Why I'm Not Afraid of SharonChristians for Israel Today If you accept the international media's characterization of Ariel Sharon, you believe he is a warmonger, a hater of Arabs, a hard-liner, maybe even the man responsible for the uprising surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. As an Arab-American who has met Sharon and carefully observed his military and political career, I do not accept any of these assumptions. Apparently, neither do most Israelis.
Why? Because Reagan didn't mince words. He didn't proclaim evil good and good evil. He didn't pretend that the U.S. could negotiate away its differences with the Soviet Union, which he characterized accurately as an "Evil Empire." He spoke frankly about rebuilding the U.S. military. When he talked about "peace," he said it could only be achieved through "strength." I was a loyal Democrat back then — like the overwhelming majority of my journalist colleagues. I believed the spin. I accepted the distortions. I bought the lies. And I voted for Jimmy Carter. There is no vote I have cast in my life that I regret more. Fortunately, back then, most Americans were more perceptive than I was. And Ronald Reagan won a landslide victory. The rest is history. Reagan's election ushered in eight years of relative peace and prosperity for the United States. And his decisive actions led ultimately to the demise of the Soviet Union. I believe Ariel Sharon's ascendancy to the office of prime minister, once almost unthinkable to most Israelis, should be viewed through the prism of the Reagan parallel. Reagan showed the world conclusively that real peace can only be achieved through strength. Deterrence is the most powerful weapon in the arsenal of any free people. Weakness, or the perception of weakness, invites aggression. Ehud Barak has bent over backward to be conciliatory. He chose appeasement as a prescription for a settlement with the Arabs. What did he get for his trouble? Rejection. After essentially offering Yasser Arafat everything he had previously asked for, he got more inflammatory rhetoric, he got more violence, he got more threats and he got a Middle East on the brink of war. Think about it. Who was the only Israeli prime minister to achieve a lasting peace agreement with an Arab nation? The late Menachem Begin — another leader who was perceived as a hardliner. One doesn't need to study much history to know that principled toughness, firmness, and determination works in politics and leadership. I'm reminded of President Teddy Roosevelt's axiom of "speak softly and carry a big stick." The Middle East is, indeed, a tough neighborhood. You can't be a wimp when you're dealing with bullies. Perhaps Ehud Barak has learned that lesson. But it's been a costly lesson for Israel. Make no mistake about Sharon being in any way responsible for the current intifada, either. His visit to the Temple Mount was an excuse for the violence, not the cause. The blame for killings lies squarely with those who have resorted to urban guerrilla warfare tactics in the streets of Israel. The main thing that prevents limited violence from escalating into a broader conflict is fear. Arafat's forces have felt little fear of prompting a disproportionate response from the Israelis during Barak's reign. They have felt little fear as they pushed children out into the frontlines of unprecedented street violence. That dynamic will change with Sharon in power. And that's a good thing. Peaceful coexistence in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews is unlikely as long as Israel is perceived as weak, spineless, indecisive and fainthearted. Sharon doesn't scare me. And he shouldn't scare Israelis and others around the world who want to see justice and lasting peace in the Middle East. He will, believe it or not, command a healthy respect from the Arab world. Oh, sure, Arafat and the Arab leaders will condemn him with harsh words. They will portray him in the worst possible light. Yet, Barak got the same treatment in recent months — and a lot worse.
Ariel Sharon is no guarantee of peace in the Middle East. But he just
may represent the best chance for peace at this moment in history.
Americans Strongly Back Israel
A Gallup poll revealed that Americans strongly back Israel amid
continuing Palestinian violence against Israel. 51% of Americans say
their sympathies are with Israel while only 16% say their sympathies are
more with the Palestinians, according to a new Gallup poll. Support for
Israel during the current round of violence has increased as the attacks
have intensified. Shortly after the Palestinian violence started at the
end of September, 41% of the American public said their sympathies were
with Israel. The findings are consistent with the strong support Israel
has historically enjoyed from the American public. Sympathy for Israel
reached a peak of 64% during the height of the Persian Gulf war in
February 1991, according to Gallup.
