Ex-gangster’s amazing story screened in Israeli cinemas

The spiritual restoration of the Jewish people, for which evangelical Christians have been praying for centuries, has taken a decisive step forward, in my view.

And the timing could not have been more apt – with Israel’s imminent 70^th anniversary, now to be accompanied by the US Embassy move to Jerusalem along with the visit of Prince William, marking a watershed in their physical restoration.

As we learn from anecdotal evidence, and from a recent survey which found that 20% of Jewish millennials believe Jesus is the Son of God,¹ it is quite clear that the new generation of Jews are taking Jesus seriously and are open as never before to claims of his being their Messiah.

They are now responding in droves to hi-tech evangelistic efforts from within their own state, with an organization called One for Israel (among others) reportedly making huge strides in reaching their people. Their website is filled with testimonies of Jews who are now following Yeshua, and their various videos have attracted a staggering 55 million views, 15 million of them from Israelis!²

A New Spirit

Indeed, Jesus is even now the focus of an award-winning Israeli movie! Sadly, I understand it met with failure at the box office and was pulled from theatres after just two weeks. It nevertheless represents a major shift as, for the first time in the history of modern Israel, a faith-based film on Yeshua the Messiah has been produced and premiered in the land.

A New Spirit was first shown in December 2017 at the famous Tel Aviv Cinematheque to an audience of hundreds of enthusiastic moviegoers. Billboards and posters advertising the film were also plastered on the streets of Jerusalem and surrounding cities.

The new generation of Jews are taking Jesus seriously.

It tells the story of former gangster Yacov Damkani, who fled to America where he was introduced to Yeshua as his Messiah and discipled in singer Keith Green’s community. His life was turned completely upside down and, three years ago, his testimony came to the attention of acclaimed film-maker Doron Eran while producing a documentary on the Messianic community. Doron felt it had the makings of a Hollywood movie, as he shared with Shira Sorko-Ram (as featured in February’s Maoz Israel Report).

He did not, however, anticipate the controversial nature of his subject – he has since been accused of being a missionary and betraying his people. He does admit to being a “student” (of the New Testament) and the actors have clearly also been impacted.

Imri Biton, who plays the lead, responds to criticism by saying: “Look what Yeshua did for Yacov. He was a gangster. When he believed in Yeshua, he became a new person. These Messianic Jews are telling their own truth. As a professional actor, I can join them.”

Misinformation and Fear

Doron believes the Government has unwisely allowed the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) to take control of the nation’s soul. “It is a religious dictatorship”, he says. “They are brainwashing our nation.”

He knew nothing of Yeshua before he met Yacov. “I didn’t know that he lived as a Jew and died as a Jew. I was told he was a Christian…”

Yes, it is tragic that both religious Jews and their Christian counterparts (who believe more in form than faith) have conspired to spread such misinformation.

The inspiration for the movie, Yacov’s book Why Me?, has been distributed free of charge to young Israeli tourists in New Zealand for the past 16 years as part of a programme called HIT (Hosting Israeli Travellers) which encourages Christians to host young Jewish tourists at little or no cost. HIT has now been extended to Australia and several other countries.

For the first time in the history of modern Israel, a faith-based film on Yeshua the Messiah has been produced and premiered in the land.

Commenting on the poor box office take-up, a Jewish friend explained:

I am not surprised Israelis didn’t venture into theatres showing a movie that would have been anathema to their parents and society in general. The audience for this movie would have been largely young people who would have been greatly influenced by comments from parents and other relatives the pre-advertising would have provoked. I believe it will have a greater market audience outside of Israel, even with subtitles, and many Israelis might later watch it in private.

I know Israel is the only place where I have experienced feeling intimidated. And as soon as my friends knew I believed in Jesus, I was no longer welcome in their homes, nor would they speak to me. It is okay to be a Gentile believer, but a Jewish believer is looked upon as a traitor. For the movie, I believe that if they will put it up for free on YouTube, asking for donations only to cover production costs, it might still make an impact!

Great Awakening to Come

Many Old Testament prophecies speak of a two-fold return of God’s chosen race – first to the land and then to their Lord. The first stage, though far from complete, has been witnessed before the eyes of the world as exiled Jews from every corner of the globe have resettled in Israel, especially since the re-birth of the modern state 70 years ago.

