Edifying Spectacle

CHRISTIAN RACISM KILLS PALESTINIANS Subj: My Usefulness To You Date: 1/23/2004 9:24:41 AM Eastern Standard Time From: pastorjerryh@excite.com To: Suez1950@aol.com Sent from the Internet (Details) Dear Martha: I am particularly interested in the materials that have to do with the role of dispensationalism (end-time belief) in the conflict in Palestine. One of the ways that I can help is to collect the facts and pull together a summary of what is going on and to present it to the Body of Christ. You know, I have heard for years that the Church did nothing about the slaughter of the Jews in World War II because they thought Hitler was the anti-Christ and they were hesitant to resist his actions because they thought it was all a part of the end-times prophecies. It appears that the Church and our nation are once again turning a deaf ear to this current situation because they believe that the Jewish/Paelstinian conflict is a part of end-time prophecy and that it must be allowed to run its course. They also believe that they must stand with Israel - regardless - if they don't, they will come under a curse from God! I am writing several key leaders with this information and I am asking them for their insights into the situation. Let's pray that God will somehow use us to expose this mess and to bring restoration into the picture. The problem is further complicated with the fact that neither side believes in Jesus - neither the Jews nor the Palestinians. Of course, we know that this conlfict will only be settled in the Person of Jesus Himself. And this is the key reason that Ali and others who know Jesus are in a very strategic position to effect lasting change. Our prayers, tears. and deep concerns go up before the Lord continually regarding this entire situation and the safety of Ali and the other men and women of God in that area of the world. "Lord, give us wisdom - for we have never been this way before!" Martha, the recent article you forwarded to me is great. As you find further information along that line, please send it to me. Blessings, Apostle Jerry cecarl@whtt.org

Palestinians are not actually Arabs at all,The Palestinians are descendants of Canaan [son of Ham], and their beginnings are found in Gen. 10;15-20. , ISRAEL In Bible Prophecy @ MATTHEW 24 FULFILLED By Evangelist John L. Bray MINISTRY, INC. P.O.Box 90129 Lakeland, Florida 33804 [United State of America 1-863-858-6625 PLEASE NOTE Are you interested in reading other books on Prophecy, written by John L. Bray? Write us for an up-to-date price list and order blank. Also ask us to place your name on our mailing list [free] to receive our newsletter telling of our Ministry activities and containing articles of interest on prophecy and Bible usbjects. Those on our mailing list also receice a copy of our smaller books [also free] as each new title is published. A new Covenant Was Prophesied Though I srael broke God's covenant which He had made with them, He promised to make a new covenant with them. ''Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; ''Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;which my covenant they brake.... ''But this shall be the covnant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.'' [ Jeremiah 31;31-33]. ''After those days'' [vs.33]refers to the time after their punishment had been completed during the Babylonian captivity, etc. Jeremiah 33;37-40 speaks of this same covenant as being made following their return to their country after that time of punishment, ''I will gather them out of all countries, wither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely;.....And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.'' In Hebrews 10;16-17 the New Testament quotes the very words from Jeremiah 31 about this new covenant, and the first part of the chapter Hebrews 10] from verse 1 through verse 22 all indicates that this new covenant is the one established by Jesus [vs. 9] and that we in this age participate in it [vs. 10], and that this covenant was confirmed by the shedding of the blood of Jesus. It is a covenant written in our hearts [vs. 16] and involves the forgiveness of our sins, ''And their sins is what Jesus was talking about when He declared at the last supper, ''For this is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins'' [Matthew 26;28]. This new covnant has nothing to do with any future restoration of the Jews to the land of Palestine. The Bible does not say so. This new covenant was promised before the Babylonian captivity, and they looked for that time to come. It did come! Jeremiah 30;3 said, ''I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers,'' and verse 7 plainly indicates that he was talking about the time following ''the time of Jacob's trouble'' out of which Israel would be saved [the Babylonian captivity which lasted 70 years]; and after that time, it was promised, ''they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them'' [vs. 9]. [Assyria was ''the north country'' mentioned in Jeremiah 31;8 from which He would bring them]. Following their return to the land, they looked for the fulfilment of this promise. They did not recognize it when it came. Concerning Jesus, the angel said to Mary, ''He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.'' [Luke 1;32-33]. Read the words of Zacharias the father of John the Baptist at the time of John's birth, in Luke 1;68-77, and you cannot miss the inescapable conclusion that Jesus Christ coming into the world was the fulfilment that the Jews had been looking for and all of this involved the redemption of the people [vs. 68], salvation from those that ''being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life'' [vss. 74-75]. This is why John came preaching, ''the kingdom of heaven is at hand'' [Matthew 4;17]. This is why Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom'' [Matthew 4;23]. This is a present-age situation, and not something destined to take place in the future after the Jews are supposedly gathered back into Palestine again. the Jews were promised and looked for and was preached by John and Jesus and entered into by those who received Him as Lord and Savior. Jeremiah chapter 33 also describes the captivity, the restoration, and the promised kingdom, when ''I cause the Branch of righteousness, to grow up unto David'' [vs.15]. Jesus is that Branch [vs. 17]. This promise was for after THAT rrstoration, and not some future restoration. It came about in the days of Christ, when He did Himself fulfil these prophecies. In Hebrews 8;13 the writer said that the old covenant was ready to vanish away at the making of a new covenant confirmed by Jesus and sealed with His blood. This new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 is the same one mentioned in Daniel 9;27 where it says that Christ would ''comfirm the covenant with many for one week,'' during which time He caused the old way of worship to cease. [See my book on ''The Great Tribulation Period?'' for a full discussion on this prophecy of Daniels 70th week]. Jesus did comfirm this comenant with the Jews during 3 1/2 years of His earthly ministry, and also through His apostles for 3 1/2 years after His death, after which time not many Jews were converted and the gosple went primarily to the Gentiles. Hebrews 8 contrasts the new covenant with the old covenant which passed away. Verse 6 says that Christ ''is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.'' The first covenant was defective, had fault, according to verse 7, because they kept breaking it. It must be remembered that many Old Testament prophecies to Israel find their fulfilment in the lives of Christian believers today, made up of both Jews and Gentiles. More will be said about this later. The ''seed of Israel'' which would always remain ''a nation brfore me for ever'' [Jeremian 31;36] finds its fulfilment in the present ''holy nation'' [1 Peter 2;9] which is ''a chosen generation, a royal prieshood, an holy nation, a peculiar people'' which Peter said ''in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God'' [verse 10]. Believing Jews and believing Gentiles alike make up this new body of people to whom the new covenant applies. The seed of Abraham continues in Christ. ''Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.'' [Gal. 3;16]. Those who belong to Christ become part of this seed. ''And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.'' [Gal. 3;29]. The new covenant involves forgiveness of sins. ''For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.'' [Rom. 11;27]. In the previous verse [26] Paul indicated that this covenant involved the coming of Christ, and this meant the first coming, not the scondcoming, as this is tied in with the gospel according to verse 28. It is in connection with this first coming of Christ, which involves the new covenant, that it is said, ''And so all Israel shall be saved'' [vs.26]. This is not something that will happen in the future at the second coming of Christ, but is happening right now on account of the new covenant, and the gospel, and the forgiveness of sins. ''All Israel'' refers to those of Israel who believe this gospel, because ''they are not all Israel, which are of Israel'' [Rom. 9;6]. Believers in Christ make up spiritual Israel, as will be discussed later in this book. The book of Galatians talks about the status of believes in Christ, the spiritual seed of Abraham, as something in the present, and not in some far-off millennium in the future. Jesus did not postpone anything. He confirmed the new covenant and sealed it in His own blood. This is the only covenant that exists that can be claimed by the Jews today. Though Pal spoke much of Abraham, the Jews, the promises, etc, never one time did he mention anything concerning any future earthly blessing of any kind for the Jews. By faith they can inherit the spiritual blessings the same as the Gentiles. Though cut off the tree and the Gentiles grafted in, if they repent they too can become part of the tree again [Rom. 11;17-25]. More about this later. When Jesus Came, Israel in the Land Rejected Him and His New Covenant The Israelites broke the old covenant, forfeited all their rights to it, and in its place God provided a new covenant through Jesus. As a whole, except for a remnant, they rejected what God offered to them through the gospel. They even killed their King. The tragic statemnt about the first coming of Christ is that ''He came unto his own, and his own received him not'' [John 1;11]. Some did believe and accept Him, of course, but not many. ''But as many as received him, to them gave he power to became the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name'' [John 1;12]. All the past sins and guilt of the Jewish people which led to their dispersions from the land years back was as nothing compared to their guilt in their rejection and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. True it was that the Roman soldiers put the nails in Jesus' hands and feet, and it was all of our sins for which Jesus Cgrist died; but the Jews cannot escape their responsibility and judgment for their rejection and the actual murder of the Son of God. Concerning Jesus' death, Peter said to the men of Israel, ''ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain'' [Acts 2;23]. To the house of Lsrael he said, ''....that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified'' [Acts 2;36]. To the men of Israel he said, ''But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life'' [Acts 3;14, 15]. To the rulers and elders of Israel he said, ''....Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucifed'' [Acts 4;10]. And Stephen said to the Sanhedrin council, 'Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Jest One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murders'' [ACTS 7;52]. Paul plainly taught that it is the Jews who killed Jesus Crist; ''for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews; who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us....''[I Thess. 2;14-15]. During His ministry, and being well aware of the deep-seated rejection of Himself by Israel, Jesus told them, ''Your house is lift unto you desolate'' [Matt. 23;38], and He told them of the coming judgment upon them [Matt. 24;15-22]. In finally rejecting Christ, the nation of Israel settled forever their fate as an earthly race, and their holy city was taken over by heathens in A.D. 70, and Jesus said, ''Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled'' [Luke 21;24]. And Paul in A.D. 54 said concerning the Jews, ''Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us....for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost'' [I Thess. 2;15-16]. That wrath culminated in the great tribulation of 70 A.D. upon the Jewish people. In Matthew 23, after pronouncing all the woes on the official leaders of the Jewish people in no unmistakeable terms, Jesus told them that all the righteous blood shed in the pages of the Old Testament would come upon them, and He said, ''Verily. I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation'' [Matt. 23;36]. Hear Him as His heart pours out toward those sinning people; ''O Jeruslem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often world I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!'' [Matt.23;37]. And then He made that prophetic statement, ''Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.'' [Matt.23;38]. This expression reminds us of God's prophecy in Jeremiah 22;5 brfore the Babylonian captivity of the Jews; ''But if ye will not hear these eords, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. '' Israel's house became desolate when Zedekiah was deported in 586 B.C., and from that time on no king of the house of David ever sat on David's throne. And now, because of their present rejection of the king and His kingdom, Jesus tells them their house once again is left to them desolate. They will not have Him to be their spiritual king, so He leaves them; and in due time God's punishment will come upon them and they will again be dispersed and their city destroyed. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews of His day, ''If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. '' [Luke 19;42]. They forfeited blessings and peace they could have had, and instead Jesus told them what would be their fate; ''For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. '' [vss. 43-44]. Prophetic blessings can be forfeited because of disobedience and unbelief! In Matthew 24 He described the coming judgment upon Israel, the destruction of Jerusalem, the great tribulation upon them, and in Luke 21;20-24 He described further their coming captivity into all nations and how that Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentiles. He called this situation, ''wrath upon this people'' [Luke 21;23]. Some years later,and before that judgment actually took place upon the people, Paul also said, ''For the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost'' [1 Thess. 2;16]. When it did come, it was the worst thing that had ever happened to them, ''such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time'' [Matt.24;21]. [See my book on, ''The Great Tribulation?'' for a detailed description of this prophecy and its fulfilment]. ''At the siege of Jerusalem by Titus upwaeds of one million one hundred thousand Jews are said to have perished, and during the revolt of Bar Kokhba, which occurred not long after, some six hundred thousand more were destroyed, and the whole land of Judaea was reduced to a desert.'' [Zechariah and His Prophecies, by Charles Hamilton Wright, 1980 reprint, Klock @ Klock Christian Publishers, INC.]. Jesus said, ''Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled'' [Luke 21;24]. We have been living in ''the times of the Gentiles'' during most of this age since the fulfilment of this prophecy started. The Jews had their day, but forfeited all that they could have had through promises to them again and again, so that the time came when God gave them up. The only Biblical hope for them today is REPENTANCE AND FAITH on their part, though there is no promise nor prophecy in the Bible that assures us that this will ever take place to any great degree. Paul never mentioned any further earthly blessing for the Jews. James wrote to thw ''twelve tribes'' scattered abroad, and did not mention any earthly restoration. John in Revelation, writing AFTER 70 A.D., did not try to encourage Jews to look forward to restoration to the their land[and he even called Jerusalem ''Sodom and Egypt'' in Rev. 11;8].So why do preachers today keep harping on this when the New Testament writers did not? Why keep on preaching something THAT IS NOT IN THE BIBLE? Don't you think that at least one of the New Testament wrters would have at least briefly mentioned something about earthly material blessings for the Jews in the future if such were promised by the Lord? And as to His giving the land back to them, will He give the land back to them in UNBELIEF, when He certainly kept them out of it at the beginning because of unbelief? '' And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.'' [Heb.3;18-19]. Only Joshua and Caleb, of all the Israelites who departed from Egypt, finally entered into the promised land! God will not plan to do something in the future that He would not do in the past, along this line. What is going on today in the land of Israel is certainly not of God, so far as Biblical prophecy is concerned, not matter what some preachers say! In Exodus 19;5 God said, ''Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. '' But they broke the covenant in which this promise was included, and God never did renew this particular promise. But it was fulfilled in 1 Peter 2;9 in God's redeemed people; ''But ye are a chosen generation, a royal pristhood, an holy nation....Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.'' [1 Peter 2;9, 10]. To the Jews in His day, Jesus said, ''The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.'' Of whom was He speaking? In Luke 12;32 He said to His disciples, ''Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom,'' This little group of disciples was the nucleus of a new and holy nation to be nade up of God's redeemed people who were given the kingdom. The Arabs and the Palestinians The word ''Arab'' was originally the name of the Semitic people of the Arabian peninsular, but the term came to be more widely applied until today in common usage it refers to nearly all persons who speak the Arabic language. ''A conference of Arab students in Brussels, Belgium [ December, 1938,] defined as Arabs 'all who are Arab in their language, culture, and loyalty [or national feeling]' ''. There are many Christians who may not be aware that God promised a special blessing to Ishmael also, even though the covenant line went through Isaac. God said; ''And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.'' [Gen.17;20]. Also the angel had said to Hagar, Ishmael's mother, ''Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affiction. ''And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.'' [Gen.16;11-12]. The descendants of Ishmael would be innumerable, as also promised in Gen. 16;10 to Ishmael's mother Hagar; ''I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.'' In retrospect, this is intersting, considering what God told Israel; ''Take heed your yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God.... ''I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be destroyed. ''And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left FEW IN NUMBER among the heathen, whether the LORD shall lead you.'' [Deut.4;23,26-27]. 'To be sure, prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Today there are 122,000,000 Arabs in the world, according to Samuel Zwemer Instiute, Altadena, California, while Israel [even if we counted all mixed-blood and non-blood Jews as real Jews] numbers about 11 or 12% of this number! And if we subtract from the 14,000,000 or more Jews all those who are not descended from Isreal as we have aready discussed, the number would be vastly reduced. Israel is, indeed, '' few in number'' today, and especially in comparision to the vast multitude of Arabs in the word. God prophesied that it would be this way! Also, another fact not generally understood, which might be of interest to the readers of this book, is that the Palestinians are not actually Arabs at all, though they speak the Arabic language and though we refer to them as Arabs. The Arabs are the natives of the Arab countries such as Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and other Arab countries, descendants from Ishmael. The Palestinians are descendants of Canaan [son of Ham], and their beginnings are found in Gen. 10;15-20. They were the Canaanites [ the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgasites, etc.] in the early days of Israel's history. A Palestinian taxi driver from Jerusalem reminded me of this difference. Neither the Arabs nor Israel want anything to do with them. There are 3,000,000 Palestinians in the Arab states today. 1,500,000 of the Palestinians are in Jordan, and make up 64% of Jordan's residents [ Newsweek, Sep.20, 1982]. Then there are 1,000,000 in Israel [ the West Bank, etc.]. Incidentally, the Phillistines of Samson's day were also descended from Ham through Cush-see Gen. 10;14, and so were not Arabs descended from Ishmael either. The word ''Philistine'' itself is a word meaning ''Palestin'' [Webster's New Word Dictionary, 1956]. Also, as to the meaning of the word ''Semite;'' this dose not refer just to the Jewish people. Webster's dictionary says; ''Semite; 1. One of a people of Caucasian stock, now represented by the Jews and Arabs, but originally includind the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, Arameans, Phoenicians, etc. 2. A person believed to be a descendant of Shem.'' So you see the word ''Semite'' includes far more than just the Jewish people. Prophecies Included Spiritual Blessings for the Future As to the Old Testament, I have already pointed out how that any promises made as to a restoration to the Land, were fulfilled when they returned from Babylon, etc, as recorded in the Bible, and that after that no more such promises were ever made. All the prophecies used by Bible teachers today to try to prove a future or present restoration of Israel to the land of Palestine, are prophecies made prior to their restoration as God promised in the past. And many of the prophecies included future fulfilment in the sense of spiritual blessings found in Christianity, couched in highly symbolical language that are best understood as God intened them to be. The waters of the river of the new Temple, as found in Ezekiel 47;1-12, for example. ever-widening and ever-deepening, would remind us of the water that ''was not in the well,'' which Jesus promised to the woman at the well in Samaria and to others, in John 4;14; ''But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.'' That woman found forgiveness of her sins that day, and drank that refreshing water of life. This is the same water of which Jesus spoke in John 7;37-39, ''In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his bely shall flow rivers of living water. [But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified]. ''The indwelling Spirit of God-this is the water of which He spoke. Whether in Ezekiel, or in John, each is just as symbolical as the other; but each is just as real! Forgiveness of sins, salvation, the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit-all of this is included in the water of life which the Spirit and the bride invite men to come and drink, ''And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely'' [Rev.22;17]. In fact, if you will notice carefully in Ezekiel 47;12, the river of waters mentioned there has trees on either side bringing forth new fruit each month, reminding us very specifically of the river of water of life mentioned in Revelation 22;1-2 which proceeds from the throne of God in His holy city and which has the tree of life on either side of it bringing forth twelve kinds of fruit and vielding her fruit every month. Some of these Old Testament prophecies tell us of wonderful and glorious things which are realized in Christianity and God's people, and should not be brought down to an earthly and natural level as some do. Certainly they do not refer to any earthly situation in Palestine where an actual river develops according to the pattern of the prophecy, which some would have us to believe. This is far-fetched! Right here may be a good place for me to mention something in connection with the expected [by some] future fulfilment of a Temple of Jewish worship to be used in Jerusalem after the second coming of Christ. In September,1982, following eight days of meetings in Nazareth Israel, for my second time, I visited Jerusalem before coming home, in order to see ''The Jerusalem Great Synagogue'' which had just been dedicated on August 4th, the month before. Some speculative Bible teachers in America had been talking about the possibility of this synagogue being a new Millennial Temple which will be used for animal sacrifices again after Jesus comes. But THIS WAS NOTHING OF THE KIND! And I didn't think so brfore I went, but I wanted to see for myself. It was located about 1 1/2 miles from the old city wall [ I walked to it ] on one of the main streets, and is a beautful structure, costing $14 million. [The central chandelier weighs 3 1/2 tons]. It was closed, but through some ''dialogue'' with the caretaker, Iwas allowed to go upstairs and see the sanctuary. It was fabulous! NO ALTAR, except a pulpit in the middle of the large sanctuary, and the reast of the auditorium was filled with 1,700 seats for men, plus 600 for women in the balcony. On the outside of the building were printed these words; 'This house of prayer for the Jews of the world is dedicated by Sir Isaac and Lady Wolfson to the memory of all those who died so that, the Jewish people may live ''To the six million Jewish victims of the European holocaust and all those Jewish men and women who sacrificed their lives for and in defense of the state of Israel.'' It was simply a synagogue, and Jews have them all over the world. The Jews themselves do not look upon this Synagogue as a Millennial Temple, and it only goes to display the speculation of some Bible teachers in the USA. that it should be so considered here. I mentioned to one Jew there what some in the States suggested, about this Synagogue being a Temple where future animal sacrifices would be made again. He looked at me with a sense of disdain and said, ''THISis a SYANGOGUE!'' Dr. Maurice A. Jaffe, the executive chairman of the Great Synagogue complex, was asked if this new synagogue is to be a temporary substitute for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jeruslem. He replied, ''God forbid.'' Other buildings were right up beside this synagogue on either side, with a concrete pavement only in front. In fact, the sanctuary is not even on the street level. One has to go upstaies to get to the main sanctuary part where the people worship. The entire seating arrangement is in a circular position, elevated in steps for all the pews looking toward the center wher the rabbis would stand and read the Bible. In a Biblical temple, people would not worship in the place where the altar is, anyway, even if there were an altar there, which there isn't! Rest assured that this building is not what some think it to be; and furthermore, there never will be a need for another Jewish Temple such as was destroyed in 70 A.D. Thank God for the BLOOD OF JESUS which took the place of any spotless lamb which was ever sacrificed on a Jewish altar in a Jewish Temple. The death of Christ was a ''once for all'' offering, and God will never revert back to the things which He did away with many years ago. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper for His disciples to remember His death by after He was gone, and even that will not be needed when we sree Him face to face some day! The Bible - Genesis 10 1Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. 2The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. 6And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. 7And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. 8And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. 13And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 14And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. 15And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth, 16And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, 17And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 18And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. 19And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. 21Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. 22The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. 23And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. 25And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. 26And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, 27And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, 28And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, 29And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 30And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east. 31These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 32These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth aft To Whom Does the Land of Palestine Belong? by Thomas Williamson In January of 1997, an Israeli soldier opened fire on Arab civilians in the city of Hebron in occupied Palestine, killing some and wounding others. His motive was to prevent the return of Israeli-occupied lands to the Arabs. This soldier was convinced that God has given the land of Palestine to the Jews, and that it would be a sin to return the land to the Arabs. Many evangelical Christians, while not condoning the soldier's act of killing Arabs, agree with him that the Jews have a divine title deed to Israel and that the land must not be given back to the Palestinians. Christian Zionists who believe this way, when asked to cite a Biblical justification for their views, usually go all the way back to Genesis 12 and 13 in the Old Testament. Many such Zionists are dispensationalists, who teach that the Old Testament and the Law of Moses are not for today, and that only selected parts of the New Testament are to be followed in this dispensation. However, they never quote from the New Testament to justify their Zionist convictions, for the simple reason that no New Testament teaching exists that would possibly back up such beliefs. Zionists prefer to rely on the Old Testament, citing Genesis 13:15 where God said to Abraham, "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." They construe this verse to teach that a large chunk of the Middle East still belongs to the Jews today, including the ancient lands of Edom and Moab, even though God said in Deuteronomy 2:5, 9 that He would never give those lands to the Jews. Christian Zionists regard God's covenant with Abraham, including the land grant, as an unconditional covenant. They admit that the Jews have broken that covenant, and have rejected their Messiah, but insist that Palestine still belongs to the Jews because God gave it to them "forever." However, the Bible teaches that God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants was a conditional covenant, not unconditional. In Genesis 17:9-14 the Jews were warned that they must keep the covenant or be cut off from God's people. Leviticus 26:40-45 teaches that the Jews must confess and forsake their sins in order to maintain the covenant. Deuteronomy 7:12, 1 Kings 9:6-9 and Exodus 19:5-6 all teach that the covenant was conditional. Joshua 23:15-16 and 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 not only teach that the covenant was conditional, but they also specify that the Jews would lose their land grant if they broke the covenant. As for the statement in Genesis 13:15 that God was giving the land to the Jews "forever," we must compare this with other uses of the same word in the Law of Moses in order to understand what God is saying to us. In Exodus 12:23-24, God ordained the ordinance of the Passover to be observed "forever." In Deuteronomy 18:3-5 the Levites are ordained to be God's ministers, and to receive the offerings of the people, "forever." In Deuteronomy 23:3 we find that an Ammonite or Moabite cannot join the congregation of the Lord's people "forever." In Leviticus 7:34 we find that the peace-offering was to be observed "forever ." In Leviticus 10:15 we are told that the wave-offerings are to be observed "forever." Leviticus 16:29 specifies that the Day of Atonement is to be observed "forever." In Leviticus 23:41 we are commanded to observe the Feast of Tabernacles "forever." Numbers 18:19 tells us that we are to observe the heave-offerings "forever." In Numbers 19:9-10 we are instructed to use the ashes of a red heifer for purposes of purification "forever." If we ask our dispensational Zionist friends why they are not observing any of these commandments today, they will explain that they are not for this dispensation, that they were intended only for the observance of the Jews in the dispensation of Law, before the coming of Christ. The same reasoning applies to the land grant of Palestine to the Jews. Not only is that land grant no longer in effect in the new dispensation of grace, but it is also very clear that the Jews were given that land under a conditional covenant, and that they broke that covenant when they rejected and crucified their Messiah. The covenant and the land promise to the Jews were not eternal, to last until the end of time. The Jews did not keep the conditions of the covenant, and for this reason God took away the kingdom of God from them, Matthew 21:42-45, and gave it to the New Israel (Galatians 6:16,) the Church which consists of believing Jews and Gentiles. The inheritance of the new Spiritual Israel is not land in the Middle East, but rather the new Jerusalem in heaven. The old Jerusalem on earth is of absolutely no importance to God's people, John 4:21, Galatians 4:24-28, Hebrews 12:18-24. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:25 condemns as children of Hagar all those whose focus is on the earthly Jerusalem. In Hebrews 8:13 we read that the old covenant with Abraham was about to disappear. The final disappearance of the old covenant took place in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple, the City of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state. The genealogical records of the Jews were destroyed also, meaning there is no Jew alive today who can trace his ancestry back to the Palestinian Jews of the First Century. There is no statement or hint in the New Testament that God will revive the Jewish state. It has been revived by man twice, in 132 AD and in 1948 AD. There is no prophetic significance in these human restorations of the Jewish state, and Christians are under no obligation to support such a political entity. Even our father Abraham has no interest in a restored Jewish state, Hebrews 11:13-16. He is in a much better place, the new Jerusalem. Instead of encouraging our Jewish friends to seek out the earthly Jerusalem, we should point them to the heavenly Jerusalem, available to them by faith in the Messiah. Some Zionists accuse American Jews of greed, saying that they belong in Israel and have stayed in America so they can make more money here. Instead of telling American Jews that this is not their country and that they should emigrate to Israel, we should rather encourage them to stay here where they enjoy all the blessings of religious freedom for their faith as well as a better opportunity to convert to Christianity if they so desire Nowadays there are prominent evangelists who preach to their followers that God never fulfilled His promise of giving all the land of Palestine to the Jews. They support whatever action necessary, even nuclear war, to obtain Arab lands in the Middle East and give them to the Jews. This belief is not only a threat to world peace, but it is also totally mistaken and unscriptural. The Bible clearly teaches that God did keep His promise to His chosen people the Jews, and that He did give them all the land that was promised. The boundaries of the land promised are given in Genesis 15:18 - from the river of Egypt (the Wadi El-Arish, not the Nile) to the river Euphrates. Read Joshua 11:23, Joshua 21:43-45, 2 Samuel 8:3, 1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 8:56, 2 Chronicles 9:26 and Nehemiah 9:7-8, 24 and it will become very clear that God did give all of the land promised to the Jews. If God says that He did, who are we to say that He did not? It is not necessary for us to start a war in the Middle East to fulfill a promise that God already fulfilled 3400 years ago. As for the Old Testament promises that Israel would be restored some day, these prophecies were fulfilled by the return from the Babylonian Captivity in 536 BC. The prophet Jeremiah is often quoted to prove that God promised a restoration of the Jews to their land and that the promise began to be fulfilled in 1948 AD. However, Jeremiah very clearly said in 606 BC that this prophesied national restoration of the Jews in their land would take place within 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10, Daniel 9:2). Christian Zionists need to study their Bibles more carefully, so that they will realize that God already kept His promise, when He said that He would, and that we do not need to stir up war and bloodshed in the Middle East in order to fulfill the promise yet again. Christian Zionism and dispensationalism represent a giant step backward in our theological progress. Instead of resting in the once-for-ever sacrifice by Christ on the Cross for our sins, dispensational Zionists look forward to the building of another temple in Jerusalem with animal sacrifices. Instead of rejoicing in the New Covenant which was promised to all God's people, Jeremiah 31:31-34, they want to go back to the Old Covenant which has been forever abrogated. Instead of inviting our precious, beloved Jewish friends to partake in the eternal blessings of the heavenly Jerusalem, they try to send them back to the Old Jerusalem, even though they believe that 2/3 of them will be slaughtered in a 7-year period of Tribulation to come very soon. The entire tendency of this theological system is to lead us all back to Judaism. The founder of dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby, openly admitted that his teaching would lead us back to Judaism. Let us rather heed the exhortation of the apostle saying, "Let us go on," Hebrews 6:1, rather than turning back to the empty shadows of a religion that was meant only to prepare mankind for the coming of Christ. The duty of Christian churches today is to seek the well-being of Jews according to the flesh, Romans 9:3. We will accomplish that, not by lobbying for the territorial expansion of Israel, but rather by preaching the Gospel and planting churches, thereby giving all Jews and Gentiles an opportunity to enter the heavenly Jerusalem for all eternity. Mr. Thomas Willimasom is an ordained Baptist minister who lives in Chicago, Illinois. He contributes to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from time to time. Source: by courtesy & © 2001 Thomas Williamson by the same author:

