The Story of Rami: A Secular Israeli Perspective on Jesus Who do men say that I am?� (Mark 8:27) This is the great question we all must answer: "Who is Jesus?" The question regarding the identity of Jesus can only be correctly answered when the Father chooses to reveal Jesus to us. Still, it is our duty to proclaim the Biblical Jesus. Every society has some misunderstanding, some false information, about the true identity of Jesus. Perhaps few societies are more complex than Israel. I would like to share with you the story of Rami, a secular Israeli who is searching for the truth about Jesus. FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ISRAEL EHC
July 2020
January 2019
ISRAEL First, let me tell you a bit about how secular Israelis view Jesus. Modern Israeli society is incredibly diverse. In the past 100 years Jewish immigrants from around the world have returned to the Land of Israel with their own unique customs and traditions. Some of these immigrants observed the Torah (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), while others completely rejected belief in God. Within this varied society there was a wide range of opinions about everything, but perhaps one common denominator was the general consensus that Jesus is not the promised Messiah. Thanks in part to the anti-Semitic atmosphere which pervaded much of "Christian" Europe for the better part of 1500 years, the Jewish people largely saw Jesus and his followers as their enemy. While the Jewish Orthodox community fiercely rejects Jesus’ claims, the approach in the secular realm can be more nuanced. We have often seen that a staunchly secular family, one that rejects the Torah and faith in the Creator, can become quite upset when Jesus is proclaimed as Messiah by a family member or someone in their community. Having said that, the modern secular perception of Jesus has shifted significantly in the past 100 years. At the turn of the century as European Jews began to return to the land of Israel, some secular Jewish scholars began to re-examine the life of Jesus from within the Jewish worldview of the late Second Temple period. These scholars not only "discovered" that Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi who was steeped in the traditions and life of Ancient Israel, but were also genuinely enamoured by his person. In their eyes Jesus was a benevolent reformer who promoted
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some of the highest moral standards in the history of the Jewish people. This favourable assessment of Jesus was widely embraced by Israeli intellectuals and seen as an enlightened position to be espoused against the traditional religious view of Jesus. However, their newfound appreciation for the person of Jesus was far from complete. In reality, secular Jewish scholars promoted a sterilised Jesus, one who did not perform miracles, did not believe that he was the Messiah, and did not rise from the dead. On the one hand their secular world view, or belief system, allowed Jewish scholars to examine the life of Jesus. On the other hand, this same system prevented them from truly understanding his identity and mission. This enigmatic Jesus, highly admired yet completely misunderstood, came to impact several generations of Israeli scholarship and secular Israelis. The story of Rami illustrates the conundrum of secular Jewish attitudes toward Jesus. Some months ago Rami ordered a small book about the life of Jesus in Old Testament prophecy. We called him recently and discovered that he was amazed to see how perfectly Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. Rami told us that he had long been fascinated by the person of Jesus. He even said that he loves Jesus. He had already read most of the New Testament, and enjoys re-reading certain portions over and over. And while he was impressed by the prophetic connection to the life of Jesus, he was unable to recognise Jesus as Messiah just yet. Rami is dealing with more foundational questions, questions which are part of his world view, questions like: What does “Messiah” mean? Does God even exist? “
ISRAEL Some of his objections to Jesus’ messianic identity were literally pulled straight off the pages of Israeli scholarship: “Were the Gospels partly fabricated to corroborate the messianic prophecies?" We spoke about this objection and the exceeding improbability that such a vast array of prophecies could be concocted to line up with the life of Jesus. We also spoke about the prophecy in Daniel 9 concerning the timing of the Messiah’s arrival. A most basic reading of Daniel 9 shows us that the Messiah had to arrive before the destruction of the Second Temple; a closer analysis shows that Jesus came exactly at the appointed time. We then asked Rami to think about the real difficulty he was facing: How can Rami, or any secular Israeli, recognise Jesus’ true identity when secular scholarship flat out rejects the veracity of Biblical prophecy and more specifically the authorship of Daniel? The secular denial of Jesus is built upon assumption after assumption which undermines the truth of God’s Word. If one rejects the words of the prophets, how can they ever recognise the Messiah? I think Rami understood that he was looking at Jesus
from a perspective which was fundamentally flawed. He committed to reading more and trying to understand who Jesus really is. We have sent him some more serious studies on Biblical prophecy and have asked him to carefully examine Daniel chapter 9. Rami’s story is really the story of so many secular Israelis. They may have a positive image of Jesus, but that image is built upon a belief system which rejects the power of God. The secular worldview is really just another man-made system of belief which is inherently opposed to God and his Word. Please pray for Rami, that he will be able to look past his preconceived notions regarding the Word of God, and more importantly that our heavenly Father would reveal the true identity of Jesus to Rami. Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 16:16-17)
Rami’s story is really the story of so many secular Israelis. They may have a positive image of Jesus, but that image is built upon a belief system which rejects the power of God. 3
Yaeli Gabriely
PRAY FOR THE GOSPEL LITERATURE BEING READ IN HOMES IN ISRAEL!
