...and Israel's Epitaph
The parade of nations preparing to divide Israel's estate after its demise continued last week, with the Syrians coming to Washington to claim their rights as heirs. In a deal already negotiated behind the scenes, representatives of Syrian dictator Hafez Assad will receive the strategic Golan Heights in exchange for agreements that undoubtedly will be broken and aid that will be converted into instruments of war. For this "peace of the brave," as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has called it (and he is fast becoming the Neville Chamberlain of his time), Syria will get billions of American dollars to resettle 18,000 Golan residents and probably billions more in military and civilian aid. If the past is any guide (and it always is in the Middle East), Syria will use the money to buy weapons from outcast states, strengthen its army and continue supporting an estimated 15 terrorist organizations from the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. Diplomatic sources indicate Syria will not be required to end its occupation of Lebanon which, in addition to being part of the "greater Syria" mystique of Damascus, is also a source of drug money for the Syrian government. What will Israel get? AWACS surveillance planes, early-warning stations, helicopters and jet fighters and lots of assurances that "peace is at hand." This latest charade is being pushed by the Clinton administration so the president can claim a decent legacy, but it's at the expense of the Jews. In the past, Jews have had to die for the sake of land, oil and the religious and political comfort of others. It is particularly unpleasant when Jews are co-conspirators in their own destruction. No matter what Syrians sign and no matter how much American money they receive, they will still hate Israel and adhere to Mr. Assad's vow at the start of the 1967 war: "Our forces are now entirely ready... to initiate the act of liberation itself and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland... The time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation." Nothing Syria has done since indicates this goal has changed. In fact, Mr. Assad has repeatedly broken agreements with the United States, Turkey and his Arab neighbors. Bashar Assad, the son and probable heir of the president of Syria, said in an August interview with a Saudi weekly (quoted in The Jerusalem Post): "The proposed peace will be highly restricted. There will be a formal peace agreement, but the possibility of conflict between the two countries will remain, requiring Syria to continue arming itself." So Israel is supposed to be content that Syria will now be armed with American weapons instead of Russian weapons? Changing the gas manufacturers at the Nazi death camps would have left no fewer Jews dead. There are many false assumptions about the Middle East. The Westerners who are unsophisticated in the region's complexities often are seduced by contemporary spin. The Syrians have no right to the Golan Heights, any more than Germany has rights to Eastern Europe, or Syria has a right to Lebanon. In 1920, the League of Nations included the Golan Heights in the original British Mandate for Palestine. The Golan fell under Syrian control in 1944 when the French mandate was terminated. Syria controlled the Golan for 23 years, and Israel, following Syria's unprovoked attack in 1967, has controlled it for 32 years. So why doesn't Israel have a legitimate claim to the territory? To return the Golan to Syria rewards the aggressor. Writing in Dec. 10 editions of the Wall Street Journal, Steven Plaut, who teaches at Haifa University in Israel, said America's policy toward Syria should resemble Ronald Reagan's policy toward the Soviet Union. We should do what we can to topple dictatorial and oppressive regimes teetering on the brink of extinction, not throw them a lifeline. Israel's enemies are happy to give President Clinton his "legacy," then wait until he leaves office to impose their "final solution." The United States has sold out the Jews before, closing its borders to them during World War II. Rather than doing penance, we are compounding our sin by helping to destroy a nation that, in our guilt, we helped create. Syria will play the heir to a large estate. Israel is the estate.
Cal Thomas is a syndicated writer for the Washington Post
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS published the following announcement before Christmas: Hours of PrayerPerpetual adoration is an ancient Catholic devotional practice surrounding the exposition of the eucharistic Host. Remember Jesus' words in the Garden of Gethsemane — "Could you not watch with me one hour?" — worshipers come at appointed hours so that the adoration is uninterrupted. The chapel... is open 9 a.m. till midnight daily. All are welcome to come at any time for silent prayer and meditation.
During the long night, the disciples
had fallen asleep for one hour, but
the church is closed for nine.
National Conference On Prophecy
Thy Kingdom Come, Inc.
God's News Behind the News
Fountain of Life Church
Israel Tour
Shalom, Shalom Messianic Congregation
"Cheerleading for Arafat" Prize of the MonthFrom the December 2 LOS ANGELES TIMES comes a most hopeful paragraph: At the heart of the debate is whether the Palestinian state that Mr. Arafat hopes to build will be a democratic one in which dissent is tolerated.