Israel vs. Israel ("Enter the Antichrist" Part III)(Continued from the March Levitt Letter) 
Don't think for a moment that the Israelis are unified in their response to the ongoing Arab crusade against them. An ancient Jewish adage has it that where there are two Jews, there are three opinions, and indeed the Chosen People disagree. As a matter of fact, their style of studying their own law books is characterized as a debate, or even an argument, in which one side maintains a given position of a specific law and the other side attacks it. The situation in the yeshiva, or Orthodox Jewish school, is similar to an American courtroom, where the defense and the prosecution argue before a neutral panel or a neutral judge. One side in a rabbinical debate is referred to as the sustainers or fulfillers of the law, and the adversarial side as the "destroyer" of the same law. And so our Lord, a rabbi in His own right, pointed out that in the debate over certain laws He gave in the Sermon on the Mount, He was not the destroyer but the fulfiller of such laws in front of a neutral Jewish public. We could only wish that the crucial Jewish debate of today had only two sides, but in reality, the government, the military and the society at large differ on the peace process and other factors in this difficult time. One could characterize the left wing in Israel as doves, in American parlance, the most extreme of whom hope for peace at any price. They would be willing to try to share Jerusalem with the Arabs (although no Jewish citizen would agree to give up all of Jerusalem). And on the extreme right are those who favor "transfer," which means to peaceably but forcibly deport Arabs from the Israeli society across some certain line and leave only Jewish citizens behind. Obviously, these extreme views don't have many adherents, but there are many shades of compromise in between. In general, the government and the military, at this moment, still hope for some peace agreement, perhaps based on strict territorial lines. The two sides would conduct normal relations as to business and commerce, but they would truly live separately. This idea of "unilateral separation" is a new idea on Israel's part, motivated by the present unrest. More dovish elements within the military and the government would rather continue some sort of the status quo, living together through thick or thin. Israeli society at large is probably more discouraged with the peace process than the present government is. (As we go to press, the government is negotiating with rival factions to create some kind of coalition, embracing a wider consensus of the societies' views. Or in plain language, the leftists are calling on the rightists to form a more centrist government.) And let's face it, a certain ever-growing portion of Israeli citizens is sick and tired of the peace process, the land-for-peace craziness, and all the rest of the pretentious dealings with people who they know in their heart of hearts are simply out to kill them and take their land. One can posture only so long to please the American government, the United Nations, or whomever, and finally, one comes to the end of one's patience. A certain amount of Israeli people believes that giving up land for peace will promote the next war, and this writer certainly can understand that view. In Israel, unlike many longer-established nations, there exists a society of pioneers, or settlers. They are roughly equivalent to the American pioneers of the 19th century in that they are settling empty lands away from the cities. Theirs is a dangerous life since, like the American pioneers before them, they run afoul of local residents. In America, these were the native Americans with a perfectly legitimate claim to the land. In the Israeli situation, the Israelis are the natives — the original residents have returned. The cover story on the November 6, 2000, Jerusalem Report covered the unique circumstances of the settler-Palestinian differences.
The conditions for Jewish vigilantism exist: the anxiety about safety; the sense that the government is not allowing the army to respond with sufficient force; and the Palestinian desecration of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus and the ancient Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue on the outskirts of Jericho. "We were very scared about how the settlers would react," says Shlomo Dror, the spokesman for the coordinator of Israeli activities in the territories. "People in Beit Hadassah (in Hebron) have had bullets fired into their homes. They have sandbags on the windows. But none of them has taken out a gun and fired. The settlers see the peace process collapsing and they don't want to do anything to change that. The Palestinians are doing the work for them." Settler casualties, by mid-October, were also low. Hillel Lieberman, a resident of Elon Moreh near Nablus, was the one man attacked and killed by Palestinians. Lieberman set off in the direction of Joseph's Tomb — where he helped establish a yeshivah [school] — when he heard it was being desecrated, and was murdered, his body mutilated and dumped in a cave. During Lieberman's funeral procession, a gun battle erupted between settlers and Palestinians. It's just such a nightmare scenario of a settler-Palestinian war which scares Israel's political and military leaders. Benny Katzover, a leading settler figure from Elon Morch, warns that "voices are getting louder" for a private initiative. "Whoever is serious," he says, "won't talk about this in public. But the chances are growing that someone will take the law into his own hands. And the government will be to blame — a minority government that has auctioned off our national assets." I once tried to interview General Ariel Sharon back when he was the heroic tank commander who masterminded the Six Day War. I went to his office and indicated to his secretary that I was writing a book about the invasion of Gog and Magog called The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel. The general was not in his headquarters office, and his secretary simply wrote down his home telephone number for me. That's Israel! That evening, I phoned General Sharon's home, and his wife answered and told me, "Arik is not home. He has gone to the grocery store." I didn't know exactly what to say, but I asked her if she were aware whether he thought that the Russians were a danger and that they might one day invade Israel. I talked a little about the prophecy and explained my thesis (that, inevitably, ever-widening conflicts in Israel will lead to that invasion). She gave an emphatic yes and said that her husband and the other generals were watching Russia full-time (back then it was the USSR) and were well aware of at least strategic military considerations, if not Scriptural ones. I thanked her very much and quoted from her thoughts in the book, now called Coming: The End! Russia and Israel in Prophecy, offered on page 15.
Peace, Peace, When There Is No PeaceNo matter how many people are crying out for peace in Israel, in their heart of hearts, they think war is on its way. Like the general's wife, they're well aware that they have more enemies than those in the land. Even the Arab-favoring New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, one of the most virulent Jewish critics of Israel, has recently tempered his views and seems afraid for the very safety of Israel itself. Anthony Lewis, Robert Novak, Mike Wallace, Ted Koppel and others of the Jewish Israel-bashing corps in the U.S. media are not quite so circumspect, but it would seem to the Biblically-informed that the invasion could be just around the corner.
