First Natural, Then Spiritual

"And so it is written, 'the first man Adam became a living being.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is The Lord from heaven." 1Corinthians 15:45-47.

The title for our message this week could be referred to as one of God's perfect order of all that He created. The principle in this case is that the natural takes place first and then the spiritual.

Last week's message concentrated on the importance of the Jewish people world wide moving back to Israel. This event is mentioned over 700 times in scripture and is vitally important to them and to our Lord God. Where does the principle of first the natural and then the spiritual fit into end times scenarios? The return of the Jewish people to physical Zion must take place in the physical realm and then the Spiritual Zion will take place.

What do we mean by the Spiritual Zion? Romans 11:26-27 says, "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'" Biblical Scholars believe these verses mean that all Jewish people, who have returned to Israel, will recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah and be saved as part of the Second Coming of Jesus to earth. (Zechariah 14:4 and Zechariah 12:10) 

 Israel Will Have Become Spiritual Zion 

How close are we to Spiritual Zion becoming a reality? Only our Lord God knows! However, this we do know. Romans 11:8 says, "God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day." Currently, it is challenging for the Jewish people to see Jesus as their Messiah and to know the critical importance of their returning to Israel. Praise The Lord this is only a temporary situation.

God's covenant people currently are being saved and are moving to Israel but to a limited degree. We all need to pray daily that their eyes can see and their ears can hear the truth of God's Word . . .

Jesus Is Their Messiah And They Need To Move Back To Israel  

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank

Now Is The Time!

"However, the days are coming, declares The Lord, when men will no longer say, 'as surely as The Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, 'as surely as The Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers." Jeremiah 16:14-16.

Notice in this critically important message from our Lord God that He will bring back the Israelites to the land (Israel) which He gave to their forefathers. Notice also He will bring them out of "all" the countries from where He banished them.

There is much for us to comprehend from these few verses in Jeremiah. A question commonly asked in Christian circles is, "When will Jesus return to earth?" Also, a common question in Jewish circles is, "When will our Messiah appear?" Could these few verses in Jeremiah reflect on both questions?

The whole concept of the Jewish people world wide moving back to Israel has already been happening for many years and is referred to as them "Making Aliyah." A million have already left Russia and large numbers have come out of France, Ethiopia, Syria, India and Morocco. This is so important to our Lord God that over 700 verses in Scripture mention the Jewish people returning to Israel. Would one of the prerequisites for Jesus to return to earth and The Messiah to be revealed is for all Jewish people to be living in Israel?

For the conclusion of our message this week, we will consider the millions of Jewish people living in the United States. In 1987, Tom Hess who is a prophet and the founder of the International House Of Prayer For All Nations, was praying and he received a vision from Our Lord God of judgments coming to America in the form of bombs exploding. The Lord at the same time revealed to Tom it was time for the American Jewish population to return to Israel. 

The title for our message this week is, "Now Is The Time!" If anything, the time is overdo for American Jews to "Make Aliyah." Bombs have been exploding in the United States for years. For us, who love and support Israel and the Jewish people, what can we do? We can pray that the Jewish people world wide and especially in the United States will realize "The Time Is Now" and react.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank      

Tikkun Olam

The Jewish people believe in Tikkun Olam which means they believe they are called by God to "Repair The World." This is why they help others all over the world in disaster situations and why they are out front in helping Christians who are being persecuted by Muslims. This is the reason they send scientific experts to help solve problems in areas that are stricken by drought and help farmers in Africa to grow enough food to feed their families. They do all these things because they understand that they are responsible under God for the well being not only of themselves but also the entire human race.

Does this approach also apply in how they treat their enemies who surround them and even live among them? We need to realize that in the years 2015 and 2016 Israel has experienced 407 terror attacks including 165 stabbings, 107 shootings, 47 car rammings and a bus bombing. These attacks resulted in 40 deaths and 558 injuries.

Based on this, how did Israel respond? The Israeli democracy includes in their governing body, known as the Knesset, members of the Arab Party who support terrorism. Would this happen in most of the other countries of the world? Israel actually provides medical help to terrorists after they attempt to murder Israelies. An Israeli mother recently donated the kidney of her son who was murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber to save the life of a Palestinian girl.       

The "Heart For Peace" humanitarian program has saved the lives of 610 Palestinian children since 2005. During the last war with Hamas in 2014, two Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel received medical treatment. Thousands of people from Gaza are treated medically in Israel each year.

When an Arab Israeli was wrongly beaten by police last summer, Israelis raised money for his college tuition and legal fees. A Palestinian girl whose bike was stolen was given a new bike by an Israeli man. This week just before the start of Yom Kippur, 1,500 Israelis gathered to pray for the people in Syria. 

These are all examples of God's chosen people obeying His word as stated in Genesis 12:3. We, as born again Christians, have a similar "calling" on our lives "to love your neighbor as yourself" illustrated in Matthew 22:36-39. My prayer for us as God's people is that we will fulfill these admonitions from our God in this world of turmoil in which we live. 

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Each Day,

Frank

BDS - Illegal

April 1, 1933 is a date that the Jewish people will never forget. On that date Nazi troopers filled the streets in front of Jewish businesses preventing German citizens from entering and held up signs saying, "Do Not Buy From Jews." This was an aggressive effort to isolate the Jewish people preparing the way for their ultimate destruction.

The current movement known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) could very well be described as a copy of the Nazi movement in 1933. Clearly, BDS is designed to prevent people all over the world from purchasing products produced in Israel. Again, all these current efforts are designed to isolate Israel leading to its ultimate destruction.

