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The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Dear Friends,

Greetings from Jerusalem, where I have been filming a new, eight-part series on the Book of Daniel, entitled Daniel and the Last Days’ Battle for Planet Earth. I also have followed closely events associated with the recent elections in the States. In regard to these, I’d like to offer the following reflections.

Democratic elections “flesh out” the will of the people and are a noble way of determining who the governing principals will be in democracies. Though the names of our governors change with times and circumstances, I believe that it is necessary for certain ideals to remain fixed over time: fixed governing principles are more important than changing governing principals.

While in Athens, Greece, a few weeks back, I heard the common misconception that the Greeks both invented democracy and passed it on to the world. I appreciate the Greeks’ myriad contributions but would like to point out that the democratic ethics profoundly articulated in the Hebrew Bible predate the Greeks’ emergence by centuries.

Deut. 16:18–20, for example, says: (18) You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. (19) You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. (20) You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land, which the Lord your God is giving you.

I placed the italics in the paragraph above to denote the premium the Bible places on the appointment of worthy administrators who administer “justice.” Doing what is morally and religiously “just” and “right” is a hallmark of authentic, biblical religion and, from earliest times, was deemed to be more important than simply following a religious “rite.” The act was deemed to be more important than the person administering it. This was especially true—and still is!—for those in juridical and political authority.

What was translated into English above as “altogether just” literally reads “Justice, justice shalt thou follow” in Hebrew. “Justice,” mentioned twice, say Judaism’s sages, presses the point upon the reader and emphasizes the literature’s insistence upon evenhandedness in civil and criminal processes. Thus, criminal convictions were to be secured on the basis of more than one witness (Deut. 19:15–21), and judges were to “make careful inquiry” of facts and witnesses in order to ensure balanced justice for all.

As with Moses, Amos later demanded social justice (Amos 5:7, 11–12) and decried politicians who “turn justice to wormwood,” who “divert the poor from the justice” due them, and who content themselves simply to “tax” the people and “tread them down” for their own personal interests. “Woe to the oppressing city,” said Zephaniah (Zeph. 3:1), for it will meet an inglorious end!

For the reasons above, Bible readers note that God demands justice for all and is not kindly disposed toward those who deny it to those in need! Micah summed it up well: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). If only our society were managed by individuals with these revered Jewish values, Democrats or Republicans!

Are these sacrosanct values in danger of being lost? I think so—at least in some places.

Humankind was created in “God’s image” (Gen. 1:26) and possesses inalienable rights by virtue of being so, whether we’re Jewish, Arabic, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, or somewhere in between. Rights due women and men include—and are not limited to—(1) honor, (2) personal dignity and respect, and (3) freedom to benefit from the fruits of their labor.

Unlike Islam—a system of non-democratic, religious government that advocates warring against outsiders and subjugating others—Judaism and Christianity argue that injustice toward any of humankind is disrespect toward God, not just toward the offended person. Disrespecting the rights of others is a religious offense, a flagrant disregard of the fundamental human rights granted by a gracious and just God. Because of this belief, our Judeo-Christian culture protects the basic rights and dignity of all people. Because Islam lacks this belief, non-Muslims especially, but even many Muslims, suffer in Muslim-controlled countries.

I believe that our Judeo-Christian civilization is worth fighting for and saving.

To that end, we do well to elect and support leaders who publicly reflect those Judeo-Christian values and who are in touch with virtues rooted in biblical soil. Let’s pray that our leaders, Democrat and Republican alike, draw from this heritage and guide us into the future accordingly. Let’s not make the mistake of our neighbors in Europe, who seem less inclined to stand up for the virtues that make Judeo-Christian ways superior to others, but who seem lulled to sleep by the mantra of religious tolerance—Islamic acceptance, particularly. I am alarmed. I do not expect good fruit to come from the practice there and must call individuals to resist the tendency here.

Resist it we will! By so doing, we at Zola Levitt Ministries know we will provoke some who think we are too bold. But still, we believe this to be part of our mission, and we will deal with the consequences. We gather courage from friends who help along the way—who write, who pray for us, and who contribute to keep us alive as an outspoken organization.

Writing from Israel as I am, let me conclude by encouraging you to join us for an upcoming Holy Land tour—what would be the trip of a lifetime for you, I promise. We schedule our TV filming to coincide with our tours, which affords me the opportunity to mingle with pilgrims who travel with us. I love it. A number of pastors, who joined our November tour group, shared that their churches or someone in their churches sent them on our tour. One of the ministers reminded us that a trip to Israel is worth a year of Bible college. Zola used to say that a tour of Israel is worth ten years of Sunday School. How true that remains!

With regard to our recent trip, Sandra Levitt adds the following: “I love seeing the ‘lights’ come on in pilgrims’ hearts when in Israel. Everything we have read in the Bible comes alive right before our eyes. This group has been wonderful, and I truly have enjoyed getting to know everyone. We have prayed together and helped each other with the rigors of traveling. More than one person has said that Israel feels like their real home. Why not join me here in the land where it all began?” I “second” Sandra’s motion and invite you to join us both for an upcoming trip. Our Deluxe Tour will go to Israel March 18 – 28, and our Grand Petra Tour will go to Israel and Petra March 18 – April 1. Please contact Tony in our office at (214) 696-9760, and he’ll get information to you right away. Or call 1-800-WONDERS (1-800-966-3377) anytime.

Thank you for staying with us through our challenging transition. As you may have noticed, we produced as many new television programs as ever in this ministry’s history, keeping the quality high, not only in terms of on-location filming, but also with solid Bible teaching. Beyond that, all of our programs are closed-captioned for the deaf and produced in HDTV, in anticipation of new requirements for broadcast. Please remember this important ministry in your tithes and offerings, and fervently pray for us and, as always, for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,

Jeff Seif

P.S. Please send for our national television airing schedule to make sure you know about all the days and times that you can see Zola Levitt Presents in your area. Or you can click on “TV Schedule” at www.levitt.com. While at our website, click on “Watch on Internet TV” to view our latest programming, including In Loving Memory [of Zola], Israel, My Love—highlights of our 27 years of broadcasts, The Gospel of Isaiah and, soon, our pending programs from Daniel and the Last Days’ Battle for Planet Earth. All free.

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