Hollywood Actor Finds Jesus & Stands with Israel

David (00:00:00):
Welcome back everybody to another episode of the Covenant and Conflict podcast. With us today, we have an incredibly special guest, Nathaniel Blich. You got it? No, you nailed it. Yeah. Instagram. Nate Buzz. Nate Buzz. That was how I was introduced and we’re so excited you’re here.

Nate (00:00:17):
Yeah, it’s good to be here.

David (00:00:18):
So I want people to just know a little bit about you. I know we’re going to have you back for another episode so that we can get a little bit more laser focused on some really important things going down right now with the church and Israel. But I want this one to just be an introduction to you. I’m sure a lot of people already know you on Instagram or social media, but let’s just take a step back. First of all, how are you?

Nate (00:00:40):
I’m good. Yeah, I’m really good. I laugh at my Instagram name Nate Buzz, because I’m old. So when Instagram started back in 2012,

David (00:00:53):
When you locked in the username.

Nate (00:00:54):
Yeah. I didn’t realize it was going to be such a permanent thing, and I just thought at the time, my name is too long and people struggle to pronounce it all the time. Nathaniel, my full name is Nathaniel Vo Oli. So even I struggle saying it,

David (00:01:06):
Hey, that’s

Nate (00:01:07):
Good. So I went to Nate Buzz and now it’s kind of just stuck and so many people think that’s my actual name now, Nate Buzz, particularly in the Jewish world, they’re like, oh,

David (00:01:16):
Ne Buzz. It’s a pretty cool nickname though.

Nate (00:01:17):
Yeah, I guess it has a ring. Yeah, it’s not Brad Pitt by any means, but it does the job.

David (00:01:22):
I remember when they asked Chris Pratt, his title is Pratt Prat Pratt, and they’re like, why’d you do prep PR Pratt? And he was like, because Pratt Pratt was already taken.

Nate (00:01:31):
Go

David (00:01:31):
PR Pratt. Yeah, you get on Instagram

Nate (00:01:33):
Late, all the usernames are [email protected].

David (00:01:36):
Yeah,

Nate (00:01:36):
Yeah, exactly. So a little bit about myself for the audience that doesn’t know who I am, I’m an Australian born actor who moved to the US in my early twenties to pursue a career in Hollywood. My mom was actually born in Egypt in a refugee camp, which I guess is always,

David (00:01:54):
So she was born in the refugee camp,

Nate (00:01:56):
In a refugee camp in Egypt, which is cool for me because just there’s some sort of connection already to the biblical narrative if you’re thinking about Exodus or even thinking about

Speaker 3 (00:02:07):
When

Nate (00:02:07):
Joseph and Mary had to flee from Herod, they take Yeshua Jesus to Egypt to hide out. So my mom was born in a refugee camper in

David (00:02:16):
19, she was Croatian.

Nate (00:02:17):
She was Croatian, born in a refugee camp in 1946, so two years before the rebirth of Israel, and she immigrated to Australia from Egypt on a boat. So she came to Australia on a boat with my grandmother.

David (00:02:33):
Why were her parents fleeing?

Nate (00:02:34):
They were fleeing from communism

(00:02:36):
That was flooding Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia at the time. And at the time, my grandmother’s husband was shot and killed on the island of which is off the coast of a split. And they basically said to my grandmother, if you don’t leave tonight, you are going to get killed tomorrow. So she left and she had one son, which is my uncle, and she went to Egypt. Someone said, I’ll take care of you, I’ll look after you, which was ultimately my mom’s father, and he wasn’t a very good man. Eventually my grandmother, my uncle and my mom went to Australia as refugees. So I’m a first generation Australian. We grew up very, very poor. My dad actually left when I was two years old, so I actually don’t even know my own father. And that’s kind of like the beginning of my journey, which is important because that was really, we grew up so poor. I grew up in a Muslim majority community. So my childhood was really surrounded by Lebanese Arabs, Syrians, Iraqis. It was very common for me to do Ramadan, IE with my neighbors. I grew up in a very poor area, and my first ever job was, this is going to age me really badly, A blockbuster video.

David (00:04:01):
Oh wow.

Nate (00:04:02):
Yeah.

David (00:04:03):
RIP Blockbuster. Yeah. How do we explain this to a young generation?

Nate (00:04:07):
What a blockbuster video stories. It’s like

David (00:04:08):
If you could digitally jump into Netflix and then B, choosing physically the movies and having a blast,

Nate (00:04:15):
You have to go to a shop to rent a VHS at the time, borrow it and make sure you be kind. Wound it, be kind and rewind back to the beginning. Yeah, be kind and rewind. Crazy how much the world has changed.

David (00:04:26):
But it was going to Blockbuster was more fun than the movie.

Nate (00:04:29):
Yes.

David (00:04:30):
Going around and just being like this one.

Nate (00:04:32):
Yes. Ah, forget

David (00:04:33):
That movie.

Nate (00:04:33):
Well, my first job was cleaning the shelves. Not as fun at Blockbuster. Yeah, it was dust duty and basically every week I had to circle the whole store. So it would take me a full week to do the whole store every day after school, and the dust would obviously start again the next week. So it was just the never ending story. But during that time, I started working when I was 12 years old, I would start watching movies and the movies that my manager at the time would let me choose what movie I can watch while I’m cleaning. And so one of the actors that I really kind of started to watch a lot was Leonardo DiCaprio, of

David (00:05:10):
Course,

Nate (00:05:10):
And this Boy’s Life, Romeo and Juliet, all these kind of iconic movies

(00:05:15):
From the nineties. And so I fell in love with acting and at about the age of 16, my mom and I were really poor. We couldn’t afford anything. I thought, I need to get us out of poverty. I need to figure out a solution to solve this issue that my mom and I need to make money. And so I thought, I’m going to try and become an actor. And so I started doing some acting classes and then I got a commercial and I got paid like $4,000 to eat a hamburger. And I thought, this is the solution, this is it. This is the roadmap to solving my problem, to solving my mom’s problem, and to getting us out of this current circumstance that we find ourselves in. So from 16, I committed myself to becoming a successful actor. And I remember when I was 18, I said, I’ve got to get to Hollywood because you’re not going to make it in Australia. There’s the quality of television back then and the money you can make was really kind of minimal. So

David (00:06:11):
Got to go to the epicenter.

Nate (00:06:12):
The epicenter, and if you want to be successful, Hollywood is the place. So I remember at 18, I remember the last day of high school, we had this kind of circle of what everyone wanted to do when they’ve left school. And I said, I’m going to become a Hollywood actor. And everybody laughed, just so unrealistic.

David (00:06:29):
Yeah, it’s a needle.

Nate (00:06:30):
Especially the school I went to. I mean, a lot of the people’s dreams were like, I want to stay out of prison. Maybe I’ll start a car company or maybe I’ll do construction maybe. So no one had big dreams. So the idea of someone from the area getting to Hollywood was just a joke. But in 2004, 2005, I made the decision, moved to Hollywood and would try my luck in becoming an actor. And I had to work really hard. I had no money. I slept on people’s couches. I would paint people’s houses to make some money. I bought a $50 bike from Target so I could ride my bike to auditions. And I got really close to a lot of really, really big jobs. In fact, there was 14 different occasions where it’d come down to me and another actor for the main role of a TV show that was being cast in the new season. And I would miss out. One of those was Vampire Diaries where it came down to me and Paul Wesley for one of the featured roles, which is Stefan, which was a hugely successful role. So I kept missing out. I kept missing out, but I was constantly trying to make it. I have this attitude, why once I have my eyes fixated on something, I’ve got to do it

(00:07:48):
No matter what the opposition is, no matter what the challenges are, no matter how hard it gets. And that went on for many, many years where I was just flying back and forth between Australia and the us and then at 27 I was like, this isn’t going to happen. And I was like, I don’t know if I can keep doing this. I’m 27 now. I have no money. I’ve tried now for really 11 years of my life to try and create this career. And there was a point where I started to go, maybe I should just quit. Maybe this is life telling me you are not going to get there. And then I get a phone call. I was at a Chick-fil-A because I remember it. And Chick-fil-A is a holy place. It’s a holy place. So God already had a plan.

