Filming in Magdala 2/3 2023

Rania was invited by TBN staff in the land to join Sheila Walsh (host of the TV program, “Better Together”), who was visiting the land and wanted to record a program at the archaeological site in Magdala. This was thrilling for Rania, as one of her favourite places to visit is Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene. The recording was highlighting the significance of the place historically but also today, what it means for each woman worldwide who is feeling broken, sick and in bondage to find healing and hope through Jesus Christ.  The recording was a powerful experience for Rania and Sheila especially towards the end, when they went down to the Encounter Chapel, where there is a beautiful, powerful mural depicting the story of the bleeding woman, who touched the hem of the garment of Jesus and got healed!

We would love to share the episode with you, when it’s ready to be aired on TBN!

Rania with Sheila Walsh

Filming at the archaeological site in Magdala

The mural depicting the story of the bleeding woman, who touched the hem of the garment of Jesus and got healed.

ICEJ Envision Conference in Jerusalem 04/02/2023

On the 4th of February this year, Rania was invited to the annual Envision leaders conference held by ICEJ in Jerusalem. She was being asked to share alongside other local pastors on a leaders panel about the reconciliation and relationship between Arabs and Jews. The time of sharing was very fruitful, as Rania shared her heart about the keys for genuine reconciliation and the heart change needed in this process, as we humble ourselves to seek the heart of God and His redemptive plan for both Arabs and Jews.

It was a blessed time to connect with different leaders around the world, share hearts and fellowship together.

Deborah’s Clan Gathering 17/2/2023

On the 17th of February, HOPE hosted a Deborah’s Clan gathering of 48 Messianic Jewish and Arab spiritual mothers in the land. Karen Davis opened the conference by leading us into the presence of the Lord through worship in Hebrew and English. Rania then spoke about arising as Deborahs and Esthers in the land for such a time as this. She shared a word she had received from the Lord, “When the mothers of the land arise, there is safety in the land.” There is currently an escalation of war and tumult in the Israeli government, but as spiritual mothers we are the keys to the restoration within the land of Israel, and it is time for us to stand up as Esthers and take our place.

Rania received the date of 17/2 for bringing together Jewish and Arab sisters for prayer in Nazareth, and upon arrival each woman received a white stone either with a golden crown or the word “Malka“ (“queen” in Hebrew) painted on it. Esther 2:17 speaks of the crowning of Esther. Likewise, God is crowing us today with a royal crown to declare His authority, saying, “I want to release a new experience of my love upon each Esther present in this place and anoint her as a seal.” Revelation 2:17 speaks about a white stone with a new name written on it. It is God’s seal, as He is working strategically through the women taking their stand. On the new mural in Nazareth painted by an Israeli artist in cooperation with an Iranian-American filmmaker, it states, “It is time for the Esthers to arise!” This is a prophetic declaration for Esthers all over the world to stand against the spirit of Haman. When we are standing together as Arab and Messianic Jewish sisters, it will change everything in Israel.

Following Rania, Margaret Abu Ghazaleh shared a short message from John 13:3-5, emphasizing that our identity is not from here. Jesus knew while He was walking here on earth that His identity was not from this place, and neither is ours. We are daughters of the King!

After a short break, Rajaa Sadran opened the next session leading us in beautiful Arabic worship, followed by a couple of Messianic Jewish sisters sharing what the Lord had put on their hearts. Sarah Liberman first shared her personal testimony of how the Lord touched her heart in the middle of her struggle, as she as continued worshiping Him despite a hearing injury. One day she received a vision of the globe, with God’s eyes looking with fire on the Middle East, as she heard Him saying, “These are the people who are on my heart.” From that day on, God put it on Sarah’s heart to translate one of her songs into Arabic. However, before she got to do anything about it, she suddenly received a recording by Egyptians who had translated one of her songs from English into Arabic, sent to her by Canadian friends. Sarah Liberman at once felt like her namesake Sarah from the Bible, who had sent away her Egyptian maid Hagar and Ishmael. Realizing that the rejection of Hagar and Ishmael had caused the rise of Islam saying that, “Allah has no son,” Sarah felt she had to learn Arabic and ask for forgiveness in Arabic.