CHRISTIAN RACISM KILLS PALESTINIANS From: pastorjerryh@excite.com To: Suez1950@aol.com Sent from the Internet (Details) Dear Martha: I am particularly interested in the materials that have to do with the role of dispensationalism (end-time belief) in the conflict in Palestine. One of the ways that I can help is to collect the facts and pull together a summary of what is going on and to present it to the Body of Christ. You know, I have heard for years that the Church did nothing about the slaughter of the Jews in World War II because they thought Hitler was the anti-Christ and they were hesitant to resist his actions because they thought it was all a part of the end-times prophecies. It appears that the Church and our nation are once again turning a deaf ear to this current situation because they believe that the Jewish/Paelstinian conflict is a part of end-time prophecy and that it must be allowed to run its course. They also believe that they must stand with Israel - regardless - if they don't, they will come under a curse from God! I am writing several key leaders with this information and I am asking them for their insights into the situation. Let's pray that God will somehow use us to expose this mess and to bring restoration into the picture. The problem is further complicated with the fact that neither side believes in Jesus - neither the Jews nor the Palestinians. Of course, we know that this conlfict will only be settled in the Person of Jesus Himself. And this is the key reason that Ali and others who know Jesus are in a very strategic position to effect lasting change. Our prayers, tears. and deep concerns go up before the Lord continually regarding this entire situation and the safety of Ali and the other men and women of God in that area of the world. "Lord, give us wisdom - for we have never been this way before!" Martha, the recent article you forwarded to me is great. As you find further information along that line, please send it to me. Blessings, Apostle Jerry Have you been told that the present day state of Israel is the fulfillment of Bible Prophesy? Christian' racism. against Arabs is hateful. Jesus opposed racism. [Gal 3;28] Take a Stand In Front of a Church That Will Not Take a Stand cecarl@whtt.org Dispensationalism and Racism (by Thomas Williamson) - Media Monitor by Thomas Williamson What would you think of a religious sect that taught that there is one race that is by nature superior, and another race that is by nature inferior?And suppose that this sect taught that the superior race has a divine right to dispossess members of the inferior race and take their properties without compensation, and to ethnically cleanse those who resist this expropriation, using violence if necessary?And suppose that this sect believed so strongly in this system of racism and ethnic cleansing that it was willing to plunge the world into war in order to fulfill its objectives.And suppose that this sect claimed 70,000,000 adherents in the world's most powerful nation, and had a stranglehold on the foreign policy of that nation, so that the military and financial might of that nation was directed toward the goal of helping the superior race and suppressing the inferior race?Welcome to the wonderful world of American dispensationalism. Dispensationalists, who are found in many fundamentalist and evangelical denominations, follow the theological beliefs of John Nelson Darby, C. I. Scofield and Hal Lindsey, who taught that ethnic Jews constitute a superior race who are destined to take over Palestine, then the entire Middle East and finally the world. This naturally leads to a resentment of Palestinian Arabs, and all other Middle Eastern nations that sympathize with the Palestinians in their resistance to the program of pushing them out of their historic homelands. Dispensationalism, taken to its logical conclusion, leads to racism.It should be emphasized that not all American fundamentalists and evangelicals are dispensationalists. Not all dispensationalists are Zionist who support the Israeli takeover of the Middle East, although it would be difficult to find prominent dispensationalist spokesman who would publicly disassociate themselves from Zionism. A few dispensationalists display personal animosity and hatred toward members of Middle Eastern ethnic groups they dislike, while most attempt to maintain cordial relations with individuals from such groups.Having made these disclaimers, it must be admitted that the modern dispensational movement produces a lot of rhetoric and propaganda against the Arab peoples that can only be described as racist.For instance, an article on the web site of Cutting Edge Ministries of Attleboro, Massachusetts, in an article entitled "White Hot Genocidal Arab Hatred of Israel and All Jews is Setting the Stage for End of the Age Fulfillment of Prophecy," contains this white hot denunciation of the Arabs: "As Arabs armies advanced toward the heart of Europe, they wantonly killed, raped, and pillaged entire villages and cities. This is the true Arab, and please do not ever forget it."In October, 2000, Evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham who has built a reputation for fighting racism, stunned observers with this attack on the Arabs, made during a "Festival" in Lexington, Kentucky: "The Arabs will not be happy until every Jew is dead. They hate the state of Israel. They all hate the Jews. God gave that land to the Jews. The Arabs will never accept that. Why can't they live in peace?" Dispensationalist followers of the Grahams apparently were undisturbed by this declaration that all Arabs are evil and that they have no civil or property rights in the land of their birth. In his Last Call newsletter, Pastor F. M. Riley of Roswell, New Mexico denounces the Palestinians as "lazy" and accuse them of stealing Palestine from the Jews, saying, "The Palestinians (and other Arabs) have never been anything but 'squatters' on land that never belonged to them in the first place."Even dispensationalists who do not indulge in overt racist condemnations of the Arabs often follow the assumption that the Palestinians are meant to be subservient to the recent Jewish colonists and settlers who have taken over their country, and that Palestinians are not entitled to the same basic human rights as all other peoples and ethnic groups are. This is an inherently racist ideology.Another common teaching among dispensationalists is that the Palestinians Arabs are Edomites, or the "House of Esau," and that it is God's will that all the Old Testament curses and judgments on the ancient Edomites are meant to fall upon the modern Palestinians.However, in reality there is no connection between the Edomites and the Palestinians Josephus, in his "Antiquities of the Jews," Chapter IX, (2), stated that the entire Edomite or Idumean nation was absorbed into the Jewish nation in the 2nd Century BC, and this statement is accepted by modern historians and Bible reference works. Thus, much anti-Arab prejudice is based on a totally false application of Old Testament prophecies against ancient Edom (similar to the misapplication which places the "curse of Ham" upon modern blacks).Meanwhile, although Iran is a non-Arab country, the current government of Iran has sided with the Palestinians. As a result, some dispensationalists regard the existence of Iran and the Iranian people as a threat to their theological belief that Israel must take over the Middle East and therefore Iran must be bashed also, as was done by Jimmy DeYoung in an article in the October/November 1998 issue of the Zionist magazine "Israel My Glory," in which he states, contrary to all Biblical and historical evidence, that "Persia, that ancient biblical enemy of the Jewish people, is the modern state of Iran. The hatred the Persians had for the Jewish people has carried over to the Iran of today."So, many modern dispensationalists are displeased with the Arabs and the Iranians, for supposedly hindering the divine plan for Jewish hegemony in the Middle East. But it turns out that many of these dispensationalists are equally irritated with the Jews and will even vocally condemn Jews, for their alleged sin of choosing to live in America and other Western countries, instead of moving to Israel where they supposedly belong according to dispensational ideology.Here we have a paradox - Gentiles are allowed to live in America or anywhere else they wish (unless you are a Palestinian desiring to live in Palestine, which is forbidden). But Jews, who are supposedly the master, superior race, are not allowed to choose where they can live like everyone else - they must live in Israel, the new ghetto set aside for them, or suffer the divine displeasure. Some have even suggested that the Holocaust during World War 2 was God's punishment upon the Jews for not relocating to Israel, and part of God's plan to force them to go there anyway.Dwight Wilson in his book "Armageddon Now" has extensively documented anti-Semitic attitudes on the part of some dispensationalists in the early 20th Century, as well as their distribution of the anti-Semitic forgery "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Regarding dispensationalists of the 1930's and their attitude to German persecution of the Jews, Wilson says, "In spite of being theologically more pro-Jewish than any other Christian group, the premillennarians also were apathetic - because of a residual anti-Semitism, because persecution was prophetically expected, because it would encourage immigration to Palestine, because it seemed the beginning of the Great Tribulation and because it was a wonderful sign of the imminent blessed hope." Since that time evangelical concern for the welfare of Jews, as well as Arabs, has often played second fiddle to their desire for their peculiar prophetic schemes to be fulfilled, regardless of the cost in human misery.Meanwhile, entire sermons have been preached and books have been written on the subject of the greedy Jew who stays in America so he can make money, instead of going to Israel where he belongs. The 1987 book "Let My People Go - The Struggle of the Jewish People to Return to Israel" by Tom Hess has on its front cover a Jewish man who is unable to go to Israel, because he is chained to a pole marked "Wall Street," thus perpetuating the offensive stereotypes of the rapacious Jew who will do anything for money.Although there has never been a society more hospitable to the Jews than America, this book attempts to scare Jews into fleeing to Israel, saying that millions of American Jews will soon be butchered by the KKK, Islamic terrorists or the KGB unless they hightail it for the Holy Land now. In a chapter entitled "American Jews" - Bound by Materialism," Hess accuses American Jews of being enslaved by the god of mammon, and tells them, "It's time to stop saying, 'I'm an American Jew,' stop bowing down and worshipping the god of materialism in America and fulfill your end-time biblical destiny. Return to the land of your forefather..."If someone demanded that Americans of African, Mexican or Chinese ancestry stop identifying themselves as Americans and get out of the country, and go back where their ancestors came from, this would quickly be identified and condemned as reprehensible racism. If we do thus to American Jews, it is clearly racism also.In discussing the latent racism against Jews, Arabs and other Middle Eastern peoples, on the part of dispensationalist who are frustrated of all these peoples to do exactly what they think is necessary to fulfill by the failure the "Armageddon theology" end-times fantasies that have been predicted by their favorite prophecy preachers, it must be emphasized that I am not accusing all dispensationalists of being racists or holding to racist views. This article describes the attitudes of some dispensationalists, not all of them. No doubt there are many sincere dispensationalists who would publicly repudiate such views, if given the opportunity.Therefore, I hereby invite all American dispensationalists to publicly subscribe to and declare their agreement with the following 2-point manifesto against racism:1. We affirm that all Americans Jews are to be embraced and welcomed as American citizens at all times, and encouraged to stay in America if they wish, to enjoy the benefits that this society has provided for the Jewish people. At no time will we give the impression that American Jews do not belong here or that they belong in Israel.2. We affirm that the Palestinian people are endowed with the same human, civil and property rights as all other peoples of the world, including the right to reside in their homeland, to travel freely, to govern themselves free of foreign military occupation, and to return to their homeland in the event that they have been exiled. Whatever privileges we may regard the Jews as having been divinely in this dispensation, those privileges do not include the right to oppress the Palestinians in any way or to expropriate their property without compensation.This is a platform that all of us, dispensationalists and non-dispensationalists, can agree on. It is a scriptural platform, because the Bible teaches that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Romans 10:12), that God has put no difference between Jews and Gentiles (Acts 15:9), that God has made of one blood all the peoples of the earth (Acts 17:26), and that in Christ there is Jew or Greek (Galatians 3:28). The Apostle Paul taught that there is no advantage in being a Jew, Galatians 5:6, 6:15, Philippians 3:3-9.Any theological teaching that gives Jews a place of privilege over Palestinians or Gentiles in general, or that places any added burdens and restrictions upon the Jews because of their ethnicity, is a relic of an unenlightened past, should be erased from our thinking or preaching.Mr. Thomas Williamson is an ordained Baptist minister who lives in Chicago, Illinois. He contributes to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from time to time. To Whom Does the Land of Palestine Belong? by Thomas Williamson In January of 1997, an Israeli soldier opened fire on Arab civilians in the city of Hebron in occupied Palestine, killing some and wounding others. His motive was to prevent the return of Israeli-occupied lands to