But Israel has come into very competent hands. The central negotiation
going on as we go to print is between the former prime minister Ehud
Barak and that same general, former Defense Minister and Likud party
head and new Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Zola's Bulletin Board
(The following dates are tentative.) This winter we intend to host tours to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando, FL. We'll keep you posted. For more information, please call Tony at (214) 696-9760 during office hours or 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377) anytime.
The Revival Channel broadcasts our TV program on the Sirrus II Satellite, serving 58 European Nations, plus Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Russia, Turkey, southern Scandinavia, North Africa and western Ireland. In Canada, CJIL-TV, The Miracle Channel, has expanded from carrying Zola Levitt Presents in Southern Alberta to two direct-to-home digital systems and on about 600 cable systems, giving them an audience of almost seven million. Canadians can see Zola on Saturday afternoons at 4:30.
In addition to our TV program, Zola Levitt Presents, www.levitt.com now carries Zola's teaching audio cassettes and the soundtracks of his TV programs on Internet Radio. Monday through Saturday at 7 PM Central Time: Go to www.worshipradio.com/zola.htm. Monday through Saturday at 9 PM Central Time: Go to www.pbnradio.com. You will also find terrific praise and worship music, including some of Zola's. Whenever you're working or playing on your computer, why not let its speakers bless you with free teaching and music?
Salomon, Smith and Barney's free booklet Practical Estate Planning gives ten strategies to preserve your assets. It also explains how estate taxes could cost you up to 70% of your wealth, plus why the stock market gains of the '90s may make it important to consider estate planning now. For more information, please call 1-800-327-6748, ext. 1592.
In addition to an Israel slide show, newsletter archive and online store, www.levitt.com has both a discussion board and a chat room. On May 29, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM Central Time, Zola will come to our chat room to comment on his April Israel tour and answer questions you may have about the Bible and our ministry. Depending on the participation, he may visit the chat room during that same time on the last Tuesday of each month.
www.wrn.org/ondemand lets you watch the news, in English, in Israel, as it's being reported. Here's a comment on our own web site's telecast: "What an absolutely profound and wondrous thing! ... a cyber movie! I haven't seen your program since '96, so it was like a fresh breeze to 'tune in' and hear and see you."
Some of our newsletters are going straight from mailboxes to wastebaskets. Others are going to vacant houses or tenants who dislike receiving their predecessor's mail. Good stewardship requires that after more than a year of not hearing from someone, we suspend his subscription and ask if he would like to receive more Levitt Letters. If you haven't purchased from or donated to this ministry for more than a year, then please consider making a gift of $10 or $20 — or at least letting us know that you are enjoying your Levitt Letters. Thanks.
Which of the following statements are true: __ To erase the name Israel from all memory, Roman Emperor Hadrian changed the name of Israel to Palestine in 135 AD. __ The Philistines were Greeks. They had no relationship to the Palestinian Arabs, who did not exist at that time. __ Prior to the 1960s, Palestinians included Jews, Turks, Druse and anyone else living in Israel, just as all minorities in the U.S. are Americans. __ Palestine is now a term used to deny the existence of Israel as a nation and must be considered political propaganda. All of the above statements are true. Please see our December 1997 Levitt Letter article "Palestine vs. Israel as the Name of the Holy Land" at www.levitt.com.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Yassir Arafat has spoken many times on leading the Palestinian Liberation Organization into "holy war," screaming "Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!" Arafat, on the subject of going to war over religion, explained, "You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend."
Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives? The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word! Psalm 118:8 (KJV), "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
You keep sending us loads of e-mails, cards, faxes and letters, and how we love getting 'em! Last year was one of the best in the past 30 years for hearing from you. As is usually the case, the inspiration for most of the communications came from our stories. In 1996 our choice of Newt Gingrich as Man of the Year and a cover story on the search for Jesus sparked heavy reader interest. Our 1973 cover story on The Last Tango in Paris caused 12,191 readers to pour out their feelings. And last year — well, that election sure helped. Here are our top three year-end mail tallies:
1996 83,663
Time magazine publishes a self-serving bunch of statistics every now and then to show how important it is to its readers. The above article is self-explanatory. Time is pointing out that it gets more than 80,000 contacts from its audience per year. That number is dwarfed by this ministry's contacts from its own viewers. We receive about 120,000 such pieces per year; we just don't brag about it.
What do people really care about? More of them write to one small
ministry that teaches about Israel and prophecy than to the most potent
news magazine in the world.