The second stage began, significantly, around the time of the re-unification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War of 1967 as so-called Messianics recognised that Yeshua was indeed their Messiah and started meeting together in congregations all over the country. The movement has since grown substantially and they have made an impact on the nation out of all proportion to their still relatively low numbers.

Even some Arabs are recognising what is happening. Saleem Shalash, an Arab pastor in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, is reported as saying: “The Bible says God will bring the tribes of Israel back together in this place, and suddenly revival will spring from here.”³

Indeed, the small spring in the desert that bubbled up around 50 years ago is threatening to turn into a fast-flowing stream. The prophet Zechariah, quoting the Lord and speaking of things to come with respect to the Messiah’s reign, wrote: “I will remove the sin of this land in a single day” (Zech 3:9). This suggests a sudden large-scale awakening.

Surely we are not far from that blessed day when they look upon the One they have pierced (Zech 12:10) and welcome him back in the name of the Lord (Matt 23:39). Certainly, it seems that many will have already looked upon the transforming Spirit of Yeshua depicted on screen (whether online or at the movies) – perhaps a foretaste of greater things to come!

Watch the trailer for 'A New Spirit' by clicking here.

References

1 A Jews for Jesus survey featured in the Jerusalem Post, 1 November 2017. The study surveyed 599 Jews born between 1984 and 1999.

2 This figure includes only Facebook and YouTube views, not TV etc (source: One for Israel).

 3 Israel Today magazine, December 2017.

The cancellation of a film about ex-gay people that made national news.

Last week the premiere of a new film documenting several testimonies of people who have been delivered out of an LGBT lifestyle, was cancelled due to pressure from the LGBT lobby. A peaceful protest was held outside Vue Cinema, Piccadilly, in response.

One PT reader who was present gave us this report…

"I read with interest your news report last week on the events surrounding Vue Cinema pulling the rug from under the feet of Core Issues Trust at the 11^th hour, and this, despite the agreement to screen ‘Voices of the Silenced’ having been in place since last year.

As it happened I was caught up in the aftermath of Vue’s very late decision not to screen the film. I had purchased a ticket from EventBrite and only by chance did I receive the news on the day, and of the plan to protest peacefully outside Vue, Piccadilly.

Oddly, my reaction to the cancellation was not one of disappointment or even annoyance. I felt strangely peaceful – excited even, knowing that the outcome would be good as I was reminded of Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”

Determined to be part of the protest group I arrived outside Vue Piccadilly before 6.30pm and was amused to see a heavy police presence outside! Presumably they had been warned to expect trouble. By 7:00pm they had all but disappeared, with just one officer walking up and down the length of the street glancing every so often at this motley crew of peaceful protesters, bemused. Meanwhile the Vue staff remained safely indoors and out of sight.

As you reported last week, a venue was found with just hours to spare, and the screening of the very sensitively produced and most informative ‘Voices of the Silenced’ went ahead.

As has become clear from reports of the past week, far more publicity has been generated for the film than if the screening had not been cancelled by Vue. It has been encouraging to see the truth of Romans 8:28 unfolding before us, although it does not excuse Vue’s surrender to the LGBT lobby. Yet, we can say that although man meant it for evil, God meant it for good. In the outcome we see an application of Genesis 50:20,

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. (KJV)"

Submitted by one of the many peaceful protesters outside Vue, Piccadilly on 8 February 2018.

If we erase God from our past, we will also bar him from our present and future.

With our politicians taking their summer break from vilifying each other, there is a window of opportunity to think about other things. The last week has seen the release of a new film about Dunkirk, to rave reviews. But as might have been expected, the film fails completely to do justice to what the whole nation agreed was a miraculous answer to prayer that saved Britain in one of her darkest hours.

The early days of the Second World War threatened to bring the whole of Europe under the dark cloud of Nazi oppression. France had fallen to the rapidly advancing German Panzer divisions, leaving the British army stranded on the continent and desperate to return across the Channel to defend their homeland from what appeared to be inevitable invasion.

It was a desperate situation and on 27 May 1940 the German High Command announced –

The British army is encircled and our troops are proceeding to its annihilation.

The dire plight of the situation had already been recognised in Britain. The day before the German announcement, Sunday 26 May, King George VI had called the nation to a day of prayer. In a stirring broadcast, the King had called the people of Britain and the Empire to commit their cause to God.

