Breaking Israel News
By Eliana Rudee
October 8, 2018
“Pray for the well-being of Yerushalayim; “May those who love you be at peace.” (Psalm 122:6)”
Tens of millions of evangelical Christians from 192 countries tuned into God TV’s “Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem” on Sunday, October 7. The event occurred as part of the wider Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, which took place around the world with more than 300,000 churches participating.
According to its organizers, the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem has grown to one of the world’s largest pro-Israel annual observances. “As far as we know, it is the largest broadcast event promoting Jerusalem around the world taking place every year,” stated the press release.
This year, the event was bigger than ever, continuing in the spirit of the 70th anniversary of the State and 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification.
Opening the day of prayer with blasts of the shofar as the audience waved Israeli flags, more than 1,000 Christians gathered from 30 nations on Jerusalem’s Haas Promenade.
The event occurred just one week following the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in which Christians from all over the world came to celebrate “God’s provision in the wilderness and the joy of the age to come” with the Jewish people in Israel, sponsored by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.
Overlooking the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Reverend Robert Stearns, founder and executive director of Eagles’ Wings Ministries, thanked Israel for “allowing Christians to be Christians” freely and safely.
Eagles’ Wings Ministries is a global movement comprising of churches, ministries and leaders that emphasizes interfaith dialogue and humanitarian care.
Stearns commissioned this year’s “Watchmen on the Wall for Israel” – a program of Eagles Wings that equips Christians around the world for informed intercession and active support of Israel and its inhabitants, to “raise [their] voice for sake of Zion.”
“We are calling Christians not just to connect with the land of the Bible, but to be a part of its future,” he said.
Rejecting Replacement Theology, Stearns recognized “the holy word of God and eternal covenant with the nation of Israel, the people in the land, and with Jewish people worldwide.”
He maintained, “We are here today declaring that there is a new breed of Christian alive in the world today – a Christian who understands that spiritually, we were born in Zion […] A new breed of Christians, those who stand with Israel and the Jewish people.”
Stearns renewed his vow to “shield and protect” the Jewish people, saying, ”Today, from the nations, we come home to Jerusalem. We will never leave you again. We will never forget you. We will prioritize you daily, defenders of Jerusalem. We, your sons from afar have come home to marry Jerusalem.”
Stearns prophesied, “We will witness a great reformation in the church – the rebirth of Jerusalem-based Christianity.”
“It will be greater than the impact of the Protestant Reformation,” he suggested.
In the context of the great support for a Jewish Israel, Stearns committed to continue to “stand in belief with the blessing for Ishmael – even when peace plans fail.”
“We stand in prayer and action believing in a peace plan not hatched in halls of the UN but when hearts truly learn and experience a God of love,” he said. “God can change hearts and changed hearts can change history.”
Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder and president of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, one of the key organizations working in Jewish-Muslim relations, claimed “this is a miraculous gathering, and there is an enormous human component that goes into the making of a miracle.”
He explained, “For 2000 years, Jews suffered from Christian persecution: the Crusades, inquisitions, deafening silence and moral laryngitis of the church while millions of Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.”
This is a miraculous gathering, Schneier said, “Because we are celebrating the reconciliation of our two faith communities.”
He thanked God for “his miracle workers” and looked forward to further miracles happening – a reconciliation between Jews and Muslims in the context of Muslim hostility towards and rejection of Israel.
“Muslim nations are beginning to reach out for support,” he claimed, such as the Republic of Azerbaijan, whose President has “demonstrated support and advocacy for state of Israel.”
MK Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the US, keynoted the event, speaking of the vital importance of the global evangelical connection to Israel. He spoke of the mutual pride of Jews and Christians whose religious foundations are based in Jerusalem.
He rebuffed those who deny these religious foundations, “people who say there was never a Temple, people who would define Jews, including Jesus and Paul, as illegal settlers.”
David Nekrutman, an American-Israeli Orthodox Jewish theologian and pioneer of Jewish-Christian relations as executive director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation thanked Christian supporters of Israel for rejecting replacement theology and for “being on the front lines to battle forces in the Christian world and in the UN that say Israel is not valid.”
He maintained, “When Christians become Biblically literate, when they take the Bible literally and understand that the Hebrew scriptures are still in fulfillment, they understand the Jewish people and Israel.”
Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Director of Israel365 and publisher of The Israel Bible, took part in the event and found the Day of Prayer to be particularly meaningful. He told Breaking Israel News, “While Christian political support for Israel is vital, this day of praise represents the spiritual support for Israel and how millions of Christians pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
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