the Arabs.This soldier was convinced that God has given the land of Palestine to the Jews, and that it would be a sin to return the land to the Arabs. Many evangelical Christians, while not condoning the soldier's act of killing Arabs, agree with him that the Jews have a divine title deed to Israel and that the land must not be given back to the Palestinians.Christian Zionists who believe this way, when asked to cite a Biblical justification for their views, usually go all the way back to Genesis 12 and 13 in the Old Testament. Many such Zionists are dispensationalists, who teach that the Old Testament and the Law of Moses are not for today, and that only selected parts of the New Testament are to be followed in this dispensation. However, they never quote from the New Testament to justify their Zionist convictions, for the simple reason that no New Testament teaching exists that would possibly back up such beliefs.Zionists prefer to rely on the Old Testament, citing Genesis 13:15 where God said to Abraham, "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." They construe this verse to teach that a large chunk of the Middle East still belongs to the Jews today, including the ancient lands of Edom and Moab, even though God said in Deuteronomy 2:5, 9 that He would never give those lands to the Jews.Christian Zionists regard God's covenant with Abraham, including the land grant, as an unconditional covenant. They admit that the Jews have broken that covenant, and have rejected their Messiah, but insist that Palestine still belongs to the Jews because God gave it to them "forever."However, the Bible teaches that God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants was a conditional covenant, not unconditional. In Genesis 17:9-14 the Jews were warned that they must keep the covenant or be cut off from God's people. Leviticus 26:40-45 teaches that the Jews must confess and forsake their sins in order to maintain the covenant. Deuteronomy 7:12, 1 Kings 9:6-9 and Exodus 19:5-6 all teach that the covenant was conditional. Joshua 23:15-16 and 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 not only teach that the covenant was conditional, but they also specify that the Jews would lose their land grant if they broke the covenant.As for the statement in Genesis 13:15 that God was giving the land to the Jews "forever," we must compare this with other uses of the same word in the Law of Moses in order to understand what God is saying to us. In Exodus 12:23-24, God ordained the ordinance of the Passover to be observed "forever." In Deuteronomy 18:3-5 the Levites are ordained to be God's ministers, and to receive the offerings of the people, "forever." In Deuteronomy 23:3 we find that an Ammonite or Moabite cannot join the congregation of the Lord's people "forever." In Leviticus 7:34 we find that the peace-offering was to be observed "forever ." In Leviticus 10:15 we are told that the wave-offerings are to be observed "forever." Leviticus 16:29 specifies that the Day of Atonement is to be observed "forever." In Leviticus 23:41 we are commanded to observe the Feast of Tabernacles "forever." Numbers 18:19 tells us that we are to observe the heave-offerings "forever." In Numbers 19:9-10 we are instructed to use the ashes of a red heifer for purposes of purification "forever." If we ask our dispensational Zionist friends why they are not observing any of these commandments today, they will explain that they are not for this dispensation, that they were intended only for the observance of the Jews in the dispensation of Law, before the coming of Christ.The same reasoning applies to the land grant of Palestine to the Jews. Not only is that land grant no longer in effect in the new dispensation of grace, but it is also very clear that the Jews were given that land under a conditional covenant, and that they broke that covenant when they rejected and crucified their Messiah.The covenant and the land promise to the Jews were not eternal, to last until the end of time. The Jews did not keep the conditions of the covenant, and for this reason God took away the kingdom of God from them, Matthew 21:42-45, and gave it to the New Israel (Galatians 6:16,) the Church which consists of believing Jews and Gentiles.The inheritance of the new Spiritual Israel is not land in the Middle East, but rather the new Jerusalem in heaven. The old Jerusalem on earth is of absolutely no importance to God's people, John 4:21, Galatians 4:24-28, Hebrews 12:18-24. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:25 condemns as children of Hagar all those whose focus is on the earthly Jerusalem.In Hebrews 8:13 we read that the old covenant with Abraham was about to disappear. The final disappearance of the old covenant took place in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple, the City of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state. The genealogical records of the Jews were destroyed also, meaning there is no Jew alive today who can trace his ancestry back to the Palestinian Jews of the First Century.There is no statement or hint in the New Testament that God will revive the Jewish state. It has been revived by man twice, in 132 AD and in 1948 AD. There is no prophetic significance in these human restorations of the Jewish state, and Christians are under no obligation to support such a political entity.Even our father Abraham has no interest in a restored Jewish state, Hebrews 11:13-16. He is in a much better place, the new Jerusalem. Instead of encouraging our Jewish friends to seek out the earthly Jerusalem, we should point them to the heavenly Jerusalem, available to them by faith in the Messiah. Some Zionists accuse American Jews of greed, saying that they belong in Israel and have stayed in America so they can make more money here. Instead of telling American Jews that this is not their country and that they should emigrate to Israel, we should rather encourage them to stay here where they enjoy all the blessings of religious freedom for their faith as well as a better opportunity to convert to Christianity if they so desireNowadays there are prominent evangelists who preach to their followers that God never fulfilled His promise of giving all the land of Palestine to the Jews. They support whatever action necessary, even nuclear war, to obtain Arab lands in the Middle East and give them to the Jews.This belief is not only a threat to world peace, but it is also totally mistaken and unscriptural. The Bible clearly teaches that God did keep His promise to His chosen people the Jews, and that He did give them all the land that was promised. The boundaries of the land promised are given in Genesis 15:18 - from the river of Egypt (the Wadi El-Arish, not the Nile) to the river Euphrates.Read Joshua 11:23, Joshua 21:43-45, 2 Samuel 8:3, 1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 8:56, 2 Chronicles 9:26 and Nehemiah 9:7-8, 24 and it will become very clear that God did give all of the land promised to the Jews. If God says that He did, who are we to say that He did not?It is not necessary for us to start a war in the Middle East to fulfill a promise that God already fulfilled 3400 years ago. As for the Old Testament promises that Israel would be restored some day, these prophecies were fulfilled by the return from the Babylonian Captivity in 536 BC. The prophet Jeremiah is often quoted to prove that God promised a restoration of the Jews to their land and that the promise began to be fulfilled in 1948 AD. However, Jeremiah very clearly said in 606 BC that this prophesied national restoration of the Jews in their land would take place within 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10, Daniel 9:2). Christian Zionists need to study their Bibles more carefully, so that they will realize that God already kept His promise, when He said that He would, and that we do not need to stir up war and bloodshed in the Middle East in order to fulfill the promise yet again.Christian Zionism and dispensationalism represent a giant step backward in our theological progress. Instead of resting in the once-for-ever sacrifice by Christ on the Cross for our sins, dispensational Zionists look forward to the building of another temple in Jerusalem with animal sacrifices. Instead of rejoicing in the New Covenant which was promised to all God's people, Jeremiah 31:31-34, they want to go back to the Old Covenant which has been forever abrogated. Instead of inviting our precious, beloved Jewish friends to partake in the eternal blessings of the heavenly Jerusalem, they try to send them back to the Old Jerusalem, even though they believe that 2/3 of them will be slaughtered in a 7-year period of Tribulation to come very soon.The entire tendency of this theological system is to lead us all back to Judaism. The founder of dispensationalism, John Nelson Darby, openly admitted that his teaching would lead us back to Judaism. Let us rather heed the exhortation of the apostle saying, "Let us go on," Hebrews 6:1, rather than turning back to the empty shadows of a religion that was meant only to prepare mankind for the coming of Christ.The duty of Christian churches today is to seek the well-being of Jews according to the flesh, Romans 9:3. We will accomplish that, not by lobbying for the territorial expansion of Israel, but rather by preaching the Gospel and planting churches, thereby giving all Jews and Gentiles an opportunity to enter the heavenly Jerusalem for all eternity.Mr. Thomas Willimasom is an ordained Baptist minister who lives in Chicago, Illinois. He contributes to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from time to time. Palestinian Christians Ignored (by Sherri Muzher) - Media Monitors by Sherri Muzher "You mean, there are Palestinian Christians?” I am often asked, incredulously and with a renewed sense of interest in the Middle East. I understand the confusion. All Arabs are Muslims and all Muslims are Arabs – isn’t that the popular belief?So it’s not surprising that many view the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict as Muslims versus Jews. Unfortunately, there are those who strategically exploit this lack of knowledge for political gain or to realize “prophecy,” like Christian Conservative Gary Bauer who organized a letter of warning President Bush. Twenty-two evangelical leaders stated in the May 19 letter that any attempt to be “evenhanded” between Israel and the Palestinians would be “morally reprehensible.” A few weeks ago, the Rev. Pat Robertson accused President Bush of imperiling Israel with Road Map, citing the Bible “which speaks very harshly of those who divide the ‘Promised Land.’”How many potential Americans believe this? “There are 70 million of us” the Reverend Jerry Falwell explained to CBS’s Bob Simon on June 8, 2003 in a segment called ‘Zion’s Christian Soldiers.’ ”If there’s one thing that brings us together quickly, it’s whenever we begin to detect our government becoming a little anti-Israel.” Falwell certainly proved his allegiance to Israel when he promised Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu in 1998 that he and others would mobilize evangelical churches to oppose steps involving territorial concessions to the Palestinians. Palestinian evangelical pastors and theologians later responded to Falwell in a February 1, 1998 letter, “Our task of sharing the love of Christ in this region is becoming increasingly difficult as our brothers and sisters in the West openly express sentiments and endorse policies that produce greater injustice and aggression against Palestinian Christians and Muslims.Ultimately, Falwell can’t speak for all evangelical Christians but many believe the Bible promised the Jews the entire Holy Land, including the Occupied Territories. And some evangelicals also believe the second coming of Christ is contingent upon the full return of Jews to Jerusalem.However, the fact that Palestinian Christians are united with Muslims in the goal for liberation proves that the conflict isn’t so much religious as it is nationalistic and human. Palestinian Christians have been among the most fervent players in the battle against Israeli occupation. Consider spokeswoman, Hanan Ashrawi; the award-winning literary critic, Edward Said; Jerusalem Latin Patriarchate Michel Sabbah; Melkite Reverend/Author Elias Chacour; as well as revolutionary, George Habash.The reality is that 15% of the world’s Palestinians are Christian. Palestinian Christians, also referred to as “ the living stones” for being having been witness to Jesus and the Resurrection, are a vibrant community who have experienced suffering no less than Palestinian Muslims. From the bloody Crusades to the Dispossession of Palestine’s inhabitants in 1948, discrimination has never known religion. In the latest uprising for freedom, Palestinian Christians have not only been killed, but many others have been maimed for life by Israeli bullets. Christians have also suffered under the inhumane siege by not being able to leave their towns, go to their jobs, seek medical care and attend schools. Among the hardest hit by Israeli F-16 bombardment is the Palestinian Christian city of Beit Jala. And few Palestinian Christians will ever forget Palestinian altar boy Johnny Thalgieh who was killed by Israeli gunfire at Manger Square in Bethlehem. Cars flattened indiscriminately by Israeli Merkava tanks and blown out windows as well as containment of the populations have left the Palestinian