Israel’s ‘Pearl Harbor’
Spies warned that conflict was imminent. Enemy troops were visibly massing. Yet, when the attack came on October 6, 1973—Yom Kippur…
Israel: Past and Present
Judging the Book of Judges
The book of Judges chronicles cycles of Israel’s discipline and deliverance as the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan…
When Joshua Conquered Hazor
Joshua conquered the Canaanite city of Hazor during his northern campaign (Josh. 11:10–11)…
Inside View May/Jun 2023
On our tours to the Holy Land, I teach each group about modern Israel. Many Christians don’t realize what it took to bring a country into existence…
Jerusalem of Gold
If you’ve never been to Jerusalem, it’s time you made the trip. But if you can’t go in person, I suggest you relax, put your feet up, and come with me…
Via Dolorosa
The traditional route Jesus traveled to His crucifixion, known in Latin as the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrow), is debated. We know Jesus appeared before…
Gordon’s Calvary
There is a distinctive, rocky outcropping north of Jerusalem that, in 1842, Otto Thenius, a German preacher, proposed to be the actual place of Christ’s crucifixion…
The Garden Tomb
Nothing compares to taking communion while sitting on the benches in the picturesque setting of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Considered by many…
The Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is the best place to stand in Israel to get a bird’s-eye view of Bible prophecy. Perched “on the mountain, which is on the east side of the…
Bethlehem
A short bus ride from Jerusalem lies the city of Bethlehem. It is located a mere six miles south of Israel’s capital in what traditionally was Judea and today is called…
Valley of Elah
One of the most famous upsets of all time took place in the Valley of Elah: The Israelite shepherd boy David slew the Philistine warrior giant, Goliath…
Joppa
On the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, in an ancient section of what is now Tel Aviv, lies one of the oldest cities in the world: Joppa (also called Jaffa and Yafo)…
Caesarea Maritime
When I lead our Up to Jerusalem tours to Israel, I enjoy seeing the excitement of those who have never seen the Holy Land. On our first full day of touring…
Mount Carmel
My college professor once invited a missionary to speak in our class on the history of the Christian faith. She had spent many months providing…
Megiddo
In 2002, the CBS television news show 60 Minutes ran a segment on what it proposed motivated evangelical support for Israel. The broadcast claimed we believe that…
Gideon’s Spring
Scripture teaches time and time again that bad choices lead to bad outcomes. Man’s disregard for God and His Word leads to destruction…
Caesarea Philippi
The crystal water rippling through the springs of the Banias Nature Reserve creates an idyllic background for visitors walking through Caesarea Philippi…
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest freshwater lake and the lowest freshwater lake on Earth, lying 700 feet below sea level. It measures slightly more than…
Masada
Spectacular. Mighty. Imposing. Remarkable. All these words aptly describe this desert plateau that rises more than 1,400 feet above the shores of…
En Gedi
The landscape surrounding the Dead Sea looks like something from another world. Barren mountains of rock, crystalized salt formations, and sinkholes…
Happy Birthday, Israel!
In a small room in faraway British Mandate Palestine, Jewish statesman David Ben-Gurion rose to his feet before an assembly of Jewish dignitaries…
The Witness of Joshua’s Altar
Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal as a place of worship and witness (Josh. 8:30–31). He constructed…
Archaeology and Jericho (Conclusion)
Previously, we looked at two of four issues (the ban and morality) that clarify God’s controversial actions in the…
Villainous Antiochus
The pages of history are filled with heroes and villains. Heroes protect people and fight evil, like Winston Churchill who led the people of Great Britain in…
‘Away With Them!’
