Egyptian Christians Slammed for Visiting Israel for Easter

Thursday, April 17, 2014 |  Dr. Ashraf Ramelah  ISRAEL TODAY

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While Jews around the world celebrate Passover, Christians from Egypt visit the Holy Land for their week of Holy Pascha (the Passion of Christ). For this pilgrimage, Egyptian Christians (Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical) leave Cairo by the thousands on daily flights to Israel. Egypt’s airlines have increased departures to 12 flights per week from the normal four. In spite of the regularity of this annual event, rumors vilifying Israel propagate throughout the Egyptian press.

On Sunday, the Arab news website Elaph alluded to an Israeli government ploy by citing sources in Egypt’s travel industry that claimed Israeli visas issued for Easter travel were really intended for another “mass” immigration of Coptic Christians to Israel. These fears stem from earlier waves of Christian emigration.

It is doubtful that Egypt’s ruling class views as disagreeable a potential exodus of Copts. It is more likely to be encouraged, if not fostered, just as in the evacuation of Jews from Egypt during the Nasser era. Currently, focusing on such “news” creates an opportunity to criticize and condemn imaginary offenses by Jews and the Israeli government.

Meanwhile, Orthodox Copts will deal with negative consequences upon their return from Jerusalem. Church hierarchy is irritated by the pilgrimages to Israel, and stresses that these Christians are in violation of a 1978 edict issued by the late-Pope Shenouda III forbidding visits to the Holy Land until Jerusalem is “liberated.”

In a political alignment with Arab Muslims, the anti-Semitic edict disregards Christian doctrine connecting the history of today’s New Testament Church to the prophecies and promises of the Hebrew texts. The former Pope, departing from his true spiritual role to mix in politics, attached severe religious penalties for disobeying his edict, which has not yet been rescinded by the current Pope. The legacy of Pope Shenouda III is derived from his famous refusal to accompany former President Anwar Sadat on his historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977.

Whereas Pope Tawadrous II, current head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has not reversed Pope Shenouda’s edict for the millions of Orthodox Christians living in Egypt, Egyptian Copts of the Evangelical and Catholic denominations do not face this problem. Their leaders regard travel to Israel with approval in light of the normalization process between Egypt and Israel following the 1977 Camp David peace treaty.

As Islamist groups and regimes across the Middle East slaughter Christians, the Coptic Pope has yet to issue a punitive edict against such heinous crimes, even though doing so could very well save lives. Instead, Christian forgiveness and the notion of “turning the other cheek” are applied toward the “enemies” of the Church.

In terms of the Egyptian Orthodox Holy Synod decree still maintained by Orthodox leaders, Israel is the enemy occupier of Jerusalem. If such is the vision, then logic begs the question, why not also forgive the Israeli “enemy,” retract the edict and allow Christians to visit the Holy Land in the spirit of turning the other cheek?

Dr. Ashraf Ramelah is founder and director of the Egyptian Christian movement Voice of the Copts.

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VIDEO: Israeli Messianics Respond to Anti-Missionary Group

Thursday, April 17, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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A couple of months ago, the virulently anti-missionary group Yad L’Achim began publishing a new glossy magazine targeting Israel’s Messianic community. Believers across the country were surprised to find the first issues of “The Seekers” delivered to their private mail boxes.

The magazine sought to paint the Messianic community as a den of unrighteousness based upon belief in a false messiah, with the apparent hope that some from within the Messianic community would come running to Yad L’Achim in search of a way out.

In the aftermath of this bizarre phenomenon, the Israeli Internet evangelism movement One For Israel began producing humorous video responses to various of the Yad L’Achim claims against the Messianic faith and movement.

The videos have been a huge hit on the Israeli Messianic scene, and have no doubt been viewed by many non-believing Israelis, as well.

One For Israel has now added English subtitles to the first two videos in this series. The videos are well worth a watch for believers abroad to see how local Messianics respond to those challenging their faith, especially within a Jewish context.

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Lots of Matzah: Passover's 'Bread of Affliction'

Making matzah bread

Lots of Matzah: 

Passover's 'Bread of Affliction'

By Julie Stahl

CBN News Jerusalem Bureau

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

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The Bible calls it the bread of affliction -- unleavened bread, or matzah.

Every year Jewish people around the world are commanded to re-tell the story of their Exodus from Egyptian slavery with a Passover seder and to eat unleavened bread, or matzah, for seven days.

And if the whole country Israel and Jewish people around the world are eating matzah for a week, that's a lot of matzah.

"It's to remember the Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt that they did because the Lord made them leave very fast, they had to make bread that didn't have time to rise, and they ate this flat bread which is matzah because they didn't have time to make regular bread," Roy Wolf, vice president of Matzot Aviv, in Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, told CBN News.

