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Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving is a time when we remember some of our fledgling country’s early struggles, along with the brave souls who rose to the occasion to fend off the prevailing hardships.

On Veterans Day, we honor those who bore arms throughout our nation’s history. I wonder whether we’re maximizing our nation’s ability to help our brave soldiers meet the challenges they face today. Not only do we seem a bit sluggish, as a culture, but we tend to castigate other countries who appear more serious about national defense. Case in point: those who fly the flag with the Star of David in modern-day Israel bear burdens similar to the U.S. soldiers’ characterized in the cartoon at right.

In preparing to defend our freedom, we must acknowledge who would attack it. In an article that became public six months after 9/11, al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith wrote, “We have not reached parity with them [Americans]. We have the right to kill four million Americans—two million of them children—and to exile twice as many and wound and cripple hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, it is our right to fight them with chemical and biological weapons, so as to afflict them with the fatal maladies that have afflicted the Muslims because of the [Americans’] chemical and biological weapons.”

Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab was the founder and spiritual architect of the extremist-breeding “Wahhabi” Islam, which is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Most of the 9/11 bombers sprang from Saudi Arabia. Abd-al-Wahhab’s anti-Western philosophy shapes the worldviews of our petroleum-trading “partners.” Then they charge us hefty oil prices and provide millions and millions of dollars to finance aggressive, anti-Western-preaching mosques over here. About 150 million Muslims uphold anti-Western war rhetoric, all in the name of Islam.

Extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt live under the banner of “Allah is our objective… Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.” With their increasing popularity, one wonders if we’re doing everything possible for our national defense, and whether it is wise to criticize Israel for attending to its own.

Oh, and have I mentioned nuclear-bound Iran?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who heads this belligerent, theocratic state, denies the Holocaust on one hand while pressing for another Holocaust on the other. He is driven for a world without Israel! When we interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for our prophetic television series Ezekiel and the MidEast ‘Piece’ Process, he stated in no uncertain terms that Iran’s nuclear progress was the principal threat to his country.

Defense is the principal function of government, and America must support Israel as it fends for self-preservation.

While in Washington recently on this ministry’s behalf, I attended a meeting where Virginia’s governor, Bob McDonnell, told a group of about a hundred of us listeners that Americans are better served to “unleash the genius of free enterprise to grow out of [our fiscal] problems, as opposed to government intruding into growth and development.” I personally think he has a valid point. I say: “Let business attend to business; let government attend to defense, and let the Church attend to casting biblical vision for a darkened world.”

“Juggernaut” is a term that describes a literal or metaphorical force regarded as unstoppable. It is often applied to a large machine (like a battleship), or to a group of people working together (like a sports team), or to a growing political movement led by a charismatic leader. It is often associated with crushing or being physically destructive. In case you missed the weblink in our January 2010 Levitt Letter, you can still see the 1948 cartoon called “Make Mine Freedom.” The cartoon warns about signing over American freedom to any “ism” that promises instant prosperity:

When anybody preaches disunity, tries to pit one of us against the other through class warfare, race hatred, or religious intolerance, you know that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives. And we know what to do about it. Working together to produce an ever greater abundance of material and spiritual values for all—that is the secret of American prosperity. —Quote from “Make Mine Freedom”

They who can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. —Benjamin Franklin, 1775

The suffix ism is used with nouns like capital to make capitalism, social to form socialism, and communist to create communism. According to the cartoon, after America took on and defeated communism and Nazism in WWII, the good ol’ American, entrepreneurial “can-do” spirit was invigorated and, along with it, a fresh suspicion of government-controlled solutions to social and economic problems.

We said “no thanks” to such remedies back then. Let’s make sure we don’t invite similar “isms” now.

