Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
This week’s announcement that scientists had finally confirmed the existence of gravitational waves rippling through the universe, thereby bolstering the Big Bang Theory, would presumably be a blow to those who believe in the Bible.
“Without addressing who or what caused it, the mechanics of the creation process in the Big Bang match the Genesis story perfectly,” Aviezer explained. “The universe had a definite starting point - a creation - as described in the Book of Genesis. To deny this now is to deny scientific fact.”
In remarks to The Jerusalem Post, Prof. Aviezri S. Fraenkel of The Weizmann Institute noted that science is actually moving closer to, rather than further from, the biblical account. Whereas ancient philosophers were of the mind that the universe had existed forever, modern science now knows “there is a definite beginning.”
Fraenkel continued: “In fact, the modern theories, which don’t yet explain all the observed cosmological facts, bestow new meaning to the biblical verse in Psalms 92, 6: How great are your deeds, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep.”
Leading international physicists, including Prof. Stephen Hawking and the late Paul Dirac, both avowed atheists, have long supported the notion that the universe had a starting point, though they admit modern science is incapable of determining why, how or by whom it was started.
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(Washington, D.C.) -- Who were the four real heroes who escaped from Auschwitz 70 years ago this spring, the men whose lives inspired The Auschwitz Escape?
Today FoxNews.com has published a column I have written giving their names and sketching out their dramatic stories.
I hope you'll take a moment to read the whole column, and then share it with others. Thanks so much.
They pulled off the greatest escape in human history – from a Nazi death camp – to tell the world the truth about Hitler, but no one knows their names.
By Joel C. Rosenberg, for FoxNews.com
To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it.
In 1933, the world was blindsided by the rise of Adolf Hitler.
In 1939, it was stunned by the German invasion of Poland and the Nazi leader’s bloodthirsty quest for global domination. Perhaps most tragically, most of the world did not understand Hitler’s plan to annihilate the Jews until it was almost too late.
Today, we face dangerous new threats from Iran, North Korea, and a rising czar in Russia, not from Germany.
Yet curiously, in recent weeks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have each warned that as we confront current challenges we must be careful to learn the lessons of history regarding how the world failed to understand the threat posed by Hitler and the Nazis and deal with it decisively, before events spun out of control.
I agree, and as an example, I would point the extraordinary events that occurred in the spring of 1944.
Four men pulled off the greatest escapes in all of human history, from a Nazi death camp in southern Poland. They did not simply escape to save their own lives. Nor did they escape merely to tell the world about a terrible crime against humanity that had been – and was being – committed. What set these true heroes apart is that they planned and executed their escapes in the hope of stopping a horrific crime before it was committed – the extermination of the Jews of Hungary.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of these escapes, and to draw attention to the significance these unknown – or unremembered – events, and the lessons they have to teach us, I recently wrote a work of historical fiction, "The Auschwitz Escape." I changed the names of key figures involved so as not to put words in their mouths that cannot be verified to be their own. But it is my deepest hope that the book will cause many to dig into the real history of these remarkable heroes.
Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler were Slovak Jews. They escaped from Auschwitz on April 7, 1944.
Arnost Rosin was also a Slovak Jew. Czeslaw Mordowicz was a Polish Jew. Together they escaped from Auschwitz on May 27, 1944.
In today's famous verse, the Almighty promises Abraham that not only will he have the power to bestow blessings on others, but he will be the standard by which all others around the world will be blessed. Stand strong and be blessed with the people of Israel, and the holy city of Hebron.
The small Jewish community of Hebron preserves the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, and give us merit.
The Kohanim (priests) are Jews descended directly from Aaron, the older brother of Moses, who was given the special duty to bless the nation of Israel. See how this mystical practice continues today.
A lengthy dispute over the ownership of a building in Hebron ended last week when Israel’s High Court of Justice upheld its legitimate purchase by Jews.
Three sterling silver rings are interlocked to create one uniquely charming ring. Each is inscribed with the Priestly Blessings. Makes a beautiful gift for yourself or a loved one.
Yehoshua Halevi's photo depicts the priestly blessings at the Western Wall. The kohanim ("priests") are cloaked with a tallit (prayer shawl) as they bestow blessings, hidden from view and distractions at this holy moment.
