Inside Israel Now: Another Perspective
June 25, 2025
Host: Hon. Sam Rohrer
Co-host: Pastor Matt Recker
Guest: Chris Katulka
Note: This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program aired on 6/25/25. To listen to the podcast, click HERE.
Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate transcription, the following is a representation of a mechanical transcription and as such, may not be a word for word transcript. Please listen to the audio version for any questions concerning the following dialogue.
Sam Rohrer:
Hello and welcome to this Wednesday edition of Stand and the Gap Today. And it’s also our bimonthly focus on Israel, the Middle East and biblical prophecy. Now due to the extraordinary events in the Middle East in the last couple of weeks, if you’ve been listening, as you do hopefully regularly, a number of my recent programs focused, unfolding headline news about that portion of the world. And though as we do this program today, some people are self-congratulating themselves for delivering peace in the Middle East that one of Donald Trump’s phrases said, will last forever. We know biblically that that’s simply not the case, not yet. But for the moment, there may be a cessation in activity or at least between Iran and Israel for a period of days and for the people of Israel, that’s good news. But my focus today was special guest, Chris Ulka, vice President of North American Ministries for Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, and the host of the Friends of Israel Today radio program, along with co-host Pastor Matt Wrecker, the three of us, we’re not going to focus so much on matters of public policy or the potential unfolding political relationships in Iran and Israel.
Instead, we’re going to go inside Israel and get a report on how things are perhaps actually looking on the ground with the people there, and particularly the spiritual condition of the people and the various sects, the groups of Jewish people within Israel, and more along that line. So stay with us as co-host, pastor Matt Rucker from New York City, and I talk with Chris Katulka from Friends of Israel for an on the ground report. I’ve chosen to frame our conversation, this title today inside Israel. Now today, another perspective. And that’s going to be from this perspective of Chris from Friends of Israel. So Chris, thanks for being back with Pastor Matt Recker and myself,
Chris Katulka:
Sam, great to be with you again, and thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Sam Rohrer:
Chris, I have a couple questions in this first segment here, this first part here, the ongoing war in Israel has of some are listening to the right news. They’re getting the idea that it’s taken and they can imagine it’s taken a tremendous toll on the people of this small country, smaller than the size of New Jersey, only about 9 million in population and where the continual war that they’ve been in now for about a year and a half, many of the young adults have been called into active military service, but they are the backbone of the economy of their families, young men and young women alike. And the impact is now beginning to show up from reports that I’m getting Anyway, so I want to get your input on these things in a moment, but I want to understand first of all, this part. I understand that you, your group, friends of Israel Ministry actually had people on the ground there who were to some degree caught in the middle of this Iran missile barrage. Would you give us an update on that ministry team effort and what happened there?
Chris Katulka:
Yeah, so we have a team every year, something that actually I was a part of the beginnings of this ministry called the Origins Program. Origins is an acronym that means our resolve is giving Israel never ending support. It’s our young adult ministry trip to Israel where young adults, 18 to 28 year olds go to Israel and they get a chance to volunteer at a hospital called Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot Israel, which is not too far outside of Tel Aviv. And while they’re there, they do work, they clean toilets, they mop floors, they of course wash their hands, and then they prepare food for patients and they get a chance to walk around. It’s actually, Kaplan is the largest hospital campus in all of Israel. So they get a chance to walk around and see patients, and they see the patient’s family and they see all of, they get a chance to interact with doctors and nurses.
And while they’re there and they’re cleaning and they’re doing these menial tasks, Israelis, they’re amazing people and they can’t help themselves. They see American young adults and they say, I’ve got to know why are you here? What are you doing? And when they do that, they get a chance to share their faith. And we’ve been doing that since 2007, so for a long time. But this year was different because the moment that we landed on Thursday, the very next day, Israel was attacked by ballistic missiles after their preemptive strike. And so with that preemptive strike, our young adults found themselves in bomb shelters. Now, that’s been kind of normal over the past few years to find yourself in a bomb shelter if you go to Israel because of the nature of war. But this has been nothing like we’ve ever seen before because these weren’t the bombs.
These weren’t the rockets that were coming from Hamas or Hezbollah. These were ballistic missiles that could carry thousand pound warheads on them that were being launched. And the amount that were being launched is unlike anything Israel’s ever seen before because they were targeting, they knew that Israel had the Iron Dome system and with the Iron Dome system, you could knock those ballistic missiles out of the sky. But to overwhelm, their goal was to overwhelm the anti-ballistic missile systems. And by doing that, some of the missiles got through, which definitely changed the attitude of not only the Israelis who are more used to this kind of the sirens going off, but imagine these American and Canadian young adults that are over there looking to serve. And now they’re in a bomb shelter most of the time. And what’s amazing is even though all of the warfare was going on, our team still served at the hospital for a few days to show and share the love of Jesus. And then they just returned home yesterday. I’m happy to announce safely, Sam, that everybody got home safely and just arrived back on American soil yesterday.
Matt Recker:
Wow, that’s a wonderful report, Chris, and thank the friends of Israel for this great ministry. And what can you now tell us about the emotional situation, the family, the economic status, the family status of the people that are inside Israel as a result of this recent conflict, but really this long ongoing war that began last October 7th, almost a year and a half ago,
Chris Katulka:
It’s taken a toll on families. In fact, divorce rates are up right now because of what’s happened since October 7th in Israel, divorce rates have gone up and families are suffering because their loved ones are gone for so long. The money that they have, of course, it’s difficult with the money because they are, they’re not able to work. So of course they’re more heavily dependent on the government. And so it’s a lot of suffering that’s going on in Israel right now with the people. But this time, October 7th, between October 7th and today, the Israeli people have they got accustomed to how to maneuver life dealing with Hamas and Hezbollah. It amplified because Israel went from the defense to the offense. But the reality though is that in the midst of all that, the IDF was still doing what it normally does. It’s always dealt with Hamas, it’s always dealt with Hezbollah. Since Israel launched its preemptive strike against Iran, this has been a different story for Israelis, and I think most people have to get that. This one I think, really struck at the heart of Israelis. It was different than anything they’ve ever experienced before, especially the modern Israeli. And so this one was a game changer for them and I think changed the way that they see the war that they’re in against the Iranians.
Sam Rohrer:
Ladies and gentlemen, stay with us as we continue with our special guest, Chris Alco from Friends of Israel. As we come back and go further into looking inside Israel, and we look now at the spiritual condition of the people, the movement that changed the spiritual groups inside Israel. If you’re just joining us today, pastor Matt Recker from New York City is with me today. And our special guest is Chris Ulka. He is the Vice President of North American Ministries of the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and also the host of the Friends of Israel Today radio program. They have a magazine that they produce. Many of you likely get it. It’s called Israel My Glory, and it has a website, Israel my glory.org. If you’re not subscribed to it, I think you can get the subscription there. A lot of other information as well. Now we’re talking today, while we’re calling it Inside Israel now getting a perspective of Chris, his ministry and him and his team are there and actually had some, we’re just talking about just left, I think just literally got out of Israel.
But if you’ve been to Israel, you know that it’s the most unusual place. There are different groups there. They have a parliamentary form of government, which makes it very politically difficult to keep a majority. We see that. But there’s some other paths that I want to look at right now, the aspect of the spiritual condition, because when it comes to describing the modern Jewish person in Israel, I personally have found it hard to do because there’s a wide religious diversity, which ranges from, for instance, religious to secular. Some are religious Jews, some are secular Jews, some are Orthodox, some are conservative, some are Herod them, some are reformed, some are conservative, some are liberal. They go from believer to Messianic believers. So you get my flavor. There’s all types. Then there’s obviously the political diversity referred to, which runs a similar gambit. But what is the spiritual tenor in Israel today?
According to several passages in scripture, including Ezekiel chapter 20, verses 33 to 38, and then chapter 22, 17 to 22, and other places, God prophesied and said way back then that he would bring the Jews. Ultimately they were going to be scattered, but he would bring them back into the land which he has done reading his passage. They would come back in an idol worship, an unbelief mentality. They wouldn’t come back as believers in Yeshua. But during the hardship of the tribulation period, God would preserve a third of the Jews. Two thirds of them will lose their lives. Tough days are ahead, but a third of them will be preserved. They will ultimately call upon the Lord and say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They will acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah, and by so doing, then that triggers the actual second coming of Christ as king of kings, which he will physically do to Jerusalem.
Now, all those things are ahead of us as we consider the events of today here on June 25th, 2025, the date of this program, the world, the church, and the Jewish people find themselves in this continuum of transition and prophecy fulfillment. So that’s where we are. We know what’s behind us. We know biblically what is before us. So here we are in the middle. So with that in mind, Chris, I’d like for you to describe, if you would, the current spiritual diversity of the various religious groups inside Israel. Who are they? I mentioned some, but they may not be comprehensive. And what relative influence does each of them play in modern Israel?
Chris Katulka:
Yeah, a lot of times what we like to do is transport our understanding of the Jewish culture and Judaism of America into Israel, actually very separate. There’s a lot more, if I could use the word maybe even denominations of Judaism in America, like you said, reformed and conservative and Orthodox and the ultra-Orthodox, that’s all kind of spread out throughout the American and secular. That’s spread out throughout American culture. When you get to Israel, it kind of breaks down between religious and non-religious followers of the Torah and ones who don’t. And usually you can tell when you’re walking around, if you see a guy wearing a kippah on his head, he could be wearing a business suit. He could be wearing his work, his clothes to work as he’s about to go to the factory or whatever. But if he’s got a kipa, a yarmulke, then he’s practicing Torah in some capacity.
He’s practicing the law in some capacity. He’s religious. He believes that there’s a God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that could range anything from you, like to mention the old Orthodox down to somebody who just keeps and follows the law. There’s really no reformed movement of Judaism in Israel for the most part. You’re either in or you’re not practicing at all. You can’t be. You have one foot in and one foot out. But then there’s this other side called the secular group. And what’s fascinating in our world and the secular mindset in America is that you’re secular. You don’t believe in God or some higher authority in Israel. You can be secular and believe in a higher authority or some divine mover and still be considered secular because secular means that you don’t believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which is the God, the Jewish from the scriptures.
And so there’s an interesting flair there. But then also it doesn’t just break apart or separate people religiously through their adherence to the Torah and its practices. There’s also a distinction between what kind of Jew you are, which means there’s a lot of tension actually, even politically and religiously among different groups of Jewish people. Well, Ashkenazi Jews, which are European Jews, Eastern European Jewish people that come from Poland and Russia and that area that immigrate to Israel. That’s one sect of Jewish people that are called Ashkenazi. And then there’s another group called Sephardic, Jewish people that come from Spain during the diaspora, and they end up getting kicked out in 1492. They go to Northern Africa and over to the Middle East after 1492. That’s a different group. And they’ll say, no, we are worshiping the right way. And then the other, our Ashkenazi’s will say, we have the right dialect.
So there’s even tension and distinction between Sephardic Ashkenazi and another group called Raki, which are Middle Eastern Jews, Jewish people that integrated back to Israel from Iraq and Iran actually, and other areas of the Middle East. They’re called Raki. That Hebrew word means from the east. And so all of these groups kind of claim the hold on the way that you pronounce Hebrew words and how that comes across in your liturgy of Passover. And you’d be surprised how they break down religiously, where you fall, what kind of synagogue you go to, what rabbis you listen to. There’s a Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, there’s an Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel. And so the other part that makes it interesting is that the rabbis still have a lot of authority in the civil life of Israeli people, rabbis and their influence in the culture. And the people of Israel will actually determine whether or not you can ride a bus on Friday night because it’s Shabbat in Tel Aviv.
They want to ride a bus. It’s more secular in Jerusalem. They don’t want to see any buses around to how you get married. If a Jewish person marries a non-Jewish person, you can’t get married in Israel, you have to go to Cyprus to get married or married in some other country, and then Israel will honor your marriage certificate from another country. So you are seeing how the rabbis actually influence not just the faith of the Jewish people or lack thereof, but also how they practice daily life in their civil life on a daily basis. But really, if you think about the believer, the Jewish believer in Israel, it’s the same mentality that has been all throughout scripture. And that’s the remnant theology, the belief that God has always preserved a remnant. He’s always preserved a remnant from the days of Elijah, he’s preserved a remnant.