That's hopeful, indeed. There is not now nor ever
has been an Arab state which is democratic or in
which dissent is tolerated. And we could certainly not
suppose that the first one would be led by an
international terrorist whose profession has been
contract murder for 30 years.
TV Update:FAM: Friday Mornings 6:30 Both Coasts, 5:30 CT, 7:30 MT
TBN: Sunday Afternoons
2:30 ET, 1:30 CT, 12:30 MT, 11:30 PT
Tom McCall needs no introduction to our readers, but now and again we should state his qualifications. He holds a Th.M. in Old Testament studies and a Th.D. in Semitic languages and Old Testament. He has served as Zola's co-author, mentor, pastor, and friend for nearly 30 years. He is eminently qualified to undertake the following important study. [Click here for Part 1]
ArmageddonBy Thomas S. McCall, Th.D.
WHAT IS ARMAGEDDON?
It is possible that the order in which the Lord fulfills these events is different from what we now can conceive, but we can be assured that they will all come to pass precisely as the prophets predicted. Those believers who are alive at that time will be able to follow the events very closely from the Bible and will be able to identify the developments as they take place in a way that is not nearly so clear to us now. It is helpful, though, for us to attempt to arrange the various passages that deal with Armageddon in a logical progression, so that we can see how the Lord's plan may unfold.
THE SIX THEATERS OF ARMAGEDDONIt appears that there will be at least six locations, or theaters, in the war of Armageddon: Egypt (King of the South), Syria (King of the North), the whole Land of Israel, the Megiddo Valley, Edom and Jerusalem. Daniel 11:36-43 describes the situation at the final days of the end times, and he provides us information about the first three theaters of Armageddon. Up to this point during the first six+ years of the Tribulation, the Antichrist has confirmed a seven-year treaty with Israel, has consolidated his power throughout the world, has perpetrated the Abomination of Desolation in the rebuilt Jerusalem Temple, and has unleashed an unparalleled persecution of the Jewish people.
The King of the South and King of the NorthIn spite of the manifold judgments of God falling upon the world, the Antichrist appears to be at the zenith of his power when things begin to crumble for him. The first sign of trouble comes from Egypt and Syria.
And at the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through. Daniel 11:40 Throughout the entire context of Daniel 11, the prophet refers to the King of the North and the King of the South. In the earlier part of the chapter he is describing in intimate detail the rise and fall of a succession of rulers during the Grecian period, from Alexander the Great until Rome takes over the Mediterranean world a few decades before the birth of Christ. It is an astonishing display of God's foreknowledge of geopolitical events hundreds of years after the time of Daniel. In fact, it was this chapter, more than any other, that convinced liberal scholars that the Book of Daniel could not have been written during the Babylonian Captivity, but must have been written at the end of the Grecian Period, because of the numerous details which were literally fulfilled in history. In the latter part of the chapter, though, Daniel begins to transport us to the "end times" and the fierce future dictator who is elsewhere called the Antichrist:
Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. Daniel 11:36 When the Antichrist thinks he has the entire world under his control, there is a series of revolts beginning with the King of the South and the King of the North. The chapter context identifies these monarchs as from Egypt and Syria, historically, and we can see no reason why they shouldn't be the same in the yet future prophecy. From what is said, the Antichrist, whose primary capital is Rome, establishes his temporary quarters in Jerusalem. Egypt and Syria then send armies out in revolt against the Antichrist by land and by sea. Evidently, he is victorious over these two armies, and he has an uncanny knack for taking armies who have marched against him and making them part of his own army.
Subjugation of Israel and neighboring countriesWith these rejuvenated forces, the Antichrist goes on the offensive and attacks several countries of the Middle East that may have been sympathetic to the revolt. The nations he rolls over and the ones he passes by are mentioned:
He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. Daniel 11:41-43
The first country the Antichrist secures is Israel, the Beautiful Land.It is interesting that the Lord calls Israel the Beautiful Land even at a time when it is in its most bleak and dire condition, toward the end of the Time of Jacob's Trouble. To God, Israel is always beautiful, because it is the Land of His covenant, the Land where the Son lived, died and rose again, and it is the Land that will be the center of His Millennial reign on earth. Israel is also a key country during the Tribulation. After all, the Antichrist is attempting to counterfeit the true Millennium, so maintaining control of Jerusalem and Israel is a centerpiece of his overall strategy. From Israel, the Antichrist will proceed to crush several of the surrounding nations in the opening volleys of Armageddon.
More on this subject:
In our next article,
we will continue describing the several
theaters of conflict involved in the upcoming dreadful
saga of Armageddon. Praise the Lord that He has assured
us that He will remove us Jews and Gentiles who are in
the body of Christ from the earth by means of the Rapture
before the Tribulation begins and the great and awesome
Day of the Lord descends on the world.
