From Israel To Italy

Just a note to those of you who follow this blog that my co-contributor here on I2I, Roberto, had to say good-bye (for now) to his father Pasquale on the 7th of January. Pasquale turned 94 last week (meaning that he was born before the Titanic was built to put it in perspective).

We pondered the secrets of old-age that Pasquale knew and placed a few ideas on the table. One said it was because he was Italian (who are generally known for their longevity — I’ve never seen more 90 year-olds riding bicycles anywhere else). Another said it was because he was a Battistuzzi. Pasquale had a brother who recently passed away that was about the same age. Another attributed it to the good wine (Conegliano, where Pasquale was from, prides itself on being a city of the juice). Our Church family partially thinks it’s because of the great care that Adele and Roberto gave their dad. But the best reason came from an African nurse who said, “God wasn’t finished talking with him yet.”

As God has finished His pursuit of Pasquale, one point we should consider is  How does God also talk to us in the grand scheme of things? The Bible lays out many ways.¹ One way the Hebrew worldview explores the Father’s lessons is through the funeral. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says,

It is better to go to the house of mourning
   than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
   and the living will lay it to heart.

Here, Solomon lays out the simply profound point that it is better to seek meaning in your life more from a funeral than from a party. Everybody will be at a funeral someday. It’s the funeral of another (especially those close to us) that “talks” a language of God to those who are still alive. The deliberation over a life teaches us what qualities of wisdom that we should pursue and what foolishness of destruction we should avoid. The funeral aligns the living toward meaning. The funeral is the sound of the gate opening to eternity. That sound will help those who are prepared for eternity and haunt those who are not.

Can we ever prepare for the experience of death? Maybe not. But the confidence that we find in the Bible is that we can prepare for what comes after death (1 Corinthians 15:54-58). It’s a solved mystery! You will either experience death’s fury and total sting - or Yeshua’s victory of everlasting life. Consider funerals — they have something to say.

1. God speaks to His kids through creation, conviction, His Word, circumstances, godly people, destruction of the wicked, the rising and falling of kings and nations, the one-another community of Yeshua, the simple trust of a child etc. [back]

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“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” Gal.5:1

During a holiday in beautiful Austria, we were encouraged to visit a delightful town on the shores of a lake, Zell am See. It is a well known ski resort and is located in a beautiful setting, with towering mountains all around. We were enjoying a welcome break after 8 years in Italy, where we have been challenged in many ways and especially in the Christian spiritual realm. While walking around this town, we came across the Catholic Church which dates back many centuries, (as many of these
churches do!). As part of our stay in Italy is evangelizing Italians, we have spent many months of study in an effort to get to grips with the reason for such spiritual oppression in that country. Many friends and visitors have commented that they “feel” oppressed in their spirits whenever they come to Italy. We are now realizing more and more that the Vatican
and, therefore, the Catholic Church play an enormous role in this. One can argue the point, but the religion of any country has an effect on the whole population. Whether one has separation of Church and State or not, the religious beliefs of the country’s political establishment shapes the way a country is run through it’s laws and other things. If one has a very strong spiritual influence like the Vatican has in Italy, then that shapes not only the political system but also the psyche of the population. The purpose of this blog is not to go into details of this, except to give two simple examples :

1. One of the first “duties” of a newly elected Italian Prime Minister is to visit the pope (sic).
2. By law, Italians have to sign away a percentage of their tax to either the Catholic Church or two other religious establishments. It is called the “Otto per mille” or “Eight per thousand”. In other words,eight euro out of every thousand euro paid in tax goes to the designated institution. There will be a more detailed blog on this later.

So what has all this to do with the photo? Quite a lot.
I walked into the church to see what was inside.As I turned to walk out, this sculpture caught my eye.It was at the back, almost hidden.Above it, to the left was a statue of the “madonna” holding what is supposed to be baby Jesus.The contrast was enormous.On the one side , this pathetic representation of our Glorious Lord and on the other a jewel studded statue of the “mother” of Christ.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. In a flash of intuition, I suddenly realized:”this is it!!” I have yet to see anything graphic that condenses everything that I have studied over these few years regarding the spiritual bondage of catholics,
and sadly, more and more Protestant denominations than this statue.
Jesus, the Anointed One, is still considered as a dead figure on a cross or as a baby in the arms of a woman.
Yet He is the soon returning Glorious, Resurrected, God the Son.
The problem in Italy and other predominantly catholic countries is that Yeshua Mashiach is held captive in the minds of people. Catholics will more than likely pray to other “gods” or “godesses”, (read saints and madonnas), than to the True and Only God.
The striking thing about this sculpture was not only that the representation of the Lord was chained to the wall, but that it was behind bars too!
Almost as if to say, “We must make doubly sure that Jesus is not freed, just in case the truth comes out and we lose an empire of a billion plus subjects.”
If you think I am exaggerating, come and experience Italy for yourselves.
This is the reason that we pray and intercede for a Holy Spirit led Reformation in Italy. May the King of Kings break the chains of religious bondage and apostasy so that hundreds of million of prisoners will see the light and experience the glorious freedom from sin.
Grace and shalom

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Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is
one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy
God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

These reflections may seem out of date already as John Paul II has been dead and buried 4 months now. However, as I have only recently started blogging, I appreciate the opportunity to share my views to a wider audience.

Considering the fact that I am Italian, born-again Christian and living in Italy, I have an advantage in insight to what goes on here.
Beppe Severgnini in his book “La Testa degli Italiani (the Italian Mind) - Are you ready for the Italian jungle? ” makes some interesting comments towards the end of the book when describing Italians and religion.

“Let’s put it this way: why huge crowds besieged Saint Peter’s- first to say goodbye to John Paul II, then to welcome Benedict XVI- and the Italian churches are emptying? Enthusiasm for the Pope contrasts with the difficulties experienced by many parishes, that on Sundays resemble the Confraternity of the Gray Hairs: the youngest is 40 years old and is often there to accompany the daughter to the children’s mass. The torrid participation seen in Rome seems distant to the tepid habits of many catholics : nine out of ten Italians declare themselves believers, but the weekly attendance to the mass is declining : one out of three in 1985, one out of four today.”

Severgnini goes on and says:

“Those interested may not respond. Or they could say: one can love the Pope and not go to church. Objection: John Paul II had a “rock star quality “as they say in America, but he did not compromise on certain things. Sunday Mass for him was not an optional but an obligation.”

This is the crux of the matter. Italians especially, and I suspect, many catholics worldwide were enraptured or enamored with a person rather that with the Lord. As with Israel of old who clamoured for a visible king they want now a visible leader. The fact that John Paul II had a certain charisma, reinforced this.

Every Sunday, the national TV channels would show the Pope at Saint Peter’s Square giving his weekly benediction. Thousand upon thousands would be there. But not in church.
What really struck me and many of my saved brethren, was the unbelievable crowd that was present at his funeral. We were shocked to see this outpouring of worship and adoration towards a mere human being. The millions of Euro spent both by the Vatican and the city of Rome to host the visitors frustrated us, because this money, in part, comes from the forced religious tax imposed on Italian taxpayers. (A separate blog -Otto per mille- will deal with this).

Image courtesy of the Australian Broadcast Corporation

All this for someone who had dedicated his whole life to Maria, “the mother of Jesus”. I put it in quotation marks because we Italian born-again believers do not believe that the Maria he worshipped is truly the mother of our Lord, but a repackaged pagan goddess. His coffin had a big “M” under the cross and the wording “totus tuus” - Latin for “all yours”.

But there were two things that really struck me, and it was as if the Lord had opened my mind to understand a bit more of the end times and the Book of Revelation.

The first was how one man could, at his funeral, gather heads of state from almost every country on earth and bring religious leaders from totally different religions together. This suddenly made me understand that it will definitely be possible for one man, in the end times to do this. It was so real, being here and watching the scene played out live, like the Israeli delegation shaking hands with the Iranian delegation.

The second was the absence of any representation from Russia and China. This had such a profound prophetic significance for me. Gog and Magog and the Kings of the East, spoken of by Ezekiel and John in Revelation. We now read that these two countries are holding joint military manouevres!

My heart goes out to our Jewish friends. May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob grant you grace to understand the times and turn with teshuva to Yeshua Hamashiac, before Jacob’s troubles. We are living in exciting times and we encourage each other with the glorious hope of the return of Yeshua.

Grace and shalom

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It may seem a strange title seeing that I have never been to Israel and that I lived most of my life in Africa. Born and grew up in Kenya and then South Africa. But it reflects the the spiritual journey that Israel’s Messiah has mapped out for me. For a more detailed bio, read the Africa link.
It all began on the 5th of January 1975 in Cape Town , South Africa. That fateful night when the Holy Spirit convicetd me that I was a sinner and where I met the Saviour.
Born of Italian parents, baptized as a baby, christened (I still have the photos of the Bishop of Nairobi laying hands on me) and grew up as a Catholic. Like 95 % of my countrymen, I believed that I was a Christian, albeit not a good one, but as long as I went to confession & communion I would be OK. Nobody told me about repentance as a 180 degree turnaround, new birth, sanctification.I learned to blaspheme the Lord when I was 15 years old . (There is a separate blog on italy and blasphemy under Italian Culture).BUT GOD, I like this expression in the bible !BUT GOD, so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son that I should not perish but have life eternal- John 3:16. So Israel’s Messiah took hold of my life that night and 30 years later, here we are in Italy witnessing and winning souls for Him.
You may ask : Aren’t Catholics Christians? No. In the same way that belonging to a Protestant Church does not automatically make you a Christian. There is only one qualification : “you must be born again”- John 3:5. When I came to Italy 8 years ago I used to make a distinction between Protestants and Catholics. Now I realise that many Protestant denominations are sliding deeper into apostasy. Many denying the Lord Himself. Truly as Jesus said ” a dog returns to his vomit and a sow wallows in the mud “.Traditional churches that were born out of the Reformation and whose early pioneers were murdered and often burnt at the stake , now openly support homosexuality, abortion. Some leaders do not even believe in the Deity of Jesus, virgin birth and other fundamental beliefs.
So here I am, a thoroughbred Italian in the flesh, but a thoroughbred Christian in the spirit, sent of God to witness to my fellow Italians - i 2 i.

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