Israel Mandate conference 2009

Asher Intrater     IHOP Israel Mandate    6/6/2009   Kansas City, MO PM-1

Last June, Rita and I went to Kansas City to be part of the Israel Mandate conference that the International House of Prayer (IHOP) puts on every year. IHOP has an incredible ministry; their 24/7 prayer center has a special room for Israel and their worship bands rotate through all of their venues. The Israel Mandate emphasis serves as a good example of what I’d like the Church to begin doing. Asher Intrater and Dan Juster of Tikkun Ministries were the guest speakers and we were excited to be there. Rita and I have had the privilege of hosting Asher in our home on two different occasions and I was able to see Asher in Jerusalem when I went to Israel in 1999. He is the closest embodiment to what I think the Apostle Paul must have been like. 

I took 25 pages of notes; here is a sample from a few of the messages. Asher speaks with intensity; these plain words don’t conjure up his passion and style. I encourage you to go to Tikkun’s website or IHOP's to find a sampling of some of his sermons.

In 2 Samuel 7:12-16, a covenant was cut with King David. God said that He would set up David’s seed after him to set up the Kingdom. His throne would then be set up forever.  Israel is a covenant issue. David was the first person to ask God to come and be with us. Solomon couldn’t walk in it.  Jesus is David’s son and He walked in it.

There are two thrones:

1. Earthly throne 1 Kings 10:18   (Currently empty)

2. Heavenly throne  Ezekiel 1:26   (Currently occupied by Son of Man)

John 19:12-22 We have no King but Caesar. Jesus is going to take the planet over!

Jesus died because He claimed to be King. Joshua (the book and the man) is a parable of the two kingdoms. Joshua and Yeshua essentially have the same name in Hebrew.

Acts 1:67 “When will you restore the kingdom?”

Acts 3:19 restoration of all things.

The legal covenant is super important to establishing Jesus’ claim to the throne. You can’t separate Israel from the end times. Where does Jesus come back to? To Israel; where the future government under the covenantal constitution will be established. There is no reason for Israel to be a nation if the Messiah isn’t going to be there.

In 1948 Israel took the first step to get ready for the king. Everything in the Bible reflects the future, whether Joshua or Esther... fulfillment. Everything points to the sacrifice of Jesus. The hearer/reader must understand the generation they are in.

Second Holocaust Asher PM-2

2nd Pentecost    2nd Coming    2nd Holocaust

2nd Coming is the central event of all prophecy.

Revelation 19 and Zechariah 14 are the two clearest passages in scripture about the Second Coming.

Heaven and Earth: 2 Perspectives

Jesus the Messiah was literally:

• born of a virgin
• crucified and buried
• resurrected
• raised up to heaven

and he will literally:

• come back to rule and reign for a 1000 years.

Zechariah 12:3; 12:9, 14:2-3; 14:12.

Jerusalem is a heavy stone. God will destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem.

There will be a huge battle - This must have seemed impossible when it was written, but it is possible today, politically, economically, and militarily. It will be a time for the Bride of Christ to get the wedding dress off and put on the army boots. In the enormous conflict, Christians will be caught up into it as well. Just as Hitler came against the loyal Christians and the Jews, so the AntiChrist will come against all who do not bow to him. The book of Esther is a perfect picture of the church and Israel. The church will use her bridal intimacy to influence the king. There is a deep mystical connection between the suffering of Israel and the crucifixion. The world hates the Jews because Jesus was born as one of us. Marc Chagall painted about it and Rick Winoke sculpted a 50’ long piece on it. 

How does God test the heart? With an innocent baby. Solomon, in his famous test of the two women who claimed the same baby as their own, used the potential death of the innocent baby to reveal the true intents of their hearts. The innocent baby Jesus was sought by Herod, arrested by the priests, and condemned by Pilate. Put the nation of Israel in the place of Jesus. God is testing the nations to see the true intents of their hearts. It is a real-time extension of the Abrahamic blessings and curses.

Dan Juster echoed this theme: "Only Israel is a test to the nations" 

Joel 3:1-3

“I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there. On account of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up my land. They have cast lots for My people...”

Will the nations placate Islam? It is the valley of decision for all nations.

Ezekiel 38:14-16 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know [it]? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes."

Matthew 13:24  “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field...”

In this parable of the wheat and the tares, the Biblical picture of the end is that good and evil will come into their full ripening.

Matthew 25:32, 40 comes from the judgement of the nations: 

“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides [his] sheep from the goats...”

“And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did [it] to Me.'”

“these my brethren” are the Jewish people. The nations will be judged by how they have treated the Jewish people.

2. Only Israel can reveal the Glory of God.

Isaiah 60:3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Messianic Warrior Bride - Sandra Teplinsky

While I was at this conference I bought two books by Sandra Teplinsky: Why Care About Israel? and Israel’s Anointing. Sandra speaks quite passionately about the combined Gentile and Jewish Messianic body. Here is a quote from Israel’s Anointing, p. 24:

“If you love the Lord and pray with even a modicum of militance, 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done', you do not desire to merely wince and grit your teeth during the pivotal period. Like me, you want to stand firm in Kingdom fervor, substance and dimension in your life. You want revival! Your heart cries out for the manifest presence of God, the salvation of souls and the righteous deeds of the saints. You already taste the joy set before you and your Beloved, and you will  do what it takes for more. You want to be part of the emerging Messianic Warrior Bride, engaged to the end in Kingdom expansion - because you want your life spent on Him.

As birth pains intensify, Israel and the Church will converge toward a common destiny. The two are converging because, as we will later see, neither can attain to their ultimate destiny apart from the other. God’s Old and New Covenant peoples are inextricably bound together. In Christ, the two are now becoming one, maturing into His bride. But this last days betrothed one is also a warrior. Loving the Lord with all of our   heart, soul, and mind-as a bride awaits a Bridegroom-is fierce in its force, shattering evil and overcoming the world...

The Messianic Warrior Bride is not about an attitude of crusading triumphalism or carnal emotionalism. It is not about who is better or more blessed: Jewish or Gentile believers. In Jesus, ethnicity is neither a barrier nor a boon for blessing. Rather, this fellowship of friends is about a King who is coming, a love He is unleashing with power for prevailing, and a Kingdom restoration of all things - in the context of Jews and Gentiles joined together for Jesus.”

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Rita and I are currently attending a 6 week series with Ray Vander Laan called "Let My People Go" at our church in Holland: Central Wesleyan 6:00 - 7:30.
Ray is a very gifted speaker and teacher. While his main job is as a high school teacher at Holland Christian school, he has achieved international acclaim leading numerous trips to Israel and making several DVD projects for Focus on the Family. We have already attended two sessions (at least 1500 people were there) and he is teaching for the next 2 Sunday evenings; he'll continue the series after a 3 week Passover/Easter break. If you can make it, come and enjoy. I will try to put together some of the really cool things that he has taught us.