The News from Israel Feb 2014 - First the Bad News, Then the Good

A Messianic perspective from inside Israel is more significant to Christian supporters of the State of Israel than all the perspectives of all the traditional Judaism spokesmen and religious or secular newsmen in the Promised Land.  Why?  Because only through Messianic Jewish Israelis can the news concerning Israel be filtered first through the wisdom and prophetic clarity of the Holy Spirit.  This is THE most significant factor of all!

Eddie Santoro is one of the best of Israel's Messianic Jewish spiritual leaders in seeing and communicating what is important for the worldwide Body to consider from Israel's news.

Santoro leads the Jerusalem congregation
Ahavat Yeshua (Love of Yeshua)
He is a member of the Revive-Israel Ministry Team

and Tikkun International Ministries

170,000 Missiles  |  One hundred and seventy thousand is a very large number. And that number is all the more sobering when one considers the words of Major General Kochavi, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate who claimed this week that this is the number of enemy missiles that are currently targeting Israel's towns and cities. From the northern most city of Kiryat Shemona to Israel's southern most city of Eilat, from the metropolitan wonder of Tel Aviv to the religious centers in Jerusalem, from the industrial  areas of Haifa to our own seemingly secure and quiet backyard in the Judean Hills, every Israeli faces this common threat; at any moment a rain of death and destruction could suddenly fall upon them. 

Added to the Major General's grim report was the additional observation that unlike any other time in Israel's history, there was a virtual 360 degree ring of Jihadist elements surroundng Israel's borders. These groups are diverse and often hate and kill each other but the one unifying characteristic that they all share is their desire to wipe the "Zionist Enemy" from the face of the earth.

A New Beginning |  From the beginning of the modern Zionist movement, the odds have been overwhelmingly against this nation. In 1948, Ben Gurion's declaration marking the miraculous resurrection of the State of Israel was met by the invasion of seven enemy armies. Survivors of Europe's death camps and those that had been driven from Arab nations found themselves not only struggling against a harsh and barren land but against the guns of their hateful neighbors. A nation that had almost no army, no air-force and very little weaponry was locked into a battle for its existence.

But the weapons and the plans of the enemy did not succeed then and the missiles and the jihadist hatred will not succeed tomorrow. Israel has a destiny and a future that God has promised and although all the world may say "NO" to Israel, the Lord God says "YES".

One of the great wonders of living in this nation is to witness its incredible advancement in spite of the overwhelming resistance that Israel faces every day. Israel spends over 6% of its GDP on defense as compared to the 2.5% that the United States spends, but in spite of this heavy burden that is forced upon Israel by its enemies, the nation is a living demonstration of God's grace poured out upon a people.

Here are just a few of the many examples of the miracle of Zion:
    Construction and development are happening continually throughout the nation. Israel is currently building a high speed railway that will connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with a 28 minute train ride.
    3.5 million visitors passed through Israel's new and modern airport in 2012 and they spent an estimated 36 billion dollars! And every one of them was prescreened by Israel's high tech security apparatus.
    Israel's over eight million citizens all share equally in a government health system that supplies all of its residents with the most modern and affordable medical care.
    As America and Europe passed through a devastating economic downturn over the past six years Israel's economy continued to grow and real estate prices, although very high, remained stable.
    Israel is second behind China in having the highest number of non-American companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.
    Israel is the sixth largest arms exporter in the world.
    Israel is the world leader in developing and exporting hi-tech irrigation equipment.
    Israel is a world leader in medical and paramedical research and bio engineering.

These facts become all the more amazing when you consider that Israel's population of 8,000,000 people represent just .001% of the world's population.

The grace that God is pouring out upon Israel is not only blessing those who live here but going beyond Israel's borders, fulfilling God's promise that through Abraham's descendants all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. Whether it be through advanced medical technology, cutting edge agricultural advancement, high tech companies (many of you probably use Waze GPS, an Israeli startup) or advancements in water desalinization, Israel is helping people all over the world live better and healthier lives.                   

The Spiritual Resurrection  |  The miraculous physical resurrection of the homeland of the Jewish people has also been marked by an equally amazing spiritual resurrection. Fifty years ago there were almost no Messianic Jews in Israel. Today it is estimated that over 15,000 Israeli citizens believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. Over that same period, the number of Messianic Congregations has grown from just a few in Israel's major cities to expressions of the Body of Messiah in almost every city and town.Today when I share the Good News of Yeshua with an unsaved Israeli, they usually not only understand the term "Messianic Jew" but even know someone who believes. And finally it was not so many years ago that the news media and government would never refer to a believer as a "Jew" but were generally referred to as converted Jews or Christians. Today, we are clearly defined by the media as Jews who believe in Yeshua or Messianic Jews.

God is on the move in Israel! His promise for the physical and spiritual restoration of this nation is being fulfilled in our day. We at Zion's Glory are on the front line of this battle and you, our brothers and sisters who love and support us are an important part of the force that is propelling us onward to victory. Your prayers strengthen us. Your support enables us. Your love encourages us. So let us all stand together rejoicing before the Father for his great faithfulness to the nation of Israel and let us give him no rest until he makes Jerusalem the "Praise of the Earth".