©September 18, 2011 Revive Israel Ministries

Deception in the End Times

he first sin started in the beginning with a lie and a deception (Genesis 3:4, 13). The first liar was Satan, and all further lies proceeded from him (John 8:44). As we grow near the end times, those lies and deceptions will reach their fullness. In Yeshua's teaching about the end times on the Mount of Olives, He warned several times of deception:

Matthew 24:4 – Be careful that no one deceive you.

Matthew 24:5 – Many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Messiah," and will deceive many.

Matthew 24:11 – Many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

Matthew 24:24 – False Messiahs and false prophets will arise and do great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

This fullness of end times' deception will touch several areas.

Secular: The Western, liberal, humanist, secular dream is for a utopia of equality, free rights, sexual freedom, moral relativism, new-age spirituality, with no "God" but ourselves. This view was expressed in John Lennon's song, “Imagine.” This view will grow into a united, one-world movement, as expressed in Michael Jackson's song, “We are the World.”

Islamic: The Islamic world is divided into several sub-divisions, but they all have a hope for world dominion, the coming of an Islamic messiah, and the destruction of Israel. The combination of Islamic hatred of Israel and a united federation of nations will lead to the apocalyptic attack on Israel (Ezekiel 38-39; Zechariah 14).

Judeo-Christian: There is a registered psychiatric disease called The Jerusalem Syndrome.  It happens to Jews and Christians with some sort of religious background. Many visitors to the Holy City become infected with delusions of grandeur, and begin to see themselves as the embodiment of some biblical figure.

The subtle influences of the Jerusalem Syndrome affect even the true believers here, the elect.  Spiritual pride, competition, jealousy, self-importance, inflated "ministry ego" - prevent the real work of the kingdom of God from bearing as much fruit as could be.

These three spheres of deception (Secular, Islamic and Judeo-Christian) all involve a type of false "Messianism." Let us pray for grace, truth, humility, freedom from deception, and fear of the Lord, so that we might not fall into temptation and deception (Matthew 6:13).

Israel and the Nations

his week contains several portentous events for Israel at the U. N., including the intended declaration of a Palestinian State. Muhammad Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to speak on Friday at the General Assembly.

There is also the Third Durban Conference, which in years past has been a forum for anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. There is a protest scheduled against Durban, led by Caleb Meyers of Jerusalem Institute of Justice, and organized by Mati Shoshani from our team. The protest involves cooperation between Christian Zionist groups and traditional Jewish groups. Pray for a united front against the Durban conference, particularly for religious Jews not to weaken the protest by complaining against the involvement of Messianic Jews. This week alone, England, France, and New Zealand all voted to boycott the conference as racist.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan continues in his attacks and diatribes against Israel. A positive side effect may be to draw a closer cooperation between Israel and Greece, as Turkey and Greece have been long-time enemies.

Pray also for U. N. representatives from Poland and the Czech Republic, who have become swing votes concerning Israel within the European nations.

In the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, Israel gave back the Sinai desert. That treaty has held, although with some coldness and tenseness, until this year. With the recent upheavals in Egypt, the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, the terrorist attack on Israel from Gaza through the Sinai, and the influx of armaments into Gaza from Egypt, the security situation has deteriorated drastically. Israel is working on a better way of surveillance on the Sinai and Gaza borders. Pray for the security on the borders to be strengthened.

Muslim Evangelism

e seek to partner with Palestinian and other Arab Christians in evangelism to Muslims. Pray for our brothers Jack, Zach, Basaam, Harun, Nizar, Samir, Amir, Victor, Brigitte, Mossab, and many others as they serve faithfully in this dangerous field. We believe that the combined witness of Israeli Messianic Jews and Palestinian Arab Christians will be a powerful tool in the Lord's hands to present the life and love of Yeshua to Muslims everywhere.

Israeli Evangelism

Yad Hashmonah

High Holy Days