Israel warned that horses and chariots cannot be trusted

With all the threats Israel is now facing, it is perfectly understandable that they should be sharpening their swords as they prepare for the worst the enemy can throw at them.

A strong defence force is certainly necessary. But an even more serious danger is that they should rely on the power of their weapons, or indeed on their own strength of will and character, along with their growing expertise in military innovations.

It is dangerous because it demonstrates that they are relying on what the Bible refers to as “horses and chariots” rather than on the Lord who called them, as his chosen people, to be a light to the Gentiles.

For it is only when we trust the Lord with all our hearts and do not lean on our own understanding that God will give us the guidance we need in order to tread the path for which he has destined us (see Proverbs 3:5f).

Hope for a Turning

As one who loves Israel, I am not blind to the fact that many of its citizens lead a sinful lifestyle. This is no reason to withdraw support for the beleaguered nation, but they do need to repent of their waywardness and godlessness.

As they have done so many times in their long history, they have absorbed the ways of the world around them – and so we witness political correctness here as elsewhere, most starkly seen in a defiance of sexual morality.

But they are the people of the Book, who gave the world the Bible, the Ten Commandments and Jesus himself. God is saying: do not wait until you are overrun by enemies before you turn back to the Lord, who called you out of slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand. He urges you to trust him now!

It is only when we trust the Lord with all our hearts and do not lean on our own understanding that God will give us the guidance we need.

That said, thousands of Jews gathered to pray for rain at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on 28 December in response to the call of Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel – and God has clearly answered with an abundant outpouring, coming with such force that it has caused flooding in places.

I very much hope that we are seeing the beginnings of a turning to God in Israel, and the fact that a Government minister has initiated a call to prayer is quite amazing, and hugely encouraging.¹

Self-Reliance the Worst of Sins

I can’t recall why, but my wife and I were discussing Israel’s sin, and whether God’s judgment was inevitable, before turning to our daily reading which is our habit every morning. We use the ‘Every Day with Jesus’ notes of the late Selwyn Hughes which focus on a theme over a two-month period drawn together by a variety of different Scripture passages. So we opened the little book and found that the text for the day was Hosea 14:1-3: “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall” (v1). It goes on: “Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses…” (v3) (for Assyria, perhaps we should read America!).

The Lord was clearly in on our discussion and had a ready answer! Bear in mind that the Prophet was concluding his book which pictures Israel as an adulterous wife who repeatedly runs after other men, breaking the first commandment that we should have no other gods in our lives.

Self-reliance is thus the worst of sins because we put ourselves in God’s place and we are saying we can live without him; that he is redundant. This is gross idolatry, and we must repent of it.

DAVID COUNTRY: Yad HaShmona, in the Judean hills, not far from the Valley of Elah where David defeated Goliath.Notice, however, that in spite of their serial adultery, God has not forsaken Israel; he has not divorced the one he loves. He loves her with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3). He has entered into a covenant relationship which cannot be broken. But we should not abuse his great faithfulness.

In the Name of the Lord Almighty

The recent archaeological find near Tel Aviv, suggesting human activity in the area half-a-million years ago, did not exactly excite me. Far more edifying was the August 2015 find in Gath, a city once occupied by Philistines who plotted against the Israelites, their sworn enemies, and the home of the infamous Goliath!

The huge gates uncovered by archaeologists² were thought to be indestructible. But in an extraordinary battle in the Valley of Elah, a young man who trusted in the Lord brought down their giant leader with a single stone, proving indeed that the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Cor 1:25).

I very much hope that we are seeing the beginnings of a turning to God in Israel.

Goliath defied the armies of Israel, but David responded: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam 17:26). And he taunted the giant: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Sam 17:45).

Like other nations, Israel needs to seek forgiveness from God for succumbing to the ways of the world as well as for their outright disobedience to his commandments. We need to move from independence – the great sin of the age – to reliance upon God.

Isn’t it time we heard Israel’s leaders say, with great clarity and in defiance of political correctness, that we do not trust in sword or spear or javelin, nor even on our allies, but in the name of the Lord Almighty?

