Shalom Partner and Friend of Israel,

We live in unprecedented times. The unfolding of history in our century has been so remarkably fast and… at times shocking, as societies and whole cultures have been shaped and re-shaped in a single generation. For the first time for nearly two thousand years the world and the church are faced with the phenomenon of a restored Israel. And, as the social and political challenges surrounding her seem enormous, they are nevertheless small in light of the spiritual implications.

Undoubtedly the Lord reserved a deposit of wisdom, understanding, vision and courage for our generation. It is our privilege and responsibility, therefore, to dig deep, seek hard and employ every grace that is given us from above to attain these. What God ordained for the church and for the nation of Israel, words cannot describe.

There is an appointed time… As the dramatic and traumatic movement of God’s hand upon the nations of the world continues, and as we focus upon Israel in specific, we MUST be very sure that our sense of timing is truly of the Lord. It is written concerning His timing. "You shall arise, and have mercy on Zion; for the time to pity her, yea, the set time, has come." (Psalm 102:13) These words were spoken in the context of heart-rending and prophetic prayer. A cry of suffering and turmoil (Vs. 3–11)! Indeed this cry wells up from the wounded soul of Israel, yet there is HOPE!  Because of the Lord’s faithfulness and His great mercies, He has appointed a time to have compassion on Zion. It is as the Scriptures call it "the appointed time."

There is an appointed time for everything, every birth, every death and every event under the sun is recorded under heaven (Ecclesiastics 3:1).

There was given an appointed time for each of "The Feasts of the Lord" to be observed and celebrated. These feasts could NOT be observed at just any time – only at the "appointed time."  There was a designated time for the Passover Lamb to be slain on that horrible night in Egypt; a specific time for the "First Fruits" to come forth. Yeshua (Jesus) Himself was born at a designated time; His death could not have taken place at any other time BUT at "the appointed time" – He also rose at "the appointed time." The Holy Spirit came at "the appointed time," and God has "an appointed time to rebuild Zion."

The rebuilding of Zion is intimately linked with God’s appearance in His Glory (Psalm 102:16). He promises that as He re-establishes Israel in her land, and as He vindicates His holy name in her midst, there shall be a glorious demonstration of His power, His love and His righteous judgements to all creation.

The time of it all is given in these words, "This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people who shall be created shall praise Jehovah." (Psalm 102: 18) The phrase "to come" in the original Hebrew text reads: "AKHARON" meaning "the last or final." This Scripture, therefore, clearly indicates the message concerning the rebuilding of Zion and the coming glory of God is written to the last "AKHARON" generation!

The truth is that until this century very few Christians had an understanding of God’s purpose for Israel. It is also a fact that prior to 1948 hardly any of the mainline Christian denominations publicly stated or believed that God will rise Israel again. This message of restoration was truly written to the last generation. Ours is the only generation that witnessed the physical resurrection of Israel before its very eyes and could comprehend, believe and intercede for such "a miracle," and for the promised "spiritual restoration." Thus the Scripture is fulfilled, "that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord!"   (Psalm 102:18)

My people Israel-~ The Old Testament divides the human race into only two categories: The Jews and the Gentiles. Yet, the Jews comprise but a small fraction of the world’s population. Of the over 6 Billion people now living on this planet only about 18 million are Jews. Why has God chosen to focus on these unique people? "The Lord did not set his love upon you, not chose you, because you were more in number than any people: for you were fewest of all people." Deuteronomy 7:7

Is that focus now outdated in the New Testament era, with its emphasis on the body of believers called the Church? Has God changed His mind and original purpose to bring salvation to the whole world through His chosen people, the Jews? Or has He cast off Israel?

"I say then, has God cast away His people? God forbid… God has not cast away His people which He foreknew." (Romans 11:1a – 2)

Israel’s Long-suffering "Husband" … In extraordinary Fashion, the Prophet Hosea (name meaning; "the Eternal saves") dramatically plays out God’s covenant love for all Israel to see. Here it is more than a mere story; it is flesh and blood reality. At the outset God startled us, and no doubt Hosea, by telling him to marry a harlot, a sex addict whom he warns will repeatedly prove unfaithful. Despite his wife’s rebellion, however Hosea MUST love and keep covenant with her. So the prophet finds and marries a prostitute named Gomer (meaning "completion"), and their marriage proves a "Technicolor picture" of Israel’s tragically adulterous relationship with Yahweh (Hosea 3:1).

From this vivid demonstration of infidelity comes the Word of the Lord to His people; "Israel, like Gomer is hopelessly prostituted to sin." But jealous God will not stand for it. He will do whatever it takes to win her back – if not the easy way, then the hard way. He "will be like a lion" to the Jewish Nation. He plans to "tear her to pieces" then hide Himself and make sure nobody comes to her rescue. In the meantime, He will wait patiently for her to admit her guilt, turn back and then earnestly seek Him (Hosea 5:14 – 15).

We see in this story the tough love of an incomparable compassionate God. In wrath, He remembers mercy; His own love constrains Him. Hear His heart pounding with anticipation for the hour of His beloved’s return.

"In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me my husband; you will no longer call me master… I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion, I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord… I will plant you for myself in the land." (Hosea 2: 16 – 17)

The book of Hosea closes with some of the most beautiful, romantic poetry in the Bible. Our longsuffering Creator; knowing the end from the beginning, stoutly refuses to give up… rest assured says Hosea, the Jewish nation will be transformed in glory and grace (Hosea 14:4 -7).

Israel’s position and purpose in God’s plan for the ages are still viable and God’s promises are yet intact and awaiting fulfilment, for He will perform what He has promised. Knowledge of God’s purposes for the nation of Israel aides our interpretation for today’s news events, our comprehension of the Bible and the understanding of the God of Israel. The Old Testament was not meant to be a History book or a Science book, yet it is the most accurate of both. It records bits and pieces of the history of many nations which came in contact with ancient Israel. The fascinating pieces of information of ancient Egypt, Assyria and Babylon are like tiny time capsules from these vanished civilizations. BUT, Israel’s history is carefully recorded and special emphasis on her relationship with her Creator and Redeemer, the Lord God, Jehovah.

The Jews are called God’s ‘national’ Bible. Their History and prophecy are the vindication of the divine inspiration of the Bible… Israel’s entire story, from the beginning with the Patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through the 1^st Century AD is emblazed across the pages of the Holy Bible. Her victories, her defeats, her joys and her sorrows are all there… great glory and a great shame echoes back and forth throughout the 66 Books.  During the 400 years called "silent years" (from Malachi to Matthew) we must depend upon secular historians such as Josephus to learn of Israel’s history during that dark time. 

Then with the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) there is another short span of time when the major events of Israel are recorded in the Gospels and the Epistles which centre on the life of Yeshua and the early Christians.  But, the record stops short of the disaster of 70 A.D…. From then on, Israel, as a "political nation" has no history… UNTIL 1948!

The 400 "silent year" period was a difficult time for Israel as well, as there was continual foreign domination, by godless, pagan Gentile powers, one after another. Israel became a virtual pawn under such diverse countries such as Egypt, Persia, Syria, Greece and Rome as they fought bloody battles for control over that small sliver of land at the centre of the world.

Many of those contests took place on Israeli soil because of Israel’s location being right in the middle geographically. Foreign armies criss-crossed her borders time after time after time as they stabbed at each other militarily while Israel was helplessly at the centre. Many nations persecuted ancient Israel with devastating results for themselves, as well as for Israel but God’s focus was always on His chosen people Israel. Those nations which had no relationship with Israel, such as China and India are not even mentioned in the Bible but God did love them and Israel’s purpose was to carry that love throughout the whole world.

The Jew can live in any climate, adapt himself to any condition, serve under any flag, and readily learn to speak any language and make him self feel at home wherever he may be. He can keep their laws, follow their customs, engage in their pursuits, send soldiers to fight their battles, and can die just as patriotically for the land of his adoption as any citizen of that country… and yet remain distinctly positively and purely a Jew. Whether the Jews live in adopted countries or in the tiny nation of Israel, God directs their history. The Jews are the only people to have had the whole course of their history entirely – pre-written, from the beginning to the end… Such Chapters as Genesis 49; Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 attest to this. Prophetic passages pertaining to the nation of Israel are scattered throughout the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelations.

Dr. Mark A Matthews says; "The Jew is not a product of evolution. He is not a climatic product. No climate in the world produced the Jew. He is not a product of any geographical section – though he has a geographical destiny and a geographical beginning. But the geographical beginning and setting, and geographical destiny of the Jew, did not produce him. He is NOT the result of climatic conditions: But he is a God – created, God – decreed, God – called, God – elected and God Protected individual."

God tells His people through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 43:1 that their origin was supernatural, miraculous, foreknown and predestined. God created, formed, redeemed and called them. Israel was called by His name and created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7). He has mysteriously linked His own glory and Israel’s eternal destiny into one inseparable bond.