Yesterday’s photo by Noam Chen was of the landmark Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv featuring three skyscrapers, one in the shape of a square, another a triangle and a circle!
“First-Rate Communications All the Way From Israel” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!
Dear Rabbi Tuly, I enjoy your columns everyday and often learn something new about Judaism---I appreciate that. What an amazing world that I can sit at home in our village north of Toronto in Canada and read first-rate communications all the way from Israel where our older daughter now resides in Jerusalem! Wishing you, your family and your congregation a happy Purim holiday. Sincerely, Solette N. Gelberg, Ontario, Canada
Thanks for this word Rick! We need to keep focused on that which the Lord has given us to do. Then we won't get burned out trying to do it all. Steve Martin Founder Love For His People, Inc.
The idea that God is finished with the Jewish people as a nation and that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan is not only a serious theological error. It is a deadly one as well.
It was this false theology that helped fuel the fires of Jew hatred in one of the early church’s most respected leaders, John Chrysostom (347-407), who once said, “God hates the Jews, and on Judgment Day will say to those who sympathize with them: ‘Depart from Me, for you have had intercourse with My murderers!’ Flee, then, from their assemblies, fly from their houses, and hold their synagogue in hatred and aversion.”
Without this erroneous theology, the Crusades would never have taken place 700 years later.
It was this false theology that helped fuel the fires of Jew hatred in the great reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546), who gave this counsel to the German princes of his day: “First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools. ... Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. ... Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies. ... Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them. Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb.” (For many more examples, see my book Our Hands Are Stained With Blood.)
Luther’s murderous words were put into action by none other than Adolph Hitler, beginning the night of Nov. 9, 1938, which is called Krystallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, when, according to Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, “815 [Jewish] shops [were] destroyed, 171 dwelling houses set on fire or destroyed ... 119 synagogues were set on fire, and another 76 completely destroyed ... 20,000 Jews were arrested, 36 deaths were reported and those seriously injured were also numbered at 36.”
This is a direct result of a theology that was dead wrong helping to justify deadly actions. (The Nazis were obviously not true Christians, but it was centuries of “Christian” anti-Semitism in Europe that helped make the Holocaust possible.)
To be sure, there are fine Christians today who embrace this same theological error (called replacement theology or supersessionism, meaning that the church has replaced or superseded Israel), and they are absolutely not anti-Semites and they would never sanction the persecution of the Jewish people in Jesus’ name. And they totally repudiate hateful quotes like these just cited.
But the sad fact of history is that it is this very theology that opened up the door to centuries of “Christian” anti-Semitism in the past, and it is threatening to open up that ugly door once again in the present.
In light of the third “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference that just took place in the ancient city of Bethlehem, where issues like these were anything but theological abstractions, it’s important to remember how wrong theology leads to wrong actions.
According to Acts 1, after the disciples had spent 40 days with Jesus after His resurrection, speaking to them “about the kingdom of God” (v. 3), His devoted followers wanted to ask Him one question before He ascended to heaven.
They inquired, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (vv. 6-8).
In other words, that’s a good question, and it certainly makes sense in light of everything we’ve been talking about, but the timing of when that will happen—when God will “restore the kingdom to Israel”—is not of your concern right now. You must concentrate on fulfilling the Great Commission with the help of the Spirit’s power.
But that’s not how John Calvin interpreted Jesus’ reply. As noted by Dr. Paul R. Wilkinson in his book Understanding Christian Zionism, Calvin stated that there “‘were “as many errors ... as words’ in the disciples’ question concerning Israel’s restoration. This, he believed, showed ‘how bad scholars they were under so good a Master,’ and therefore ‘when he [Jesus] saith, you shall receive power, he admonisheth them of their imbecility.’”
Wilkinson also notes, “At the 5th International Sabeel Conference in 2004 [this is an anti-Zionist conference], Mitri Raheb denounced the disciples as ‘very narrow-minded,’ ‘nationalistic,’ and ‘blinded’ for asking such a question.”
To be candid, interpretations like these are nothing more than exegetical nonsense, standing the biblical text on its head.
For example, if the disciples had said to Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for us to take up swords and behead our enemies?” He would not have replied, “It’s not for you to know the time for beheading that the Father has determined. You just concentrate on preaching the gospel.”
Hardly! Instead, He would have rebuked them in no uncertain terms.
But that’s not what He did here, despite the fact that His words are constantly interpreted as if He had said, “You idiots! Don’t you know that I’m through with Israel? Don’t you know that the church has replaced Israel? Have I been with you so long and you still don’t get it?”
Instead, He simply told them it was not for them to know exactly when the Father would restore the kingdom to Israel (something that Jesus and Peter and Paul affirmed; see Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 11:28-29; 15:8); their mission was to be His witnesses.
Unfortunately, in our day, as we are seeing an increasing number of Christians turning against the modern state of Israel—and I don’t simply mean that they are criticizing Israel when Israel deserves criticism but that they are rejecting it as a prophetic fulfillment in any sense of the word, also embracing the Palestinian narrative of Israel as an evil occupier and claiming that no prophetic promises remain to the Jewish people as a nation—we are seeing the seeds of Jew hatred being planted again in the hearts of many of these believers. Their hostility to Israel is hardly a secret.
Be careful, people of God!
History could well repeat itself—to the reproach of the name of Jesus, to the disgrace of the church, and to the spiritual and physical harm of the Jewish people—unless we get our theology right.
The following are a few paragraphs taken fromChapter 2.
Use the
Tools, Not the Staff
The Lord
Jesus Himself gave us valuable lessons, while He led His band of men and women
on earthly team, which has proven itself to be most applicable in my leading of
business and ministry staffs. These very effective truths in administrating
were spoken by Him, when He said to His small band, “Do unto others as you
would have them do unto you” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 22:39)
These were
two of my key attitudes I took early on in my management positions, as I
learned how to be a “manager of the people”, as one other executive team member
put it, during one of my years with Derek Prince Ministries (1987-1990 and
2001-2005).
Not
wanting to be one who “lords it over others”, demanding my own way and using
the “staff rather the tools”, I took the posture of treating the staff who
served with me as I desired my boss to treat me - honoring them as I wanted to
be recognized and honored, and uplifting them as I often needed, but rarely
received, in some cases. As I sought to encourage each one in my care, even as
a pastor does his flock, I found that the love grew between them and I. When
those bonds were established, staff readily would give beyond the call of duty
and pay, as they knew my heart was not just for the job to be done, but for them
in helping me get it done.
Not only
did we labor together for the cause of the Lord in the ministry, with me as the
recognized leader and their boss, but we became friends for the long haul. I
still treasure and continue to keep relationships with those who were in the
same office setting with me, or on the church volunteer teams, as fellow
servants. Taking a heart position of being their servant, and not one seeking
to be served, created and maintained unique, precious, and long term relationships.
(Washington, D.C.) -- In preparing for the launch of The Auschwitz Escape, I contracted with a nationally-respected polling company to ask a series of questions that would help me better understand American attitudes towards the Holocaust, Israel, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the crises in Syria and Ukraine. The results were both fascinating and sobering.
In the days ahead, I will share all the results of this polling data with you. But given the crisis in Ukraine, I decided to begin by writing a column for National Review Online releasing the results of how Americans now perceive Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Who is Vladimir Putin, and what does he really want? Why exactly has he suddenly sent tens of thousands of heavily armed Russian troops into Crimea? Why did he invade Georgia in 2008? Why is he selling arms to bloodthirsty regimes like that of Bashar Assad in Syria? And why is selling both advanced arms and nuclear technology to a rogue terrorist state like Iran?
In the face of such questions, President Obama looks disoriented and confused. He and his national-security team have been painfully slow to understand the Putin threat. They’re now scrambling to develop a coherent and convincing policy to contain Putin, much less have a chance at rolling him back.
The American people now see Putin as a real and growing threat, and not just to the former Soviet republics but to the national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.
This month, I engaged McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-respected polling firm, to ask a series of questions of 1,000 likely U.S. voters. Among them:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “In light of Russia’s invasion of southern Ukraine, and Russia selling arms and nuclear technology to Iran, and Russia selling arms to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria, I have come to believe that Vladimir Putin and the government of Russia pose a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and our ally, Israel”?
In 2012, Mr. Obama mocked those who even raised such a question. Today, a remarkable 72 percent of Americans said they agreed with such a statement. Only 19 percent disagreed.
Are they right? Is Putin as serious a threat as Americans believe? To answer that question requires going beyond Washington conventional wisdom and listening carefully to what he has said in the past....
“Shake the dust off your feet.” I wasn’t really surprised when I heard the Holy Spirit say those six words—but when I read the Scripture in context, it sent me into intercession for the ones who rejected the word of the Lord.
The sad story begins in a local church where I was serving on the pastoral staff. The church’s works were good, reaching out to the poor with food, clothing and shelter. The pastor’s sermons were not theologically deep, but they were biblically sound.
Indeed, from the outside looking in, it looked like an up-and-coming church that was really being the church. It was a breath of fresh air. Soon enough, I discerned spirit of compromise invading the hearts of leadership. Decision after decision was made to please man rather than please God. I knew these man-pleasing decisions would eventually erode the truth of the gospel in that local body. I just didn’t realize it would be so soon.
The Sin of Compromise
Over the course of a year, I gently but directly pointed out areas of compromise. The senior pastor tolerated a woman with a spirit of Jezebel wreaking havoc in the church. He frequently attended “rock star” megachurch conferences and brought the seeker-friendly principles he learned back to the congregation. He refused to confront sin of all sorts, from adultery to homosexuality and beyond. Over the course of a year, my prophetic words of warning were pooh-poohed time and time again. I was told, in subtle terms, that I was missing God’s heart in these matters.
The day finally came when the compromise was so blatant that it sent me into weeping and travails for the church. After consulting with ministers more experienced and wiser than me, I boldly confronted the growing cancer in love with scriptural backing that could not be denied. But the prophetic correction was once again rejected—and not only rejected, but I was actually held in contempt for speaking the gospel truth in a Spirit-filled Christian church! And that’s when the Holy Spirit told me to shake the dust from my feet.
Let’s look at the Scripture: “Whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet” (Matt. 10:14). So what does it mean to shake the dust off your feet? I’ve heard that Scripture many, many times, but I had never studied it out until the Holy Spirit gave me the personal instruction.
Why Shake the Dust Off?
With regard to this verse, Matthew Henry’s Commentary suggests, “At their departure they must shake off the dust of their feet. In detestation of their wickedness; it was so abominable, that it did even pollute the ground they went upon, which must therefore be shaken off as a filthy thing. The apostles must have no fellowship nor communion with them; must not so much as carry away the dust of their city with them.”
That sounds hard-core but it’s reality. David Wilkerson used to say a “diluted gospel is no gospel at all.” A diluted gospel willfully allows compromise. A diluted gospel refuses to confront sin. A diluted gospel seeks to please man at the sake of grieving God. A diluted gospel tolerates Jezebel. A diluted gospel makes you feel good even when you won’t repent. A diluted gospel is powerless. A diluted gospel is no gospel at all.
Henry continues his commentary on shaking the dust off your feet: “It was to signify, that they were base and vile as dust, and that God would shake them off. The dust of the apostles’ feet, which they left behind them, would witness against them, and be brought in as evidence, that the gospel had been preached to them, Mark 6:11; Jas. 5:3. ... They who despise God and His gospel shall be lightly esteemed.”
In Matt. 10:15, Jesus actually says it will be more tolerable in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for the city that rejects the gospel. Whoah And that’s what sent me into intercession for the pastors that would not receive the gospel truth the Lord had me to deliver in slow and steady drips over the course of a year.
The reality is that a little compromise opens the door for a great compromise. Pastors who tolerate Jezebel will meet with a strong rebuke from Jesus (Rev. 2:20). Pastors who propagate a seeker-friendly gospel that makes people comfortable in their sin will have to give an answer on Judgment Day. Pastors who refuse to preach the gospel to sinners for fear of offending them will be held accountable.
Sometimes we have to shake the dust off our feet and even shake out our garments (Acts 13:51; 18:6). But before we do, we must have a clear conscience. We must do everything we can to reach those God sends us to. We must not leave with self-righteousness or anger but with weeping and intercession for those who refuse to hear God’s truth. Only then can we say, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean” (Acts 18:6). Amen.
You can download a sample chapter of Jennifer's new book, The Making of a Prophet, by clicking here.
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