Battle in the Heavenlies

British troops await evacuation. See Photo Credits.The whole nation responded. Large crowds went to Westminster Abbey. Unable to find seats, they stood outside listening to the service and joining in prayer. Churches across the land were filled - and this day of prayer proved to be the first victory of the war. A great spiritual battle was fought in the heavenlies against the forces of darkness. A series of miracles followed:

• A spirit of confusion clouded the German High Command. Irrationally, Hitler ordered his generals to halt the advance towards the west coast of France. This gave the British army time to make their way to Dunkirk.
• A storm of extraordinary fury grounded the German Luftwaffe on 28 May, allowing the British forces to reach the beaches.
• A great calm followed which settled over the English Channel for several days with low cloud cover allowing the armada of little ships, many of them only riverboats, to cross the Channel and ferry the waiting soldiers from the beaches out to the Royal Navy warships for their return to Dover.

Amazingly 338,226 Allied soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk in those few momentous days which would prove to be a turning point in world history. This was seen at the time as a direct response from God to the whole nation coming in humility before him in prayer.

Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, told the nation that he believed this to be a miracle – an answer to prayer. In a speech to Parliament he said,

I thought, and some good judges agreed with me, that perhaps 20,000 or 30,000 men might be re-embarked. The whole root and core and brain of the British army seemed about to perish upon the field or to be led into captivity.¹

The King called the nation to a day of prayer – and this proved to be the first victory of the war.

A Spirit of Confusion Descends

The safe return of so many men did not guarantee the survival of Britain. The army had to leave its weapons and equipment in France. Now it had to re-group, re-arm, and re-position itself to face the threat of imminent invasion. But the spirit of confusion in the German High Command continued to affect Hitler’s judgment.

Queue for prayer at Westminster Abbey, 26 May 1940. See Photo Credits.Amazingly, he did not follow across the Channel immediately after Dunkirk when Britain was at his mercy. He continued to hesitate throughout June to August 1940. This gave Britain a breathing space and an opportunity to re-group and prepare for the coming battle.

It was at this point that Field Marshal Goering, head of Germany’s Air Force, told his commanders that before Germany could invade Britain they had to destroy the Royal Air Force. On 30 August 1940, 800 enemy aircraft darkened the skies over southern Britain aiming to destroy the RAF’s airfields. The Battle of Britain had begun!

God’s Victory for Britain

The King again called for a National Day of Prayer on Sunday, 8 September 1940. This was to have been a day to give thanks to Almighty God for the miracle of Dunkirk. But the prayers of thanksgiving also turned to crying out to the Lord for the Battle of Britain in the air.

This became the next miracle when RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes, although greatly outnumbered, took a tremendous toll of the enemy bombers. By mid-September the Germans had sustained such heavy losses that they called off the mass attacks. On 17 September 1940, the German Supreme Command issued another order –

The invasion of England is postponed until further notice.

Once again Churchill addressed the nation and acknowledged the ‘miracle of deliverance’ in his famous speech, “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.²

But everyone knew that it was not just ‘the few’ who had given the victory: it was God who had answered the prayers of the nation.

Everyone knew it was not just ‘the few’ men who had given the victory – it was God who had answered the prayers of the nation.

The Battle Continues

Since the Referendum vote, the battle for Brexit has taken on many characteristics of Dunkirk – not least that we want to withdraw from Europe! Although of course, it is only the European Union from which we wish to withdraw so that we don’t come under its ungodly jurisdiction. Recent events in Westminster with a hung Parliament, the resurrection of Tony Blair and the advent of Vince Cable as the new leader of the Lib Dems all demonstrate the spiritual nature of the battle we still face to escape the clutches of the EU.

But this is not all. As a nation we have departed from our great biblical heritage and embraced the values of secular humanism – to our own destruction. This is why it is sad, but not surprising, that the new Dunkirk film focuses only on human bravery, failing to mention faith, prayer or even belief in the existence of God.

In so doing, it not only falls short of telling the full story – it actually sides with the enemy in the present spiritual battle for Britain’s soul. For if we try to erase God from the testament of Britain’s history, we erase him from her present and future.

Christians should recognise the true nature of this battle, whether it takes place in our Parliament or in our cinemas, but should also take heart that our God is a God who answers prayer.

If ever there were a time for Christians to come before God in prayer, confessing the nation’s unfaithfulness and interceding for people to turn in repentance, it is surely today. If we were to put our trust in the Lord and call upon him to heal the land, he would undoubtedly answer prayer today as he has done in the past.

References

1 Speech to the House of Commons, 4 June 1940.

2 Speech to the House of Commons, 20 August 1940.