Sid: My guest by way of telephone is Michelle Cohen I’m speaking to her at her home in Ventura California.  Michelle was born in England she was 22 when she found out that it was hidden that she was Jewish because there was so much anti-Semitism she was trying to be protective but something woke up within her. Although she was raised in a non-religious home Jewish or Christian it just wasn’t religious at all.  She was a very successful dancer went to a top performing arts school in England. Got involved in the dark side in the occult literally could see demons wanted out, didn’t know how to get out. She was literally a prisoner and one day she doesn’t know why she just cried out to God she said “Jesus if Your real help me.”  And God heard that prayer and she wound up in America went to a church in California called “Church on the Way” Jack Hayford’s. And literally the Spirit of God came upon her she got set free she had experienced a peace like he had every experienced in the New Age or the occult. Did you feel clean Michelle?

Michelle: Oh I felt so clean I felt like just like the Bible says that I was a new creation.

Sid: And you heard a voice of God and that the voice said for the inside “You are home.”

Michelle: You’re home.

Sid: You made Jesus your Messiah and Lord.

Michelle: Yes.

Sid: But even after you did that I’d like to say “Everything turned out wonderful but you began to run out of money.”

Michelle: That’s right (Laughing) I come from England to America planning to go back planning to go back to my choreography and dance teaching work in England. And as I developed a wonderful relationship with the Lord I knew that God was telling me “You need to stay here you need to call them you won’t be back I’ve got something else for you.” And it was during that time my husband and I Geoffrey Cohen and I were beginning to get together we were in prayer meetings together, we were studying the Bible together.  And it got to the point where I had run out of money I had no plane ticket back, I had no work Visa with which I could stay in the United States and I prayed and fasted for 3 days. And the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart trust Me and about 2 weeks after that Geoffrey asked me to marry him (Laughed.)

Sid: Well with that I think I have to talk to talk to Geoffrey Cohen could you put him on the phone?

Michelle: Sure here he is.

Geoff: Hi.

Sid: Hi Geoff you were in the room so you heard what Michelle said and you’re read on it she was doing real spiritual things praying and fasting.  Your read was when you saw a woman that was excited about Jesus and not ashamed of her faith as you were you figured she’s got to be the one.  And then both of you had a very interesting open vision and the thing that’s so amazing is you both had it at the same time. Tell me about it.

Geoff; Well there were 2 experienced that I had with the Lord one of them was in England when we saw we were actually staying in the basement of my wife’s Dad’s home in London. And both of us saw the hand of God and we saw I’ll just tell you what I saw you know she saw the same thing but I didn’t know she was seeing it at the same time until afterwards. I just saw the world in God’s hand and I thought “Wow it’s not so big after all.” Because it just fit into His hands so easily because His hands are so big.”  And then God came and He opened up my chest and there is no way to explain it accept this is what happened it was a vision.  He opened up my chest and He took the world and He placed the world inside my heart and ever since that time I’ve had such a burden for every tribe every nation every tongues. And what happened after that experienced in both of us a Spirit of travail and intercession came on us for the gospel to go into nations which it never been before.  I was like Albania and where the iron curtain was still up at this time we began to pray that God would pull down those walls those iron curtains and those walls that are stopping the gospel from going into various nations. And of course the walls did come down after that and I’m not saying because it’s only because of our prayers but I know that that played a part of it.

Sid: Now I’m curious you said “Michelle had the same vision?”

Geoff: At the same time.

Sid: Can I speak to her for a moment?

Geoff: Yeah certainly.

Sid: Okay. Now Michelle you tell me what your vision was at the same time as Geoff.

Michelle:  It was exactly that. We had a heart for people everywhere having come to…

Sid: I mean did he tell you what he was seeing and then you saw it?

Michelle: No not at all we were having a time of prayer this was different from other times of prayer in that as we just sat before the Lord His presence came. It’s not always like that when you pray sometimes you just sitting and you’re just having wonderful fellowship with the Lord or your praying but this was different the room filled with the glory of God. And we began to just come into a very deep place of prayer in the Lord and I saw exactly what Geoff saw we discussed it afterward we couldn’t believe we’d seen the same thing the world in God’s hand realizing that it’s not so big. These people all over the world can be reached because we’d had such an incredible experience of coming to know our Messiah coming to know Jesus personally coming to know that He is the one that takes away all of our sins that He’s the answer. We wanted to be able to tell everybody everywhere and we still do and God put the world in our hearts. And since that time He’s given us much opportunity to go.

Sid: Now you had a second vision with again the same things happened to you this this is really fascinating tell me about it.

Michelle: Well we were in South Africa now and again just coming to the Lord in prayer as we would do everyday just coming to sit before the Lord and again Sid all I can say is that it was a sovereign visitation from the most holy God. God comes in peace, God comes with joy, God comes in different way but this visitation from God was holiness came into our apartment building in Johannesburg South Africa.  It was so incredible to experience His holiness we fell on our faces to the floor. We felt like 200 or more blankets were being laid upon us the weighty glory the presence of God was so great upon us. And we began to weep and weep and cry out for the people of the world for the people of South Africa and all of the nations of the world. For the Jewish people because Sid when God came in His holiness we had a vision of the very last days on this earth the days when there would be those who wouldn’t be ready to go with the Messiah when He comes again. And that has been having an incredible impact on our lives it was really a commission I believe from the Lord to go everywhere that He would send us to share the good news.

Sid: Did He indicate that many people might not be ready?

Michelle: You know Sid He did and that was what was so awful and dreadful the Bible talks about the coming of this dreadful day of the Lord the terrible day of the Lord. And I believe that it’s called that because of the horror in people’s hearts when they realize that they needed to get right with God but it was too late and that is what we saw when God visited us like that in Johannesburg.  We saw that there would be those that weren’t ready and we sensed the horror of people who would say “I’ve missed it its too late Jesus has come He’s gone.”  The trumpet has been sounded He’s come to gather up those that they belong to Him who have the Holy Spirit up He’s gathered them up and now He’s gone and it’s too late and tribulation begins to come on the face of the earth.”

Sid: I wonder if I can speak to your husband once more because at the same time that Michelle had this visitation Geoffrey had the visitation. Now did you hear the same thing that Michelle or did you hear something different Geoff?

Geoff: No it was exactly the same thing it was really God just supernaturally just opening our eyes and just there’s no way to explain except that it was revelation from God. Basically revelation means that God showed your something He revealed something to you.  And I just saw…in fact I thought that God was going to come at that moment that’s what I thought was happening I thought that we were just about to be raptured up out of the earth right at that moment because His coming was so imminent it was so real to me the immediacy of God’s coming and how short the time is.

Sid: Now you said that you were pinned to the ground.

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: Could you have gotten up if you wanted to?

Geoff: No, no absolutely no way.

Sid: And the same thing with Michelle.

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: How long were you pinned to the ground?

Geoff: Probably obviously I didn’t time it but I would say 4 to 6 hours at least.

Sid: That’s a pretty strong thing God wanted to really get that point across to you.

Geoff: Very much so very much so.

Sid: Do you believe He’s coming soon though?

Geoff: Absolutely you know I don’t know the day or the hour nobody knows that but He’s coming soon I have no doubt. And to some He’s coming so soon that his last day could be tomorrow. It might even been the rapture but the very last day could be tomorrow so for them He really is coming soon and so that’s what God’s placed on my heart that He’s coming soon for everybody and we need to be ready.

Sid: And you know what I believe Geoff that God’s people must demonstrate God’s kingdom on earth so I mean that’s the way Jesus promoted the fact that the Kingdom of God had come on earth that’s the way Jesus grabbed the attention of unsaved people. And you’ve prayed for the sick. Tell me one sick person you’ve prayed for that has been healed.

Geoff: Well when I when I was ministering at that time it was called the homelands and so that’s because I was ministering in the ? and was actually a mountainous area and we had ministered the whole week.  But we said that we weren’t going to pray for people during the week but on Sunday anybody was sick anyone could come and we were going to pray for the sick people on Sunday. And I can honestly say before the Lord that that day that every single person that I prayed for on that day was instantaneously healed. But the only one that you could actually see physically because people could say “Well what’s the problem?”  They’d say “I’ve got a sore back or you know I’ve got a pain in my leg and they’d say that it was gone.” But there was one that you could visibly see there was a lady who was blind and she was about 3 people back in the prayer line and I was kind of secretly hoping that she wouldn’t pray for her to receive her sight because you know we have so little faith. I was hoping she’d say maybe she’s got you know a medical ? or something like that. Because you can’t fake it you know when someone’s blind obviously everyone’s going to see that they’re not. But God gave me a gift of faith when it came time to pray for her I said “What do you need?” And she said “Well I need to see.” And her eyes were smoked over they were glazed over she was 100% blind she wasn’t what we call legally blind in America which means that you could barely see but you couldn’t drive a car. She was absolutely blind she couldn’t walk without holding on to her daughter.  And God gave me a gift of faith and He said to me “Yes I’m going to heal her but you’re going to put spit in her eyes but you need to ask her first.” So I asked her daughter and she translated and I said “Is that okay?” And she said “Of course” I wasn’t going to spit on your eyes if you’re blind if you’re going to be healed you know.

Sid: You spit on her eyes?

Geoff: Yeah.

Sid: Oh e’veh! Hold that thought…

 

Sid: I have a Jewish woman on the telephone Michelle Cohen who is red hot for the Messiah. She was 22 years of age living in England when she found out for the first time she was Jewish it was hidden from her because of all of the anti-Semitism and the hurts that her mother had.  And Michelle you said that you were going to a top school in London for performing arts and you were living with some other women things were not going so well in your life. You were living with some other women things were not going so well in your life you were breaking up with guys but it sounds like it really was affecting it wasn’t just oh well there’s someone new. It sounds like it really did…it really was very destructive in your life.

Michelle: It really was when my Grandfather died my Jewish Grandfather at the age of 15 I think that’s when I really began to ask the questions that so many people ask “Who am I; where do I come from; where am I going when I die?  And you know getting together with boyfriends breaking up and having that pain of the inside and trying to deal with the pain began to open myself up to something’s that really became quite destructive.

Sid: Well you actually with the other girls in the dorm you had a séance how did you even know to have one?

Michelle: You know I really didn’t know much about that kind of thing when I look back now I realize opening the door…that’s what it really was opening the door to the devil because I didn’t know that it was the devil? No I didn’t even know that demons existed I didn’t know what they were if someone would have said that to me I would have laughed at them or come on demons? But when I look back now and I realized that when we did that night was a very serious step in the wrong direction.

Sid: Did you actually make communication with the spirit world?

Michelle: You know we did then I’ll never forget it the sense of darkness and evil in the room was unbelievable and in my naivety I thought “Well maybe this supernatural world out there is what’s going to hold the answers to some of my problems.”

Sid: Well I noticed that it sort of like the drug of choice for the moment gives you the high for the moment but in the New Age you have to keep going on to bigger and better things…

Michelle: Right.

Sid: Because the old isn’t working anymore did the same thing happen to you?

Michelle: Oh that’s so true you put that so well I went from the séance to looking into astrology and then you know what began is just looking through the magazines in a weekly basis became an ever deeper search getting books from the library thinking “Well if that’s not enough maybe I need to know enough to actually do it for other people.”
And from that it became tarot cards and then tarot it became every kind of New Age or occult type thing that came up I’d go to it. And what I found was instead of getting the answers to those phenomenal questions in life and the void in my heart being filled it then became my life became emptier and darker and more and more miserable.

Sid: But then it came to a point that you could actually look into the spirit world and you began to see demons? Tell me about that.

Michelle: That was true it was probably the most terrible time of my life that I can remember I felt like I was on such a downhill decline.  I would wake up in the middle of the night and see some of the most grotesque creatures in my bedroom and glaring at me leering at me and I couldn’t do anything about it. Didn’t know what they were, didn’t know why they were there tormenting me but I was very deeply tormented by them quite awful.

Sid: Well didn’t anyone tell you how to close the door that you had opened?

Michelle: You know the whole of my time in England until I left England at the age of 24 I never heard the good news of Yeshua the Messiah. I never heard how to get free from these things I just went deeper and deeper into things that took me further and further away from life and truth.

Sid: But were you deceived to the point that you thought evil was good?

Michelle: You know I thought that the reality of what I knew deep down in my heart let me see that this wasn’t going anywhere this was no answer at all.  It got to the point finally Sid that where I thought “I’ve tried everything I don’t know what else to do I don’t know where else to turn I don’t know even if I want to live anymore.” And I knew that these things weren’t the answer I didn’t think that the evil was good because if didn’t have no joy, there was no peace in it and it was just…life was miserable I didn’t even want to live.

Sid: October 1988 you hit a real low point in your life why?

Michelle: I had just broken up with another boyfriend I thought that my heart was going to break in two literally the pain was so great. I felt like I’d tried everything I could and I just didn’t want to live anymore. And I can remember walking upstairs into the bedroom thinking “I just need to figure out how to end this thing once and for all.”  And Sid it was at that moment the lowest point in my life I don’t even know this precious name came from but deep down from the inside of me I could remember looking up as if through the ceiling to heaven and saying “Jesus if you’re real please help me, please help me.” And I just sob and sob and cried and cried for house and cried myself to sleep.  And my life didn’t change overnight but I know one thing that when I woke up the next morning I had hope that I haven’t had the night before.  I had hope that I could just keep going a little bit longer that I need a change I needed a big change and I didn’t know what that change was but I needed a change in my life.

Sid: Well you really did have a bit change because you ended up in the United States.

Michelle: Right.

Sid: And you met a woman by the name of Francis Chapman that changed your life tell me about her.

Michelle: Yes I went to my boss I needed a change I went to the lady that I was working for at another of the very best performing arts schools in London and I was teaching dance and choreographing and I went to her and said “I just need to go to America awhile.”  She said “Why don’t you go and stay with my friend Francis in Los Angles.” And I said “Well that’s okay with me you know can Francis pick me up from the airport?” And she did she was such a sweet and lovely lady and took me home to her house and 2 days later Francis was getting up and getting ready to go somewhere and I said “Where are you going?” And she said “Church.” And I said “Can I come?”  She said “Sure why don’t you come along.” And I went with her and we went into “Church on the Way” it was the first time I’d ever been into a church before. And Sid all I can remember when I walked through the door I felt the most beautiful presence that I’ve every experienced in my life. I knew…you know I never used the word holy but I knew that when I walked in those doors and there was 100’s and even close to 1 or 2000 people with their hands lifted up singing praises to this invisible God. And as I walked thru the door I felt this totally and beautiful presence I began to cry because it touched me very deeply in my heart.

Sid: And you begin to hear a voice.

Michelle: Yes I heard the most gentle loving compassionate voice I had ever heard it was as if it was right in my heart this voice speaking right to my heart not to my head but to my heart.  And He said “It’s alright Michelle you’re home now your home now.”  And I was just overwhelmed with this sense I knew that it was Jesus. I knew Jesus the One that I cried out to 3 months earlier saying “Jesus if You’re real please help me.” That He had answered that cry and answered that prayer and He was coming to tell me “It’s alright you’re in the right place your home now.”  And home was Him (Laughing.)

Sid: But then immediately you heard another voice.

Michelle: Yes I did it was almost like a fight going on you know this voice seemed to not be able to penetrate deep into my heart. This was a voice that spoke to my intellect if you like and I heard a harder voice speak to my mind saying “Don’t give in you’ll be a nothing you’ll be a nobody you’ll get lost in the crowd you’ll never be in the lime light again.” You know because I came from the entertainment industry and I heard this voice telling me all of the reasons why I shouldn’t surrender to Jesus why I shouldn’t surrender to love, this compassion.  This voice this presence that filled my heart more than years and years of trying every other thing Jesus filled that void in my heart and I knew that I need to give my life to Him and let Him heal me.

Sid: You told me that you actually not only heard a voice but you felt a presence of God describe that.

Michelle: Light perfect light, lightness, peace, no worries, faith a sense of faith.  But the presence of Jesus was enough to take care of everything that would worry me. And I can remember when I gave my heart to Him I said “Jesus I have tried everything I want to give my heart to You, I want to give my life to You I believe that You are the Son of God that gave the gift of righteousness to me, I believe that what You did for me laying Your life down, Your blood was enough to atone for my sin; take my sins away I accept what You did for me come and live in my heart.” And as I did that it was almost like a really strong shower from heaven got switched on in the heavenlies and I experienced being washed with light and life and love and I was never the same again.

Sid: Ah we’re out of time Michelle hold that thought. We’re going to find out how Michelle and Geoffrey got together in a very supernatural fashion and the miracles that have happened since.

 

Sid: My guest by way of telephone Geoffrey Cohen was raised in South Africa strong Orthodox Jewish background and he got to Israel was on a Kibbutz  and a born again Christian had chutzpa chutzpa is a Hebrew word it means nerve it’s sort of what Paul had when he said “I’m not ashamed of the gospel” because it’s the power of  God unto salvation no gospel no power. And this man even though he was in Israel was not intimidated shared the gospel planted a seed I mean Geoffrey was amazed when he found out that Jesus is Jewish.  He literally thought to himself “Well why does so many Christians hate the Jewish people if Jesus is Jewish.  Geoffrey it just didn’t compute did it.

Geoff: No not at all.

Sid: And then you went to Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem and all of a sudden the last thing in the world you expected to see you saw before your very eyes… describe what you saw.

Geoff: Well as I was saying I saw Jesus standing in front of me and just His presence is just I mean my words are very inadequate to describe.  It was His presence was just so powerful and my first reflex action was to grab my friend who was traveling with me and say “Hey hey look look look there’s Jesus.” And as I turned to grab him I realized that he wasn’t seeing Jesus and neither were the people milling around the Arab market. And I realized that if they could see Him they would have immediately stopped I mean He was Jesus and…

Sid: How real did He look to you did He look like a vision or was it actually Him?

Geoff: No I didn’t know what a vision was being an Orthodox Jew an Orthodox Jewish background I didn’t know what a vision was I just knew that I saw Jesus nobody ever told me what a vision was.  I didn’t know that I had had a vision until after I became until after I got saved so all I knew was I saw Jesus as real if not more real than any other person around me. But what struck me is that nobody else was seeing Him.

Sid: Now you told me about His eyes tell me again I want to hear that.

Geoff: Well His eyes were just like endless pools of water of course we know living water.  And just perfect compassion perfect love and without me understanding any theology about who Jesus was I knew I was looking at eternity and that possibly He was the Messiah.  And He actually appeared to me 3 times that was the first time and this is all at the same space of time by the Arab market.

Sid: But it was the 3 times in the same day or in…

Geoff: Three times within 5 minutes maybe 4.

Sid: But He said something to you that first time.

Geoff: Yeah He spoke the words Hineini to me which means “Here am I.” And He spoke it without opening His mouth.

Sid: What did that mean to you? What did the words mean to you?

Geoff: I knew that it meant “Here am I” because I learned Hebrew most of the time that I was there you know 7 years old.  What it meant to me at the very least was that “Here am I I’m Jewish I’m a Jew.” I didn’t quite understand that He was the Messiah up to that point but that when I looked into His eyes and I saw eternity in His eyes I thought “Surely this must be the Messiah” but I didn’t know what to do about it.  And then He appeared to me again a second time just standing maybe  15’ to the right from where He was the first time.  And when He looked at me it was so life changing, it was so powerful, it was so awesome I’d never seen or experienced such a love and total acceptance in my life. And then He disappeared after appearing to me the second time the second time He didn’t say anything He just looked at me but one look from God can change you forever and it’s changed me forever that was 16 years ago I haven’t been the same man for 16 years.

Sid: Tell what changed occurred immediately in your life when you received Jesus as your Messiah and Lord.

Geoff: Well I always had at least 1 girlfriend or more and I was involved in promiscuous lifestyle you know just like a lot of people who don’t know the Lord of my generation. And you know I was do things like you know drink with my friends and stuff like that and maybe occasionally smoke a joint to some people sounds “Oh how could you do that?” But that was pretty normal in those days it wasn’t as if I was heavily addicted to anything accept maybe fornication that which was not good obviously. But when I got saved when I came to know the Lord without anyone telling me “You have got to stop doing these things, you’ve got to stop drinking you’re not to smoke pot any more you know don’t have sex out of marriage any more no one told me anything but God immediately without knowing what the Bible said about it God just took those desires out of my heart.”

Sid: Now I don’t know the answer to this question many of the questions I do but “You got to the United States and you met a Jewish woman by the name Michelle from England.”

Geoff: Yes.

Sid: How did you know that you were supposed to marry her?

Geoff: Well she was one of the most ? on fire people that I’d met for the Lord…you know as a believer in Jesus and I was such a radical Christian that I could scare off most people but I didn’t scare her off in fact she was as zealous as I was (Laughing.) And the Lord drew us together there was just a witness in the spirit and she had a very strong prophetic call in her life which which I could just tell. In fact we’d be in meetings in Church on the Way we were members of that church that’s where I met her at a single’s group I think was on a Monday night.

Sid: That’s Jack Hayford’s Church.

Geoff: Jack Hayford’s Church yeah yeah and she was just so zealous for the Lord and on fire and we actually on our first date we actually went to preach in Westwood in Los Angles and this was the test if she was from God for me that she’d be willing to preach on the streets without anything just to stand up and preach (Laughing.) But that was our first I guess that’s what I’d use to do do is I would just stand up and preach.

Sid: Yeah you like that boldness don’t you?

Geoff: Yes (Laughing.)

Sid: That’s I mean if it wasn’t for boldness you wouldn’t have known the Lord. I’ll tell you what Geoff if you would put your wife Michelle on the telephone I’d like to find out a bit about her background. So I’ve asked Geoff to put Michelle Cohen.

Michelle: “Hello.”

Sid: Hi Michelle I understand that you went most of your life and didn’t even know that you were Jewish.

Michelle: That’s true that is actually true.

Sid: How did that happen?

Michelle: Well I was raised in a completely Gentile environment at my home and my mother was not raised in a Jewish home herself although her father was Jewish. And when he was a very young man about 16 – 17 years old he wanted to marry a young lady who wasn’t Jewish. And when he announced that to his family they cut him off from his family. And so from that time on I think there was a lot of hurt and pain about her that whole Jewish family background and it wasn’t something that my Mum talked about very often

Sid: So how did you find out you were Jewish?

Michelle: Well I began to put 2 and 2 together one day as I got older and gradually began to ask her more and more questions and more probing questions it wasn’t enough just to hear that it’s a sweet family get-together stories I wanted to really know “Where did I come from?” You know my ancestry, what was this name Goldberg I knew that that meant something and she would begin to you know open up a little bit more as the years went by.  And it wasn’t about 22 that she began to describe some painful stories of her own in England people would taunt her and ridicule and give her a hard time for having a Jewish name and being Jewish.

Sid: How did you feel when you found out you were Jewish?

Michelle: I felt immediately a sense of tremendous connection to something that was much greater and bigger than I’d ever known.  I felt confused a little bit because I didn’t understand why something so great and wonderful hadn’t really been brought up in our family even to discuss openly but it made me curious to know more. And it did some- thing in my heart that you know made me maybe prepared for the future when I would meet Geoff.

Sid: Well let me ask you “Were you raised as a Christian?

Michelle: No not at all no I mean it wasn’t a bad family they were wonderful parents my Dad was this wonderful man my mother was wonderful but we never went to church. We never discussed God we didn’t do anything religious.

Sid: Well you were a very very successful dancer did your parents have a background like that how did you become a dancer?

Michelle: Well my Dad is artistic he paints beautifully he does wonderful oil paintings and various other artistic work. And he loved music and we grow up listening to great music classical jazz and all kinds of things.  And from an early age I just had a inclination towards putting movement to music I actually went to gymnastics and I was part of the British Team for a few years. But after I finished with that I knew that dancing was the thing that I wanted to do.

Sid: But why did you get involved in the occult the New Age?

Michelle: Well in the kind of environment of the performing school that I went to it was a fulltime performing arts college.

Sid: Like it was it a very prominent one?

Michelle: Yes it was in London there are several really good ones in London and this was one of those.  And I was about 17 I’d finished high school and I was already having not grown up with that much of a moral rules and regulations in the home I wanted to you know go on a discovery as young girls often do at that age instead of have boy friends and this kind of thing. And what actually happened was as I was going into the performing arts college and I’d have boyfriends and we then we’d break up. And maybe it’s like this for a lot of your girls that’s out there but the heart ache that can be caused in the inside is sometimes more than can really be you know shared with someone. The fact that you’ve joined yourself with somebody and then you breakup you know and you’ve kind of you…                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Sid: Michelle I’m sorry if you’ll hold that thought we’ll pick up on tomorrow’s broadcast.