A Spiritual Shift in Israel

An 18th century hymn by William Cowper opens with the observation, ‘God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.’ And news from Israel suggests that God is using the current war to work more of his wonders.

Interviewed by Raj Nair of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Michael Mistretta of the Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM) described how the spiritual atmosphere in Israel has changed significantly since the barbaric 7th October attack by Hamas on the communities bordering the Gaza Strip.

He acknowledged that most Israelis, whether religious or not, had previously put a lot of their faith in their military, their intelligence services and their government. The events of 7th October led to a realisation that they were more vulnerable than they could have imagined. Suddenly, people started to ask questions and search for God.

Before the Hamas attack, Jewish believers in Jesus were a significant but hated minority in Israel. Typically, a year ago, the idea of a Jewish person that believes in Jesus was repulsive and offensive to many Jews. Some would say “You`re worse than a Nazi, because you killed the soul of a Jew.”

But from 10th October, members of FIRM went south to the communities along the Gaza border and simply started working with government leaders, municipal leaders, and kibbutzim communities, saying, “We`re representing Christians, we`re Jewish believers in Jesus, but we`re here to help you.” And suddenly they were able to express love to people as never before.

It started by providing 2,000 hot meals a day, and then turned into provision of $300,000 worth of grocery boxes each week, distributed through 20 different local congregations. All of it was done under the banner of l`reacha, which means ‘love your neighbour.’

Could it be that the prophecy of Ezekiel 36:24-28 is progressing even in the midst of war?

Here is the full interview: