The Jewish Presence in Hebron
This February, a lone Jewish man walked into a mosque inside of a shrine built over the cave of Machpelah in Hebron. Dressed in Israeli military garb, he gunned down 29 Muslim Arabs…
Israel: Past and Present
Digging Up Israel
The ground in front of the beautiful Golden Gate was still soft from the recent heavy rains. An archaeology student confidently stepped back from the gate to capture its entire view in his camera…
The Greeks
When Bible readers move from the Old to the New Testament, they encounter many new ideas and institutions. They encounter groups like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Zealots, who are not mentioned in the Old…
These Bones Shall Live
As you will discover, this edition of Israel My Glory is dedicated to Israel and issues related to the Jewish people and their land. Recent hostilities between Israelis and Hezbollah terrorists operating from Lebanon point…
We Will Hope
In what may be called a conservative expression of what has taken place between the Israelis and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a “historic breakthrough” was announced on August 31, 1993.
The Essence of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles
On August 31, 1993, the Israeli Government approved a draft declaration of principles designed to implement extensive Palestinian self-rule in the areas of Jericho and Gaza.
Israel’s Political Patchwork
There is a saying in Israel that if you really want to learn about the political situation in the country, the person to ask is a taxi driver.
Homeward Bound
The United States of America was built by immigrants. In the earliest days, they came from England, Holland, and Spain, often seeking freedom from religious persecution.
What It’s Like to Live in Israel
Israel is a modern country, much like many Western countries. It has a modern economy and offers many of the comforts of the world’s most progressive societies.
The Rise of the Crescent: The Arabs and Islam
The Arabs of the Middle East are constantly in the news, one probable reason being that they control a major portion of the world’s petroleum. Islam, the religion most often associated with them…
The Land of Israel or Ishmael?
“This land is mine. God gave this land to me,” is the opening line of the beloved song “Exodus.” Although deeply moving lyrics to the ears of an Israeli, they are inflammatory words…
Approaches to Jerusalem Part Two
A barren ruggedness marks the eastern side of the Judean Hill Country. Virtually year-round the face of these slopes is covered with only sand, stones, and deep gorges…
Approaches to Jerusalem Part One
Regardless of your point of origin in Israel, with rare exception, if you are headed for Jerusalem, you are going up. Its elevation is nearly 3,000 feet above sea level.
Reunified Jerusalem: Twenty-Five Years and Counting
It has been 25 years since those battle-begrimed young paratroopers stood looking up at the Western Wall, the last artifact of the Herodian Temple. Their faces graphically mirrored the awe engendered in the heart…
Jerusalem: Icon of the Ages
Jerusalem! The very name commands a fascination. No other city in the world has been both adorned and devastated so many times by so many different peoples over so many centuries.
The Modern Emergence of Jerusalem in the Last Hundred Years
The ancient rabbis said, “Ten measures of beauty descended to the world. Nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the rest of the world.”
Jerusalem of Gold Jun/Jul 1992
Anyone who has stood on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem, and overlooked the city of Jerusalem will never forget the sight. This is especially true if it is seen as the early…
The Sea of Galilee Part Three
Transitions can be very difficult, but most of us are called upon to make them from time to time. One of the most difficult transitions to make is a change of vocations.
The Sea of Galilee Part Two
My first glimpse of the Sea of Galilee came as the early-morning winter sun kissed the surface in a brilliant, shimmering display. We were coming down from Upper Galilee on a north-south course parallel…
Messianic Ideas and the Messiah
What did the Jewish people of Jesus’ day believe about the Messiah? What Messianic preconceptions greeted Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel?
Operation Solomon
Many questions have been asked recently about the Jewish people in Ethiopia and their immigration to Israel. These Ethiopian Jews are sometimes referred to as the Falashas. Who are they? How did they become Jewish?
The Sea of Galilee Part One
At the southern end of the Huleh Valley and the northern tip of the Jordan Valley lies one of the most amazing geographical features in Israel. It is the Sea of Galilee.
Hazor
One of my favorite expressions to describe Israel is Land of Contrasts. Just below the region of Dan, which was covered in the previous issue, is a valley that typifies this expression very well.
Biblical Dan
When the children of Israel first settled the Promised Land, the tribal allotment for Dan was along the coastal plain. But, by nature, the openness of the coastal plain created problems for the tribe…
Getting to Know Israel
“The fifth Gospel”—that’s what one professor of biblical geography called the land of Israel. His point was that the Gospel writers, when presenting the life of Christ, assumed that their readers would know exactly what..
The Star and the Crescent
Jews and Arabs have lived as neighbors for nearly three thousand years. The entrance of the sons of Isaac into the land of the sons of Ishmael may go back as far as the days…
Temple Fervor
Interest in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem rose to a fever pitch last October when a group calling themselves the “Temple Mount Faithful” attempted to lay a cornerstone for the “Third Temple” at the Western…
Where Was Herod’s Temple?
Many Bible students are aware of the Old Testament Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary of the Lord described in graphic detail in Exodus 25-40. Fewer students however, have paid close attention to the Temple, the permanent…
Another Look at the Pharisees
A third-century rabbi, reflecting on the past history of his people, remarked, “Israel went into exile only after it became divided into twenty-four sects.”
The Charge Against Israel Romans 10:2-13 – Part 1
One evidence for the Bible being the inspired and inerrant Word of God is its apparent contradictions. The fact that there are certain truths presented in the Bible that appear to conflict with each other indicates that God is the author of Scripture.
Moses: The Administrator
The forty years of wilderness wanderings were ending. God was completing His dealings with Israel and was about to take them into Canaan, their long-promised and long-awaited home.
“IS THERE LIFE IN THE DEAD SEA?” A Look at The Jordan River and The Dead Sea Today.
The Jordan River, which forms the eastern boundary of Israel, is one of the most famous short rivers in the world. It runs through a deep canyon, the southern portion of which is well below sea level…
AN UNEASY TENSION: Jews And Christians Through The Ages Part Three
It is a sad fact to acknowledge that the “church” has been the biggest barrier between Jesus and the Jewish people. The medieval church assumed all of the promises to the Jews and left nothing…
AN UNEASY TENSION: Jews and Christians Through the Ages Part Two
For the first two hundred years of church history the relationship between Christians and their Jewish neighbors is best characterized by the phrase, an “uneasy tension.” During this period, there was no evidence of outright Christian persecution of the Jews.
AN UNEASY TENSION: Jews and Christians Through the Ages Part One
The relationships between Jews and Christians have always been characterized by an uneasy tension. This tension has broken out at times into violence of the worst kind. At other times the relations between the two have been more peaceful…
Searching for The Lost Ark
The Ark of the Covenant was the central furnishing in the Tabernacle and also later in the Temple of Solomon. It was a chest made of acacia wood covered by gold, 3 ¾ feet in length and 2 ¼ feet wide and high.
Holocaust Fact or Fiction
The English word holocaust comes to us through Latin and is derived from a Hebrew word meaning a sacrifice taken to the altar to be burnt before God. The Old Testament Jews were familiar with this concept of total burning…
How Dark The Night
Anti-Semitism is an ugly word. Just men have always abhorred it. But, like a bad dream, it refuses to go away. Historians, social scientists, philosophers, theologians — all are hard pressed to explain this perpetual…
Where are Israel’s Friends Found?
These simple Christian hearts are much better than our Jewish clerics who think of their wedding fees . . . .