Category: Opinion

Considered the lowest surface area on earth, the Dead Sea lies 410 meters below sea level. Located northwest of its shores is one of Israel’s most spectacular, ancient sites—the Qumran caves. Qumran was home to a sect of Jewish zealots who penned what has come to be known today as the Dead Scrolls. The members buried their precious scrolls deep in the crevices of the caves, where they remained until they were discovered thousands of years later. To see the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, click below to watch two videos.

The fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 shook international Jewry and greatly influenced the thinking of the Christian world. The Jews had resisted the power of Rome for years, but the Romans ultimately responded with unprecedented slaughter and cruelty, carrying out what was described by the early historian Josephus as a terrible holocaust.

The gentile church fathers interpreted this devastation as an indication of God’s rejection of the Jewish people—in spite of the statement in Romans 11:28 that Israel was elect or chosen because of the patriarchs. Some church fathers still believed in Israel’s final conversion at the end of this age, but the general thrust in Christian theology at that time was toward “replacement”—the idea that, under the new covenant, the church is the replacement for Israel.

Recently appointed Israel Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, plans to shift the direction of marketing efforts in Israel by promoting the country’s holy sites. In light of Pope Benedict XVI’s recent visit to Israel, Misezhnikov will target unique Catholic and Evangelical markets around the world.

“What Israel needs to do is focus on what it has that others don’t have, or in other words: the Holy Land,” said Misezhnikov. “Israel is holy to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the focus of the tourism ministry today is to promote Israel as such.”

A growing number of Christian college students are showing their support for Israel by forming student-led campus chapters of Christians United for Israel (CUFI).

Andrew Summey, national director of CUFI on Campus, estimates the organization has a presence on roughly 150 campuses and that 35 colleges have a designated CUFI liaison or pro-Israel group. In April, the first campus Night to Honor Israel event was held at the University of Oklahoma.

“What we try to do is raise the awareness of students on moral reasons to support Israel,” Summey said. “We want to create a positive view of Israel. It’s quite a challenge for most of these students. It’s tough to be a Christian on many secular campuses, then you add the Israel support to it and it makes it even more challenging.”

For many Christians, it would be a dream come true to take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and watch the Bible unfold before their eyes. But due to a failing economy, times are tough and people are saving their money until times get better. But I took a journey to the Holy Land Experience in Florida and had a wonderful time without leaving the U.S.

It’s not the real thing, but vacationers can get a glimpse of Jerusalem this summer in preparation for a trip to Israel one day.

Diabolical forces in Iran, Venezuela and in our own country are aligned against Israel today. Here’s how you can pray for the apple of God’s eye.

I have a growing conviction in my life, more pronounced with each day, that the nation and people of Israel must be a central theme in our intercession before the Lord. Never has this been more vital to our lives as Christian believers! I urge you to keep the following prayer directives continually before you:

James W. von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist, opened fire in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, killing security guard, Stephen T. Johns, before being critically wounded by museum guards.

Officials say when Johns opened the door for von Brunn to tour the museum, the suspect shot Johns in the chest, killing him before he could draw his weapon.

It is nothing short of astonishing to note the agenda-driven politics of our day. It gives lip service to grand ideals, papers over the truth in order to distort reality, and in the end amounts to betrayal. This is the picture that is unfolding before our eyes concerning Israel and her battle for survival. Even her long-accepted historical narrative is being denied in order to achieve certain global goals.

Caught in this web of intrigue, the tiny nation of Israel twists and bends so as to somehow appease its allies, who have now decided that a “two-state solution” is the only way forward for her. This in spite of the following:

The southern area of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem houses many archaeological finds including 200 ton stones, bath houses, and what is said to be the oldest interchange in the world. It was built more than 2,000 years ago during the Herodian period. To tour the ancient biblical site watch the video below.

Without question Israel, and its capital city, Jerusalem, are of paramount importance in the plans and purposes of God. And we know God uses believers to work with Him in prayer for the carrying out of His plans, His mysteries, on the earth (see 1 Cor. 14:2).

That’s why He commands us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:6, NKJV). But this does not mean we are to pray simply for the absence of war. It also means we are to pray for Jerusalem to fulfill its prophetic destiny.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded positively to U.S. President Barack Obama’s address from Cairo to the Muslim world on Thursday, voicing hope that the speech would foster reconciliation between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

“The government of Israel expresses hope that President Obama’s important speech will lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world, and Israel. We share Obama’s hope that the American effort will bring about an end to the conflict and to pan-Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

There seems to be a presumptuous triumphalism affecting-rather, infecting-the Western church, especially in America. This attitude, based on poor theology and ignorance of history, causes believers either to be unaware of or to deny outright the existing crisis regarding the future of Christianity in the face of jihadist Islam.

Proof texts such as “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” are thrown about as we seek to convince ourselves that America is immune to the persecution already prevailing against Christian brothers and sisters around the world because of Islam. We forget that there are many, many places (such as Turkey) where Christianity once flourished but where today Islam exerts total control.

Yonatan Eldar was barely 16 years old, but he chanted from the Torah (the biblical scrolls) beautifully on that Sabbath day in March, in the ancient melodic tradition that so many religious Jews continue to this day. I remember seeing his smiling face beaming with pride as the older congregants congratulated him warmly.

The Eldar family lives around the corner from us in Shiloh, Israel, on a street that could be called Terror Victims’ Row due to the high concentration of child terror victims who lived there.

Many Christians have a love for Israel and are eager to visit the nation. But often their dreams don’t stretch beyond touring the sites that have biblical significance for both Jews and Christians and perhaps taking photographs of them. However, there are numerous ways visitors can be a blessing to Israel, interact with the people and leave something of themselves behind when they travel there. Here are 10 of them.

While I was in Israel in late March, I took time away from my tour schedule to visit Hadassah Medical Center. I’m glad I did. Hadassah was founded in 1918 and is the second largest employer in Jerusalem. But what impressed me the most were the stories I heard about the hospital long before I arrived in Israel.

Fifty days after leaving Egypt, the Israelites gathered at Mt. Sinai to hear God proclaim the Torah or Law to them. The sight was awesome and provoked considerable fear in the hearts of all those gathered there, so much so that they asked Moses to speak with God on their behalf (Exodus 19:10-25; 20:18-21).

The lessons for us are clear: