January 21-17, 2015
January 27, 1945: On this date the concentration camps Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau were liberated by the Red Army. They were confronted with a macabre picture.
70 years later 150 persons met in the city of Oswiecim in remembrance, and for repentance and prayer. This town lies 200 meters from Auschwitz 1.
Among the persons attending this meeting were 20 Messianic Jews and130 leaders (mainly spiritual) from about ten nations.
What should one write after such a week? That we often wept? That our hears broke during communion on the selection ramp, the Jews’ ramp? That the survivors’ testimonies choked us up? That our Jewish friends stood in front of the black-white photographs of victims, singing and dancing “AM ISRAEL CHAI” (the people of Israel live)? What kind of emotion it is when an Israeli woman reads the names of her murdered relatives, as well as the locations of the relevant death camps? That we had some really happy and funny times? About the depth of the worship – how the Lord convinced us that ALL of this is IN us as well?! And how deeply we love him, that he set us free from guilt? About the recognition of his overwhelming love through the things he is now setting free? All of this would not really do justice to this intensive, rich, difficult, deep week. But what I can say is this: It was a privilege to be there – in spite of everything! Or BECAUSE of everything. Because of HIM!
R.W.
art of „Fountain of Tears“: www.castingseeds.com
Dear brothers and sisters, here is a brief summary of what we received from the LORD during the Auschwitz prayer week:
70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz
Auschwitz symbolizes death, end and bankruptcy:
– for the Jewish people there was a general attack of the enemy in the sense of a final solution (destruction)
– for the body of Jesus in the nations it was a bankruptcy declaration of a false theology (replacement theology) which leads to death.
We believe that 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz God is in a new way beginning an exodus, a process of restoration and liberation from imprisonment to a new freedom. Here we see parallels to the spiritual processes which began with Ezra and Nehemia after Israel’s 70- year imprisonment. We believe that God wants to strengthen and accelerate this process primarily in 3 directions:
1) for Israel it is a matter of an exodus from the prison of BLINDNESS regarding the Messiah, into a deep revelation of JESUS.
It is a matter of being liberated and led into its final CALLING to be light and blessing for the nations.
2) for the body of Christ in the nations it is a matter of an exodus from Babylon. Babylon is a picture of the minging and confusion which began with the rise of replacement theology and which opened the gates for “foreign elements”, which caused great damage.
It is about the body of Jesus coming into its true identity as the branch which is grafted into the natural olive tree; and about returning to the roots.
Mixing with “foreign elements” (heathen influences) leads to a lack of spiritual clarity and increasingly prepares the ground for humanism and a “uniform religion”. We believe that God wants to liberate Jesus’ body from this great danger by returning it to the natural olive tree of messianic Israel.
3) for the unity of Jesus’ bride between the believers from the Jewish people and from the nations
It is about an exodus from the division of the two parts of Jesus’ body, into genuine unity in Jesus. God wants to lead both parts of Jesus’ body into unity as expressed in the union of man and woman. They become deeply one without losing their different identities. This union brings the olive tree to its completion and reveals the glory and countenance of God. The Auschwitz prayer week was actually a model of how this truth can become visible and experiencable, radiating into the whole body of Christ.
These are the three directions which God showed us during these days in Auschwitz and which are especially close to his heart. We believe we are called to accompany these processes in prayer and to become a prophetic voice in our area of influence. In addition, we see a calling to set up a joint Jewish-German-Polish prayer altar there in Auschwitz.
We are very grateful to the LORD for everything he did in our midst at this special point in history, exactly 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz.
joinnd in the Lord we greet you together,
Benjamin Berger, Helmut Eisen, Andreas and Adelheid Bauer
