In the previous article, we explored several reasons that support the existence of a pre-gospel covenant between God and the world. Continuing our examination, we will delve into compelling points demonstrating God’s interaction with pagan nations and individuals, further substantiating the idea of a pre-gospel covenant.

These examples emphasize God’s desire for everyone to enter into a covenantal relationship with Him, regardless of their background or nationality.

1. Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh: Jonah’s mission to Nineveh is a remarkable example of God’s desire to bring repentance and salvation to non-Israelite nations. Despite Jonah’s initial resistance, his preaching led to the repentance of the Ninevites. This account highlights God’s compassion for all people and His intention to establish a covenantal relationship with those outside the Jewish community.

2. Joseph and Moses: Demonstrating God’s favor in Egypt: The lives of Joseph and Moses provide profound examples of God’s favor and presence within pagan nations. Both men became instruments of God’s deliverance and blessing to their families and Egyptian society through their obedience and faithfulness. These accounts reveal God’s willingness to engage with and bless individuals within non-covenant communities.

3. Jeremiah’s prophetic words over Babylon: Jeremiah’s prophecies in Jeremiah 48-52 include messages of judgment and restoration concerning Babylon. Despite being a pagan nation, God communicates His plans and purposes for Babylon, highlighting His involvement in the affairs of non-Israelite societies. This demonstrates a pre-gospel covenant relationship between God and the world.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

4. Daniel’s influence on pagan kings and empires: Daniel’s life and ministry significantly impacted the pagan empires of Babylon and Persia. As a prophet, Daniel interpreted dreams and received divine revelations, influencing the decisions and beliefs of pagan kings such as Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius. These interactions exemplify God’s intention to establish a covenantal relationship with leaders and nations beyond Israel.

5. Queen Esther’s influence on King Ahasuerus: Queen Esther’s courageous actions and influence over King Ahasuerus in the Persian Empire reveal God’s providential hand in the affairs of pagan nations. God’s people were preserved and protected through her intervention, affirming His commitment to His covenantal purposes even within non-covenant communities.

6. Nehemiah’s influence on King Artaxerxes: Nehemiah’s close relationship with King Artaxerxes showcases God’s favor and the ability to influence pagan rulers. Nehemiah secured the king’s support and resources to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls through his leadership and persuasion. This exemplifies God’s involvement in the world’s affairs and His desire to use individuals to accomplish His purposes beyond the confines of the covenant community.

7. God anointed King Cyrus: Isaiah prophesied about God anointing, equipping, and calling by name a Persian king named Cyrus, who, hundreds of years later, would be instrumental in helping exiled Jews return to the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 45). Here is another example of God revealing Himself to a non-Jewish king.

This article further reinforces the pre-gospel covenant between God and the world. The accounts of Elisha, Amos, Jonah, Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Daniel, Queen Esther and Nehemiah are powerful evidence of God’s interaction, influence and accountability within pagan nations and individuals. These instances highlight God’s desire to establish a covenantal relationship with all people, irrespective of their cultural or national background.

These biblical narratives demonstrate that God’s redemptive plan extended far beyond the boundaries of Israel. They affirm His active involvement in the lives of individuals, nations and empires, signifying a pre-gospel covenantal relationship that existed before Jesus Christ.

Understanding and embracing the reality of a pre-gospel covenant illustrates God’s all-encompassing love and grace. It expands our understanding of His redemptive purposes and reinforces the call for believers to actively engage with and influence the world around them.

Just as God worked through individuals in ancient times, He continues to work through His people today to impact and transform societies, nations and cultures.

As we reflect on the examples provided, let us recognize our immense responsibility and privilege as believers to represent God’s covenantal love and grace to a world in need. Let us embrace our calling to be ambassadors of reconciliation, extending the invitation of covenantal relationship with God to all people. By doing so, we participate in the continuation of the pre- and post-accession gospel covenant, making known the transformative power of God’s love and the hope found in Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. {eoa}

For the first part of this article, click here.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church and leads several organizations, including the U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition.

I’m still processing all the incredible things that happened this week.

Thanks to my good friend David Nekrutman of the Isaiah Projects, who spearheaded an incredible initiative to relocate and care for the needs of scores of people evacuated from the Gaza area, and my good friend, Jeffrey Mark, owner of J. Mark Interiors, who made magic happen, we were able to give dozens of beautiful people a night they’ll never forget.

Arts and crafts and movies for the kids. Pizza and popcorn. Felafel and cotton candy. Singing and smiles. Volunteers stepped up in a way that still astounds me including all of Mark’s staff, family and friends; Ruth and Francis, Christian friends I had only met only yesterday on a webinar briefing I hosted at 4:00 a.m. and who happened to be visiting; and my own children. Everyone wanted to do something to help.

