982 , 1993
(1st Intifada), 2000 (2nd Intifada) and lastly in 2006.

All the 6 million Israeli people want to do is live in the
Land that God gave to Abraham (Genesis 15:16 & Psalm 105:6-11) in
peace with the 260 million Arabs who surround the tiny Jewish
state. Sadly our neighbours do not reciprocate. Instead they are
intent on destroying the nation. Since the end of the recent war
in Lebanon, Hizb’Allah is once again re-arming, and in Gaza
and the West Bank enormous quantities of weapons are being
smuggled in from Egypt as Hamas carries out the strategies they
have gleaned from Hizb’Allah.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 in exchange for the promised
peace she so desperately seeks. Instead of peace we got bombarded
by more Kassam rockets than ever landed before the withdrawal.
Sderot and the outer areas of Ashkelon were being struck daily,
with innocent Israeli citizens killed and seriously injured. The
Israeli government initiated several IDF operations to try to
stop the rockets, but at the best these efforts were half
hearted, then called off when the US leadership made the
‘usual’ phone call demanding Israel to stop defending
herself.

The government is doing almost nothing - probably because they
don’t have the brains or the backbone. And just as six
million Jews walked passively to the Nazi gas chambers in WW2,
most of the population is maintaining a similar silence. A small
group maintained a vigil outside of PM Olmert’s office for
a few days after the war, calling for his resignation, but they
soon gave up and went home, leaving Israel with the most corrupt
and inept Prime Minister and Minster of Defence in the last 60
years. Unless the people of Israel rise up and eject this
incompetent and spineless government, the nation will suffer
tremendous losses in the next war that could break out at any
time.

The above scenario is also happening to the true Church around
the world. There are a number of avenues of attack, the two main
ones being the Muslim and Gay sectors. In almost every Western
(once Christian) country, the Muslim minority demands the right
to practice their faith while the rights of the Christian
majority are being eroded by the week. To celebrate Christmas in
an overt Christian way, is almost illegal in the UK, USA and
parts of Europe. No more baby Jesus in the store windows. No more
Christmas Carols being sung on Main Street. No more wishing
others a "Merry Christmas" as we can’t risk offending the
Muslims. In the post-Christian UK, if a Christian publicly
mentions anti-homosexual Bible verses, the police take you down
to the station on suspicion of being guilty of homophobia. A
Welsh pastor was arrested simply for handing out regular Gospel
tracts at a Gay rally. Another Christian was arrested and charged
after being viciously assaulted by Gay supporters, who were not
charged at all, and recently, British Airways banned the wearing
of crosses by its staff. This week the Israeli Supreme Court
allowed the registration of gay marriages.

What is the majority of the Church doing about this violent
attack on God’s Kingdom standards? At the best, very little
- at the worst, absolutely nothing. Most Christians just head off
to church on Sunday morning to sing a few songs, hear a message
that changes nothing, shake a few hands, give a few hugs, and its
back home for another week of watching the demise of the
authority of God in our society. Unless the Church wakes up and
engages in some intense spiritual warfare, it will soon be
illegal to be a practising Christian.

The Lord has brought each and every one of us into His Kingdom
for this strategic time. We are supposed to be the Army of God.
It is time to prepare for war and enter into the battle in the
same manner as 30,000 Israeli army soldiers did a few months ago
in Lebanon. Most of them were unbelievers, but they marched into
Lebanon prepared to die if necessary. Oh that the Body of Christ
would have that level of commitment.

David Silver lives on Mt Carmel
in Israel
and heads up Out of Zion ministries.