Before leaving Greece on October 25^th, we had a divine encounter with 2 intercessors based in Thessalonica – Todd Pekel and Mike Long (see below). Having just returned from a “birthing prayer houses” conference in Israel (Rick Riding), they were fired up about the prayer network developing across nations such as Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Lebanon. They had also caught the vision of the Isaiah 19 highway being fulfilled in these days. The Greek word for crisis is ‘krisi’ meaning judgement. This had clearly begun with the household of God in that land but man’s extremity was God’s opportunity there.

The day before we entered the Land, 79 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel.

The first stone we saw in Eretz Israel was a living stone – Brian Slater of Chosen People Ministries (see below). Against overwhelming odds, Brian and his wife Racheli have established an humanitarian aid centre in Netanya. This is feeding 400 people a month – Ethiopians, Russians, Holocaust survivors. This mercy ministry is being supported by the messianic congregation there. One of the pastors – Lev Guler (also below) – came to meet with us later. Before making Aliyah, Lev had received a revelation that Yeshua was the Jewish messiah; he thought he was the only one! On arrival in Israel as a Russian immigrant, he, his wife and child had 50 kg in 2 boxes to their name. Together with Kiwi Evan Thomas, they now pastor a congregation of nearly 200 souls.

Lev with Martin

The next morning, being Shabbat, found us at the Mount Carmel Ministry Centre. Drawing on the spirit of Elijah, we dealt with some symbols of false wisdom and religion by burning and smashing them. After receiving a warm welcome from Peter and Rita Tsukahira, we joined their morning service for a strongly anointed time of worship and teaching. The message which Peter brought on the true meaning of worship touched each of us deeply. An outward sign of this was that Jeanette gave her walking stick away. This was, in fact, the third form of ambulatory aid to have been dispensed with by tour members! We came away from that meeting with an even stronger assurance that we had come here for such a time as this – to stand with those who are standing in the gap for the Land.

As we drove down to the Galilee via Nazareth on that Saturday afternoon, messianic leaders had gathered in the forest to fast & pray for the situation facing Israel. In the evening, one of them – the Pastor of the messianic congregation in Tiberias, Claude Esagouri, shared his story with us. The unity amongst the diverse 200 messianic congregations in the face of dire threats from without and persecution within the Land was a sign of real hope for Israel and for the rest of God’s people everywhere.

Once we started exploring the Galilee on Sunday 28^th, it was not long before the opportunity arose for us to respond to this living word in the appropriate manner – exercising faith. We considered the tension between law and grace as we broke bread on the Mount of Beatitudes. Not long after that, Heather, Jeanette and Robin took the opportunity of being baptised in the Jordan river. Given our recent experience, it was not difficult for any of us to identify with them as they relinquished their soul / flesh lives in favour of ruling and reigning with the only One who can make us right with Him (Romans 5:17).

The garden of relinquishment

After some of us took a tour to the Aegina Island on Saturday 20^th, we made our way to Parliament House – opposite the square where all the violent protests have been held. Given that democracy was being shaken to its very roots causing some Greeks to resort to anarchy, we prayed for the people both of Greece and of Australia to have a hunger for the form of government revealed in the scriptures by the kingdom of Israel; in other words, for the laws of man to be replaced by the Law of God.

Athena (wisdom) & Apollo (music & light)

Just nearby were 3 buildings of the University of Athens – the Academy, the University and the Library. Pastor George told us that, during the past year, the authorities had lost control in protecting these beautiful buildings and they have been taken over by drug dealers and junkies. The symbols depicted here such as the triangle on top of pillars and the owl are to be found in many Western institutions such as the American flag and the dollar bill.  We saw statues of Socrates and Plato. Behind and above them stood the gods Apollo and Athena (see above). This graphic picture represents the fact that the philosophers who made such a far-reaching contribution to the world of ideals through The Republic, for instance, drew their inspiration from the power of these spirits. We pulled down the strongholds associated with these manifestations of the kingdom of darkness replacing them with the wisdom from above which comes from the dove (Holy Spirit). The manifestation of such lawlessness in the birthplace of democratic law was seen as being a sign of the tsunami of lawlessness on the face of the earth at this time.

The next day – Sunday – we travelled to the archaeological site of Corinth – Paul’s home church.  The curse which Paul placed on the Jewish people in Acts 18:6 may well have been the first principle when it came to the wild branches being severed from the natural  roots of the olive. A Messianic member of the group gave a number of Christian believers holy hugs as an act of reconciliation to undo this original dissociation in the one new man (see below)…

One new man

Some of the group went on to climb the acropolis towering over Corinth to ‘tread down’ the mountain peak where the temple dedicated to Aphrodite once stood. Several prophetic acts were carried out on this high place with a view to repenting on behalf of both genders for the fruit of this spirit in the sexual impurity and immorality which abounds in Australia (& elsewhere). Those present entered into a time of deep repentance in that place which is a global gateway for the filth of all kinds of abominations – including homosexuality, pornography and abortion. Such false intimacy was renounced in favour of the true intimacy to be found within the sanctity of the marriage covenant.

Monday found us in yet one more birthplace  – this time, of the Olympic Games – Ancient Olympia. The Olympics is the largest gathering in the world for a single cause – world peace and harmony- represented by music & light. As beautiful as these values appear on the face of it, the spirit behind them was discerned as being the same one as that which inspired the Tower of Babel. We were challenged to “come out from her My people lest we share in her sins and receive of her plagues” (Revelations 18:4).  Another location of significance was the place where the Olympic flame was lit by priestesses for Hera (the goddess religion) before being taken to the temple of Zeus. Is this a picture of the false bride / Church as & when she comes to maturity at some stage in the future?

