Dear Friend,
As 2007 winds down and our minds turn to the seasonal theme of “Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men” (Lk. 2:14b), I want to open up the Scripture and clearly note “good news” relative to the prospect for peace in the Middle East.
The biblical Text foretells Israel’s restoration and the fact that Israelis will come to terms with Arabs round about.
Does this “peace” come about by anxious politicians running around, grabbing news bites, garnering support for their new initiatives, and offering to give God’s land to God’s enemies in exchange for worthless peace treaties? No! Let’s consider how peace comes according to the biblical Text.
In Ezekiel, peace comes after an armed struggle. Though I don’t want to focus on the struggle, but on the peace that follows, a word about the coming war is necessary.
In the context of prophesying that Israel will be re-established as the Jewish homeland in the “last days” (Ezekiel 37:1–28), and while informing readers that nations around Israel will mobilize energies in the interest of facilitating the new State’s demise, Ezekiel notes in chapters 38–39 that the terrorists will meet an inglorious end.
Here is what happens.
First, Ezekiel says that Israel is restored as a sovereign nation-state over and against the world’s objections. “I will enable you to dwell in the cities [of Israel], and the ruins shall be rebuilt,” says the Lord. “The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate… So they will say: ‘The land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden… and [once] ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited’” (36:33–35).
Ezekiel further notes in v. 36 that, in response to Israel’s providential re-emergence and apparent success, “then the nations all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate.”
The world sees God at work in the world through the work that He does for Israel. While noting that mankind eventually comes to terms with the reality of Israel’s existence, Ezekiel rhetorically raises the million-dollar question: What becomes of the Arab peoples in the surrounding areas?
In this regard the Scripture is explicit—and quite positive. Here is what Ezekiel goes on record with: “the strangers who dwell among you, and bear children among you, they shall be to you as native born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you… says the Lord God” (47:22–23). If the literature is taken seriously and literally, it seems that Jews and Arabs come to terms—eventually. Thank God.
That is what I believe.
Personally, I never thought we’d see the day when a generation of biblically illiterate, post-Holocaust Israeli leaders would meet with the Palestinian Authority and work on a deal (brokered by the U.S. State Department!) to weaken and carve up Jerusalem, as with other areas of Israel. That the initiative seems to be stimulated by our very own end-of-term president is very disconcerting to me.
In President Bush’s case, my hunch is that just as he is known for having “unleashed the dogs of war” in response to 9/11, he wants to finish his term by unleashing the doves of peace. Noble as it all is, at one level, I am distressed by his apparent capitulation to the political demands of terrorists, by his arming Islamic regimes around Israel, and by his posturing in ways that afford him the opportunity to mistakenly note Islam’s being “a religion of peace.”
This is not the Bible’s Middle East peace initiative.
What should he be doing, and what should we be doing?
First, as Robert Spencer noted in The Truth About Islam, it doesn’t seem prudent for an American president to be making pronouncements about the nature of Islam—given that religious assessment is not his field. It does seem prudent, however, for our country’s leader to initiate endeavors to wean Americans away from dependence on Arab-based fossil fuels, given that the dependence evidently presses us to deform our foreign policies.
Speaking of “foreign,” while America may want to remain a refuge for the oppressed, I advocate that we develop a politically incorrect immigration application process and ask those seeking entry and U.S. citizenship questions like: “How do you view patriotism?” and “What are your thoughts on religious freedom?” Let’s “weed out the garden.” In like manner, our president should call upon the various Islamic leaders and groups resident among us to forcefully renounce terrorism in principle and vehemently denounce militant Islamic leaders who promote it. That the Council on American-Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R.) emerged from the “Islamic Association of Palestine” (a Hamas front) gives rise to the conviction that sincere denouncements won’t be coming any time soon.
So much for what he—our president—should be doing. What should we be doing? Fortunately those who prayerfully and financially partner with Zola Levitt Ministries are doing God’s work in a number of ways.
First, we make our politically incorrect voices heard in millions of homes across America each and every week via broadcast and print media. Secondly, through those politically incorrect voices we promote a biblical version of reality that calls people to repentance. Thirdly, and without apology, we promote that biblical vision with a decidedly Jewish set of lenses, offering a much-needed prophetic vision that is often underdeveloped in the broader, evangelical culture.
