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Note by
Steve Shultz, Publisher:
This seems
like a good time to post Francis Frangipane's word from a few days ago.
It is well timed for several reasons;
First, because in times of war, we begin to often second guess
ourselves on everything, looking for the tiniest thing in us, or something
that is UNDER OUR CONTROL, that we have not yet obeyed well enough...or
that we have not personally repented enough of corporately, that would
allow judgment against our nation. With that in mind this article is good.
Second, Because we must continually remind ourselves, that as
prophetic people, Scripturally, we "see through a glass darkly" -- we know
in part and we prophesy in part. The reason we have entered a season of
refreshing team ministry (instead of "Lone Ranger" prophets) -- is the
safety in numbers to find the revelation we are all hearing in common,
knowing that there is a certain confirmation by the Holy Spirit in what we
are ALL hearing (though that is not always the final test either). We must
ask ourselves as team players, "what are the other prophets seeing that I
am also seeing" and "What am I NOT seeing that other prophets are
seeing." This should then send us back to the Throne Room to recheck with
the Father what we have felt He told us.
Third, Prophets have sought to understand the place that America
still holds in the heart of God ---and ---- even on the way we as a nation
have been said to be possibly welcoming judgment in America through our
"dividing up" of the Land of Israel. Again -- as a prophetic people, we
don't always all see every issue alike. This is healthy and it causes us
to remain humble as the little revelation we have is just that...a
little. We must then get into the company of other prophets. I was in a
meeting of major prophets recently. Towards the end of it, one major
prophetic voice got a sudden "check" in his spirit at the direction we
were heading. Others then spoke up as they were beginning to feel the same
way. See, the comparing what we are hearing and sensing with other
prophetic voices can be turned into a healthy change of direction---as
directed by the Spirit. This article is one voice among many but it
should be put alongside other prophet revelation.
Finally, Every now and then, I post a reminder that while the
Elijah List is NOT a battle ground in any sense for differing prophetic
viewpoints, neither do I run if one prophet is getting a picture from a
new, fresh, or even complementary angle -- to what other prophets are
seeing.
With all
that in mind read carefully this article from Francis Frangipane's article
below called "USA, ISRAEL, and JERUSALEM."
Then, come join our Elijah List Prophetic
conference in Frederick, Maryland, May 1-4 with Francis Frangipane, Paul
Cox, and Steve Shultz. To register or for information on the Frederick
Conference, go to:
http://www.cornerstonefellowship.net/
-- Steve
Shultz, The Elijah List
************************************
USA, ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM
by Francis Frangipane
3-22-03
I was sitting in the Cleveland airport when
an angry businessman, about 14 feet from me, suddenly said, “I hate going
through security. They searched everything. I even had to take off my
shoes. Its all because of the Arabs.” He continued speaking, but his
language and solution to terrorist problems are not fit to print.
We continued talking and, when our flight was called, we walked together
toward the plane. Switching from terrorism, he now had very harsh words
about the Pope. As we boarded, I suggested we sit together and continue
the conversation. However, the seating configuration didn’t permit an easy
switch, so instead of talking with him, I prayed. As I did, I felt like
the Lord showed me this man’s heart. He wasn’t just angry, he was deeply
wounded. His profanity and outrage were his means of dealing with
injustice.
We soon arrived at our destination and, as we arrived and the plane locked
into the boarding tunnel, I waited for my new companion. As he neared, I
said, “You’re Jewish, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” He responded. “Judaism is both my culture and my religion.”
I told him I am committed to the Jewish people, and that no matter what
else is happening worldwide, I not only financially support Israel, I try
to pray for the Jews daily. We had just entered the Detroit terminal when
I mentioned, “If there’s any good news for Israel, it’s what has been
happening among Evangelical Christians. Truly,” I said, “there has never
been a people more supportive of Israel than today’s Christians.”
“Are you one of those?” he asked.
And, suddenly his whole countenance
brightened and tears actually rimmed his eyes. Oblivious to other
travelers, he put his arms around me and thanked me. In a spectacular
moment of grace, we had become brothers.
A LOVE AFFAIR WITH ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM
Evangelical
Christianity, especially that which is originating from America, has
increasingly proven itself over the past decades to be a faithful and
committed friend to Israel. Indeed, the heart of the praying church toward
Israel has been
no secret to the Jewish people, reaching even as far the Jewish
business community in Cleveland, Ohio.
This relationship between Evangelicals and Israel is more than doctrinal;
God has given a special grace uniting Israel with born again Christians.
This unity between America and Israel is not limited to our spiritual
bond, of course. Israel’s government, both militarily and economically, is
connected with the USA. Yet, in a unique way Evangelical Christians are
engaged in a spiritual love affair with Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
At times we have suffered emotional turmoil, being fiercely loyal to
Israel, while also feeling the heartache attached to
Palestinian suffering. Yet,
make no mistake, by treaty and by love, America in general is deeply
committed to Israel, not only to its “right to exist,” but to its
prosperity and destiny.