ISRAEL
It's 75 Years Since Hitler Murdered 6 Million Jews
ISRAEL
In Israel, at sundown on April 11 and again at 11am on April 12, sirens resound throughout Israel. Traffic comes to a standstill, even on major highways, and pedestrians stand in place for two minutes. The moment of silence commemorates the 6 million Jews murdered between 1933 and 1945 during the Holocaust and honours those who survived. Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah in Hebrew) is a solemn time for reflection on their past, and a call to action for the present and future, so that we can ensure, "never again." Today, more Holocaust survivors live in Israel than anywhere else in the world. Approximately 186,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel today. Pray God will make a way for every person in Israel including Holocaust survivors to know Christ and, as Every Home for Christ in Israel share gospel literature with others, that many will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be present as He was in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people came to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and thus the preaching of the Gospel and the church was born in Israel and taken to the uttermost parts of Earth.
Your prayer and gift for Israel is important ...
In Just 2 Weeks, China Shut Down 48 State-registered Churches by My Christian Daily Staff
TO THE LAST HOME
At least 48 state-registered “three-self” churches and meeting venues were shut down in a country of China between 18 and 30 April, as part of the on-going crackdown on Christianity by the ruling communist party. Barnabas Fund reports that religious items have been stripped from churches in Yugan county and replaced with images of President Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong. Chairman Mao presided over China’s Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, during which all religious expression was banned.
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Religious items have been stripped from churches in Yugan county and replaced with images of President Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong as pictured above. Chairman Mao presided over China’s Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, during which all religious expression was banned [Image credit: Bitter Winter]
Yugan county, in Jiangxi province, became one of the key targets of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) increasingly repressive measures, presumably because of its large number of Christian residents, according to the website Bitter Winter. More than 10% of the population of one million are Christians, who attend around 300 official “three-self” churches. “Ever since the central religious supervision team was stationed in Yugan county, officials of all government levels don’t dare to relax,” said a local Christian. In late April, officials led by the mayor stormed into a “three-self” church in Shegeng town and forcibly removed its podium, cross and religious items, causing many members of the congregation to break down in tears.
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“Whether they demolish a church or a cross, everyone is too afraid to challenge them,” said the local Christian. “If you try to protest, they will accuse you of fighting against the Communist Party and the central government. In Yangbu town, officials demolished the cross of a “three-self” church in mid-April, and announced that the church was to be turned into an activity centre for the elderly. In Yugan’s Daxi township, a local CCP secretary told Christians that it was one of the state’s policies to shut down churches and demolish crosses. “Higher echelons of government declared after an inspection that there were too many believers in the country,” said the Secretary. “When so many believe in God, who will listen to the Communist Party?” Many “three-self” churches and meeting venues were stripped of their possessions and merged into Yugan’s Meigang and Jiulong townships. A local Christian commented, “The government does not allow us to believe in God “[President] Xi Jingping follows the path of Mao Zedong, who cracked down on all religious beliefs and killed people of faith. If you refuse to obey the President who orders you not to attend religious meetings, you’ll be arrested and imprisoned.” The ongoing CCP crackdown against the Church is part of Xi Jinping’s five-year plan, announced in 2018, to “reinterpret” Christianity according to secular socialist views, in a process of “sincisation” (i.e. to make Chinese). In a series of repressive measures, hundreds of “three-self” churches and “house churches” (i.e. unregistered congregations) have been closed, pastors have been arrested and imprisoned and surveillance cameras installed inside churches.
Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738 ABN: 88001276240 www.everyhome.org.au E-mail: ehc@everyhome.org.au New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 NZBN: 9429043322862 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738 www.everyhomeforchrist.org.nz
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Is the Coronavirus an End-Time Biblical Plague? by Dr. Michael Brown
Does the Book of Revelation predict the coronavirus? Is it one of the prophesied, end-time plagues? If so, does that mean that this is just a harbinger of much worse things to come? There is no denying the seriousness of the virus. As Bill Gates noted in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 28, “In the past week, Covid-19 has started behaving a lot like the oncein-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about.” And even at this early stage, “Covid-19 has already caused 10 times as many cases as SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] in a quarter of the time.” And evangelical commentator Michael Snyder included the coronavirus in his “list of 10 plagues that are hitting our planet simultaneously.” The “plagues” were: 1) Armies Of Locusts; 2) Extremely Bizarre Weather Patterns; 3) Unprecedented Flooding; 4) Major Earthquakes; 5) Unusual Volcanic Eruptions; 6) The Coronavirus; 7) The African Swine Fever; 8) The H1N1 Swine Flu; 9) The H5N1 Bird Flu; 10) The H5N8 Bird Flu.
‘Does that suggest, then, that Covid-19 is one the end-time judgements described in Revelation? Al Mohler noted that, “We are also reminded of Revelation 6:7-8 in which we read, "When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked and behold a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death and Hades followed with him.’ That fourth horseman has often been associated with plague, with illness, with a violent death by means of this kind of disease, which we now identify primarily with deadly viruses spreading across the human population.” But neither Mohler nor Snyder are suggesting that the virus is one of the final plagues of Revelation. And Gates is certainly not thinking in these terms. To the contrary, the fact that Gates can describe Covid-19 as a “oncein-a-century pathogen” indicates that it is hardly an apocalyptic plague, no matter how deadly it may be. As underscored by Robert Bartholomew in Psychology Today, “The Chinese Coronavirus Is Not the Zombie Apocalypse.”
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He wrote, “I am not downplaying the seriousness of the new Coronavirus that has been spreading around the world. People are dying and every death is a tragedy. But it is not the end of civilisation as we know it—contrary to some media outlets, which risk causing undue alarm and panic.” In stark contrast, if the Book of Revelation does, indeed, describe a series of terrifying, end-time plagues, those plagues will mark the end of civilisation as we know it, along with the ushering in of a glorious new age. Again, I’m not minimising the seriousness of the virus. And, certainly, “every death is a tragedy.” In fact, as I write these words, I’m returning home from Australia via Hong Kong. And I passed through Hong Kong just a few days ago on the way to Australia. The vast majority of people at the airport in Hong Kong were wearing masks, as was the entire crew during the whole flight. And before you passed through airport security, a wand was held near your forehead to check for fever. So, again, I recognise the seriousness of this virus. But we minimise the intensity of end-time biblical prophecy by imagining this deadly virus to be an apocalyptic plague. More importantly, we forget that Biblical judgements are connected with clear words of warning -“Judgement is coming! Repent! Don’t let sin destroy you! Turn to God for mercy!”
I did not hear such warnings in the months leading up to Covid-19. Of course, Christian leaders have been sounding warnings like this for centuries, as did Biblical prophets in the centuries before them.But I personally believe that, as we approach the end of the age, the warnings will become much clearer, calling for specific change in light of specific prophecies, as opposed to a virus just popping up out of the blue. To be sure, there are many Biblical scholars who do not interpret Revelation in this way at all. In their minds, many of the events of the book already took place, described in the highly graphic language called “apocalyptic.” Others would argue that most of the events are yet future, but they are cloaked in symbolism and should not be taken literally. My own understanding is that there will be massive upheaval before the end of the world, in the midst of which there will also be a mighty spiritual outpouring. But either way, what is clear to me is that we should not view the coronavirus as a prophesied, end-time plague. Instead, we should view it in the same way we have viewed many other epidemics and pandemics in world history. They are tragic reminders of the broken state of our world and of the frailty of our race. And while doing all we can to prevent and combat the spread of Covid-19, we should pray for the mercy of God. The final shaking will be far more intense than this.
JULY 2020
Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from the books of John and Acts. For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading program these chapters are in brackets.
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PRAY FOR DICK AND DEE EASTMAN. Dick is the International President of Every Home for Christ with a large responsibility for EHC ministries across the world. John 4: 1 - 27 (Ecclesiastes 1 - 2) PRAY FOR DIPLAVE POKHREL Please continue to pray urgently for the Immigration Department to approve Diplave’s visa so that he can continue working with Every Home for Christ. PRAY FOR ERIC AND LORRAINE LEACH Thank you for praying for Lorraine's mother. Just a few weeks off 99 years of age, she recently passed away. We have appreciated your prayer over a number of years, both for Olive and for us as we minister in Every Home for Christ. John 4: 28 -54 (Ecclesiastes 3 - 5) PRAY FOR YOUR FAMILY - sons, daughters and grandchildren, plus others to come to Christ. Get a piece of paper and write down their names. Get their photos and pray every day for their salvation; eternity without Christ is a long time! John 5: 1 - 24 (Ecclesiastes 6 - 8) JAPAN Pop. 126,500,000 Map. 174 Many Japanese people are feeling a new wave of depression due to Covid - 19 and this is causing them to respond differently to different types of material. Many Japanese people are curious about the Bible and its historic origin. Pray for the Holy Spirit to touch many hearts. John 5: 25 - 47 (Ecclesiastes 9 - 12) PAPUA NEW GUINEA Pop. 8,900,000 Map. 146 Please pray for our team of pioneer missionaries who are preparing themselves through fasting and prayer for the Covid-19 project. They will be visiting homes with basic food items together with gospel tracts in the settlements around Mount Hagen city. John 6:1 - 36 (1 Kings 12 - 16) GUYANA Pop. 780,000 Map.213 Pray for the preservation of our nation. God has pronounced blessings over Guyana but the devil wants to rob the nation of those blessings and keep us from our destiny. Pray that we will arise and fulfill our destiny, that this nation will be the breadbasket of the Caribbean and a model of healing to all. John 6: 37 - 71 (1 Kings 17 - 19)
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SEYCHELLES Pop. 98,000 Map. 145 We praise God that Seychelles survived the first wave of Covid-19 with no deaths, and all patients having recovered and tested negative. The country and activities are slowly resuming back to the new normal. John 7: 1 -26 (1 Kings 20 - 22)
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PERU Pop. 32,900,000 Map. 217 Pray for the Covid patients of the Rebagliati hospital who have received Christ but are still on a reserved prognosis. John 7: 27 - 52 (2 Kings 1 - 4) BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA Pop. 3,300,000 Map. 70 Praise the Lord that the measures regarding COVID have been relaxed and we have the freedom to go to our churches and lcoal communities again. John 8: 1 -30 (2 Kings 5 - 8)
CREATIVE ACCESS Through the many difficult situations we face today, we are very grateful to God for His grace which helps us to do the important work of evangelism in our country. Many thanks to you for keeping us in your prayer. John 8: 31 - 59 (2 Kings 9:1 to 14:25) HUNGARY Pop. 9,700,000 Map. 79 We have started personal distribution again. Keep praying for wisdom, so that we may know where to go. The Board had a meeting last week and they agreed that the main mission of EHC is to reach out and call people personally. We need to use the new modern possibilities. John 9: 1 - 20 (Jonah 1 - 4)
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GHANA Pop. 31,000,000 Map. 39 We request prayer for the work of the ministry in Ghana as we embark on the Covid-19 project that will reach out to many people in the communities, market places, bus terminals etc, sharing the love of God and giving them hope in the midst of the pandemic. John 9: 21 - 41 (2 Kings 14:26 - 29, Amos 1-2) BULGARIA Pop. 6,900,000 Map. 77 Pray that we would be able to complete the coverage of the last four regions: Varma, Plovdiv, Ruse and Gabrovo. Pray for the partner churches and volunteers who are taking part in reaching these places. Please pray for safety and grace as they reach homes for Christ. John 10: 1 -22 (Amos 3 - 6) REPUBLIC OF CONGO Pop. 5,500,000 Map. 20 Pray that God will touch the hearts of all those who will receive a gospel leaflet through this current EHC project. John 10: 23 - 42 (Amos 7 - 9)
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Write your prayer request and we will pray for you too!
