July 1992 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

What can I tell you — it’s a wonderful country! It’s 5:15 in the morning and the Sea of Galilee is just outside my window. The first pink streaks of dawn are visible across the water, and a few small fishing boats are out, as they were in the days of the Lord’s presence here.

I am dictating this letter during our summer tour in Israel, and I wish every one of you could see this land. Well, in point of fact, every one of you who is a believer will see Israel. And in many ways this will be the greatest reward of all – this magnificent land, this marvelous fulfillment of prophecy, this greatest work of God since the first century!

I feel so very sorry for those to whom God’s plans are unrevealed, or whose earth-bound anti-Semitism overcomes even the power of Scripture to move their hearts. Truly, “There is no place like home,” and this wonderful land of Israel will be the home of all believers for a thousand years. To see it restored, to feel the spirit of God moving, to breath the air, sing the songs and speak the language of this brave little country is, to me, the most significant experience possible in this lifetime.

Israel is very busy right now, not just with God, but with the devil, as well. During this trip there were all sorts of news items and revelations to be reckoned with.

In Tel Aviv there is a new Tex-Mex restaurant, and the Hilton Hotel just opened the world’s first kosher sushi bar! While eating at the Jerusalem Hilton, where our tour group stayed, I spotted Mayor Teddy Kollek having a quiet lunch without fanfare. No one played “Hail to the Chief’ when he walked in, and he didn’t make any speeches. This wonderful leader, hero of the Holy Land, could teach a thing or two to mayors around the world, and a certain President of the United States, as well.

Our pilgrims were delighted with the modest prices in Israel, especially after paying as much as $18 for a Coke (that’s cola — not cocaine) at the Meridien Hotel during our stopover in Paris on our way to the Holy Land.

In the news there was talk of how the new Israeli government could be dependant on Arab members of the Knesset to form a majority. Most Americans have no idea of what a real democracy is like, where all people within the land are represented by the ruling body, and even supposed enemies — Palestinians, Communists and whatnot are elected and may affect the policies of the nation. This is in stark contrast to the primeval Arab dictatorships, where one can easily die as a result of voting the wrong way (or even wanting to vote).

The elections in Austria were also in the news. The ex-Nazi Waldheim has at last resigned, but the Jewish citizens are uneasy about his successor. It seems that President-elect Klestil is an uncertain quantity. Austria has been shunned by the world’s governments for six years, and for good cause as far as I’m concerned. I think we can all muddle through without more anti-Semitism from that source.

A Jerusalem District Court ordered that $350,000 be paid to a Palestinian who was forced by Israeli soldiers to remove an illegal Palestinian flag from a pole bearing electric wiring. The Palestinian was injured and the Jewish court ruled in his favor. I doubt if you’ll see this story on CNN. Could somebody please do me a favor and mail this item to Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes? I’m afraid I can’t write to him, look at him, or listen to him anymore in this life because of his distortions about the Temple Mount situation last year. Thanks.

There is concern here in Israel, too, about immigration from Russia, which has slowed down considerably due to the extremely difficult economic situation and George Bush’s crusade against the loan guarantees so badly needed to settle these unfortunates. Where 10,000 of these poor souls were arriving monthly last spring, there are now only 3,000 coming each month. In one year, the United States has gone from being regarded by Israel as first among the nations, to the point today where being an American over here is embarrassing. This is all due to the policies of one man who, with a concerted effort, we can remove from office this November. It should be mentioned that more than one million Russian-Jewish people have completed their immigration formalities, and have all the documentation necessary to relocate to Israel. Perhaps if each one of these potential immigrants simply wrote a letter to Bush, begging him to give this modest and no-cost help, he might be troubled to relent. Could it be possible that he considers it more important to kowtow to the Arab tyrants? I think his actions are causing our country to suffer a severe spiritual reprimand right now. God, Who said, “I will… curse him that curseth thee,” is not mocked.

A 7,500-year-old skeleton has been found near the city of Lod (Lydda in the New Testament). Sooner or later, someone will declare that Adam has been found, and that the Garden of Eden was really located at this little village where Peter raised Tabitha (Acts 9: 36-42).

The most stirring adventure of this trip was our discovery of a true “watchman on the wall” who perpetually stays in the Upper Room, listening to teachers address their groups. This powerful Jewish believer and his wife are monitoring the lessons of the various guides and preachers who come along, and he is ready to object to any error. Since the Lord made some of His most crucial pronouncement about our faith in that setting (John 13 – 17), the mission of this penniless, but spiritually mighty, observer is to censure error and congrat­ulate truth. I didn’t actually realize what his function was, but I received a warm hug and many blessings from this modern voice crying in the wilderness for spiritual accuracy. The lesson I typically teach in that singularly holy place is about the Lord’s return — that it is real, and literal and imminent, not a “spiritualized” return “in our hearts,” or whatever the current liberal gobbledygook is. I was delighted that this observant one — perhaps an angel — approved of the teaching, the singing and the prayers we shared together in that inspiring place.

Goodbye, for now, from the Holy Land. We are preparing a new series of programs tentatively entitled Israel: By Divine Right!, which will document the obvious Godliness of this present restoration, and the poverty of those who cannot see God at work before their eyes. I humbly ask for your prayers and support for this important upcoming project. God bless you.

Your Messenger,