All this was possible because of the thousands of generous donations from Christians and Jews all over the world. Each one, from as little as $1, made all this possible, as well as so much more that’s planned and needed. I’m just privileged on behalf of the Genesis 123 Foundation to be entrusted with these donations and to be able to make it all possible.

Under normal circumstances, images of happy, smiling kids are, well, normal. It’s what we as parents expect and strive for. But for the kids we’ve been able to help this week, simple activities such as playing outside, watching movies, doing arts and crafts, and feasting on pizza and junk food are far from the norm. For the first 10 days of the war, living six miles from the Gaza border, they didn’t leave their houses because they only had 15 seconds to seek cover each of the hundreds of times rockets were fired. Daily. Last night, these precious, beautiful children had no worries.

It’s impossible to share how much this was not just good but essential for the parents as well. It was a critical respite for them in which they too were able to breathe. Seeing their children happy and cared for, engaged and not afraid was more than enough. It’s impossible to share here how much they all, each one, articulated how grateful they were, often with tears in their eyes. The idea of Jews and Christians standing together to make this happen blew them away, especially considering that many had never had even met a Christian before. Until they met Ruth and Francis.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

For us, Jewish Israeli adults, the experience was a much-needed respite as well. Nekrutman, Mark and I, who moved to Israel too old to serve in the Israel Defense Forces but whose children have served and are serving now, all left inspired. Hopeful. Grateful. Grateful that we each had the ability to step up and partner like this, coalescing family and friends and generous donors from all over the world to make this possible.

For a few hours, while we do not live under the threat of hundreds of rockets a day as our new friends the evacuees have, we did not have to be obsessed with the horrors of the news of continued death count and atrocities that took place against our people, our neighbors, less than two weeks ago. For just a few hours, like our new friends, we were able to live in the moment of warmth, happiness and the ability to give to others. For that, each of us will be grateful forever and grateful to everyone who donated so generously to make this happen.

But there are many, many, many additional needs. Despite their smiles, the children have experienced unspeakable trauma and will need months, if not years of counseling. We have been privileged and grateful to have raised enough money to pay for their hotel next week, one more week of an opportunity to breathe safely without living and sleeping in fear. Actually, what we heard was that they weren’t even sleeping as they anticipated the rockets all night.

But the hotels only provide breakfast, and so lunch and dinner are on us. Yesterday I received a call from an American organization here on the ground that wants to help with meals. On the way home with my two daughters, touched and moved by all the amazing kindness that we were able to be part of, we planned a barbecue for next week and will receive donations to make that happen, not just to stretch the financial donations that we’ve already received as far as we can but to give as many people the opportunity to participate in this tremendous, and tremendously necessary, act of kindness.

We are appealing to everybody, Jews, Christians, friends, family and complete strangers everywhere in the world to join us with their most generous support, because the needs will be great for a long time, and we want to be there and with them as much and as long as possible.

All of this has taken place in the context of an unprecedented and unspeakable war where thousands of our civilians have been butchered, violated, gravely injured and kidnapped in the most horrific ways. It’s a war that we must win, and it’s a war that we will win. It’s a war that will have many more losses and much more grief. It will likely get worse, much worse, before it gets better. But we’re praying that it gets better and then our new friends will be able to return home soon.

At one point, two young men arrived with guitars, just wanting to sing and make people happy, braking out in a song in which everybody joined. It’s a song of peace, a song in Hebrew and in Arabic. It was surreal listening to people who days earlier had been living in fear and stress, who had witnessed horrors and only by the grace of God were spared, now, in a safe place, singing that “soon there will be peace for us.” Incredible. Unimaginable. Moving. Inspiring. Hopeful.

Today I will go to the hotel and have the privilege of swiping my credit card to pay for the entire week’s stay for dozens of evacuees for all of next week. When I told the adults last night that we were covering their next week, they smiled, they held their hands to their heart, they wept, and they could not stop thanking me. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the United States and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has become a respected bridge between Jews and Christians and serves as president of the Genesis 123 Foundation. He writes regularly on major Christian websites about Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, and hosts the popular “Inspiration from Zion” podcast. On behalf of the Genesis 123 Foundation, the Israel Emergency Campaign gives a vehicle for millions of Christians around the world the opportunity to do so virtually as well.

Franklin Graham says antisemitism is a cancer, a disease that must be wiped out.

On Facebook, Graham recently posted:

As Hamas—who is responsible for killing over 1,000 Jews in Israel, raping women, decapitating babies, taking hostages, and even using the phones of civilian victims to video their brutal murders and sending the video to their family members—called for a “day of rage,” we are seeing blatant antisemitism displayed in protests on the campuses of many of our nation’s major universities. It’s shocking.

