Beloved Intercessors,
Loving greetings from Engeltal! Philip and I have just returned from our March Prayer Assignment in Israel. This time we were blessed to journey with local intercessors who pray weekly at our House of Peace in Jerusalem. Having participated in meetings there through the years, we knew most of them at least by name, but this time we began to really get acquainted. It’s always a blessing to flow along with people who already know each other well enough to have that synergy in prayer that comes from relationships in the Lord! And some of them had never been to the places we went—what a blessing!
Our assignment was to pray in the ports of Israel. The Lord gave Rick Ridings, the Director of Succat Hallel (a 24/7 worship and prayer ministry in Jerusalem), a vision on December 18, 2018, that called for serious intercession to expose and eliminate a grave danger to God’s Chosen Land.
Rick’s Vision: During a time of worship in Succat Hallel, I saw in a vision the highways coming into Jerusalem from the North, South, East, and West. Those travelling these highways were bringing gold bricks of prayer and finances to build up Jerusalem. Some of this was even coming from the Middle East, as prophesied in Isaiah 60: 5-6. As prophesied in Isaiah 60;8-10, there were also “ships of Tarshish” coming from the West bringing gold bricks.
However, in the major seaports, Haifa, Ashdod, and Eilat, I saw demons digging holes, then big tunnels to open a way for attacks. These demons were then calling sharks to swallow up these ports. They were also calling sharks to attack the natural gas fields in Israeli waters. In addition, there were sharks assigned to stop the “ships of Tarshish” from getting to Israel.
Then I saw a similar thing happening to another type of port of entry, the major international airport for Israel, Ben Gurion Airport. I saw demons that were digging tunnels from Tel Aviv to the airport, so that sharks could come through and swallow up Ben Gurion Airport.
[NOTE: The fact that I was seeing “sharks” is very significant. I had not seen sharks (as a symbol of military threat) since 2009. In that vision, the sharks were coming from the Mediterranean to attack Israel. I had not thought of the Mediterranean coast as a border needing protection until then. When I shared that vision in 2009, a leader in global security was present who has briefed major presidents and prime ministers. He said the vision was accurate, but that he could not share the meaning as that was “classified information”. Two years later he explained that it had been ‘de-classified,’ and that he could share with me now that they knew in 2009 that North Korea had developed a submarine almost impossible to track, that they knew it had been sold to Iran, and had strong evidence it had been sold to Syria. The name of this submarine was “The Shark”!]
Back to the current 2018 vision, I saw that as intercessors cried out for these ports; huge, strong angels were sent to guard each port, holding crossed swords. Other smaller angels began digging up and exposing the demonic tunnels making these ports vulnerable.
After that, the gold bricks coming into Jerusalem were built into a wall of protection around Jerusalem. Other gold bricks helped to build up the Throne of David, for the Son of David, above the Temple Mount. Then great glory began to arise over Jerusalem as prophesied in Isaiah 60:1-2.
We took this vision as an assignment from the Lord. We went first to toward the south, stopping briefly in Susya, an ancient community of Messianic Believers headed by temple priests. One of the most well-preserved synagogues in the country that was modeled after the temple is there. The theory is that the believing priests mentioned in Acts 6:7, remembered that Jesus had warned them in Luke 21:20-21 “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.”
When the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem briefly, they left for a relatively short period of time. Those who remembered Jesus’ warning gathered their belongings and moved to the southern Judean hills in the far reaches of civilization. They dug caves into the soft rock and began a community that flourished for 700 years.
From there we continued to the southernmost city in Israel, Eilat (biblical Eziongeber), on the shores of the Red Sea. In Hebrew, it is called the Reed Sea, so named for the reeds that grow along its shores, or perhaps because of the seaweed that is prevalent in it. Solomon’s navy was stationed there according to 1 Kings 9:26, and they made journeys to Africa to get gold and other exotic items.
It was delightful to pray together and declare scriptures over the port and share Holy Communion together with the Land and sea. We learned that Israel had made an agreement with Chinese companies to allow them to control their ports and prayed into that issue using Proverbs 6:1-5, that urgently warns the young man who has made an agreement with a stranger not to sleep until he humbles himself and delivers himself from his agreement. Please join us in prayer to deliver Israel from the potential dangers of the “21st Century Loan Sharks” of China. We also prayed about the agreement that Jehoshaphat had with Ahaziah that caused his navy to be broken up in Eilat, according to the word of the Lord (1 Kings 22:48; 2 Chron. 20:37). We declared and prayed many scriptures. From there we went to Be’er Sheva, the place where the Lord appeared to Isaac and reiterated His promise and Covenant He had made with Abraham to give the Land to his descendants. We had a wonderful time of prayer and declaring of scriptures. One of the ladies, Judy, is a seer. It was always fascinating to hear the account of what she saw going on in the spirit realm as we obeyed the Holy Spirit!
At that place we discussed restoring the lost practice of “swearing” to a truth in the name of Yehovah. Deuteronomy 6:13 says, “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.” This was typical in the days of the kings, especially with David. They would say, “As Yehovah lives…” and then declare something true or something they intended to do.
As we made declarations of “As Yehovah lives,” Judy could see very large angels pounding their staves (mattahs) on the ground, with the result that sound and light vibrations radiated out through the land. There was an impact on the Land as we declared His holy name.
Later in the week we went to Ashdod, the port city through which most of the imports for Gaza come. Joshua 15:20, 46-47 declare Ashdod is a part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, although the Philistines inhabited it during some of the biblical times. We declared the Lord’s sovereignty over this port and Psalm 147:14, 18 about God making peace in your borders, and Psalm 91, along with many other scriptures. We asked God to give the technology for “witty inventions” to detect the “undetectable” submarines. Then we went north to Rosh Hanikra at the border of Lebanon, and prayed there concerning the natural gas and oil fields that Israel is developing offshore in the Mediterranean, using, among other scriptures, Isaiah 43:14-19 concerning the “new thing” that is to “spring forth.”
Then we went to Haifa and prayed over that port. We were led by the Holy Spirit to pray concerning the coming elections about God exposing unrighteousness and raising up those who would stand for righteousness. Marylois prayed Daniel’s prayer of repentance for the sins of the Land so that God’s blessings would be restored and Haifa’s divine destiny would be fulfilled. Moses, in Deut. 33:24 blesses Asher to “dip his foot in oil.” If you see a map of the division of the tribes of Israel, the Tribe of Asher is shaped like a leg and foot. The coastline of Haifa forms the shape of the “heel” of the “foot.” The discoveries of the Tamar natural gas field, 50 miles west of Haifa and the huge Leviathan field 80 miles from Haifa are an interesting possible fulfilment of that scripture.
We attended the Shabbat service at Kehilat HaCarmel (Carmel Assembly) on the mountain above Haifa and enjoyed the worship and message. Following the service, we went to Maxim, a restaurant that is known for the wonderful relationship of the Jewish and Arab Christian owners, now in the second generation. On October 4, 2003, a female suicide bomber came into the restaurant, detonated her bomb belt, and murdered 21 people, injuring another 51. It was a horrific, traumatic disaster, and the families wanted to close the business. But their customers begged them not to let this tragedy stop them, so they rebuilt, and people come to eat in solidarity (and because the food is really good). It’s a favorite place showing a prime example of not only peaceful co-existence between Arabs and Jews, but a genuinely loving relationship.
From there we continued to Tel Aviv Port Park to pray in heavy winds and salt spray, specifically targeting the connection with Ben Gurion Airport where we also prayed, ending our journey’s assignment. We declared the joy of the Lord and Psalm 24, opening the gates so the King of Glory would enter.
Thank you to all who joined us in prayer, both those with “boots on the ground” and those who joined us “in the spirit.” I can hardly wait to see the heavenly “video replays” of all that took place! It was an exciting time of anointed intercession and unity in the Spirit.
Colorado and the Philippines: Before our next Prayer Letter comes out, Philip and I will be flying to Denver to participate in an anointed prayer event with Stephanie Schureman. Please pray for that event to accomplish all our Father has on His heart.
From there we will fly to the Philippines to be with John and Christy Bacon and Bob Baldwin. We are looking forward seeing the Holy Spirit impact a conference of pastors and leaders. Please pray for that event to be all the Lord intends.
Thank you! Once again, we want to express our appreciation for your love, prayers, and financial help. We are so very grateful for all that you do in obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit! We welcome you to attend any of the meetings that we have coming up in May as we travel across a number of states.
Your handmaiden and servant,
Sharon and Philip