I know I personally felt it was important to pray for Israel. Until their eyes are open to Messiah, this is a crucial way that we bless Israel, and it has eternal ramifications. I continued to pray for God’s intervention in current this conflict, for them to awaken to their Messiah, and so on.

However, a lot of information has been sent to me about the details of the current conflict, most of which puts Israel in a very bad light. Regardless of whether or not it is true, due to the crisis in America, I had to table any teachings on the matter.

Now is the time.

I will ask for your patience in this, we need to follow God’s leading, please don’t jump to any conclusions or flood my inbox until I’m done. It’s going to take us a few weeks to get through it all.

The world is turning against Israel right now, the Church is turning against Isreal in greater measure than I’ve ever seen in my life, and all of this plays right into the enemy’s plans. I often say the enemy is trying to expedite the end-times. What do I mean by this statement? He’s trying to stir the world into wars, death and destruction. This produces a tremendous amount of bloodletting and opens the path for additional demonic activity. That’s why we engage in identificational repentance; to cleanse the land that’s been cursed by bloodletting. The Church should be protecting Israel with our prayers, we are after all, grafted into their Vine not the other way around. Unfortunately, the enemy has been able to successfully rope the Church into his plans. How often has the Church jumped on the bandwagon of the enemy only to find they were wrong? Consider all of the social justice they endorse or participate in, these are man’s issues, not God’s issues. We need more discernment. The enemy wants to lead us into darkness and unfortunately, we give him plenty to work with.

That said, today, I want to begin the conversation about Israel, the Covenant, the Church’s support of Israel, and the intercessor’s responsibility as we pray over the events in the middle east. Especially now, in light of the Israel’s Security Cabinet approving the plan to occupy Gaza.

I also want to discuss the deception surrounding Israel, the media, academia, and the rise of antisemitism in the earth. These will probably be in the coming weeks.

This is a controversial subject to say the least, I’ve not shied away from controversy, but this issue has been challenging for me. For me, it was a given, we pray for Israel. It’s my heritage, and if you are a Believer, it’s your heritage too, you are grafted into the Vine, the Vine that came through the Israeli lineage. I did not realize until October 7, 2023, how much of the Church no longer believed this truth.

What does this passage mean? Specifically, what does verse 3 mean for us as Christians today? “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Has God changed His mind about Israel? Was this covenant fulfilled by Christ and as such, the command, no longer relevant for us today? Why is there so much controversy surrounding this issue? Remember, God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His Word is true, His commands are just, and He expects us—as His children—to follow them. In addition, loving and praying for Israel to come into the promise is increasingly revealing itself as a “heart issue”, one that we are responsible for before the Lord.

Let’s break this verse down a bit more:

To bless: is to show honor, to bless the Lord, we bless marriages, we bless the Church, we bless Isreal, we bless America, the Lord blessed unions “be fruitful and multiply.”

We are called to bless and not curse.

To curse: we see two Hebrew words use of “curse” in this verse. “I will curse them that curseth thee”

The first use of curse is referring to the Lord’s response to those who curse Abraham and his lineage. This Hebrew word is “arar” and this means “to bitterly curse”. To bring one under judgment. God cursed the serpent in Genesis 3:14, He curses the soil as a result of Adam’s sin in Genesis 3:17. He curses Cain in for the murder of his brother in Genesis 4:11.

The second “curse” in this verse is “qalal” references our actions, and it means “to bring into contempt, to abate (or pull back from), to despise”.

In other words, from this this verse and the Hebrew meanings, we can safely say that for those who step into contempt toward, pull back from, or oppose God’s Covenantal promise, they are essentially opening themselves up to Divine retribution or judgment. This can apply to individuals or nations.

Isreal is still part of God’s redemptive plan. The Covenant, from God’s perspective, still stands. The Covenant was for land, Abram—or Abraham’s descendants, and it promised blessings to all nations who bless them.

God is a Covenant-keeping God; this is a common thread throughout the Old and New Testament with over 300 verses on this topic. That is more than significant, it’s profound and should awaken us to the importance of the longevity of His Covenants. There are several elements of Old Testament Covenants that Jesus fulfilled, but the Abrahamic Covenant still stands.

Let’s not forget, Israel, particularly Jerusalem, is where the New Jerusalem will be built after Armageddon, after Satan is bound up for 1000 years, life will flow from Jerusalem.

Genesis 12 encompasses the lineage that would take us to Christ

Genesis 13 expounds on the Seed and encompasses that land, with this next passage, Genesis 15:18-21 really hitting home the land promised to Abraham and his Seed:

This is not necessarily a message about fighting for the land promised by God to Israel, although, it’s important to note what was promised here in Genesis to Abraham through Covenant encounters. This land amounted to roughly 500,000-600,000 square miles. Today, Israel possesses approximately 8500 square miles. It’s basically the size of New Jersey. Even in King David’s time, the amount of land directly controlled by King David was almost four times this at 30,000 square miles with an additional 60,000 under his indirect control (tributaries or vassal states).

The promised land included parts of modern Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

If you look at the living conditions within these nations outside of modern-day Israel, we see profound poverty, constant economic crises, and large refugee populations throughout. All of which has led to significant humanitarian struggles for those living in these nations. Not to mention, the major terrorist hubs within each country from Hezbollah to a variety of Islamic Jihadist style groups, such as Hamas and ISIS which results in profound persecution of Christians, Jews, women, children and class-based minority groups. These Jihad terrorist groups recruit from refugee camps and then use those recruits to infiltrate and recruit more of their people. Why would refugees participate in a Jihad-terrorist group? To get out of the desperate conditions of the refugee camps. One wonders if it’s possible that these refugee situations are being propagated so Jihadist have a pool from which to increase their own numbers. All while surrounding the tiny nation of Israel.

