Shalom Partner and Friend of Israel,

In the Bible, the MIDNIGHT hour often symbolizes a turning point, divine intervention, or a moment of spiritual preparation… We read It’s a time of praise and gratitude when everything is quiet with the stillness of night; - " At midnight I will rise to give You thanks, because of Your righteous judgments" - Psalm 119:62. We read in Scripture of a man asking for bread from a friend at midnight, symbolizing persistence in prayer (Luke 11:5). The "midnight hour" is considered an opportune, "thin" time for intense spiritual warfare, breakthrough, and witnessing a move of God. Often, it is portrayed as a turning point in the darkest time just before a new, better day, marking a transition or a divine shift. Yeshua (Jesus) warns us to be prepared for His return at any time, including "midnight" (Mark 13:35). What else is so special about "midnight?" Let’s look further; Judgment and Redemption: Exodus 11:4-5 mentions God passing through Egypt at MIIDNIGHT to bring judgment, which also led to the freeing of the Israelites.

Why Redemption happens in the Dark …and The Blood that makes the Destroyer Pass-Over… Did you know that the first Passover in Egypt happened at “MIDNIGHT?” Yes, PASSOVER in Egypt was a “midnight deliverance.” Egypt was loud! Not just with noise, but with POWER …with certainty …with systems that felt immovable!

Egypt was a place where "bondage" had become normal …and survival had replaced identity! (Under wicked corrupt leadership much of the same happens today especially in Africa). Generations of Hebrews (Israelites) had lived under "bondage" and were shaped by it …UNTIL slavery NO longer felt like CAPTIVITY …it felt like life itself. "And the Egyptians made the people of Israel serve with rigor ...they made their lives bitter with hard service…"  - Exodus 1:13–14.

This was NOT just a temporary suffering …this had become a condition that had settled into the bones of a people... The Hebrews were NOT visiting Egypt! They suffered there and Egypt had defined them, and they just blended in. BUT then YHWH – Yahweh God stepped in! The plagues that followed …were NOT random disasters, NOR symbolic gestures …they were precise dismantling’s. Every blow landed against something Egypt trusted …its pagan gods …its economy …its land …its sky. One-by-one, the illusion of control was stripped away …BUT still Pharaoh refused to release what he believed he owned! Until God declared that the next moment would NOT be resisted: "For I (God) will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn…" - Exodus 12:12. Not in daylight, where everything can be seen and managed BUT "at night" …where NOTHING can be controlled.

Darkness has a way of exposing reality… When the light fades, "certainty" - fades with it. Strength feels thinner. Confidence begins to crack. What seemed stable in the day. …begins to feel "fragile" when the shadows stretch across it. And it is into that exact moment that Yahweh - God chooses to act. "About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt…"  - Exodus 11:4. Midnight is NOT just a time marker …it is a condition …it is the hour where human strength is spent and there is NOTHING left to rely on …except what God has said. 

Before that night arrives, however, Yahweh God gives Israel instructions that feel "deeply personal" …and unavoidably costly …and directly echoed in the way that Passover has been kept since then; "Your lamb shall be without blemish… ...you shall keep it until the fourteenth day… then the whole assembly… ...shall kill their lambs at twilight."  - Exodus 12:5–6. The lamb was NOT distant from them …it lived among them. It was handled, observed, known. For days, it moved through their homes completely innocent, completely unblemished …and then it was killed in their place, for their sin, right before the darkness fell. This was NOT abstract. This was NOT theoretical. This was substitution that required them to participate in what their deliverance would cost!

"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses…" - Exodus 12:7. The "DOORWAY" became the dividing line!  Life and death would be separated by something "visible" …something applied …something that could NOT to be ignored or assumed.  And God makes something unmistakably clear in that moment; "The blood shall be a sign for you ...when I see the blood, I will pass over you." - Exodus 12:13. God does NOT say, "When I see your heritage" …or "when I see your intention." He says, "When I see the blood."  And when MIDNIGHT comes …the weight of that distinction becomes undeniable. "There was a great CRY in Egypt, for there was NOT a house where someone was NOT dead." (Exodus 12:30)

Every man-made system failed that night! Every layer of protection Egypt believed in proved powerless …and every pagan god they had prayed to was SILENT. Egypt - the strongest Empire in the World could NOT shield itself from what Yahweh - God had declared ...except where the BLOOD had been applied!

Israel was NOT spared because they were better! They were spared because they believed YHWH - Yahweh God enough to obey Him… They followed His instruction when it mattered, even when it required TRUST in something they could NOT yet fully understand; "By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the destroyer ...might NOT touch them." - Hebrews 11:28. Faith, in that moment, was NOT internal agreement …it was action and obedience expressed under pressure …and they didn’t just obey the instructions mechanically  …they obeyed them expectantly and they did so quickly: Thus, you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover." - Exodus 12:11. Not settled, relaxed. or treating the BLOOD on "the doorposts" like a "Spiritual Insurance Policy" …while life continued as usual.  The Israelites had been in Egypt for many generations …and so they knew nothing else and had NO idea where they were going …but still they obeyed God and stood prepared to go. 

Faith in action… Because "obedience," in that moment, looked like "preparation" for a promise that had NOT yet fully unfolded. It was FAITH that refused to sit down! Faith that packed before it saw the path. FAITH that stood in the tension between "it is finished" and "it is about to begin."  The blood said they would be spared! Their posture said they believed they were leaving. They did NOT wait to see if Yahweh God would move …they positioned themselves as if He already had. That is what FAITH looks like when it is alive! And then, without waiting for morning, everything changes; "Rise up, go out from among my people ...go, serve the Lord…"  - Exodus 12:31. Deliverance does NOT wait for daylight and does not arrive when everything feels stable and clear …it breaks in while it is still DARK, while the echoes of judgment are still in the air, while the future is NOT yet visible! God calls His people out before they can see where they are going!

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." - Psalm 119:105. A lamp does NOT illuminate the horizon. It does NOT map the journey …it gives just enough light for the next step, and NO more. That NIGHT, Israel did NOT leave with clarity …they left with trust! And that moment was NEVER meant to stand alone - it was always pointing forward …because another Passover would come …and another Lamb would be chosen …NOT into a single household …BUT into the presence of the people; "Behold, the Lamb of YHWH, who takes away the sin of the world." - John 1:29.

God’s Lamb Yeshua (Jesus) …would be seen, known, and examined and He would walk among them, blameless and without defect just as the lambs did in the homes of Israel that first night. And then, at the appointed time, He would be given over …just as the lambs had been… "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." - 1 Corinthians 5:7.  And once again, the pattern would NOT change as DARKNESS would fall over the land… "And it was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land…" - Luke 23:44.

Judgment would move! Blood would be shed! A "dividing line" would be drawn again …NOT across "doorposts" this time …but through the CROSS itself. The "wooden doorposts" …and lentils of the original sacrifice on the NIGHT of the first Passover …are echoed when Yeshua becomes the DOOR and His "blood" touches the four points of the wooden CROSS at His Crucifixion – the head, the hands, the feet!  

The Cross is NOT separate from Passover. It is Passover brought to its fullness! What began in Egypt as "a shadow" - becomes substance in Messiah… And for 2,000 years its distinction remains exactly the same. It is NOT proximity to truth that saves …it is NOT familiarity with the story …AND it is NOT association with the people of Yahweh - it is the BLOOD! And, whether it has been trusted, received, and applied - Passover is NOT just a remembrance of what God did once …it is a revelation of how He saves His people!

God moves in the DARK, when human strength has run out… and He draws "a line" that cannot be crossed without covering …and He calls people out before they can see where they are going, asking them to TRUST His Word more than anything. And He still works that way! God does NOT wait for our lives to feel stable before He calls us. He does NOT wait for clarity before He asks for obedience! God does NOT wait for daylight before He begins Redemption! God meets people at MIDNIGHT …in the darkness …and in deepest darkness our merciful Abba Father, Yahweh God asks them to trust the BLOOD.  So, when God moves at MIDNIGHT it’s a "Kairos" moment in our lives …are we ready?  Or are we waiting for morning? 

In Acts 16:25-34, Paul and Silas were jailed and even though they were beaten and shackled they were singing hymns and praying at MIDNIGHT… and other prisoners heard them and were saved!

Here we find Paul and Silas in a DARK prison cell, enduring the aftermath of their faithfulness to God …and despite being unjustly accused and imprisoned, they choose to respond to their plight …NOT with bitterness or despair …but with prayer and praise. Their decision to worship in such dire circumstances exemplifies a captivating truth: worship can be a powerful weapon in the battle against "darkness" and resulted in an EARTHQUAKE that opened their prison doors and broke their chains!