They are ignoring the butchery that Hamas has committed. I hope donors to these schools will realize that their gifts are enabling this plague of antisemitism. One person told me that they would never give another dollar to their alma mater because of this. If you agree, let your voice be heard.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

His sister, Anne Graham Lotz, in a blog post called upon the God’s words through Malachi: “‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord … ‘My name will be great among the nations … I the Lord do not change. So, you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed’ (Malachi 1:1,2, 11, 3:6).”

Lotz also wrote:

These memories have quickened my heartfelt compulsion to pray for the Israelis … and the Palestinians … caught up in what surely is a satanically inspired attack on the people and the land that God uniquely loves. Without doubt, this is a time to pray as best we can …

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Lord of Hosts. God of Angel Armies. Lion of Judah. Show up in extraordinary power. Give Your people resounding victory over their enemies. In obedience to Your command, we pray for the enemies who are coming against Your people. [Matthew 5:43-44] We pray for searing conviction of their sin and demonic cruelty, for them to turn from it, and to ask You for forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Billy Graham Association’s Samaritan’s Purse is on the ground in Israel. It is working with dozens of churches to equip and support them in ministering to people in their communities who have been affected by these deadly terrorist attacks. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

In the midst of dangerous and chaos, a group of 84 American Christians from the Diocese of West Fargo, North Dakota, found themselves in a harrowing situation in the heart of Bethlehem as war erupted in Israel.

Their journey, which had started as a peaceful pilgrimage, took a sudden and unexpected turn, thrusting them into a foreign land in the throes of conflict with the terrorist group Hamas.

The group, led by the Rev. Gerald Braun, embarked on their spiritual journey to Israel, seeking solace and connection to their faith’s roots. However, their trip unraveled when Hamas launched surprise attacks, plunging the region into a state of war. It began as an ordinary day as they attempted to visit the site of Jesus’ baptism on the Jordan River, only to be turned away as the area was declared off-limits.

Undeterred, they tried to make their way to Jericho, but they soon discovered that it was closed as well. It was only then that they realized the gravity of the situation, as news of the outbreak of violence reached their ears.

The group’s leaders, Braun and the Rev. Phil Ackerman, quickly sought help from various quarters, reaching out to the State Department, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and their state’s senators, John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer. The situation escalated rapidly, and the group found themselves stranded in Bethlehem, uncertain about their prospects of returning home.

One concerned family member, John McDonald, whose sister was among the stranded, reached out to Mark “Oz” Geist, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran known for his heroic actions during the Benghazi attack in 2012. Geist, with his extensive network in the region, became a beacon of hope for the beleaguered group.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

Geist worked diligently, utilizing his contacts to provide the group with reliable information. He understood that their flights from Tel Aviv were no longer a feasible option due to widespread cancellations. Instead, he suggested a daring plan: heading to the border with Jordan.

This idea was unconventional but rapidly gained traction among the group. Braun saw it as a lifeline, especially after the uncertainty regarding flights from Tel Aviv. With this new plan in place, they set their sights on reaching Jordan.

By Wednesday morning, the group had boarded buses and began their journey, the only significant obstacle being a minor delay at the border. They also praised their tour guide, who played a pivotal role in arranging accommodations and flights for the Americans returning home.

“They were unsure of what to do,” Geist told Fox News Digital. “Their flights were out of Tel Aviv … but the airline companies at the time had told them they couldn’t rebook them.”

The path to safety was fraught with challenges, but their determination and the assistance of dedicated individuals like Geist made it possible. The group finally boarded their flights back to the U.S. on Thursday. Frustrations lingered about the evacuation process, highlighting the need for more efficient and coordinated efforts in assisting American citizens overseas during times of crisis.

The State Department emphasized its commitment to the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad, offering assistance through multiple channels, including security alerts and communication. They also explored alternative evacuation methods, such as transiting through a third country when direct flights were unavailable.

Behind the scenes, Cramer and Hoeven, along with the State Department, worked tirelessly to provide support and solutions for the stranded group. The unexpected escalation of events had placed immense pressure on government agencies responsible for the safety of Americans abroad. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

I’m still processing all the incredible things that happened this week.

Thanks to my good friend David Nekrutman of the Isaiah Projects, who spearheaded an incredible initiative to relocate and care for the needs of scores of people evacuated from the Gaza area, and my good friend, Jeffrey Mark, owner of J. Mark Interiors, who made magic happen, we were able to give dozens of beautiful people a night they’ll never forget.

Arts and crafts and movies for the kids. Pizza and popcorn. Felafel and cotton candy. Singing and smiles. Volunteers stepped up in a way that still astounds me including all of Mark’s staff, family and friends; Ruth and Francis, Christian friends I had only met only yesterday on a webinar briefing I hosted at 4:00 a.m. and who happened to be visiting; and my own children. Everyone wanted to do something to help.