Consider: Although Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world's
population, and already has one of the world's higher per capita incomes
(14th highest), it receives approximately one-third of the American
foreign-aid budget. Yet, in addition to the several billion taxpayer
dollars America supplies, several more billions come into Israel from
American churches, synagogues and private individuals. (Interestingly, the
top two nations, per capita, in charitable giving worldwide are the USA
and Israel).
Or consider Israel’s wars, whether the Israelis were fighting Syrians,
Jordanians or Egyptians, armed American B-52's flew overhead, like
hovering birds protecting a nest, ready to step in and defend Israel. As
we know, God Himself gave Israel her victories, but America’s heart and
resources were poised to help. Indeed, while America has a genuine
rationale legitimizing the war with Iraq, there is also a powerful
unspoken reason that is acknowledged quietly by our foes: our war with
Saddam is, in part, to keep him from using weapons of mass destruction
against the Holy Land.
Indeed, it is profound that the first Gulf War, led by the USA, ended on
the Feast of Purim and that this next war has commenced on this feast.
(Purim is the Jewish Feast celebrating God bringing deliverance to Israel
from a harsh, Babylonian ruler!)
========================================
What I am About to write will challenge Some
of You
========================================
What I am about to write will
challenge some of you. Some will react so emotionally to my next words
that they will forget everything I have just chronicled
concerning America's support of Israel. A few will demand to be taken off
our mailing list. So, let me reassure you once again that I believe God
will ultimately restore the Holy Land to its biblical borders, according
to His promise, in the fullness of His time and ways. However, when a few
suggest God’s wrath has repeatedly struck America because our President
proposes a Palestinian state (or that 9-11 was God’s wrath for just
voicing such a suggestion), I must disagree.
The classic text used to support this view is Joel 3:2, which reads, “I
will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of
Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of
My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the
nations; and they have divided up My land.”
=================================
Accusing the USA of Dividing Israel's Land
=================================
I know people mean well, but
accusing the USA of dividing Israel’s land does not overlay into this verse.
First, it is speaking of the Great Tribulation period, not now. And
clearly, this verse is addressed to Israel’s enemies, those who plundered
and scattered the Jews. The USA has not “scattered [the Jews]
among the nations,” as this verse warns. Indeed,
since 1990 nearly one billion American tax dollars were given
as "resettlement" grants for Russian and Ethiopian Jews in Israel! (see
www.us-israel.org)
The Lord’s wrath concerning the dividing of Israel’s land had to do with
the armies that conquered Israel, scattered the Jews, then “divided the
land” as plunder among themselves. The USA has not conquered Israel; we are
fighting to keep Israel alive. Listen to Saddam and bin Laden’s
repeated rebuke to America: both say they are warring with the U.S. because
we protect “the Zionist state” (Israel). In this regard, our enemies can see
with better discernment than a lot of us Christians!
Part of ending Israel’s conflict is finding a viable, compassionate solution
for the Palestinian problem, a solution that guarantees Israel’s right to
exist, as well as a homeland for the Palestinians. Typically, we
Christians have hoped the Palestinians would relocate to another Arab
nation. However, with the majority of the Palestinians living on
Israel's eastern border, it is possible that their nearness to Israel, and
their lack of gas masks, is a primary reason the Jews have not suffered
massive chemical or biological attacks.
Yet, I am not saying that the answer for Israel’s peace is a Palestinian
state (I believe the Lord will bring forth a better solution in
time), but we should not be paranoid.
America is a gift from the
Almighty to Israel. The USA is not participating in doing what the spirit of
Joel 3:2 warns against. As for the “links” between Presidential remarks
about a Palestinian state and the wrath of God striking American interests,
this seems to me a very subjective interpretation of events. Indeed, if one
were to chart American headlines during any decade in the past 50 years,
there are plenty of storms, accidents, earthquakes, floods, setbacks, stock
declines, and other problems and disasters that appear with almost
predictable regularity. To link a typical, reoccurring pattern in a very
large nation to divine wrath seems hard to swallow.
===========================
God Even Spoke to a Pagan King
========================
If the Almighty
would appear to a pagan king in a dream and warn him against sleeping with
Sarah, Abraham’s wife (Gen 20:3), I think He could appear in a Christian
President’s dream and warn him against dividing the land. The real God is
very wise, good and all-powerful. He would not have to strike America
with disasters hoping we would connect His so-called flashes of anger
with Israel's land.
You may disagree with me, but I am one voice who says that I do not see Joel
3:2-3 as a warning to America. There certainly are many other things wrong
with the USA, but scattering Israel’s people and occupying her land is not
one of them.
Again, please remember I am not espousing replacement theology; I
love Israel and Jerusalem, and have faith for God’s best, even to extending
Israel’s borders to biblical boundaries. However, I think we simply need to
pray for both Israel and the USA, and trust the Almighty to work all things
after the counsel of His will. More than anything, let us not be distracted
by such rhetoric. For there is a mystery, a divine and holy
mystery, unfolding from God’s heart. It concerns the intertwining of Israel
and the USA.
Before Jesus
returns, we will see God’s heart manifested in a supernatural grace
concerning the union of these two nations. Beloved, as you can see, “usa”
has always existed in the center of Jer-usa-lem.
Francis Frangipane
=========================
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