Most Israelis take the commandment to eat unleavened bread seriously and many actually like it. Grocery stores devote whole sections to selling matzah.

Besides regular matzah, you can get egg, whole wheat, and even choco-matzah.

"Regular matzo must be from flour and water only. The flour would look to you like regular flour, but it's not regular flour," Wolf explained.

Wolf told CBN News the whole process from mixing to rolling to shaping to baking must be finished in 18 minutes because the moment water touches the flour it starts rising.

"In reality, our process is much, much faster. We want to be as effective, as efficient as possible. And the whole process takes no longer than three or four minutes. But every 15 minutes, in order to avoid to have any leftovers of leavened dough, we have to clean the mixer system," Wolf said.

Wolf is the sixth generation to work in his family's business, which started in 1887. They've been in the current factory in Bnei Brak since 1946.

"The basement here where we have the flour cellars today, the Haganah, the first defense forces [of Israel], used to hide weapons from the British mandate. Since 1946, we've been here making matzo. Of course the factory was refurbished several times," he said.

At Matzot Aviv they make about 20 tons of matzah per day. They start in October and work round the clock for the last month except on the Sabbath to provide matzah to Jewish communities in Israel and around the world.

"We are exporting to over 35 countries to all Jewish communities around the world. From the large communities in North America to even the smallest community because one, there is one person that lives in Wallace Island," he said. "He's the doctor of the island and we are sending him matzah every year. So he will be able to have a seder with matzah from Israel."

"We also have Christian communities buying matzah in countries like Korea and Singapore," he said. "I've been told that in some churches it's been used as the holy bread."

The Last Supper would have been a Passover seder with unleavened bread. Because of that many Christians like to take communion with matzah. Some even say that the design of the matzah -- striped and pierced -- is symbolic of the Messiah himself.

You might think with all this matzah-making that the Wolf family would get tired of Passover, but not so.

"We're waiting for this seder. Usually I come very tired for the seder because I'm working until the same day in the afternoon. But it means a lot. This holiday, of course, means a lot to us," he said.

One Israeli compared matzah to a data drive -- passing along information from generation to generation.

Watch Video: Making Matzah Bread

Randall Wallace - Director - "Heaven is for Real"

Heaven is for Real: Bright Yellow Book Hits Big Screen

By Efrem Graham

CBN News Anchor & Reporter

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

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LOS ANGELES -- The real-life tale of a child's remarkable trip to heaven and back has spent years on the best sellers list. Millions have read the bright yellow book Heaven Is For Real and now the film adaptation arrives in theaters in time for Easter weekend.

Sony pictures tapped screenwriter and film director Randall Wallace to bring the best seller to the big screen.

In a recent interview with CBN News, Wallace discussed the challenges of creating a movie that explored vision of the afterlife.

Vision of the Afterlife

"I think nervous is probably a good term. It was certainly in that field between nervous and sheer terror," Wallace said.

The film is based on a story from the Burpos, an ordinary Nebraska family that faced extraordinary circumstances. Their 4-year-old son Colton nearly died and had to undergo emergency surgery. Colton then awoke with undeniable visions of a trip to heaven.

Before entering the film industry, Wallace financed a year of seminary by teaching karate.

"The seminary training was wonderful for me in this in that I studied religion. I grew up in tent revivals and you always think about heaven in those contexts. And the great thing about that is heaven is presented as something glorious," he told CBN News.

That glorious presentation of heaven comes from a 4-year-old.

Playing Pastor Dad

Connor Corum plays 4-year-old Colton in his very first acting role. Oscar-nominated actor Greg Kinnear plays Colton's dad, Todd.

Kinnear described Todd's character to CBN News.

"Well, he is passionate. He clearly has a strong faith and a strong conviction about what he believes and a great love of his children," Kinnear said. "And I think those were the things for me to really try to translate as strongly to the audience as possible."

Todd Burpo is also a firefighter, pastor, and a man struggling to understand what his son experienced and what to do about it. That struggle helped him write the book that has sold more than 10 million copies.

Kinnear wasn't familiar with the book before taking on the role.

"Turning it into a screenplay would be not easy to do," he recalled thinking.

"It is a tough thing to pull off so that it doesn't feel like a two-hour sermon," Kinnear said. "That is, tell you a story, an honest story. And I thought [Randall Wallace] did an amazing job at doing that."