All this was possible because of the thousands of generous donations from Christians and Jews all over the world. Each one, from as little as $1, made all this possible, as well as so much more that’s planned and needed. I’m just privileged on behalf of the Genesis 123 Foundation to be entrusted with these donations and to be able to make it all possible.

Under normal circumstances, images of happy, smiling kids are, well, normal. It’s what we as parents expect and strive for. But for the kids we’ve been able to help this week, simple activities such as playing outside, watching movies, doing arts and crafts, and feasting on pizza and junk food are far from the norm. For the first 10 days of the war, living six miles from the Gaza border, they didn’t leave their houses because they only had 15 seconds to seek cover each of the hundreds of times rockets were fired. Daily. Last night, these precious, beautiful children had no worries.

It’s impossible to share how much this was not just good but essential for the parents as well. It was a critical respite for them in which they too were able to breathe. Seeing their children happy and cared for, engaged and not afraid was more than enough. It’s impossible to share here how much they all, each one, articulated how grateful they were, often with tears in their eyes. The idea of Jews and Christians standing together to make this happen blew them away, especially considering that many had never had even met a Christian before. Until they met Ruth and Francis.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

For us, Jewish Israeli adults, the experience was a much-needed respite as well. Nekrutman, Mark and I, who moved to Israel too old to serve in the Israel Defense Forces but whose children have served and are serving now, all left inspired. Hopeful. Grateful. Grateful that we each had the ability to step up and partner like this, coalescing family and friends and generous donors from all over the world to make this possible.

For a few hours, while we do not live under the threat of hundreds of rockets a day as our new friends the evacuees have, we did not have to be obsessed with the horrors of the news of continued death count and atrocities that took place against our people, our neighbors, less than two weeks ago. For just a few hours, like our new friends, we were able to live in the moment of warmth, happiness and the ability to give to others. For that, each of us will be grateful forever and grateful to everyone who donated so generously to make this happen.

But there are many, many, many additional needs. Despite their smiles, the children have experienced unspeakable trauma and will need months, if not years of counseling. We have been privileged and grateful to have raised enough money to pay for their hotel next week, one more week of an opportunity to breathe safely without living and sleeping in fear. Actually, what we heard was that they weren’t even sleeping as they anticipated the rockets all night.

But the hotels only provide breakfast, and so lunch and dinner are on us. Yesterday I received a call from an American organization here on the ground that wants to help with meals. On the way home with my two daughters, touched and moved by all the amazing kindness that we were able to be part of, we planned a barbecue for next week and will receive donations to make that happen, not just to stretch the financial donations that we’ve already received as far as we can but to give as many people the opportunity to participate in this tremendous, and tremendously necessary, act of kindness.

We are appealing to everybody, Jews, Christians, friends, family and complete strangers everywhere in the world to join us with their most generous support, because the needs will be great for a long time, and we want to be there and with them as much and as long as possible.

All of this has taken place in the context of an unprecedented and unspeakable war where thousands of our civilians have been butchered, violated, gravely injured and kidnapped in the most horrific ways. It’s a war that we must win, and it’s a war that we will win. It’s a war that will have many more losses and much more grief. It will likely get worse, much worse, before it gets better. But we’re praying that it gets better and then our new friends will be able to return home soon.

At one point, two young men arrived with guitars, just wanting to sing and make people happy, braking out in a song in which everybody joined. It’s a song of peace, a song in Hebrew and in Arabic. It was surreal listening to people who days earlier had been living in fear and stress, who had witnessed horrors and only by the grace of God were spared, now, in a safe place, singing that “soon there will be peace for us.” Incredible. Unimaginable. Moving. Inspiring. Hopeful.

Today I will go to the hotel and have the privilege of swiping my credit card to pay for the entire week’s stay for dozens of evacuees for all of next week. When I told the adults last night that we were covering their next week, they smiled, they held their hands to their heart, they wept, and they could not stop thanking me. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the United States and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has become a respected bridge between Jews and Christians and serves as president of the Genesis 123 Foundation. He writes regularly on major Christian websites about Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, and hosts the popular “Inspiration from Zion” podcast. On behalf of the Genesis 123 Foundation, the Israel Emergency Campaign gives a vehicle for millions of Christians around the world the opportunity to do so virtually as well.

In the previous article, we explored several reasons that support the existence of a pre-gospel covenant between God and the world. Continuing our examination, we will delve into compelling points demonstrating God’s interaction with pagan nations and individuals, further substantiating the idea of a pre-gospel covenant.

These examples emphasize God’s desire for everyone to enter into a covenantal relationship with Him, regardless of their background or nationality.

1. Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh: Jonah’s mission to Nineveh is a remarkable example of God’s desire to bring repentance and salvation to non-Israelite nations. Despite Jonah’s initial resistance, his preaching led to the repentance of the Ninevites. This account highlights God’s compassion for all people and His intention to establish a covenantal relationship with those outside the Jewish community.

2. Joseph and Moses: Demonstrating God’s favor in Egypt: The lives of Joseph and Moses provide profound examples of God’s favor and presence within pagan nations. Both men became instruments of God’s deliverance and blessing to their families and Egyptian society through their obedience and faithfulness. These accounts reveal God’s willingness to engage with and bless individuals within non-covenant communities.

3. Jeremiah’s prophetic words over Babylon: Jeremiah’s prophecies in Jeremiah 48-52 include messages of judgment and restoration concerning Babylon. Despite being a pagan nation, God communicates His plans and purposes for Babylon, highlighting His involvement in the affairs of non-Israelite societies. This demonstrates a pre-gospel covenant relationship between God and the world.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

4. Daniel’s influence on pagan kings and empires: Daniel’s life and ministry significantly impacted the pagan empires of Babylon and Persia. As a prophet, Daniel interpreted dreams and received divine revelations, influencing the decisions and beliefs of pagan kings such as Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius. These interactions exemplify God’s intention to establish a covenantal relationship with leaders and nations beyond Israel.

5. Queen Esther’s influence on King Ahasuerus: Queen Esther’s courageous actions and influence over King Ahasuerus in the Persian Empire reveal God’s providential hand in the affairs of pagan nations. God’s people were preserved and protected through her intervention, affirming His commitment to His covenantal purposes even within non-covenant communities.

6. Nehemiah’s influence on King Artaxerxes: Nehemiah’s close relationship with King Artaxerxes showcases God’s favor and the ability to influence pagan rulers. Nehemiah secured the king’s support and resources to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls through his leadership and persuasion. This exemplifies God’s involvement in the world’s affairs and His desire to use individuals to accomplish His purposes beyond the confines of the covenant community.

7. God anointed King Cyrus: Isaiah prophesied about God anointing, equipping, and calling by name a Persian king named Cyrus, who, hundreds of years later, would be instrumental in helping exiled Jews return to the city of Jerusalem (Isa. 45). Here is another example of God revealing Himself to a non-Jewish king.

This article further reinforces the pre-gospel covenant between God and the world. The accounts of Elisha, Amos, Jonah, Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, Daniel, Queen Esther and Nehemiah are powerful evidence of God’s interaction, influence and accountability within pagan nations and individuals. These instances highlight God’s desire to establish a covenantal relationship with all people, irrespective of their cultural or national background.

These biblical narratives demonstrate that God’s redemptive plan extended far beyond the boundaries of Israel. They affirm His active involvement in the lives of individuals, nations and empires, signifying a pre-gospel covenantal relationship that existed before Jesus Christ.

Understanding and embracing the reality of a pre-gospel covenant illustrates God’s all-encompassing love and grace. It expands our understanding of His redemptive purposes and reinforces the call for believers to actively engage with and influence the world around them.

Just as God worked through individuals in ancient times, He continues to work through His people today to impact and transform societies, nations and cultures.

As we reflect on the examples provided, let us recognize our immense responsibility and privilege as believers to represent God’s covenantal love and grace to a world in need. Let us embrace our calling to be ambassadors of reconciliation, extending the invitation of covenantal relationship with God to all people. By doing so, we participate in the continuation of the pre- and post-accession gospel covenant, making known the transformative power of God’s love and the hope found in Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. {eoa}

For the first part of this article, click here.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally known author, consultant and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church and leads several organizations, including the U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition.

The question stunned David Friedman, former U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Nearly two weeks ago, as the war between Israel and Hamas was just getting started, he saw the joy of his family visiting turn to horror with the sound and danger of exploding rockets and the need to take refuge in a bomb shelter.

That’s when his 12-year-old granddaughter asked him, “Why do they want to kill us?”

“That’s not something you want to explain to your grandchild, ever,” Friedman tells Charisma News during a recent interview relaying the events currently in Israel. “But early on in the battle, there [were] a lot of sirens in Jerusalem. It was very hard for me because I had some of my children and grandchildren visiting.

“I had to explain to my granddaughter—as I ushered her into a bomb shelter—about what was happening,” he says. “She wanted to know why, why are we doing this?” I had to explain that there are people not far away who want to kill us because we’re Jewish. They’ve never met us; they’ve never met a single Jew. No in the Gaza Strip has met a Jew in the Gaza Strip because there are no Jews in the Gaza Strip. So people they haven’t met, they don’t know.