God is in the business of preserving a remnant for his namesake believers in the Lord. And I believe that we’re seeing more and more activity of gospel being shared, more people coming to faith. We’re seeing Bible colleges like the Israel Bible College come up and come online and have an influence on the culture. More and more people are following the Lord and open, I think right now more than ever, more open to hearing about the message of Jesus and how it can change their life. So a lot of positive things in Israel. But then again, there’s also the component that the government in Israel is more religious than it’s ever been before. The Netanyahu government, Netanyahu’s a fantastic leader, but the government that he has is extremely religious. And so that plays into how Christians are treated in Israel as well. There’s a lot of interplay of faith politics as it merges together in the democracy that they call Israel.
Matt Recker:
Chris, from your perspective, has this ongoing war then caused the Jewish people inside of Israel to become more aware of Old Testament biblical prophecy or even more open to consider New Testament prophecies and the events yet to unfold? And can you also share maybe about members of the IDF for example? Has there been a growing interest among the members of the IDF?
Chris Katulka:
I’ll say that one of the greatest ways that the Gospel’s been able to go forward is actually the secular Israeli, which there are a lot of them, is open-minded to anything very open-minded. If you’re a Buddhist, Hey, thanks, you’re great. You be a Buddhist, you want to practice your faith and do this, fantastic. You do that. They value religious pluralism, which also means that you get an opportunity without creating a scene to share your faith. And they go, that’s fantastic. And the Lord’s been opening doors to be able to share about Yeshua, about Jesus more openly in Israel, especially during the war. I think a lot of people are searching spiritually. Again, remember, just because you’re secular doesn’t mean you’re not spiritual. And so it opens a door to be able to plant those seeds in Israel and to plant the seeds of the gospel. There’s so much more that we could talk about, but we’re even seeing results on how camps are being formed in Israel to help these young Israeli believers prepare for life in the military.
Sam Rohrer:
Okay, and Chris Kaul, because of time, I’m going to hold you right there, ladies and gentlemen, stay with us because when we come back, we’re going to talk further with Chris Alka from Friends of Israel, more specifically about the spread of the gospel in Israel, the Messianic movement, those who recognize Yeshua and learn more about what’s actually happening in that area within Israel. Well, Chris, in the last segment, we were discussing the current status in the spiritual layout. We’ll term it that way inside Israel, and you did a great job that was probably more complete description in a succinct way of what I’ve heard before, but that was well done. But within that larger group, we just referenced the group of believing Jews said the remnant. And we know as believers in Yeshua and Jesus Christ, we know that all throughout scripture there is a remnant oftentimes that remnant is often referred to in the church days in which we live now as a very small number.
And Jesus said it’s very narrow and only a few that find it. But that’s been all through the Old Testament as well as now in the time in which we live, and I have heard some say and referred to believing Jews believing in Yeshua, Jews as Messianic Jews, you viewers dad, because they believe in Jesus as Messiah. Once when we were in Jerusalem, my wife and I went to a Church of Messianic congregation, and the individual there used the word and said, Hey, look, we are completed Jews. So he used the word completed Jews meaning Christian Jews. And for some people that’s kind of like, how can you be a Christian in a Jew? Well, biblically we understand. So anyways, there may be some confusion for those who are listening. So would you briefly define the Messianic Jewish movement and then go right into what’s happening there in Israel? To what extent are Messianic true believing Jews? How many are there? How many congregations? What kind of movement are we going kind of build off what you were talking about in the last segment?
Chris Katulka:
I have a great friend and he is a former colleague and a mentor of mine. I discipled under him for many years. He’s a Jewish believer. And another one that I’ve always liked is one time he spoke at a church out in Alabama and they put out a newspaper advertisement that he was coming to speak at the church and they called him a heaven bound Hebrew. Okay, so that’s another one in there with the line of people trying to figure out how to reconcile the fact that you’re Jewish and Christian, and I always get in this conversation with believers with Christians when they go, oh, so they’re Jewish and they converted to becoming a Christian. Well, I mean they’re Jewish and they believe in Jesus, and they go, well, I can’t get that across in my head. I actually think the big issue is that the church has become so far removed from its roots.
Remember Romans chapter 11 talks about the roots of our faith, and that’s Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it’s the reason why Paul tells us not to boast or arrogant against branches of that tree that were broken off because the roots are not the roots of the church. We’re grafted into the greater promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I bless those to bless you and curse those to curse you and in you all the families of the earth, that’s me, that’s you, that’s Matt. And believers will be blessed. And so again, that crafting in, and it’s hard for people to reconcile the idea that a Jewish person could become a Christian, and how do you maintain your Jewishness and become a follower of Jesus to become a Christian? Christian is just the Hebrew word or the Greek word for a Messiah follower. And messiah is a evil word.