At MIDNIGHT, when the world is steeped in sleep and in darkness… Paul and Silas took a stand of faith! Midnight can symbolize NOT just a time of day …but also a time of distress, uncertainty, or deep personal turmoil. In our lives, we ALL experience MIDNIGHTS and those moments when shadows of doubt creep and even when despair looms large over our circumstances. Yet, the response of Paul and Silas serves as a model for us. They prayed and sang praises unto God in the darkest time. This raises a question: will we lift our voices in worship and praise even when circumstances are at their bleakest?

We read in Ruth 3:8, that Boaz was startled at MIDNIGHT leading to his pledge to be Ruth's "kinsman redeemer!" Ruth had carried out Naomi’s instructions. At "midnight" Boaz awakens, startled to find a woman at his feet. Ruth identifies herself and says; "Spread the corner of your garment over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman-redeemer." By asking Boaz to spread his cloak, Ruth invokes this covenant duty. The Hebrew word for "corner" can also mean "wing," echoing Boaz’s earlier blessing that Ruth had taken refuge under the LORD’s wing (Ruth 2:12). God works through everyday obedience; Ruth’s simple acts lead to King David and, ultimately, to Yeshua (Jesus).

Most important in these Last Days is the significance of the "Midnight Hour" … Matthew 25:6 declares, "At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’" This Scripture symbolizes the need for "spiritual" readiness as we stay prepared for the fulfilment of this Prophecy! Here is a nighttime wedding where everything seems to go wrong. The bridegroom shows up so late that the "bridal party" falls asleep by the side of the road. When the groom finally arrives at MIDNIGHT half the "bridesmaids" have forgotten to bring enough OIL for their lamps and end up banned from the celebration! Several of the Lord’s Parables and other teachings, touch on His Second Coming …and the need for his people to be ready for that event - expectant to the point of being prepared for it to happen at any time! And this is the thrust, and drive, of the Parable of Matthew 25:1-13 …the "5 Wise and 5 Foolish Virgins" which could, equally, have been called "The parable of the "prepared" and the "unprepared!"

The CRY at MIDNIGHT… Remember ALL 10 virgins had fallen asleep while waiting for the Bridegroom but the 5-wise virgins were prepared with enough OIL for their lamps …but the 5-foolish virgins were NOT. The virgins ALL woke up when the Bridegroom had finally arrived …but only the wise virgins, who had sufficient OIL and were able to go in with Him to the wedding feast. 

The Parable of Matthew 25 begins with the words. "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps out to meet the bridegroom" – Matthew 25:1. And the "TIME" in question, is referring to as 'Judgement Day!" It is a Parable Yeshua (Jesus) told to illustrate a certain truth about His Second Coming. The parable itself is a little masterpiece, with each detail adding a piece of crucial information. The "foolish virgins" were NOT even prepared for the expected let alone for the unexpected. And so, it is with much of the Church – the Bride of Christ, today. It may be said, as a matter of realism, that vast numbers of Christians do NOT really expect even those things which the Bible teaches us MUST be expected! And, if many believers, largely, don't even expect the promised, and expected things …how will they begin to prepare for the un-expected things, as God moves in power, according to his will in these Last Days?

The Door is Shut… As the story concludes, the rejected bridesmaids are standing outside the door asking for admission, but to no avail... They have been "shut out" from the wedding banquet. It is a sad, strange ending to what should have been a most joyful occasion. You see, the foolish virgins found their lamps were going out and asked the wise virgins for some of their oil. What was the response…the wise virgins refused, saying there wouldn't be enough for everyone, and instructed the foolish virgins to go to those who sell to buy their own!

We have been struck by one phrase in Matthew 25:10: "But while they (the 5 foolish virgins) were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready (the 5 wise virgins) went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." There is an awful finality about those words. It means that the DOOR was shut and locked and would not be opened again. Those on the inside were safely inside BUT those on the outside could never get in NO matter how hard they tried …just like Noah’s Ark in the flood – God SHUT the DOOR and only Noah and his family of 8 were saved!

