When fragments of ancient scrolls were recently unearthed from the caves of the Judean desert, it was as if God had a special message for our times.
The 1,900-year-old parchments included an excerpt from the prophet Zechariah in which we were urged to “speak the truth to one another” (Zech 8:16).1
Within a fortnight of this extraordinary discovery, it emerged that Jordan, just across the salty waters of the Dead Sea, had been rocked by an attempted coup, which the authorities had managed to frustrate thanks to a warning from a Jewish journalist.2
Edy Cohen, Middle East correspondent for the Israel Today news site run by Messianic Jews, had sent a tweet to this effect to his 428,000 Twitter followers, most of whom are from Arab countries.
Looking out to the Dead Sea with the mountains of Moab beyond, by Charles Gardner
I’m told that most follow Cohen not because they love him, or Israel, or the Jews, but because they know that the Jews “do not lie”. They get reliable information from Edy and understand that he has no interest in spreading the kind of fake news that is so prevalent in the Arab world.
A plot foiled
It was on April 3rd that Jordanian authorities announced the arrest of dozens of figures associated with Prince Hamza, former heir to the throne of the Hashemite kingdom. Hamza, son of the late King Hussein, is half-brother to the current King Abdullah II. He is the son of Queen Nur, and had a falling out with his brother that reports say led to the failed coup attempt.
Two days before, just after midnight, Cohen received information from his sources regarding the prince’s coup. “To be honest, there were a lot of doubts and I wondered if I should publish the information,” he said.
Jesus is the truth
Messianic Jews believe Yeshua (Jesus) is their Messiah who rightly claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life” and that no-one comes to God the Father except through him (John 14:6).
So Edy has an extra incentive for speaking the truth, though I’ve no way of verifying whether all Jews follow this pattern. But we do know that the God of Israel commands us all to lead lives of honesty and integrity based on the Holy Bible, which itself is divinely inspired truth (John 17:17, 2 Tim 3:16).
The God of Israel commands us all to lead lives of honesty and integrity based on the Holy Bible.
Most, but not all, Arabs follow a Muslim code (though an increasing number are turning to Christ) which makes allowance for lying if it furthers the cause of Allah. But this obviously breaks down trust, and God has categorically stated that he hates lies; that it is among the worst of sins (see Proverbs 6:16-19).
Muddying of the truth leads to instability
This muddying of truth is behind much of the conflict in the region as no-one can be sure that publicly stated policies can be believed. Moves towards lasting peace with some of Israel’s neighbours have been welcomed as a wonderful breakthrough. But Palestinian leaders have not followed their lead, and are still publicly holding forth on their commitment to a ‘two-state solution’ while privately (through Arab media) sticking to their ultimate aim of driving the Jews into the sea.
So it doesn’t take much for impressionable young Palestinians to take matters into their own hands by engaging in what is now being dubbed the ‘TikTok Intifada’ – indiscriminate anti-Semitic attacks on the streets of Jaffa and East Jerusalem inspired by sick social media videos.
Truth or lies in the UK
Of course, problems over truth are not confined to the Middle East. A British MP, Johnny Mercer, has responded to his sacking as a defence minister by describing Parliament as a “cesspit” where “almost nobody tells the truth”.3 I suspect he is over-reacting somewhat as I am sure there are many MPs carrying out their duties with the utmost integrity – though this week’s ‘scandals’ indicate that there may be at least some truth in Mercer’s words.
Peace in the Middle East depends on truth
And although some have questioned the motives of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for saying, without qualification, that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” in his Easter message, he said it nonetheless and that’s a great start. He even risked sailing a little too close to the wind of our own hate crime laws in doing so.
Just think what an impact we could all make for Jesus by not only proclaiming him as the truth, but also by living the truth in every way.
Zechariah 8 also speaks of the peace and prosperity Jerusalem will experience at some future date, though we are already seeing glimpses of this. Notwithstanding the election fiasco, resurgent rocket fire from Gaza and the violent demonstrations, all too few appreciate that Jews and Arabs, in general, rub along happily together in Israeli society.
We are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). But peace will not prevail without a commitment to honesty, integrity and truth. Edy Cohen, through his reputation for speaking the truth, has made a significant contribution to maintaining peace in the Middle East. Just think what an impact we could all make for Jesus by not only proclaiming him as the truth, but also by living the truth in every way, thus adding to the credibility of our message.
From violence to peace
I conclude with the testimony of Tass Saada, former assassin and personal chauffeur to the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Strangely enough, he became a wanted man in Jordan after trying to assassinate their Crown Prince, but hitting the wrong car. He ended up in America where he flourished in the restaurant business and was eventually challenged by a customer: “If you want the peace I have, you must love a Jew.” His loyal customer was referring to Jesus.4
Tass found that hard to take, but did nevertheless submit to Christ following a dramatic conversion experience in which he heard the words “I am the way, the truth and the life” coming from a burst of light surrounding him.
Only Jesus can ultimately break down barriers.
He is now back in the Middle East dedicated to reconciliation between Jews and Arabs. Tass is convinced that only Jesus can ultimately break down barriers.
He nonetheless squarely faces up to the duplicitous nature of Arab dealings, an example of which was Arafat’s statement of intent at the 1993 Oslo talks for which he (along with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This was for promising that the PLO charter would be changed to remove all calls for the destruction of Israel. But it never happened! The charter was never changed.
As Tass has made clear, only Jesus can bring change. And that’s because he truly is “the way, the truth and the life”.
Endnotes
1First in 60 years: New biblical Dead Sea scrolls discovered, other astonishing finds, World Israel News, 16th March 2021 – also see Peace in the Middle East on this site.
2The Tweet That Rocked the Arab World, Israel Today, Apr 16, 2021
3Ex-minister Johnny Mercer blasts `distrustful, awful environment´ of Government, Daily Mail, Daily Mail, April 21nd 2021
4Once an Arafat Man, by Tass Saada with Dean Merrill, Tyndale Publishing (2010); also quoted in Peace in Jerusalem, pp 101-5, Charles Gardner, olivepresspublisher.com
