Michael Onifer is among the growing number of discerning pastoral and church leaders who acknowledges the presence of the Holy Spirit breathing timely understanding throughout the church. The expanding awareness of the surging numbers of Jews coming to Jesus/Yeshua as Messiah is calling the Gentile church to a deepened biblical grasp of the fact of the need and the call you and I must face: the hour demands it. It is essential at personal, congregational, national and international levels to engage this issue and embrace it with biblical conviction. I commend Michael for his efforts to advance this understanding as I seek to do so as well.
— Jack W. Hayford, Chancellor, The King’s University, Southlake, Texas
I have learned much from Michael, and I consider him a good friend. God, Israel and You is both engaging and impactful. By the time you finish reading this book, you’ll have a deeper love for God, a greater compassion for the people in and around the Holy Land, and an expanded desire to visit Israel. Michael Onifer and Joshua Charles use practical, every-day-life stories to explain a variety of layers of Israel’s history and context. Having sat under Michael Onifer’s teaching, I’m surprised by neither the title of this book nor it’s heart-stirring contact.
— Jerry Dirmann, Sr. Pastor, The Rock, Anaheim, CA
This book is a guide to the perplexed. It’s a relatively easy read with an artful combination of up-close personal stories, hard facts and scriptural backing. If you want to see the bigger picture of God’s redemptive plan for Israel and the nations, this book is for you. The world’s largest puzzle has nearly 34,000 pieces. But in real life, Israel is arguably the most complex puzzle of all time.
Increasingly our world suffers from diminished attention spans. Too many are satisfied with smaller and smaller jigsaw pieces — 30 second sound bites and video clips, mini posts and rants on social media platforms — often ripped out of context. Few of us have the time and discipline to try and fit the pieces together to get a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on at the Epicenter.
— Pastor Wayne Hilsden, Co-founder of King of Kings Family of Ministries, Jerusalem; and President of FIRM: Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries
Most everyone has an opinion on God, and most everyone has an opinion on Israel. That's why this book is worthwhile for a broad readership since it tackles the interaction of the two and the various issues resulting from that relationship. In an even-handed, theologically informed, and consistently relevant manner, Onifer and Charles have served up a thoughtful - and thought provoking - piece of work. You may or may not agree with everything contained within, but the subject of God and Israel should not be ignored. I, for one, am grateful for their call to remember it.
— Dr. Jerry Gillis, Lead Pastor, The Chapel, Getzville, NY
Very few people have the experience, intellectual depth, and profundity of heart necessary to write a book like this. Michael Onifer brings us on a journey. It is a journey through a Land, the peoples who live and make pilgrimage there, the faith story of his own life, and the incredible demands that the Land of the Bible makes on all who dare to give her due consideration.
I have seen Michael in countless different settings, dealing with the varied colorful people and circumstances that interaction with the questions of “Israel and the Middle East” bring about. Michael is never satisfied with surface responses. He persistently asks the deeper “why” of every person and situation. This allows this important book to engage the reader not in a one dimensional viewpoint, but in a far more robust and demanding experience.
This book is a guide for you, inviting you to encounter Israel in ways that just may well change your life. I was captured by Israel 25 years ago, and have not been able to break free. The magnetism of the people and place, and the story that God has told, is telling, and will tell there, are the center point of all human history. If you have not yet understood that, Michae Onifer and this book will be a faithful and wonderful guide.
— Robert Stearns, Founder & Executive Director of Eagles' Wings and the International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem
This is a fantastic book! I read it in two sittings. Michael has given us a very readable, very interesting and very revealing book about Israel. He has done his homework and filled it with well researched facts that most people have never heard. In fact most likely you never will hear them unless you read this book. I highly recommend it.
— Barry Wissler, President, HarvestNet International
I am thankful for the contribution of Michael Onifer on these important questions on Israel, the Church, and God’s purposes. I trust that it will be used to give Christians greater understanding and a firm foundation for their stand and action in these momentous days.
— Daniel Juster, Th. D., Restoration from Zion, Tikkun International