The focus of all history from the first Word of creation through the Day of Christ’s appearing is Jesus. But in the unfolding of that history we see that God has chosen a particular people located in a particular land, united by a particular creed through which to display His glory and bring forth the redemption of all mankind (Romans 9:4). In Genesis 12, God unveils his plan in His promise to Abram, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (verses 1-3). We see the fulfillment of this promise in Galatians 3:13 – 14, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

When we pray, we are praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is His Name, and this is His identity. He can no more deny Himself than He can forsake His people. They are a testimony of His faithfulness, and we have been grafted into that identity! When He sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, it was that we might be reconciled to Him and brought into the family of God, which first and foremost includes His people, natural Israel. Ephesians 2:11-18 says, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two…that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross…”

The children of Abraham are God’s chosen people, and it is God’s intention that together we form one new man, a kingdom of priests, that walks in His blessing, authority and covenant promises. In a mystery, God has allowed Israel’s heart to be hardened for a time, until the fullness of the Gentiles come into His kingdom (Rom11:25), but we have not replaced Israel. We have obtained mercy from God because of the Jewish people, and He promises that He will have mercy on them. Our destiny is tied to the destiny of the Jews!

God Commands It:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. Psalm 122:6-9.

Our spiritual mentor, Derek Prince, used to say, “God’s commands are not suggestions or requests, they are commands.” A key part of our destiny as the body of Christ is our intercession and watching prayer over this city: “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Is. 62:6-7). She has a glorious destiny, and we are to lift her up in our prayers and intercession until that day is fulfilled. As we are faithful in intercession for Israel, the blessing of the King of Israel will come upon us (Ps. 122:6-9).

Hastening His Return:

In Matthew 24, Jesus tells His disciples the sign of His return, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” (verse 32-22). In Scripture, the fig tree is always representative of natural Israel. From 1948, with the rebirth of Israel as a nation, we are living in the days where the fig tree is beginning to put forth leaves. Israel is God’s prophetic time-clock.

When we pray for natural Israel we are hastening the Day of His return. His eternal promises of destiny and inheritance to natural Israel still stand. They are not based on merit or politics, they are according to God’s covenantal Word: “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. And I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Gen. 17:7-9). His covenant with His people and His land will be fulfilled in its entirety. Jesus promised that “till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Jeremiah 31:35-37 says, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night…if those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever. If the heavens can be measured, or the foundations of the earth searched out, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done.”

Revelation 22 gives us a glimpse of that glorious day when the Lamb’s Bride meets her Heavenly Bridegroom, the Root and Offspring of David. It says in verse 17, “The Spirit and the bride say Come!” The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the Bride ready for the day of His appearing, and part of that preparation is our prayer and intercession for His Holy Land and people, Israel. If we are filled and flowing in the Spirit that flows from the Root to the Vine, we will hold Israel and her destiny dear in our hearts.

Release of His Glory Upon the Earth

God calls Jerusalem the Apple of His Eye. It is the city where He chose for His name to dwell. It is the birthplace of our salvation and the site of our Lord’s return. The whole of history is coming together, and the focus of nations is converging on Israel. Zechariah 14 describes the end of the age and the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the great ingathering of the nations to God’s holy city. We see in verse 16 that it will not just be the tribes of Israel, but the nations shall come up to Jerusalem.

The battle for Jerusalem is a spiritual battle manifest in natural strife. It is not a struggle between Jew and Arab; it is an attempt by the enemy to unseat God from the city where He chose to establish His throne. Is. 54 says, “Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.” We see the nations rage against Jerusalem and Israel, while devising plans for a false peace that would ultimately require Jerusalem’s division. Isaiah 60:12 says, “the nations and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined.” God promises judgment based on a nations action toward Israel. Our prayers and intercessions are not just a point of contact for Jerusalem, they are for the destiny of our nation.

God’s intention is for us to be ambassadors of heaven where the Prince of Peace is seated on the Throne. As we align ourselves with His heavenly vibration toward Israel, we become carriers of that glory for our families, our church and our nation. For this reason, the body of Christ must have a heart to pray for Jerusalem. Isaiah 60:13 says, “I will make the place of My feet glorious.” As the Church comes into a greater revelation of our role in these last days and harmonize with His end-time purposes for Israel and Jerusalem, there will be a greater release of His glory than ever before. 

Natan Sharansky, one of Israel’s contemporary, prophetic voices to our generation will speaking at the Impact Symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN at 7:00 pm on March 18. Sharanksy spent nearly a decade in a Soviet prison for his human rights and fight for the Soviet Jewry’s right to emigrate to Israel. Following his release and arrival in Israel, Sharansky served in four successive Israeli governments as Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, published three bestselling books, including Fear No Evil, The Case for Democracy and Defending Identity. He was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1986 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.

This is a historic opportunity to hear this champion of Israel and freedom for peoples around this world in this critical hour of our destiny.