Joel C. Rosenberg: Four Days In Jordan: We took our kids & some friends to the Hashemite Kingdom last month.

Joel C. Rosenberg: Four Days In Jordan: We took our kids & some friends to the Hashemite Kingdom last month.

Sept. 6, 2017

If you ever have the opportunity to travel to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, I highly encourage you and your family to do so.

Though far too few Evangelical Christians know or think much about this remarkable country, Jordan is beautiful, friendly, and safe -- and immensely rich in Biblical history.

I've been there nine times. In 2014, I had the opportunity to meet with Jordan's Prime Minister and other senior officials (I wrote four columns about that trip, if you're interested -- Why I Came To Amman, Was Jesus Baptized on the East Bank?, Meeting With The Foreign Minister, and Meeting the PM). Last year, Lynn and I were invited as guests of His Majesty King Abdullah II.

That said, our sons had never been there (beyond passing through on the way somewhere else). So last month, Lynn and I decided to take three of them and meet up with dear American friends who wanted to visit both Jordan and Israel for the first time. What an amazing time!

The eleven of us traveled through the territories of all three ancient nations that comprise the modern kingdom -- Ammon, Moab and Edom. We had a wonderful Jordanian tour guide with us who helped us learn the country's history, culture and geography.

Over the course of four very packed days, we took the kids to:
Bethany Beyond the Jordan (we saw the ancient ruins of the town where the Bible says John the Baptist conducted his ministry alongside the Jordan River and where many believe Jesus Himself was baptized)
Amman (the modern and ancient capital known in the Bible as Rabbat-Ammon and later as Philadelphia, part of the Roman Decapolis)
Jerash (known in the Bible as Gerasa, part of the Roman Decapolis)
Madaba (the site of an extraordinary ancient mosaic map of key Christian holy sites in the Holy Land)
Mount Nebo (where God showed his servant Moses the Promised Land of Israel, and where Moses also died and was buried)
Petra (the ancient Nabatean city made famous in the third sequel of Raiders of the Lost Ark -- click here for the last scene)
Wadi Rum (the breath-taking Edomite desert made famous in the Oscar-winning -- and must-see motion picture, Lawrence of Arabia); and
Aqaba (the southern Jordanian port city located on the shores of the Red Sea)

Along the way, I taught the group about the many Biblical leaders who lived in and served God in Jordan during ancient times and the many important Biblical events that occurred there.
Moses lived on the East side of the Jordan River, and eventually died and was buried on Mount Nebo. (See Deuteronomy chapter one and chapter 34.)
The entire Israelite nation lived on the East side of the River for a time after escaping from Egypt. (See the book of Deuteronomy.)
Joshua lived on the East side, and from there led the Israelites across the Jordan River to the West side. (See the book of Deuteronomy and Joshua chapter one.)
The prophet Elijah was born and raised in the land of Gilead, which is on the East side of the River, and eventually went back to heaven there in a chariot of fire. (See I Kings 17:1, 2 Kings 10:33, and 2 Kings 2:1-14)
The prophet Elisha received the mantle of prophetic leadership on the East side of the River. (See 2 Kings chapter two.)
John the Baptist based his ministry “in Bethany beyond the Jordan,” that is, on the East side of the River. (See John 1:28.)
The Lord Jesus Christ may have been baptized on the East Bank, since his cousin John baptized Him and John was ministering on the East side of the River. (See John chapter one.)
The Lord Jesus Christ certainly traveled to the East side of the River and ministered to people on and from the East side.

We especially focused in the New Testament on the account of the Lord Jesus healing two demon possessed men in “the country of the Gadarenes,” an ancient Roman city on the East side of the Sea of Galilee, in the northwest section of modern Jordan. (Matthew 8:28-34).

“The modern town of Umm Qais is the site of the ancient Greco-Roman town of Gadara, one of the cities of the Decapolis and, according to the Bible, the place where Jesus cast out the devil from two men into a herd of pigs (Matthew 8: 28-34),” notes the official website of Jordan’s late King Hussein.

We also looked at the accounts in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39. Both focus on Jesus casting a “legion” of demons out of one specific man in “the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee” and then telling that man to “go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

These two accounts are more detailed versions of the Matthew 8:28-34 account. The region where the events happened is the same – northwest Jordan – as described by Matthew. But Mark and Luke use slightly different language. They refer to the “country of the Gerasenes.” This certainly included the ancient city of Gadara, but was also a broad swath of territory linked to the ancient Roman city of Gerasa, which today is known as the Jordanian city of Jerash, located about 40 miles south of Umm Qais. [See King Hussein’s website.]

The kids absolutely loved our time in Jordan, as did we adults. We loved the people, the sights, the food and the opportunity to pray for the people and the leaders of this extraordinary kingdom. I so hope you and your family will look for an opportunity to visit Jordan soon, as well.

NOTE: In addition to the pictures I've posted here, I'll Tweet out more photos over the next few days.
Click here to register for the 2017 Epicenter Conference this October 6 & 7
See the list of speakers and their bios
Learn more about our 2018 Epicenter Prayer Summit, and Joshua Fund tour of the Holy Land
Learn more about the ministry of The Joshua Fund, and make a tax-deductible contribution

Joel C. Rosenberg: Lynn and I were invited to Jordan to meet King Abdullah II. Here’s a report on our trip and the threat ISIS poses to Jordan.

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

In March, Lynn and I were invited to Jordan to meet King Abdullah II. Here’s a report on our trip and the threat ISIS poses to Jordan. by joelcrosenberg Last month, Lynn and I were blessed with the tremendous honor of spending several days in Jordan to meet with King Abdullah II. Our visit included tours of various military bases and the Zaatari refugee camp, briefings from senior military officials, and an up-close look at how His Majesty is dealing with the Syrian civil war, a tidal wave of refugees, and the growing threat of the Islamic State. We were deeply grateful for the opportunity and came away even more impressed with the king's leadership than when we arrived. But we also saw how urgently Jordan needs more help from the West and the Arab world -- before it's too late. This morning, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed I wrote on my observations from the visit. Here it is in full. Please feel free to share it with others, and please keep the king, his family, and the people of Jordan in your regular, faithful prayers. Thanks. MEETING WITH JORDAN'S WARRIOR KING A first-hand look at how the West’s most faithful Sunni Arab ally is confronting Islamic State. By Joel C. Rosenberg, The Jerusalem Post, April 18, 2016 It isn’t often a novelist with dual US-Israeli citizenship has the opportunity to meet a Sunni Arab monarch, but last month I had the honor of spending time with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. It was absolutely fascinating to spend time with a moderate Muslim leader so deeply committed to defeating Islamic State (ISIS) and the forces of violent jihad. The king invited my wife and me on a five-day visit to the Hashemite Kingdom after reading my latest political thriller, The First Hostage. The novel focuses on a plot by ISIS leaders to launch catastrophic chemical weapons attacks against the US, Israel and Jordan, target the king and seize Jordan to become part of its caliphate. Upon arriving in Amman, my wife and I had a private luncheon with Abdullah at the National Crisis Center, a high-tech war room reminiscent of Jack Bauer’s fictional Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) headquarters in the TV series 24. From there, the king invited us to join him at a live-fire military exercise of Jordanian air and ground forces near Zarqa. The trip included visits to several Jordanian military bases – including one just a few miles from the Syrian border, and the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center – and briefings from various generals and military officials. It also included a tour of the Zaatari Refugee Camp, home of some 80,000 Syrians who have fled from the Assad regime, ISIS and a seemingly never-ending civil war. One of the most special elements of the trip was a two-and-a-half-hour private dinner with the king and several friends at Beit al-Urdon, his personal palace. After getting a first-hand look at the king and his national security team, I came away with three observations. First, Jordan’s king is sitting on a volcano, nearly surrounded by a raging forest fire, bracing for a massive earthquake. To his north, Syria is imploding. To his east, Iraq has been massively destabilized. Some 1.3 million refugees have poured into Jordan from Syria alone, and more are coming every day, putting enormous pressure on Jordan’s struggling economy. ISIS leaders have publicly vowed to invade Jordan, “slaughter” the king, whom they denounce as an “ally of the Crusaders,” and raise their black flags over Amman. So far, some 3,000 Jordanians have joined ISIS, including the son of a Jordanian member of Parliament. “This is a message to the tyrant of Jordan,” the young man declared in a video he released just before going on a suicide bombing mission in Iraq. “Know, O Abdullah, son of Hussein, that you are an apostate.... Even if you manage to escape our punishment, you will not manage to escape Allah’s punishment.” A poll released in 2015 found that 74 percent of Americans fear a major ISIS attack inside the US, and 73% fear a major ISIS attack in Israel. But nearly two-in-three Americans (65%) also fear ISIS “will try to overthrow the King of Jordan – an important, moderate Arab ally of the United States – and use Jordan as a base camp to launch terrorist attacks against America and Israel.” I pray such scenarios never come to pass. But the threat is real and growing. Second, King Abdullah was born for this moment. As a 43rd-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the 54-year-old monarch has real credibility with his people when it comes to countering the radical and apocalyptic theological narratives espoused by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and other ISIS leaders. His majesty not only strenuously opposes the ISIS claim that Muslims are required to engage in violent jihad – and even genocide – to re-establish the caliphate and bring about the End of Days, he is also one of the Islamic world’s leading reformers, working with clerics and scholars throughout Jordan and the region to define and advance a moderate, tolerant, peaceful vision of Islam. What’s more, as a career soldier trained at the best British military schools, and a natural leader who rose through the ranks to become the commander of Jordan’s Special Operations forces prior to ascending to the throne, the king is uniquely qualified to protect his people from the ISIS threat. He regularly meets with – and occasionally even trains with – his special forces commanders and units, and is directly involved in operations against extremists in Jordan and in the tactical leadership of Jordan’s efforts against ISIS in Syria. At his direction, Jordanian commandos, General Intelligence Directorate operatives and elite police units are taking down an ISIS or related cell inside Jordan every week. As a result of excellent intelligence and security work, Jordan hasn’t had a major terrorist attack inside its borders since 2005, certainly nothing like the recent jihadist attacks in Brussels, Paris, Istanbul, San Bernardino and elsewhere. This is directly attributable to the king’s impressive leadership at home, as well as his close working relationship with Israeli, Egyptian, Saudi and Gulf security and intelligence forces. Third, the king is ready, willing and able to be even more actively engaged in the fight against ISIS, and to continue caring for so many Muslim and Christian refugees, but he needs more US and international assistance to do this effectively. One example: Jordan currently has eight Blackhawk military helicopters, which it recently received from the US in early March, and for which it is very grateful. However, to conduct effective missions against ISIS jihadists in Iraq and Syria, Jordanian forces need at least 12 Blackhawks. Another eight Blackhawks have been promised by the US, but they aren’t expected to be delivered until the end of 2017. Why? Shouldn’t Washington immediately provide its most faithful Sunni Arab ally with as many military helicopters as it needs to wage war on ISIS? At the same time, while the international community has pledged billions in financial aid to help Jordan shoulder the enormous refugee burden, it is not delivering on its promises. In 2014, only 28% of the promised aid was delivered. In 2015, the number was only 35%. In this regard the US is doing far better than others. In 2012, the US gave Jordan $460 million in foreign aid. This year, Congress and the Obama administration will provide $1 billion in aid. But why isn’t President Obama pressing other countries to do more? Neither the Europeans nor wealthy Arab nations want millions of Syrian refugees living in their countries. Nor can they afford to see a moderate country like Jordan destabilized. They need to step up, now. I was already intrigued with Jordan’s warrior king before I met him. That’s why I made him a central character in both of my recent novels about ISIS. But spending personal time with him and his generals, and seeing the extraordinary lengths to which the king is going to defeat the forces of Islamic extremism, deeply impressed me. King Abdullah II is, without question, the West’s most faithful Sunni Arab ally. But as he engages in a hot war against a genocidal enemy he needs far more help from the US and the international community – and he needs it now. Let’s give him what he needs, before it’s too late. The author is a New York Times best-selling author. He has written two novels about the threat of Islamic State, The Third Target (published in January 2015) and The First Hostage (published in December 2016). He can be reached atwww.joelrosenberg.com. ————————– Order The First Hostage today — the new political thriller about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — is available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. ——————- Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. Order THE THIRD TARGET today , the first in this new series — now out in paperback — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. Make an investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to help Christians care for Syrian refugees, educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg joelcrosenberg | April 18, 2016 at 7:23 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-4xr

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - As Jordan’s King warns of “civil war” inside Islam & says Jordan has reached “the boiling point.”

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

As Jordan’s King warns of “civil war” inside Islam & says Jordan has reached “the boiling point.” President Obama finally makes time to meet with him. Here’s the latest. by joelcrosenberg (Jerusalem, Israel) -- For months now, Jordan's King Abdullah II has been urgently warning Western leaders in blunt and stark language that the tidal wave of Syrian refugees into his country and the barbaric violence of the Islamic State poses a clear and present danger to his kingdom. He needs significantly more military and financial assistance than he is currently getting, and he needs it quickly. ISIS is engaged in “a third world war” against the West and moderate Sunni Arab governments like his own, says the 54 year old monarch. Jordan has reached “the boiling point,” he adds. “Jordanians are suffering….and sooner or later I think the dam is going to burst.” “We need the rest of the world to work with us,” the King insists. “This is why I say it [must be] Muslims, Christians, Jews, other religions, all of us fighting this global fight together. It is a war inside of Islam, it is our civil war, but we cannot do it by ourselves.” The King has taken his message to U.S. and European reporters, news anchors and conferences of world leaders. So far, he hasn't seen much response. And the stakes couldn't be higher. Jordan has welcomed in more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees. Its spending a quarter of its annual budget on people who aren't Jordanian citizens. They are at the breaking point. Yet last year, the international community provided only about 35% of the financial aid they had promised to the Hashemite Kingdom. What's more, thus far the U.S. and international military effort against ISIS has been half-hearted. Today, the influence of ISIS is steadily growing. Its leaders are emboldened. And they are looking to hit new targets, like Jordan. Adding insult to injury, in January -- as readers of this column will recall -- President Obama said he was too busy to meet when the King went to Washington on official business. In the end, the President carved out five minutes for the West's most faithful Sunni Arab ally. That was shameful. Fortunately, the President made more time for Jordan's King last week -- finally. The two leaders met at the White House on Wednesday for an extended discussion of the current state of the fight against the Islamic State, the state of the Syrian civil war, the enormous financial pressures Jordan is facing, and other critical regional issues. The meeting seemed to go well. The President praised the monarch as "one of our most stalwart allies in the world" and rightly noted that "Jordan is a country that punches above its weight when it comes to the fight against ISIL."  The King, in return, graciously thanked the President, Congress and the American people for their generous military and financial aid to his kingdom. "We are so grateful for the support that you've shown me and our people, our country," he said. "Truly, no country other than the United States has given us so much support -- whether it’s to the economy so that we can take the challenge of refugees to our country, but also to the military and security so that we can defend our borders, but also secure our people." "I’m actually leaving Washington very optimistic about the level of support from the United States," the King added. I'm glad the meeting happened. I'm glad the President has increased U.S. aid to Jordan in recent years. But I am not as optimistic as the king about the future. I believe Jordan is in grave danger from ISIS terrorism -- including chemical attacks -- and from the mass of Syrian refugees who I fear could be incited to launch an uprising in the hopes of trying to topple the kingdom. Thus, I believe the U.S. should be doing far more to help our Jordanian friends. We need to pull out all the stops in our campaign to defeat ISIS, starting with liberating Mosul and all of northern Iraq from the ISIS scourge. At the same time we should be pressing our European allies and the rich Sunni Arab states to provide more financial aid to Jordan. And we should be working far more closely to build a strong alliance between Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states not just against ISIS but against the threat of a nuclear Iran, as well. ----------------------- Remarks by President Obama and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan After Bilateral Meeting (official White House transcript) Video of comments by President Obama and King Abdullah (New York Times) King holds summit meeting with Obama (Jordan Times) Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations (Congressional Research Service) Jordan Struggles Under a Wave of Syrian Refugees (New York Times) Jordanian Security and Prosperity: An Essential Aspect of Israeli Policy (The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies) ————————– Order The First Hostage today — the new political thriller about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — is available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. ——————- Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. Order THE THIRD TARGET today , the first in this new series — now out in paperback — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. Make an investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to help Christians care for Syrian refugees, educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution before the end of the year. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg joelcrosenberg | March 2, 2016 at 12:37 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-4lr