David (00:08:34):
This would’ve happened at McDonald’s.

Nate (00:08:35):
Yeah, not at all. And interesting. I was not a Christian. I was not a Christian at this time. I didn’t believe in God. I wasn’t interested in God. There was nothing on my radar that would suggest any journey towards faith. And then I get a phone call from my agent and he says, you have a job. And I was like, how is this possible? I haven’t for anything. And he’s like, vampire Diaries is offering you a job because you’ve tested twice for them now and you didn’t get it, but they’re looking for a new role to play the brother of this family, and you so happened to look like one of the guys and one of your other auditions someone else saw, and they said, he’s perfect for this role, so you’ve got the job. And I was like, I made it. I’ve made it. This is everything I have been working towards. And I was like, I finally proved everyone wrong.

(00:09:25):
Everyone, everyone who doubted me, everyone who said it’s not going to happen. Every agent that fired me because I wasn’t getting jobs, every single person said, this is not your path. I was like, I did it. And so I went to Atlanta to start filming the very first episode that I was going to be involved in. And I’ve gone to a new state. I’ve never been to Atlanta, Georgia before. And I’m talking to my brother on Facebook at the time, and a friend of mine that I had not seen for three years jumped into the chat and he’s like, how are you? What’s been happening? I said, I finally became a Hollywood actor. I finally achieved the dream that I’ve been fighting for so long. And he said, where are you? I was like, I’m in Atlanta, Georgia. And he’s like, Hey, remember three years ago when we went snowboarding together in Australia and we were driving back home and I tried to convince you to watch these Christian DVDs. And I was like, oh yeah, I kind of remember. And he was pushing me to watch these Christian DVDs. And I was like, no, I don’t want to watch

David (00:10:24):
It. You’re a blockbuster guy. Watch these.

Nate (00:10:26):
Yeah, exactly. And I was like, I’m not interested. I don’t want to hear anything about Christianity. You all are weird. You say weird things, you believe in weird things. But eventually my friend Justin convinced me to watch some of these DVDs and I got interested what the speaker on is this after the Facebook messages? This

David (00:10:42):
Was before. This was

Nate (00:10:43):
Three years earlier.

David (00:10:45):
So he convinced you to watch ’em?

Nate (00:10:46):
He convinced me to watch them as we’re driving this eight hour trip home back to Sydney and the speaker on the DVDs. It was like he was talking to my heart in a way that I’ve never had someone speak to my heart before through a screen.

(00:10:59):
And I was just curious. But that was it. Anyway, it turns out that the very person that was speaking on those DVDs was a guy by the name of Louis Giglio. And my friend said, he has a church in Atlanta, you should go. And I was like, look, I’m busy. I’m an actor and I’ve got things to do right now Hollywood. I dunno if I’m going to have free time. But I said, I’ll make a deal with you if his church is in a 15 minute radius of the hotel I’m staying at, I’ll go out of respect to you. So I Google search Passion City Church five 15, and of course it’s like 14 minutes away. So I’m like, ah, okay, I’ll go. So I went to listen to Louis Giglio speak, and of course Louis Giglio wasn’t speaking that night, guest speaker. So I was like, yeah, guest speaker. So I was like, beautiful. I did my due diligence. No

David (00:11:51):
One’s speaking to my heart tonight.

Nate (00:11:52):
No one’s speaking to my heart tonight. Exactly, exactly. But what was interesting is when I got in there, I was by myself and I felt very uncomfortable about walking into a church by myself. I felt like a stranger. So I brought my camera with me. I had the very first gift I ever bought myself after I got this acting job was a camera to take photos. I thought it would be a good excuse to have something to do. When you’re alone, it feels quite awkward, but if you have a camera, you all of a sudden have purpose.

(00:12:23):
It’s like it doesn’t matter if I’m by myself, I can just take photos. I feel like I’m not alone. I’ve got something that I’m actually doing. So I took the camera into the church with me. I thought, I don’t want to feel like I’m alone. And this girl came up to me and she said, Hey, I’m really sorry, we just kind of don’t take photos at the church. And I was like, oh, I’m not taking photos. I’m just like, I’m lonely. Yeah, I didn’t say that, but I was like, I’m just here because I won’t take photos. Don’t worry. I was like, that was kind of weird. Why am I allowed to take photos? What is this a cult or something?

(00:12:52):
But then she heard my accent. She’s like, where are you from? I was like, I’m from Australia. And she’s like, who are you here with? I was like, I’m not here with anyone. I’m by myself. And she’s like, you can’t sit by yourself. So she actually got me to sit with a whole bunch of people that were my age and that was super nice Christians. I still thought they were all weird at that point, but they were super friendly and they were super nice and they convinced me to come back. So I said, okay, I’ll come back. I’ll come back. So I went back and it was passion 2012, and I was actually back in Australia because all the friends that I had made in Atlanta said, you have to come to passion. It’s amazing. It’s like this life-changing event. And I said, I don’t choose when I go into Georgia and when I come out, it’s all based on whether my character is in that episode and they need me for it.

(00:13:37):
So I was back in Australia and it was about a week and a half before the passion event, which is usually at the beginning of the year. And I get a phone call from my agent saying, Hey, they need you for the next episode, so you’re going to have to fly to Atlanta. I was like, oh, wow, I’m going back. Amazing. So I flew back to Atlanta, but then I was like, I’m not going to be able to go to passion because you’re working. I’m working. I’m not going to have free time. When you’re an actor, you’re working all the time. And then I get to Atlanta and the production office says, unfortunately, we’ve changed the schedule a little bit, and you have the first three days off, so you’re just going to have to sit around. I was like, oh, okay. So I guess I will go to passion.

(00:14:15):
So I called a friend that I had made from the church who worked in the back office, and I said, Hey, I know this is very short notice, but is there any way I can come to passion? I don’t have a ticket, but it would be good if I could go along. And he organized for me to have a ticket. The very, very last night of Passion 2012, Louis Giglio has this talk, and I don’t remember all of it, but I do remember what changed me forever. He asked a crowd of 50,000 people in this stadium in Atlanta, what’s the most important thing in your life? What’s the thing that you put above all things? And in that moment of time, I said, it’s acting. It’s my purpose, it’s my identity now. It’s where I get my value from.

David (00:14:59):
It’s what saved me.

Nate (00:15:01):
Yeah, it saved

David (00:15:01):
Me.

Nate (00:15:02):
Acting is the number one thing in my life. Then he followed up with the next statement. If it’s not Jesus, it will never ever satisfy you. And what was interesting is that struck me in such a way because I had spent 11 years of my life pursuing this idea of a dream to make it in Hollywood. That was it. That’s as far as I thought, make it in Hollywood. If I can make it in Hollywood, everything else will make sense moving forward and I’ll have what I’ve truly been chasing after. But what was interesting is I felt so unsatisfied about achieving that dream in that moment of time because I realized there’s just another hill

(00:15:46):
And there’s just another thing. And even when you make it in Hollywood doesn’t mean you’re going to stay in Hollywood and there’s still something else or be a star in the next one. And what I realized is I’m so unsatisfied. This isn’t going to satisfy me, and this is my identity, my purpose, my value. So I remember leaving that night going, I’m going to put this man to the test, this man that my friend showed me, a DVD of three years earlier before I even got to a letter, I’m going to put it to the test. If this Jesus truly satisfies, then I should see that result if I put him first in my life. So I went back to my hotel that night. I opened up my Twitter because Instagram wasn’t a big thing back then. And the profile, you know how you give a little brief description of who you are, this is who I’m telling the world I am.

(00:16:35):
I looked at it and I’ll never forget it said actor slash social drinker. And I stopped and I just looked at it and I was like, it was looking at a tombstone. I was like, this is how I define myself, an actor slash social drinker. And I was like, it really hit me. I was like, this is quite sad. I thought, what a limited, pathetic human experience that has so much potential to put myself in a box of actor slash social drinker. So I changed it that night, and that’s kind of where the Christian journey began. And I just simply changed it to Jesus follower. And that’s where it begins. And I tell you, the first few years were incredibly confusing and complicated because I think a lot of people can probably relate to this. When you become a Christian, no one really tells you what you’re supposed to do and what you’re signing up for. And so I would sort of tried to do the best I could with the very, very limited knowledge I had of not only Jesus but the biblical text. But I think there’s a point where you are working through that and you almost feel like you’re no different to the old you. You’re kind of like a fraud. You just have a new title.

(00:18:03):
And so I kind of jumbled my way through the Christian experience, and on the exterior probably looked like I was a Christian. I was praying for people on set in the weird way. I became one of the weird Christians. I was really kind of worried about if a camera guy said, oh, my shoulder sore, you kind of felt the urge. Can I pray for your shoulder? Do you buy it? But I kind of really embraced this Christian journey because much like my personality, once I see the direction, I’m like, this is what I’m committing to. This is what I’m doing. And that created instant tension on set. The producers who had hired me clearly didn’t like what they were hearing about me as a Christian.

David (00:18:44):
They didn’t like the new Twitter bio.

Nate (00:18:45):
No, didn’t like the new Twitter bio didn’t fit into the actors crew of the drinking and the drugs and the lifestyle that they all live. And very quickly you’ll see my character dice. And was it

David (00:19:02):
Actually they wrote in that

Nate (00:19:04):
You? Well, I didn’t understand that at the time. I just thought, oh, well, this is the business. You win some, you lose some. But for those who watch the show, they’ll notice that my character keeps coming back, keeps disappearing, he keeps getting pushed to the side. And so when the whole series had come to an end, and I’d actually built a friendship with one of the producers, I pulled him aside once and I said, why did they never make me a series regular? I worked so hard and I was very, very popular with the fans I always had. When we did fan conventions, there was always just this massive amount of love for the character that I played.

(00:19:44):
And even more so me playing the character because at one point they tried to replace me with another actor and they kind of said, oh, Cole’s gone into another person’s body in an effort to try and get rid of me, but have the character still present. So they hired a really, really good looking English kid to replace me. But the fans were still like, no, we want Nate to play Cole. And there was this kind of battle that was going on between the fans and the producers. And I remember asking this producer, why did they never make me a serious joke? Why was there such, I always felt like I was on the outside. And he told me, he said, they hated what you believed and what was incredible about that. And I think the thing that I take a lot from that is despite the fact that they hated the fact that I was on the show and I was a Christian, they couldn’t get rid of me because God has a plan and God says when I’m there and when I’m not. And they had no power over that, which I think probably drive them even more nuts

(00:20:39):
Because I’m sure they would’ve been happy to just move me along. But it just never worked out in their favor. But in 2016, something drastically changes on my journey. This is kind of four years into my Christian journey. I’m dating a French girl from Paris who I’m in love with. I’m just besotted by. And I fell in love with her in Paris. And I don’t know if anyone’s ever been to Paris, but the Eiffel Tower and the idea of romance is just something that’s country of love. Yeah. So I’m dating this girl for three years. I’m in love with her, and she is actually Muslim. She’s a French Moroccan Muslim girl. And one day I find out that she’s been cheating on me with multiple people throughout the entire relationship. And I had no idea. I never saw it coming. I never thought that she would even be capable of something like that. And the people that she had cheated on me with were very, very high profile, famous people that you would know today, Christian people ironically, or one of them. And it just shattered me. And for anyone who’s ever had to deal with betrayal on that level, that level of unfaithfulness, I think it’s a physical pain in the very depths of your heart that you can’t explain, but you feel it and you can’t escape from it.

(00:22:11):
And so in 2016, I hit the lowest of the lows very early on in my journey where I had very minimal understanding of the story of God, Jesus, who I was as a Christian. I was still trying to work it out, and I hit a point where I was like, I want to die. But more than that, I think I almost said, I need to die. I don’t want to live anymore. I was working on the originals, so I was still working as an actor,

David (00:22:39):
As the originals

Nate (00:22:39):
Spinoff, the spinoff of the Vampire Diaries. It was in 2016. And so I had money, I had fame, I had every single opportunity that I think most people in this world would love to have an opportunity to grasp at that point in time. And I just didn’t care about anything. And all I was thinking was, how do I find a way to end my life without me ending it? Because my personality, I hate to quit. So I thought, I have a problem. I want my life to end, but I don’t want to take it myself. So how do I marry those two worlds? And all of a sudden, one morning an idea popped in my head. It was during the Iraq Syrian civil war. I was watching the news and seeing a young child who was sitting in the back of an ambulance who had just been pulled out of a building. He was covered in blood and dust, and I just thought, I’m going to go volunteer in Iraq. I’ll go do something that helps other people, but hopefully I It’s

David (00:23:38):
Put yourself in the line of fire.

Nate (00:23:39):
Yeah, it’s isis. So I started reaching out to nonprofits on Instagram saying, Hey, can I come and volunteer? Hey, can I come and volunteer? Hey, can I come and volunteer

David (00:23:48):
Doing seven Iraq?

Nate (00:23:48):
Yeah, literally. And then one said, yes, an organization called Preemptive Love. They said, Hey, it’s kind of dangerous right now based on the war, but we’d love to host you and show you what we’re doing.

(00:24:03):
I said, great, I’m going to come in a couple of weeks. They’re like, okay. So I got a will written up. I told my managers and my agents, I’m not going to be available for the next couple of weeks. I have a commitment that I can’t get out of. I told Warner Brothers, I need two weeks off of work. Everyone’s going, what are you doing? I was like, ah, I can’t talk about it. I signed an NDA, but I just need time off work. So my agents approved, Warner Brothers approved. I told my mom I was going to Greece and I booked a ticket from Atlanta to Iraq. I flew to Turkey, Turkey to Iraq. I landed in Iraq and it was the height of this civil war. And I remember flying in, we landed at three in the morning. There was me and another person on the flight, I think it was some soldier, I dunno if it was us or something, but there was a soldier on the flight and him. And when we landed in this dingy little airport, I had my beats on ripped jeans. And I thought, I’m just going to get abducted in 20 minutes and I’m going to end up on a YouTube video with a bunch of ISIS terrorists, and they’re going to be wondering why I’m smiling so much. That’s really what was going through my head. I thought, this is done. So the car pulls up,

David (00:25:07):
We got a vampire here in Iraq.

Nate (00:25:09):
Yeah. So a car pulls up, he’s like, are you Nate? I’m like, yep. He’s like, get in. I’m like, you’re like, here it is. Yeah, this is,

David (00:25:16):
This is not preemptive love. This is another organization.

Nate (00:25:19):
No idea. I have no idea. Like, so we’re driving in Iraq and the guy’s like, we’re in the safe zone right now. We’re in the green zone, so everything’s fine here. I was like, okay,

David (00:25:29):
Any way we can get to the nuts safe zone,

Nate (00:25:31):
Literally. And he’s like, we can stay here. We want you to feel comfortable, just like this actor has just come out with millions of followers. We just want to keep them safe. And I was like, no,

(00:25:40):
I’ve come here to serve a purpose. We’re not staying in the green zone guys. So they’re like, okay. So we would leave the Green Zone the way there’s a checkpoint with soldiers, and you go into the wild west of Iraq where ISIS is just still roaming. We would go to recently Liberated Villages. I remember one specifically called Batay where ISIS had just been kicked out maybe a few weeks earlier. There was literally still bodies of ISIS terrorists and you could still see the leftovers of whatever special forces troops in the food that they were eating. There was just all still there. Mosul is like 20 minutes down the road. And I’m walking around and we have one Pesh mega, which is one of the Kurdish fighters with us, and he’s like, don’t step there. That’s an IED. And I was like, okay, just curiously looking you out.

(00:26:28):
Don’t stand on the rooftops. We don’t dunno if there’s still snipers. I’m like, ah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. And I was just like, did not care. Had no concern whatsoever. And during this time we would go to refugee camps and we would meet with many of the Yazidi people who had just been absolutely decimated by isis. I mean they were really targeted as a minority. And if you don’t know about the Yazidi people, they are one of the few people that the world doesn’t talk about. And the atrocities that happened to them watching their families being murdered in front of them, they’re mothers and sisters and daughters being raped by Isis kidnapped. One year Ziti girl was actually kidnapped in Iraq and taken into Gaza, and they only recently got her at the end of last year where she finally escaped. But I’m hearing tragic story after tragic story, after tragic story of these young kids who have seen the worst of the worst of radical Islam, or as I like to call it, practicing Islam.

