Q & A concerning Israel in God's plan.

Over a week ago, I released a bulletin about my prayer agenda for 2008. Israel is clearly at the center of it. Recently, a number of very highly respected evangelical leaders made a statement concerning peace in the Middle East. Their statement can be found at: www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/novemberweb-only/148-33.0.html?start=2. In addition, George W. Bush has made some stronger statements concerning the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. With the whole topic of Israel is a lot of confusion (and a lot of traps). Here is my attempt to bring a little bit of clarification.

Question #1: Does God’s choice of Israel mean that he loves Israel more than other people groups?

Answer: God loves all people equally and beyond anything we can imagine. (Galatians 3:28-29; 2 Peter 3:8-9 etc. etc.)

Explanation: God sent Jesus Christ through the Lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (See Genesis 12:1-3) thus fulfilling the prophetic promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed. However, God has not yet fulfilled all of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In electing or “choosing” the Jewish people, God has given the Jewish people a special role on the earth. In many cultures, the oldest son has certain roles and responsibilities (the same is true with other sons and daughters), God has given the Jewish people as a whole (as God’s “firstborn” son) a special role and responsibility on the earth.

In Deuteronomy 28:1-14; we see that God has given the Jewish people the key role of being the chief blessing to all the nations. Paul picks up on this in Romans 9:1-4. Just as a good father assigned different responsibilities to different sons and daughters in the family, yet loves them all fully; so it is with our heavenly father. We can see this in a local Body of Christ. Some people will have more responsibility and talents than others. Jesus touched on this in the parable of the talents. Paul touches on this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Question #2 The Jewish people and eternal salvation. Does God has a special “old covenant” arrangement to save the Jewish people so that they don’t need to receive Jesus?

Answer: Jesus is the Only Way, the truth, and the Life (John 14:6; John 5:24; etc. etc.) for the Jewish people (and us).

Explanation: The old covenant law (Mosaic law) could never save in itself, just as we cannot earn salvation today through works. Jesus came and fulfilled the Mosaic Law. Before Jesus came, only a remnant of people followed the Mosaic covenant by faith. Not all of the natural descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were children of God (Romans 9:6-7). Before Jesus Christ came, the people demonstrated their faith through obeying the It was grace through faith (in God’s future saving action) alone back then. Faith was demonstrated by their actions in following the instructions in the Mosaic Covenant.

Today, it is grace through faith (in God’s past saving action through Jesus Christ and his future saving action in Jesus) alone. James 2 makes it clear we don’t have true faith in Jesus unless it is demonstrated in obedience to Him. Both Jew and Gentile must turn to Jesus for eternal salvation. There is no difference. Concerning the covenants, Jesus Christ is our covenant keeper on our behalf. However, in order to be God’s covenant people, Jew or Gentile, we MUST be born again (see John 3:1-8) in Christ Jesus.

As Gentile followers of Jesus, we have been “adopted” into the Jewish covenant promises as equals through Jesus Christ (See Ephesians 2:11-3:21). It is because of the 1st Church council in Acts 15 that we as Gentile believers do not need to adapt a Jewish cultural expression of following Jesus. Acts 15 does not exempt us from following Jesus by obeying his commandments.

Question #3: What about the Old Testament covenant promises for Israel- (Land, offspring, chief blessing of the nations, etc.) Are they still literally valid for Israel today?

Answer: All the Hebraic Scriptural promises for Israel (land, offspring, special role etc.) are relevant for today through following Jesus Christ (the covenant mediator)

Explanation: God always keeps his covenant promises. The vast majority of the covenant promises are for all of God’s covenant people (both Jew and Gentile) in Jesus Christ. A few of God’s covenant promises regarding faithful Israel’s role (referring to the ethnic Jewish people who are faithful to Jesus) in the nations on the earth and the promise of geographic land with specific boundaries are specifically for the Jewish people. In any case, the promises all flow through Jesus Christ, the covenant-keeper for both Jew and Gentile. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! God may speak prophetically to a Gentile believer through a spiritualization of certain old covenant promises. However, the original exegetical and hermeneutical meanings are still valid, referring to a literal land and a literal people (the Jewish people who follow Jesus). Unfortunately, much of the church embraces “replacement theology” (replacing faithful Ethnic Israel in Jesus with “spiritual Israel”- the predominantly Gentile church and consigning ethnic Israel as part of the Gentile church). The result is error and great confusion.

Question 4. Ethnic Israel and the Holy Land today- Is Israel is entitled to the Holy Land, regardless of what the nation does with God’s covenant responsibilities?

Answer : Corporate national obedience to the covenant (through obeying Jesus) brings blessing. National disobedience to the covenant (through disobeying Jesus) brings trouble (Deuteronomy 28).

