February 2004 Personal Letter

Dear Friend:

I sincerely want to thank you for your year-end giving. It was beyond our expectations and so appreciated because we have the new financial burden of the PAX network to pay for this year. The donations, received on 1-800-WONDERS (800-966-3377) from PAX viewers, already equal those from TBN, so we are almost halfway toward breaking even.

As I have explained before, undertaking even one new station sets us back for a while since new viewers do not at first support a program they’re not familiar with. After a while, if they like the program, everything balances, and that has been the case over our hundreds of stations.

A network, on the other hand, is a conglomerate of stations with a very large audience unfamiliar with the program. Obviously then, we have to carry that much heavier a burden for quite some time — in the TV business, they say 18 months, but I think it’s closer to one year — until things balance again. During that period, increased giving is most certainly a blessing. We have the simplest of procedures: all money given to us goes into the service of the King.

I’m afraid we’re all familiar with the host of “middlemen” involved in charities. Even the Red Cross was embarrassed when it was caught holding back donations given for the benefit of the families who were affected by the World Trade Center attacks.

In Christianity, there is an abundance of go-betweens who promise all sorts of things from God if you’ll support them. They will contact God in some special way and get something done, according to their promises. This is hooey. Every one of us Believers can contact God, by simply quieting our hearts and talking with Him.

Other kinds of middlemen claim they are going to help with problems in Israel, Russia, or Heaven knows where, if you’ll give them the money. The problem here is not exactly illegality, but the fact that they typically help themselves to more than a reasonable share of the funds, and it just isn’t fair. If the Lord examined the transaction, He most certainly would disapprove.

In this ministry, we issue audited financial statements that are open and honest from the top to the bottom, and we gladly answer questions about where the money is spent. My son, Mark, our business manager, issues a State of the Ministry article every six months, and informs you where we stand.

Please also know that, in giving to the people we support in Israel, you are perfectly welcome to their addresses to send your gift personally. Or, you can choose one of our particular funds; we always remit one hundred percent of any donation when it is designated for some other recipient. If your gift is by credit card, then we simply pay the fees, and relay your entire gift to the receiver of your kindness.

With that said, let me tell you that the time grows shorter and shorter that we’re going to have to worry about these things. Truly, the Tribulation period seems almost upon us as we look all around at the subtle, ongoing situations that will lead to fulfillments of Biblical prophecy.

I chanced across a wonderful article by the publisher of Israel Today, Ludwig Schneider, an Israeli Believer. The article was titled “The Mark of the Beast,” and we run it here in full, for your edification.

What do chives — that delicate green herb that adds a hint of onion flavor to our meats, salads and vegetables — have to do with anti-Semitism? As one of the products Israel exports to Europe, chives have triggered one of the most virulent anti-Zionist attacks to date in the European Union (EU) parliament.

Over the past few years, Israeli produce has enjoyed steadily decreasing tariffs in the EU, a trade advantage agreed upon in the 1970s when the European community was still friendly toward Israel. Today, the mood has changed. The new EU strategy is to penalize Israel with higher tariffs on fruits, vegetables and other products from the “settlements” in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. The aim is to use the EU’s enormous economic leverage as blackmail and force Israel to capitulate to Europe’s definition of “peace.”

Israel and the European Union disagree over borders and the status of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. The EU regards Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”), Gaza and East Jerusalem as Palestinian, while Israel believes that the status of these disputed areas will be determined at the negotiating table.

So, as the EU attempts to put Jewish farmers out of business with exorbitant import taxes, the Palestinians are showered with favorable trade arrangements. The not-so-subtle message in the marketplace is: “Don’t buy from Jews.”

Since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, the EU has become the self-appointed guardian of the Palestinian people and chief benefactor of the Palestinian Authority (PA). In 2000 and 2001, EU aid to the PA totaled more than $310 million. Among other things, EU funding helped produce the virulently anti-Semitic PA textbooks that teach Palestinian children to hate Jews.

After the outbreak of fighting three years ago, Israel froze taxes and other monies collected for the PA because they were being used to finance terrorism. Not surprisingly, the EU condemned Israel and stepped in to ease the financial burden: The Palestinian war machine was given an immediate grant of $110 million, and a stipend of $12 million a month. The EU did not even pretend to earmark this money for humanitarian aid, but rather gave Yasser Arafat a blank check.

In effect, the EU is imposing economic sanctions on Israel while financing the Palestinian terror war. Israeli chives are taxed out of competition in the marketplace, as the EU works hand-in-hand with the PA regime to weaken Israel politically and militarily. Ultimately, the EU is collaborating with the Palestinian goal of annihilating the Jewish state. And the Jews have again become the scapegoat, blamed for the political instability that threatens Europe’s prosperity.

In Revelation 13:17, the apostle John describes the time of the Antichrist: “No one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark.” From personal experience, I’ve seen that the mechanisms for fulfillment of this verse are already in place.

We are blessed with 19 wonderful grandchildren. Eleven years ago, when our first granddaughter, Eden, was born, we opened a savings account for her in Switzerland. Every month, we make a small deposit so one day she’ll have a little nest egg to help her get started. Many grandparents do the same.

Last year, when I wanted to open an account for a new grandchild, I was refused because I’m from Israel! The intervention of a friendly bank manager allowed me to proceed.

This year, when we wanted to register two more grandchildren, the bank teller already knew my “status.” Yet, when she entered the name “Israel” in the computer, it set off an error message, ejecting her from the program! She tried to circumvent the problem manually, but the computer refused every time it recognized “Israel” or “Jerusalem.”

I realized that what John saw in his vision has become feasible because of the role the computer plays in our lives. While friendly clerks still try to help us, we’ve arrived at a time when it’s getting harder for Israelis to buy and sell as others do.

It always begins with the Jews, but it doesn’t stop there. First, the Jews were sent to the death camps, but then those Christians who rejected Nazism suffered the same fate. Eventually, Jews and Christians who don’t carry the special “mark” will not be able to conduct business in the marketplace.

It could happen sooner than we expect.

As to that last thought about “Christians who don’t carry the special mark,” it is usually taught that all Christians will leave in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and that is what our ministry teaches. But we use the term “Christians” in the sense of true, born-again Believers. We are not counting all of the liberal Protestants, the Roman Catholics, and other sacramental churches in full. (Among those denominations there are Believers, but, as we all know, they also have many unbelievers who will “weep and gnash teeth” — Matthew 8:12.)

That’s why it will be hard to pin down exactly what has happened when the Raptured people disappear. The Antichrist will perhaps take advantage of a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack in which people are missing from school and work, and various theories will come about to explain the disappearances.

One of those theories might well be that the Christians have left in the “Rapture” (there have been movies, books, and videos on this subject), but someone will surely raise his hand and point out that there is a large church on his very street which is holding services every Sunday as usual. There will be many so-called “Christians” who will remain after the Rapture, and those are the ones who will have to make a choice. And, of course, it will be a life-and-death decision (and I refer here to the “second death” of Revelation 2:11).

The Lord will review all such decisions at His trial of the sheep and goats when He returns to start the Kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46). The test will be a simple one: “How did you treat My brothers?” The Lord says in verse 40: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

The anti-Semites, and those who oppose Israel, will have to make some big changes in seven years or we won’t be seeing them again. (We might actually see them at the Great White Throne of Judgment when all unbelievers are judged. This judgment of “the dead” will involve everyone from Cain to those of the Tribulation period, who simply did not believe God, and went their own way. They will now be examined in a very exacting court. They will be condemned by the men of Tyre and Sidon and by those of Sodom (Matthew 11:21-24) as well as the Queen of the South who will “rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it” (Matthew 12:42).)

Since all these people will testify at this hearing, I sometimes wonder if we Believers will not also testify against (or possibly even for) those being judged.

Often, in this life, we are asked to be character witnesses for someone we know who has been accused and is on trial.

And so blessing the Lord’s people — the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24) — will mean everything to those Tribulation souls, and it should mean everything to us upon whom there is no real pressure. We live in a society without the Antichrist, have a selection of Bibles available, have churches on every corner, etc., and we certainly have no excuse for not giving a better accounting of ourselves than they will.

So consider storing up for testimony in the Judgment Seat of Christ, a tour of Israel. What better blessing to give to His brethren?!

We have upcoming tours slated for just that purpose. The Deluxe Tour, visiting Israel only, will depart on March 14th and will return on the 24th. Our Grand Petra Tour, visiting both Israel and Petra, will depart on March 14th and return on the 28th. The Grand Athens Tour, cruising the Greek Isles and touring Israel, extends from March 9th through the 24th. Finally, our Ultra-Grand Tour, with everything — the Greek Isles, Israel and Petra — will begin on March 9th and end on the 28th. We’re also having our usual Kibbutz tour in June, a lowerpriced alternative for teachers and students.

For more information or the confirmation of tour dates, check with Tony at (214) 696-9760 during business hours. You can also call 1-800-WONDERS (1-800-966-3377) anytime for a brochure about any of our tours.

Please remember that now that we have gone on PAX with our great leap of faith, we’re continuing to request that all of our supporters please ask the Lord what He would have you give to help our ministry. We need no more than that.

Finally, in a time when many seminaries, colleges, and even churches are aligning against the Chosen People and, in effect, our Lord, I hope you will continue to remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your Messenger,

P.S. Remember to watch us on PAX Thursday mornings. Cable viewers can tune in at 9:30 am on both coasts and at 8:30 Central and Mountain Time. Both Dish’s Channel 181 and DirecTV’s Channel 255 will carry our programming at 9:30 ET, 8:30 CT, 7:30 MT and 6:30 PT. Local broadcast viewers should check these times with their local PAX affiliates. For our complete airing schedule, please refer to pages 18-23 of the December and January Levitt Letters or check online at http://www.levitt.com/airsch.