Ready for Rapture – NO matter the delay… For example, when we are at the airport and they announce "a flight delay" …yes there may be some frustration and maybe even confusion. But one thing remains certain, if we have a valid ticket, we WILL fly. The timing may shift, but our destination hasn’t changed. We simply wait, knowing that eventually, the boarding call will come! For true Bible believers, the promise of the Rapture is much the same. Yeshua (Jesus said), "I go to prepare a place for you... I will come again and receive you unto Myself"" -John 14:3. The destination is secure! The ticket, our Salvation in Christ, is valid. The DOOR will be shut, and the flight WILL take off. Yes, it may feel delayed. We’ve heard for generations that "Yeshua - Jesus is coming soon." The Early Church expected it! Our grandparents preached it! And today we still declare it! And yet, the skies seem quiet. The boarding gates remain closed …but we are NOT discouraged. Delay does not mean denial for God’s people! We are ready though it may seem like MIDNIGHT and everything quiet we remain steady and our lamps filled!

There is a "DOOR" that leads to Heaven for all.  It is the "door" of God’s Grace, held open by the bloody Cross of Yeshua -Jesus Christ! For 2,000-years that "DOOR" has been open to the entire world …and it is open even today! Over the door are these wonderful words: "Whosoever will …may come." Anyone, anywhere, anytime CAN go through that door and find NEW life, Salvation, Forgiveness, Freedom …and Eternal life! Today, the door is still OPEN, BUT we must be reminded that the "door" will NOT be open forever, it can SHUT at any time!

What do we do while we wait? We stay ready! We remain watchful. We live holy lives encouraging one another. We do NOT murmur about the timing; we rejoice in the promise! We don't abandon our posts at the gate; we wait with expectation …because just as surely as that flight WILL one day depart …the trumpet will sound, and the "Bridegroom" will return for "His bride." So NO, the Rapture delay is NOT our concern …our concern is readiness! And in that, we have peace. Whether He comes in the morning, at MIDNIGHT or in the FINAL hour, we are ready. Our ticket is secure - we will fly.

Waiting at the Gate can test our patience… It’s easy to become restless. Some leave to pace around while others scroll endlessly through distractions, and some may even question if the flight is real at all …but those who trust the schedule …who know the airline, who’ve seen it come through before …they wait with confidence! They keep their bags close, their ears open, and their eyes on the screen. That’s us – are the TRUE Judea-Christian believers - waiting at the gate. "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." - Matthew 24:42.

So, we keep watch. Not with fear — but with faith… Don’t lose heart in the waiting! Many have fallen asleep during the delay - not physically — but "spiritually." The longer the gate remains closed, the easier it becomes to slip into complacency saying; "Maybe He’s not coming in my lifetime." "Maybe I’ve got time to straighten things out later." "Maybe this ‘flight’ is just symbolic!" The enemy whispers doubt in the waiting room. But we are NOT like those who sleep. We are of the day, NOT of the night (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

The Oil Must Stay Burning! Remember the Parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25? All had lamps. All were waiting for the bridegroom. All fell asleep BUT only five had oil when the call finally came. All ten believed - All ten expected…But only five were ready. This is a warning for us today. Not to fear but to stay filled, stay faithful, stay focused. Let the world mock the idea of His return. Let them say it’s been too long. Let them walk away from the gate. We stay ready. It's Closer Than You Think! Flights don’t stay grounded forever. When the appointed time arrives, the delay is over, and boarding begins. One day very soon, without warning, the skies will split. The trumpet will sound; "…and in a moment — in the twinkling of an eye — we WILL be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:52.

We most sincerely believe that God WILL bless you for your faithfulness and love for His land and chosen people. God’s Word is true! He IS watching to see how the Nations are treating His people. God will have mercy on Israel through Gentile believers acting as mediators towards them. This is one of the most amazing revelations ever given to the Church – an opportunity to do something that carries the highest priority in the heart of God. Yet, sadly, so few have seen the potential and the rewards of serving God in this manner - as agents of mercy to Israel and the Jewish people! Israel was and still is despised today and a despised Nation continually turning away from God …BUT nothing ever altered the purpose of God for that Nation. The "despised element" is always a noticeable element in the purpose of God. When the Saviour of the world came, He came of that "despised Nation" (and just like Israel) He Himself was "…despised and rejected by men." And there is that despised element; "…things that are despised God has chosen," - 1 Corinthians 1:28.

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

01 June 2026

This can be done SECURELY through PAYPAL by clicking on "Make A Donation" LINK above …or by visiting our Donations page where you will find the list of ministries where you can be a blessing to. Thank you for your love and support for God's chosen people (Ruth 2:12).

John Bunyan once said, "You have never lived successfully until you have done something for someone who can NEVER - repay you!"