Dead Sea Comes to Life! - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

COMMENTARY: Dead Sea Comes to Life!

Thursday, December 06, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY

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Bible

A remarkable thing happened to me last week. I was studying the Book of Ezekiel in preparation for a weekend retreat when a friend forwarded a YouTube clip announcing the most incredible news, which is surely another significant sign of the imminent return of Jesus.

One of Ezekiel’s famous prophecies – widely thought to be allegorical rather than literal – is now being fulfilled just as he said it would 2,600 years ago!

In short, the Dead Sea is coming alive! Fresh water is now flowing into this Rift Valley expanse that has been unable to support life since the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah thousands of years ago, useful only for drawing tourists to sample its healing properties while floating unsupported. And freshwater fish have now been seen swimming in the surrounding sinkholes that have opened up in recent years as the sea, made up of 33% salt, has been receding. See this CBN Newsclip at https://youtu.be/XzXw3fGP2Tw

In chapter 47 of Ezekiel, who prophesied while in exile in Babylon from 597 BC, the prophet describes a vision of an increasingly deep river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem down towards the Dead Sea, bringing new life wherever it flows and supporting the same kind of fish as those inhabiting the Mediterranean.

Ezekiel wrote: “He said to me: ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley), where it enters the Sea (the Dead Sea). When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea (the Mediterranean).” (Ezek 47.8-10)

The vision comes amid the latter part of the book dealing with the promised restoration of the Jewish people both to their Land and their Lord. And I believe the ‘resurrection’ of a dead stretch of water reflects a time (near the end of the age) when the fortunes of Israel – long forsaken and persecuted – would be turned around.

This is what the world is now witnessing with the Jewish state emerging as a major player on the world scene with a thriving economy borne out of extraordinary innovation.

At the same time there is a growing movement of those who believe that Jesus is the long-promised Jewish Messiah, fulfilling the word that when the Jews are finally restored from all the nations to which they were dispersed because of forsaking God’s ways, they would be given a ‘new heart’ and, as with the Dead Sea, cleansed and ‘sprinkled clean’ of their sins. (Ezek 36.24-26)

You can be sure that all prophecy of Scripture will be fulfilled to the letter. Around three-quarters of Ezekiel’s predictions (81% of Bible prophecies on the whole) have already been fulfilled with pinpoint accuracy.

Take, for example, his prophecy of Tyre’s downfall. The Eastern Mediterranean fishing port would, he said, one day be razed to the ground and thrown into the sea, and the bare rock where it once stood would become a place for fishermen to dry their nets. (Ezek 26)

No other city, before or since, has ever been thrown into the sea, writes author and Bible teacher David Pawson in his masterful work Unlocking the Bible. “When Alexander the Great came marching down towards Egypt with his great army, the people of Tyre simply got into their fishing boats and sailed to the island half-a-mile offshore, knowing that Alexander had an army but not a navy.”

But when Alexander saw this, he commanded that every brick, every stone and every piece of timber in the city be used to build a causeway to the island, after which his army went across and defeated the people of Tyre.

Even today, fishermen’s nets are spread out on the bare rock of old Tyre, just as Ezekiel prophesied, while the modern city is out on the island with sand having silted up against Alexander’s causeway. If it’s in the Bible, you better believe it!

Ezekiel also had a profound impact on my personal life almost exactly 18 years ago when a verse from chapter 9 confirmed to my then new girlfriend Linda that she should marry me! I was widowed at the time and she had asked the Lord for assurance as to whether I was the right choice for her life’s partner, and he subsequently spoke to her heart directly from a rather obscure verse which told of “a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side”. (Ezek 9.2)

The Lord then said to her: “I want you to support the man with the writing kit!” And of course I’m forever grateful for that. I couldn’t believe the extraordinary change in her demeanour towards me when I next called at her home. She had heard from the Lord – and that changed everything!

But we can all be assured that God is returning to his holy city because the end of this prophetic book actually tells us that it will be named ‘The Lord is there’ – a wonderful thought also reflected in Charles Wesley’s hymn on Christ’s return, which includes the majestic line, “God appears on earth to reign!” (See Zech 14.4)

A river of life from God’s throne is also depicted on the last page of the Bible in the Book of Revelation, which is all about what will happen in the days immediately preceding the Second Coming.

The biblical symbolism of life from the dead relates both to Israel (see Romans 11.15) and their Messiah. We are living in momentous times that could well usher in the return of our Lord. Watch and pray so that you (and your loved ones) are not caught unawares.

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Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon; Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com; and A Nation Reborn, available from Christian Publications International

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COMMENTARY: Anti-Semitism Doesn't Pay - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

COMMENTARY: Anti-Semitism Doesn't Pay

Sunday, November 25, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY

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Anti-Semitism

Proof, if it were needed, that it doesn’t pay to be anti-Semitic has come with the rejection of Roald Dahl’s image for British coins.

The Royal Mint, responsible for such decisions, has ruled him out for his virulent anti-Semitism, which should be taken as some consolation at a time when British society is rife with anti-Jewish sentiment – even a Kristallnacht 80th anniversary vigil at Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner was broken up by men shouting “Kill the Jews” in Arabic.

Dahl’s views on the subject were apparently not widely known in spite of the fact that the immensely successful children’s author made no secret of it.

But as Tony Rennell put it in the Daily Mail, his dark side was brought to light with the Royal Mint’s decision against honouring his achievements by dedicating a British coin to him – the honour going instead to one William Shakespeare “whose caricature of a Jew (Shylock) in The Merchant of Venice fed anti-Semitism for centuries.”

I think that’s a little unfair as the Bard did not make a habit of such sentiment.

Dahl, on the other hand, was quoted in the Independent newspaper as saying: “I’m certainly anti-Israel and I’ve become anti-Semitic.” And he told the New Statesman: “Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them (the Jews) for no reason.”

Rennell lists several other nauseous instances of Dahl’s anti-Semitism that might have had him arrested today (he died in 1990, aged 74). And while acknowledging that he remains one of the greatest children’s storytellers of the 20th century, he suggests that the dark side to many of his tales is a fair commentary on his life, with much evidence of cruelty and unpleasantness.

Yet not even Jewish Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, when he shot the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) film, had any idea of his rank anti-Semitism.

What really bothers me is that there is so much that is dark and gloomy in today’s literature, especially for children, as well as in TV drama. In fact, it’s an absolute obsession, reflected by the way in which Halloween is rapidly challenging Christmas for our kids’ attention as an increasing number of homes are decorated with various aspects of occult paraphernalia.

There is surely an urgency as never before to point our children to the “light of the world” (John 8.12).

Dahl’s rejection for our coins reminds me of how America’s famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh, fell spectacularly from hero and zero as soon as his Nazi sympathies were made public on a national radio broadcast.

He ended his life in relative obscurity and even a star-studded movie about his magnificent flying exploits was a flop at the box office.

In other words, he brought a curse on himself. For the Word of God says of Abraham’s seed: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” (Gen 12.3)

Whatever anyone may think of the Jewish people, the Bible tells us quite plainly that they are God’s chosen people, with several references to them being his “treasured possession”. (See, for example, Deut 7.6)

Anti-Semitism is thus the rotten fruit at the end of the dark road of rebellion against our Creator. Hitler went all the way down that path, and not only destroyed himself, but also brought his country down with him, along with much of Europe.

A massive battle for the soul of our nation continues today – between good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil.

Jesus warned: _“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” _(Matthew 7.13f)

Choose life!

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Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon; Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com; and A Nation Reborn, available from Christian Publications International

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Jews Everywhere are Sharing Their Faith in Messiah - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

COMMENTARY: Jews Everywhere are Sharing Their Faith in Messiah

Thursday, November 01, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY

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Messianic Jews

I awoke on Monday morning to the sound of my wife’s mobile phone bringing us more news from friends in South Africa, who keep us up to date on what the Lord is doing there – and elsewhere.

This time it came in the form of a YouTube link which really made my day. It was the testimony of a young Jewish woman from Israel who was abused as a child and later almost drowned herself in alcohol to ease the pain of her struggles, eventually contemplating suicide as she rode her motorbike, praying to God: “I don’t want to live anymore; I want you to take my life.”

At that moment she was suddenly enveloped by what she could only put down to a divine presence of love and hope running through her body from head to toe. She knew it was God, and desperately wanted to know more. So she sought out all kinds of ‘spiritual enlightenment’ including Buddhism and fortune-tellers, but to no avail. None of these was the source of her overwhelming experience of the warmth of God’s love.

After a year of searching, she picked up a newspaper and read of an invitation to volunteer on a farm where free accommodation would be provided. She duly signed up and discovered it was run by believers in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus), and it was there that she came to know the living God who had saved her life on that motorbike. “I know that Yeshua is alive,” she says with total confidence and assurance.

The beauty and wonder of the relationship she now has with Jesus was expressed in every syllable she uttered as she simply glowed with joy and delight at the new life she is now living and passionately sharing with others.

This is the sort of thing I was trying to convey to a gathering in London last weekend – that Jews everywhere are sharing their faith in Jesus, their Messiah, and that this is a sign of His soon return.

It also shows why Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel “because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”(Romans 1.16)

It was the Jews who first brought us the gospel. Endued with Holy Spirit power received on the Day of Pentecost, Jewish evangelists took the message of Jesus throughout the known world, causing it to spread like wildfire – even under severe persecution.

That is why the Bible places such importance on Gentiles reaching the Jews for Jesus (see also Romans 10.1) – not only because it’s pay-back time (i.e. we owe it to them – see Rom 15.27), but also because when they get it, they really do something with it! When they experience an encounter with God through his Son Jesus, they don’t dig a hole and turn it into a memorial; they run with it – just like our young lady.

That is why, despite their still relatively low numbers in Israel, they are forcing both government and media to sit up and take notice.

Yes, I’m well aware that Israelis on the whole are not yet fully following the Lord as a nation, but there is already a Gideon’s army of passionate believers bursting with energy as they invest their time and resources into spreading the gospel. We should be cheering them on, and praying for them.

“For if their rejection (i.e. Jesus’ death) brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Rom 11.15) “…If their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!”

Not only are they God’s “treasured possession” (Psalm 135.4), but they are also potentially the church’s richest resource!

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Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon; Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com; and A Nation Reborn, available from Christian Publications International

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COMMENTARY: Jews Everywhere Reminded From Where Their Help Comes - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

COMMENTARY: Jews Everywhere Reminded From Where Their Help Comes

Tuesday, October 02, 2018 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY

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Christians

Against the shameful background of blatant anti-Semitism at Britain’s annual Labour Party Conference, Jews everywhere are being reminded of where their help comes from.

As tens of thousands descend on Jerusalem’s Western Wall complex to receive the priestly Aaronic blessing during the Feast of Tabernacles, they hear afresh those solemn, soothing words of comfort: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (Numbers 6.24)

But at Liverpool, home of The Beatles, some Labour delegates were not singing All you need is love, but joining in a chorus of hate-filled messages directed at the state of Israel, calling for an arms embargo and provocatively waving Palestinian flags.

One prominent Member of Parliament stayed away altogether, and said she was glad she had done so when it emerged that Jewish MP Luciana Berger had to be accompanied to a conference rally by two police officers. And a colleague even warned that the anti-Semitism crisis could fuel the rise of Nazism in Britain.

Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy told the rally: “Nazism doesn’t turn up fully formed, wearing shiny black boots and black shirts and goose-stepping. It builds bit by bit, it gains little by little, it paints itself as the victim – it paints its victims as the enemies, as traitors, the ‘other’, with dual loyalty.”

But the seven-day Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (also known as Sukkot) reminds us that God, not politicians, will have the final say on Israel’s future. It recalls how he miraculously provided for them and protected them in the desert over 40 years when they lived in temporary shelters, ate manna from heaven and water from the rock.

He still promises to provide all their needs, especially in the face of fiery opposition. Psalm 27, traditionally recited during the feast and written by King David, notes: _“When the wicked advance against me to devour (or slander) me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall…for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock…Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.” _(Psalm 27.2,5,12)

The feast celebrates the time God came down to ‘tabernacle’, or live, amongst his people. And this is also what Jesus did some 1,500 years later when, as the Apostle John put it, “the word became flesh and dwelt (literally tabernacled) with us” (John 1.14). Jesus was also described as ‘Emmanuel’, meaning ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7.14, Matthew 1.23).

Jewish people believe that when Messiah comes, it will be during this feast. And there is good reason to believe that Jesus was actually born at this time of year, not at Christmas as is generally supposed. For one thing, the shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks by night – the lambs were still kept outdoors during the feast, but would have been kept indoors in winter. For another, Sukkot is a festival of joy – rabbis apparently teach that it is a sin to be miserable this week – and the angel announcing Messiah’s birth said: _“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…” _(Luke 2.10)

The feast also played a crucial role in Jesus’ ministry, for it was on the last day of Tabernacles that he stood up to declare: “If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his inmost being shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7.37f)

The background to this is that, traditionally, on each day of the feast, the High Priest took a golden pitcher and filled it with water drawn from the Pool of Siloam, and it was poured out on the altar as a thank-offering for rain.

Jesus now promised a spiritual ‘rain’ that would never stop flowing for those who trusted him. And in the light of dark threats here in Britain, and elsewhere, consolation can surely be taken from the feast’s association with the “last days” when Jesus returns, once again to tabernacle with his people, after which all nations will be required to make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to celebrate Tabernacles – and those who refuse to do so will be denied rain! (Zech 14.16-19)

One school of thought teaches that when Jesus returns as King of Kings, he will be hailed by the blast of the shofar (ram’s horn) on the Feast of Trumpets (marked earlier this month at the start of the autumn feasts) when all Israel would recognise him as Messiah and enter into national mourning over the One they have pierced (Zech 12.10 – see also 1 Corinthians 15.52, 1 Thessalonians 4.16)

What a glorious prospect!

PHOTO: The site of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem’s Old City, where water was drawn for the Feast of Tabernacles. (Linda Gardner)

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Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon; Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com; and A Nation Reborn, available from Christian Publications International

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