References

1 David Soakell of Christian Friends of Israel in his Watching Over Zion newsletter, 11 January 2018.

2 Archaeologists unearth the gate to Goliath’s hometown. Times of Israel, 5 August 2015.

Trump move could provoke Armageddon scenario, but God is in charge

While the West continues to indulge in the most bizarre forms of political correctness,¹ the Middle East is bracing itself for a possible Armageddon scenario involving nuclear weapons.

The decision of President Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as a probable first step towards moving the American Embassy there could well be a catalyst for a battle of the ages.

But it’s nevertheless the right thing to do. For at some stage, difficult decisions have to be made and truth has to be acknowledged.

Are we about to see the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy that God would make Jerusalem “a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling” and “an immovable rock for all the nations” (Zech 12:2f)?

The Stage is Being Set

Iran, meanwhile, is actually trying to provoke such an end-of-world cataclysm by establishing military bases close to Israel’s Syrian border, according to Ryan Mauro, an expert on Shiite religious dogma. Their leaders, he argues, are motivated by a desire to fulfill Shia prophecy of a showdown with the Jewish state that will prompt the coming of the ‘Mahdi’, an Islamic messianic figure.²

Since both Jews and Christians are also looking for their Messiah, the scene is surely being set for an apocalyptic conflagration. And it seems tragically ironic that, with the Western world having largely convinced itself there is no god, a global conflict over spiritual roots threatens us all.

Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital could well be a catalyst for a battle of the ages, but it’s nevertheless the right thing to do.

Though a modern, secular state, Israel’s ancient roots in the Holy Land are undeniably spiritual. According to the Bible, they are specially chosen of God and wouldn’t have existed without him.

Iran has frequently threatened to destroy little Israel, which is why Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman accuses European leaders (representing Britain, France and Germany) of a head-in-the-sand attitude – “exactly like they did before World War II” – in opposing President Trump’s weakening of a nuclear deal hardly guaranteed to protect a highly vulnerable Jewish state.³

Despite threats of Palestinian protests, the Western Wall plaza fills with Jews as usual as Shabbat starts (Friday 12 December).

Ongoing Battle for Truth

At the same time the United Nations, the very body which conferred international legitimacy on Israel 70 years ago (confirming the position taken in 1920 by the San Remo conference), now seems to have fully adopted the Iranian/Palestinian position denying Jewish claims to the land, and in particular Jerusalem – a re-writing of history that has completely deceived media and politicians across the globe. In 1947 there was no Palestinian state, nor even a Palestinian people, but we have been taken in by a propaganda machine just as shocking and efficient as that run by Hitler’s spokesman Josef Goebbels.

Even parts of the Arab world are speaking against this deception. Kuwaiti columnist Abdullah Al-Hadlaq told a TV station: “Like it or not, Israel is an independent and sovereign state…” and those refusing to recognise it are “countries of tyranny and oppression”. He too makes the point that when Israel was established in 1948, there was no state called Palestine. “There is no occupation,” he adds. “There is a people returning to its promised land.”⁴

In this age-old battle for truth, God himself delivered a ‘trump’ card back in 1963 in the form of ancient documents discovered among the ruins of a 2,000-year-old mountaintop fortress overlooking the Dead Sea, where Hebrew University archaeologists were excavating the palace of King Herod. And I was there, atop Masada, just weeks ago. These Dead Sea Scrolls – the first were found just up the coast in 1947 – contained Psalms 81 to 85.

Significantly, Psalm 83 paints a completely up-to-date picture of Israel’s enemies plotting to destroy them “so that Israel’s name is remembered no more” (v4). Also found in the dig were 17 silver shekels dating from around 70 AD and inscribed with the words ‘Shekel of Israel’ and ‘Jerusalem the Holy’.⁵

The idea of Jerusalem being significant for Muslims is described as “nonsense” by Egyptian scholar and novelist Youssef Ziedan. “The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem did not exist back then [when the Koran was written], and the city was not called Al-Quds” he pointed out on television in 2015.⁶

The United Nations, the very body which conferred international legitimacy on Israel 70 years ago, now seems to have adopted the Palestinian position denying Jewish claims to the land.