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RUSSIA Pop.145,900,000 Map. 106 Our volunteers handed out booklets with food packages and if people accepted, prayed for them. Through this work, 11 people said the repentance prayer. Praise God for those who have come into the kingdom! John 11: 1 - 29 (2 Kings 15 - 17)
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KENYA Pop. 53,700,000 Map. 27 We have received a lot of calls thanking us for the food, soap, masks and sanitisers that we have distributed in the last two weeks. Through the Covid-19 project, we have been able to distribute literature to many homes. John 11: 30 - 57 (2 Kings 18 - 20) CREATIVE ACCESS Quarantine is still very strict in our nation and it is impossible to hold Sunday meetings. There is also a lot of persecution against the church at the moment, many pastors have been fined and put in prison for up to 15 days. Please pray for us and our nation. We need God's grace.John 12: 1 - 25 (Psalms 1 - 2) DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Pop. 10,800,000 Map. 192 Keep praying for the Dominican Republic as we live with the Covid-19 virus; around 18,000 people have been infected and over 500 people have passed away. John 12: 26 - 50 (2 Kings 21 - 25) SURINAME Pop. 580,000 Map. 212 Lord, we pray that this beloved country will be a blessing to the entire Caribbean region and a beacon to the world. We praise you that in spite of the many challenges we've faced as a nation, you keep blessing us.We thank you that you are our refuge and strength. John 13 (Psalms 43, 66 - 67) CREATIVE ACCESS H. believes all nations are corrupt but is attracted to Jesus and is reading the Bible. Since learning of Jesus, sin bothers him more. He feels trapped in sin and does not know how to get out. Pray he would see the redemptive power of Jesus in the scripture. We plan to meet him after the pandemic. John 14 (Psalms 10, 33) BENIN Pop. 12,110,000 Map. 37 Pray with us for the Lord to sustain Nathalie, a lady living in the Atlantic region, in Jesus' name, Amen! John 15 (Psalms 92 - 95)
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SAO TOME & PRINCIPE Pop. 219,000 Map. 22 Pray for the volunteers who are in the field for social work and evangelism. May God protect them from Covid-19 and give them the strength to continue to bless the needy in this moment of great need. John 16 (Psalms 71, 89)
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HUNGARY Pop. 9,700,000 Map. 79 We are grateful that churches have requested almost 12,000 copies of our pamphlet concerning the pandemic as we wrote in our previous letter. We mailed them on Friday. Pray for those who receive them! May it be a thoughtful, provoking, spiritually moving message for many people. John 17 (Psalms 127 - 129)
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EAST TIMOR Pop. 1,300,000 Map. 144 Pray for the Covid-19 team that will carry out the task in the field of distributing social assistance to the people of East Timor. Pray that the team will be given strength, health and success in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. John 18: 1 - 20 (Psalms 102 - 104)
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RUSSIA Pop. 145,900,000 Map. 106 A brother in M. village says that people have become more open to the Gospel and they go out of the house and lead the conversation. Some people are tired of just sitting in self-isolation and are happy to have an opportunity to talk to the evangelists who have come. John 18: 21 - 40 (Psalms 105 - 106)
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CREATIVE ACCESS We created an evangelistic brochure about how to protect yourself from the coronavirus. It contains instructions on cautionary actions and evangelistic Bible verses. We distributed them along with our evangelistic brochures. John 19: 1 - 22 (Psalms 111 - 115)
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BARBADOS Pop. 287,000 Map. 207 Pray that people who received food baskets through the EHC Covid-19 project will know the love of God and respond to the message of the gospel presented through the leaflets we provided. John 19: 23 - 44(Psalm 116 - 118)
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MOLDOVA Pop. 4,000,000 Map.102 Please continue to pray for the next outreaches in the villages of Jora de Mijloc, Jora de Sus and Jora de Jos. Pray for many open hearts and for a prophetic spirit to rest on volunteers so they may have a good word for each person from these localities! Thank you and may God bless you! John 20 (Psalm 119)
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LEBANON Pop. 6,800,000 Map. 114 The country is about to witness a new revolution. Please pray for our nation as we might be heading toward a civil war in the near future. John 21 (Psalms 120 - 125) SOUTH SUDAN Pop. 11,200,000 Map.32 We are thankful for the opportunity to love our countrymen who are struggling through the Covid-19 project. This is changing lives, especially for those who have no way of putting food on the table. Pray that many people will come to Christ through this outreach. Acts 1 (Psalms 127 -129) CREATIVE ACCESS The terrible hailstorms that fell during the month of April 2020 have destroyed the roof of S.'s house. He is a dedicated pioneer missionary. Due to the lack of sufficient finances, it has not yet been repaired. Please pray for financial aid. Acts 2: 1 - 24 (Psalms 130 - 134)
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PRAY FOR ISRAEL - ROMANS 11:28