So technically all Gentiles who believe in Jesus are following the Jewish Messiah, the Jewish Messiah. Jesus came for his people. They only needed to turn and repent. It’s actually the Gentiles that converted away from their pagan ways to follow the Jewish Messiah and to be dwelt with the promised Holy Spirit. So a Jewish person, it’s actually the reason why I believe Paul says in Romans chapter one verse 16, to the Jew first and then to the Greek, it’s not Jew first. My estimation, according to the Greek, it’s not the idea that you have to go to a Jewish person first to share the good news of Jesus and then to a gentile. No, no, no. It’s the idea that word proton can also mean for first mean, especially of all the people that should understand this concept of a messiah, of the Holy Spirit, of a new covenant of sacrifice and redemption, of course, especially the Jewish person.
Why? Because it’s all grounded in what the Hebrew Bible taught. And so when Paul says to the Jew first and then to the Greek, I think it should read to the Jew especially why? Because it’s their promises. It’s their hope. It’s all the things that are built on the Old Testament scriptures had promised. And so to the Jewish especially, and also to the Greek, the mentality that Jewish people, yes, they are coming to faith. And what’s amazing about the position that Israel’s in right now is that Israelis are doing the work of spreading the good news. It’s not missionaries that are coming in from a foreign yonder into Israel. No, the actual local Messianic Jewish community that are following Jesus are discipling and training one another up from within, getting biblical training from within, sending out people to share the good news from within. So it’s really made a transition in the last few decades where those believers from the 1970s and eighties have started developing congregations, churches, if you will, they call them in Israel, they’re congregations of believers who meet and then they get trained, and then they begin the work of developing and multiplying the discipleship mentality of reaching new people from inside Israel.
So really that’s what’s been the biggest development to me over the past 30 years or so, is seeing more and more Israelis take the ownership of spreading the good news, raising up churches. There are keila churches in most major cities and even small towns all throughout Israel from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, to small towns like a fah up into the Galilee region, and even small little kibbutz, there are congregations that meet. And so what you’re seeing is how the impact of discipleship from within Israel is impacting the broader cause for sharing the good news of Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, Jesus the Messiah. And so again, it’s not something foreign coming into Israel, it’s something happening naturally within Israel that really excites me because now the good news is not only going into Israel, it’s actually coming out of Israel. Now, the Book of Acts, if I can just say this Sam, and I’m sorry if I’m talking too much, but the Book of Acts, I think a lot of people look at the book of Acts like, Hey, we’re getting out of Jerusalem from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, into the most parts of the world.
That’s what Jesus’ mission was almost like. We’re leaving Jerusalem. I see it the other way around. Jerusalem’s the bullseye. We’re spreading the message of the gospel. Why? So that we can point the world back to Jerusalem because the king is returning to Jerusalem. So hearts that love the Lord Jesus hearts that have invested in the scriptures, lies that are being changed by the Jewish Messiah, Jesus aren’t just looking aimlessly all over the world. No, the scriptures are orienting the hearts of Christians back to Jerusalem. And that’s the whole point of acts to look back to Jerusalem, the last words of the Apostle Paul in Acts where the hope of Israel, the reason he’s in James is for the hope of Israel. What does that mean? Jesus is coming back to Jerusalem.
Matt Recker:
Wow. Well, thank you for your passion, Chris. And it’s wonderful to hear of God’s work going forward. The gates of hell will not prevail against his church even in these last days. Well, in the last book of the Bible, which is accurately called the Revelation of Jesus Christ, there is coming a time called the tribulation period, of course, where God’s wrath will be on the rebellious nations of the world, but also God is going to work mightily to save national Israel. He’s going to send forth two angels to proclaim the gospel worldwide. He’s going to raise up two witnesses in Jerusalem, and he’s going to seal 144,000 young men who were never married, Jewish men never married, who will go forth as missionaries to spread the gospel of Jesus to the world. And so my question, I guess, Chris is from a human perspective, is there any evidence of young men in preparation now from which these 144,000 could come? And then also why does God send out the 144,000 young male missionaries into the world to preach the gospel?
