C (5:37)

It's late afternoon here in Israel and I have finally arrived after a very long flight delayed in Newark. But I'm glad to be here. You can tell there's a spirit of optimism and hope everywhere you look, people reuniting even with loved ones from overseas. And obviously this last week reuniting with loved ones who have been held captive for over two years. I look forward to connecting with some of my friends here in Israel, being an encouragement to them. And I encourage all of you to

B (6:05)

keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem,

C (6:07)

for the peace of Israel. I'll be checking in with you frequently over these next few days.

B (6:13)

As I came to Israel, I learned very quickly that the Israelis are determined to get back to life as they would normally experience it. Even after the bombs fell, even after missiles flew in from Iran, they were very determined to return to normal as quickly as possible. That's why it's very hard to find even bomb damage or missile damage, because the Israelis immediately try to restore their environment, their cities, to normal. When I went to the Old City, I had a sense of the normalcy that was beginning to come back. Given the peace deal that President Trump began to enforce in the Middle east and the fact that there had been a ceasefire with Gaza, the Old City began to look a little more like normal.

C (6:57)

It's quiet afternoon here in the Old City of Jerusalem on the evening of Shabbat. You can see people coming and going as they head to and from the Western Wall and just enjoying this beautiful evening. We'd hardly know that just a few weeks ago there was great devastation throughout the land, great anxiety. Now people are moving on with their lives and rejoicing over the one who has protected Israel the these last years and indeed these last millennium, and will do so keeping his promise to the people of Israel, the House of Israel, who has come home. I'm so glad to be back here in the City of David, in the city that awaits the return of the King who will reign as Prince of Peace on Mount Zion.

B (7:40)

Well, one of the places that Erez took me was to Gaza. We went down to the south to witness firsthand what had happened throughout that region as Hamas terrorists came over and murdered hundreds of Israelis. One of the places we went was an IDF camp, an IDF outpost, I should say adjacent to the Gaza Strip, immediately there on the east side, and to a tank ramp overlooking the entire region. Even as we stood on that tank ramp, we could hear gunfire, sporadic machine gun fire all throughout Gaza.

C (8:17)

So I'm still here overlooking Gaza and Gaza City, specifically on the top of a tank ramp built by the IDF as a static point for a tank to be able to overlook. You can see vehicles bypassing the road, the perimeter road surrounding the fence now surrounding Gaza. I assure you it's much more well prepared.

B (8:39)

I've come here with my good friend,

C (8:40)

Eresbar David and there, as you were telling me before about some of the things that happened here as the terrorists breached that wall, as they came into the IDF headquarters post, the garrison right behind you, share a little bit more with us about how this transpired.

D (8:59)

Yeah, so first of all, just to get our bearings as to where we're located. More specifically, we're standing right outside of the Nahal Oz outpost. And on October 7th that outpost was manned by about 160 soldiers. You see how close it is positioned to the border, less than a mile away. And while it is positioned so very close to the fence, in that morning at least two thirds of the soldiers stationed there were non combat troops. Many of them were by the way, female soldiers who were variously, you know, manning all kinds or occupying all kinds of different headquarters roles. And at around 6:20am in the morning they were, they found themselves, they walk up many times to this horrendous bombardment which was of course the starting point for an all out assault from the Gaza Strip into Israel. And so right here in this sector, in fact we're facing the city of Gaza. You can see the skyline over in the distance. This is the city of Gaza itself. Hundreds of terrorists, members of the elite Nuqba militia, penetrated the border and it didn't take them more than somewhere between three and seven minutes to get over the obstacles. And before long, many of those terrorists then made their way into that camp that you see over in the distance. The female soldiers who were taken captive alive, they were taken hostage right there. Also, one of the more recently released captives, Matan Angrest, who was a member of a tank crew, he was actually taken captive right outside that concrete wall while his tank crew was trying to fight off dozens and dozens of terrorists who were armed to the teeth. The terrorists knew exactly what they were doing by simply disabling all these milit military outposts that were stationed here to defend the civilian population right behind us. They basically from here could proceed into the nearby kibbutzes, the Jewish communities, and go on a rampage of murder, rape and destruction and pillaging that we all know and remember from this horrific scene.

