“IF EQYPT FALLS NOW, DOES JERUSALEM GO WITH IT?” – written by Peggy Morton

 

The Middle East Countries

 Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonia:

1 Thessalonians 2: 1-12

 ¹ You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. ² We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. ³ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ⁴ On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. ⁶ We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. ⁷ Instead, we were like young children among you. 

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, ⁸ so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. ⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹¹ For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

The Power of Our Prayers

In verse 1, 1 Thessalonians 2, where Paul comments on Philippi, we could  just as easily insert the names of the  countries of Egypt, or Israel, or the Philippines and this appeal would have the same meaning.  It is an appeal to stand up and rise to the occasion, Brothers and Sisters. For too long, people have sat and watched the news go by, observing from a distance with a liaise-a-faire attitude saying if it is “not in my back yard, then it is not my concern.” Nothing could be further from the truth in our current global environment. As a global giant, the United States controls the money market, the price of food, and military clout as a world leader along with China and Russia. We have the numbers in our favor: high population of educated people, a large and multi-culturally diverse population, farm land, oil and natural gas reserves, etc.  We see the influence and power of the United States spoken about in the news, on the web, in magazines. So why do we not speak, hear, read, see our religious strength in the mainstream news, on the web, and in magazines? We have a mighty Christian army behind us; we have enough people and faith to move mountains. There is power in prayer. Our prayers. So pray like never before for God to intercede in Egypt, because if Egypt falls, it could take Jerusalem with it.

Is Jerusalem Really At Risk?

 The reason that Jerusalem could be in jeopardy is because all of Egypt’s neighboring countries will be economically impacted by the success or failure of Egypt. They are all part of the same economic macro-environment influenced by the conflict in the Middle East, by oil prices, and by the world market’s aversion to risk brought on by unstable governments. The failure of one country upsets the fragile balance of all of them. Add to that volatility, the possible Muslim Brotherhood takeover of the Egyptian government, therein lies the major threat to Jerusalem, because the Muslims do not recognize the sovereignty of Jerusalem nor the rights of Christianity in Israel.

What was Paul trying to say to the gentiles in Philippi? He was saying that to live a life of a Christian means putting aside our earthly sins and weakness and loving others and ourselves as God would love his children. We should not be driven by greed, impure motives, trickery, selfishness, or by trying to please people above being righteous or moral. He only asks the people to work a fair day’s labor so as not to be a burden to others, to treat others as you would like to be treated, and to encourage, lift up and comfort our fellow man as we share the Gospel. Why, we ask, should these simple tenets be so difficult to implement in today’s setting?

The State of the Union: Egypt

Let’s try to summarize where we are at today in Egypt:

After 2 days and 2 nights of bloody fighting, today (February 4^th, 2011) marks the 12th day of protests in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on the country’s First Friday Day of Prayer kicking off the “The Day of Departure” gathering of Egyptians. The impetus of this event is the Egyptian people’s request for the resignation and departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Like the Philippines, Egypt has a rich supply of natural resources. Like the Philippines, Egypt has a government head that has been in power for several generations. Like the Philippines, Egypt has a large proportion of the population being in their twenties or younger, who feel their life and future is hopeless, being jobless or marginally employed with few options to improve their economic situation.  They are a youthful, inexperienced, group who feels they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by a change in governing power. They represent about 65% of the population of Egypt. The economic problems in Egypt are magnified by the inflation concerns due to conflict in the Middle East, which has the effect of worsening the labor job market. Food prices are pushed up due to oil price increases and market response to high risk status of the Egyptian economy. There is a need for a more democratic government to set new political and economic reforms that will improve market conditions in Egypt. Short term government must provide further subsidies to help people get jobs and food. The subsidies, in turn, have the potential to increase inflation, potentially sending food and basic living expenses even higher. We see rudimentary weapons, people hurling rocks back and forth in a tug of war over what boils down to conflicts over religious beliefs and government tyranny. But that only masks a dangerous under-current of unrest that could easily end in a blood bath like what happened in uprising by the students in Tiananmen Square in China in 1989. Israel and the Philippines could easily domino into the same fate as Egypt. Can we, as Christians, influence that fate through our appeals to God?

Does any of this sound familiar? It is important to understand that history repeats itself and that significant insights can be gained by understanding how events came to pass, what the final outcome was, and what the long-term economic impact was to the nation compared to similar historical events. For Christians, our best references are the historically relevant books in the Bible.  Hence, the reference to the Book of Thessalonians as a historical reference point.

The 12 Focus Points of Prayer

Cindy Jacobs, a prophet through Generals International, has provided a succinct list of 12 prayers as focus points for intercessory prayer for Egypt. You may find the prayer points at Generals International: Updated Prayer Alert for Egypt and the Middle East. I am reposting the list of prayer points below so that we, too, can join in prayer as intercessors in God’s Army. It is so important to come together in unity now and pray the same prayers. For God has made a covenant with us that where two or more pray, he will listen. I do believe that the number 12 is significant here. Paul was speaking of the twelve apostles in 1 Thessalonians 2 spreading the word of the Gospel.  I believe that God will hear our prayers and respond twelve-fold to these points. Please join Mike and Cindy Jacobs, and Generals International in prayer about this every day:

1.  Pray that God will reveal every secret plot the Muslim Brotherhood has in Egypt.   

2.  Pray that every scheme that is Al Qaeda backed will be exposed in all levels of Egyptian culture, including the police.

3.  Pray for protection of Christians across the Middle East

4.  Pray for a smooth transition to a secular government.

5.  Pray that the military of Egypt will not stand with pro-Muslim Brotherhood factions.

6.  Pray that factions will not blow up the oil pipeline and that the Suez Canal will stay open for international commerce. (see Note 1 below)

7.  Pray that this Islamist revolution will not be successful and that they will not be able to establish an Islamic Caliphate.

8.  Pray for protection for Israel from the terrorists that would sneak across the border into Gaza while the borders are unguarded.

9.  Pray for comfort and peace for those who have been caught up in the midst of their nations being destabilized.

10. Pray for a movement of unified fasting and prayer to sweep across the believers in Jesus and powerfully impact the Middle East.

11. Pray for an Isaiah 19 highway of holiness to be established. (see Note 2 below)

12. Pray for a Great Awakening to take place, with thousands of souls swept into the Kingdom of God.

Note 1: Posted at Alert.Net, via Reuters: “Egypt has been a U.S. ally throughout Mubarak’s rule and it is strategically vital to American interests because of its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and its control of the Suez Canal.” For additional news on Egypt from a fairly unbiased reporting perspective,  click on this link Alert.net

Note 2:   Isaiah 19:23-25:  In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. ²⁵ The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”