Chris Katulka:
I can’t speak to because the Lord may tarry, and I don’t know how long he’ll tarry, but I can say that Israel is back in the land. That’s a big one. I always tell believers in Jesus, you have a front row seat to biblical prophecy. You’re in the splash section of biblical prophecy because unlike the last 2000 years, the Jewish people have sovereignty over their land. I always tell Christians too, they live in between Ezekiel chapter 37 verses eight and nine. There’s this pregnant pause between the resurrection of the nation of Israel when God says, I’ll bring my people back to the land. There’s this moment where God resurrects the dry bones, but then they just stand there lifeless of people that are just lifeless. And then God says, Ezekiel, son of man prophesy breath into these bodies. And that’s exactly what happens. So there’s a break.
There’s the rebuilding of the bodies. There’s a reconstitution that happens of the nation of Israel, and then there’s a break between verses eight and nine, and then God breathes life into them. I believe that’s the Holy Spirit when they believe in the Lord Jesus. And then Ezekiel says, this is the nation of Israel. So we have an answer to the prophecy right away when we think about where Israel is spiritually, I mentioned that there is a remnants and we’re seeing that remnant grow and grow. And one of the ways that I know one of my colleagues have been monitoring the growth of the church and the influence of believers in Israel is through a camp that they have to prepare young men who are about to go into the military service for what it will be like to serve in the military and how to maintain their faith in the military and to be a witness in the military, the IDF. And that camp that started off with just a handful of people is now hundreds that come every single year to get trained and discipled. I think maybe you’re seeing something there. Spark. And Scott continues to use Israel and the Jewish
Sam Rohrer:
People. Chris, that’s fantastic. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you are encouraged by the discussion today As we look inside Israel. Now, what’s really happening there? We get caught up in all the big events, but what we’re talking about are the really big events that are not talked about, about which we should know. We come back, we’re talking about this matter of peace, this real peace, temporary peace, fleeting peace. How should we consider peace in the Middle East? Alright, Chris, before we go into the final segment here, now last time you were with us, there was an ability for listeners to pick up a subscription to Israel my glory.org. Does that option still there? Just very, very brief. Don’t take much of time, but how can they do that?
Chris Katulka:
Yep. Again, Israel my glory.org, they’ll find a subscribe button there. They can get a one year free subscription to Israel, my glory.
Sam Rohrer:
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, ever since this matter of peace, alright, that’s in the news right now, right? And we’re not going to go through all of that. There was peace declared and then there was no peace, and then there’s maybe peace. But ever since God miraculously birthed the nation of Israel in a day, which the scripture says it was in 47, 48 in there, God has divinely protected this little nation against all odds. And we know that in the early years the enemies came against them and God protected them. It’s all about God and it is God’s promises. But the Lord’s also continued to regather scattered Jews from around the world just exactly as Old Testament, prophets said of what happen. And in our days, he is as we witness aligning the enemy, nations of Israel mentioned in scripture, just like he said he would do.
Each American president, it seems since Israel’s rebirth have fancied themselves as a peacemaker in the Middle East. And each though they’ve not all attempted to do it the same way, but they’ve imagined themselves as being the peacemaker. Some have tried by, some have tried bribes, some have tried appeasement. But in reality, I don’t know of any that have actually done it with a full knowledge of God’s singular role for Israel and Jerusalem and the Jewish people all have been in disregard, in my opinion, to God’s covenant promise to Israel for the land and the national boundaries promise to Abraham as well as the nations of the world, including the United Nation and its members right now. That’s why they keep driving for a two-state solution and that’s why God has kept it from happening. Now, all that being said, Chris, what are your comments about the current Trump efforts for peace in the Middle East? Whether some version of expanded Abraham Accords, that’s some floating that or the current ceasefire by threat as I would say it is, you will have peace, Israel, you will not go after Iran and Iran, you will not go after Israel. Okay, that will only last so long is all we’re seeing perhaps paving the way for a world leader to emerge as a peacemaker and announce the biblically prophesied seven year peace treaty with Israel. How are you kind of seeing all these things that are happening right now?
