Sid Roth - I Saw Angels and Demons Fighting Over My Soul
Sid Roth: Welcome, Holy Spirit, go and flow. Both Dr. Mina and Yvon Attia were born and raised in Egypt and they understand Middle Eastern culture. This opens a depth few of us here in the West have, they operate in significant miracles. Tell me one, Yvon.
Yvon Attia: Yeah. Sid, one of my favorite ones is when we started our ministry, we had this man and his eyes, he had a problem with his eyes, and it was literally popping out. It was loose, the optic nerve was loose, and so we prayed for him, Mina prayed for him. Nothing happened when we prayed for him. Three days go by and he wakes up in the morning, his eyes went back to its place and his sight was restored.
Mina Attia: He came to the meeting for revival, he heard those people who lost their mind are doing revival meetings and claiming that Jesus heals now. When he saw himself washing his face on the third day, he collapsed and he came to the studio and he testified to the Lord and said, "This was my situation before, and this is my situation now". But that led him to believe in Yeshua the Messiah.
Sid Roth: Yvon, you were devoted to Jesus, but you still felt empty.
Yvon Attia: Yeah.
Sid Roth: Explain.
Yvon Attia: Yeah. So Sid, we... I was born in Egypt, as you said. I left Egypt at the age of eight after radical Muslims killed my uncle because of his faith. So then we migrated to Australia and I became born again at the age of 15. Later on, I married Mina, who was a very radical Orthodox man, groomed to be an Orthodox priest. So I found myself rooted in religion, having to confess to a priest. Years go by and I just am so hungry for the Lord. Hunger hit me, Sid, I didn't know what to do with this hunger. And so I'm speaking to Mina about heaven and salvation, and I found out that he loved the Lord, but he didn't have that assurance of, yes, I'm going to heaven. So I thought, I'm going to go and I'm going to try and convince my husband. Little did I know Sid, that I was powerless. I had no power. I felt emptiness. Years go by and I did not know what to do. I was praying for my husband, but then even reading the Bible and the Book of Acts, thinking, what are all these miracles? Do they happen today? Until one day a friend walked into that Orthodox church, and I always say, I felt I was in a prison, but God came to me in my prison! And she said this to me, Sid, I said to her, "Can you help me pray for Mina"? She looked at me in the eye and said, "No, I'm going to pray for you. You need to be filled in the Holy Spirit". I never heard of anything like that. So I was angry at the start and I said, "I am a believer. The Holy Spirit lives in me. What are you talking about"? I was so convicted. I ran to a Christian bookstore and I said to the person working there, "Is there a book called Being Baptized in the Spirit"? I grabbed the book. I had to hide it from Mina, right, because it was already hard enough to talk about being born again. And so for three weeks in my car without Mina knowing, I would sit and read one chapter, crying every day, saying, "When will this ever happen to me? It's difficult enough to pray for Mina. Now, I've got to pray for this"? Until I was reading John 7:37, "If you thirst, come to me and drink, and if you drink, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water". And as I said, I was filled with the Holy Spirit. In my car, I started praying in tongues and it was over
Sid Roth: No, it just began.
Yvon Attia: Just began...
Mina Attia: Okay.
Sid Roth: Okay. Mina was a skeptic until he had an out-of-body experience. I mean, Mina was a professional, a doctor, a pharmacist. What happened?
Mina Attia: Well, I mean, Sid, this was an appointed divine time. I'm reading my Bible as I normally did, as a devout, religious Orthodox head deacon in the church. And I'm reading out of Psalms, and I open the first Psalm and I say, okay, I know the first Psalm, I'm reading the second one, and He says, "You are my son, today, I have begotten you, ask Me and I shall give you the nations". And the words of the Bible just leapt out of the page and I begin to weep. I'm going to find something else to read in the Bible. So I turn to the book of Jeremiah and He says, "You are mine. I have called you from the womb. I have consecrated you, do not be ashamed, but speak out". And I'm thinking, what is happening to me? Until Yvon invites her friend to the house the same day. And now they begin to pray, and then I get taken away into this experience. I see myself sitting on the couch and then I'm out of my body and I think I'm dead. I think that's it. It's all over. This is what people experience when they pass away and then they get terrified. They leave me alone. And then the Spirit of God begins to speak to me. And He says, "I will speak to you like I spoke to Abraham. I will lead you. You will leave your place, your people, your nation, and I will lead you, the way". And I'm thinking, I must have gone insane. I see the fight over my spirit, over my soul, and I see the demonic and I see the angelic. And the demonic is saying, "You have lost your mind, you need to stop right now". And I hear the whisper of God in my ears saying, "No, I am revisiting you again. Today, I have begotten you. You are my son in whom I'm pleased". I'm thinking, who am I that God will speak to me, and what does this mean? And what will happen after that? Minutes after, there's the Spirit of God and I start, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm thinking, "What is this"? He says, "This is the beginning," as you just said, of the journey in the Spirit. And then it just began. We opened our home. We started to have prayer meetings every single day. They get baptized in the Spirit. We baptize them in our pool, they become disciples, and then they get to be used by God in a supernatural way.
Sid Roth: Mina says, after this out-of-body experience his understanding of the teachings of Jesus completely changed. What happened?
Mina Attia: He had to wipe the old away. All the traditional teachings, all the things that I thought...
Sid Roth: A lifetime of study.
Mina Attia: Thirty-three years. I used to teach the Coptic language and the hymns of the church. And one day I'm praying and God shows me a keyboard. And he says, "Alt, control. delete. I am deleting everything that you know about Me. I want to start fresh. Would you take that challenge"? And I said, "Yes, Lord". So I locked myself, up for six months, I sent an email to all my managers and said, "I don't know where I'm going, when I'm going to come back, if you need anything, seek some other alternative because I am in the presence of God". And I just begin to read the Bible, have a notepad next to me, and the Spirit of God will give me so much download that I'm just writing and weeping. The Word of God is alive and is able to transform us.
Sid Roth: Yvon, you prayed, you believed to a degree that something good would happen. Did you have any idea this would happen to your husband?
Yvon Attia: Sid, absolutely no idea. My greatest dream in life was for Mina to be saved or to just say that I have assurance of going to heaven. But I did not know that the Holy Spirit was setting me up. I did not know that I needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and so did Mina. And I remember this, Sid, this was 13 years into our marriage. And I remember that we both flew away to an island and we stayed on the island for seven days. And on the island, they basically said to us, "Where do you want to explore? Do you want to go to new places"? And we said, "No, no, no. We are not here to explore. We are here to lock up ourselves in the room and catch up on 13 years of praying in the Spirit". Because we realized we've been married for 13 years in the flesh, but we have not caught up in the dimension of the Spirit. And this is where ministry was birthed, where for one whole week Sid, we held hands from the morning to night. And it was... that was it! And they thought these guys are crazy. But this was the beginning of where the ministry was birthed. God opening us up even to the Middle Eastern perspective that we're going to be speaking about, even the importance of being baptized in the Spirit, hearing God's voice, operating in miracles. This is for every believer and we're shocked. We're looking at each other and saying, "Did we even thought we were Christians"? We were far away from home. We were religious. But now it's a different story.
Sid Roth: Now, Mina and Yvon were shocked to learn Yeshua's teachings had a different impact in the Western world, Many are missing the full revelation and life-changing power of these teachings. Be right back.
Sid Roth: Yvon says, when we understand what Jesus taught, we will find hidden truths that were long forgotten. Explain.
Yvon Attia: Yeah. So, Sid, God doesn't waste anything. We were born in Egypt and we learned a lot of Middle Eastern traditions. When we read the Bible, we are radically impacted, yet when someone else that's living in the Western world reads the same text, they are not as impacted. One of the biggest reasons why is that culture is hidden. And when we understand the culture of the day, the text comes alive. Let me pick on Bartimaeus's history a bit. He meets Bartimaeus, and we know the story. He is blind, he cries out, Jesus stops. But Jesus asks him a radical question that doesn't make sense. "What can I do for you"? What do you mean? The man's blind. He's crying out, isn't it obvious? What a lot of people would be shocked to know, begging in Middle Eastern tradition is a recognized profession. Everyone needs to be pious towards God. So what beggars do is they say, "We are giving you an opportunity to fulfill your God-giving duty". So beggars are not like western beggars. Western beggars will tell you, "Give me a buck for a coffee". Middle Eastern beggars are not like that. They will sit in a public place, they'll put up their hand and they will not tell you, "Give me". They will say, "Give to God". And when you pause and you give to God, they'll stand up and they'll announce a blessing over you and your family. Now, for any recognized profession, you need qualifications. To be a qualified successful beggar, you need to have a physical disability. If you have one arm missing, you still can get a job. No one's going to give you any money. If you have two arms missing, you get more money because people can see. Bartimaeus has the highest qualification as a beggar. We call him the one with the doctoral program because the man is blind! In other words, Sid, he is getting daily, solid income. Jesus is saying to him, "Are you that desperate for your healing? Do you want your healing more than anything else this world has to offer"? And so when we put it in perspective, Bartimaeus cries even more and says to him, "I know what I want. I want to be healed". And there's a key for healing, Sid, that desperation. And Jesus said to him, "There you go. Receive your sight". When we say that in context if you are sick in your body, come to Jesus with that cry. It doesn't matter what I'm going to lose, but I still want to be healed. So this is just a glimpse into Middle Eastern culture versus Western culture.
Sid Roth: Now, I understand your favorite story.
Yvon Attia: Yes.
Sid Roth: Is the woman with the alabaster jar. Why?
Yvon Attia: Okay, she is my absolute favorite. As a prostitute, she was known to be an immoral woman in the city.
Sid Roth: Of course.
Yvon Attia: The law of Moses did not offer forgiveness of sins for her because for you to receive forgiveness of sins, three things need to happen. Number one, you need to have a contrite heart. You can say, I have it. She needs to confess her sins in public. She could say, I can do that. But the third one, she cannot meet that. You need to offer compensation. She's a prostitute. If she goes to the temple and she says, "I want to be forgiven of my sins," they will tell her it's not available. You will live as a sinner and die as a sinner. But she would've heard for the love of Jesus given to sinners, she would've already received His forgiveness. So this is the biggest thing, Sid, so many Westerners will preach the story this way. They will say, "Yvon, she came into the house of Simon as a sinful woman trying to earn her forgiveness". No, she didn't. She came into the house of Simon as a forgiven woman coming to give her gratitude. But what she felt in the house was crazy. Simon omitted all Middle Eastern courtesies. See, we don't understand that but in the Middle East, if I was to invite you over to my house, first of all, I need to give you a kiss. But if you're a Rabbi, I've got to kiss the hand. She kissed Jesus's feet. I need to give you water for the washing of the feet. Simon didn't do that. I want to give you oil for the washing of the face, olive oil, that's available in every Jewish home. He did not do that. He brought in Jesus to publicly, humiliate the young Rabbi that is emerging and to give Him a lesson, He should not be hanging around sinners. She comes in, she interrupts the whole scene because of her love. She's watching Jesus be so dishonored and she begins to cry. She is thinking, He is the One that changed my life. He gave me a new chance, and how can He be so dishonored? So what does she do? She cries, she kisses His feet, and she uncovers her hair! A bride will only uncover her hair on the day of her wedding for her husband.
Sid Roth: Hmm.
Yvon Attia: She is declaring loyalty to Jesus in front of everyone. And she does not care what they say about her. Simon is judging, and Simon's saying, "How can this scene proceed in my house"? And Jesus, here comes the radical love. Jesus had three options, Sid, number one, He could have apologized saying, "I am so sorry. This doesn't normally happen when I'm around sinners. This is very...I will never allow this". Or He could have said to her that He could have just said, "Look, I reject you. This is not something", she's touching him, "I'm not going to allow this to happen". But what He does is that He chooses to defend her. And the reason why He defends her, it is so powerful. She realized a revelation that most people didn't realize. That a Man had replaced the temple. She didn't need to go to the temple in Jerusalem anymore and offer a sacrifice, she just needed Jesus. And so I am so in love with her. And so Jesus is looking at Simon that I have something to tell you. And in Middle Eastern culture, you'd only speak to someone if you're angry that way, you'd say, "I've got something to tell you". Jesus is now going to turn and He now going to go to Simon telling him, "You see this woman, she kissed me or she did not stop kissing my feet. You didn't give me one kiss. She did not...you could have given me olive oil in your kitchen. She didn't use olive oil. She gave me expensive perfume. Therefore, let me give you the key, Simon, as to why she is able to offer radical love, because she had already received radical forgiveness". And so this is the key, Sid, when we understand that we have received radical forgiveness, we will be able to show our radical love. This is a glimpse of so many other accounts in the book, but that's why I love her.
Sid Roth: Mina, is this radical love, this radical forgiveness for everyone?
Mina Attia: Certainly, Sid, it is for everyone who is hungry, who's accepting it right now. And this is what changed our lives, this is why when we experienced the overflow of the Holy Spirit and understanding, oh my goodness, God wants a... He speaks to us. He wants you as you are. You come to Him right now and you speak to Him, and He will do the same because God is Spirit. And those who seek Him in Spirit will always find Him. He's always available, and He is so real.
Sid Roth: What I believe is there are people in the studio audience and people viewing us right now that say, "That is so wonderful for this couple. But what about me"? I'm glad you asked. God has the same love for you that He has for Mina, that He has for Yvon, that He has for me, the same, maybe more. He's so full of love. Say this prayer with me out loud and mean it to the best of your ability. "Dear God. Please forgive me. For every sin I've ever committed. I'm so grateful to you. Jesus, come and live inside of me. Thank you for saving me from my sins. I now make you my Lord. Amen". Yvon, this is important, what has God shown you about Israel?
Yvon Attia: Oh my goodness, Sid, okay. So recently, and really ever since the war began, every time I'm in prayer, Sid, the Lord has been showing me a white horse. And I'm thinking, "Lord, what is this white horse that... why are you showing me the white horse"? And the Lord began to tell me, "Yvon, Israel is my firstborn, Israel is my beloved. They have known me as their Father. They have known me as their Friend, but they're Warrior, as the One who will vindicate them in this time". And the Lord said to me, "I want you to get ready, there will be many Damascus road experiences as you heard Saul of Tarsus, that will be the usual because I am coming to... come with a glory revival". And I said, "But Lord, what is that horse"? And I remember Sid, feeling the Holy Spirit saying, "Go to the book of Revelation and you will learn about the white horse". The horse was very specific, white. He was encircling Israel. And it says that his name is True, Faithfulness and True, and he is coming with a major victory. So I am believing that Israel is scheduled for the most glorious victory ever. And I sense that there is something coming, even as we get to October of this year, we will hear of radical salvations especially, in the government in Israel. God was showing me the heads of the government, nightly visitations. And God was like, "Because I love them, I will be visiting them Myself and it's going to be a divine presence". And so He takes me to Isaiah 63. And again, it says this in Isaiah 63, "I was amazed because no one intervened to help my people. So I decided that I'm going to do it all by Myself". And I said, "So if You're going to do all by Yourself, what do we do"? He said, "I want you to pray. I want you to ask people all around the world to pray for Israel because we are about to see the biggest harvest of souls. Revival is coming out of Israel".
Sid Roth: Psalm 122:6 says, it's commandment, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem".
Yvon Attia: Yes.
Sid Roth: "They shall prosper".
Yvon Attia: Yes.
Sid Roth: And in the Hebrew, prosper means have heart peace. You shall have heart peace that love the Jewish people. Amen.