Explanation: Today, Israel is a wicked nation (as are most Gentile nations) with much immorality, drunkenness, and idolatry. Very few ethnically Jewish people obey the covenant in Jesus Christ (Yeshua in Hebrew) Paul wrote of this sad condition in Romans 9:30-33.

Historically, when Israel strayed from the covenant, one of the ways God punished Israel was through bringing armies in to occupy Israel or even bringing the whole nation into captivity. The current Middle East conflict is the result of Israel’s stubborn refusal to enter into the covenant through Jesus Christ. The few times in history when Israel was whole-heartedly following the LORD (in weakness and immaturity) and an enemy attacked Israel were memorable stories in the Bible. (Woe to the nations found opposing Israel when the Jewish people are fully faithful to the covenant in Jesus Christ!)

Israel’s primary adversary is GOD (due to disobedience to the Gospel of the Kingdom in Jesus Christ) not the Muslim powers in the Middle East. Often when Israel was disobedient to God’s covenant, God allowed a foreign power to oppress and even bring Israel into captivity as a judgment. It was a judgment on national disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). However, history also shows that after using the foreign power to judge Israel, God would then bring severe judgment against that foreign power, destroying it.

As I write this concerning the Middle East. The current division of Israel’s land for peace (with terrorists) being orchestrated by the U.S. and the UN are a potential judgment of the LORD for covenant disobedience by the nation of Israel (not receiving Jesus as their Messiah). However, guess what THAT means for America! (God have mercy on America.)

Question 5: Israel and the 2nd coming of Jesus- What is the relationship between standing with Israel and finishing the great commission?

Answer: The only way to finish the Great commission is to embrace God's strategic role for Israel. God revealed to Paul that he would use the fullness of the Gentile believers into provoking Israel to salvation (Romans 11:11)

Explanation: Scripture is real clear that Jesus will return in the clouds at the last trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:13) The last trumpet recorded in Scripture is the 7th trumpet judgment in Revelation 11:15-19. This is in contrast to our escapist theology that we could suddenly vanish at any moment. Matthew 24:10 and Matthew 23:37-39 provide the two conditions that must occur before Jesus will return to earth and inaugurate the Kingdom of God on the earth (the Millennial reign and then eternity). The gospel of the Kingdom must go to every ethnic group on earth (Mt 24:10) and the Jewish leadership of the nation of Israel must invite Jesus back to be their king (Matthew 23:37-39). It is not an accident that God placed many of the most un-reached people groups in bondage to the strongest expressions of the Anti-Christ spirit immediately around the nation of Israel. We cannot finish the great commission without embracing God’s strategic plan for Israel. (A spiritual warfare principle: We cannot overcome an enemy that we are compromising with in any small way) It is the quality of witness that is needed to reach these final resistant people groups that will provoke Israel into receiving their King. God promised that he would not be silent and set watchmen on the wall (Isaiah 62:1-7) until Jerusalem is established as a praise in the earth- people will honor God for what he did for Jerusalem. This certainly applies to Intercessors and worshippers in the houses of prayer that cry out to God for his salvation to break into Jerusalem. However, this also applies to Apostolic and prophetic messengers that call Israel to repentance and raise up the Gentile church in love, holiness, and power to provoke Israel into fullness of salvation (Romans 11:11).

These are some of the basic questions, Feel free to email any other questions as we are all still learning about God's end-time plans.

Under His mercy at the cross,

Jess

Jess's prophetic prayer agenda, PART 2

God’s Mercy strategy: A global prayer movement of Joel 2 solemn assemblies.

Whenever there has been a crisis in a nation, God gave people a remedy. No matter how far a nation had strayed from the LORD. God offered a way of mercy. In Joel 2, God commanded the people to gather together to repent of their individual sins and the as representatives of the nation to repent of corporate wickedness, injustice and guilt. God declared in 2 Chronicles 7:14, If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
I’m amazed at the number of different ministries that are “sounding the alarm” to gather corporate solemn assemblies. Outside of IHOP-KC, Paradise’08 hopes to gather 100,000+ young adults in Kansas on May 26th for a solemn assembly in the heartland of America. On April 26th, 2008, a ministry network named Reign Down is calling for solemn assemblies at all of the state capital buildings along with the National Mall in Washington DC. We also all know about the national day of prayer this year which falls on May 1st.
The House of Prayer reality is meant to be a perpetual solemn assembly. Dubbed the Luke 18 project, God has given my friends Jaeson Ma, and Brian Kim a vision to raise up houses of prayer on college campuses all over America. Many others are in the process of building the house of prayer all over the United States and the nations of the earth. In 2007, it was reported that over 120 colleges and universities had 24-7 intercession on their campus.
Meanwhile, IHOP-KC is expected to get to the 500 full-time staff mark later this year. Some of you are aware of the Bob Jones prophecy (confirmed by a flood in Mississippi) that when the staff hits 500 full-time, it will suddenly explode to 5,000 overnight. Obviously, we know about The CALL which is traveling around the nation doing regional solemn assemblies (both in the United States and then Internationally). Lou Engle hopes to bring the youth of the nation to Washington DC this fall to repent, fast, worship, and pray. However, one particular CALL event stands out to me.