Christian population reeling at the Israeli government. I can understand the PR value for Israelis in ignoring Palestinian Christians from the MidEast equation. With the unfair vilification of Islam, who would Western public opinion favor? But those who insist on painting this conflict in religious terms are fooling themselves if they think my relatives desire freedom any less than Muslims. And while evangelical leaders who warned President Bush not to be “even-handed” in peace negotiations believe they are speeding up the Second Coming of Christ, it was Christ who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."Which is it? Sherri Muzher, who holds a Jurist Doctor in International and Comparative Law, is a Palestinian-American activist and free lance journalist. She is a regular contributor to Media Monitors Network (MMN). Carter's Crusade Jimmy Carter Explains How the Christian Right Isn't Christian At All Interview by Ayelish McGarvey C 2004 by The American Prospect, Inc. April 5, 2004 -- Former President Jimmy Carter, America's first evangelical Christian president, still teaches Sunday school at his Baptist church in Plains, Georgia, and he and his wife, Rosalynn, continue their human-rights work in developing nations through the Carter Center at Emory University. In recent months, the Carters toured Togo, Ghana, and Mali to raise awareness of the public-health needs of those nations. In February, Carter spoke about the role of evangelical Christianity in democratic politics with Prospect writing fellow Ayelish McGarvey. Ayelish McGarvey (AM): Republicans have been extremely successful at connecting religion and values to issues like the fight against terrorism, abortion, and gay rights. Democrats have been far less adept at infusing our issues -- compassion, help for the poor, social justice -- with any sense of religious commitment or moral imperative. Why do you think that is? Jimmy Carter (JC): When I was younger, almost all Baptists were strongly committed on a theological basis to the separation of church and state. It was only 25 years ago when there began to be a melding of the Republican Party with fundamentalist Christianity, particularly with the Southern Baptist Convention. This is a fairly new development, and I think it was brought about by the abandonment of some of the basic principles of Christianity. First of all, we worship the prince of peace, not war. And those of us who have advocated for the resolution of international conflict in a peaceful fashion are looked upon as being unpatriotic, branded that way by right-wing religious groups, the Bush administration, and other Republicans. Secondly, Christ was committed to compassion for the most destitute, poor, needy, and forgotten people in our society. Today there is a stark difference [between conservative ideology and Christian teaching] because most of the people most strongly committed to the Republican philosophy have adopted the proposition that help for the rich is the best way to help even poor people (by letting some of the financial benefits drip down to those most deeply in need). I would say there has been a schism drawn -- on theology and practical politics and economics between the two groups. AM: What has attracted conservative Christians to a party that protects corporate interests and promotes an aggressive foreign-policy agenda? How do those square? JC: There is an element of fundamentalism involved, which involves the belief on the part of a human being that [his or her] own concept of God is the proper one. And since [he or she has] the proper concept of God, [he or she is] particularly blessed and singled out for special consideration above and beyond those who disagree with [him or her]. Secondly, anyone who does disagree with [him or her], since [he or she is] harnessed to God in a unique way, then, by definition, must be wrong. And the second step is if you are in disagreement with [his or her] concept of the way to worship, even among the Christian community, is that you are inferior to [him or her]. And then the ultimate progression of that is that you're not only different and wrong and inferior, but in some ways you are subhuman. So there's a loss of concern even for the death of those who disagree. And this takes fundamentalism to the extreme. This is an element of the fundamentalist cause in this country. If you are a wealthy white man, then you are naturally inclined to think that the poor are inferior and don't deserve your first consideration. If you are a wealthy white man, then you also take on the proposition that women are inherently inferior. This builds up a sense of prejudice and alienation that permeates the Christian right during these days. AM: What issues do you see galvanizing moderate evangelicals as they go to the polls in November? JC: I've been involved in national politics now for more than 25 years. But this year we will see the Democratic Party more united than ever before in my memory, and even the earlier history that I studied before my life began. I think we're completely united with a determination to replace the Bush administration and its fundamentalist, right-wing philosophy with the more moderate qualities that have always exemplified what our nation is: a nation committed to strength in the military. I served longer in the military than any other president since the Civil War except Dwight Eisenhower. I was a submarine officer. I used the enormous and unmatched strength of America to promote peace for other people and preserve peace for ourselves. Now it seems as though it is an attractive thing in Washington to resort to war in the very early stage of resolving an altercation -- a completely unnecessary war that President Bush decided to launch against the Iraqis is an example of that. And I think that a reaction against that warlike attitude on the part of America to the exclusion of almost all other nations in the world -- and arousing fear in them -- is going to be a driving issue. I think that the abandonment of environmental issues even endorsed by President Nixon when I was governor (as well as virtually all of the Republicans and Democrats) has been notable under the Bush administration. One of the things I learned as a young Baptist boy was to be a steward of the world that God blessed us to enjoy. And I think the abandonment of basic environmental standards by the Bush administration rallies us. And I think the third thing is the obvious orientation of the Bush administration toward Halliburton, Enron, and other major corporations. You see this in the enormous tax reductions that have been granted to people that make more than $200,000 a year. That is another issue on which the Democrats will rally a common goal. AM: Do you think that Democrats will be able to attract Bible-believing Christians in a year that gay marriage will be used as a smokescreen to distract attention from those issues? JC: I think so. There isn't a major candidate who has endorsed gay marriage; they are in favor of equal protection through a civil-union arrangement. I personally, in my Sunday-school lessons, don't favor the religious endorsement of a gay marriage. But I do favor equal treatment under the law for people who differ from me in sexual orientation. AM: What about abortion? How would you speak to moderate evangelicals who withhold support for Democratic candidates on that single issue? JC: This was an issue that I had to face when I was campaigning 25 years ago. I have always been against abortion; it's not possible for me in my own concept of Christ to believe that Jesus would favor abortion. But at the same time, I have supported the Supreme Court ruling of our country as the law of the land. And the present arrangement, whereby a woman is authorized to have an abortion in the first trimester of the pregnancy, or when the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest -- these are the things that moderates who have beliefs like mine can accept as the present circumstances in our country. The liberality of abortion is anointed by the laws of our country, including the ultimate ruling of the Supreme Court. AM: How do you think the fundamentalist Christian right has misrepresented Christianity, as well as the democratic process? JC: Well, what do Christians stand for, based exclusively on the words and actions of Jesus Christ? We worship him as a prince of peace. And I think almost all Christians would conclude that whenever there is an inevitable altercation -- say, between a husband and a wife, or a father and a child, or within a given community, or between two nations (including our own) -- we should make every effort to resolve those differences which arise in life through peaceful means. Therein, we should not resort to war as a way to exalt the president as the commander in chief. A commitment to peace is certainly a Christian principle that even ultraconservatives would endorse, at least by worshipping the prince of peace. And Christ reached out almost exclusively to the poor, suffering, abandoned, deprived -- the scorned, the condemned people -- including Samaritans and those who were diseased. The alleviation of suffering was a philosophy that was enhanced and emphasized by the life of Christ. Today the ultra-right wing, in both religion and politics, has abandoned that principle of Jesus Christ's ministry. Those are the two principal things in the practical sense that starkly separate the ultra-right Christian community from the rest of the Christian world: Do we endorse and support peace and support the alleviation of suffering among the poor and the outcast? AM: You spent so much of your career working toward a reasonable, peaceful solution to violence and strife in Israel and Palestine. Increasing attention has been paid to traditionalist evangelicals' strong support for Israel, based on the New Testament prophecy that the reconstruction of the ancient kingdom of David will usher in the "end times" and the Second Coming of Christ. As a believer and a peacemaker, how do you respond to this? JC: That's a completely foolish and erroneous interpretation of the Scriptures. And it has resulted in these last few years with a terrible, very costly, and bloody deterioration in the relationship between Israel and its neighbors. Every president except for George W. Bush has taken a relatively balanced position between the Israelis and their enemies, always strongly supporting Israel but recognizing that you have to negotiate and work between Israel and her neighbors in order to bring about a peaceful resolution. It's nearly the 25th anniversary of my consummation of a treaty between Israel and Egypt -- not a word of which has ever been violated. But this administration, maybe strongly influenced by ill-advised theologians of the extreme religious right, has pretty well abandoned any real effort that could lead to a resolution of the problems between Israel and the Palestinians. And no one can challenge me on my commitment to Israel and its right to live in peace with all its neighbors. But at the same time, there has to be a negotiated settlement; you can't just ordain the destruction of the Palestinian people, and their community and their political entity, in favor of the Israelis. And that's what some of the extreme fundamentalist Christians have done, both to the detriment of the Israelis and the Palestinians. Copyright (c) 2004, Strait Gate Ministries, All Rights Reserved May be reproduced only in full. [ Home ] Please send questions and comments to info@whtt.org Pharisee Watch Sherry's War - Part I Every day, Sherry girds herself for her war. She knows the names of her enemies, but she has learned not to name them too quickly. For it is unchristian in her circles not to love one's enemies. In a letter to WHTT Sherry stated, "We should be very careful that any criticism is directed at people as people and not according to their race or religion." But if encouraged, Sherry's true feelings pour out: "It is established fact," Sherry wrote, "that the militant Islamic agenda is the elimination of Christianity and of Israel, God's chosen people." Sherry's words leave little doubt she truly believes that Muslims are evil enemies of Christianity. Sherry considers Palestinians to be part of "Militant Islam" and is emphatic in her belief that Israelis are allies in her war. She states, "I support a pro-Israel stance because I believe it is Biblical. I have done a lot of reading on this and we have been to Israel. The Jewish people cannot even go up onto the temple mount." She adds that her Israeli allies "have been much maligned by the press and the other factions in the Middle East, when they have, in fact, been trying to defend themselves to keep from being pushed into the sea." Sherry's war is very real to her. Her statements may seem to some to be exaggerated and based upon racial and religious hatred, yet she bases her political beliefs upon her religious doctrine. Sherry is, in fact, a loving and caring person, and not a fanatic as her words suggest. What then do Sherry and her husband Lanny believe that fuels these powerful political attachments and prejudices? What is their life style, and who are their mentors in this anti-Islamic subset of Christianity? Sherry and Lanny are model church member in a fast-growing evangelical non-denominational congregation. Sherry is a working mom and Lanny is a stockbroker. Both considers themselves “born again” and