The Middle East is a hotbed for suffering. Most of which is driven by terrorist leadership who gained control either through corrupt elections or an outright overthrow of the former leader, like we recently saw with Assad in Syria.

I share this additional information because it’s important we are not under some sort of delusion about the conditions of those nations that have possession of part of the Promise Land. There was a time these lands were overflowing with milk (from grazing animals) and honey (from bees that pollinate the abundant fruits grown in the land). Lions roamed the land. Why is this important? Lions feed on grazing animals, grazing animals feed on grass, grass needs rain to thrive. There would need to be sufficient grazing animals for the lions, the circle of life if you will. This Covenant land was promised to Abraham and his seed because it was rich with provision, and at the time, inhabited by those who worshiped idols.

When God called Abram (Genesis 12) before the name change, it had been over 400 years since Noah. 400 years where we do not have any record or account wherein God spoke to mankind. Until Abram. God searched for a man across the great landscape of time and found Abram, and He (God), Jesus and Holy Spirit chose him as they set the stage for the lineage through which Christ would be born. God called him out of his idolatrous lineage to be a father to the nations. And He (God) would bless those who blessed them, and curse those who cursed them, and as the Word says: in the lineage of Abraham, will all nations of the earth be blessed. This is confirmed in Galatians 3:6-9.

The blessing came through our Savior and the eternal life which His ultimate sacrifice on the Cross paves the path for those who believe in Him, repent and turn from their wicked ways.

Those who do not accept Christ as their Savior suffer under the curse, the same curse afflicted upon Adam and Eve when they sinned and were ejected from the Garden.

Is that it? The Covenant is complete? The Land has no inclusion in this Covenant? The Promise has been fulfilled? We can choose to do what we want with the rest of the Covenant?

No, I don’t believe it is. Israel was forced out of their own land, because of their sin for centuries.

The establishment of Israel as a nation on May 14, 1948, was the culmination of a series of historical, political, and social developments, driven by the Zionist movement and shaped by several global events. Events that I believe served as a catalyst for the reestablishment of Israel as a nation.

1. Zionist Movement and Jewish Nationalism: The Zionist movement, initiated in the late 19th century by men such as Theodor Herzl, sought to establish a national homeland for Jews in response to centuries of antisemitism, persecution, and displacement in Europe and elsewhere. The movement gained momentum with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which Britain expressed support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

2. British Mandate and Immigration: After World War I, Britain gained control of Palestine under the League of Nations’ Mandate system (1920–1948). During this period, Jewish immigration to Palestine increased, particularly in the 1930s due to rising antisemitism in Europe. Tensions between Jewish immigrants and the Arab population grew, leading to violence and competing national aspirations.

3. The Holocaust: The Holocaust (1933–1945), during which six million Jews were murdered by Nazi Germany. This intensified the urgency for a Jewish homeland. The genocide underscored the need for a safe haven for Jewish survivors, many of whom sought to immigrate to Palestine, despite British restrictions on immigration (the 1939 White Paper limiting Jewish immigration).

4. UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181): On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, proposing the partition of Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international administration. The Jewish leadership accepted the plan, but Arab leaders rejected it, leading to escalating violence.

5. End of the British Mandate: Britain, exhausted from World War II and unable to manage the growing conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine, announced its intention to terminate the Mandate. The withdrawal was set for May 14, 1948, creating a power vacuum that prompted the Jewish leadership to declare independence. Basically, this land was up for grabs.

6. Arab-Jewish Conflict: As the Mandate neared its end, civil conflict between Jewish and Arab communities in Palestine intensified. The Jewish community, organized under groups like the Haganah, prepared for statehood, while Arab militias and neighboring states opposed the establishment of a Jewish state, setting the stage for the 1948 Arab-Israeli War immediately following Israel’s declaration. In spite of the odds, Israel miraculously not only held their proposed ground, but gained more ground than expected. The result: it solidified Israel’s existence as a sovereign state.

I’d really like to include the progression of events involving the Gaza Strip but for the sake of time, I’ll will review this later.

Back to the Covenant and our response to Israel today.

Have we ever stopped to think about why God said in Genesis 12:3 “and I will bless them that bless thee”?

There is a day coming, and is not too far off, in which the veil is going to be rent from the eyes of God’s Covenant people. When that happens, will we be ready? Will we have blessed Israel?

Israel will be grafted back into the Vine, and even where they are today, they are the root that supports us. No wonder the enemy keeps trying to turn the world against them and wipe them out. When they are grafted back into the Vine, they will exceed us by leaps and bounds because the Covenant is built into fabric of their DNA—whether they know or understand that or not.

In 2019, during our DC Gathering of the Eagles, I had a vision. Revival was sweeping the nations. When it hit Israel, they were flooded with the presence of God. The veil was rent and scales fell from their eyes and they saw Messiah. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands fell on their faces across the nation and wept bitterly over their unbelief. The nation seemed to be heaving in grief. The grief abated, they began to rise and when they opened their eyes, the light of the Living God shone forth from them! Their hearts were lit aflame, and they began to run with the fires of revival. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, but there is a day in which the flames of revival will burn so brightly in the heart of the nation of Israel and when it does, they will run and not grow weary. The revelation and knowledge of the Kingdom of heaven will pour out of them and ignite fires of revival in unprecedented ways!

May we, the intercessors, always be counted among those who persistently bless Isreal. For He, will bless those who bless Isreal…

Much love,

Ricci Johnson-Wilson

This Friday I will address the deception that led to the division between Israel and the Church