“Get off my land. This is still my home, my land. Get off my land.” This passionate statement by Tevye the Jewish milkman comes from the 1970s blockbuster…
The Infamous Pogroms
In AD 38 in Alexandria, Egypt, the Roman prefect (governor) Flaccus encouraged an Egyptian mob to attack the city’s large Jewish community…
Pale of Settlement: Czarist Russia’s Giant Ghetto
Here’s a phenomenon worth investigating: How did God preserve the Jewish people…
M for Murder
One of the earliest non-Jewish references to Israel is the Merneptah Stele, an inscription by the pharaoh Merneptah who reigned from 1213 to 1203 BC…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 3)
God commanded Joshua to destroy the Canaanites and conquer Jericho. This account has sparked ethical debates…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 2)
One of the best-known accounts from Scripture is the miracle of the walls that came tumbling down…
From the Editor Sep/Oct 2022
My husband, Tom, had a wonderful opportunity recently to visit Israel on a tour led by the Zionist Organization of America. He was among a handful of Christians…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2022
“The Holocaust is not about the murder of 6,000,000 Jewish people, it’s about the murder of one Jewish person times 6,000,000!”…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 1)
Bible critics love to attack the conquest of Jericho. Disproving or questioning its historicity undermines Israel…
A Reminder to Remember
It has been said, “We are what we remember,” and “What we remember affects who we are and what we experience in life.”…
From the Editor May/Jun 2022
Last summer my husband, Tom, and I went to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the funeral of a dear friend. To say Las Vegas is hot in July is an understatement…
‘We Are Naming the Periodical Israel My Glory’
This year we celebrate the 80th anniversary of this award-winning magazine…
Standing on the Lord’s Side
It was a dark time in the history of God’s ancient people, the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty king of the Babylonian…
Israel: Trip of a Lifetime
Pick up a tour brochure touting journeys to places far or near and you’ll likely see the claim, “The trip of a lifetime!” A promise…
Coming Home
For millennia, the Jewish people have held a hope in their hearts, a dream embodied in the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.” That dream is “to be a free nation…
Let’s Make a Deal
In 1963 the American television game show Let’s Make a Deal came on the air. It became famous for awarding prizes based on choices the contestants made…
From Snake to Savior
One of the most dramatic events in the Israelites’ wilderness wandering involved the fiery serpents in Numbers 21. The difficult journey bypassing…
An Ancient Witness to the Messiah
Many people wonder what the ancient Hebrews thought about the coming of the Messiah. Some see the…
Balaam: Fact or Fiction?
As Moses and the Israelites camped on the Plains of Moab, Moabite King Balak devised a plan to defeat them. Knowing he could…
God’s Alarm System
Alarms call us to action. We have fire alarms, weather alarms, alarm clocks, and personal electronic devices with alarms. During biblical times, Israel also sounded an alarm…
Inside View Jul/Aug 2021
I’ve had the privilege of visiting Israel 28 times since my first trip in 2003, most often to lead tours. It has been a rich blessing to see the land of the Bible…
One of the Oldest Blessings in the Bible
In Numbers 6:22–27 the Lord told the high priest how to bless national Israel: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make…
The Strange Story of the Scapegoat
A strange ceremony is recorded in Leviticus 16:7–10 as part of the observance of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)…
‘Do This in Remembrance of Me’
At sundown on March 27, Jewish families the world over will gather in homes as they have for thousands of years to instill…
Are God’s People Really Distinct?
When I was a child, the most memorable instruction my father gave me was “Don’t do as I do; do as I say do!” After I became…
The Sanctuary’s Sweet Cover-up
Many people today use diffusers to disperse essential oils into the air to promote physical health and freshen a room…
From the Editor Jul/Aug 2020
I don’t know what the situation will be by the time you receive this issue of Israel My Glory. Today we’re “sheltering in place,” unable to go practically anywhere…
The Altar of Sacrifice
Most people today are familiar with the concept of blessing. But they know little about the idea of sacrifice, particularly on an altar…
From the Editor May/Jun 2020
As I write this column, I’m looking at two miniature Israeli flags on the windowsill of my office. When the degenerate empire of Nazi Germany surrendered May 8, 1945…
Israel’s Precarious Situation
On the night of October 24, 2019, all of Israel’s television news programs led with the same foreboding report: Israel’s…
Relentless
“I felt so alone,” my Israeli friend said with tears in her eyes. We had just finished a delicious Shabbat meal in her home with her family when…
The Lamp of the Lord
The menorah was an important component of the Tabernacle. It had two purposes: to furnish light and to remind all Israel that God is light…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2020
Is the church becoming ignorant or arrogant when it comes to Israel? A LifeWay Research survey of evangelical Christians found that 76 percent of those…
God’s Home on Earth
When God exiled man from the Garden of Eden, humanity no longer had access to God’s presence. This access was not restored until the Lord prepared a…
Judaism 2.0
On a radio call-in show some years ago, a listener asserted the world “would be better off without Jews.” Another listener called in…
The Reason Why
Surrounded by 10 million busy South Koreans in a city teeming with skyscrapers and Forbes Global 2000 companies sits a humble house used by the Chabad of Korea…
A Place Called Home
The suggestion provoked a small eruption. I made it some years ago at a family gathering of my grown children and their families…
Important Events in Diaspora History
Following is a brief synopsis of what Jewish people endured as they wandered from country to country, trying to find rest…
All That Glitters Is Not God
The incident of the golden calf looms large in Israel’s history. Moses’ long stay on Mt. Sinai convinced some Israelites that…
Archaeology and the Ark
The Ark of the Covenant was largely introduced to people outside biblical circles through the Hollywood movie…
From the Editor May/Jun 2019
“When that plane touches down at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv,” someone told me recently, “I know I’m in a country that’s a miracle…
Inside View May/Jun 2019
Each year in May, Israel celebrates its rebirth. Established on May 14, 1948, modern Israel is now 71 years old. The fact that the Jewish nation arose from the ashes and has come back to life…
The Plan to Hitch Israel to Saudi Arabia by Rail
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Israel Katz have announced a historic plan to establish a rail link between Israel and Saudi Arabia…
Making Something Out of Nothing
Somehow Israel always seems to find itself in the middle of a controversy. Israel’s parliament recently passed a bill called the Jewish Nation-State Law, and immediately it made headlines around the world…
The Flap Over Israel’s Nation-State Law
The Knesset recently enacted a new law that declares Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and that they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2018
In the book of Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites to teach His Word diligently to their children—when they were in their homes, when they went out, when they were lying down, and when they rose up so that all may be well with them (6:1–7). The psalmist said the Word of God will guide us in truth…
Israel Has the Right Idea
Universities have become a hotbed of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic activity. Students call Israel a “terrorist state” and encourage others to engage in “intifada” and violence. Professors compare Israel to Nazi Germany and peddle the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement…
The Man Who Believed in Miracles
If you hold an American passport and were born in Jerusalem, this might be the time to get your document updated. Perhaps now, 70 years after Israel gained its independence, the U.S. State Department will finally print “Jerusalem, Israel” on your passport…
If I Forget You, O Jerusalem
Among the many things God cares about, three stand out: Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple. During my Hebrew-school days, I learned about these things in multiple ways. From the Jewish Scriptures, I learned God set Jerusalem in the midst of the…
Christian Persecution Jul/Aug 2018
UGANDA—The Muslim relatives of 27-year-old Gobera Bashir in eastern Uganda recently burned 40 percent of his body with hot cooking oil because he converted to Christianity…
New Film Helps People Advocate for an Israeli Jerusalem
Why is it so important for the United States to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Why does Jerusalem mean so much to the Jewish people and the Jewish state?
Sneak Preview
The land of Israel. The most hotly contested region in the world. The Jewish people say it is theirs, and the Arabs say it is theirs. Yet God tells us clearly to whom it belongs: In the last days, He says, “I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the…
Is Iran Forcing Israel Into War?
In a dramatic escalation of tensions along Israel’s northern border, an Iranian attack-drone recently violated Israeli airspace. Israel shot down the drone and then sent warplanes into Syria to take out the command center that launched…
Happy Birthday, Israel!