Does the Bible really substantiate the fact that the Jews are the chosen people of God? Consider the following verses: … "I have surely seen the affliction of My people" Exodus 3:7…. "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" Hosea 3:6 … "You shall be My people" Leviticus 26:12 … "For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon My people" Esther 6:8 … "Therefore My people are gone into captivity" Isaiah 5:13 … "Take up the stumbling block out of the way of My people" Isaiah 57:14 … "My people has been lost sheep" Jeremiah 50:6 … and many more Scriptures.

Can God ever forget His people Israel? "Can a woman forget her child? That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget yet will I NOT forget thee, behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands." Isaiah 49:15 -16

Is it possible that these marks are the "nail prints" in the hands of God, the Son, Yeshua (Jesus) that He will carry throughout the eons of eternity to remind Himself of His eternal promises to His eternal people? His hands were pierced for all of mankind. Salvation was offered to the Jew and also to the Gentile. But, the prints of the nails may remind Him of the many needy sons’ of Abraham that have not yet accepted that offer.

When a person puts a special mark or tattoo upon himself, he usually puts it in a place where others can see it, but marks graven upon the palms on one’s hands would obviously be for his eyes only. Thus as the Lord looks upon the nail prints inflicted nearly 2,000 years ago, He is always reminded of His precious people who rejected Him the first time He came to earth, who will accept Him eagerly at His Second Coming.

God has placed many reminders for us as Christians to remember His people. Jewish people live in nearly every country of the world and many of them have become famous, such as; Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Louis Pasteur, Christopher Columbus, Barbara Streisand and so many, many others… One of the MOST outstanding Prime Minister’s of England was a Jew, named Benjamin Disraeli. Although Disraeli was a Jew he had accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as his Messiah. He understood that the Hebrew people had achieved greatness only because of their God.

Consider the words of Benjamin Disraeli… "The people of Moses may ask himself whether all the princes of the house of David have done so much for the Jews as the Prince who was crucified on Calvary. Had it not been for Him, the Jews would have been comparatively unknown, or known only as a high oriental cast which had lost its country. Has not He made their history the most famous in the world? Has not He hung up their laws in every temple? Has He not vindicated all their wrongs? Has He not avenged the victory of Titus and conquered the Caesars? What success did they anticipate from their Messiah? The wildest dreams of their rabbi’s have been far exceeded… Christians may continue to persecute Jews and by so doing misrepresent their Master (Saviour), the Jews may persist in disbelieving, but who can deny that Yeshua of Nazareth, incarnate Son of the Most High God is the eternal glory of the Jewish race."

Why were there NO Gentile prophets? Why could not King Nebuchadnezzar have written the Book of Daniel, or the Assyrian Naaman the Book of 2 Kings? After all these men played major roles in these Books…They were there! They knew what happened!  God rarely spoke directly to the heathen with a few exceptions; Laban, Abimelech and Pilate’s wife. The understanding of the will of God by unbelievers generally came through certain Jews who were placed miraculously by God to fulfill His purposes. These Jews such as Queen Esther and Mordecai were put into specific situations at specific times (Esther 4:14).

Yet, the Gentile nations did NOT produce a single one of the Holy Prophets who spoke as they were moved by The Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1: 21). Only the believers in the God of Israel were entrusted to record the pages of Holy Scripture. In all of the Gentile nations, up to and including the time of Yeshua (Jesus), dwelt heathen idolaters immersed in total darkness. Only in the present ‘Age of Grace’ have some of the Gentile nations accepted the God of the Jews. But, in the ancient world of the Pharaohs, the Caesars, Alexander the Great of Greece, the Maya’s, the Inca’s, China and India paganism was total. They had no understanding of the one true God, Yahweh, and His Holiness and precepts.

In 622 AD, six hundred years after the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Yeshua (Jesus), the pagan religion of ISLAM was started by Mohammed who himself was in total darkness. Beginning in 610 AD, when the 40 year old, Mohammed till then a pagan idol worshipper, seems to have heard of the One God through his contact with Christians and Jews. Like many pagans in his days were seeking the truth and so he must have been impressed by their teachings.

Mohammed tried to convince Jews and Christians to follow him and when they refused to accept his pagan Islam, he declared war on them. The Koran is filled with many distorted teachings and hatred for Jews and Christians. Jerusalem is not even mentioned once in it!

In our days Islam has begun its march across the world with the assertion that this religion alone can fulfill the hopes of mankind and with the claim for power to carry out this vision. In Iran a poster depicts Ayatollah Khomeini standing with his foot on the globe and saying; "the final victory will come when our entire nation has accepted Islam. But beyond that, another victory must be won… the international triumph of Islam and the building of its kingdom over the whole earth."