(00:27:26):
And it just broke my heart even more. I was like, this world is ugly. And we have this whole Western culture over here was completely oblivious to the atrocities and the violence and the sheer evil that’s unfolding in this land where blood is just being spilled daily and no one cares. And I remember walking out into this dusty field in Iraq and just crying out to God saying, take my life. I don’t want it anymore. This world is ugly. I am broken. I don’t care if I win, I lose. I am loved. I’m hated. I don’t care about anything anymore. God take my life. And all I remember is hearing a very, very clear voice. And people always ask me, what does it sound like? Is it like an audible voice? And I was like, no, it’s a whisper to the heart, but you hear it.

(00:28:25):
And God said to me, if you’re that willing to give up your life, give it to me. What’s the difference? And I remember just stopping on this dusty field, looking up and thinking, you’re right, check made. You are absolutely right. What is the difference between you taking my life right now or me handing over everything to you? Everything, every decision I make moving forward, it’s all yours. This life. I have no value. You take it, you. If you see value in this, take it. It’s all yours. I don’t care. And it was almost like saying, whatever you want, God, okay, take it. It’s yours now because right. What’s the difference between me dying in this moment or dying to myself and going here, it’s yours. Do what you want with it. I have no value. And in that moment of time, the strangest thing happened. I felt peace. And I felt peace because the result no longer mattered.

(00:29:29):
And it was just like God was like, look, the result doesn’t matter if I’m loved, if I’m hated, if I win, if I lose, if I’m a actor, if I’m a failed actor, if I continue on the path that I’m going, or if I don’t continue, if I’m homeless, if I’m rich, if I put nothing matters, I’m like, I’m free. I’m free from the result. Whatever you want, God, whatever you want. Now moving forward. And it’s beautiful because it taps into exactly what scripture presents to us in two ways. The first way the God spoke to me, if you go back into the story of Elijah, Elijah has a moment where he defeats the prophets of Baal and he’s on the run from being killed. And he goes to a cave and he says to God, I’m no better than my father’s. Take my life, take it. I’m done. And what does God say? Well, what does God do? God sends an angel, he makes him a meal, and he says, you’ve got another task where he’ll go and ultimately get Elisha who’s going to continue the work that he’s doing.

(00:30:43):
Which I find ironic because at that point I was like, I’m done, God, I’m finished. No more don’t want this life anymore. God’s like, no, I’m not finished with you. I’ve actually got another task for you. So let’s do all this. Take it and think about what Jesus offers when he is talking to his disciples, he talks about, I’m going to give you something that the world cannot give you peace. And the irony of it all is if you go on any social media account, you go searching for any guru or influencer or person that you look up to. Most of the time people are just trying to offer you happiness because they can’t give you peace. And we need peace not in the good time, in the brokenness, in the pain, in the devastation. And yet our Messiah, the one we follow, says, I can give you peace in the brokenness.

(00:31:39):
I can bring redemption in the pain. And so in that moment in time, wow transformed and I just was like, okay, I’m free. I’m free from every single bondage and chain that I put on myself and that the world tried to put on me through my experience. So I went back to America, felt saved, felt like the Christian journey actually maybe finally begun. And I said, I need to know who this God is. I need to know him because I dunno him right now. Yes, I’m a Christian, but I know nothing about the Bible. Yes, I know that Jesus walked on water and he maybe fed 4,000 and 5,000 and he performed some miracles and he said some really, really beautiful things, but I know nothing about him. I don’t know his character and I don’t really understand his nature. So I said, I’m going to read the whole Bible.

(00:32:28):
So locked myself in a room. 28 days go by and I go from cover to cover Genesis all the way to Revelation, read the whole Bible 28 days. And I’m blown away by what I see and what I experience. And I think that’s one of the greatest tragedies of modern day Christians, is the way we consume scripture is so slow and so disconnected that we never actually get a sense of the beauty, the power of God’s word, because we’re so disconnected from it until we just take a little bit like a little breadcrumb, a little breadcrumb. But when you go 28 days to go cover to cover and you invest in the story, you are like, wow, I am serving the king of kings and the creator of the universe. And his story is not only powerful of what he did then, but it’s powerful in what he’s doing now. And now I see it. And the one word that stood out for me was Israel. I thought, I’ve read this whole book and Israel is this apple of your eye, this centerpiece of your story. And it reveals you not only to me, but to the nations and to the people you first chose. And I said, I don’t know anything about Israel. I know nothing about Jews, nothing about Israel. And it’s a modern day state today that we can go and visit. And I thought, this is odd.

(00:33:54):
I call myself a follower of a Jewish messiah, and I believe in the God of Israel and I know nothing about either. So in 2017, I was sitting in church in Atlanta, same voice that was in Iraq, but this time it says a very, very different message. It simply says, go. And I knew exactly where it was telling me to go Israel. And what’s ironic about that is that’s the beginning of Abraham’s story. Yeah, Lele go. And I was like, wow. Now remember, where did my first encounter with God really happen? Iraq, where does Abraham come from?

David (00:34:36):
Whoa,

Nate (00:34:37):
Iraq.

David (00:34:38):
Wow.

Nate (00:34:39):
And so I get rocked. That’s why I said I need to go. I make no plans. I mean, I’ve never been to Israel and I’ve just read my Bible once. I’m not like a biblical scholar or a theologian. I’m like, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I just obediently say yes, I’m going to do it. So I go and doors open, I meet people and unbelievably strange things start happening. What

David (00:35:06):
Year is this?

Nate (00:35:06):
This is 2017. It’s the 8th of May. The very first day I land in Israel. And I remember it because I posted a photo that I put on my Instagram, which is still there today. You can scroll all the way back to 2017, 8th of May, and you’ll see a picture of me looking at a beautiful Mediterranean sunset underneath an aqueduct of the Romans from 2000 years ago. And the caption I talk about this journey begins with a sunset. And Trevor, who was the kid I was with, and I find ourselves on the shores of the Mediterranean, giving thanks to God. And then I put this hashtag, which is so strange, I said, purpose, holy Land tour. I was like, I dunno why I wrote it. I was just at the moment I was like, I know I’m on a mission. God sent me here. Purpose, holy land tour. So I’m looking at this beautiful sunset post this photo, and then life goes on. Now I become obsessed with Israel. First year 2017, I go three times. By the third trip I’m bringing people with me like, you got to see it. It, it’s not enough to read this text. It’s about going and seeing the story with your own eyes, being on the Galilee, walking through the streets of Jerusalem, standing on the Mount of Olives and looking at the city of the Great King and marveling at the fact that one day my Messiah is going to rule and reign from this very location.

(00:36:37):
And I just was obsessed with every single event of the Bible, the valley of elar. I would go to see where David fork go life. And it’s unbelievable. You can just go there and you can see these things and the description that is presented in the Bible matches with the landscape and the geography of today. So you’re like, wow, this is not a made up story. This is not a fictional fairytale that we hear to make us better people. This is a historical real life event of the God of creation, interacting, engaging, and pursuing the hearts of men in a land. So I’m starting to do tours and I’m opening it up and I’m getting 50 Christians coming and I’m just taking ’em through the land and I’m doing all these things. And I would be honest in saying that there was a part of this journey where I was really confused, what am I doing? God? And one of my biggest struggles as a Christian in the midpoint of my journey as I’m learning about Israel is like, am I doing anything for the kingdom of heaven? Am I doing anything? Am I actually adding value to your kingdom God? And am I actually bearing any fruit? I don’t feel like I am. I dunno what I’m doing.

(00:37:55):
And I dunno if there’s any fruit to be barred from the labors of what I’m trying to do to represent you and to be faithful to the promise that I made to you in Iraq. And I remember in Jerusalem, I had this very, very surreal encounter that if Trevor, my friend wasn’t there, he came on one of these trips. I wouldn’t believe it happened. So we’re staying in the old city of Jerusalem, we’re staying in this shaky hotel. They’re not very good in the old city because obviously they’re old and you can’t do much renovations to them. And we decided that we’re going to go down to Beva to meet this Jewish woman who she is very prophetess. She meets you and she starts giving you indications about your life and all this stuff. So we said, let’s go to Behe, let’s meet this woman.