“But nonetheless, they want to kill us, and they don’t care,” he says. “If one of their rockets hits any family, you know, they’ve nothing against us personally; they just want to kill us. This is a message that’s not really appropriate for somebody at that age. And that’s the reality of living in Israel within this these times. I mean, I had to explain it … I couldn’t just rush into a shelter, with sirens going off without explaining why to this bright little girl. But it’s a shame. I thought that we were past this point in our history. But we’re not.”

Indeed. As Jonathan Cahn calls, “Jew hatred,” or antisemitism, continues to spread throughout the world, including on top college campuses in America like Harvard. Anti-Israel protests, combined with the silence of major universities like the University of Pennsylvania, have caused an uproar in the Unites States educational community and prompted some prominent donors to withdraw their money from these institutions.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up-to-date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“From looking at all of these protests at all these college campuses, one would have thought reasonably intelligent kids would do this,” Friedman says. “But antisemitism is at a level the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.”

Many accused Elon Musk of being antisemitic and said antisemitism was cruel. But when Israel began to defend itself against Hamas and its brutality over the past couple of weeks, the same people have become blatantly antisemitic and pro-terrorism. Along with antisemitism, hypocrisy is rearing its ugly head in this world. As Charisma Media interviewer John Matarazzo says, it has become Orwellian.

“It’s stunning,” Friedman says in their interview. “I went to undergrad to Columbia University, and then I went to law school at NYU. And these two places over the last weeks have been so shameful. I mean, [there are] professors who have glorified the attack. They’ve glorified it. They said this was an incredible, awesome, attack by Hamas. That was at Columbia and NYU. The student Bar Association put out something the first day—like before Israel even responded—that all of this is Israel’s fault.

“So, imagine the pain on the parents of their people, their parents now have children who died, their parents have daughters, who have been who have been sexually abused, over and over again by these animals and then taken over into Gaza and held them hostage,” he says. “And what these, for lack of a better word, idiot college students and law students are saying is that she had it coming to her because she lives in Israel. It’s her fault, we can’t imagine that.

“The parents are not suffering enough without seeing that the insanity that has become of the world?” Friedman asks. “So yeah, I have to tell you … Israel, with all its problems, I mean, Jerusalem, we’re in a war zone here. But it’s almost easier to be here, because at least we’re living in a place where, you know, my neighbors to the right and the left and all the other people I know who are politically to the right and the left, in the center … at least here, everybody agrees that these are barbarians who have to be defeated. At least we’re not finding a war of communications in Israel.”

But it’s communication that Friedman would rather not partake in, especially with his preteen granddaughter. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

The news created shock waves around the world. Those evil, genocidal Israelis bombed a hospital in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of deaths. And this was not just a hospital caring for the sick and the wounded.

It was a hospital where civilians were taking cover, including many children. Yet these monstrous Israelis targeted it for destruction, causing outrage and cries for vengeance around the globe, especially in the Muslim world.

Of course, that’s not what happened.

First, Israel doesn’t do that. Israel does not target hospitals and schools. Israel does not single out and destroy innocent non-combatants, especially women and children and the sick and elderly. And especially, at a time like this, Israel would not possibly do something like this. The backlash would be massive, and rightly so.

In stark contrast, Hamas does do these very things. Hamas takes delight in slaughtering the innocent in the most grotesque, barbaric ways imaginable, filming it for the world to see. Israel does not.

So, at the very worst, this would have been an errant strike by an Israeli pilot, a tragic event that would cause grief and pain in Israel as well, not dancing and celebrating in the streets. (For those with very short memories, there was dancing and celebration in Gaza over the wholesale butchering of innocent, noncombatant Israelis.) And even if this were an errant strike by the Israel Defense Forces, the fault would still lay at the feet of Hamas since they instigated the war and use civilians as human shields.

But this was no errant strike by the IDF. All evidence points towards it being a failed rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad, as the terrorists slaughtered their own. Visual evidence points to this. Audio evidence points to this. Satellite imagery evidence points to this. Foreign intelligence analysis points to this.

Unfortunately, none of this will matter to the critics of Israel, who are now raging with indignation against the Jewish state.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

The story has already been canonized and the lie has already become truth. Any attempts to set the record straight will be branded “fake news” or “Israeli cover up” or the like.

Yes, the enemies of Israel now have definite proof that Israel is genocidal, and this false allegation, in turn, will lead only to more bloodshed—both Jewish and Arab—in the years ahead.

In my 1992 book “Our Hands Are Stained with Blood: The Tragic Story of the Church and the Jewish People” (updated and expanded in 2019), I document many of the lies that have been told about the Jewish people in history (it seems the crazier the lie, the more it is believed). I also document many examples of libelous reporting, falsified claims, and extreme media bias.

