As dawn broke the other morning, I was drawn to a devotional, Wrestling with God, from Jonathan Cahn’s Book of Mysteries.
It seemed to sum up what I’d been experiencing in recent days. Jacob fought all night with a man who turned out to be God. And he was renamed Israel because he had struggled with God and man and had overcome.
Now, as citizens of Israel, grafted into the olive tree whose roots support us, we Gentile Christians are called to continue this wrestling match through ongoing battles in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12) with the almighty power of God on our side, but with the raging fury of Satan opposing us. A microcosm of the Middle East conflict, so to speak.
Yes, and we will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). Interestingly, this great promise comes in the same chapter of Revelation as a passage I’ve been studying with help from Jonathan Cahn’s new book Dragon’s Prophecy focusing on the beast who “stood in front of the woman (Israel) who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born” (verse 4).
Although an early church picture of the devil’s attempt to prevent the Messiah’s first coming, it here specifically depicts the massive battle that would take place as his second coming approaches when Jews from across the globe return from their long exile and the nation of Israel is re-born.
For it was this that sparked the explosive ‘dark resurrection’ of an ancient antisemitic spirit resembling the long-extinct Philistines which immediately reared its head to haunt, harass and hunt down the modern Israelis until their presence is removed from the land.
And in 1967, when Jerusalem was re-united for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, up popped the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organisation) to roll out the relentless propaganda that the land does not, after all, belong to God’s chosen people.
This was a blatant re-invention of the Philistine cause, especially evident in recent days when, from the same strip of land occupied by Goliath’s men, the new Israelis have come under constant bombardment, especially since – in a so-called ‘land for peace’ compromise – voluntarily withdrawing from Gaza under pressure from their long-time allies in America.
The brutal massacre of October 7th, 2023, was the tipping point. Enough was enough, and so the great end-time battle between good and evil (i.e. God and the Dragon) was ignited.
But it didn’t end well for the Philistines of old when their giant of a general was felled by a single sling shot from the shepherd boy David. And this present conflict won’t end well for those who blindly continue to oppose the God of Israel.
As I’ve said before, it’s time to choose whom you will serve. David or Goliath? And national leaders should bear in mind the prophet Isaiah’s stark warning:
“For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.” (Isaiah 60:12)
After studying this vision (of the great end-time battle through Cahn’s eyes) I had something akin to the experience of Daniel when he struggled to grasp the complexities and enormities of the visions he was given in Babylon some 2,500 years ago.
“I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business.” (Daniel 8:27)
In my case, after a fortnight of feeling exhausted and wondering if there was something physically wrong with me, I suddenly recovered (thanks also to prayer) only to realise I had probably been involved in a fierce wrestling match without knowing it. For it subsequently emerged that I was indeed part of a serious spiritual battle in Israel as author of a piece which has evidently caused much shaking. Wisdom forbids me to say more at this stage.
A similar thing happened to me back in 2012 as I was beginning to work on a book called Israel the Chosen in answer to a distinct call from God to be a ‘helper of Israel’. Troubled by issues at work (I was sports editor on a Yorkshire newspaper at the time), I went up the road to pray at Selby Abbey, a magnificent ancient church central to the town of the same name.
Afterwards, out of curiosity, I strode out to the pulpit where a huge Bible was open on Revelation chapter 12. And there, in large type, was the scary verse again about the Dragon trying to strangle the child about to be born.
I crashed my company car on the way home. The driver’s side wing was ripped off in its entirety, but I miraculously survived without a scratch. And even the car was fit to be repaired. A member of the rescuing team couldn’t understand how I had missed two pylons after coming off the road.
The enemy did not want my project to get off the ground, but praise the Lord, the God of glory had my back. It’s the same with little Israel, mighty in God’s eyes and in his strength. Just trust him. He has your back.
Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon; Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com; To the Jew First, A Nation Reborn, and King of the Jews, all available from Christian Publications International.