The final speaker was Orna Grinman. She continued speaking on the theme of Esther, who in the beginning of the story was introduced as “an object,” who did everything her uncle, Mordechai told her, whereas later she was the one telling him what to do. Haman had everything, but none of this had any value for him, as long as this one thing – Mordechai sitting at the gate – was disturbing him (Esther 5:13). Orna showed us illustratively the beautiful Bible scrolls her mother had left her, and opening the Scroll of Esther she declared that it was time for us to start writing our scroll! “God needs each of our hearts in His story. My scroll is really not my scroll, but each of us are writing it together,” Orna said. In the past, she had seen the Arab women as being unnecessary and “sitting at the gate” in her story. However, now she understood how important it was to the Lord that we were all gathered together. After Orna’s message, the Holy Spirit led us into a time of prayer and repentance toward one other, followed by Sarah Liberman singing “The Blessing” over us in English and Hebrew. Finally, before returning home, we all shared a time of beautiful fellowship over a delicious Arabic meal in the HOPE Café.

Mural in Nazareth in Support of Iranian Women

This last month, the city of Nazareth was blessed by the creation of a special mural in support of the freedom fight of the Iranian women. The mural was painted by the Jewish Israeli artist, Benzi Brofman, in collaboration with the Iranian-American filmmaker and entrepreneur, Hooman Khalili, who came to Israel especially from San Francisco to carry out the project, and on January 31, the opening ceremony for the new mural took place in Nazareth. Please check the following links to news articles in the Jerusalem Post and Ynet News, Israeli media channels, talking about the mural in Nazareth.

The photos below are from the opening ceremony. The prophetic word, “It’s time for the Esthers of the world to rise up,” a prophetic word that Rania shared with Hooman Khalili, and when Hooman heard that declaration, he felt from the Lord it should be included in the mural in Nazareth. In the last photo, Rania is with the Israeli artist, Benzi Brofman.

Review of the Year 2022

As we look back on 2022, it is with thanksgiving in our hearts for every blessing God poured out upon us this past year. The review below is in the form of a mini book in which you can turn the pages and click to see each video and article featured.

 

 

Praise Report: Middle East/Isaiah 19 Highway Conference in Cyprus

In November, HOPE was invited by Tom Craig to participate in a special Isaiah 19 Highway “Net” Conference in Cyprus from the 15th to the 20th of November. HOPE has been part of the “Net” conferences in the past, as well, however we did not have the chance to go the last two times. Tom Craig, the founder of the “Net” conferences, extended his invitation to Rania and the young people in the HOPE worship team, after being with us doing a training day at HOPE. We prayed and sensed the Lord was calling us to go, so a total of 9 people from Nazareth, including five young people from the HOPE worship team, Rania and a couple of other mothers and intercessors from HOPE, travelled together to Cyprus.

The theme of the whole conference was about building the Isaiah 19 Highway, but also knitting the hearts of the generations together. It is promised in Malachi that the Lord will pour out the spirit of Elijah to knit the hearts of the generations together, and turn the hearts of the fathers and mothers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers and mothers. The time in Cyprus was very profound with moments of worship and sharing hearts.