A Note From ZolaDear Friends,
I am dictating this part of the Levitt Letter just before leaving for our Spring Tour of Israel, and as usual I am very excited to go to the Promised Land. I have taken 70 tours to Israel, and I still can't fall asleep the night before I leave. The only way I can communicate to you what a wonderful place it is is to take you there and show it to you. Our people simply cannot believe their eyes, after seeing the obnoxious pictures on CNN and the other networks, at what a beautiful, serene place Israel truly is. The anti-Semitism of the media is to be expected in the End Times, but in a way, even this prophecy teacher is surprised at its virulence. I remain amazed at the traitor-like commentaries of Jewish American reporters, principally Mike Wallace, Thomas Friedman, Anthony Lewis, Robert Novak and Ted Koppell, among others. They do not prefer to be known as Jews, but they are Jews, and turncoat Jews because they criticize Israel for money. You may be saddened by the idea that some Jewish people turn their backs on Israel, but consider our churches and our seminaries and what they have done lately toward the Promised Land. With Progressive Dispensationalism, Replacement Theology (in subtle forms) and the other anti-Israel philosophies, Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary, and the others have virtually written Israel out of End Times prophecy. In fact, they barely study End Times prophecy at all. My wife came home from BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) today, and talked about her lesson. She was excited to hear of Israel and End Times prophecy in good measure in that ladies' group. Friends of mine who go to the Precepts groups are just as excited about Israel. One of our TV cameramen, who has been with us for years, is an instructor in BSF and is totally knowledgeable about Israel and End Times prophecy. I wish I could say the same for the average seminary graduate, who is practically an idiot on those subjects. It's not as though the people in these Bible study groups are being taught something strange or perverse. BSF and Precepts go verse by verse through the Bible, something that I'm not sure the seminaries really do anymore. They may think they're doing that, but somehow their graduates come out with very abbreviated knowledge of Israel and prophecy, which are obviously among the most important Biblical topics. It seems that the Bible study people are interested in teaching the Bible and seminaries are into building buildings, founding banks, increasing enrollments, and getting accreditation from secular sources ("for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God," John 12:43). Their treasures seem to be here on Earth, and they are getting their earthly rewards. I might say in passing that my wife's particular BSF class started like all others — with a few ladies, and it now has 600 members! See the Holy Land and you'll understand a whole lot more on these subjects. Our next tour is June 5th — 15th, and we can still sign you up if you call immediately. Also, our Ultra Grand Tour of Greece, Israel and Petra will occur this coming September with many tour option packages. Depending on the options you choose, tours will run between August 29th and September 16th. While I will be unable to join the tour in June, I will be personally guiding this tour. Our Fall Tour brochure will be coming out around mid-May. This may be our last tour to Israel this year, as we believe the popularity of our tour of The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida, will persuade us to go again in the winter. We'll inform you in this letter when we know for certain, but in any case, we intend to resume tours to Orlando after our September tour. You can reach Tony, our travel manager, at (214) 696-9760 during office hours, or dial 1-800-WONDERS anytime. We will be filming our new series Thy Kingdom Come: The Future of the Believers during our Spring Tour in Israel, and it should be ready by the latter part of the summer. This will be a twelve-program series that will present a thorough examination of what will happen after the Rapture to those who are saved, rather than the typical focus on what will happen to the world. Remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
Our ministry just sent its first missionaries.Naturally they went to Israel, since that was the Lord's request (Matt. 10: 5-6, Rom. 1:16). Kevin Parker is one of our Israel tour leaders, and Todd Baker is our ministry's theologian. Below is a report of their experiences.
Two Witnesses to Israel (Part One of Three)
The mission statement was laid out by Him Who was without sin. Y'shua said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20). After His resurrection from the dead on First Fruits, Y'shua further defined the mission to be "His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). That would be our starting point — Jerusalem! Our sovereign LORD, Who is marvelous in our eyes, blessed us with an opportunity to witness from the beginning at the international airport in Newark, New Jersey. Because of the continuing PLO intifada that recently included the assassination of a ten-month-old Israeli infant, EL AL was on a heightened security alert for terrorism. Todd and I were detained, questioned and searched for three hours. During this time the LORD gave us the incredible opportunity to witness and encourage the Israeli security personnel. They were courteous, professional, kind, extremely thorough, and listened to His encouragement through our words. This would be the first of many "opportunities" to come.