Through television, we take viewers “on location” to sites all over the Holy Land where we teach the Bible from a Jewish perspective. In 2007, we temporarily branched out beyond Israel and produced a prophetic, European-based series entitled Bad Moon Rising, motivated, in part, by my wanting to warn a backslidden and slothful Europe and to prepare folk for the ongoing struggle with radical Islam.
Having expanded our broadcast into Europe—at great expense, incidentally—I thought it would be great to release a series, She Shall Be Called Woman, and accompanying book, Woman by Divine Design, in the hope that non-Christian Muslims and secularists would come upon them and discover a grace available to them in the Judeo-Christian world that is not readily perceived in their own.
In addition to the above, in 2007 we updated and enhanced our webpage—www.levitt.com—renovated our magazine—the Levitt Letter—produced new books and articles, traveled extensively to speak in churches when invited, and never missed a beat in taking tours to Zola’s and our beloved Israel.
We’d love to have you join us on one of our tours. This coming March we will follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul through Greece and the Greek Isles, touching on places he visited in Turkey. We will be touring Israel around the same time, and pilgrims can take either tour or combine them for an extended trip of a lifetime.
The portion during which we follow in the Footsteps of Paul (March 14–25) tours Greece, the Greek Isles, and touches Asia Minor. Our Deluxe Tour (March 23–April 2) tours Israel only. Our Grand Tour (March 14–April 2) includes both the Footsteps and Deluxe tours.
For more information, you may contact Tony in our office at (214) 696-9760 during business hours (Central Time) or call (800) 966-3377 (1-800-WONDERS) anytime.
Please note that all through this letter I use the term “we.” I’m not thinking only about my professional associates here in the ministry; I am also thinking about you, our widespread friends and supporters—thus “we.”
It heartens me to know that there are still people in this world who care about Jesus, who care about telling the truth, who care about Jews, and who are keeping “at the ready” in this interesting season of human history.
In a forthcoming letter, I’ll give you a first look at some of the great things we have planned for 2008—modern Israel’s 60th birthday. For now, however, we’ve scheduled an updated series on Ezekiel’s prophecies, and during production we’ll re-print one of Zola’s prophecy books, which I’ll update.
In this season when we all remember God’s Gift to the world, may I ask you to join with Him in the spirit of giving? Give a gift in your own name. Give it in a loved one’s. Irrespective of who’s name, would you kindly join me in giving to the world the greatest story as it was originally told—the Gospel from a Jewish perspective? This we’ll do in the Name that is above all other names: Jesus.
Your messenger,
Jeff
P.S. Many thanks and blessings to you.
Dear Jeff,
Those who prayerfully and/or financially partner with Zola Levitt Ministries are doing God’s work in all the ways your letter explains.
“Here is my contribution for December. Let me join you in giving the world the Gospel from a Jewish perspective in Jesus’ name.”
Compact discs and a workbook that begins with a survey of Old Testament Messianic prophecies. Topics range from Gentile Salvation to the Abrahamic Covenant and Replacement Theology to Messiah in the Passover. You'll learn about the Seven Feasts, Christ in the Tabernacle, Church History, Anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust.
Beautiful, useful, and revealing. A lovely and very spiritual art object for mantelpiece or coffee table display, this wood and parchment scroll is hand-copied and handmade. The Messianic prophecies are written in Hebrew and English. A marvelous witnessing tool and great gift idea for any occasion.
Satan in the Sanctuary book and CD (with Dr. Thomas S. McCall), Zola’s bestseller concerning the history of Israel, the Temples, and how the antiChrist will become “Satan in the Sanctuary” when he blasphemes during the Tribulation Period. A truly readable and relevant study.
An audio version of “Satan In The Sanctuary” available on CD. Hear the entire history and future of the vital Temple of God in Jerusalem.
Zola discovered, quite by accident, an amazing series of biblical “coincidences.” It seems that every one of us, as we develop in the womb, follows the schedule of the seven feasts of Israel that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. This half-hour program illustrates the surprising similarities of these two chains of events, each established by God according to His purpose.