Each session was a presentation of a nation in the Isaiah 19 Highway, like for example first Egypt shared, then Lebanon, and then Israel. In the morning, the fathers and the mothers of the nation shared. Both Rania and Karen Davis, as well as internationals serving in Israel, shared on the third day. Rania and Karen Davis, an Arab and a Jewish mother in Israel, each shared about their journey and what God had been speaking to them in this season in relation to the younger generation. In the afternoon each day, the younger generation shared what God had been speaking to their hearts, as they were honoring the generation of the mothers and the fathers. These moments of sharing were very deep and full of the love of God and the honor of the generations; a real modern-day expression of the anointing and the spirit of Elijah falling on this generation. At the same time, it was a sharing of the challenges and prayer points for Israel, what we should be standing for, and how we can move together to build the highway of Isaiah 19. Our young people also shared part of the time, and it was powerful to hear each one of them sharing what God had been speaking. One of the highlights was when Ronza was sharing about God coming to redeem the land of His love, and how His love, which is higher, will be the inheritance of the younger generation. After having shared her heart, she spontaneously started singing a prophetic song, and by clicking the link below you can watch the two and a half minutes recording of her song.

At the conference, we also had a very powerful time of prayer for Iran and the women in Iran. The presentation from Iran was done by a woman, who has a heart for Israel and the Isaiah 19 Highway, and as she stood as representative of Iran, we all cried out together as women from across the Isaiah 19 Highway for the women in Iran and the verdict for their freedom.

Another powerful moment took place toward the end of the presentation from Israel, as we were praying and asking the Lord to bring healing between Lebanon and Israel. As Arabs and Jews from Israel stood together with Lebanese leaders, a key on which it was written that we are one family was brought by a young person from the house of prayer in Nazareth. The key was given to Lebanon to be placed in the hands of our Jewish sister Karen Davis as a representation and prophetic act that both families are getting into a covenant of one family together, a marriage of both nations, and a covenant for these nations is taking place. At the same time, a divorce between Lebanon and Iran is taking place, as the Lord will bring down the spirit of Islam and terror that Iran is feeding into Lebanon trying to control the nation, and instead bring freedom to the people of Lebanon. It was a very powerful time of victory and worship toward the end, where everyone was dancing together and declaring that there is no God like Jehovah.

Bahrain – Historic Info and Prophetic Significance – 19/10/2022

The name Manama, the capital of Bahrain, means “the sleepy place” or “the place of rest.” In the Gilgamesh Epic, one of the oldest writings known to men, Bahrain was mentioned as the land of Dilmun. Dilmun is associated with the Garden of Eden, the last place where people had seen God, so the ancients decided that this was the place where they would bury their dead, because it was the closest place to Paradise, and perhaps the gateway to getting back to Him. So Manama is “the place of rest,” because for thousands of years, the ancients travelled from all around the region to come here and bury their dead. As we go south, you will see there are countless numbers of burial mounds here even to this day. The entire country is actually a big cemetery. These are the beginnings of the foundation of the history of this island.

Bahrain – The Land of the Two Seas

When you think about the prophetic significance of that, you have got this combination of connection with the Garden of Eden, but also the misunderstanding of God’s purposes and people’s own human way of trying to get back to Him. If you look at the name Bahrain in Arabic, it consists of two parts. “Bah’r” means “sea” or “waters,” while putting “ain” in the end of a word means “two.” Therefore, Bahrain actually means “the Land of the Two Seas,” and historically seen, we know this applies to “the sweet water” and “the fresh water.” As a matter of fact, throughout this island, and even in the waters of its coast there are sweet water springs that make life-giving access to water in the midst of a desert place available. So, ships would stop here to get water on the trade routes, and divers would have the ability to access springs that were underneath the waters and get fresh water while they were out at sea. That created a couple of different dynamics. Prophetically, I think it is really profound that this is the place known as “the two seas,” or “the second sea,” because we really believe this is the place where “the second sea,” the living water, is going to be found in abundance.

The dynamic of having these two seas mixing in the waters of Bahrain is the pearls. In the ancient days, before oil was discovered in 1992, pearls were the primary industry in this country. That goes back to the ancient trade routes, from where the ancients got their pearls. Jesus once told a story about a pearl that was so amazing that you would have given up everything to get access to it, and the pearl that was in their mind’s eye, even if they had never actually seen a pearl, would come from the waters of Bahrain. This was the closest ancient pearling way to Jerusalem. The mixing of the fresh water and the salt water at sea enhanced the quality of the Bahrain pearls, as it made them more lustrous.