Another opportunity presented itself upon our arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. One of Todd's suitcases was missing and at the "lost and found" area we were able to witness to a rabbi who was missing one part of his luggage. The common ground to both parties was "missing luggage." Our typical message contained the following elements:
Our typical day began with prayer. In our prayers we included:
Prayer (before, during, after) proved to be the most important ingredient for successful witness to the Jew first, and then the Gentile in Israel. On one occasion, after prayer in our Kibbutz room we found a Jewish man and his child literally sitting on our doorstep. On another occasion we desired Bibles to hand out and God provided us with 28 B'rit Hadashot (New Testaments) "free" from Immanuel Bookstore in the Old City of Jerusalem and the Galilee Experience in Tiberias. Each day the sovereignty of God amazed us. The vast majority of Israelis readily received our message of hope and encouragement. One man actually said, "This is Good News!" We traveled throughout Israel in our rental car without trouble. We did not see any tanks or armored personnel carriers. We spent six days in the Old City of Jerusalem without incident. During our seventeen nights in Israel (i.e., Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the Galilee, the Golan Heights, Mount Hermon, Tel Aviv, etc.) we never heard a gunshot or saw an angry person. As Zola told the Shalom Shalom Congregation, "Between the two of them [Todd and me] they don't know enough Hebrew to order a cup of coffee." Israel is our sister democracy in the Middle East and English is a required language (fortunately for Todd and me). For sure we avoided Palestinian-controlled areas like Gaza and the West Bank. As always, we both felt safer in Israel than in many of America's large metropolitan cities. In closing, it was readily apparent that American visitors were absent in Israel. We saw tourists from the countries of Japan, South Korea, Germany, and even China. Israel's economy depends on tourism and our State Department's "Travel Warning" has negatively impacted their economy (i.e., hotels, state parks, vendors, tour guides, etc.). Israel also depends on America's strong political support. This is a time when America needs to stand unequivocally with her sister democracy that is surrounded by Arab dictatorships. Please take time to encourage the president (President@whitehouse.gov) and the U.S. Congress to support Israel — your phone calls, emails and letters can make a difference. Remember: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3).
Amen!
Left Behind Hits MarkLetter to The Dallas Morning News Re: "'Left Behind' review an act of courage" (Religion, Feb. 24). Although I didn't read Gary North's review of Left Behind, I read Ed Chytil's letter about it. I must say that, although I am not a premillennialist, I do agree with the majority of what the Left Behind series says about the Tribulation. I just disagree as to how long the Church will remain on the earth; I think we'll be going through the Tribulation as well.
I find Left Behind not only a hard-to-put-down series of books
(and can hardly wait for the next book in the series to come out), but
also of interest in seeing what the Tribulation itself will be like for
those who will go through it. I just hope I'm not one of them. But with
talk of a peace treaty with Israel almost daily in the news, it makes
you wonder just how close we are to the Tribulation, the signing of the
peace treaty being the beginning of the 7-year period and all. (Of
course, that's only if the Antichrist, whoever he may be, also signs the
treaty. Could there be two treaties?)
 Dear Zola, I just got off the phone with Tonie at your ministry and I explained to her that I was listening to Moody's Midday Connection show and they were interviewing an author by the name of George Grant who wrote a book called The Micah Mandate. As I was listening to the author take calls, a caller called in and said that "because the church is now Israel, it is important for the church (ie: ISRAEL) to rise up against evil in our culture and bring justice as Micah did." The author agreed. I contacted the radio show at (312) 329-4460 and a lady answered and asked me my name, where I was calling from, the call letters of my radio station and what my question was. I told her that I was listening to the show and had a real concern about the statements that were being made about the church replacing Israel and she said, "if we can fit you in, we'll call you back." Conveniently, they did not call me back. As I continued to listen to the program absolutely NO ONE challenged this issue and it was scary how many people called in with this same idea which was the springboard of the author's book. It's discouraging that so many people are in the dark where Israel is concerned and if they'd just read Romans chapter 11, it's very clear that the church has NOT replaced Israel. My thanks to Tonie for giving me the Scripture references and I will continue to inform those who are truly "in the dark" concerning Israel. Keep up the good work and God bless you and your ministry. We appreciate all you do! S.C.
Dear S.C.,
When I was a radio talk show host, truth to tell, we could not get to
every caller, and I also had an engineer screening calls (mainly to keep
hundreds and thousands of people from asking, "How do you get three days
and three nights for Jesus in the tomb," and "when was the Sabbath
changed to Sunday?").
With that said, I'm not surprised to see people representing Moody Bible
Institute subscribing to Replacement Theology. We've been telling you
that this would happen for years. Dr. Thomas McCall, a theologian with
our ministry, pointed out that the "slippery slope" of Progressive
Dispensationalism led down into Amillenialism and Replacement Theology.
In our May Personal Letter, I pointed out that the ugly daughter of
anti-Semitism, Replacement Theology, was in evidence already at some
seminaries.
There is no reason on God's earth why any Believer would be "in the
dark" concerning Israel. Thanks for your e-mail.
— Zola
Zola, I have been following the great debate in your newsletter over Progressive Dispensationalism and Replacement Theology with considerable interest. You have repeatedly asked that other instances of this false doctrine being taught in seminaries be brought to your attention... well, I have an example to share with you that is quite amazing, but it still rages on. It is between me and a professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary, a Dr. Al Truesdale. Enclosed is Dr. Truesdale's article on premillennialism. I took him to task over many points in this discourse, but none greater than his statement on page 5...that the premillennial Rapture of the Church could not be possible, for it preempts a period of violence and destruction (the Tribulation), which would be totally out of the character and nature of God, specifically the loving nature of Christ. I pointed out to Dr. Truesdale that he would only have to re-read the Levitical law in Exodus 20 to re-gain an understanding of how God deals with evil in the world. The incredible thing in our discourse, Zola, was the reply I received after I rebutted Dr. Truesdale's paper. He wrote me and all but told me that since he was a seminary professor, and I was only a lowly pastor, I had no business challenging his doctrinal study. Zola, I hold credentials in three different denominations, including the one Dr. Truesdale is in. I have five different degrees from colleges and universities, and I would easily be able to hold my own in a theological debate with Dr. Truesdale. The problem is that Progressive Dispensationalists have taken high ground which they cannot hold. To state that the Tribulation period cannot occur without the presence of the Holy Spirit because it is not God's nature to be less than omnipresent is lunacy! God can do anything He desires with the Holy Spirit... He breathed His Spirit into Adam and took it away from Saul... and God can remove it from the earth, but keep it intact in the body of Christ, the Church, at the event of the Rapture. Needless to say, I think you will get a real jolt out of Dr. Truesdale's dissertation... . . . to think that he is filling seminary students' heads full of this kind of "mush" is almost too much to handle. So, the struggle goes on....
Yours in Yeshua,
Dear Pastor L.J.P.,
You certainly don't need to hold credentials in different denominations
to argue with a blowhard like Dr. Truesdale — it's easy to prove him
Biblically wrong. Know that you have the mind of Christ, and so do all
true believers. If you noticed, we did not challenge small
denominational seminaries like this one, but rather the nation's
largest, and still found basic Biblical errors.
— Zola
Dear Zola, I am sending an article from the San Jose Mercury News, because I found it interesting. I know it was because of the 50th anniversary. In the first paragraph I wondered about statements made. "The Palestinians, descended from Arabs who ruled the land for centuries, are stateless today and living under Israeli military occupation amid a struggling peace process." My questions are: [1] Did the Arabs actually rule the land or just exist there all that time? [2] Have they ever lived under Israeli military occupation? [3] It is my understanding that when Israel was granted statehood the Arabs were offered land for their own state and refused it. [4] Also, when Israel was given the land, did it include all of the land, including Jerusalem, therefore legally, the Arabs have no legal claim? I personally believe that Israel has no business giving up an inch of the land that is theirs by Divine right, and also legally theirs. They have a moral obligation to hold on to what God has given them. Appreciate any feedback you can give me. C.B.
Dear C.B.,
[1] The Arabs really never ruled Israel, they simply squatted on the
land like a number of other peoples over long centuries when it was a
backwater place. Among the others were Turks, Jews, Egyptians, etc. [2]
Israel presently "occupies" the West Bank and Gaza. The Arabs living in
Israel proper are not under military occupation, and frankly, the
occupation was quite benign until the uprisings occurred. It might be
said that under Israeli occupation, the Palestinian life span has
extended from 42 to 67 years, and that they are the only Arabs in the
Middle East with schools in their villages, doctors, clean water, etc.,
etc. Thirdly, Israel was given all of the land, including Jerusalem. See
the Abrahamic Covenant, especially (Gen. 13:15). [3] That is correct.
Arabs were offered more land by the United Nations than they now claim,
and they refused it.
[4] I appreciate your using the term "Arabs," since the Palestinian
people, as such, have really never existed. They consist of Arabs from
several countries who have come into Israel, basically since 1948, when
the Jews started to build a modern nation. The idea of an "ancient
Palestine" is mythical, and "Palestinians" at no time had an indigenous
culture, government, or existed as an independent people.
— Zola
Mr. Levitt, I very much appreciate your program and your teachings. When someone is talking and reading directly from the Holy Scriptures, how can someone else deny what they are saying? This has always been the case of your program and I respect you for this. Just today I first viewed your website and I was amazed at the wealth of information I had found. In recent years I have become very fascinated by Jewish history and I have learned much by watching you. The Holy Spirit has come over me with much learning and a voracious appetite for Bible knowledge and wisdom, and much has been satisfied by the teachings of your ministry. On the subject of the problems in Gaza, I agree with you. The way the media (CNN/BBC) have portrayed Israel is deplorable! I know that there is nothing I can add to this that you do not know, so I will just try to obey Psalms 122:6. The best part though is we know what the future will bring for Israel! I have subscribed to the newsletter and very much look forward to receiving it. May I end with a sincere "Shalom" to you and your family and your ministry, and may the Lord bless you all. R.T.C. Shalom, I am fifty-seven, almost fifty-eight, years old, and have been a believer since 1956. Today I started watching a video that my wife brought home. It spurred me to seek out your website, and I found the Miracle of Passover video. For the first time, I understand the importance of the Passover and of the Bread and the Cup. With tears in my eyes I could only look to heaven and say thank you. For He led me to watch the tapes, and He led me to seek your site, and you explained to me how much He loves us all, to give us such a memorial and blessing. May you walk in His path all your days, and may He hold you in the hollow of His hand. D.R. I do thoroughly enjoy your newsletter, so please continue sending it although I can't send you anything in return except for my prayers for your continued work. Through your television programs and literature, I came to understand more about how God's plan flows through the Bible. Although I have heard lots of theories and explanations, I'd like to know why are the Jews God's chosen people? Chosen to do what? I've heard comments at churches about their being chosen to bring the message of Christ's love and death for our sins to the Gentiles — and they failed to do that? I'm confused because they are the true people of God. I thank God that your heritage is my heritage. J.W.
