June 1999 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

Well, May 4th has come and gone and, after all his blustering, Yasser Arafat did not declare a Palestinian state. The so-called Palestinians are a group of backward people under the thumb of virtual gangsters who appear to be living high on the donations that come from around the world to support some myth of a society struggling toward independence. In reality, the Palestinian economy is a shambles. The entity produces nothing much, and its chief interest is in somehow getting rid of the Israelis and taking their land.

I wasn’t surprised to see that Arafat did not declare a state, because once he did he would be out of a job. This man needs a boiling pot to argue over. When the cooking is finished, the people are liable to rise up against their “revolutionary leader” and recognize him for the dictator that he is. I am not against a Palestinian entity somewhere in the Arab world, where there is endless space for it; but I am against dividing tiny Israel in half between the Jews and their sworn enemies. How anyone can take any position other than that, I’ve never been sure.

According to a recent Jerusalem Report article, the “threat” of declaring a state goes on. The latest word from the Palestinian Authority is that they will await the final Israeli election results and consider the matter further. Meanwhile, the fascinating Holy Land stumbles on under the rule of God and its rightful owners, the Jews.

On another note, I am hearing from viewers that teachers at some churches are saying, “Zola Levitt said this is the year of the Rapture.” Obviously, I don’t know that, and I didn’t say that.

The teaching emanates from our April newsletter in which I speculated about certain computer terms in the Hebrew language, and I made the observation that the Feast of Trumpets this year—a perfectly likely day for the Rapture, if one understands the Seven Feasts—will come on September 10. The significance of that was that the day before would be called 9/9/99 and, according to certain computer experts, four nines in a row marks an ending of a file or a document. I speculated that conceivably, the “file” of mankind from Adam in 4,000 B.C. to the present day (year number 5998-regarding that 1 B.C. and 1 A.D. are the same year) will come to an end. In other words, I supposed that 9/9/99 might be the end of the age of mankind dealing with God from the earth, and the day following might be the Rapture and the translation of the Church to heaven.

That date was pure speculation, and I specified that. Also, the “four nines” idea was not mine, but that of Michael S. Hyatt, a computer expert and author whom I quoted word for word in that letter. I say this because I’ve received numerous letters from still other computer experts who say that the four nines are really not significant and are not used invariably to end files or documents, or that the date in the computer would be written as 09/09/99, and therefore wouldn’t purely represent four nines in a row. About that information I have no opinion; I’m not an expert in computer technology, and that is why I quoted a recognized authority.

My main point is that I am not dictating any date to anybody, but merely speculating. It is not sinful to look ahead to the coming of the Lord, which Paul did in virtually every letter he wrote, and which the Lord obviously advised us to do when He gave us the signs of the end (Matt. 24, etc.). But as to fixing a date, that would be anti-Scriptural (“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son” [Matt. 25:36]).

It is usually those who are less conversant with the Bible who run off with excitement over such speculations. I can recall the book that gave “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Come …” in 1988 (and my engagement at the Prestonwood Church in Dallas the next year teaching “89 Reasons Why We Can’t Predict the Rapture”). Those familiar with Scripture—those who read it every day—would understand that I was merely speculating. If your Sunday school teacher is telling you anything that begins, “Zola Levitt said …” quote him John 12:21, “We don’t want to hear about Zola Levitt, but ‘Sir, we would see Jesus.’”

That was a message facing the speaker on a podium in an Episcopal church. Any preacher who stood there would be reminded that the subject was neither himself nor his speculations, but our Lord.

And while I’m on the subject of Episcopal churches or the like, please do not write to me and tell me your particular church is a very fine one and not characteristic of your denomination as a whole. I have heard this from a number of denominations (I never had a letter like that from certain other denominations; I can’t help thinking that the more Bible that is taught in the church, the less defensive people are about their faith). Please let me say loud and clear that I know there are fine churches of every denomination where the people are sound believers and the good works are manifest. That was not my subject in the past Levitt Letter.

My subject was that whole denominations turn anti-Biblical as a matter of policy. We received the following letter from a Christian publishing house editor-in-chief:

To be brief about my views on Israel, I can’t imagine an issue which we wouldn’t agree on.

Recently, in discussions with our editorial board, we have pledged to be led by the Lord in publishing materials that paint a true picture of what’s going on in the Middle East.

My question for you is this:

Having been in a United Methodist congregation for two years (our local church is conservative), I would like to ask your advice on the best way to inform my denomination of Arab-Israeli realities. The [United Methodist] church, obviously, is almost wholly pro Palestinian. I have discovered quite recently the lengths to which the leadership has gone to pump PLO propaganda into our 8.5 million member denomination. To my knowledge, the rebuttal space is non-existent.

Do you believe a working strategy could be developed to reach the liberal church? I am intensely interested now to start with the United Methodist Church.

Supporting enemies of the Chosen People is anti-Biblical, and that’s all there is to that. Israel has enough problems without this lack of loyalty from Americans calling themselves Christians.

Come and see for yourself! Our September Tour is 4–15 (Deluxe) and 1–15 (Grand). The Deluxe Tour visits Mount Moriah, the Western Wall, the streets where our Lord bore His cross, Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial), the museum with the original Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient City of David, historic Masada, the Dead Sea, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room of the Last Supper, Calvary and the Garden Tomb, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes where our Lord preached the Sermon on the Mount. We continue to the Jordan River where you may be baptized in the same water as the Lord. We drive through Cana and Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home, cross the Valley of Armageddon, and see Mount Carmel where Elijah prayed down the fire from Heaven. We visit Caesarea Philippi where Jesus blessed Simon and changed his name to Peter, and we view the Roman amphitheater where Paul stood trial. The Grand Tour stays at a five-star hotel on the Dead Sea, visits En Gedi where David hid from Saul, views Eilat, tours the beautiful Negev Desert and has an option to visit Petra. During the extended tour, we will see all four of Israel’s seas: the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea! Call our office [or click here] and request a brochure for a complete itinerary. I think you’ll enjoy the full-color photographs and information about Israel.

Our TV production is going ahead on the prophecy footage we taped on the April tour, and the programs will be ready in the fall. Likewise, our one-hour prime-time prophecy special is planned for September. We covet your support for these very important projects which, as things turn out, may be the most important we’ve ever undertaken!

Thanks, and please pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,