February 1999 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I really mean that. The ministry is secure, the year-end giving was just fine, and we are off on what could prove to be our most important year yet. The unbeliever is feeling like this may be his last year, and that presents fertile soil for the planting of seeds from God’s Word.

Believe me when I tell you that I am so very grateful for all that you have done for this ministry. When I look over the past 20 years, I am amazed by how many small ministries like ours have come and gone on television or even on the radio. I think of the well-known Bible teachers who are much more acclaimed than I, who approach me incredulous that we could last so long on television and wondering how we did it. I just tell them that we bless Israel in every program, if only to remind people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. You have given me two decades of wonderful ministry and I am very grateful for it.

Truly this is a time for recollection for me. Our ministry is officially 20 years old, Israel is 50, I just turned 60, and evidently the world is coming to an end.

The unbeliever may not be entirely wrong about assuming that the end of the world could be near. Obviously, prophecy teachers are very satisfied that there’s little unfulfilled prophecy left to fall into place. It is a curiosity that all these things should come together just at the time that we change millennia, but I regard that as almost surely a coincidence. I don’t believe Almighty God is impressed with our timekeeping or our calendar, but when He is fed up watching us run His creation, then He will act. And when He acts, the game is over, time has run out, and everyone will be positioned for eternity in one location or another.

There will be many prophecy conferences this year. Among the most important is the 1999 International Prophecy Conference in Tampa, Florida, March 11–14, sponsored by God’s News Behind the News of St. Petersburg, Florida. I have been invited to speak at this conference, and it should prove to be most interesting and informative as Israeli government officials will be involved. One topic I will discuss for sure is eternal life.

We often casually say that our faith grants us eternal life, but every soul has eternal life. The matter under consideration is where we spend that eternal life. I heard a story of evangelists talking about how little support they actually got (most evangelists are usually starving). One says to the other, “We are so unappreciated and yet we are giving these people eternal life,” and the other replies, “No, they already have that. We’re giving them location.” And that’s the truth of it. Every soul that was ever conscious lives forever either with God or separated from God, or more simply, in Heaven or in Hell.

Some people object to the Christian doctrine of separation from God, or Hell, but the Bible supports it. The Old Testament designates one of two places to which souls go: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12, 2:3). This passage is virtually never read or understood in the synagogues (or the churches), but its meaning is clear. We all choose a place to go (or we do not choose and our place is unfortunately chosen for us).

As I have announced in the past few letters, our emphasis will be on evangelism in 1999 when some unbelievers will think seriously about choosing their place. The primetime specials we hope to run throughout the year will emphasize that this may well be the last chance—that salvation is available “for a limited time only.”

Our program is very effective as far as salvations are concerned. The January issue of the Jews for Jesus newsletter contained a testimony that gave me a lot of what the Jews call naches, meaning “a feeling of deep gratitude.” The newsletter gave the testimony of Jeff Neckonoff, now a Jewish believer, whose story included a wonderful testimonial as to how our program can work on an unbeliever, even a Jewish unbeliever. In part he wrote:

“My spiritual quest began in February 1994 and took me quite by surprise. My wife and I had just come home from seeing the movie, Schindler’s List, and as I was flicking through the cable channels, I came across a show about the Holocaust. I had never seen the program before, nor heard of the host, Zola Levitt. I sent away for two books he offered: Our Hands are Stained with Blood and Meshumed, expecting them to be from a traditional Jewish viewpoint. When I received them, I was enraged to find that they were Christian books. I determined to send them back the next day, but a funny thing happened. I actually began reading them. The rage subsided and I grew curious. Just a little curious at first, and then my curiosity became a deeply felt need to know the truth. I began videotaping Zola’s program and reading all kinds of materials from many sources, including the New Testament, Messianic Jewish authors, and anti-missionary literature. I also sought out Jews of various beliefs online, including Jews for Jesus.”

The story went on to tell of many dialogues between Jeff and various Jews for Jesus staff members who encouraged him to read the Scriptures, and he eventually came to the Lord. He says, “I prayed for forgiveness for all my sins, especially for the sin of rejecting Yeshua as my Messiah and Lord.”

He goes on to say that the Internet provides a wonderful way to witness, and it does. But I would add that national television is profoundly more effective in reaching people because so many more use that medium than use computers. We hope to have a wonderful year of testifying to people like Jeff, who started the year saying “many Jewish seekers like me were brought up with a cynical secular outlook where God and Scripture were rarely mentioned in school except to be ridiculed,” and ended the year saying, “I began to believe and accept that Yeshua was my true Messiah.”

I hope you will help us in our evangelical efforts during this upcoming year, and don’t forget about Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and if you can, come with us on one of our upcoming tours.

Our Spring Grand Tour (April 13–28) begins in Athens, Greece, where we will visit the magnificent Acropolis and Mars Hill, and take a breathtaking cruise of the Mediterranean that will visit Mykonos, the Isle of Rhodes, Ephesus, and Patmos.

The Spring Greek Island Tour (April 13–20) is being offered separately this year for the first time, and these passengers will have one extra night in Athens, departing for the U.S. on April 20.

Our Spring Deluxe Tour (April 18–28) will cover all the important Biblical sites, including the ancient City of David, Jerusalem, Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust, and the Israel Museum where we will be able to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls. We will see the summit of the Mount of Olives, walk through the Garden of Gethsemane and see the Upper Room, Calvary, and the Garden Tomb.

A June Kibbutz Tour is under consideration at this time. It will be designed to be less expensive and scheduled so that teachers and students can attend. Please let us know if you have some interest in this. Thanks.

We are hard at work on our God and science series, to be called Evidence of God, and we are already underway making our first national primetime special about End Times prophecy to be aired in March. We are delighted to have Hal Lindsey as our first guest. We will have abundant footage of the Holy Land, and with your support and prayers, we will make an irresistible appeal for people to consider the implications of the end of the world!

All of us here at Zola Levitt Ministries eagerly look forward to 1999 and the possibilities it holds. We encourage and desire you to join us!

And please remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,