Dear J.W.,
God's choice of the Jews seems to be arbitrary, but He is certainly
sticking with it. His Covenant with His friend Abraham was
"everlasting." The reasons for their being chosen are given in the same
Covenant
(read Genesis 12:1-3).
And if they failed to bring the message
of Christ to the world, it's because nobody ever brings it to them! It
is the Church, after all, that has the keys to the Kingdom. The Jews
have not failed in being good citizens of every country, in contributing
to the medicine, law, science, art and so forth of all cultures, of
never persecuting anyone (including the "Palestinians"), and in many
ways have shown that they were a good choice for a mission that they
unfortunately are not equipped for due to failures of the Church itself.
Thanks for your letter.
— Zola
Letters to the Jerusalem Post during our April TourSir, — In his op-ed "No mutual understanding" (April 16), David Kimche ignores the real reason for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: the refusal of most Moslems to accept Israelis as "equals." Islam cannot accept Zionists, Christians, or any other religion as equals. To do so would undermine the basic tent of Islam, i.e., Mohammed was the latest and the greatest of all prophets. Only when the Israelis accept a status (both political and religious) as inferior to that of the Moslems will the foundations of any peace be laid. Until then, the most we can hope for is a series of ceasefires, similar to that now existing between Islam and those Christian countries which can defeat the Moslems. — Macabee Dean
The U.S. pressure on Israel to withdraw from the northeast tip of Gaza was unfortunate and dangerous. It furthers the legitimacy of the use of terror against Israeli civilians with impunity by the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority is not a responsible government. The real tragedy of the Oslo peace agreement is that it legitimized an exiled, anti-democratic terrorist cell as the Palestinians' official voice. Yasser Arafat is no Mandela, no Nehru. Think of Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe or Al Capone, and you have a clearer picture.
— Matthew Miller
Bush Couple Visits Holocaust MuseumWASHINGTON — President George W. Bush walked through the solemn, marble and brick hallways of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, pausing before an eternal flame to pay tribute to those who died in the Nazi death camps. The visit was on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Bush arrived with his wife Laura in a cold drizzle. In somber tones, he spoke to nearly 300 guests from a central staircase in the museum. "This isn't like any other museum," Bush said. "This museum bears witness to the best and worst of the human heart. We must always remember the cruelty of the guilty and the courage of the innocent. An evil had never been so ambitious in its scope, so systematic in its execution, and so deliberate in its destruction." Bush made a 45-minute tour of the seven-year-old museum — he and the first lady strode hand in hand into a candlelit room and lighted one more candle in memory of those who died at the most infamous death camp — Auschwitz-Birkenau. Bush's tour was guided by a rabbi, a Holocaust survivor, and the director of the museum, Sara Bloomfield. In an awkward moment, Bush admonished his own guests when they applauded his arrival with hoots and whistles. With a frown, Bush said the museum was a hollowed place and they should behave.
He then went on to praise the effort to preserve memories of Nazi
atrocities. "So many stories will never be told, because so many
witnesses did not survive. The stories we have must be preserved
forever," he said.
Holocaust Denial Conference Planned in AmmanThe Jerusalem Post The Union of Jordanian Writers intends to hold a conference in Amman on Sunday whose purpose will be the denial of the Holocaust. "The Jews lied to us about the Holocaust and we want to expose this lie to the public," said one of the conference organizers, Hiyat Atiya, a Lebanese author living in Jordan. The conference is being planned in lieu of one which was scheduled to take place on 8 April, and was cancelled by order of the Jordanian authorities. A similar conference planned to take place in Beirut was cancelled following significant criticism against Holocaust deniers by Arab intellectuals. The Jordanian Culture Minister, Mahmud Kayid, said yesterday that conference organizers have not received authorization to hold the gathering, but refused to say whether Amman would order its cancellation.
Nonetheless, the minister called on the organizers to cancel the
conference.
If you read our Battles with Seminaries book, you'll know
what agony we've gone through chasing one awful textbook,
Robert H.Gundry's A Survey of the New Testament,
third edition, just to try to get it out of one college,The
Criswell College here in Dallas. I shudder to think of
the sort of book that we would find if we ever started
looking into the seminaries with their aberrant doctrines
and their strange positions on Israel and Prophecy.
They're not alone, of course — even the secular schools
promote mistakes in science texts, as detailed below.
— Zola
Since When Must Texts Be Truthful?Twelve of the most popular science textbooks used in middle schools across the nation are riddled with errors, a two-year study has found. The errors include maps that show the equator passing through the southern United States and a photo of the singer Linda Ronstadt labeled as a silicon crystal.
"None of the 12 books has an acceptable level of accuracy," said the
study's author, John Hubisz, a physics professor at North Carolina
State. "These are terrible books, and they're probably a strong
component of why we do so poorly in science [on standardized tests],"
professor Hubisz said.