[Click here for Part 3]
Zola's Bulletin Board
Our next Grand Tour of Israel leaves April 19 and our Deluxe Tour on April 24. Both return on May 4. Following in the Apostle Paul's footsteps, the Grand Tour's Mediterranean cruise includes Mars Hill, Corinth, Patmos, Rhodes, and Ephesus before joining the Deluxe Tour. In Israel, both groups will see all of the major Biblical sites, including the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, the Garden Tomb, the Upper Room, Calvary, the site of the Sermon on the Mount, the Dead Sea and Masada. We will take a boating trip on the Sea of Galilee, and you can be baptized in the Jordan River, just as our Lord was. We will tour Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and the Israel Museum, where we will see the Dead Sea Scrolls. For your color tour folder, please call Diana at (214) 696-9760 during office hours Central Time or 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377) anytime.
Contrary to assurances in September by two Blue Cross representatives, Blue Cross now refuses to reimburse Tom's upgrade to Business Class ($1,028) or the last-minute ticket for his attendant ($3,208). Both Tom's Israeli doctor and Continental Airlines required him to have an attendant. If you feel led to assist us with the $4,236 of unexpected expenses paid to Continental, then please designate your offering for the McCall Fund. Thanks.
A Note From ZolaDear Friends,
As the year ended, there were several sour notes where Israel is concerned. Hillary Clinton's disastrous visit with Arafat's wife, in which the First Lady sat through the most awful cursing of Israel by Mrs. Arafat, demonstrates the complete lack of support of God's Chosen Land by our nation's executive office. Hillary (and Bill) is beyond her depth in coping with Israel, and like everyone else connected with this terrible "peace process," she has her private motives for supporting it. And then there were the pepper spray, the tear gas, the batons, the masked policemen, the arrests, the street fighting, etc. Do I mean Gaza? Jerusalem? No, it was our own country. The riots in Seattle put anything Israel has ever seen to shame. Thirty thousand people protested, and police brutality was the order of the day. Mayor Paul Schell threatened American citizens with the statement that lawful protest means you have to have a permit. Six hundred people were arrested! My question is, are we now going to have an elaborate peace process about this problem, and are we going to give 25 states to the protestors? American violence has always been far worse than anything in Israel, but we just never face that fact. Our earlier history details such violence as a car bomb on Wall Street in 1920 and another bomb thrown at the Morgan Bank during the same period, to say nothing of our bloody history with the Indians and the Civil War. The last war Israel saw was in 1973, and it lasted 2 1/2 weeks. I counted up something like 27 days in all that Israel has been at war since its modern inception in 1948. During that period, our own armies fought in various lands for over ten years! Let's stop pretending that Israel is violent. The latest fairy tale from Washington is that Israel and Syria are now going to make peace, and that President Clinton has caused a "breakthrough." It puts me in mind of a joke one of our tour guides sent us from Jerusalem. It seemed that a Jewish fellow opened a Jewish delicatessen and placed a sign in the window saying, "No Arabs allowed." But on the second day, an Arab in full dress came in and ordered a sandwich. The boss wanted to avoid problems, so he simply told the waiter to double the price, thinking the fellow would get the idea. The next day, the customer was back ordering a full lunch. This time, the owner tripled the price. The Arab paid without protest and left a generous tip. He also made a reservation for ten of his friends for supper that evening. The exasperated owner told the waiter, "All right, serve them, but this time, multiply the check by ten. There must be a way to get through to these people." The Arabs showed up that evening and had a dinner which cost them hundreds of dollars, but again they paid cheerfully and left a good tip. The next day, the owner placed a new sign in the window: "No Jews allowed." Now, that's meant to be funny, and I suppose it is, but it actually illustrates a rather tragic point. At a certain level of profit, folks have a way of turning even against their own people, and I'm beginning to have a hunch that there are some in Israel who are doing just that. The Israeli government, by accepting aid packages and so forth from Washington, then turns around and betrays its own settlers, telling them to get off the West Bank so the Palestinians can have the land. What on earth would we have said if people had told us we shouldn't have folks settling land west of, say, the thirteen colonies? Is it possible that the Clinton administration is buying off an Israeli government, which they certainly helped to elect, and that the Israeli government is almost saying, "No Jews allowed"? The prospect scares me, but there may be some truth to it. A certain pilgrim was very discouraged with Israel recently. It seemed that the Catholic Church had gone on strike to protest some argument with the Moslems in