Home » September 1995

We receive many letters at Zola Levitt Ministries. Since Zola is busy with numerous projects (production of his TV programs, composing, writing), he is unable to respond to individual inquiries as frequently as he would like, but he wants to share with you some of the letters that have arrived recently.

Dear Zola,

I wish to thank you and your staff for a most memorable trip of a lifetime. Sometimes when you plan for a trip for months there is an element of disappointment from the great expectations you have. I must say that in no way was I disappointed but very satisfied with the itinerary, accommodations and teaching on the Grand Tour. Yossi is a great historian and teacher. I not only found answers to many questions I had but find that I have twice as many questions looking for answers and solutions.

Seventeen years ago, my husband and I began a journey together and shared his calling in the ministry of the Gospel. At that point in my life, I began to, really began to, study the Word for the many ˛jobs" that I found myself doing throughout those years. It is my belief that the Lord prepares you in advance of the caling or mission He wants you to do. He accomplishes this in many different ways and is patient while you learn. It took Him 13 years to prepare me to be a preacher's wife.

My husband pastored several small Southern Baptist churches over the years, and when he died a year ago, I found myself drifting like Noah's ark searching my soul, and listening for the Lord's voice to direct my hands to do the work He has for me to do. My trip to Greece and Israel was not only a personal pilgrimage for me, but an opportunity to open myself up to His will and what it is He wants me to do with my life.

As a result of the experiences and Yossi's teaching on the trip, I find that I need to learn more of the social customs, politics and history of Israel. Your television shows have been very helpful through the last several years to put many aspects of the Bible in perspective for me, and I need to know more.

As mentioned before, I believe that the Lord always prepares you for whatever it is that He wants you to do. And I feel led to enroll in the courses you offer through your institute. I am looking forward to the expanded knowledge and understanding to be gained from it. I continue to pray for your ministry to bring enlightenment and understanding to the Gentile Christians and especially for the many Jews who have yet to believe in Yeshua.

Sincerely, your friend in Yeshua, I.D.

Dear Zola,

Lately I've been terribly worried over the way Israel is giving parts of her land away in order to achieve peace. Her leaders are really in need of guidance. They are misled into thinking that if they give away parts of their land that this will bring peace.

I got so frustrated that I wrote a letter to the Ambassador of Israel to the U.N. encouraging him not to give away parts of Israel into the hands of her enemies. I told this to a friend and he said, "that's what everybody should do."

So I got to thinking that if someone who has influence like Pat Robertson or yourself got a lot of people to write to the consulate of Israel, this will encourage and strengthen them. Please let me know what you think and what else I can do to help.

A friend of Israel, M.T.

Zola,

Thanks for an exciting and invigorating show … and also for helping me choose my major (I'll be a history major at Baylor University in one week, with my eyes set on Old Testament studies in seminary). I am and will be praying for the peace of Israel and for your ministry. I hope to see you on a trip someday.

S.M.

Dear Zola & staff,

Thank you so much for the wonderfully enlightening and well-researched newsletter. I love the Jewish people and my mother long ago taught me to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This year will be my seventh year to read through the Bible, and that has been my source for understanding the plan of God for the Jewish people, as I am a Gentile Christian.

I recently checked out some library books about Jewish holidays and was sorely disappointed at the veil that was blinding the authors to the nature of God — the books made God sound like a bitter old man who must be appeased so He will bring good "luck" to people's lives, and the symbols were treated as superstitious charms. That is why I so greatly appreciate hearing the Messianic Jewish perspective where true completion is found in Jesus. Praise God that some day "all Israel shall be saved!" I hope to order your book The Seven Feasts of Israel soon.

God bless you, J.J.

Dear Zola,

God bless you! I watch your program on Saturdays on the TBN network. I have been getting your magazine and monthly letters about a year now. I am always glad to see your smiling face in every piece. This is my first time sending you support. Please pray that I will get out of debt to send to you each month. I love your bold stand for Israel and your different programs from there. I would like to visit Israel in the future. Whenever I do go, will I be safe there? Is Israel as beautiful as you have been showing us? Please pray for me and I will be praying for you. Again, God bless you!

Sincerely, Y.W.

Dear Zola,

I have learned so much from your programs and books. We watch your program every Saturday on Channel 54 at 6:30. Last March we had the privilege of visiting your offices in Dallas; your staff was so kind to us, especially the lady at the front desk. We bought several books for the purpose of our city-wide Bible School and they gave us a couple of Israeli flags that they could not sell.

I just wanted you to know how your material was used by God. I had the awesome honor to not only use your Seven Feasts of Israel for teaching the children but to acquaint over 100 workers, many of whom had never been taught anything about Jewish customs; so many people said they learned more those three days than they had in years. The children loved dressing up, as we all did, in Bible attire. We also had two tents for Bar Mitzvah (all boys learning to become sons of the law) and two tents for girls learning about marriage using your book A Christian Love Story.

