Several months ago, we began to paint during our watches at the Tent of David.  I am not an artist, but the Lord prompted me to go out and buy some oil paints and canvas and begin painting.  The result was that it seemed to trigger more of a prophetic flow and a freedom in the meetings.  Then we did some renovations at the Tent and got a new carpet put down.  The paints went away because we needed to somehow figure out how to set up a place to paint that wouldn’t ruin our nice new flooring.  Then we went to Israel in March.  While there, we had an amazing visit with our friends in Bethlehem.  They had been doing all kinds of aid work in the refugee camps there and suddenly God told them to stop and paint!  When we got there, their prayer house and apartment was filled with the most amazing prophetic paintings.  When we began to ask why God would tell them to do such a thing, they said that the Lord told them that creativity breaks the spirit of religion.  Since they began, so much breakthrough has happened in the Arab churches and glory has begun to fall! 

After returning from our trip, Dan felt compelled to go out and get some new art supplies and a few weeks ago, we began again to paint.  Since then, more and more release has come in the painting.  This weekend, after we celebrated Shavuot, or the Feast of Pentecost with Bill Carruthers, I was sitting outside looking at an incredible sky and the Lord spoke to me and said, “I want you to start painting clouds”.  Not long after that, folks ministering in Israel reported on the most amazing clouds that appeared on Pentecost there.  For days, the sky had been practically obliterated with sand clouds because of a number of sandstorms in the region, but they awoke to Pentecost with a clear sky and magnificent formations of clouds in the sky.   

Ever since we began our journey of pressing in for a great awakening over the nation of Canada, clouds have been a predominant theme for us.  In a period of transition for us, the Lord showed me a column of cloud in the sky and spoke to me about the cloud by day that travelled with Israel and showed them the way.  This column of cloud seemingly went ahead of my car that day until I really got the message that He was leading us.  Clouds have been spoken of in the Bible many times as well.  Isaiah 19:1 tells us that God rides on a swift cloud.  Israel was led by a cloud with the angel of the Lord in the midst.  The dense cloud covered Moses as he led the people into transition.  The cloud was so thick when the Temple was dedicated that the priests could not stand.  And, Jesus is coming in clouds!

I am not sure what the clouds in Israel on Pentecost this year are telling us, but I have a sense that a huge transition is upon us.  Pentecost is the season of transition.  The tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments were given on Pentecost, and ushered in a new era for the children of Israel.  Then, one wonderful day, on another Pentecost, a sound of a mighty wind, tongues of fire and unusual utterances came forth on a small group who would turn the world upside down, and another era was born.   Just what is ahead of the church in this transition time, we can only say, “Could it be, Lord, that this is the day that the prophets have longed for?” 

In the meantime, I am painting clouds.  Let the cloud of Glory once again fill the atmosphere until we cannot stand.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Please do not forget the National Forgiven Summit being held this weekend at the Ottawa Civic Centre.  Visit http://www.i4give.ca/ for further information and meeting times.  All watches at the Tent of David will be cancelled this weekend to enable participation in this timely event.

Many blessings,

Tent of David Ministries

www.tentofdavid.ca

The coming week is a special week for Jews and Christians.  The Jewish people will begin to celebrate Shavuot on Tuesday evening and Christians celebrate Pentecost on Sunday.  In this week’s comment I want to look at the amazing similarities between the Old Testament and New Testament holy days.

Paul asked in Romans 3:1 “ What advantage then has the Jew ?   Paul’s answers himself  “ much in every way,  because to them were committed the oracles of  God. ”   As Christians followers of the King of the Jews, Yeshua the Messiah,  and grafted-in members of the House of Israel,  the oracles committed to the Jews are a vital part of our inheritance also.  As I trust most of our subscribers know by now, God says that the original Biblical Feasts are His appointed times. They are a prophetic shadow of that which is to come. and they also lay out the timing of God’s plan of redemption for Israel and the nations.  Therefore I want to use this weeks comment to connect the two celebrations together.

Therefore lets take a look at Shavuot   (Feast of Weeks)  The Hebrew word Shavuot is the plural of Shavua ( week ) it literally means a week of weeks -  7  x  7  =  49

What occurred at the first Shavuot / Pentecost ?   After they passed through the Red Sea and crossed into the Promised Land, the Israelites were led to Mt. Sinai.  The Lord was close by – how do we know ?   There was thunder and lightning, the sound of the Shofar was being heard, the mountain was smoking.  Sounds like God – right ?   Moses went up the mountain where the Spirit of God came down in Fire and wrote His Torah (instructions) on tablets of stone.   We read in. Ex 32:28   that 3000 people died that day.

After the Passover  Feast 2000  years ago, the resurrected Lamb instructed His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were imbued with power from on high.    Exactly 50 days after Passover, that’s what Pentecost means – 50 days, the 12 Jewish disciples were gathered together in area of the Temple to celebrate Shavuot.  And God was in the vicinity again !   We read in Acts 2 that  the sound of a mighty rushing wind from Heaven was heard.  The Holy Spirit descended.  This time tongues of Fire inscribed God’s Torah on their hearts, and then empowered the 12 Galilean disciples to preach the Gospel to the thousands of Jews who had come to Jerusalem from the known world to celebrate Shavuot.  Under that never seen before, powerful anointing, a good number of  people were Born-Again.  How many  -  3000 !    Do you see it ?   The same date,  the same dynamics, even the same number of people were affected.   At Mt Sinai 3000 died, at Mt Zion 3000 were born again.

Do you see how precise God is ?   He only makes and carries out His major plans on His appointed days – the Feasts of Israel.  It is his modus operanda – the way  He operates.

Yeshua instructed His disciples,   “Don’t leave town with out it ”  – they waited and they received it.  Their lives were dramatically changed.  We still need the same anointing of Holy Spirit power today  – even more so as the enemy rises up  -  God wants to give it.  We are going to  pray soon for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit for all who want it.  I want to share what I believe are the keys to a full release of the Spirit of God.   I believe that these keys are a pre-requisite to see the release of an even greater anointing than we see in the book of Acts.   The Bible says that the Latter Rain will be greater than the Former Rain.  We need to be like the persistent widow – to give God no rest until He fills us to overflowing with His Holy Spirit.
Lets look at the dynamics of the Acts church:

1.  Yeshua was the focus Acts 2:36-38   They were preaching the centrality of Yeshua  – believe, repent and be baptized for the remission of sin
2.  Prayer   They were a praying people
3.  The Word – Acts 2:42   They continued steadfastly under the Apostles teaching   -  God appointed leadership -  They were in one accord in much prayer & supplication
4.  Unity  -  Acts 2:1    they were all in one place & one accord.  Psalm 133:1    How good and pleasant it is when  the brethren dwell together in unity.  It is like oil running down Aarons beard  ……   There the Lord commands a blessing
5.  Fellowship  – Acts 2:44 - they were breaking bread together – they had all things in common  – they were meeting house to house
6.  Celebration of Biblical Jewish  life  -    We see the first century predominately Jewish congregation still connected to their Natural roots, …. from where comes the goodness and the fatness,  the  nourishing  sap  Rom11:17
Finally  I want to make this point – Romans 11:15  If their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but  LIFE FROM THE DEAD – that’s full blown   REVIVAL  brothers & sisters.  Lets fulfill our calling to bring in the Jewish harvest and lets continue to pray them into the fulfillment of Shavuot  – a life with the Holy Spirit.

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel.  Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God.  Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims,  and please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF -they are defending and fighting for the Kingdom of God.
Shabbat Shalom …. David & Josie Silver

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s remarks before today’s Cabinet meeting focused on the recent rocket attacks from Gaza: “Twenty rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza last week… The IDF responded immediately, attacking rocket-manufacturing facilities and tunnels through which Iran smuggles rockets to Gaza. Our policy is clear: Every missile or other attack will be met with a strong response.”

Last week’s rockets landed near Ashkelon and Netivot, in addition to the closer and more frequent targets in the western Negev. No one was hurt in the attacks.

Netanyahu did not restrict his strong remarks to Hamas, and lashed out at Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah as well: “Not only rockets endanger our security, but also words. Those who name a Ramallah square after a terrorist who murdered tens of Israelis on the Coastal Highway are encouraging terrorism.”

Hamas blames the IDF for the reported death or wounding of three Gazan Arabs over the past two days. The IDF denies any involvement.
A former Commanding Officer of the IDF Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yom Tov Samiya, says that another clash between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is inevitable.

“We are now facing another round of fighting in Gaza,” Samiya told Army Radio on Sunday morning. “I don’t believe that Hamas will surrender or change its ways without having been made to suffer a much stronger attack than that which we gave them last year in Operation Cast Lead. It must be a more focused blow, with longer -range consequences, and a take-over of certain areas in Gaza. Hamas must be made to understand that it loses territory as a result of provoking us.”