God’s Greater Plan

As European leaders continue to betray Jews by defending so-called Palestinian rights, they are also turning a blind eye to the horrific plight of Christians in the Middle East while Arabs are killing each other and, in a bid to win Western support for their cause, Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas put on a sham united front, which is meaningless as the latter refuses to disarm.

Far from being united in opposition to Israel, the vast majority of Israel’s Arabs – 73% – feel a sense of belonging in the Jewish state, with 60% saying they are proud to be Israelis, according to a new poll.⁷ In addition, hundreds of Arab Christians volunteer for the Israeli Defense Force each year while there are also many instances of Muslims abandoning their faith following dreams and visions of Christ – I have met one of them.

Competing faiths: the Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on the site of the Jewish Temple. Photo by Charles Gardner.At the risk of over-simplifying the issue, it is not so much a case of Arab versus Jew as God v the devil. The latter desires darkness and destruction for mankind, but God loves both Arab and Jew, along with the rest of us Gentiles. And his plan for us all is “life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).

I enjoyed very warm Muslim-Arab hospitality during my recent tour of Israel, and commend the proprietor of the Samaritan Restaurant in Sebastia, the ancient capital of Samaria, who served the tastiest food I sampled on our travels.

It’s worth saying, too, in view of the anti-Israel stance of many Western churches, that there is huge support from Christians on the question of Jerusalem, with over half a million signatories from 168 countries backing the city as the undivided, eternal capital of the Jewish people through the ‘Jerusalem Declaration’.⁸

The Day of the Lord is Near

One effect of today’s skewed Mid-East narrative is that Palestinians get all the media sympathy for the plight of their refugees, warned in 1948 to leave their homes by the surrounding Arab states, who have never since followed up on their responsibilities.

But rare mention is ever made of the 850,000 Jewish refugees forced to leave Arab countries at the same time. Thankfully they have been absorbed successfully into Israeli society, while the Palestinian refugees and their descendants continue to be used as political pawns in an anti-Semitic game of chess.

The devil desires darkness and destruction for mankind, but God loves both Arab and Jew, along with the rest of us Gentiles.

But “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that all who believe in him will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, emphasis added). We are all included in his great plan of redemption. We have Heaven to gain, and Hell to shun, as we put our trust in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. But woe to those who touch the apple of God’s eye (Zech 2:8)!
God will surely vindicate – and compensate – the Jewish people (Isa 54:17; Joel 2:25). “The day of the Lord” is near (Joel 2:1f); the battle of the ages is at the door. Make sure you are ready to meet the One who is coming back to reign.

Notes

1 The Girl Guides are to allow boys ‘identifying’ as girls to shower with girls – Christian Institute.

2 Iran’s Syria bases near Israel have apocalyptic intent. World Net Daily, 23 November 2017.

3 Hoffman, G. Def. minister: 'Europeans putting heads in the sand' on Iran deal. Jerusalem Post, 15 October 2017.

4 Sumner, E. Watch: Kuwaiti writer says Israel is a legitimate state, not an occupier. Jerusalem Post, 22 November 2017.

5 New Dead Sea Scroll Found in Israel; Contains Chapters of Psalms. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 27 November 1963.

6 Palestinians Furious After Saudi Arabia Downplays Importance of Jerusalem. Israel Today, 29 November 2017.

7 Poll: Majority of Israel's Arabs 'Proud' to be Israeli. United with Israel, 23 November 2017.

8 Netanyahu Praises UWI’s Historic Jerusalem Initiative, ‘Unflinching Defense of Truth’. United with Israel, 18 October 2017.

Avoid the new religion that seeks to dazzle through glitter and sparkle

Coming back to the UK after our unexpectedly lengthy tour of Israel, we were particularly struck by the emphasis on Christmas – even our cappuccino at Heathrow had to be decorated with a tree-shaped sprinkling of chocolate!

Christmas lights soon beamed on us from all sides, reflecting less on the theological aspect of the feast as on the usual glitz and glamour and commercial hype we have all come to know and love – perhaps not!