At the end of each night we had a drama, one with Elijah and the prophets of Baal with real fire coming down lighting an altar, and another one with Jesus out on the river in a boat telling a parable. The children were so quiet we heard every word even without a microphone. The last night parents and grandparents were invited to celebrate one of the feasts right with their children. Later we had a large parade with the children waving their feast banners. We had over 300 people there the last evening with the Israeli flag flying over 33 tents. People said it was the talk of the town. The money we collected those three evenings totalled $600.00, which was given to get the Jewish children to Israel from Chernobyl.

I just wanted you to know you also will have a big part in the rewards, for many children and parents came to know the Lord that evening. My son played the part of the high priest, teaching about the tabernacle from the model my husband's Sunday School class made. We learned this from your tape on the tabernacle. This Labor Day our town has an annual parade and the ministers in town asked me to organize a float with the Bible School theme. Also, many people have asked if we can do this again.

I do ask for your prayers as I am 58 and need the strength from the Lord. If we all do our little bit to promote Israel and God's Chosen People, the Jews, the good news will spread over our land. Thanks again for all your materials and help and God bless you as you continue to work for Jesus.

A friend of Jesus (John 15:15), M.P.

Dear Zola Levitt Ministries,

I just would like to drop you a note telling you that Zola Levitt Presents on the Family Channel was the catalyst that brought me to my newly founded belief in Yeshua Messiah. Because of your show, newsletter, and others, I became aware of something that I never knew existed before: Yeshua Messiah as a Jew with Jewish apostles, Jewish followers, a Jewish mother and a Jewish upbringing. Enclosed is a donation for your ministry. Keep up the good work!

God bless, An ex-secular Jew, J.N.

P.S. I first received your newsletter in February 1994. Thanks for your patience!

Thomas McCall

SOVIET COMMUNISM, ULTIMATE ENEMY OF ISRAEL DURING COLD WAR

The thesis of this series is that, for over a hundred years, God has been laying the groundwork for the restoration of Israel in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ, and Satan has been fighting that restoration every step of the way. It is an amazing thing that at the same time God was organizing the early stages of the restoration of Israel in the first quarter of this century, Satan was organizing a counter movement to try to stop the restoration and, once Israel was a nation again, to destroy it. The Lord did His work of restoration through Zionism, the British mandate over Palestine, the Balfour Declaration, and Dispensational Christianity. Satan, on the other hand, worked through the Nazi German Holocaust, Arab Moslem hostility and Soviet (and international) Communism to thwart God's restoration plan for Israel.

In previous articles, we have seen the devastating impact of the Nazi German Holocaust and the Arab Moslem hostility to the Jewish aspiration of survival and the restoration of Israel. Now we turn to the other major player in Satan's grand scheme against Israel's restoration: Soviet Communism. Once Israel began its renewed statehood in 1947-48, it was surrounded by its Arab enemies who were determined to drive every Jew into the Mediterranean Sea, a boast often made among themselves. In spite of Arab Moslem fanaticism, however, the Israelis always felt they could work out an accommodation with the Arabs if they were left alone. But the Arabs had a powerful benefactor, the Soviet Union. When the Arab nations waged war against Israel, it was with Russian planes, tanks and rifles. The Soviets were pouring billions of dollars worth of armaments into the Arab world so that they could fight three major wars against Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973.

THE RISE OF SOVIET COMMUNISM

How was it that Russia became such an inveterate enemy of Israel? Communism was developed as a philosophy during the last century (as was Zionism and Dispensational Christianity) by Marx and Engels, but it took Lenin to bring it to power in Russia in 1917, during WWI. Thus, in the decade following WWI, while the Jews were beginning their immigration to Israel in earnest, and the Nazis were getting organized for their conquest of the world and their execution of the "final solution" against the Jewish people, the Communists consolidated their control over Russia and what became the Soviet Union.

There was a great deal of controversy in Russia between the world wars, with much internal warfare and many purges under Stalin. During WWII, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and came close to capturing Moscow before the Russian winter finally stopped the Germans in their tracks. Eventually, the Soviets were able to push the Germans back, as the U.S. and Britain were attacking the German army from the west. Following the hot war, the world found itself in the polarized situation of what came to be known as the Cold War, with Capitalism and Communism competing for power and territory. Europe was cut in half, with an iron curtain in between, shutting out all cultural exchange by which the West might influence the East. While all this was settling in, the nation Israel was reborn in 1947–48.

EARLY SOVIET SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

Remarkably, when the crucial votes were being taken in the fledgling United Nations, The Soviet Union joined with the Allies in supporting the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab sections. Many of the leaders of the new independent state of Israel had come out of Russia and Eastern Europe, and had a socialist political/economic view. The kibbutz agricultural communities appeared to many Marxists as an ideal socialist building block for society. Thus the Soviet leaders initially found many areas of compatibility with the young Israel. This friendship did not last very long, however. As Israel developed, it became strongly attached to the West, politically, economically and militarily.

THE STRANGE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE SOVIETS AND THE MOSLEMS

By the time of the Israeli-Arab conflict in 1956, the Soviet Union had become solidly aligned with Egypt and the other Arab nations. It is not difficult to explain how Communism was opposed to Christianity, but how is it that the atheistic Communists could cooperate so fully with the monotheistic Moslems, and vice versa? They would appear to be so antithetical that it would be impossible for them to work together.

The one thing that brought these two outwardly opposite geo-political groups together was their mutual antipathy to Israel. Millions of Jews live in Russia, and many of them wanted to emigrate to Israel. The Soviet government turned down their applications, and thousands of Jews came to be known as "refuseniks," because of the denials they were issued. Russia became the new Egypt, and the international cry arose once again, "Let My people go!" Tensions between Russia and Israel multiplied.

SOVIET MILITARY SUPPORT OF THE ARAB NATIONS

The Arab nations thus became clients of the Soviet Union, who poured thousands of tons of military supplies, planes, tanks, rifles and support equipment into the Arab states surrounding Israel. These were used for all the decades of the Cold War, in the major conflicts of '56, '67 and '73, and in the numerous terrorist activities by the PLO and other groups.

The PLO for many years was operating against Israel out of the previously peaceful Lebanon. When Israel mounted an incursion into Lebanon, they discovered huge caches of Soviet armaments in the PLO enclaves. It was clear that the ultimate enemy of Israel was the Soviet Union, working through the immediate Arab Moslem antagonists.

In the next article, we will observe how the Soviet/Arab warfare against Israel reached its height in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The parallels between this war and the early stages of the conflict prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are remarkable, and they may have been a prelude of things to come. We will also explore how, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, these great prophecies might be fulfilled by the power to the extreme north.

Dear Friends,

Well, here I am about to undertake my favorite part of this ministry. By the time you read this, I will be packing for our Fall Festival Tour.

It occurred to me one day that all of us who are believers are also preparing for an extended tour of Israel. We are now the bride of Christ, but we will be the queen of the kingdom to come. And that kingdom will most certainly be centered in Israel. A queen lives with her king and unless you are the ruler of a foreign city or are otherwise used in the foreign service, your home will be Jerusalem!

I occasionally have the question "why do you say the millennial kingdom will be in Israel?" Israel is not just another country, but it is most peculiarly God's country. He Himself resided there ("And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." — Ex. 25:8). The Lord when He returns will alight not on Mount Everest or Mount Rainier or one of the magnificent mountains of Switzerland, but rather "his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives" (Zech. 14:4). And we will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles every year in Jerusalem, and the people of the outlying nations will have to come to Jerusalem as they do today each fall. "Every one that is left of all the nations … shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles" (Zech. 14:16).

And so every year, everyone in the world in the time of the kingdom will also be packing at this time of the year for a tabernacles ˛tour" of Israel to celebrate the feast along with the Lord and all of us, the queen of the kingdom to come.

When the Lord was asked by His disciples in Acts 1:6 "wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel," His reply was, "it is not for you to know the times or the season, which the Father hath put in his own power." He did not go on to say "and you're wrong about the place." Finally, when the Lord came in His first advent, His purpose was to announce "the kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matt. 10:7). Significantly, He visited only one nation for this announcement, the home of the coming kingdom, Israel.

And so I'm excited. Our next tour will be in December and we will include an extra country on our extension! Our Basic Israel Tour departs on December 11th and returns on the 20th. The Deluxe and Grand Tours depart December 11th and return on the 26th, spending Christmas Eve in Bethlehem. For the first time ever, our Grand Tour passengers will have the opportunity to travel into Jordan to see Petra, the ancient, "rose red" city. The Deluxe Tour will have an extended tour of Israel, including the beautiful resort city of Eilat on the Red Sea. Our Hanukkah/Christmas Tour is our most economical tour because it is the "off season" and the rates are lower, so please consider joining us for the truly remarkable experience of celebrating the Advent of Christ in the land where it all began. Call Cynthia at 214-690-1876 or 1-800-WONDERS for a free, full-color brochure.

I need to say a word about the FAM network and our change of air time. I hope you have seen the announcements that our program has been moved to 6:30 a.m. Sundays on the east coast and west coast. Folks in the central and mountain areas will really have to get up early or set their VCR's because our times will be 5:30 and 4:30 a.m. respectively.

I hope this helps with those who have been unable to stay up late enough to see our Saturday night broadcasts. (I know it comes mighty early, but that is the only time we were offered.) Please do tell a friend about the new air time.

And please do consider giving us a little extra support at this time. Our problem is that we have prepared a new series called The First Christians and I know you will be very excited by it. But at just the time that we are in our expensive post-production phase, we will probably lose some of our audience. And by the time everybody figures out that we moved, the series will have largely gone by. For those of you who are our faithful friends and supporters, this is a time to give! We'll really be hurting through the fall if we don't have your help on this. Thank you very much.