would probably be described by fellow churchgoers as salt of the earth Christians, the kind of people most would like to have as neighbors. If one had a problem, great or small, Sherry and Lanny were the kind of Christians who would be there. They are sacrificially committed to supporting mission work. Sherry is a defender of those who cannot defend themselves--the mistreated and the persecuted. They are no doubt dedicated to their family and consider Jesus the center of family life. Sherry wants to believe a mail-order missionary named Wes, who has visited her church and been welcomed from the pulpit several times. Wes operates a mission in Sudan whose stated purpose is to train chaplains for the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Wes claims that before starting his “permanent” mission, he bought and freed “slaves“ in Sudan. Sherry has sent money to Wes. She agonizes over his stories of slave trade, alleged forced-conversion to Islam, and blood-curdling claims of murder and rape of Christians for no reason except that they are Christians, all of which Wes claims is being carried out by the Sudanese Government. Sherry believes Wes' stories of his sacrificial mission to an army of black Christians battling a hoard of light-skinned Muslim killers and tyrants. She finds it natural to believe Wes’ story because she is sure Muslims are her natural enemy. She does not hesitate to say that Muslims, especially in Sudan, want to destroy Christianity and kill Christians simply because they are Christian. She considers all this to be fact and beyond question. Sherry associates Islam with anti-Semitism and believes Christians and Jews are inseparably bound together in a war against Islam. She believes the Bible commands her to “bless Israel,” at risk of bringing a curse from God down on her own head. Sherry believes Israel’s war is a global war with Islam. She wants to please God, so she says she will do whatever she can to bless the state of Israel. Sherry is an avowed pro-life advocate, supporting the right to life of every unborn child. But she sees no problem with opposing the rise of Islam by whatever force is required, even if innocent people must suffer. Sherry is probably sympathetic to the women and children in Iraq and Palestine who are the victims, but she does not allow herself to think about them, because she considers their problems beyond her scope. She attributes any such suffering and loss of life as “God’s plan.” She would note that God also ordered Israelite slaughters of Canonites in the Old Testament and had his reasons. Sherry believes that the leaders of Israel are often in error, and that they have strayed from God’s will, but she defends them nevertheless. She says she does not know why God has blessed these people, but he has. To her his absolute blessing on the present-day state of Israel is an unequivocal fact, based upon her understanding of Scripture. Sherry was incredulous when someone gave her a We Hold These Truths research paper that challenged much of what she had been taught about missions, slavery and persecution in Sudan Missionaries, Mercinaries, Missiles and Money. The report astonished Sherry by naming the very same mail-order missionary, Wes, who she was supporting financially, as one of the more questionable missionaries in Sudan. The report suggests that most missions in Southern Sudan are, at best, well-intended but ill-advised and totally impractical, spendthrift money-raising operations. It claims that some missions are knowingly financing a war of revolution in this poor African country, doing far more harm than good for the people they claimed to be aiding. More damning still, the report suggests that some organizations are fronts for a warring faction posing as a mission. Sherry was disturbed to learn the author claimed to have interviewed Wes and described him as a likable and convincing small-time opportunist who was taking advantage of the gullibility of well-intended churchgoers in America. Lanny and Sherry, like the conscientious Christians they are, decided to hear both sides. They discussed the matter with local We Hold These Truth advisors. They also listened to George, a part-time summer volunteer from their church, who had visited Wes’ mission in Sudan twice, and who raised the money for his trips to their church. After hearing what they considered to be both sides, Lanny and Sherry decided to believe Wes and George and to disregard the WHTT report. Sherry stated she simply could not believe George and Wes would lie in church. What tipped the scales in Sherry’s mind? Sherry came to see that the State of Israel probably has an interest in the war in Sudan and is probably financing the revolution, and that Israel needs and covets the new oil field in Sudan. Sherry and Lanny, trained in finance, did not doubt this report in the least. They quickly accepted the idea that Israel needs oil, and Sudan has lots of it. Sherry and Lanny believe they should support anything that is good for Israel, even if, in this case, it means war in Sudan. They do not mind helping what Wes claims is a school to train chaplains for what he describes as the black Christian revolutionary force of the SPLA. George proudly claims that Wes’ mission camp is defended by armed SPLA “rebels” armed with AK-47 rifles. Sherry sees herself as helping God’s plan along by financing Wes and George--an ideal way, she thinks, to help defeat the Muslims without actually shooting them. She is aware that a chaplain is actually a combatant warrior, and not a neutral party who conducts services but is under military command. Sherry’s love for the State of Israel and militancy toward Islam, Israel’s mortal enemy are the result of what she has learned in her church and in Bible studies. She was more than willing to provide a detailed list of the scriptures she used to defend her unshakable support for Israel. She believes these verses not only support theology, but demand her loyalty to Israel as the “Chosen People.” Sherry has years of training in her beliefs and is well able to support her arguments; she assumes hers is the prevailing Christian view and spares no effort in selling her beliefs to others. In coming chapters of “Pharisee Watch, Sherry’s War,” we will review Sherry’s favorite Bible verses. We will examine the media supporters of her view; we will approach the question, why do Lanny, Sherry, and millions of church going Americans like them, gird for war with Islam? Finally, we will inquire into what traditional Christians say about Sherry’s war. Sherry's War - Part II Pharisee Watch Sherry's War - Part II On January 19th Reverend Jerry Falwell was in Israel making a speech promoting Ariel Sharon for President, Sherry and Lanny were preparing for a Christ-centered weekend, and in a place called Gaza about 25 families huddled in the rain, watching helplessly as their homes and possessions were being destroyed by Israeli Defense Forces. How are these three incidents related? What do Jerry Falwell and a sincere Christian woman named Sherry have in common, and how are they part of the root cause of the human tragedy that continues to unfold in Palestine? In this series on Sherry’s War we are examining some of the strange beliefs that are held and acted upon by an increasingly dominant subset of Christianity, and how those beliefs fuel the endless wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. Based upon what the Bible tells her, Sherry believes that Israel--meaning the people who live there now and call themselves Jews--are God's “chosen people.” Like Jerry Falwell and a host of other Christian celebrities, she believes Jesus Christ left a loophole in his plan for the Israelis and, by association, for all who claim to be Jews, everywhere. She also feels that God has provided an escape from impending, apocalyptic events for her and for those who believe as she does. To be protected from God’s awful judgment on a sinful world, Sherry believes she must recognize and honor the special deal God has made with Israel, regardless of how she may feel about some of the actions Israel takes against others, including Christians. Sherry wants her friends to join in her discovery of God’s special grace for those who honor the State of Israel. She questions and perhaps even worries about this writer, who she feels may not have blessed the nation of Israel as God commanded. Sherry is convinced that anyone who does not do so will be cursed by God. Whether or not she believes that such a curse precludes salvation and eternal life is not entirely clear. But she wants no part of finding out, for she fears those found on the wrong side of Israel at the time of the “rapture” may be “left behind,” in the vernacular of a best-selling author of our day. No paid agent or professional propagandist for the State of Israeli could be more effective or persuasive than Sherry. She is a force to be reckoned with. Fired not by money or dreams of grandeur, but by zeal for God, Sherry is convinced that the prophecies of the Bible, as interpreted by others, tell her the inerrant truth. Sherry’s war is as much a crusade as any fought in the Middle Ages. She will not be swayed from her passionate attachment for Israel by any arguments of man based on any set of facts. No reports of deaths or inhumane abuses committed by Israelis will weaken Sherry’s conviction that her first allegiance, next to God Himself, is to the State of Israel. To understand Sherry’s War we must read her Book, and we must examine her cherished beliefs verse by verse. She is not an anomaly or an isolated fanatic, but a sincere and dedicated Christian who is a member of the newest and most influential subset of Christian belief. Because We Hold These Truths also holds God’s word sacred, we will consider Sherry’s beliefs in the light of the Book itself in this series, of which this is the second chapter. We will not utilize outside witnesses, linguists, commentaries, or biblical experts, but will rely upon the works and claims that Sherry gives us as the basis of her beliefs. We will examine each verse in the context of who says what to and about whom. We begin by referring our readers to a letter from Sherry which explains exactly what she believes. Sherry’s first interpretation of God’s word is perhaps the foundation of her belief in God’s “blessings and curses.” It is taken from the Old Testament book of Genesis 12:1-3, which Sherry quotes verbatim: "and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee...and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (KJV). Sherry quotes these verses first, and others, including Falwell, quote them as God’s immutable law favoring the state of Israel. It is clear from the words themselves that God did promise to bless and protect the man named Abram (later renamed Abraham). The context surrounding the verses makes it clear that God was addressing Abram and no one else when he spoke these words. It requires, as we shall discover, a giant leap of logic to assume these simple words were ever intended to have anything to do with a political state of Israel or any other state in a different age. This blessing appears on its face to be so personal that it could not include anyone except the person addressed. We will show that, by bringing a future political state into the blessing, Sherry is putting words in God's mouth that he did not speak. And we will examine why she honestly believes this. Traditional Christianity holds that God preserved Abram for the purpose of starting the line and lineage of the tribe that would stepfather Jesus Christ 28 generations later. These “generations” are listed in the first chapter of Matthew. All Christians that we know of have always held that in Jesus “all the families of the earth” would be blessed,” as God promised and intended. Sherry’s Book tells us that at the time of God’s blessing, Abram had no children, nor prospects of having any. We also find there was no person named Israel. God promised Abram a big and famous family. Two generations later, one of his grandsons, Jacob, was renamed “Israel” in his manhood, and Israel is listed in St. Matthew as a link in the ancestors of Joseph of Nazareth, who became the adoptive father of Jesus. Thus, the traditional Christian belief that God blessed all mankind through Abraham, as He promised. Sherry believes, too, that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was God’s blessing to mankind as promised to Abrams’s seed. But by combining this verse with many others, she also believes that the present-day State of Israel received title to the land that is now Palestine, Israel, Iraq, and more. Sherry and millions of other American Christians firmly hold that these verses grant title to the place that is now called Israel. Sherry believes it as firmly as she believes the deed to her house is granted by the paper recorded in the court house. It does not bother Sherry that those who call themselves “Zionists” did not pick the name “Israel” for their new county until almost 3000 years after the Abrahamic covenants were spoken. A not at all far-fetched analogy might be that of one who went to the courthouse and changed his name to Thomas Jefferson Jr., and then demanded the keys to Monticello from the long-since closed estate. Israelis do “Jefferson” one better by making a 3000 year old claim. God did indeed clearly promise Abram a great family--a miracle for one who was 75 years old and had no sons--but