And then there were massive crowds at the shops on Sunday – now the new religion on what used to be the Christian Sabbath. In Bawtry, on the edge of Doncaster, Christmas trees were lavishly bedecked with baubles in a brilliant array of colours – and, as ever, we sense the danger of not seeing the wood for the trees.

I am reminded, however, that festive lights will also now be adorning Jerusalem in celebration of Hanukkah – marking the time when the menorah candle burned miraculously for eight days despite having only enough oil for one, following victory over the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated the Jewish Temple by sacrificing a pig there and blasphemously proclaimed himself God. But focus on what the light means, not on its beams!

Look for the True Light

For we’re submerged in so much darkness today – not least the marginalisation of the Christian Gospel to the point where it has become politically incorrect – and yet we all make a big fuss of this incredibly important Christian festival!

In truth, all these bright lights are, for the most part, dragging us further into the gloom of materialism, partying and pointless debt, rather than towards the true light to which they are allegedly designed to draw our attention.

So my Christmas (and Hanukkah) message to readers is: don’t look for the bright lights; look rather for the true light “that gives light to everyone”, according to John the Baptist (John 1:9) – a light that leads to everlasting life, and is not snuffed out with the brief passing of our lives.

Yes, we all like shiny things, but unless they are part of Heaven’s treasure, they will fade and rust and turn to dust (Matt 6:19-21).

All these bright lights are, for the most part, dragging us further into the gloom of materialism, rather than towards the true Light.

The Significance of Jesus’s Coming

A famous passage of Scripture, often associated with Christmas, speaks of the light that the Messiah will bring to the world. Its context, most significantly, is of the darkness of the occult, which has gripped so many in our day (Isa 8:19).

The prophet, however, goes on to predict a great honour that would be bestowed on the region to which he refers as ‘Galilee of the nations, the Way of the Sea’: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isa 9:2).

A major highway at the time, connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, straddled the coast of Israel before moving inland towards Galilee and then beyond into Syria. Galilee was thus an international crossroads whose people were immensely privileged to have seen a great light when Jesus came among them.

No Longer Inhabited

The ruins of Capernaum. See Photo Credits.Yet many rejected him and failed to grasp his significance. True, 2,000 years later he is still much spoken against, but he is nevertheless the most famous man who ever lived. He performed many miracles in Galilee – in Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida – and warned those cities that they would be judged for their rejection of Messiah.

As for Capernaum, where much of his ministry took place, he said: “Will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades; for if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day” (Matt 11:23). Capernaum was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD. We could only view its ruins. Yet a short distance away is the town of Migdal, still a thriving community where former prostitute turned passionate believer Mary Magdalene came from.

A little further down the coast still is the city of Tiberias, a popular resort frequented by the occupying Romans in Jesus’s day – yet it is not mentioned in the Gospel accounts. Also not mentioned is Sebastia, the ancient capital of Samaria up in the hills, which was the ‘in’ place for the jet-set of the day, with its spa and baths adorned with beautiful columns. Now, apart from a few remaining columns, it is a barren ruin in a dustbowl with little to suggest it was the Las Vegas of a bygone era.

The true light came first to Galilee, but many rejected him and failed to grasp his significance.

The Obedient Blessed

Meanwhile, seemingly insignificant events and people have changed history. One example is Joppa, now known as Jaffa, at the southern tip of Tel Aviv. It was there, in the house of Simon the Tanner, that the Apostle Peter had a vision, and because he acted upon it in obedience to the Lord, it became the means by which the Gospel was preached to the entire Gentile world.

The Roman centurion Cornelius, 40 miles up the coast, had a similar encounter, and he acted upon it because he was a God-fearing man who loved the Jews. Genesis 12:3 tells that those who bless the seed of Abraham will themselves be blessed while those who curse them will come under judgment. And so the Holy Spirit fell on these Gentile believers.

Life in All its Fullness

Joppa (now Jaffa) is once more significant today as the entry point of Jews returning to Israel from every corner of the globe. Airliners from all over the world fly over this ancient port bringing the scattered seed of Abraham back to the Promised Land.