There are those who say that BDS activities are protected under free speech regulations. However, this movement is not free speech but is actually hate speech which is economic discrimination and is illegal according to international law.

The good news is there are movements throughout the world working  toward eliminating the BDS movement. Colorado, Arizona, Tennessee, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, New Jersey, California, South Carolina and Illinois are states that have passed Anti-BDS legislation. Twenty other states are considering similar legislation. Kansas and Pennsylvania have adopted legislation to discontinue funding any university that boycotts Israel. The United Kingdom, France, Austria, Germany and Spain have enacted similar legislation. Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Praise The Lord!

Isaiah 51:3 says, "For The Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of The Lord; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." Our Lord God has abundantly answered the first part of this verse concerning the land of Israel, let us all pray everyday the second part will be a reality for all the Jewish people.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank  

Bibi, Bold And Truthful

Last Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly. His message this year was similar to other years as he clearly pointed out the UN's excessive bias against Israel. For example, the UN passed 20 resolutions against Israel last year and only 3 against all the other nations combined.

However, this year Netanyahu shocked the audience by starting his message with the following bold statement, "Israel has a bright future at the UN." I believe he had everyone's attention! He continued, "Everything will change and a lot sooner than you think. The change will happen in this hall, because back home governments are changing their attitudes toward Israel."

More and more nations in Asia, Africa, Latin America are now seeing Israel as a partner in fighting terrorism and a partner in developing technology. Today, Israel has diplomatic relations with 160 countries. Many seek to benefit from Israel's creativity in agriculture, health and intelligence. Israel leads the world in recycling waste water. They recycle 90% of their waste water while the next nearest country only recycles 20%.

Probably the most surprising development is Israel's new relationship with other Arab countries. Peace treaties continue with Egypt and Jordan. Additionally, other Arab states are recognizing Israel is not their enemy, but their ally. Their common enemies are Iran and ISIS. As a result, their common goals are to become secure, peaceful and prosperous. 

Netanyahu had the opportunity to visit four African countries and while at the UN met with leaders from 17 additional African countries. He discussed ways Israel's technology could transform their countries.

The Israeli Prime Minister closed his address by saying, "I believe the day is not far off when Israel will be able to rely on many countries to stand with them at the UN. Slowly but surly, the days when UN Ambassadors condemn Israel are coming to an end." Yes, Bibi spoke with boldness and truthfulness!

Our message each week is read in many countries throughout the world. Recently, we have noticed a dramatic increase in the readership of France. We are very interested in why and how this is happening. Followers of this blog who are in France please email us at fgruber.prayerfocus@hotmail.com if you would like to comment.

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank  

Honorable Men

Mohammed Dajani, a Palestinian professor stated recently that, "Palestinians must seek normalization with Israel in order to achieve independence." His purpose in making this bold proclamation was to promote mutual understanding between Israel and the Palestinians leading to a peaceful relationship. 

Well, how was the professor treated by his fellow Palestinians after this proposal? Not very well! He was targeted by the Palestinian Anti-Normalization Movement as a "Traitor" and his car was set on fire.

In an interview with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Dajani said, "The Palestinian cause must be won inside of Israel and that normalization is an essential step in the process to end the conflict. By ostracizing Israel, Palestinians threaten to eliminate the Israeli people from the cause of peace making peace improbable, if not impossible. Anti-normalization also violates the terms of the Oslo Accords which called for the end of incitement."  

Dajani was not alone in this type of treatment. Khared Abu Toameh who also promotes dialog between Palestinians and Israelis was ostracized in his community for his efforts. He said, "We need to sit together and understand each other." 

There is one who is willing to "Sit Together" with the Palestinians - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has said numerous times he is willing and ready to meet with the Palestinian leaders. However, they are not willing. They have not even recognized Israel as a valid nation.

We praise our Lord God for these two bold and honorable men and pray there will be many more living in the contested Middle East who will speak the truth. Nothing Is Impossible For Our Lord God - Continue Praying!

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Each Day,

Frank

Keep On Keeping On!

The title for our message this week is unique and interesting. It means to keep on doing what you are doing because it is important in the furthering of the Kingdom of God here on earth. 

David Jeremiah, author and Pastor of Shadow Mountain Church in San Diego, California, recently shared that while he was in Israel an elderly Jewish woman approached him and said, "Thank you for your friendship and support of Israel because Christians are the only friends we have." 

How important is our friendship with Israel? Witness the following three reports. Within the last week, Hamas and Iran met in Beirut, Lebanon. These two regimes have publicly and repeatedly promoted the destruction of Israel. When the meeting concluded, the two parties had agreed to work together in uniting the Muslim World to face the Zionist danger.

Last Monday night a rocket was launched from Syria into the Israeli Golan Heights. No injuries were reported, however, the Israeli Air Force retaliated against the Syrian Army. This event was the third Syrian rocket which has currently landed in the Golan Heights. Syria also reported that it shot down an Israeli jet but this has been denied by Israel.

Another report from Israel states they are bracing for an ISIS terror attack along their Southern border with Egypt. ISIS located in the Sinai Desert has been stealing armored vehicles and anti-tank missiles from Egypt. They have also gathered a supply of Russian made missiles.

We need to "Keep On Keeping On" being the only friends of Israel but they have another friend and the most important friend - Our Lord God! Psalm 125:1-2 says, "Those who trust in The Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so The Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever more." Zechariah 14:2-3 also says, "For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the woman ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then The Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle."

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Each Day,

Frank