Messenger November/December 2014
Informing you about the Christians for Israel ministry world wide.
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© Christians for Israel International,
info@c4israel.org
In this edition:
Dear brothers and sisters!
As Christmas and New Year’s Day approach, it is once again time to reflect on 2014 and look ahead to 2015.
First of all we trust that 2014 has been a fruitful and blessed year for you personally and your family. We hope that the reasons for gratefulness are much stronger than reasons for sadness.
As for Christians for Israel, we have a lot of reasons to be grateful. Willem Glashouwer and Harald Eckert together travelled more than ever before in order to spread the message and strengthen the movement. The C4I conferences in Asia (Cebu, Philippines) and Europe (Ede, Netherlands) were fruitful and profitable as we have heard from many testimonies. And as a result of the fruit and growth of the message and the movement, our collective support for projects in the Ukraine and in Israel has grown to new heights. We thank the Lord for this!
At the same time, we realize that for Israel and the Jewish people around the world 2014 has been a demanding year. The civil war in Eastern Ukraine is still active and thousands of Jewish inhabitants and refugees are in danger. Israel has suffered from new waves of terrorism and the pain and aftermath of the latest Gaza-conflict. In Europe and in many other parts of the world Israel-hatred and anti-Semitism have been more aggressive than they have been since the end of World War II.
So it is with a combination of gratefulness and concern that we are celebrating Hanukah with the Jewish people and are looking forward to Christmas. Hanukah reminds us of the great miracles of God in liberating Israel from their Hellenistic enemies in the second century. Christmas reminds us of the coming of the God of Israel as the Lamb of God. Being reminded of both, we are strengthened in our hopes and expectations for the second coming of Christ. This time Messiah is not coming to earth as the Lamb of God, but as the Lion of the tribe of Juda. He is coming to finally deliver Jerusalem and Israel and establish the Messianic Kingdom of God on earth with His redeemed people out of Jews and Gentiles as his bride, reigning and ruling with Him. Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!
In the spirit of these hopes, we pray that you have a blessed Christmas season and gain new strength in the Lord and in fellowship with your loved ones for the year to come. 2015 will be the 70th year after the end of World War II (in Europe) and the end of the Holocaust. It will be a year to commemorate, to contemplate, to pray and to act, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Jerusalem; for the Christians for Israel Forum as well as for the Global Prayer Call conference.
In HIS grace and love,
Harald Eckert
Chairman Christians for Israel International
Special Prayer Alert - Hanukkah 2014
Today (17th December 2014) is the first day of Hanukkah, the festival of light, which is celebrated to remember the rededication of the second temple (164 B.C) after the Greeks had defiled it, among other ways, by raising a statue of Zeus in the temple. The battle between the Sons of Zion and the Sons of Greece continues to this day. (Zech 9:13). Today there are four major developments which are threatening the survival of Israel as a homeland of the Jewish people.
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The Stars Of Bethlehem
By Rev Willem J.J. Glashouwer.. What do the stars tell us? What message do we read in the firmament? Astrology was developed by Nimrod in Babel/Babylon - idolatry with the assistance of the firmament. But is there also another meaning to be derived from the firmament? What does that impressive universe, with its billions of stars and galaxies, tell us? Is there a positive way to ‘read’ the heavens? A way that glorifies the Creator instead of the occult way in which astrology interprets the stars and the planets?
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Aliyah from the Ukraine continues
Winter, with its snow and icy cold northern wind, has been with us for quite a while now. At night the temperature drops to -17 degrees Celsius! It will be ‘somewhat warmer’ during the coming days, but more snow is on the way! There is continuous movement at our hiding place in Kiev, due to the coming and going of individual Jewish people, and families, who are either on their way to the embassy or staying overnight before their departure to Israel. And there are the refugees who stay for up to a month, until their departure.
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First C4I South Pacific Conference in Fiji
The first Christians for Israel Regional Conference in Fiji was a special time in God and a success organisationally. The Conference was the subject of much prayer and planning for a year by Christians for Israel - New Zealand. The October 22nd - 24th period was selected to allow International Board Chairman Harald Eckert to attend.
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Chairwoman C4I Austria receives leadership award
Marie-Louise Weissenböck, Chairwoman of "Christians for Israel in Austria" was awarded the "Prisca Award 2014" at a conference in Upper Austria on the 11th of October. “Prisca” is the “Forum for women in leadership” of the Evangelical Alliance.
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Israel & Christians Today Int. Version, December 2014 Published
The international version of the Israel & Christians Today newspaper of December 2014 has been released. The main purpose of Israel & Christians Today is to explore the relationship between the Church, the nations and Israel (the Jewish people) from a Biblical perspective. The newspaper takes the position that God is faithful to His promises and that the restoration of the nation of Israel in our generation is a sign of Hope for the Church of the Coming of the Lord. Our message is intended for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to discover God's promises for the Jewish people and the Church and the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy of which we are called to be part.
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World’s largest Menorah in the Netherlands
World Jewry will celebrate Hannukah this year from the 17th till the 24th of December. During this holiday they commemorate the miracle of the oil and the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem 164 BCE. Hannukah is celebrated by lighting the Menorah.
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The European Coalition for Israel has issued a joint statement to the incoming President of the European Council and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, calling for immediate action in support of the persecuted religious minorities in Syria and Iraq and for a coherent strategy against the surge of anti-Semitism in Europe.
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Visit Rev. Glashouwer to Paraguay
Rev. Willem Glashouwer visited Paraguay from August 11 - 25, 2014 for strengthening the work of Ebenezer Operation Exodus in the churches and to teach (in German) to the Mennonite communities proper understanding of the Scriptures who were struggling with Replacement Theology. This came in a very strategic time that The Lord prepared since Paraguay is the only nation in South America in favor with Israel denying to sign an embargo in Mercosur due to the Gaza events!
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Home before the first snowfall
Igor, Yulija and their three young children Maksim, Elizabeta and Oleksandr (photo) left on Monday, October 20th from Chernovtsy (near the Romanian border) to Kiev. We brought them and an elderly couple to Kiev, where our Alijah co-worker Nataliya welcomed them with a hearty meal and the necessary time to do some catching up.
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