A photo was released by United Press International on Aug. 2, 1982, during the heat of the Israeli-PLO conflict in Lebanon. According to Frank Gervasi (in the book “The Media’s War Against Israel”):

The photo showed a 7-month-old Lebanese girl swathed in bandages from head to foot. The caption that accompanied the picture said the child had lost both arms and had been severely burned in the “accidental bombing” of an apartment house in East Beirut by the Israeli Air Force. Outraged, President Reagan put in a personal telephone call to Premier Begin urging him to suspend the Israeli bombing of PLO targets in West Beirut, using the word “holocaust” in the ensuing exchange.

Naturally this touching photograph received front-page coverage everywhere, making the Israelis look like cold­-blooded killers. Just think of their brutal, indiscriminate attack on helpless civilians! Unfortunately, while the media was quick to focus on the IDF’s mistakes (they made their share of mistakes in Lebanon), the media was slow to report the rest of the facts.

Gervasi tells us that after Reagan’s phone call, the Israeli authorities:

… made a thorough investigation, and on August 22 released a photo of the same child after treatment. The infant had not lost both arms and had suffered no bums and only slight injuries to the wrists. Moreover, the baby, it turned out, was not hurt by an Israeli bomb but by a shell from a PLO battery in West Beirut. The UPI confirmed that the original caption was inaccurate and expressed regret. But whereas the original photo was splashed everywhere, the corrected version barely made the inside pages.

We’ve heard this story before, and we are hearing it again today. And sadly, once again, anti-Jewish, anti-Israel bias counts more than truth.

The real tragedy with the bombing of the hospital is not just that Israel will be falsely blamed and that, worldwide, there could be acts of destruction and hatred, with Jews especially targeted. No, the real tragedy is that right now, when all of us should be mourning this terrible loss of Palestinian life and working together to stop the bleeding, both metaphorically and literally, we are expending our energy refuting the lies of the murderers of Israeli babies and children.

May God help us. May He intervene with mercy on behalf of all who are suffering right now in the midst of this war. And may He uproot and expose evil for the world to see.

Many will remain deceived. But some will see the light. {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Jonathan Cahn says it’s time for the Jews to follow the words of Ezekiel 45 and 46, which tell them to “Remove Hamas [violence] and execute justice.” Isaiah 60:18 (ESV) reads that “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

For more than 2,000 years, Cahn says, the Jewish people have been seeking peace. But no matter what they do, they haven’t been able to find it.

Whether by the Philistines, the Romans, the Nazis or Hamas, the Jewish people have been despised by many throughout the world. They work diligently for peace, but it eludes them because of prevailing antisemitism.

But peace is conditional, Cahn says. The Jewish people must turn to Messiah. And, he says, that very thing is beginning to happen in the Holy Land.

The terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and certainly the country of Iran, have made it clear in no uncertain terms about wanting to annihilate the Jews from the earth. The latest brutal invasion of Israel by Hamas is just the latest shining example.

And with the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948, and the thousands of Jews making Aliyah to Israel the past several years as was prophesied in the Old Testament, it is not surprising that these enemies, through Satan himself, will do anything they can to stop the purposes of God.

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

“Israel is once again in the center of the news and controversy,” Cahn says. “World War II is no longer a news story. The cold wars is not a new story; the Reagan years, the Clinton years, the Obama years, not the story. But Israel is still the story and the same controversy that it was before.

“The Bible reveals that there is a war against the existence of the Jewish people,” he adds. “It is natural, and it transcends time and space. You can find the hatred of the Jewish people and Israel in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and even in America, everywhere. Even when there are no Jewish people, you find the hatred of the Jewish people. You find it in the modern world, you find it in the ancient world and you find it in the Middle Ages. Everybody gives a different reason.

“It’s not about the reason,” Cahn explains. “It’s not natural. It’s supernatural. It’s spiritual, it’s demonic and it’s satanic. The hatred, fury and age-old war against Israel is a sign that the enemy of God, the enemy of Israel (Satan) is also real. What those Hamas terrorists did to those families wasn’t natural; it was satanic.”

Hamas’ actions were reminiscent, Cahn says, of the horrors perpetrated against the Jews by the Nazi death squads during World War II, where they would go house to house looking to round up Jewish families to “slaughter them.”

What Hamas did was no accident, Cahn says. “It’s the same spirit that impelled them to do what impelled the Nazis to do it; same satanic theory.”

Cahn says throughout history, Israel, as a physical nation, has had to fight hard to stay alive. And, he says, we who are of Messiah are of a spiritual nation, and we must fight in the Spirit—for Israel, for America and for ourselves—against spiritual evil. That’s where the command from Ezekiel 45 comes in to expel Hamas (violence) and to execute justice.

The Jewish people have been waiting for Messiah for 2,000 years, Cahn says. But what if the Jewish Messiah already came and most of them missed it? Jesus himself looked out over Jerusalem and wept for the Jewish people.

“He said, ‘Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem.’ Your peace, or shalom, is hidden from you,'” Cahn says.

“When it looks like they’re about to have peace, as it did with recent peace talks [before the war in Gaza began], then something happens to take it away,” Cahn says. “Yeshua happens to be their Messiah. He is their Prince of Peace. Without Him, there is no peace. Only when they turn to Him, who is the hope of Israel, will they find their shalom, their peace.”

Cahn says that what we have witnessed recently with Hamas in Israel is part of an ancient war and ancient mystery playing out in modern times before our very eyes.

“In the book of Jeremiah, God said this concerning the Jewish people,” Cahn says. “The Lord says, ‘He who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name. If this fixed order should depart from Me, says the Lord, then the descendants, the children of Israel, will cease to be a nation before Me.”

That has not happened yet, although the enemies of Israel, including hell, have raged against them for more than 2,500 years. The miracle, Cahn says, is that the Jews are still alive.

“They live, and they should not be alive under the circumstances,” Cahn says. “The enemy has raged for ages to wipe them off the face of the earth. The Pharaohs tried to destroy them; Syria tried to wipe them out. Babylon tried to smash them. Rome tried to eliminate them; the Nazis tried to annihilate them. The Soviet Union tried to crush them. … Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, the mullahs of Iran and all of the terrorists of the world have tried to destroy them from the face of the earth.

“But they are all gone,” he adds. “The terrorists will be no more. They have fallen, but the nation of Israel lives on. The nation of Israel lives because the God of Israel lives. If you will follow the God of Israel, you will live. He who keeps Israel will keep you, and the enemy will be gone and you will prevail, and like it says in Ezekiel, no more destruction will be heard in your land.” {eoa}

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

In an exclusive Beyond The Article interview with Charisma Magazine Online, Jennifer LeClaire shares what the power of prophetic witchcraft looks like and how you can break its bondage over your life.

One of the first things LeClaire warns against from her own personal experience is the danger of those in ministry using the prophetic for their own reasons instead of delivering an actual message from the Lord.

“It’s something that I experienced some years ago where I was in a church that started off good, but the pastors there had been so hurt, betrayed … and they began to become very controlling and using prophecy as a weapon to control,” LeClaire says.

LeClaire was threatened that if she ever left the church, the Jezebel spirit would overtake her.

“She said to me, ‘Well, I see a Jezebel spirit superimposed over your body,” LeClaire says. “And if you leave this church that spirit is going to take you.”

Get your FREE CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS today! Stay up to date with current issues, Holy Spirit news, Christian teachings, Charisma videos & more!

The Holy Spirit never leads us into manipulation or coercion of someone else’s will, thoughts or emotions. Other spirits will lead us into this direction, but God will always allow us to make decisions for ourselves, even if they go against His greatest desires for us. One of the reasons LeClaire shares this story is because of how imperative it is for us to test the spirits to see if something is truly from the Lord or not.

“We have to be a people who press into God and have such an intimate relationship with Him to where we can hear the spirit behind the words,” she says. “First John 4:1 says very plainly to test the spirits or try the spirits to see if they are from God. We’re not supposed to just blanketly believe a prophet. … It’s about their alignment with heaven, and we need to do a better job in this social media age of testing the spirits.”

LeClaire says these false prophetic voices can easily fall into spewing curses on people’s lives or tickling someone’s ears with the things they want to hear, even if it means providing them with a false sense of assurance of words that God did not speak over their life. When these curses were released over her own life, it caused her to serve with a cautious mindset in fear of what might happen if she didn’t do something in a specific way.

“I remember when they did that, my first instinct was to try to serve more, to be better, because I love these people,” LeClaire explains. “And I thought, ‘Well, they must be right.'”

One of the deadliest reasons many people find themselves stuck under a power of prophetic witchcraft is because there is a familiar spirit operating in the atmosphere that knows their weaknesses.

“This is very dangerous; a familiar spirit begins to speak to them, and they really believe it’s the voice of God,” LeClaire says.“ So a familiar spirit is a spirit that’s familiar with you, it watches you, it knows things about you … [people subject to these spirits have] opened themselves up by listening, aligning, sowing into false prophets.”

While most prophetic voices will not abuse their gifting, it is because of these false prophets that Scripture warns against that we must look at everything and compare it to what the Bible says about the truth of the gospel and how God desires to speak to us.

Join Charisma Magazine Online to follow everything the Holy Spirit is doing around the world!

Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media.