Nazareth, and a tourist was disappointed with the Church of the Annunciation being closed the day he came. Sadly, he said of this land of a thousand authentic Biblical sites and 4,000 years of the history of God's people, "The church was the only thing we wanted to see here." I was going to point out, once again, that peace with Syria is an utter impossibility. This backward dictatorship only awaits the death of its tyrant, and its animosity toward Israel and the rest of civilization is very well known. In the end, I opted to let Cal Thomas say it for me, so please read the cover article. See the beauty that lives in God's Chosen Land in our new series, "This Is Israel," which will begin airing in March. It conforms to our ministry's main task, telling the truth about the Holy Land to a media-fed world. And on the subject of Israel, come with us on our Spring Tour. The Deluxe Tour of Israel (April 24 through May 4) will visit all the major Biblical sites, among them Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Mt. of Beatitudes, the Jordan River, the Western Wall, Mt. of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, the Garden Tomb, Masada, and the Dead Sea. You will also see the breathtaking Golan Heights, where you will understand the devastating loss it will be to Israel to lose this beautiful land from which comes 30 percent of the country's water supply. Visit the Old City of Jerusalem and see for yourself the effects of the various conquerors on the Holy City. You will leave Israel with a heartfelt knowledge that the Jews are the true inheritors of God's Land, ultimately triumphant over the Romans, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, and any others who try to claim the Land as their own. Our Grand Tour (April 19 through May 4) sees Israel with the Deluxe Tour, but first tours Ephesus, Turkey, and the Greek islands of Patmos, Mykonos, and Rhodes. Enjoy a luxurious cruise while you follow the Apostle Paul's path through Greece and Turkey and see where he taught the Corinthians, Ephesians, and others. Expand and strengthen your Biblical knowledge and understanding while sailing some of the world's most beautiful waters aboard a "floating luxury hotel." Come with us to rejoice in the lands of the Bible. And remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
Dear Zola Levitt,
Sincerely,
Dear Zola,
Sincerely,
Dear Brother Zola:
Shalom,
Dear Zola:
Yours in Christ,
Cal Thomas is the most Biblically well-read news
columnist I've ever met, and I've met a few. I'm glad
you enjoyed the article.
Dear Zola:
For Zion's sake,
Dear B.T.,
—Zola
Dear Zola Levitt Ministries:
Thank you and God bless your ministry!
Dear G.G.,
— Zola
Dear Zola:
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, J.F. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Dear Zola:
Yours in Christ,
Dear Zola,
In Friendship,
Dear R.M.
— Zola
Zola Levitt MARKETING DEPARTMENT: I hope you can see that Mr. Levitt gets this letter. Thanks.
Dear Zola Levitt:
I didn't agree entirely, though, with one thing you said
recently on your program: That Gentile Christians who
care deeply about Israel or the Jews in general (or are
simply fair-minded, which would probably be enough)
most likely have some Jewish genealogy somewhere in
their backgrounds (I am paraphrasing your statement).
I don't disagree much with this — I would be proud if I
did have Jewish genealogy, and I believe millions of
Gentiles have some, considering the Diaspora and later
assimilation. But your general statement goes along with
a myth which people who hate Jews in general already
perpetuate: That "Jew-lovers" must be Jewish and not
Gentile, or both. This causes fear of even associating
with Jewish people among cowardly Christians who
have the wrong priorities and the unsaved.
Sincerely,
Dear R.U.
— Zola
Schroeder's ViewsIn answer to many letters that we are still getting about Gerald Schroeder's idea of the six days and 15 billion years being the same time period, please know that we refer these letters straight to Schroeder for his possible replies. I do not feel personally competent to evaluate different theories of cosmology and origins. We simply presented Schroeder's views as new and challenging. We did not present young earth views because we have all been taught that previously. Letters accusing Schroeder of being an evolutionist we simply have discarded. He must have said ten times on that program how opposed he was to evolution. Thanks.
— Zola
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Piercing the Future — Prophecy and the New Millennium
What does the new millennium
hold for planet earth? Your future has been told thousands of years
in advance. There is, however, only one source to rely on as 100%
accurate in foretelling things to come. Piercing the Future examines
that source and its many predictions while we move into and through
this most exciting time in human history.
Nineteen authorities in the field of prophecy, including Zola, carefully
examine the past, present and future and help you "pierce the
future" in many a thought-provoking understanding of what lies
ahead for you and those you love in this dawning millennium and
beyond.
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Copyright © 2000 by Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.