© 18 December 2015 Revive Israel Ministries

The Chanukah-Christmas Connection

You probably don't know it, but there is a connection between Christmas and Chanukah, and it's not what you think. Hidden in recorded history are clues suggesting that not everything was how it was portrayed to be and we are still feeling the not-so-Holy-Spirit-inspired effects of these events today. But inside every political change, religious agenda, and cultural battle, there is a grain of Kingdom truth revealing God's purposes that can sometimes be hard to find. So we have to be willing to get past the bright and shiny distractions and sift through the outright lies in order to find the truth. We are to value truth above all else, especially when we are faced with an uncomfortable one.

In this video Asher takes us back in history to understand what the connection between Chanukah and Christmas is. To watch in English, click HERE!

By Cody Archer

Ariel, Tal, Jeremiah and I just returned from our 12 day trip through East Asia. Here are some highlights:

China - During our five days in China we had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of leaders in the underground church. In one of our meetings with an apostolic leader and some of his team who oversees 35 congregations, they reported to us that most youth and young adults are really hungry for the word of God and are spending significant time studying the Bible every day and they are regularly seeing new people come to faith.

In one of the meetings while I was preaching there was such an atmosphere of faith and victory in the room. At the end of the message I began feeling pain in my right ear and in my stomach and sensed this was God showing me He wanted to release healing. I spoke this out and many people raised their hands wanting prayer for healing. After I prayed I asked if anyone received healing. The first man who came forward shared with us that he had been suffering from pain and pressure in his right ear for over two years, but after the prayer the pain and pressure disappeared. Then over the next thirty minutes over fifteen people came forward with testimonies of being healed of various ailments. Two people reported that deafness in one ear had been healed!

While we ate lunch with the pastor in a small kids classroom, every few minutes we had people knocking on the door asking for us to pray for healing. This gave me a small taste of what Jesus and the apostles experienced when the multitudes were coming to them in such an overwhelming way that they did not have time to eat (Mark 6:30-34).

Korea – In Korea we saw a different type of healing being released – healing of past wounds between the Chinese, Korean and Japanese peoples. We watched hundreds of believers from these nations getting on their knees to repent and ask forgiveness for the past wars, sins and friction between them as peoples. At one point there were so many people crying that for 10 minutes I walked through the crowd of people handing out tissues!

The other healing that took place was between Asia and Israel. Ariel gave a short and powerful message about the One New Man relationship Jews and Gentiles have in Jesus (Eph 2), and then led us in a symbolic gesture of being reconciled. There was such a release of joy after this moment. It felt like we had just witnessed a marriage and now the time of celebration had come. 

Our last stop in Korea was at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea to pray for and declare the reunification of the Korean people and land. Together with over two hundred Asian believers we rang the Peace Bell 70 times to represent an end to the 70 years of hostility between North & South Korea (1945 – 2015).

Hong Kong – Over the two and a half days in Hong Kong we were able to speak in ten different churches as a team. Earlier this year Revive Israel's first official office in Asia was set up in Hong Kong with Matthew and Fanny's help (close friends of Revive Israel and locals in HK). We were able to spend some quality time with them and talk about strategy for advancing the kingdom of God in East Asia.

There is so much more to share from this fruitful trip. Everywhere we went people were so touched by the love and unity we walked in as a One New Man team (me being the gentile with three Jews).

Video Recap - Healing in East Asia

Go along with Ariel, Tal, Jeremiah, and Cody as they travel and minister in East Asia. To watch in English, click HERE!

This week we hosted our first ever seminar focused on outreach to Muslims. For speakers, we invited three of our dear Arab Christian partners from here in Israel who are actively reaching out to Muslims and bearing fruit. We also heard powerful testimonies of Muslim background believers from Jerusalem, one of whom endured beatings from her father and brother when they heard she decided to leave Islam and follow Jesus.

We were greatly encouraged to hear a report from Harun (founder and director of Al Hayat TV), that currently each week they are seeing about 200 Muslims come to faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord through their broadcasts.  This event was another step forward in the partnership between believing Israeli Jews and Arabs who are seeking to work together to reach the unreached.

The Untold Story of Muslim Opinions & Demographics

Clarion Projects just released the full version of their new film, narrated by Raheel Raza, on radical Islam and the facts we need to know.  Be empowered to make rational decisions about our future. To watch, click HERE!