Chris Katulka:
Yeah, all eyes are on the Middle East and at the same time as Israel becomes a nation in Ezekiel chapter 37, you can read that yourself in the Bible. It’s right there. You turn the page to Ezekiel 38 and 39, and there’s a huge regional battle that takes place in the prophetic future called the Battle of Gog, Magog. And these are regional players. This isn’t a global battle, it’s a regional battle that includes many nations like Turkey and Russia and Iran. And so a lot of people are looking and saying, is this it? Is this the moment, especially as Israel and Iran have been attacking each other and at war for at the last 12 days, and I don’t see it there because number one, Israel’s attacked in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Israel did a preemptive attack on Iran recently. The second thing is it says that Israel lives in safety and peace.
They have a sense of safety that they don’t even need walls. There’s no concern for the threats that are around them. Well, October 7th just happened less than two years ago. And so I don’t believe at all that Israel is living in the sense of safety and peace. They are on the offense as they try to maintain a defense in the Middle East right now. However, the big thing to see is that if this Abraham Accord does continue to grow, because I also saw a Fox News correspondent reported that maybe even Syria and Lebanon could be welcomed into this Abraham Accords. And I don’t even see how that is possible right now. But if these things are true, then are we moving into an era of peace that would ultimately give way to this battle? Because remember, Ezekiel specifically mentions that they are living in a time of security that they don’t have to feel as though that they are being threatened.
And so that’s when all of a sudden the attacks happen from afar from the region. So it could be that it looks like we’re moving away from Ezekiel 37 or 38 and 39, but really I believe that the stage is being set where Israel is always desired peace in the region. That’s been their mantra since 1948. We want peace. And so they’ve given up land for peace, they’ve given up terrorists and returned them to the Palestinians for peace, anything they can do for peace. And so I believe always as they’re constantly in a state of defense and threat, they’re always longing for peace, which right now we could be seeing the stage set for a time of potential safety. Again, I don’t know with certainty, but that could be what’s coming in according to Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39.
Matt Recker:
Thank you, Chris. Wow, this has been a great program. So good to hear you and your heart and passion. We’re often told as scripture says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And it hit me recently that when we’re praying for the peace of Jerusalem, we’re really praying for all the nations of the world to have peace. Because when there’s peace in Jerusalem that peace and righteousness is going to spread to all the nations when Jesus reigns. But Chris, what is the difference between this illusionary earthly peace between Israel and her enemies now and that biblical command that I just referenced to pray for the peace of Jerusalem?
Chris Katulka:
If you go back to Deuteronomy, I believe what God wants to do is to give Israel its original purpose, to be a kingdom of priests to the nations. And so when you go back to Deuteronomy, God’s desire was to make Israel the head, not the tail. And I believe God is in the business of making Israel the head, not the tail. Not because Israel’s better than everybody else. God says in Exodus chapter 19, the whole world is Mayan, but I’m choosing you Israel to be a kingdom of priests. I believe that God is saying, I want to make you the head because from that nation will come, the king of Kings. And Micah, chapter four, verses one through four says that in the last days, Jerusalem and Mount Zion will become the highest of mountains and all the nations of the world will stream to Jerusalem. To receive it says Torah instruct in Hebrew, the instruction from God on how to do what not to fight one another, not to create dissension, no, but from Jerusalem will spread global peace that the Messiah will keep and discern and have a vision for maintaining global around the world. That doesn’t happen unless we pray for the peace of Jerusalem that the Prince of peace returns to the city of peace.
Sam Rohrer:
Chris, tremendous job today. It was really great to have you on. We covered a lot of thanks, hopefully, and gentlemen, as we wrap up the program here. Now that you’ve been blessed by this, in the midst of all that is happening, most of which does not have an excitingly encouraging aspect to it, unless we as remnant believers understand that what we are witnessing is the unfolding of God’s promised covenant promises to his people, the Jews, the nation of Israel, in the city of Jerusalem. When we understand those things, then we can look at all this taking place with an entirely different perspective. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as Messiah Yeshua, I trust that you will. If you do, let’s be encouraged. Let’s be knowledgeable. Let’s be excited about the unfolding front row seat that we have truly, literally have as we watch the promises of God unfold. So we pray that Israel receives the prince of peace, they will one day. We pray that people will now also do that. With that, thank you for being with us today. Ladies and gentlemen. Matt, thank you for being on board today and Chris Katulka from Friends of Israel, their website, Israel my glory.org. You can pick up a free subscription there to that magazine. I encourage you to do that. We’ll see you back tomorrow, Lord.
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