October 1998 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

As I prepare this letter I’m also packing for our Fall tour to Israel, and I am as excited as ever as I make my 59th tour of the Holy Land.

For our 60th Anniversary Tour in December, I’m going to plan a special surprise for our pilgrims. I don’t know what it will be yet, but my Israeli friends are very creative. I know for a fact that we will have a Christmas party for our extended tour people, and these parties are really fun in Jerusalem. Imagine trying to decorate a room for Christmas in a city where no tinsel, ornaments or strings of lights are for sale, and where it virtually never snows. Don’t worry, we’ll solve the problem.

More seriously, people are concerned about Israel as a terrorist target. Well, I am too, of course, but I realize that America is also a terrorist target. After all, if I were one of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the World Trade Center in New York, or if I preferred a quiet country town like Oklahoma City, I’d consider Israel a relief. I’m sure our people who worked at those African embassies never expected terrorist attacks there. In Israel, I don’t think the Moslems would target American citizens. That would be counter productive, since “Palestine” depends on Washington’s goodwill for its very existence. Notwithstanding, the bottom line is that we go with God wherever we go in this very troubled world.

Terrorism itself is a kind of preparation for the Tribulation period. Combating it would require cooperation among nations that simply would not otherwise have anything to do with each other. For example, we would like to protest to the Taliban government of Afghanistan about its hosting of Osama bin Laden, but we have no relationship with that extreme Moslem government. Wouldn’t it be much more convenient if we could turn to a world power that is more effective than the United Nations (full of Moslems)? The Antichrist is needed to administrate such geopolitical situations. As more terrorism occurs and our own leaders demonstrate their ineffectiveness, we will be all the better prepared to receive this coming world leader. Israel in particular needs a powerful administrator of great skill to achieve at least peace of mind.

While publicity about terrorism doesn’t do Israel much good, I think that anti-Semitism causes more pervasive harm. The Antichrist will bring that mindless hatred to its historical apex. Also, a lack of Christian vigilance can harm Israel. The textbook [Robert H. Gundry’s A Survey of the New Testament] we have been pursuing was, in my mind, a perfect example of a lack of Christian vigilance concerning Israel. As you saw from the previous newsletter, we finally prevailed in the textbook battle. It seems that Criswell College will no longer use this book as a primary text. Thank you for your help and your prayers on that important matter.

We had at least a better response from Criswell College than other schools we contacted. Generally we were ignored or downright insulted. Who were we to question the eminent scholars who administrate Christian seminaries? How dare we compare a textbook they have chosen, in their infallibility, with the Bible and declare the thing wrong? Some of the lamest defenses of wrong doctrine I have ever heard came back in response to our complaints. It was as if each seminary concluded that it was so right that even Scripture could not change its mind.

Zondervan Publishing House, which put out the book in the first place, was very angry with our ministry. You saw reproduced in the last Levitt Letter a letter from them presenting a veritable tantrum about our criticizing the textbook. It seemed irrelevant to this publisher, or to any college or seminary we contacted, to simply check the book against the Scriptures and see if our complaints were valid. It was simply a matter of “Who do you think you are” Also in our newsletter was a lengthy theological discussion between the author, Robert H. Gundry, who wrote to us at last, and our ministry’s senior theologian, Dr. Thomas S. McCall. I trust you saw that our complaints about the textbook and the author were justified.

I really thank you for your interest in this situation. I know that many of you prayed and otherwise helped us.

For accurate theology, our new eight-program television series, Love Stories of the Bible, is now starting for most of you. We had delayed the series to add closed captions to each program to benefit the hearing impaired. This series brings to life some of the greatest love stories of the Bible through drama, Biblical teaching and interviews. You may have heard these stories many times, but the series will add a new dimension to the tales as we reveal how they reflect the ultimate love relationship: Christ with His Church.

The story of Adam and Eve, the first couple, illustrates how problems can arise even in a perfect world with a God-given mate. Through it we will see how the love of Christ, our Perfect Mate, brings us back into a right relationship with the Father. In the story of Jacob and Rachel, we see how much a man will endure to win the woman of his dreams, and we look at parables of Christ that illustrate His willingness to undertake great obstacles for the sake of his love for us. The confidence that God is our hope and our redeemer is shown in the story of Ruth and Boat. We will also see highlights from the nation of Israel’s celebrations of the Year of Jubilee, with a focus on this ancient law of total redemption for a people and their land. The story of Hosea and Gomer is a remarkable example of undeserved love. His prophet’s marriage to an unfaithful woman was used by God to illustrate His own unfailing and unceasing love for Israel, His Chosen People. We see that God’s love is based on covenant and choice, not on His nation’s (or our) response, and His eternal love can erase all of our past sins and mistakes.

Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Joseph and Mary — each of the stories in this series have much to teach us of the ultimate love awaiting us: the love of our Lord! Don’t miss this delightful look at some very charming and romantic Biblical love stories.

We have some exciting travel opportunities in the upcoming months. Our Hanukkah / Christmas Tour is fast approaching. The Deluxe Tour, which visits Israel only, departs December 12 and returns December 22. The trip will include many of the wonderful sites so familiar to our Bible-reading pilgrims — Capernaum, Nazareth, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Dead Sea and, of course, Jerusalem, the Holy City itself. We will see Mount Carmel, where Elijah prayed down fire from heaven to defeat the prophets of Baal, and cross the Valley of Armageddon to visit the ancient site of Megiddo. During our visit to the Jordan River, you may be baptized in the same waters as our Lord was. We will cross the Sea of Galilee by boat as Jesus often did, enjoy a breathtaking drive through the Golan Heights, and plant trees on the lush Galilean hillsides. Jerusalem we will join our Jewish friends at prayer at the Western Wall, walk the winding streets of the Old City Bazaar where our Lord bore His cross, take the Lord’s Supper at the empty Garden Tomb, and ascend to the summit of the Mount of Olives to look down across the City of God, one of the most spectacular views in the world.

These are only a few of the unforgettable experiences that await our travelers. Along with the enjoyable sightseeing excursions, the tour will also offer unique and inspiring worship and Bible study opportunities. We always provide master teachers, and we secure some of the most knowledgeable and captivating speakers to enhance your Israel experience.

For those wishing to celebrate Christmas in the Holy Land, our extended Grand Tour, December 12–27, offers a visit to the Shepherds’ Fields around Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord, and a Christmas party on December 25. The tour extension will first feature an exciting trip into Jordan to visit Mt. Nebo, where the Lord allowed Moses a glimpse of the Promised Land, and the ancient rose-red city of Petra, carved from the rock over 2,000 years ago by the Nabataeans. We will then make our way back into Israel for a two-night stay at the relaxing port city of Eilat on the Red Sea, where you can explore this beautiful beach resort, stroll the shops, scuba dive with dolphins in crystal-clear waters, or study some of the most exotic fish in the world while riding in a glass-sided boat. From Eilat we will journey through the starkly beautiful Negev Desert as we return to Jerusalem for our Christmas celebration.

For an entirely different travel experience, we are offering for the first time a Caribbean cruise, February 5–8, 1999. This unique get away will provide an opportunity for more intensive Bible study than is possible on our Israel tours. I will be speaking and conducting Bible studies each day in the relaxing atmosphere of our luxury cruise vessel as we sail through the stunning Bahamas, visiting Nassau and Cococay. Praise and worship sessions will be held in the mornings, with Bible teaching in the evenings. During the afternoons there will be time to work on a winter suntan on some of the world’s most beautiful islands, take optional island trips to sightsee and shop, enjoy water sports, or just relax aboard Royal Caribbean’s magnificent superliner Sovereign of the Seas.

Thanks again for your help with the textbook situation and for your constant support for all that we are doing. And always remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,