There is something really special about pearls, and Bahrain is known as the Pearl of the Gulf. The Bahrain economy actually collapsed in around 1932, when they first started developing cultured pearls in Japan. It was shortly thereafter that they found oil. It is interesting for me, as well, why there is so much oil here. However, when you think about oil being called “fossil fuels,” and if the Garden of Eden used to be here a long time ago, that would have created a lot of fossil material that might have decayed and become oil. Think of the level of abundance that is represented all across this region.

 

The Christian Heritage of Bahrain

We like to call Bahrain “the mustard seed of the Gulf.” It is so small you cannot see it on most maps, but even if you had never heard of it before now, Bahrain is on God’s heart. The last few months it seems like God has been highlighting Bahrain. Four years ago, His Majesty, King Shaikh Hamad, the ruler of Bahrain, gave land to the Catholic Church to build a Catholic church here, and in two weeks the pope will be coming here to open the new church.

As mentioned before, in ancient history, Bahrain was on the trading routes. Almost all the major dynasties throughout the years had their footprints here, which is just the level of diversity and interaction they had with the ancient world. In Jesus’ days they would have known about the pearls from here. In the days after Jesus, the church came to this region. We know from Acts 2:11 that Arabs were among those who came to faith at Pentecost, and for the first 600 years after Christ, there was a thriving Arab church across the Middle East. The evidence of this has recently been acknowledged in 2019.

In the interim years, the church expanded across the Middle East, and came to the Arabian Peninsula. Recently, there was archaeological evidence of a church in ancient Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and in 2019 a team from Exeter was here doing archaeological work and analysis in partnership with the local Ministry of Culture. They identified the archaeological evidence of a church in a town called Samaheej. If you google the historian church in the Arabian Peninsula, you will find several Eastern churches that were across this region, and one of them was in a place called Mishmahig. The “meem” in the front of the word is the place identifier, the difference between Arabic and Hebrew oftentimes is the “s” and the “sh,” whereas the difference between local Arabic and Egyptian Arabic is the “j” and the “g.” So the place called Samaheej today was known as Mishmahig a long time ago, and there is clear documentary evidence that the church existed in Mishmahig. There is a series of villages just north of the airport, which are known as Al Dair, Samaheej and Kalali. Dair means “monastery,” so there is a local village just north of the airport that is called “Monastery.” Sumaheej matches the historic information about the early church that existed in Mishmahig, and Kalali is the name of a room within the monastery, where the monks lived. So, all three of these villages are directly linked to the Christian history of that community. Even within the village known as Al Dair, there is to this day a mosque called Masjid Al Raheb (“the Mosque of the Monk”). There have been stories in the local paper that have highlighted the connection of this particular community to its Christian past, and the extent to which they appreciate that heritage and want to revive it. As a matter of fact, in the village, there are a couple of new businesses that have opened recently under the names, “Sandwich Shop Al Raheb” (“the Monk’s Sandwich Shop”), and Raheb Contracting, so there is an enduring legacy in that community. “Raheb” means “monk” in Arabic, so if this word is commonly used, which is unheard of in many places, it means that Christianity was here before Islam, which give you the Christian heritage of all Arabia and especially Bahrain.

One more thing with the heritage, which is identified as evidence of the church that existed here in Bahrain 400-500 years ago. What do you find around churches in the UK? A cemetery. So where do you think they founded a church? Right in the middle of the cemetery. So again, this is the place of rest.

We are now on the bridge between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and this is the Gulf waters of Bahrain. We are going to get halfway across to the visa station and turn around and head back. This is as close as we can without going over. I don’t know if you saw a couple of towers that were half built. We are going to get out right next to those towers, to enjoy the view, and look out over this land. Half of the island here is Saudi, and the other half is Bahrain. That is the border, where customs and immigration happen.

Shared by Daniel Taylor – Scribed by HOPE team

19/10/2022