C (11:50)

And even as you can see if I raise the camera up, there is a balloon providing surveillance and various means of maintaining communication and eyes in the sky.

D (12:02)

The Israeli military is still occupying a perimeter inside of the Gaza Strip and it's about somewhere around two to three miles deep, depending on the exact sector. And this is all part of the agreement, it's all part of the ceasefire that has been achieved. The Israelis are obviously doing their best to keep up and hold on to their terms and their side of the bargain. Unfortunately, there are violations oftentimes coming from either civilian population that is trying to return to areas they're not permitted to at the moment, or worse, cells of terrorists that are trying to test the Israeli readiness and sometimes even trying to seize the opportun if they can, to hurt those troops that are still inside.

C (12:54)

And sometimes even having enter battles with their own Palestinian so called brothers and sisters, because they are still consolidating and maintaining their power. That being the Hamas terrorists, we pray for the peace of this entire region, but we recognize that until the Prince of peace arrives, there will be no lasting shalom.

B (13:18)

You know what's most galling, folks, is the fact that all these people who have been protesting against Israel have grown silent in the face of Hamas terrorism against their own people. So these claims of standing up in solidarity with the Palestinians has been proven false. All of the haters have just been pouring their hatred toward Israel. But as I stood there overlooking Gaza, it was heartbreaking to witness the devastation that has befallen those people living in Gaza. And because they have embraced and tolerated terrorism in their midst. Well, obviously another place that I was heartbroken to visit but knew I had to witness was the Reim Grove. That's a place where there are many trees and it's a beautiful site. It was where the Nova Music Festival was held on October 7, with young people from all of Israel coming just to enjoy music. And many of them were completely oblivious to the threat that was emerging just to their west. Obviously, when Hamas terrorists came into Israel, they were given a long list of strategic sites, of tactical sites that they could attack. They did just that. They overran the very site that I had spoken of a few moments ago, where the IDF had an outpost. They killed a number of soldiers, took several hostage. They overran other communities, often first attacking the police stations and other places where there would be security personnel. But when they discovered a soft target, all of these young people with very little security there at the Nova site, many of the terrorists converged on that site and engaged in a bloodletting that is horrific to even contemplate to this day. That Nova site has become a memorial shrine and people stream from all over Israel. There were families and actual busloads of people still coming to that site to pay respects and to remember what happened that Horrific Day on October 7th.

C (15:19)

I've come to the Reim Grove where the Nova Festival was being held on October 7th.

B (15:26)

And this is just a memorial that

C (15:28)

has been created by the state of the Israel to all the hundreds of young people in particular who were killed that day. You can see all of their individual pictures with new trees planted. That's a very Israeli thing to do. Along with a mural of all the lives that were taken that horrific day. It's hard to imagine a group of young people coming to celebrate life, to just enjoy music. And most of them were completely innocent of anything whatsoever to do with any animosity coming from Gaza and Hamas. And yet when the terrorists arrived here and found the Nova Festival, they realized it was a target of opportunity to do what they intended to do, to create terror, to wreak havoc, to murder and to kill. And so that's exactly what. What they did. You can see how young many of these people were. This young man, 21 years old, this young woman, 21 years old, this young Woman, 22 years old, over and over again.

B (16:38)

And as I'm walking along, you can

C (16:40)

see all the lives that were snuffed out due to satanic hate. This is the father of the young man who. And they have actually come today to relight the candles commemorating his life. You can just imagine the pain of families who were so very devastated.

B (17:03)

Well, one of the poignant things I saw adjacent to the Nova Festival site there at the Reim Grove, was a tent where a young Orthodox Jewish writing a Torah scroll. He had been commissioned to create a Torah scroll in memory of one of the young men who had been killed there at the Nova Festival. And so sometimes friends and family can come by and they can actually lay their hand on the arm of that scribe and therefore give their own affirmation to remembering that life by writing what the word of God as delivered in the Torah. And we obviously know that the Torah is not complete without the new Testament of the Jewish Messiah who came and is coming again. But what a testimony that even to commemorate a lost loved one, people are turning to and reaffirming the very word of God. Well, another place that I found to be just tragic was a bunker scattered all throughout the region in Gaza. Indeed, up in the northern Israel sector, near border with Lebanon and Syria, are prefabricated shelters. These were designed to protect Israelis who were seeking shelter from missiles, from exploding bombs that would send shrapnel in all directions. What they were not designed for was to protect against terrorists who would try to infiltrate those very shelters. So in this particular one, a number of Israelis sought shelter. And a former IDF soldier stood at the very opening and said, I'm going to hold them off as long as I can. If I fall, you continue to hold them off. How did he hold them off? By throwing one grenade after another out of the shelter until the eighth grenade took his life. And then the terrorists were able to gain access to the shelter and kill or take hostage the remaining Israelis that found there. Throughout the region of Gaza, the devastation is overwhelming. As I said, in many of the Jewish sectors, they have already begun to rebuild. Some of the kibbutzes, some of the communities have not completely been restored. They are still off limits to tourists, if you will. But there is a determination to return to life as normal. And yet there is an overwhelming desire to commemorate the fallen and to make a memorial of those sites so that the Jewish people will never forget what happened on October 7th, and so that they will never again allow that kind of attack, a surprise attack, to kill so many innocent Israelis. I even went to a place where they had collected all the cars, gathering them together. One particular car was held almost in a position of esteem. And as Erez explained to me, that particular car was driven by a young man who came back again and again and again to the Nova site to try to take other Jewish people out of harm's way. Until finally the terrorists, realizing that he was helping Jews evacuate and escape, their murderous rampage, killed him. He remains a hero of Israel to this day. As Erez took me up to the northern region of Israel, we visited a hippo ruin that is an ancient city built way up on a hill and that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. It is a commanding view of the entire region around the Sea of Galilee. As a matter of fact, prior to 1948, it was in the possession of the Syrian army. And the Syrians would use that outpost to lob down artillery and to take potshots at Jewish farmers down in the various kibbutzes below them. Well, without the aid of even the very young IDF in those days, the citizens living in the kibbutz right at the foothill of that peak decided that they had to take action. And so a group of civilians actually overtook that hill, and it has been in Israeli possession ever since, still providing a commanding overview of the region surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Well, Erez passed me on to Dan Price. As I've already indicated, we went to Kiriat Shemonah. As I said earlier, that particular city was evacuated. Much devastation occurred in that city. But even as the bombs were falling and the IDF was positioning itself to try to counter the threat in Lebanon, there were a few Jews and Christians who were working to provide sustenance to the IDF soldiers. My friends Dan and Meg Price regularly volunteered there in Kiryat Shmona. But how overwhelming it was to look over the border into Lebanon and see all this devastation that was wrought by the IDF and by the foolishness of Hezbollah terrorists who had infiltrated the whole southern portion of Lebanon. I again was struck by how much devastation has been wrought by Satan and his deceptions, his lies and his murderous ways. Anyone who has been to Israel can tell you that it has a beauty that transcends words. I'm not sure an atheist or agnostic would feel the same, because I believe that the appreciation for the land God proclaimed as his own and then promised to his chosen people is only possible in two situations. You are either a Jew whose identity is miraculously tied to the land promised to your forebears and yearned for at every Passover Seder, or or you are a redeemed child of God who has studied his prophetic word and therefore understands that God has a purpose and a plan for the Jewish people and for the promised land they inhabit. So what do I take from my time in Israel? I take that God is still on the throne, that he is still in control. In spite of all the evidence we see that Satan is raging in this world. God is in control. How do I know? Because he has regathered the Jewish people. He has re established the nation of Israel. He has allowed them to repossess their ancient capital of Jerusalem, and in the fullness of time, he will redeem his people. Israel. Going to Israel, even after the calamity of October 7, 2023, affirms that there is life taking precedence over the death that Satan is trying to inflict all around the world. That there is hope. We know the ultimate hope is in Christ, but there is hope that God will preserve and protect Israel. And that hope, folks, is not just wishful thinking. It is a scriptural promise. Words and pictures can only convey a portion of the blessing a pilgrim to Israel receives. There is more than the eyes can see or ears can hear. There are smells and sensations that wash over you in the land where Jesus lived, walked and ministered and died. There are feelings that stir in your heart when you first enter Jerusalem or kneel to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane, or look down on the Eastern Gate from the Mount of Olives and contemplate that this is where our Lord will return to reign on the earth. Lamb and Lion Ministries provides a number of resources. If you cannot get to Israel and want to begin to understand why the Lord has placed his love on this place and on this people. Most recently reproduced his story, a tremendous booklet that explains, using almost solely scripture, why the Lord loves the Jewish people and why we should as well. We have a number of other resources including Israel in Bible prophecy, why Israel still matters and what God's plan is for the Jewish people in the fullness of time. We have a book that counters the lie Satan is trying to perpetrate today, even in the church that God has washed his hands of the Jewish people that is absolutely unscriptural. So the Jewish people, rejected or beloved can help you understand how and why God is still lavishing his love on Israel. And of course we have the Inheritance of God written by my friend Paul Wilkinson and a tremendous insight into the promises being fulfilled in our own day and age before our eyes in and for Israel. If you don't understand why the church, why every Christian should support Israel, why we should stand with the Jewish people, read this book which will point you to God's Scriptural promises that again are being fulfilled before our eyes. And finally, if you want to understand why, as Zechariah says, the whole world will come against Israel and yet it will be like a flaming pot among sheaves. And then you can read the nine wars of the End Times to see how all of God's plan is culminating, is converging as we say, right before our eyes and really what we expect to happen next in this outline of the wars of the End Times. Well folks, Lamb and Lion Ministries is also planning a single trip to Israel in 2026. We tried to go in late 2024. We tried to go again in 2025 and we were stymied every time. In one instance we were set to go just days after the war kicked off with Iran. We will go from June 20th to July 1st of 2026 and we will incorporate elements of both our Footsteps of Jesus tour and our Battle for Israel tour. Given what has transpired over the past two years, we simply could not neglect to highlight what God is still doing among his people in his land.

E (26:39)

Imagine Walking where Jesus walked. Next June, Lamb and Lion Ministries invites you on a life changing pilgrimage to Israel. This isn't just another tour, it's a spiritual journey designed to deepen your faith as you explore both beloved biblical sites and hidden places most travelers never get to see. Each day includes powerful devotions and in depth Bible teaching at locations tied to the life of Jesus. Come experience God's Word in the land where it unfolded. Call us today at the number on the screen or Visit us@christinprophecy.org events to learn more. And reserve your spot. You'll be glad you did.

B (27:21)

I hope you'll consider joining us in June or sending someone on your behalf. If you would like to share this experience with a child or grandchild, I can assure you that both of you will come home praising the Lord and grateful for the memories made that will last far beyond this life. And if you cannot join us, I hope you'll consider helping us send a young person. You can contribute to our Millennial Kingdom scholarship, helping invest in young followers of Christ who accompany us on each pilgrimage. Or you can simply contribute directly to or actually through Lamb and Lion Ministries with the assurance that we are intentional about serving as a conduit of blessing to evangelical ministries in Israel. So whether you go on a pilgrimage to Israel or not, I hope you will join me in praying fervently for the peace of Jerusalem, the protection of Israel, and the redemption of the Jewish people. And whether referring to our next pilgrimage or the shout we'll hear when Jesus calls us heavenward, my hope is this year in Jerusalem. Godspeed.