Egypt, Syria, Israel, the church and the world
Just prior to the 2012 Egyptian elections, Christians Together caught up with Chuck Cohen of Intercessors for Israel to discuss the Middle East, the church and the nations.
 For the past 9 summers, a 3-man team from Jerusalem-based Intercessors for Israel have held a week-long prayer conference at Ellel Scotland's Blairmore House near Huntly.
In the following interview Chuck Cohen who is an American-born Jew and one of the directors of IFI spoke of the current upheavals following on from the 'Arab Spring'.
The day after the interview, Egypt voted for an Islamic government and of course the violence in Syria, at the time of writing, continues to escalate.
Chuck gives an anaysis of the implications for the region and Israel, and also speaks of the "600lb gorilla" which is Iran. He also emphasises the need for the church to be praying in line with God's prophetic word "for His holy name's sake".
Postscript to interview:
In the Egyptian elections the Muslim Brotherhood were voted into power. In a recently posted video, the party's senior leader now turned new President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi declared:
“The Koran is our constitution. The Prophet Muhammad is our leader. Jihad is our path. And death for the sake of Allah is our most lofty aspiration.This nation will enjoy blessing and revival only through the Islamic sharia [law].”
He added:
“I take an oath before Allah and before you all that regardless of the actual text [of the current Egyptian constitution], Allah willing, the text will truly reflect sharia law, as will be agreed upon by the Egyptian people, by the Islamic scholars, and by legal and constitutional experts. Rejoice and rest assured that these people will not accept a text that does not reflect the true meaning of the Islamic sharia as a text to be implemented and as a platform. The people will not agree to anything else.”
These pronouncements do not auger well for the present peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
Meanwhile in terms of the upheavals in the region and the conflict in Syria, tensions have been escalated by the shooting down of a Turkish military jet by the Syrians and there are now reports of Lebanon being drawn into the fray.
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An oracle concerning Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites," declares the Lord Almighty. (Isaiah 17:1-3)
An oracle concerning Egypt: "See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them.
"I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian-- brother will fight against brother, neighbour against neighbour, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 19:1-4)
Footnotes:
1. As part of his visit to Scotland in 2010, Chuck was the speaker at an evening meeting in Inverness where he spoke of God's purposes for Israel and also answered questions from the floor. A copy of the DVD, which also includes an interview with Christians Together can be obtained via the links in the article 'Chuck Cohen: why do the nations rage?'
Click here for a quick look at the trailer where Chuck spoke in 2010 of anti-semitism in the world and the church; and the "judgement" of "homosexuality coming out of the closet".
 2. Ellel Scotland's Blairmore House runs conferences, teaching programmes and also offers Healing Retreats. The next IFI Prayer Conference will (d.v.) be held in early June next year. The conference (2013 will be the 10th) runs for a week, and is open on a residential basis or for day visitors. The programme is centred around the word of God and current international news, feeding into focussed prayer for Israel, the church and the nations.
3. Video production:
2012 Interview (above) - John Parsons;
Chuck Cohen Inverness conference 2010 - Thistle Channel TV
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