For years I had a dream. I wanted my hometown baseball team (the Cleveland Indians) to play the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. I had adopted the Cubs when I lived in Chicago. Both teams excelled at losing…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2018
A wave of anti-Semitism has been washing over Poland after the country banned all speech that suggests Polish complicity in the Holocaust, and the nation’s Jewish community is worried…
Inside View Mar/Apr 2018
As we all know, President Donald Trump in December officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. Why it took seven decades for the United States to do so can easily…
The Perpetual No
No, no, no! Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s resounding “No!” came as no surprise when President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel…
Israel in the News Mar/Apr 2018
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries—the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs and one of Israel’s largest employers—has announced its decision to lay off…
Preparing for War
As tensions rise along the Lebanese-Israeli border, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has warned that the next war between Hezbollah and Israel will include Syria. “In anything that transpires, it will be one theater,” he said. Syria and Lebanon together, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and all…
A Wow Moment
The beat goes on as the Arabs pick up where the Ammonites left off. Have you ever read a Scripture verse you had read many times before, but suddenly it seemed brand new to you? I have. I call it a Wow! moment. My most recent Wow! moment came after reading Judges 11: “And the…
Miracle at Be’er Sheva
Few people probably associate Australia and New Zealand with the Balfour Declaration. But here is a look at a little-known miracle that helped to shape that segment of history.
FOI Canada Goes Up to Jerusalem
A look at the first-ever FOI Canada Up to Jerusalem trip to Israel and some of the wonderful experiences God provided. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. Sounds simple enough. Forty years later…
What Shall We Eat?
When the ancient Israelites arrived in the Promised Land, it was “flowing with milk and honey.” But when the Jewish pioneers arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries, it was as barren as a stone. This article, written in 1953 when the State of Israel was just 5 years old…
From the Editor May/Jun 2017
June 1967 was a good time to be Jewish. At least it seemed that way to me. I was a teenager during the Six-Day War, and I was so proud of the Israeli soldiers. Not only were they fighting for their country, but they were fighting…
End of the Two-State Solution
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced he will not insist on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I thought for a while the two-state looked like it may be the easier of the two. But honestly, if Bibi and if…
Ma’ale Adumim: It’s Not What You Think It Is
Before we arrived in the spring of 2000, I asked the 16 members of our Friends of Israel Youth Adventure team (now called ORIGINS) to describe what they thought a settlement would look like.
Six Days In June
When the 1967 Six-Day War erupted, the Jewish state had just celebrated 19 years of independence. Levi Eshkol, 71, was both prime minister and defense minister. Eshkol had replaced the legendary David Ben-Gurion in June 1963. Filling Ben-Gurion’s shoes…
Message in the Wall
Sounds of gunfire, soldiers singing “Jerusalem of Gold,” and the faint sound of a shofar were heard over the army wireless. It was June 7, 1967, and the Israel Defense Forces paratroopers had just liberated the Temple Mount and Western Wall.
Fifty Years Later
The Six-Day War begot the hackneyed catchphrase Israeli-occupied West Bank. Mindless talk of the “occupation” generally goes hand-in-hand with unvarnished ignorance or a willful disregard of the area’s strategic value.
Rehearsal for Armageddon
How important is Jerusalem to the Jewish people? Their souls have been intertwined with it for more than 3,000 years. Unfortunately, their heartache is not over. This article was written shortly after Six-Day War and ran in the…
It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over
A city’s significance is often measured by its commercial importance, the height of its skyscrapers, or the grandeur of its architecture. But Jerusalem is not like any other city. Jerusalem’s significance comes from the One who chose to dwell…
When Heaven Comes to Earth
It is probably the best known and most fought over city in the world. The Jewish people cherish it. The Muslims want to take it. The United Nations wants to divide it. Nations are willing to go to war over it. But the Jerusalem of today is not the…
Stories from the War—Asher Yuval
The day the war broke out, my unit of reservists had already been mobilized for three weeks. Those weeks came to be known as the “waiting period.” I was in Reserve Battalion 161 of the Jerusalem Brigade (Hativa) under Lt. Col. Asher Dreizin.
Stories from the War–Cecilia Stark
I was born in London and came to Israel in 1963. When I arrived in Jerusalem, the city had a small-town feel. There were around 165,000 people in western Jerusalem. There was one traffic light—at the intersection of King George, Strauss and Jaffa Streets.
Stories from the War—Naomi Paynton
I arrived on June 10, 1967, on a special El Al flight for war volunteers. It came from Paris, where I lived at the time. It was packed and quite frightening. We did not know what we were coming to. They did not give us the usual meal, but just a packet…
Stories from the War—Rosie Gordon Elkana
I immigrated to Israel from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1964. By then, I was already a registered nurse, having trained at Manchester Jewish Hospital in England. Right away, I got a job at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem.