January 1998 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

The upcoming year may well be the most important in the history of our ministry. It seems that the world is coming to an end one way or another, and as broadcasters, of even minor importance, we can shed some light on what’s really going on. As Bible readers, our insights will be extremely valuable.

Other than for the coming of the Messiah, which we believe will be very soon, the world could end for a lot of people through the actions of the rogue nations Iraq, Iran, China, Russia, and France. (The last country might seem out of place, but a Letter to the Editor I saw years ago in Time Magazine said simply, “If countries were people, France would be a whore.”) These are countries that place personal cash profits or “religious” hatred above consideration for the rest of the people of the world. The nations mentioned either have, or support those that have, the most awful weapons of mass destruction. Millions or billions could die through the use of biological weapons, poison gas, germ warfare, nuclear weaponry and the like. The Saddam Husseins of the world, and there are plenty, couldn’t care less as long as their personal needs are served.

A New York Times article recently pointed out that while we are occupied with the inane rumblings from Iraq and concerned with its weapons program, Russia may have 100 times Iraq’s arsenal of world-ending weapons. The Russians may well sell these weapons to the black market, where they would then be transferred to the other rogue nations. Or, for that matter, the Russians may one day use the weapons themselves. The current lineup of alliances we are seeing formed in the world are very reminiscent of the invasion of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39. There is a power known as Magog to Israel’s far north (quite possibly Russia) that is allied with Persia, which in Ezekiel’s time included both Iraq and Iran. Their other allies include Gomer—the southern European area around the Danube River, perhaps represented by Bosnia—Libya, and Ethiopia, both radical dictatorships opposed to Israel. The importance of the Moslems arising in Bosnia (along with many helpers from Iran, we have recently discovered) makes the part about Gomer more credible. It is regrettable to say, but where Moslems arise, there is death and destruction on all sides.

Moslem fundamentalists are gaining power in many places in the world and are simply murdering people wholesale in the name of some religious claptrap. The tens of thousands of unarmed civilians who have been killed one by one in Algeria are an example. There were untold deaths in the Iran-Iraq war of the ’80s, including some from poison gas as Saddam Hussein tested his weapons. Most recently, a very disheartening incident happened in Egypt, where Moslem fundamentalists targeted tourists. Assaulting innocent visitors is a crime that these people alone perpetrate on others. It serves no one’s interests to kill tourists from other countries, but Islamic gunmen mowed down 58 tourists (no Americans) who were visiting Luxor on the Nile. Our tours quit going to Egypt several years ago when the first tourists were assaulted there. In Israel, there has never been a targeting of tourists, and we have never seen an incident on any of our 56 tours related to the political situation. The Palestinians would be ill-advised to pick on visiting Americans, since our government is the one they have most carefully cultivated in this peace process and they need our help with it.

And all of that brings me back to my point of this being a most important upcoming year. People will be making decisions of a spiritual nature this next year, just as they have throughout the pressuresome ’80s and ’90s, but the battle is growing ever more intense. Those who say that the end of the age may well come in the year 2000 are hard to prove wrong as we watch world conflicts build a tremendous crucible reminiscent of our Lord’s warnings about the end. Help us, and we will help some people make important and eternal decisions in the upcoming year.

Truly, at year’s end we need your help more than ever. This is the time we plan the series of programs that we can make in the upcoming year, and of course, you receive the most advantage from your tax deductions by giving at the year’s end. We will be there to serve you via television, books, music, tapes, tours and all else that we do. If you will simply ask the Lord what He would have you do by way of this ministry and its support, both in prayer and in donations, that will certainly be good enough for us. Thank you for your reliable help.

People tend to miss programs during holiday seasons, and so because of its popularity, we have decided to rerun the entire Champions of Faith series. These programs will start after the first of the year following our annual After-Christmas Musical. During that period we will be in production on our newest series, The Covenants of God. There are eight great Covenants which condition human life and progressively unfold the divine redemption. These eight major Covenants of special significance explain the outworking of God’s purposes with man. The opening programs in our series teach on universal and general Covenants, which are the Edenic Covenant, the Adamic Covenant, and the Noahic Covenant. The remaining programs will cover the Israel Covenants which are the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Land Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant. Be sure to tune in to Zola Levitt Presents on your local channel to find out when this series will begin.

Springtime is just around the corner, and in Israel it is unlike any other time of the year. The magnificent sweetness of a Galilean hillside in full bloom (“Consider the lilies of the field…”), the Jordan Valley green and lush, the ruins of Masada commanding in its strategic location, and Jerusalem—O Jerusalem! Our 1998 Spring Tour will capture it all. The approximate dates for the Grand Tour are April 21–May 6. This tour features mainland Greece with Athens, Mars Hill, and Corinth, and a Mediterranean cruise of the islands of Mykonos, Patmos, and Rhodes, including Ephesus. The approximate dates for the Deluxe Israel Tour are April 25–May 4. This is Israel’s 50th Golden Anniversary and our tour will encompass one of Israel’s most exciting holidays — Independence Day. Brochures will be available soon. Call 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377) or Cynthia at (214) 690-1876.

Your messenger,