From Olympia, we drove to Dion the next day. Here, we visited the archaeological site which houses the third Temple of Olympian Zeus. This is the northern apex of the triangle, the other 2 points of which are at the Temple of Zeus in Athens and at Olympia. Pastor George’s wife Evi was told that the Lord wanted to use an ‘axe’ to cut down the tree of Babylon in slices. The word which came to us was: “You are the Anz-axe which He Has brought from the ends of the earth for this purpose”.

This rhema word seems an appropriate note on which to end our overview of the Greek leg of our tour as we prepare to fly to Israel on the evening of Thursday 25 October. There, we are to be joined by an additional person, bringing the total number on tour to 24. The next update will therefore be from the Land.

Shabbat shalom from Athens! The tour group finally came together here – gathering moss like a stone initially in our respective ports of departure and then converging on Dubai. It was not until we reached Athens that we finally caught up with the two who had gone ahead, bringing our numbers to 23.

Our prayer life was challenged early in the piece through some of us tempting providence by fronting up too late and through travel sickness for others. Not only this but there was a general strike here that day (Thursday)  which threatened our entry into Greece. All things worked together for good, though, as we were welcomed by local Pastor George Markakis for orientation on the 1st evening. The language used by God to spread the gospel to the world was Greek. No wonder the foundations of our Western civilisation are to be found in this culture.

The next morning (Friday) found us at the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Using Zechariah 9:9-17 as her text, Jill intoduced us to 7 assignments which the Lord had given her for this tour. The 1st of these was humanism (the glory of both mind and body). In Greek mythology, Athena (wisdom from below) was born out of Zeus’ head. The group recognised that the spirits represented by these Greek gods were common to many if not all cultures albeit by different names. Acts 17 tells us that these powerful principalities confronted Paul on his 1st visit here. Why would it be any different for those of us on this tour? The spirit of humanism is the enemy and it is in us!

Next stop was the Theatre of Dionysus. The Roman version of this ‘god’ is Bacchus which leads people to drink wine to the point where anything goes! In other words, the spirit of revelry. Declarations were made against the fruit of this in the entertainment industry especially in Australia. False worship such as that manifested in the Mardi Gras must be replaced by true worship in our land. The time has come for true worshippers to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23)

From there, the able-bodied climbed to the top of the Acropilis – representing  multi-culturalism and syncretism which abound in Australia. Those present repented on behalf of our nation, singing Shma and declaring the name above every name – Yeshua ha Mashiach – without which no-one will come to God the Father.  At this point, the enemy used 3 local thieves to distract one of our number & steal her handbag. Mercifully, nothing irreplaceable was lost but it was a sobering reminder that we are in hostile territory.

The final site for the day – Mars Hill (where Paul preached his message) overlooking ancient Agora (the law courts) had us asking ourselves which law we would follow.

Our first day ended with an anointed evening of praise, worship and teaching at Ps George’s Shalom Ministry Centre.  What a weight of glory fell upon us in this upper room! The teaching from George brought revelation to us that principalities & powers such as the strongman Zeus cannot be bound by intercessors like us in any one location; they are universal. What we can and should do is receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation (from above) in the knowledge of Yeshua, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened that we may know all the promises in the rest of Ephesians 1:18-21. This will enable each of us to deal with such spirits when they manifest in individuals as & when they come to us for help.

From Martin for Jill and the rest of the group.

Our prayer tour to Greece and Israel starts next week. There are 23 people going. We desire to accomplish the mission we believe God has given us to intercede regarding the Greek mindset which has so infiltrated the church, our society and Western culture and drawn us away from Hebraic thinking. Here is a word we have received from the Pastor who will be hosting us in Greece.

The month of October is a critical window of time for the Promises of God to overcome the resistance of the forces of darkness, penetrate the earthly realm, and, be borne into our lives.

Darkness has been spreading globally; this is not a matter of local issues. Death and Devastation are being prepared in the headquarters of hell and hades, as Satan knows that his days are few and is preparing for a major push forward to resist the plans of God, trample Truth underfoot, and change the times and the Law.

Devastation is on the way for the whole of Europe, as the agents of Darkness plot and strategise behind closed curtains how to enforce their rule on the world. The agenda is far greater than what we can imagine. The hidden alliances are far more extended than what appearances and political agendas reveal.

‘But I will frustrate the plans of the enemy’, says the Lord of Hosts, ‘if you, my People listen to my Voice, and respond to my Call, arise and stand as watchmen on the walls of your lives, families, ministries, cities, regions, nations…’.

This is not a time to sleep; this is a time to stay alert and watch at all times, for the thief is about to break out during a time of darkness to steal, to kill, to destroy!  This is a time to stay alert, and watch together with Jesus, as He prays on our behalf that we may be found approved and worthy to inherit the promises. If we stay alert we shall not be overcome, but we shall break through! And… we shall be able to say, as David said “the Lord broke through my enemies, like water breaks through, by my hand!” and I would add “as we hold the Sword of the Spirit in our hands!”

Shalom! George E Markakis & Evi

Agree with us for all members to have safety, health & guidance. Also, for Jill, Martin & George to have wisdom in leading the group and relating to other pastors we shall be meeting in Israel. May His presence go before us (Exodus 33:13-19).