Even in Christian countries Islam is being received with open arms. The door is opened wide. In some places subsidiaries are being granted so that Islamic centres and mosques can be erected. And, in many countries Islam has been accepted as an official religion. Many Christians believe that since Moslems also believe in "the one god" we should join hands with them as brothers and give them the opportunity of spreading their religion. Is their god Allah, really the God of the Bible, the one true God in whom we believe, whom we acknowledge to be "God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth?" And, does Mohammed and his Islam believe as we do "Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, who was crucified, died and buried… rose again… and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty?"

On the one hand is God Yahweh of the Bible and on the other hand is Allah the god of the Koran… Of each it is said, "This is the one true God." But, which one is the real God?  Is it not the God Yahweh whose words have been proven true and whose prophecies have been fulfilled or are nearing fulfilment in our times?

Yes, this is the God of Holy Scripture, our God Yahweh, and Elohim… "Abba" Father who has proven His Name as yea and amen; the unchanging, faithful God whose statements are reliable. He is the true God, NOT Allah. Allah is contradictory and changes his mind about requirements of man. He is NOT the truth.

The God of Holy Scripture Yahweh is also the God of Israel… He calls Himself this time, time and again, and Israel He calls His people and His inheritance that He has chosen out of all nations (Deuteronomy 7:6; Isaiah 41: 8f). Theirs are the great promises of God and from them sprang the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) Numbers 24:17; Romans 9:4f. Mohammed, however, was against the Jews and he hated and persecuted them, and in so doing opposed the God of Israel and of the Christians.

God also calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whereas Mohammed’s Allah is referred to as the god of Abraham and Ishmael. Therefore as Christians we can NEVER join hands with Islam!

The Spread of Islamic Influence and Hostility toward the Jewish People is beyond question and certainty that Iran is being led by evil men who would like to destroy Israel, and their influence is growing... These men have done their utmost to encourage anti-Jewish feelings all over the world. Along with the rising power of Iran, fundamental Islam is growing in many countries that surround Israel. Sadly, the more sympathetic people are to Islam, the more hostile they are to Biblically based Judeo-Christian, Western civilization and culture. And, needless to say, the hostility they feel towards the Jewish people also grows with their sympathy for Islam.

Israel is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and with a dwindling list of friends, Israel is more vulnerable to annihilation that at any time since WW11.  The "shadow of annihilation" is real as the powder keg in the Middle East threatens to ignite.

Where is the "King of the Jews?" Most important, Israel was chosen as the nation that would produce the Messiah in His humanity. Before God created Adam and before Noah was born it was known in the Holy Councils of God that there would be an Abraham the first Hebrew and out of the loins of Abraham would come "Yeshua HaMashiach - Jesus the Messiah" (Matthew 1:1)… Hundreds of clues in the Old Testament Books point to His character, purpose, His suffering, His Death and Resurrection. Then the New Testament rings with the same theme; the Messiah’s coming, after the fact without a hint of contradiction with the Old Testament. Revelations gives us a view of that promised deliverer as we see Him crowned as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." His humanity was totally Jewish. His deity, as the God of Israel was and is totally divine.

The miracle of Israel’s survival is clearly due to the marvellous divine intervention of Almighty God. It can be explained in no other way. He would have destroyed her over and over again because of His righteous anger towards her. God has made promises to her forefathers that Israel will remain despite all circumstances and those promises will keep. There will always be an Israel as long as there is a sun, moon, stars, waves that roar and sea (Jeremiah 31:35 – 37).

Today this tiny nation of Israel is the focus of much of today’s news, compared with other nations with greater populations and land masses-~ Israel rates extremely high in newsworthiness and has become the centre of the stage again! For almost 2,000 years the Jewish people made news only as individuals in their adopted countries, but now the nation of Israel as a whole is once more making news. The whole world, friend and foe alike watches her every move! Some nations tremble with fear… or with rage when Israel or the Jew is mentioned.

God grieves over the suffering of Israel… and if we know and love Him, we will grieve as well. Though we yearn for the Lord’s return, He wants His body of believers lovingly supporting the Jewish people and Israel in every way possible, up until then… even if they must – together with Israel – serve as a metaphorical last day’s altar. Expect Israel to remain the epicentre of conflict. Both good and evil will heighten simultaneously, repeating largely around her.

We hope that you enjoy and become more informed by our work. We serve an awesome God and we are humbled by this opportunity to bring you this information. With Shalom to you and your family always,

Alf & Julie Saunders 

15^th July, 2012

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