Ps 139:14  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works ….  (NKJ)
Psalm 19:1   The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.   (NKJ)
Shalom everyone  -  I want to start the year off on a positive note. Who knows what will unfold in Israel and in your nation in the days ahead ?  It seems that the situation in the whole world is spiraling out of control.   But God has not lost control.  In fact he is very much in control.  And He has the authority and the power to keep everything under control.  The God of Israel is EL ELYON – the MOST HIGH GOD. HE told Moses that His name is YHVH -  I AM WHO I AM !!!  To some people that may sound arrogant.  But the Creator of the Universe and the designer of every atom in the Universe, can afford to sound a little arrogant.
Over the last few days I have been watching the National Geographic channel on the TV.  I am far from being an expert on biology or physics, but the information I have gleaned from watching these programs has ‘boggled’ my mind and given me an even greater revelation of how AWESOME our God truly is.
The first program, I watched  "In the Womb"  was on conception and the whole process from the fertilization of the egg to the birth of the baby.  It all begins with a single cell that then divides and then the two cells divide again and so on and so on until you have perfectly formed human being.  I asked a friend how big is an average human cell is and he told me this – if the cell was the size of a basketball then a small coin would be equal to the size of the Earth.  That is so  it is hard to comprehend!   As miniscule as that is, the cell is then made up of even tinier parts.  There is the membrane wall of the cell, the nucleus of the cell, the proteins and the DNA.  The DNA is made up of millions of parts, so can you imagine ( actually I cant imagine )  how small the parts of the DNA are.  I wouldn’t be surprised if one day genetic scientists discover that the millions of DNA particles are made up of even more smaller parts !  
From there we go down to the atom and the parts that make up the atom and the parts that make up those parts. This mind boggling design is repeated in every living thing on Planet Earth, be it animal, insect, or vegetable.  As clever a man is, we cant even create   something as simple as a blade of grass.  And where does man get his intelligence from ?   From the fact that we were created in the image of the Creator !   Our God truly is an awesome God !!!
Now lets look outwards instead of inwards.  The same physical design pattern that we saw as we decreased in size is repeated as we increase size.  As we move our focus to the heavens, we see solar systems, galaxies and the universe, may be even other universes all based on the atomic pattern.  The energy and power out there in the universe is similarly mind boggling.  The program I was watching claimed that our Sun produces more energy in 1 second than has been been produced on the Earth since its creation.  And the power of the sun is like a candle compare to the energy produced by other stars.  Then there are black holes, Quasars and Gamma rays that produce levels of energy that our human minds cant even begin to comprehend.  There are power sources out there, even in our own solar system, that could wipe the Earth out in a nano-second.
To be honest the scale of what I was seeing on my TV screen was getting very scary.  We could all be vaporized from Space and never know what hit us.
All of  a sudden I found myself singing an old song to myself  -  "He’s got the whole world in His hands – He’s got the whole wide world in His hands …….."  Not only does He have the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole Universe in His hands !  He created every atom that exists anywhere -  the atoms that make up our physical bodies and the atoms that make up every star, planet and gas cloud in the Universe  He created every single one of them and every single atom that was ever created is still under His control   ……  Our God is an awesome God !
As I said above, our human minds cannot even begin to comprehend the smallness of inner space and the vastness and power of outer space.  All I know is that if our God created and controls all of the stars, galaxies and energy sources out there in space, then He must be much BIGGER and far more POWERFUL  than anything He has created.  The sad thing is that many of the scientists and the people at National Geographic put it all down to the  "Big Bang"  or to Evolution.  You have to have ‘hyper-faith’ to believe everything in the Universe came about by chance or by an uncontrolled explosion. 
I have shared these things with you this week to build your faith and encourage you to put you faith in God and in God alone.  The God of Israel is the God of the miniscule and He is the God of the massive.  Nothing you may be going through is too small for Him to care about, and there is nothing that you may be going through is too big for Him to put right.   He tell us to call upon Him when we are in trouble and He will answer us. So if the first few days of 2010 find you in some kind of trouble, call upon Him now and keep calling upon Him until you have your solution.
And never, never, never, never forget that   "Ain Kmoca B Elim Adona"  -  There is no other God like Him in the Heavens
"Our God is an AWESOME God !  

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel.  Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God.  Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims,  and please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF -they are defending and fighting for the Kingdom of God.
Shabbat Shalom …. David & Josie

The United Nations and media suffer from “Obsessive Compulsive Israel Disorder (OCID),” says the British-born designer of the FreeMiddleEast.com, website which illustrates the anti-Israel agenda.
“Stop defending Israel and start showing the truth proactively”, he tells Israel supporters. Knesset Member Yuli Edelstein published statistics Wednesday that show that 91 percent of Israelis feel that Israel has an extremely negative world image and is seen as an aggressive and unfriendly country.

Jonathan Bash now lives in Israel and was also co-founder of a media watchdog website. He says his aim is “to make the Middle East a free place” for everyone, including Christians whose rights have been eroded under the Palestinian Authority. The “FreeMiddleEast.com” website shows two chilling videos, brought below, one on the worldwide problem of refugees and the other on the international agenda to destroy Israel.

He feels that the fixation of the eyes of the world can be broken by repeated showing of what is happening to recent refugees in Darfur and other places. The Arab world and the United Nations have instead focused on the poor living conditions of Arabs left to languish in “refugee camps” for decades instead of being absorbed into their host country’s population, as is done with other refugees.
Click here to view video “The Obsession with Israel”

“Terrible things are going on in the world,” Bash told Israel National News, discussing his video on refugees. “It is a disaster and the world is not doing anything about it. The issue is not what’s going on in Israel. Over the last few years 300,000 people have been killed in Sudan,” he said and added that Google searches for Darfur are a mere four percent of those for Israel.

The second video presentation is called “The Phased Plan: The 3 step plan to destroy Israel”. It quotes a U.N.-hosted website of the Palestinian Authority observer at the United Nations as advocating an “armed struggle” and a “combatant national authority.” Bash’s notes these terms are “diametrically opposed to the U.N. charter. The charter’s opening paragraph mentions the word ‘peace’ five times”. The video quotes former PA chairman Yasser Arafat’s 1996 statement,” Within five years, we plan to destroy Israel.” The film then shows the PA’s plan: “Acquire territory, use territory to launch terror, and destroy Israel.”
Click here to view video “The PLO Phased Plan”

That according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who told the pan-Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat this week that the Palestinian refusal to conduct unconditional talks had forced the Obama Administration to stop relying on Israeli gestures, and instead force Israel to fully accept Arab demands.

"Once they realized their earlier approach had failed, the Americans see themselves forced to change direction," said Gheit.

The new peace initiative, which, according to Gheit, will be spearheaded by the US, Egypt and France, will be based on Israel implementing a full building freeze in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem at the outset of talks and a commitment by Israel to recognize a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, effectively prejudging the outcome of the negotiations.

Those conditions are fully in line with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ new positions, which he introduced days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implemented a partial 10-month freeze on Jewish construction in order to facilitate a return to the negotiating table. The US at first praised Netanyahu’s decision, and indirectly accused Abbas of holding up the peace process.

But as in the past, the US and international power brokers realize they cannot strong-arm the Palestinians without risking other regional assets, so they will apparently once again strong-arm Israel, which will upset no-one.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected to arrive in the coming weeks to get the new peace process rolling.

Among the report’s main points are these: A dress code for women on the street, in schools and in courts is enforced. Principals can expel female students who do not wear a head covering and wide dresses. Judges have been instructed not to hold sessions if female lawyers do not appear in Islamic garb. On official Hamas TV, Al-Aqsa, women announcers wear a veil, and Islamic content is increasingly featured in the programs.Men may not swim in the ocean without a shirt, and female mannequins may not be exhibited in store windows. Mixed-gender public ceremonies may not be held, and men may not teach in girls’ schools. Hamas is also trying to separate boys and girls in the UN-run schools. Fatah-identified teachers are being replaced by Hamas members.Hamas police arrest immodestly clad women and enforce gender separation. Unmarried couples may not appear in public; married couples must be ready to produce a marriage certificate on demand.Religious-studies classes have been added in schools, mosques and prisons. Prisoners who become more religious can have their sentences shortened. An across-the-board 1% public sector pay cut was imposed during the summer months in order to pay for summer camps for reviewing the Koran. The pace of building mosques, medrasahs and Islamic sharia courts is being stepped up.Hamas is working on establishing the Islamic National Bank and an Islamic insurance company.The Bureau for Legal Counsel and Legislation is preparing a new criminal code based on Islamic law. In June 2009, for instance, the Legislative Council passed amendments to the code for the purpose of “preventing immoral incidents in public.”The Shabak report emphasizes that the instilling of these and other Hamas ideas into public life is the result of a carefully orchestrated Hamas program. Hamas, as the ruling body in Gaza, “dictates daily Islamic routine,” the report states.

In addition, the report notes, some organizations have cropped up to the right of Hamas, claiming that Hamas is too compromising and moderate.

Tent of David:  The process of Islamicizing is a continuum.

When Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords in September 1978, and followed this up by signing the Israel-Egypt peace treaty of March 1979, he initiated Israel’s defensive and losing strategy.   Let’s face a simple but unpleasant truth: Only a fool surrenders land won in a war of self-defense to the aggressor-surrenders land for what Anwar Sadat mockingly called "a piece of paper."   Without firing a shot, Sadat won the greatest victory in military or diplomatic history. From an adversary superior in arms he regained the entire Sinai, including its strategic air bases built by Israel, and oil fields Israel had made productive. Begin surrendered all this-a twelve billion dollar infrastructure-for verbiage!  Sadat also manipulated Begin into abandoning the Jewish settlement of Yamit. This surrender infected Israel’s mentality with the pathological policy of "land for peace." If this were not enough, Sadat conned Begin into signing the first international agreement that referred to Judea and Samaria as the "West Bank."

Say what you will about Begin’s virtues, he didn’t really know what he was doing at Camp David. This pretty much sums up the story of his colleagues and successors to this day. Connect the dots: from Begin at Camp David to Bibi at the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University, where Netanyahu renounced the Jewish people’s biblical as well as legal claim to Judea and Samaria.   The State of Israel has been led by losers since the IDF’s miraculous victory in the June 1967 Six-Day War. It had to be miraculous, since it was achieved without the any thought or intention to incorporate Judea and Samaria into the State;! In fact, that bold but logical idea was opposed by Israel’s timid and myopic leaders. No wonder they ceded control of Israel’s holiest site, the Temple Mount, to the Arabs-who were stunned by this gesture of the conquerors.

The word "gesture" tells it all. Israel’s ruling elites think they can obtain peace through "gestures," like yielding strategic assets for parchment-nay, for less than parchment, as witness the hero who retreated from Gaza for nothing. Let’s face it: Using a term coined by Lenin, we have to admit that for more than four decades this country has been ruled by "useful idiots," whose mindless behavior was facilitated by Israel’s inane system of government-a system that allowed Ariel Sharon to nullify the 2003 Knesset elections and become Labor’s surrogate prime minister!

Let’s stop the pseudo-sophistication, the obscurantism: It’s not the Arabs but Jewish prime ministers that have laid the foundations for a Palestinian state.

And it makes no difference which party or party leader or party coalition heads Israel’s government: you get the same suicidal policy: retreat and surrender. Barack Obama could have drawn his anti-American foreign policy from Israel’s anti-Zionist foreign policy!

I am not a defeatist. For decades I have offered constructive alternatives to the self-destructive policies of this country. In fact, when I made aliyah in 1976- the year after the UN equated Zionism with "racism"-I brought with me the unheard idea of encouraging Israel to quit the United Nations, and I even gained support for the idea by a politically influential Israeli.

In any event, I have repeatedly proposed an offensive foreign policy, beginning with a serious expose of the repressive nature of Arab regimes. Alternatively, since Israel was not going to quit the UN, I suggested that Israel submit a proposal in the General Assembly to expel this or that Arab or Islamic regime on grounds of its violation of the UN Charter or the anti-Genocide Convention?  I have often advocated an "ideological offensive" against Israel’s enemies, for example, exposing the hatred of Israel propagated by Egypt’s state-controlled media, which violates the Israel-Egyptian peace treaty.  The Arabs have never ceased their ideological offensive against Israel, playing the "victimization card" or inciting the UN to pass anti-Israel resolutions. Meanwhile, Israel’s political leaders continue to play the role of blind-deaf-mutes.

But what am I saying? Jews must not irritate the "goyim," certainly not the descendants of Ishmael. Jews much show how magnanimous they are, how peace-loving they are, how long-suffering they are, vis- Ã -vis their Arab assailants. Yes, Jews must suffer the cruel attacks, the murderous hatred, the obscene lies of the Arabs. The last thing they must do is tell the truth about these compulsive liars, which means they must imitate these Arabs with a good conscience! 

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel.  Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God.  Do not be silent. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims,  and please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF -they are defending and fighting for the Kingdom of God.

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel.  Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God.  Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims,  and please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF -they are defending and fighting for the Kingdom of God.