The bright lights of Tel Aviv. See Photo Credits.

What’s more, many of them are now turning back to the Lord, having acknowledged Jesus as their Messiah. And we worshipped with some of them (in Hebrew), which was an amazing privilege. It was such a moving experience to witness hands and eyes lifted to the skies in praise and adoration of the Lord we love.

And they are reaching out to a world still lost and confused; Tel Aviv is a hedonistic city where many indulge in a club-and-coffee bar culture that leaves little room for God. But there is a great openness. They may be lost, but they are looking for a Shepherd. Pray that their eyes will be open; go if you can and tell them about Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). They are looking for fun and fulfilment, but they often find mere emptiness, as at the bottom of a beer glass or coffee cup.

Like us in Britain, they too are looking for the bright lights, but are so dazzled by the glitzy neon signs that they miss the real thing – the true light that gives light to every man. Jesus says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Like us in Britain, Israelis too are looking for the light, but are so dazzled by the glitzy neon signs that they miss the real thing.

Light to the World

As I was standing on the Mount of Olives, I contemplated how Jesus paid such a heavy price for our salvation as he sweated blood among the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane below.

The olive tree is a symbol of the Messiah. Its fruit is harvested using sticks to beat them down from the overhanging branches; Jesus was whipped for us. The olives are then crushed for their oil; Jesus was crushed for our iniquities (Isa 53:5). But the oil is then used to light a candle…to bring light to the world!

Let’s focus on the true light this Christmas – and Hanukkah.

How a hot seaside property unlocked the door to the nations!

Having lived in a ‘bubble’ during a lengthy tour of Israel visiting sites connected with the Gospel that has changed the world, it came as a shock to re-enter the atmosphere of nations in turmoil – Germany in trouble, Mugabe finally deposed in Zimbabwe and Britain continuing to fight both internal and external battles in the wake of Brexit.

There is perhaps a message in this strange transition – the countries in difficulty have been built largely on a Judeo-Christian ethos, but have begun to cast off its ‘shackles’ in favour of a no-holds-barred secular humanist system.

The Story of Cornelius

The last ten days of our four-week trip was spent at Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv, an old port city known in Bible times as Joppa, where the Apostle Peter had a vision that brought the good news of Jesus to the entire Gentile world.

He was staying at Simon the Tanner’s house (which is still there) and was resting on the rooftop when he fell into a trance and saw a vision of all kinds of animals, including those regarded as unclean by Jews.

This was not, as some suppose, a license to eat pork, but a supernatural message that he was not to regard Gentiles as being unworthy of God’s love. It coincided with a similar encounter experienced by a Roman centurion called Cornelius in the coastal city of Caesarea, some 40 miles north. Cornelius was a God-fearing man who loved the Jews, and an angel appeared to him saying that his prayers had been heard and he was to send for a man called Peter, who was staying with Simon the Tanner at his house by the sea. The rest is history.

Peter’s vision was not, as some suppose, a license to eat pork, but a supernatural message that he was not to regard Gentiles as being unworthy of God’s love.

Joppa: The Start of Western Civilisation?

Cornelius and his extended family heard the triumphant message of the Gospel and were filled with the Holy Spirit, just as the Jewish disciples had been on the Day of Pentecost. This opened the door for the good news to spread across the nations, bringing kindness, compassion and justice with it which helped to establish a powerful force known as Western civilisation.

Tragically, the Jewish people were exiled throughout the world within a generation of Jesus’ death and resurrection after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and massacred many of its inhabitants. And Christians eventually translated the Bible into hundreds of languages, further enabling the Gospel to spread.

But God had not forgotten the people with whom he had made an unbreakable covenant and, in fulfilment of many ancient prophecies, the scattered seed of Abraham finally took root in the Promised Land after nearly 2,000 years.

Israel’s Spiritual Restoration

Just as the Gospel was originally ‘exported’ from Joppa, so it has now become a re-entry point for Jews¹ – not only coming back to the land, but in being restored to their Lord.

My stay there was unplanned as I was initially prevented from returning to the UK due to new restrictions on ‘foreigners’ like me. Though South African-born and still a citizen of that country (my wife is British), I have lived in England for nearly 50 years. Yet I now apparently need a visa – though an inked stamp in an old passport sent over by neighbours eventually proved sufficient!

We stayed in a guesthouse which also hosts two Messianic congregations (Jews who follow Jesus) as well as a music school led by a former director of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a very moving experience to witness hands and eyes lifted to the skies in adoration of the Lord in a revived form of ancient Hebrew as we worshipped together on a Friday night – the start of the Jewish Sabbath. Headsets were provided for Russian members and English visitors like us.

Just as the Gospel was originally ‘exported’ from Joppa, so it has now become a re-entry point for Jews – not only coming back to the land, but in being restored to their Lord.

Committed to the spiritual restoration of Israel, this peaceful oasis is perfectly placed to go some way towards achieving this divine goal, with its great potential for reaching out to Greater Tel Aviv where almost half the country’s Jewish population lives.

The whole ethos of the place beats loudly with a heart of love for the largely lost world around them, who find welcome, warmth and hospitality in this gem of an international community steeped in history and within a short walk of some of the most significant sites in biblical history, not to mention magnificent beaches.

Reality is Tough

Life in Tel Aviv is tough, rough and expensive! I watched poor people struggling as they waited in the swamp of a filthy launderette while others begged for food and wandered the streets with no apparent hope. But there are also swanky high-rise hotels and a bustling downtown area overshadowed by skyscrapers, with many indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle of clubs and coffee bars. But they are living in a bubble, afraid to confront reality.

I met one of them at the airport, a charming young lady commuting between London and Tel Aviv, confessing to being a ‘secular Jew’ yet listening with interest when I shared of our study tour learning about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. She admitted to being shocked when she left her ‘bubble’ to visit friends in the north who lived within the sound of exploding bombs across the border in Syria where violence continues to rage.

But even in Tel Aviv the mangled wreck of a beachside café stands as a stark reminder of the constant threat facing its inhabitants – a bloody terror attack killed 21 mainly young people enjoying a night out there just three months before 9/11.

Although in general we sensed an atmosphere of profound peace throughout our tour, there were a couple of incidents to remind us of the conflict that has raged here ever since the Jews began returning to the land. The IDF bombing of a Hamas terror tunnel raised a security alert as the organisation had promised vengeance, and a suicide bombing in a Druze village just across the border in Syria caused another alarm – and a long wait at a checkpoint.

Messianic congregations in Tel Aviv, committed to the spiritual restoration of Israel, are perfectly placed to help achieve this divine goal.

Turning and Returning

The resettling of Jews in Israel following their long exile is very reminiscent of the time of Nehemiah 2,500 years ago when they returned from 70 years in Babylon. Nehemiah was given authority by King Artaxerxes of Persia to restore the broken walls of Jerusalem, but his work was strongly opposed by others in the surrounding lands.

Now the Jews have returned once more to the Promised Land, and yet again they face fierce opposition. Nehemiah’s men built the walls using one hand for construction and the other to hold a weapon – exactly as Israel has developed since the birth of the modern state as ancient ruins have been rebuilt, barren wastes have been richly cultivated and wars have been won against all odds.

When, in Nehemiah’s time, the city was finally re-built and made secure, Ezra was assigned to read the Book of the Law, as a result of which the people repented of how far they had strayed from God’s rule. And now Jewish people are returning to the Lord once more in fulfilment of ancient prophecies, with Jeremiah adding that there will come a day when they will all know the Lord, “from the least of them to the greatest” (Jer 31:34).

If Jews are thus turning back to God, it means the return of Jesus is that much closer (Zech 12:10, 14:4; Rom 11:26). But what of the nations to whom the Gospel was graciously given? Will they be among the sheep or the goats on Judgment Day (see Matt 25:31-46). On the closing page of the Bible, Jesus says: “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Come, Lord Jesus!

Notes

1 Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport is not far away.