(00:38:42):
It’ll be kind of interesting. But as we’re packing up, we’re at breakfast and this guy walks past the table and he looks at me and he says, Hey, how you doing? And I was like, Hey. And then he just walked off. I was like, it felt like a weird encounter. It was awkward. I dunno why the guy came up to me. I wasn’t really making any indication to chat. So I go back up to my room to grab my bags and get everything together. And this guy comes up the stairs and says, Hey, I need to tell you something. I was like, okay. He’s like, God wants you to know that you are bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven. Whoa. Now I didn’t go, whoa. I was like, first of all, who is this guy? What’s going on? And how does he know that that is my internal struggle at this point in my

Speaker 3 (00:39:32):
Journey?

Nate (00:39:35):
If he had have just said that it would’ve been enough. But then he says, but I want to tell you a story. And I was like, okay. And this is how I’m responding because I’m like, you’re not sold yet. Yeah, I’m not like people always think, yeah, you’re those people that are real spirituals. Then God did this and I was all in. I was like, I’m not that guy. I’m very, very realistic and practical. If you haven’t noticed, you’re becoming more Israeli. Yeah, yeah. So I’m like, okay, tell me the story. And he’s in the gospel of John. Nathaniel is sitting underneath the fig tree and he tells me this random story. And I’m like, now the guy’s just said my name. And the story of Nathaniel is under the fig tree is amazing because it’s like Jesus knew him before Nathaniel knew Jesus. And it was just one of those moments where it was almost like he was telling me, you are providing fruit for the kingdom of heaven and Jesus knows you and he’s proud of you. The guy gives me a hug and then he leaves. And I looked at my friend, I was like,

David (00:40:36):
You see him too?

Nate (00:40:37):
Yeah. Otherwise I’d be like, I don’t do drugs. I don’t drink. So I dunno how this is all

David (00:40:44):
You got a new third thing to add to that quarter

Nate (00:40:47):
Hallucinations. The guy never said his name, never said anything, and he just left. Now, was he an angel? I don’t know. But it really felt like an angelic moment that was just so necessary. We go down to see this Jewish woman who’s like this prophetess woman. She’s lovely. And we were chatting to her and she starts saying, she doesn’t know anything about me. She doesn’t know I’m an actor. She doesn’t know what I’m doing. She knows nothing about me. She’s so off the grid. And she says, there’s something interesting about you. I have this vision about you, Nathaniel. And I was like, okay, same day. This is all happening the same day. Let’s see where this goes. She goes, I see you on a trapeze and I see you moving around going from place to place to place to place. And I also see you digging a little hole here and digging a little hole here and digging a little hole here and digging a little hole here. And then you kind of start looking around going, you’re not making any progress. But what you don’t realize is all these little holes are actually going to turn into wells.

(00:41:40):
And I was like, that’s the second time today someone has reconfirmed my fear of not providing anything for the kingdom of heaven. I was like, this is surreal, but this is what happens when you go to Israel. And I think the reason why this happens is because there’s a piece of scripture where it talks about if you draw near to me, I will draw near to you. And sometimes it’s quite difficult to draw near to God spiritually. So we have to try to do something physically to enact that

David (00:42:11):
Fasting.

Nate (00:42:12):
Yeah, yeah. Things like that where we push the physical into the spiritual. And I think going to Israel with a purpose to understand who Yeshua truly is, one of the boldest and bravest things you can do as a believer to say, I want to draw near to you,

(00:42:27):
Yahweh, the God of Israel. I want to draw near to you. So I’m going to go to the land that you chose and the place where you called your son to spread the message of the gospel so that I could be transformed from the very depths and corners of the earth. So I think there’s something powerful about that. So all these moments are happening as my Christian journey’s going on, and I’m just falling in love with this land, but I’m also learning. And like I’m saying, there’s a period of time where I’m like, I dunno what I’m doing. What is the purpose of knowing so much about the Jewish identity, knowing so much about the lies of the Palestinian narrative, understanding the Bible on a deeper level that’s not really being taught or presented in the Christian Church today, particularly in America.

Speaker 3 (00:43:10):
Why

Nate (00:43:10):
Do I need to know this so much? And then October 7th, 2023 happens, I’m in bed, I’m about to go to sleep in Georgia, and all of a sudden my Instagram feed is flooded with the atrocities, massacres the murders. The worst you could possibly see is Hamas just runs rampant on Southern Israel as 3000 terrorists go to kill, steal, and destroy. And immediately I realize this is a nine 11 moment for the state of Israel and the Jewish people.

(00:43:48):
This is the worst number of casualties and murders since the Holocaust. And it feels like a shift in the spiritual realm. Something has changed. And I was called to action immediately. I went straight downstairs because the first thing I understand about the Palestinian narrative is they’re in the business of lying, but their mask has come off because when they go around killing people in such a violent, demonic, sadistic way, they need to put the mask back on to the western world saying, no, no, we’re the victim. We’re not the aggressor. Even though we start every war and we try and constantly put fear in the hearts of every single Jew and that we don’t want, but we have to pretend to the western world that we’re the innocent ones because we know how you think. And if we play the victim to you, but we’re the violent aggressor to them, we can get away with murder.

(00:44:41):
So I thought I have to speak on this and I have to share with my community and people who follow me on social media, the truth about Israel, the truth about what’s going on, and just tell the stories of the truthful events of October 7th, one of the darkest days in the modern state of Israel, if not the darkest day. And so I’m doing this work and I realize it’s not enough to speak from a distance. I have to go there and I’ve got many friends and people I care about. So I went to Israel and I just went on a mission to share their stories. And a lot of people thought I was crazy. I’m flying into a war zone. In fact, the day we flew into Tel Aviv, I was on an LL flight. There was rockets coming in from Gaza to Tel Aviv. There was a direct hit in Central Tel Aviv. And our flight had to divert and move from its original course because of the rockets. So people think I’m out of my mind, but I know that this is what God has called me to do because there’s very few Christians who have spent as much time in the land of Israel as I have, but also very few Christians who are willing to say the things that are going to cost them everything.

David (00:45:48):
Can I also say you probably have spent more time with Israelis?

Nate (00:45:50):
Yes.

David (00:45:51):
There’s a lot of Christians that do tours.

Nate (00:45:53):
Yeah, they do the tours and they see the holy sites. I’ve actually really, I mean, I know them like their family. I do Shabbat meals with them. I go into their synagogues and I spend time with them in all places. And I do really have a deep and profound relationship with many, many Israeli, and they’re an incredible misunderstood people.

(00:46:15):
So this really kind of drove me on that mission for the last two years. But something interesting happened in 2024, the Israeli government had reached out to me because I had just been going all in on this. I mean, I was doing sleepless nights, 17 hour days interviewing survivors from the Nova Festival, people who survived the kibbutz, who were holding their safe room doors as Hamas was shooting through and firing up all their hands, hearing the stories of the rape and the murder and young kids hiding in bomb shelters where Hamas was just freely throwing in grenades to kill as many as they could. And I’m meeting the people who survived purely because they had so many dead bodies on top of them. The grenades couldn’t get them

Speaker 3 (00:47:00):
Anymore.

Nate (00:47:01):
And I’m hearing the worst of the worst. I mean, I’m talking the most tragic stories that just break your heart. So every day I’m crying and I’m weeping and I’m trying to mourn and give comfort to a people who feel so alone. And so the government reaches out to me and said, we are first of all, in shock and amazed at the efforts that you’ve done as a nonis Israeli and a non-Jewish person. So we would actually like to offer you an opportunity to be a torch bearer on our Independence Day, which was happening in May in 2024, May 14th, May 8th, May 8th. Why

David (00:47:39):
Was it May 8th?