this promise was an answer to Abram’s prayers, not to those of some future politicians. The plain and simple language of God’s promise clearly reveals that God was speaking to Abram only and no one else, not even to Sarai, and certainly not to her yet to be born children. The Bible says with its customary undeniable simplicity, "I will bless them that bless thee." God’s promise of blessings is grammatically correct. God addresses Abraham as "thee," which means only him. According to Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd Edition, "thee or thou is singular form, objective case, the person addressed." Webster tells us something Shakespeare put in practice; "thee" denotes "special implications of familiarity--as between intimates, or as used by a master to a servant." That is that exactly what God was doing--addressing Abram intimately, as a beloved servant. God addressed Abram as Sherry might address a son—as one might address one’s child as "my dear son" or “beloved child” instead of simply "you". "Thee" is reserved for a specific, loved person, as when Jesus addresses his Disciples as "thee." This is clearly the way that it is used everywhere in the Bible. But both Jerry Falwell and Sherry ignore the plain language of the words and assume the verse implies a blessing not only for Abram but also for the political state that adopted his grandson’s name 3000 years later. It would seem that if God expected the entire world to bless countless unborn, unnamed generations, he would have said so. If God had wanted to say this, he might have said, "I will bless you and all your generations after you, including the good ones and the evil ones, and including also those who cannot even prove they were ever of your seed, and for a hundred generations or more to come, and I will expect all men to know who they are and bless them also, else they shall be cursed." But God, using clear, direct language and correct, understandable grammar, did not say this. Why, then, do Sherry and ministers like Jerry Falwell interpret God as being incapable of clear and direct expression, speaking in riddles and incomprehensible vagaries, like the graduates of some of our modern schools? It is because the celebrity Christian leader from whom she takes counsel tells her she must take scripture “literally,” but teaches Sherry there are hidden meanings in most scripture. If you were to ask her, Sherry would be the first to say God created all of us and our languages, and all are perfect. She would also say she believes every word of scripture is true, even if she cannot explain the contradictions in her mentor’s interpretations of prophesy. The world could not function with the kind of metaphorical language Sherry has ascribed to God. If Sherry were to shout to a pack of dogs or unruly kids, "you stop that," without naming which dog or which kid she’s addressing, nothing would happen. If Sherry said to her neighbor, "my friend, will you come to coffee tomorrow morning," and the next day the neighbor arrived at her house with her five kids, her in-laws and her whole bridge club, Sherry would think her neighbor had a language problem, if not a mental problem. God’s plain and simple words named Abram alone for a personal blessing. Sherry forces God's words to mean what she wants to hear, and she does this because her leaders, whom she respects, do it. Consider the public statement that Jerry Falwell made in Jerusalem on January 19, 2001. He said, “As an evangelical Christian who takes the Bible seriously, I take a Judeo-Christian perspective on most moral and social issues.” Falwell goes on to explain his reasons for doing so, “…primarily and mainly because I believe that Abraham covenant literally. I believe God blesses those who bless Abraham, curses those who curse Abraham. I believe god has blessed America because in most cases we have been on the side of Israel, and not just the state of Israel but the Jewish people everywhere--and I could care less what some Gentiles and Jews might think about my position.” In so doing, Falwell, like Sherry, is treating God as one incapable of saying what he means and is mouthing it for him. He claims to read scripture “literally,” meaning it means what it says, but then he manufactures an implied metaphorical covenant with a political entity. Nothing could be less “literal.” Sherry and Falwell both know the ten commandments by heart, but in attributing to God something that is not of him, they do not seem to consider God’s warning not to take his name in vain. To Sherry, Falwell and a host of other celebrity leaders, the message of Genesis is that they are bound to love and aid the state of Israel, a sacred religious rite, or else they will be cursed and presumably denied admission to the Kingdom of Heaven. The age old, traditional Christian lesson of Genesis 12 is of God's mercy to Abram, who called on God to keep his promise to rescue him from his enemies before the end of the chapter. The story tells us Abraham got hungry and decided to throw himself on the mercy of the Egyptians. To save his life, he prostituted his wife Sarai to the Pharaoh. Nowhere in the chapter did God tell Abram to do this disgusting deed; Abram had God’s promise; he could have chosen to trust God to save him from the impossible. To make matters worse, he also lied to Pharaoh, breaking another of God’s commandments, by saying Sarai was not his wife but his sister. Abram became wealthy while the Pharaoh used his wife. Yet in spite of this, God kept his promise and put a curse (plague) on the Pharaoh until he finally released Abram and Sarai. Sherry and Falwell both believe that those who curse Israel (or fail to bless her) will be cursed as was the Pharaoh. Will God forgive Israel for years of cold-blooded, unrepentant killing of the little unarmed boys in Palestine who throw rocks at tanks? Sherry thinks so. Sherry believes she should not even see their sins, which is how she and Lanny have managed to travel to Israel and come back extolling the Israeli’s virtues. Millions of other Americans join in Sherry’s blessings and curses, believing they must do anything for Israel, even if it means ignoring its genocide of the innocent. The sixty-four Palestinian men, women and small children who stood in the cold pre-dawn rain in Gaza would have trouble understanding Sherry’s logic. They had been roused from sleep and forced from their homes. Now they had to watch as Israeli Defense Forces bulldozed their homes to the ground and threw their furniture and possessions in the mud, while tanks stood by in case they protested. What crime had these families committed? the Defense Forces had decided their homes were too close to a recently constructed Israeli settlement. Sadly, both Sherry and Jerry Falwell are responsible and must share blame for the 318 dead, many of them children, and the 8000 injured in the last year. Every professing Christian who supports Israel’s fanciful claims to these people’s homes based upon an apostate interpretation of the Bible shares in this guilt. They need to know. Those who guide We Hold These Truths also share in the blood guilt of the Israelis, for this brutality has endured for 50 years. Let us now call each other to task. In the next chapter of Sherry’s War we will examine the New Testament verses that Sherry and millions like her rely upon for their unconditional support of the camouflaged war for the assets of the Middle East. Sherry's War - Part I Pharisee Watch Sherry's War - Part IV In December of 1947, Selwa Doany was a slim 19-year old graduate of an English high school with a substantial Christian enrollment in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. She was scheduled for a University education, but was spending a year at home to help in her brother's pharmacy business. Her father, who had passed away a few years before, had been a Christian missionary to Jews and an educator. Selwa's mother also was dead, so she and her brother lived with her uncle, who was also a missionary to the Muslims of Haifa-- a large mission market. Christians comprised about 12% of Selwa's neighbors, 8% were Jews, and most of the rest were Muslims. Haifa was a quiet and prosperous port city, and Selwa's future was promising. Selwa is now known as Emily, a sharp-witted widow with a firm step and a mind that misses little and has forgotten few details of that terrible year in Palestine, 1947-1948. In an interview with We Hold These Truths, Emily described the shocking news she and her neighbors received in November 1947--the United Nations had partitioned Palestine, and with a stroke of the pen their Haifa had been given to the new State of Israel. Emily described a day in December when an organized band of about 200 strangers, Zionist Jews, appeared on her street. As if by signal, they began entering houses, five or 10 per house, evicting and ejecting the Arab resid

we will find some with prejudice and racism in their character. Unfortunately, millions of naturalization applicants and others must line up and take their punishment. Contact Name: James Zogby E-mail 1: jzogby@aaiusa.org Notes: zogbyviewpt@aaiusa.org 6. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (a) Dear Editor: My 27 year long INS career provided me with a window on the world for which I am very grateful. During that time and now, I long favored a breakup of INS since Enforcement was never going to willingly allow Adjudications a fair share of the resources. Thus, when "W" campaigned I was delighted to hear that he would breakup the Service, which he has done. However, if the devil is in the details, the same cast of players will somehow recreate that familiar climate of unfairness. Sadly, too many top management people from the bad old INS are still in place pretending to offer a better life for those seeking service and benefits. These characters continue to harbor wrongheaded anti- AILA and customer positions regardless of the merits. Do they even like themselves? The future cannot bring change with the usual suspects still holding the tiller. Those of us who proudly served and adjudicated with a reasonable and fair disposition can only wait. Unfortunately, millions of naturalization applicants and others must line up and take their punishment. W.R. (Skip) Tollifson USINS (retired) http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/immigdaily/letters/2003,0811-Tollifson.shtm (b) Dear Editor: Thanks for publishing the link about the immigration judge http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/217/metro/Immigration_judge_put_on_leave_for_Tarzan_joke+.shtml who was removed from his functions this week in Boston, MA. It is a clear fact that if we investigate each immigration judge working today in our immigration courts in the US, we will find some with prejudice and racism in their character. Some may argue that this is a necessary evil after 9/11, but that concerns me a great deal, because we should not gamble with human lives, when we want to be seen as a nation that care about freedom and justice for all. I hope that the Boston incident will open the door for a closer look at some immigration judges across the US, and a more in depth evaluation of their performance be done ASAP, so we can get some credibility back to our immigration justice system. I understand that after 9/11 there is some kind of "look at the other way" attitude, and the nomination of some judges after that date, clearly shows the intention of a radical approach for the immigration courts. That probably encourage the Boston judge to feel comfortable in his "absolute power" to lower his guard and show his real character in front the physician who is an American citizen with the integrity to stand against his pseudo-power to make fun of people in need of our justice system. I hope we will find those in the same line of character as we found in that Boston immigration judge and send them all home, and bring some respect and dignity back to our courts, by nominating judges with the right character. C.Silva http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/immigdaily/letters/2003,0811-Silva.shtm Contact Name: James Zogby E-mail 1: jzogby@aaiusa.org Notes: zogbyviewpt@aaiusa.org

Posted by Martha Abu-Shawish at May 13, 2004 04:21 PM http://www.adc@adc.org/ we will find some with prejudice and racism in their character. Unfortunately, millions of naturalization applicants and others must line up and take their punishment. Contact Name: James Zogby E-mail 1: jzogby@aaiusa.org Notes: zogbyviewpt@aaiusa.org 6. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (a) Dear Editor: My 27 year long INS career provided me with a window on the world for which I am very grateful. During that time and now, I long favored a breakup of INS since Enforcement was never going to willingly allow Adjudications a fair share of the resources. Thus, when “W” campaigned I was delighted to hear that he would breakup the Service, which he has done. However, if the devil is in the details, the same cast of players will somehow recreate that familiar climate of unfairness. Sadly, too many top management people from the bad old INS are still in place pretending to offer a better life for those seeking service and benefits. These characters continue to harbor wrongheaded anti- AILA and customer positions regardless of the merits. Do they even like themselves? The future cannot bring change with the usual suspects still holding the tiller. Tho