Watch the video: Heaven Is For Real interview

8 Ways Jesus Suffered for You by J. LEE GRADY

8 Ways Jesus Suffered for You

4/16/2014 J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

In the churches I grew up in, all the crosses I saw were plain and empty—and usually painted white. We celebrated the fact that Jesus came off the cross and was raised from the dead on Resurrection Sunday. So I always considered the Catholic cross very odd because Jesus was still hanging there in bloody agony. Some people I knew even suggested that crucifixes should be avoided because they leave Jesus in perpetual death.

I’m not lobbying for anyone to wear a crucifix. But I do think we Protestants have at times been so fearful of Catholic doctrines that we minimized Jesus’ painful suffering. In the Gospels, plenty of time is spent describing the torture that led to Calvary and the pain Jesus suffered while nailed to a piece of wood. We should ponder what Jesus suffered if we ever hope to fathom the price He paid for our salvation.

Here are eight things we should think about during the days leading up to Easter:

1. He was betrayed by His disciple Judas. Jesus’ pain was not just physical. Can you imagine the sorrow He felt when one of His own trusted friends became the ultimate traitor? We aren’t exactly sure how to calculate the modern value of 30 pieces of silver, but many scholars suggest about $950. All the pain Jesus endured on Good Friday began the night before, when Judas took blood money to have his Master arrested.

Think about it: There’s a bit of Judas in all of us, and we all betrayed Jesus to get our own way. Yet He chose to forgive us!

2. He was abandoned by His other followers. We often focus on Peter’s denial of Jesus. But the Scriptures remind us that all of Jesus’ disciples “left Him and fled” after His arrest (Mark 14:50, NASB). Jesus had to suffer alone. All the men He had taught and invested in for three and a half years abandoned Him in His hour of need.

Think about it: Jesus paid it all. He accomplished His work of redemption without our help. But He forgave us for our denials!

3. He carried the burden of the sins of the world. Jesus’ greatest agony didn’t start on the cross. It began at Gethsemane, where God laid on His Son the sins of the world. Jesus agonized so intensely in those moments that He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Scholars say He probably developed a condition known as hematidrosis, in which blood is emitted through the sweat glands because of intense stress.

Think about it: Your sin was transferred to Jesus’ account, and He bore the punishment you deserved!

4. He was falsely accused and rejected by Jewish leaders. Can you imagine the heartache Jesus experienced when the very people He was sent to save spat in His face, blindfolded Him, cursed Him and accused Him of blasphemy? The Sanhedrin set up a kangaroo court and sentenced the Son of God to death.

Think about it: Jesus did not open His mouth in self-defense when He was falsely accused. Now, when Satan accuses you, Jesus argues your case and declares you not guilty!

5. He was mocked and abused by Roman guards. After Pilate caved into pressure from the Jews, Roman soldiers flogged Jesus with a whip, drove a crown of thorns into His scalp, beat His head with sticks and mockingly pretended to worship Him. The flogging alone—which would have involved leather cords with pieces of lead or bone attached—would have drained much of Jesus’ blood.

Think about it: Jesus could have called on angels to stop His torture—but He chose to endure the pain because He loved us!

6. He was crucified between two thieves. We cannot even fathom the pain of crucifixion. Metal spikes were driven into Jesus’ hands and feet, and He had to slide His mangled body up against the wood of the cross in order to catch His breath. And because it was the habit of Romans to crucify criminals naked, Jesus endured the ultimate shame. What's more, He hung on that crude cross next to two men who had been convicted of crimes—while He was completely innocent.

Think about it: We should have been on death row, not Jesus. But He took our place!

7. His body was pierced with a spear. Even after Jesus took His last breath, a soldier jabbed a spear up through the chest cavity—most likely to make sure Jesus was dead. John tells us that blood and water spilled out (John 19:34), evidence that the spear pierced the pericardium, the sac around the heart. Jesus’ heart was literally broken for us.

Think about it: Just as Adam’s side was opened to bring forth the first woman, Jesus’ side was opened to bring forth the church. His piercing produced a fountain of life for us!

8. He tasted death for all. This is the most horrible reality of the cross. Christ did not die metaphorically or symbolically. He died literally. The Son of God, who had never sinned—and who was least deserving of death—died so we could have life. His heart stopped beating, He stopped breathing and His spirit left Him. First Peter 3:18 says: “For Christ also died for sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.”

Think about it: Because Jesus died in our place, we no longer have to die. Eternal life is His free gift to us!

This Easter season, ponder the steps the Savior took from Gethsemane to Golgotha. Look at His nail-pierced hands and feet. Take a careful survey of His wondrous cross, and thank Him for hanging there six hours for you.

Note: If you know someone who doesn’t understand what Jesus did for them on the cross, please forward this article to them—and invite them to your church on Easter Sunday.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at@leegrady. He is the author of The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and other books.

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