This Global prayer movement MUST stand with God’s purpose for the Jewish people to overcome the Spirit of Anti-Christ.

May 11th is the Global Day of Prayer. This year, GOD-TV will be airing the Global day of Prayer events from Jerusalem and other parts of the earth. Lou Engle hopes to gather the Messianic Jewish believers and others from around the nation for The Call Jerusalem on this day. I believe this is one of the most strategic events of the year from a global perspective in fulfilling the great commission.
Currently the main thing holding back the global prayer movement (with full-time singers, musicians and intercessors) is the lack of money. In Isaiah 62:6-7 God promised the Jewish people in Jerusalem that he would set watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem who would cry out day and night for their salvation.

In the part 1 of my prophetic prayer agenda, I mentioned some stunning answers to prayer I witnessed in 2007. In all of the cases, one key factor involved was overcoming the spirit of Anti-Christ through prayer, fasting, and standing with God’s purpose for Israel. In addition to the answered prayers, I heard stunning reports of many Muslims coming to Christ in Pakistan, Iran, Israel, and Turkey. In the Chauvez case, I learned that he had invited Benny Hinn to do a 3-day national miracle crusade in the days leading up to the election in Venezuela. In looking at his website, it’s clear that Benny Hinn stands with God’s promises for Israel and the mandate blessing the nation.

I am also sure that these articles will probably raise more questions than they answer. I hope to follow up with other posts to clarify this.

Under His Mercy at the cross,

Jess Gjerstad

Jess's prophetic prayer agenda PART 1

Right about now, at the beginning of the New Year, everyone tries to make their prophetic predictions concerning what is coming for 2008. Who will win the presidential election? What notable events will happen in 2008? What about this and what about that?
Prophetically oriented believers like me are no exception. I’ve read a number of prophetic articles on what various Christian leaders and prophetic types are saying about 2008. This article isn’t to judge or discern what others are saying. Instead, in this article, I want to offer you what I see as my primary prayer agenda for 2008. I offer this article to you my readers and partners to discern for yourself what God is saying (if he is speaking) for 2008.
First, in order to understand my prayer agenda in 2008, we need to look at what God has been doing in 2007.
In 2007, we saw God release some stunning answers to prayer. In Taiwan, God shook the Island with signs and wonders. In Korea, God shifted the courts and declared that Lee Myung Bak was innocent of bribery and corruption charges. As the result, Korea now has a president that is a born-again believer. Meanwhile, in Venezuela, President Chauvez suffered his first electoral setback in his ruling history in attempting to change the constitution and become the eternal president. Meanwhile in an undisclosed Muslim nation, against all political odds, the court ruled against a Muslim ruler allowing an apostolic ministry center to remain open and release the gospel of the Kingdom into hard to access areas in Asia. Meanwhile in Kansas City, God released prime real estate property (worth millions of dollars) along US 71 IHOP-KC for free. All of these may seem very unrelated, but they all have a common link.

The United States and the nations of the earth are facing God’s judgment for the shedding of innocent blood.

During The Call Kansas City, Lou Engle laid out the scriptural foundations regarding the Judgment of God that comes upon a nation for shedding of innocent blood. The video is available at www.thecall.com When innocent blood is systematically shed by a national government, that nation comes under the judgment of God (2 Kings 21:16; 24:4). In the Old Testament, the only way to atone for premeditated shedding of innocent blood (murder) was for the one(s) who had murdered to be killed (Genesis 9:5-6 Numbers 35:33). God requires blood to be shed to satisfy the demand for justice when innocent blood has been shed. Jesus warned Israel’s leaders about the judgment that was coming on the specific generation for shedding of innocent blood and killing the prophets in Matthew 23:35-36.
Since ALL of the scripture is important for us today, we must consider the judgment of God for the shedding of innocent blood in the womb. We all know that 600,000 people died in the civil war. Abraham Lincoln believed that the civil war was a judgment from God for the issue of slavery. Slavery was justified by the Church as slaves were viewed as property, not human beings in the image of God. Abraham Lincoln said in his second Inaugural address in 1864, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
If the civil war was God’s judgment upon slavery (where many were killed in Trans-Atlantic travel aboard slave ships), what are we as a nation be facing if God brings judgment for 50 million babies who have been killed in the mother’s womb? What type of judgment are the nations of the earth facing when 50 Million babies are killed every year? Society justifies abortion by saying that a fetus in the mother’s womb is not a person (sound familiar?).
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul instructs us to look at Israel’s history to gain understanding how God deals with the nations of the earth. Israel was greatly blessed when they turned to the LORD wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, when Israel went astray through bowing down to idols, and the associated sins of shedding of innocent blood and gross immorality, God sent discipline and judgment. The most severe judgments in Israel’s history were always associated with national captivity and foreign nations oppressing them. God always gives a people or a nation the desires of their heart. When a nation or people reject God, God gives them over to what they are choosing instead of Him resulting in base depravity (Romans 1:18-32).