In Psalm 27:3, the ancient warrior-king David declared: “though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, I will be confident.” It seems his armor included a healthy determination to fend-off. We can share David’s confidence in the same Lord that led and protected him. Here at Zola Levitt Ministries, we workers are thankful for our culture’s Judeo-Christian values. We are pleased to cling to that good ol’, time-tested biblical religion—the sort that has guided pilgrims, nations, and regular people for centuries. With our camera crew in tow, I am traveling all over Israel this fall, assisted by former CBS correspondent and ZLM’s Man in Jerusalem David Dolan. I’m opening up the Bible I cling to and offering a modern-day message on its meaning to millions.


We Bible believers vote politicians into office.
Make informed decisions, please.

It costs millions to broadcast such biblical teaching, but it’s well worth it. This particular series, tentatively entitled Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel) will take viewers to the boundaries of the land God gave to the Israelites, and unveil the significance of Israel’s re-emergence within those boundaries in the Last Days. David Dolan and I will consider wars past, present, and future. With your financial help, we will make this a high-caliber production, worthy of sending to every senator in Washington, D.C.

If you think it’s about time you went to Israel, my message to you is simple: join me. Our Spring Tour departs March 13 with two return dates—either March 24 for the 10-day Israel Tour, or March 28 if you wish to include Petra. Our Summer Discovery Tour will travel June 12–22 and offer a chance to dig with archaeologists. We have four options for our Fall 2011 Israel Tour, including extensions to Petra and/or Athens, departing October 18 and 23. Call our travel manager, Tracie, at (214) 696-9760 during office hours or 1-800-WONDERS (800-966-3377) and join us. A nominal, refundable deposit will reserve your spot.

Please make it a point to watch the weekly television installments (listed below) on Zola Levitt Presents during the month of November.

The Messianic Miracle—Its Effect on Christianity Today
The program begins with an interview with Dr. Michael Brown, widely considered to be the world’s foremost Messianic Jewish apologist. The infusion of Jewish people into the Evangelical Christian mix inspires exciting new forms of praise and worship music. The Messianic Revival also leads modern Believers to review the Church’s history with regard to Jews and Israel.
The Messianic Miracle—The “Missing Link” in World Mission and Blessing
Features an interview with Dr. Erez Soref, president of the Israel College of the Bible, the only college in Israel that is accredited for ministry in the Land. “May they prosper who love you” (Psalm 122:6). We look at evangelism and the mandate to reach out to Jewish people. Then we focus on the blessings that accrue to individuals who support the work of God among Jews today. Lastly, we encapsulate the entire series.
Ask The Professor, Insights on the Gospel of John—John’s Gospel, A Jewish-Related Story
Professor Jeffrey Seif begins to unfold the Bible’s Gospel of John, delving into the purpose of the writing, John the Baptist’s role, the mikvah and baptism, and the entrance of Yeshua as the Messiah.
Ask The Professor, Insights on the Gospel of John—Jesus and the Feasts
What did Jesus mean to be born anew? (John 3) Jeff will explain from a Jewish perspective how the salvation message is intricately woven into the Feasts of Israel.
Ask The Professor, Insights on the Gospel of John—The Good Shepherd
Jesus claimed to be the “Good Shepherd.” Jeff reviews this descriptive title with Old Testament context and more. Highlighted in the program are: the man who was healed by the pool; Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; and the resurrection of Lazarus.

Of course you’re welcome to record all those TV programs for viewing and reviewing at your convenience. And please remember daily to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).

Your messenger,

Jeff

P.S. I’m not looking to get into any political office. But, I DO want to minister in more living rooms than ever. So, I request your prayers and monetary assistance with that. Will you kindly lend a hand? If it’s time you helped this outreach pay for some airtime, please drop us a letter with a check or visit www.levitt.com/donate.

Prayer Requests

Shortly after writing this letter, Jeff was hospitalized as the result of a motorcycle accident. Though “still in one piece,” he is recovering from a concussion, sore shoulder, and bruised legs. No broken bones, thank the Good Lord. In addition, the next day, our mail processing supervisor’s son Daniel, in his thirties, experienced a comparably serious incident on his motorcycle. Please pray that both Jeff and Daniel make quick, full recoveries. Thanks.

Blessings, —Mark

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