“And the days are coming declares the Lord that is shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave their fathers.”
Jeremiah 16:14-15
Today we celebrate the 60th Birthday of the restoration of the nation of Israel. No other nation has a history like Israel’s. After nearly 2,000 years of dispersion among the nations, enduring persecution, opposition, pogroms and the Holocaust, the children of Israel survived to see their homeland born again. God promised that He would gather Israel to Himself once again in Jeremiah 16. As we commemorate the birth of the modern nation of Israel we are celebrating the fulfillment of God’s promise and His Word. The Bible is true. We are living in prophetic history, and as we recognize it we will receive blessing from it.
Several years ago Bonnie and I had the privilege of being in Jerusalem at the time that the Russian Jews were released from the communist yoke. We and several other leaders were bussed to the Tel Aviv airport at 2:00 in the morning in order to meet the first Jews coming home from “the land of the north.” Plane after plane landed carrying the precious cargo of these Jewish people who were finally able to come to their home. They were weeping and crying as they stepped onto Israeli soil for the first time, and Bonnie and I had the privilege of being there to welcome them to their homeland. As I was hugging them I thought, “I am holding Jeremiah 16 in my arms!” The Lord was bringing out His people from the land of the North, and we were there to witness it and actually hold the fulfillment of His Word in our very arms.
We are living in the hour where the promises of God are being fulfilled. Nothing – not thousands of years, not the vilest attacks of the devil, the Holocaust nor the oppression of the Soviet empire—can hold back the fulfillment of God’s Word. It is eternal, it is true. It is living and active and full of power. Even up to the very time that Russia loosed her grip on the Jews living in her land, it seemed impossible that they would ever be released. One time while I was ministering in Moscow, I met with a prominent Rabbi. We had to meet in the park because of the KGB surveillance. I told him, “Prepare your people and get ready, because God is going to deliver you from here overnight.” He was shocked. He asked, “Who are you?” I said, “I am just a servant of the Lord, and I believe the Bible.” He said, “Well it may be true for others, but not for me. I am a mathematician, and I worked on their rocket systems. They would never let me leave.” Before we parted, he wanted us to say a blessing over each other. He said his in Hebrew. Then I just lifted my hand slightly so as not to do anything to draw the attention of my KGB handlers and said, “Lord bless him.” Immediately he collapsed to the ground. I was thinking, “No! Now we are making a scene.” But the man suddenly began to cry, saying, “The pain is gone! The pain is gone!” He had been in constant, excruciating pain for years as a result of torture at the hands of the KGB. And as we blessed each other in that Moscow park, the Lord touched him with His healing power. I said, “This is a token for you that God is going to bring you out.” We later learned that as Bonnie and I were hugging the literal fulfillment of God’s promise, this rabbi was on one of the other planes that landed that night.
The restoration of Israel is a picture of revival and a reflection of what God is also doing in the Church. As we recognize and welcome God’s restoration of Israel, He is restoring us. I believe God is highlighting restoration for us again today, pointing to His restoration of Israel and His promises to pour out His Spirit on the Church. The more we acknowledge and celebrate the miracles of God, the more we will step into them. The enemy may oppose His promises, as he has for thousands of years, but God’s Word will prevail. In the days since Israel’s statehood, she has endured six wars and two intifadas, but in the midst of it we have seen the desert bloom. Even today, there are still those who desire to destroy God’s restored people. Don’t let the enemy’s opposition define the will of God! The survival and prospering of the nation of Israel is a great demonstration for us that God will preserve us and our families. The enemy will oppose and attack, but this is the time to press forward into the promises of God. He is rebuilding the walls of our nation and restoring our foundations. Revival is here for us and for our children. Step into it, receive it and thank the Lord for His faithfulness to send His rains upon us. The God who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He will keep His Word for us and for His people, Israel.
On this 60th Birthday of Israel, may we recognize and invest in what God is doing on the earth. His restoration of Israel is a continuing work still being fulfilled in our day and in the days to come. Our highest calling is to be intercessors for God’s purposes on the earth. May we continue to stand as watchmen on her walls and pray for the peace of Jerusalem until she is a praise among the earth.
“ Rejoice with Jerusalem, And be glad with her, all you who love her; Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her; That you may feed and be satisfied With the consolation of her bosom, That you may drink deeply and be delighted With the abundance of her glory.” For thus says the LORD: “ Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you; And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 66:10-13
We will be leading a Watchman Tour to Israel in the Spring of 2009. Bonnie and I invite you to come an join us in this Land of Promise as we visit the historic and holy places in Israel and stand as Watchmen on her walls through our prayers. Click «HERE» to request a brochure and more information on our upcoming tour.
