PROPHECY & TRUTH BEHIND THE NEWS
This Is Loving Israel? R
BY JAN MARKELL
ecently I was perusing through some older issues of the popular magazine Christianity Today. I quickly spotted an intriguing article titled “What it Means to Love Israel.” I thought surely they would advocate taking a trip to Israel, buying Israe- li products, and similar efforts. Not so! As I read the story I realized that to
Christianity Today, loving Israel meant slic- ing her up geographically and turning over most of the historically Jewish Land to her most bitter enemies.
The troubling article went on to state,
“Beware of giving the nation (Israel) too much theological meaning.” Excuse me. The Bible is authored by Jews. Jesus is Jewish. The disciples were Jewish. The prophets were Jewish. The gospel is to be taken to the Jew first. So if we ignore all of this—or as the magazine says—not attribute too much theological meaning to Israel, wouldn’t the Bible be just a few pages in length? I cringed as I read further. The maga-
zine stated, “True love is sometimes tough love that builds on God’s unconditional love. Genesis 12:3 (God’s promise to bless those who bless Israel) is often misused as a warm affirmation of anything done for the expansion of Israel’s influence or borders.” Wait! Israel’s borders are expanded only as she acquires territory to defend her- self when she is attacked! And very often, she is forced to give up that Land! What other nation would submit to that?
Israel has not “expanded” in decades. Israel seized Gaza in 1967 but gave it back a few years ago and it could now be called Hamastan. So Gaza is purged of all Jews and it is a terrorist area that even harbors al-Qaida. Iran supplies the Gaza terrorists as well as Lebanese terrorists—heavily Hez- bollah. Israel also pulled out of Lebanon a few years ago and again the evil ones took over.
Before Israel ceded control of
the region to the Palestinian Authority, the Arabs in the area experienced unprecedented pros- perity and freedom known nowhere else in the Arab world.
So, has this recipe, which Christianity
Today encourages, been successful? It has not even been successful to the inhabitants of Gaza who are abused by their own lead- ership. As I write this, rockets are being sent from Gaza to Israel, even hitting schools. Christianity Today makes no mention that the Palestinian people are relegated to a life of tyranny perpetrated on them by their own leaders. And it makes no mention of the Palestinian Christians who have fled the area due to persecution by fellow Arabs. Then the magazine takes a cheap shot at many who love Israel and suggests we
refuse to find any fault with Israel’s leader- ship. The magazine does not understand that those of us who love Israel base that love on the Bible—not the behavior of the Israelis. We are aware that not everything the government does is perfect. Many Israe- lis are still spiritually blind but we see that slowly changing. Christianity Today concludes, “In a post-
Holocaust world, the security needs of Isra- el must be honored. At the same time, restorative justice must set aside absolute claims from any parties and find a workable middle ground in which Palestinians can have a viable economic life.” Yes! If only their leadership would let them have that “viable economic life.”
Israel remains “the apple of God’s eye.” She is the only democracy in a part of the world gone mad. She is a strong American ally. She desperately needs a few Christians who will stand by her no matter what. Is it so dreadful that a few Christians say, “Israel, you are not alone”? But Christianity Today parrots the lines of the Left and suggests she is the evil one trampling on the rights of the Palestinians. The solution is to carve up Israel so that Israel’s borders are indefensible. And this, according to the magazine, is
“loving Israel.”
MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST DVD by Jan Markell Jan Markell shows through pictures, commentary, film, and Scripture that all of Israel’s accusers are resorting to myths to discredit Israel’s right to exist. Order #6061 | $16.00 + $3.95 S&H
1-888-921-4582 or
www.jewishvoicetoday.org 24 | Jewish Voice Today NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010
JAN MARKELL is Founder/Director of Olive Tree Ministries, Inc. To learn more about her ministry or to request her free newsletter, write to Box 1452, Maple Grove, MN 55311 or visit Jan at:
www.olivetreeviews.org where you can also listen to her weekly program online.
www.JewishVoiceToday.org
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