Lots of Pain, but Little GainThe Jerusalem Post Here is a remarkable fact, even more amazing in that it has been so much taken for granted by those who lead, study, and write about the Middle East: In this year of 2001, it's hard to see any major changes in how any single Arab state is being governed compared to the situation in 1990, or even 1980, 1970, or 1960. Decades have passed, the Soviet bloc has collapsed, the Cold War has ended and a remarkable number of international problems have been resolved around the world. Yet there has been no significant advance toward democracy anywhere in the Arab world. Of course one could cite small gains in the Gulf Arab states or talk about the influence of satellite television networks, and so on. Yet the inertia has been incredible. Civil society remains extremely weak, with governments continuing to control and repress independent voices. At times freedom of speech seems to be restricted to the right to condemn Israel. This is truly remarkable. Political systems that don't work very well or fail to achieve their goals may be expected to be subject to change, or at least serious challenge. Policy premises that do not accord with external realities, thus producing real international failures, might be corrected or at least carefully reexamined... Certain Western scholars complained that the main problem with the Palestinian Authority was lack of democracy. Institute a more representative system, they argued, and a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians would be easy to achieve.
The current situation, however, is a manifestation of popular sentiment.
The masses are quite ready to think that the leaders are too moderate,
or are eager to believe those agitators who say so. Meanwhile, the
leaders promote the very ideas that undermine any chance for them to
follow more realistic and beneficial policies.
Arafat Has $20m. Iraqi Escape Plan
An Israeli security official said yesterday that Arafat began preparing his latest fallback plan shortly before the outbreak of the Intifada last September and sent a delegation, headed by West Bank Fatah leader Abbas Zakki, to Baghdad to clinch the deal. The $20 million is in addition to other funds he is believed to control. "He wanted to ensure his future before initiating the violence," he said. "[Arafat] continues to portray the Palestinians as the victims of Israeli occupation, and yet a lot of the funds received have gone into his own pocket, instead of to his people." The money has been carefully invested over the years by Arafat's business confidante Mohammed Rashid, the official added. Last month, it was reported that Rashid had established a line of communication between Arafat and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prior to the election. A delegation made up of Sharon's son and aide Omri, former Foreign Ministry director-general Eytan Bentsur, and attorney Dov Weisglass met with Rashid in Vienna. "Arafat is a very good actor but, at the same time, he is a cool calculator and realizes that he has to prepare for all scenarios," said the official, noting that many Arab countries refuse to assist Arafat. "Tunis has already distanced itself from him." He added that Israeli security officials are closely monitoring Palestinian ties with the Iraqi leader, but are powerless to act. Last week, Arafat sent a letter to Saddam seeking help and assistance for the Palestinian people. "It is no coincidence that Iraqi volunteers have begun military training in order to assist the Palestinians," the official added. Preparing for all possible eventualities, Israeli officials have stepped up meetings with key Palestinians, such as West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and West Bank Preventive Security Service chief Jibril Rajoub.
"A person like Barghouti would be very pleased to see Arafat leave,"
said the official. "But Israel must be prepared for all possibilities,
it is very hard at this point to envision the outcome. However it is
clear that Arafat was never really interested in reaching the 'peace of
the brave.'"
|
Copyright © 2001 by Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.
We have run Joseph Farah's articles several times in the
past. He is an Arab writer who simply sees the truth about
the situation in Israel, and says it in very plain words. He
is a believer, and he is in our prayers.
All the scare-mongering reminds me, as an American, of the 1980
presidential election. Back then, I recall, the U.S. media establishment
was equally vociferous in proclaiming Ronald Reagan a threat to world
peace. I remember having concerns myself about this man having his
finger on the button.
Return to Index
At twilight on Friday the 23rd of March (Shabbat), Zola and the Shalom
Shalom Congregation of Dallas, Texas commissioned Todd Baker and me to
witness to the Jew first (Romans 1:16) in the land of Israel. Zola read
Acts 13:2-3, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy
Spirit said 'Set apart for me Barna-bas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed
their hands on them and sent them off." On behalf of the congregation,
Zola placed his hands on us and sent us off with a blessing. This
essential Scriptural event marked the beginning of our evangelism in
Israel.
I will digress for a moment to explain "opportunities." In order to be
an effective witness one must always be prepared and actively searching
for "common ground" to begin communication. For example, in the EL AL
security situation we all agreed to the necessity of their intense
scrutiny and the rationale behind it (i.e., PLO intifada terrorism).
From this common ground we can proceed with genuine love, encouragement
and ultimately sharing the gospel according to Y'shua. In 1 Peter 3:15
we are instructed to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, over the years, has put
aside $20 million, which he has deposited in a Swiss bank account, a
nest egg which Israeli security sources believe he has now offered Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein in exchange for a safe haven if forced to leave
the Palestinian areas, The Jerusalem Post has learned.