The rising up of the spirit of Anti-Christ across the nations of the earth...
In looking across the nations of the earth at this time, it is clear to me that the spirit of Anti-Christ is arising. Revelation 13:9-10 indicates that God will raise up the final Anti-Christ oppressor in a specific generation as an instrument of divine justice and judgment upon the nations. The word “anti” in Greek means more than just being against something, it also implies replacing something. The spirit of Anti-Christ replaces the genuine (Jesus Christ, the anointed one), with something fake or false.
Currently the strongest expressions of the spirit of Anti-Christ on the global level is Communism (It replacing the apostolic life of the Church in Acts 4:32-36; Acts 6 a fake version with oppressive management vs. true apostolic leadership), and Islamic fundamentalism in terms of religious doctrine and apologetics.
(Note, I do not believe these expressions of the spirit of the Anti-Christ are the final form of this final global empire under THE Anti-Christ in Revelation 13. Even as Islam thrives on replacement theology, I believe Islam will be “replaced” from its current doctrine and expression.)
I just recently got an email from a friend in Kenya about the trouble occurring in this nation that it is likely partially being fueled Muslim extremism. Meanwhile there is much shaking in Pakistan after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. (It’s was natural to believe that the current military government is responsible for this, but I we now know something else going on.) Communism in North Korea with its horrific inhuman treatment of its own citizens operates under the spirit of deception and Anti-Christ as I witnessed first hand while at the DMZ and visiting South Korea. President Chauvez continues to desire to make Venezuela and much of Central and South America communist.
In 2008, there will be a collision between two civil rights movements in the United States. It is the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. Only one civil rights movement will prevail in America. Will it be the Anti-Christ “civil rights” movement (the legalization of open homosexual marriage and other sexual perversion) or will it be a godly civil rights movement (the right of babies in the mother’s womb to live)? I also believe radical Islam will infiltrate deeply into our government unless we pray. The destiny of the nation is at stake!

Is there a remedy for America? Is there a mercy strategy on the heart of God for the nation's of the earth? I believe the answer is clearly yes!

Under mercy through the Blood of Jesus,

Jess

First strike

Praise the LORD for the first post! Let me introduce myself.

My name is Jess, I was born on August 25th 1976 in Busan, South Korea. I was found abandoned, but God had plans to release miracles in and through my life. I was adopted by a wonderful family in January 18th, 1977. (Had I not been flown to the USA at that time, it is most likely that I would have been dead within a week as I was becoming seriously ill).

I grew up in the Lutheran in the Twin Cities, yet I had an extremely violent temper. However, God spared my life yet again. In response to united prayer and fasting, I heard the audible voice of God in a dream that put the fear of God into my life (God-does still do this; see Job 33:14-30) This (eventually) led to me turning to Jesus. I dedicated my life to following Jesus no matter what on July 16th, 1990. One day later, God used this one-day old follower of Jesus to visibly someone's shoulder which touched off a significant revival.

Following these life-altering events, I grew up, hidden among God's people. I gradually grew in the character along with understanding in the prophetic, intercession, spiritual warfare, and worship. Meanwhile, I continued to have instances of hearing God's voice and seeing miraculous answers to prayer. In 2003, God CLEARLY let me know that I was to go to Kansas City.

Since coming to Kansas City, the frequency and intensity supernatural encounters (through His Word, verified through supernatural encounters) has increased. September 1st, 2007 marked 4 years with the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. As I commented to a ministry leader in the Charlotte concerning prayer, "I'm just getting started!"

To my parents Kerry, Carolyn; my sister Tina, and extended family in the Twin Cities, I am SO THANKFUL. Your love has made a miracle (and released many other miracles as well). I also want to send a special thank you to my ministry partners. Together, we are literally changing the nations of the earth!

It is my intention to use this blog to share important prayer alerts (with what prophetic insight I may have around the situation) and to share any major encounters I have from God that have a corporate message to the wider Body of Christ. I hope that this little blog is a great blessing to you as you carry on your ministry to God and to people.

Blessings from IHOP-KC
Jess