Nate (00:47:39):
We had to pre-record because of the threat of Hamas or

David (00:47:44):
Doing something on a big,

Nate (00:47:44):
Doing something on the big stay. And here’s the funny thing about the prerecord. So I go up and do this event. I’m the first nonis Israeli, non-Jewish person in Israel’s history to light the torch on the independent state. So you either have to be Jewish or Israeli. There’s no in between. And I’m neither. So they said to me, we’re breaking our rules for you. You are an exception. And we wouldn’t do this again. It’s just what you’ve done for Israel, for the Jewish people and the love and compassion you’ve shown for us unconditionally. This is the best way we can. Thank you. So I light the torch on independent stay. They choose 12 groups, so 12 people to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. And I’m lighting this torch. And because of the war, it had to be a prerecord because it was too risky to do it on the actual Independence Day because that’s a perfect time to attack

David (00:48:34):
With

Nate (00:48:35):
Very, very significant, which that’s

David (00:48:36):
Happened before

Nate (00:48:37):
Young people war. Yeah. Stuff like that. But here’s what’s amazing. I like this torch. I know this is a monumental moment. I mean, to be the first person in their history, it’s like, well, no one could beat me on this one. Right? That’s great. You can come second, but you’re not going to ever come first.

(00:48:51):
And so I’m on this cab ride home from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv, and I’m just thinking like, wow, look what you’ve done. God, you took someone who knew nothing about you, nothing about your land, and nothing about the people that you have chosen to tell your story of redemption, salvation, and love. And you took me on a journey for several years to be put in a place of honor. And I thought, wow, it’s been seven years. I was like, well, 2017, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. That’s seven years. And I was like, wait a second. When did I first come to Israel? And so I went back to my Instagram and I scrolled and I found that picture, the picture that says Purpose, holy landour. And I looked at the date 8th of May, 2017. So it was seven years to the day that I first came to Israel to be given the highest honor you can receive in all of Israel as a Nonis Israeli and as a non-Jew. And I remember in the cab, I had tears of joy rolling down my face because to the person who doesn’t believe, it’s like, ah, maybe coincidence to the person who believes and understands the value of the number seven in God’s economy. I’m going to start something, but I’m going to finish it.

(00:50:30):
And God completed something with me. But you have to remember where it starts. It starts with the kid in Iraq saying, I’m done. I don’t want it anymore. Take my life. There’s no value in this. Okay, you have it. And look what he does with it. And so that became such a powerful message to me as a believer, because I think so often we go through this journey and we’re like, what am I doing? What am I doing? But if God has a plan for your life and you have the most important ingredient and probably the only ingredient that you actually need, which is obedience, you will be shocked and amazed at the picture and the story he’ll create through your life, which will impact other lives. And you are only adding to the glory of his kingdom. And so for me, I stopped and I thought, if you could take me on a journey for seven years and I had no idea what you were doing, and you could do this just because of my obedience, what could you do? Now I understand you even more with another seven years of obedience. What could you do with my life from now for another seven years? Now I understand how you work

(00:51:50):
Because I’m not walking by side. I’m walking by faith. And now it’s almost like God showed me and it takes me back to Job. Because when you look at Job’s story, you’re like, why did he suffer? We never get the answer. And we know that Job was righteous and blameless according to the story in the Tenna. But the beautiful thing about Job’s story is we go through everyone’s opinion about why job is suffering. And then God speaks. And in chapter 38, God comes in and he doesn’t give the answer. He just declares who he is to Job. And Job says the most beautiful thing. At the end of the Book of Job, he says, my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes see you. And it was the suffering that brought out the glory of who God is. It was the suffering of Job that allowed us insight into the character and nature of God. My suffering only portrayed the beauty of my God in such a compelling, vivid way had it not been for all those events. Wow. I wonder where I would’ve been. Yeah,

David (00:53:13):
Man,

Nate (00:53:14):
It’s an interesting story.

David (00:53:17):
Interesting story.

Nate (00:53:18):
Yeah.

David (00:53:18):
And what could, you said, what could God do with another seven years if I am completely sold out and

Speaker 3 (00:53:27):
Obedient?

David (00:53:29):
What could God do if the church was completely sold out and obedient?

Nate (00:53:35):
If the church was completely sold out and obedient? The very atmosphere of this world will change. And we have an opportunity. We have a great opportunity every single day to do that as the church. But the one thing that’s lacking in the church, which was lacking in my story for the first several years of my Christian journey, was a lack of knowledge and understanding of God’s word. You are useless in God’s kingdom if you dunno His word. Why? Because you dunno what he’s doing, you dunno what he cares about. And you don’t understand what to avoid, what to prepare yourself for, but ultimately where God is going, where his heart is. Where his heart is. That’s why I’m always shocked and confused at Christians today who don’t care about Israel. I’m like, you’re telling me you’ve read through this whole book and Israel’s repeated over and over again including Revelation

David (00:54:40):
New Testament

Nate (00:54:41):
As well. Yeah. And you don’t think it’s relevant. I’m like, I’m sorry, but Jesus is not showing up to Mississippi. He’s showing up to the Mount of Olives and he’s coming to reclaim his kingdom, his people. And the only people who are really going to be there with him in that moment are the believers who have already signed up now who said, my eyes are fixated on Jerusalem.

(00:55:09):
And I guess that’s the irony of it all, isn’t it? We take scripture and we hijack it and we make it fit into our lives and our system of thought and what we want from scripture, we do that over and over again. Not a weapon formed against me will prosper. How many Christians have claimed that? How many Christians are going to claim that today? Oh, I’m going into an office where people are hostile or Christianity but not a weapon formed against me will prosper. Great. Hold that, that’s beautiful. But what about when the book of Psalm says, if I forget Jerusalem, let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth and let my right hand stop working. Why don’t you use that one? Oh, because I don’t really, Jerusalem’s not that important for me. Oh, okay. So we’re picking and choosing scripture now. And so I think that’s the real problem. I want to have a heart for what God has a heart for because that tells me that not only I read my Bible, but I understood the assignment. And so I think all Christians, if you are not postured to towards a belief in what God is doing with Israel, I dunno what to say to you. You probably haven’t read your Bible or you’ve been led so far astray that the enemy has you in his pocket.

(00:56:25):
Because I can tell you one thing, the devil hates Israel and we can see that in our world today. And the narrow road is proven by the opposition you’ll face when you walk it post about your support of Israel online. And you will see demons manifest quickly and you’ll see everybody has an opinion about Israel and most of the time it’s negative. But remember what Jesus says, if you are of the world, the world would love you because you’re one of their own, but you are not of the world. You belong to me. And so that’s really where it becomes important for me as a believer in 2026 because I think I shouldn’t be the only person in the Christian world on social media that is taking a bold and strong stands for Israel. Not because they’re better, not because they were chosen, but because they are the will of God to be redeemed. I was reading Isaiah 41 on the plane trip over from Georgia to Dallas and I’m just reading through how God declares that he has chosen Israel, not rejected it. And he goes through how he’s going to be their redeemer, the holy one of Israel, that he’s going to help them, the men of Israel. He goes, I am going to help you do not be afraid. And I just remember closing the Bible and wondering how did Christians read that today? How do we let go of this piece of scripture or how would you as a Christian hijack that verse and make it about you when it’s clearly about Israel

(00:58:01):
And I lose nothing by supporting God’s will I only gain. So really the last several years has just made me realize that I think this period of my life post two years of standing with the Jewish people and Israel collective, I need to go back to the Christian Church and to actually remind them of the basic understanding of scripture, which is we are grafted in to their story. And my belief is anchored to the fact that just as Paul says, all of Israel will be saved. I mean Paul says, if I could have my brothers accept the gospel, I would accept being cursed. That’s how much Paul’s heart was for his people.

David (00:58:51):
It’d be like modern day saying, I’d rather go to hell if it meant,

Nate (00:58:53):
Yeah, if it means that Israel is saved, put me in hell. But what Christian would say that. And so that’s the kind of tragedy is we are not the main character in the story. And if you have a problem with what I just said, then I’ve just revealed to you that you never understood Christianity

David (00:59:13):
And our problems. Now with you, it’s with the word.

Nate (00:59:16):
Yeah. Because remember, when you truly understand Christianity, you realize the story is not about me, it’s about him, and it’s about them always, whoever the them is. If it’s Israel, if it’s pulling Muslims out of the demonic religious system of Islam, if it’s the atheist, it’s always about them. But God has a very, very clear and defined prophecy and purpose for Israel that cannot be broken. And so my question to Christians is really simple. Very often tell me what you think about Israel. And I’ll tell you if you’ve understood the Bible and if someone’s getting triggered by this or the podcast, that’s good. The David’s inside of you and not happy like, oh no, not Israel,

David (01:00:11):
The former director of Israel or Center for Israel here at Gateway, he calls it the Israel test. And it basically aligns where someone is at with the word of God.

Nate (01:00:22):
Yeah, it’s a great test. And they’re the only people in the world today that are both an ethnicity and a belief system. So they’re unique whether we like it or not. And God said that there were always going to be a people that were set apart always. They were never going to fit in with the world. And ironically, they don’t. No matter where they go, whether they’re in dysphoria or they’re in their home, they never fit in with the world because it was God’s plan. And for me as a believer in a Jewish messiah and the God of Israel, I only have one job. And Paul makes it really clear. He goes, if you want to help the Jew make ’em jealous, how do I make a Jew jealous by loving their God with everything I have to the point where they’re like, wow, you love my God more than I do. And it’s so simple because it goes back to this fundamental idea. I’m just going to be obedient to God’s will. I think another great example of what I’m talking about is with Peter and Yeshua when he goes to Esea Philippi and the whole event leading up to Caesarea Philippi is really, really important. He takes his disciples all the way to Caesarea Philippi to ask him a simple question, who do people say that I am?

(01:01:45):
What’s the public opinion about me, Jesus of Nazareth

David (01:01:49):
As we stand behind all the pagan

Nate (01:01:51):
Behind the titles, pagan the heartbeat of the godless gentile world of the time also. Yeah, the gate of Hell. But more than that, where sacrifices were unfolding and where the curse of man, according to the book of Enoch really begun where the nephi and fell and corrupted men. So he goes to the ground zero of the conflict for the battle, for the hearts and souls of woman and man and he makes a declaration there. But what’s interesting is it’ll be Peter who says that you are the son of the living God, which is really important because remember when David fights Goliath on the battle in the valley of Eila, David says, you’ve marked the living God. And so today he says, you are going to die because you’ve mocked the living God. And Peter makes a declaration that he’s the son of the living God. You see, David came in the name of the God of Israel, the living God, and we’re coming in the name of the God of Israel’s son, Yeshua, right to send a very valuable message to the world that God rules God reigns and his victory over sin and death has been conquered. But Peter’s all for that, that you are the son of the living God. But when Jesus tells him, now I’m going to go to Jerusalem to ultimately be killed, Peter says, no, we’re not having it. And that’s where Jesus will say to Peter, get behind me Satan. So he goes from a plus on the test

(01:03:22):
To an F. Now what’s the difference? Yes, you are the son of the living God, but when he says you’re not going to Jerusalem to die. Now Peter wants what Peter wants, which is to keep Yeshua Jesus with him, but that’s not God’s will. So if I take that logic and I say, what is God’s will for Israel? Is it to be replaced? Surely not. Is it to be canceled out? Absolutely not. Is it to oppose? That’s Satan’s work. All I have to do is make sure that I’m in complete alignment with what the will of the father is. And if I do that, I can’t lose. I can’t fail. Now, when I read this book, the Will of the Father is to bring Israel into relationship. But here’s the other beautiful thing. Well, why haven’t they come into relationship already? How the story finishes and it’s always interesting. It’s like he who’ll be first will be last. He who’ll be last will be first. Okay? We weren’t introduced to the God of Israel at Mount Sinai, but we got in first because we’re like, I got nothing else. I live in a pagan world and I’ll accept this Messiah because I can see he’s the only thing that has life as an available offering.

(01:04:35):
Yet the Jewish people were first to receive revelation and yet they’ll be the last ones to come in. It makes sense. This is God’s story.

Speaker 3 (01:04:42):
If

Nate (01:04:42):
You understand how he tell stories, this makes complete sense. But now I want you to think of it like this. As a believer, what a gift I have. I get to watch a love story. I get to watch the God of Israel, bring Israel back into a relationship where they will come face to face with the Messiah who also happens to be the risen Jesus. Wow, what a gift and a privilege. They were given the gift of being the chosen people, elected by God to bring in the law. I get gift of watching the law of love unfold and consume them in the final day where they see and come face to face with what love really looks like. What a gift. But I’m missing it if I’m not focused on Israel and I’m not focused on what’s happening, I miss the whole love story.

Speaker 3 (01:05:35):
It’s

Nate (01:05:35):
Like I went to see a movie, but I put my back to the wall and just put my head into the popcorn or something. We as Christians have such a gift and we have such a responsibility to make the path straight, to be a voice in the wilderness, calling out the people saying he is coming. We’re preparing the way. Once again, just as John the Baptist was preparing the way for the first visitation,

David (01:05:59):
That’s the kind of vision that I hope people hear and say, I want to be part of that story, that journey. I know we’re running out of time for this episode, but I know we have another one, so we’re going to talk more specifics.

Nate (01:06:12):
But

David (01:06:12):
I’d love for you to end. I’m going to kind of throw a challenge your way. Something that I’ve noticed a lot of Christians, I know you noticed this too. They have replacement theology just kind of hardwired in. They don’t even realize it most of the time. I think most Christians on the ground level in the Western church, anti jw, it might be trending in an upward trajectory, but most that I come across, they just think, I thought that’s what the Bible taught. I thought Old Testament was about Israel, but New Testament, the church replaced Israel. And one of the ways it comes out is in the gospel pitch, you’ll hear Adam and Eve in the garden, everything was perfect, but they made the wrong decision. So sin came into the earth, but then God sent Jesus and Jesus died for our sins. And I’m like, you left out the whole story of God choosing a people, making a covenant with them through that covenant. So I would love for you to just share with us when you think of what is the gospel, what is the message? Because so many, it’s just perfection. Garden sin Jesus. Now we can go to heaven. I would put it like this.

Nate (01:07:27):
The gospel is, the Bible is this promise made, promise kept. And if you look at it like that, it’s promise made, promise kept. God is going to keep every single promise he made. But there’s a problem because there is a lot of promises made in the Old Testament that have not yet been fulfilled. And we have this attitude, and I guess one of the problems with the way we’ve titled these books is we call it old and new and our mind instantly goes old, done, finished,

David (01:08:03):
Obsolete, old phone.

Nate (01:08:04):
Yep,

David (01:08:04):
Get rid of

Nate (01:08:05):
It new. It’s all I need. It’s the update. And so I think that’s one of the biggest problems that we have as Christians today. Hypothetically, let’s just say if I only ever got given the Old Testament, what would be my conclusion about Israel from just the Old Testament? What would be your conclusion? God’s going to reject Israel. They’re done, finished. Would you ever come to any conclusion where God says, I’m just finished with Israel. If you just read the Old Testament?

David (01:08:35):
No.

Nate (01:08:36):
What would be your conclusion if you just read

David (01:08:37):
The Old Testament, that they’re his chosen people and that’s the land that he promised them that they might mess up and they might have consequences, but he’s always going to bring them back. He’s

Nate (01:08:50):
Going to finish what he

David (01:08:50):
Started.

Nate (01:08:53):
So I don’t understand in the New Testament where we get this idea where that’s finished. Because if I get to the end of the Old Testament, I’m like, man, God has got some unfinished business with Israel and he’s going to do it because all I hear from him is this is a declaration of Adonai, it will be done. I am the first and the I’m the first and the last. Where does this come from? This comes from Isaiah 40. We see it in Revelation and we’re saying, oh, but those two worlds aren’t connected. No, what God is saying when he’s saying to Israel, I’m the first in laughs. I am your redeemer. I’m going to restore you. I’m going to help

Speaker 3 (01:09:35):
You.

Nate (01:09:35):
Jacob, my servant, Abraham, my friend, he’s basically saying, I made the promise. I’ll keep the promise. Alpha Omega promise made, promise kept. And so I find that I often don’t even need when I’m sharing the gospel with Jewish believers, I don’t need the New Testament. I can show it in the old why. Because every single thing that Jesus did in the New Testament was pointing them to something that was written for, told or prophesied about in the

Speaker 3 (01:10:09):
Old.

Nate (01:10:10):
But I got to show ’em the old, I got to show them the promise so they can understand the promise kept,

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
But

Nate (01:10:15):
There’s so much more that’s going to happen. There’s so much more that needs to happen. I mean, Zacharia 12 is a great example where God talks about end times and he says, all the nations are going to rise up against Jerusalem and Judah. And he says that Jerusalem is going to be like this heavy burden for the nations. That sounds like today because no one knows what to do with Jerusalem because oh, well, there’s these people called the Palestinians and they want Jerusalem. But then there’s also these ancestral indigenous people. We won’t call ’em that. We’ll call ’em colonizers instead they want Jerusalem as well. This is a problem. And so the Bible’s coming to life right now, but here’s what’s interesting about Zechariah 12, which I think ruins the replacement theology and ruins the anti-Israel crowd. Within Christianity, God fights their battle. God gives the Jewish people strength to conquer all their enemies. And then he says, I’m going to pour out my spirit of grace and supplication on the house of David and on Judah, right, the Jewish identity. And that’s when you’re going to see me, the one whom you pierced. Now that hasn’t happened yet.

(01:11:24):
I don’t know if, correct me if I’m wrong, but the Jerusalem and Judah have not seen the one whom they pierced yet, come down on the Mount of Olives and show ’em and they’re gone and walked off and weeping, which tells me that’s not done. And God talks about this is going to happen. But what’s interesting is that all the nations are going to rise up against Jerusalem and Judah. That’s modern day Israel. What are we seeing right now? Every single nation has a problem with the Jew. Now if you’ve just read that, what side should I be on?

David (01:11:54):
Yeah, totally.

Nate (01:11:55):
I’m picking God’s side. I’m not picking the side of the nations

David (01:11:59):
Because you keep reading. You see what happens to the nations that attack Israel.

Nate (01:12:02):
Psalm too. Why do the nations conspire and plan to oppose me and my anointed one

(01:12:12):
And let us rip off our chains? Let’s rip off their chains from us. Well, doesn’t that sound funny because all I keep hearing is the conspiracy theories online. The Jews control everything. They control us and we’re slaves to the Jews and dah, dah, dah. Wow. You are just repeating the conspiracy theory of Psalm two. And you know what God does? He laughs because he appointed his son to be his king in Zion. Oh, God’s a Zionist. Lot of problems in your Bible if you’re going to be anti-Israel, lot of problems. And if you do have a problem with Israel, I do have a solution for you. It’s called Islam because that is the most anti-God, anti Jew, anti Messiah message that you can follow and you can do it easily. That’s your wheelhouse. If you have a problem with God’s covenantal relationship with Israel, Islam your path.

(01:13:06):
But I have a problem for you. Islam’s not the true religion and God’s going to destroy any false religion when the Messiah returns. One more thing I’ll say as one more point of reference for the believer. This is why it’s so, so important to read, understand, and enjoy what the Old Testament presents. Moses says that his love for Israel, that God’s love for Israel, right? His covenantal love is going to be for a thousand generations. So he says the word or the idea is hesed, which is a faithful love. He says, thousand generations is the love of your God. Now, let’s do the math. If one generation is 40 years, generally that’s 40,000 years of faithfulness, 40,000. The Jewish story has only been around for about 5,792 years. That tells me I have another 34,000 years before God’s faithfulness starts to run out. 34,000 years.

David (01:14:11):
Yeah, we’re not close.

Nate (01:14:12):
We’re not even close. Which tells me if you’ve read this scripture, which I’m sure some of you have, it’s Deuteronomy, it’s not Leviticus, so you didn’t struggle through it, maybe what do you do with that? Are you going to say that’s not true? It’s not accurate, it’s not inspired. Moses is not. No. Well, Moses didn’t really understand. No, you are stuck. That’s the beautiful thing I think about being a true follower of God’s word. You don’t have an opinion anymore. You have a choice. I accept what God is doing even when I can’t see it and can’t fully understand it, but I believe it because he’s pretty clear. God doesn’t beat around the bush on a lot of things. He’s straight to the point on certain things. You’re like, okay, I got to take it or leave that one.

(01:14:54):
And that’s the dilemma for the believer. The reestablishment of Israel is one of the most and profound and amazing modern day miracles. And I’ll tell you why. 1948. Now the obvious question. This is the question that the book of Isaiah will ask, and God’s playing with our minds. Can a nation be born in a day? Obvious answer? No. A nation cannot be born in a day. And here’s what’s beautiful. Can people be brought forth in one moment, right? In one moment, but then all of a sudden, 14th of May, 1948, the impossible happened. Israel, the Jewish identity declared independence for the first time after thousands and thousands and thousands or thousands and thousands of years of exile.

(01:15:47):
And you’re like, wow, that’s a miracle. And all the replacement theology, people were like, this is not supposed to happen, but here’s what’s beautiful, 1948. It’s just a number. Or is it the boring genealogies that we have in our Bible that most people go, okay, I can go to the next page or whatever. The genealogies so often are there for moments like this. If you go from Adam all the way to Abraham and you do the math because it gives us the number of years from when they were born and dah, dah, dah. If you do the math from Adam to the birth of Abraham, it’s 1,948.

David (01:16:29):
No.

Nate (01:16:30):
Yes. 1,948. Now, why is that important? Because in 1948, the God of creation and the God of Israel is making a very clear declaration to his people. My covenant to Abraham still stands and to the nations. Do not think for a second, I’m going to break my promise to Israel. They’re back, just as I said, just as I promised. Now, here’s the beautiful thing. Abraham is born and Israel is reborn in 1948. Born again. Is that an important Christian born again? And this is the beauty and the wonder of God and the way he tells his story. Israel is born again just as we are born again, and there’s a purpose. God brought me out of the darkness and he gave me life. I have purpose. And the rebirth of Israel has a very, very clear purpose. We are going to see the glory of God in the land of the living, and we’re getting closer and closer.

David (01:17:41):
Well, I asked you to hit us with the gospel. That’s the gospel. Yeah. Amen. Well, thank you so much for telling us your story.

Nate (01:17:50):
Yeah,

David (01:17:50):
It’s a long one. Sorry for No, no, don’t apologize because not only did we get to hear your story, but then we got to hear where God connected that story and what he was doing in the background. And if nothing else, people listening who maybe are in the same season that you were in Iraq, wondering what’s the reason for all this? I’m done with all this, that God had a tapestry going. He was weaving things together that you didn’t even know was happening until you look back.

Nate (01:18:19):
Totally. And it’s again, it goes directly back to scripture. The one who tries to gain his life will lose it, and the one who’s willing to lose his life will gain it. And that true surrender, sometimes it’s a, people come to me often because of the position I’m in and the influence I have, and they say, I’m struggling with suicide or I don’t want to live anymore, and I have a strange response to them now. I’m like, that’s great. Good. You are the best position you could ever possibly be because if what you’re saying is true, the result doesn’t matter anymore because you’re ready to give it up. So give it to him. Give him everything and see what he does with it. Yeah. What’s the downside? Yeah. Otherwise you’re lying to me about your, if it’s true and you really don’t care about your life, then you have no problem handing it over to

David (01:19:13):
Him. Wow. Well, thank you for coming. Thank you. And we’ll have you back for

Nate (01:19:20):
Next episode until next time. We can talk about some miracles that happened over the last two years, which will be interesting.

David (01:19:26):
That’s a teaser for you. Well, that’s all the time we have for this episode, but if you want to follow Nathaniel at Nate Buzz, is there anything else that they can find you through?

Nate (01:19:37):
Yeah, well, Nate Buzz, but I’m also going to be doing a tour in November through the Holy Land, which will be coming up on my Instagram. It’ll be on my links in my bio. So if you actually want to experience the land for the first time. And is there a website Just on my Instagram and there will be a [email protected].

David (01:19:53):
Okay. Palm sundays co.com and we will see you next time on the Covenant Conflict. Have a great rest of your day.