Scientists, humanists, atheists, and others have spent years speculating about when life begins. But anyone who reads God’s Word should know the answer. God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I…
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…
In a horrific incident of torture, Esam, from Qaraqosh, related what ISIS did after his sister’s husband refused to convert to Islam: “He was crucified and tortured in front of his wife and children, who were forced to watch. They [ISIS] told him that…
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.
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…
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.
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.
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…
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…
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…
The book of Genesis records the fall of man—the event where humanity rebelled against God and thus exchanged an innocent nature for a sinful nature, immortality for mortality. Archaeology reveals that…
1 Thessalonians 2:13–20: The testimony of a new believer in Christ causes other believers to rejoice. Imagine how overjoyed the apostle Paul was to learn of the Thessalonians’ steadfast faith despite their persecution. He rejoiced over them and longed to see them again.
What if you looked in a mirror and were unable to recognize yourself? Unfortunately, this type of thing happens. Sometimes traumatic brain injuries or diseases make it difficult for people to recognize faces, even their own. The condition is known as…
If you’re a runner and love Israel, you may be interested in signing up for the third annual Bible Run on October 6, a reenactment of the first-ever recorded marathon—the trek of a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin who ran from…
At one time, the Jordanian artillery pinned us down for 20 hours. Finally, the order came to attack. My task as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces is to go before the troops and clear the minefields…
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.
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.
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…
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.
The day the war broke out, along with my fellow paratroopers, I was at the Tel NofAirbase located not far from Rehovot. At age 34, I was the commander of a battalion of paratroopers, though I was not a full-time army man.
My husband is a huge Bing Crosby fan. I think he has every song Bing ever sang, including multiple versions of “White Christmas.” He’s also seen a few Road to films, strictly because they star Bing. One is called…
A friend of mine asked me, “Is there any way to make sense of the Middle East today?” There is so much turmoil. The entire region seems ablaze in conflict; and Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt are…
Israel is the only country in the world where the U.S. Embassy is not situated in the capital, close to the center of governmental affairs. In fact, virtually all embassies are situated outside Jerusalem as a bold political statement…
Israel is stepping up diplomatic efforts to win a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2019–2020 term. The move marks a proactive shift in longstanding Israeli policy: After years of spurning the UN…
A Muslim suicide bomber in Cairo recently carried out the deadliest church attack in modern history a week after the Egyptian government announced its plans to open 10 new mosques every week while remaining indifferent…
“Next year in Jerusalem!” As they have since the Jewish people were scattered around the world in AD 70, these words will ring out on the evening of April 10 at the close of Passover seders everywhere. Yet, if the United Nations…
For almost two millennia, Jewish and Christian scholars have debated the question whether the prophet was speaking of himself or of Israel who suffers innocently for the nations of the world. The Ethiopian eunuch…
Famous 20th-century preacher and theologian Harry Ironside long ago noted that the book of Isaiah evokes glad anticipation in the hearts of believers who cherish “the coming day when Immanuel, of whom this prophet speaks, will take…
Good news comes in all shapes and sizes, and when it arrives—particularly in the midst of trying times—it is usually like the soothing balm of Gilead. The words of Isaiah 61 may have affected the Israelites of the prophet Isaiah’s day…
The problem of Isaiah 61: Isaiah or Jesus speaking? Ordinarily, readers would assume Isaiah is speaking, which is the position of Jewish scholars. Yet many Christian scholars say the speaker is Jesus. Earl Radmacher, late professor of…
For centuries the Jewish people have waited for their Messiah to come and set up His Kingdom in Israel. At that time, Israel will receive the Land God promised them in perpetuity. That is when redeemed Israel will experience the fulfillment of…
In an age when Jesus is marginalized and the Bible grows more despised each day, it’s remarkable that anyone would know the Lord’s Prayer. But know it they do. It’s recited frequently at funerals—even at
Since Jesus died and was resurrected during the Passover season, you would think the celebration of Passover and Easter would be inextricably linked. They might have been, if not for a disturbing decision rooted in church-sanctioned…
The people of Israel bequeathed to the world the revelation of God through the Bible. In this revelation, the creation account in Genesis takes center stage and is recorded as a matter of protohistory. It was an accepted fact…
1 Thessalonians 2:7–12The church is a family. People enter it by being born into it spiritually. And, as in a family, all members have responsibilities; and their commitment to and love for one another are necessary to create…
Years ago, young people were always afraid of being picked last. The humiliation of standing alone while your peers pondered which team was going to be stuck with you was devastating. Even being picked second to last was…
Following the UN Security Council’s vote condemning Israel’s presence in eastern Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed his resolve by going to the Western Wall to light the second candle of…
The Lord said in 1 Kings 21:19, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” People are still killing and trying to take Israel’s land. The Arabs constantly seek to destroy us and demand that we compensate them for war…
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Israel My Glory, and we plan to run vintage articles by Victor Buksbazen, the first editor of the magazine and first executive director of The Friends of Israel.
Sitting around a table in Warsaw, Poland, last summer, I listened as our Friends of Israel staff there shared how God worked in their lives to bring them to faith in Christ and eventually into Jewish ministry.
U.S. President James Madison served alongside Presidents George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was known as the “Father of the Constitution,” and his death…
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approved a resolution that denies a Jewish connection to Jerusalem. Advanced by the Palestinian Authority (PA), with the help of Algeria, Egypt…
Christians in Russia now must choose between obeying the law and obeying God because of a new set of Stalinesque “anti-terrorism” laws passed recently that severely restrict evangelism and set the stage for a mass persecution of…
To some, it may have seemed like an odd pairing. But not to Natan Sharansky. As he sat with Martin Luther King III on a Sunday morning in Jerusalem, he felt like they were colleagues sharing the same goals Being with King in Israel…
As we begin our 75th year, we thought you might like to read an excerpt from the lead article that ran in the first issue we ever published. The date was December 1942, and the world was at war, fighting the satanic evil…
It is often interesting to know the age of individuals at significant points in their lives. The Bible is not written in chronological order, and ferreting out that information often requires doing a little math. But the results can be fascinating.
Struggle defined Jacob and Esau’s relationship. It began in the womb, continued when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, and culminated when Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. Though they were twins, the men were…
Why did so many people in the Bible do such bad things? Was it okay that God’s people had multiple wives?” a newly saved young mom asked me. I told her the Bible portrays humanity’s sinfulness honestly, but its record of such behavior does not…
God uses all types of circumstances to shape people. Sometimes they are favorable; other times they involve trouble, heartache, and grief. In the case of the patriarch Jacob, the Lord used 20 difficult years in Padan Aram, when Jacob worked for…
Many people struggle through life. Every day brings them something new to worry about. Some have illnesses. Others have grief. The list of troubles that shape a person is endless. The patriarch Jacob knew all about trouble…
People often approach their so-called golden years with an unrealistic view of the future. They envision themselves healthy and enjoying carefree living and financial security. Often, however, the opposite is true. And they are unprepared for…
There is no other biblical personality that has been made more the butt of harsh and unfair criticism than that of the patriarch Jacob, one of the ancestors of the Jewish race. He is depicted as the cunning supplanter…
For most people, the world of the Bible is an unfamiliar, alien realm. But for Bible-believing Christians, it is like the pleasant home of well-known friends. Beginning where the Bible begins, with the book of Genesis, I’d like to take you…
1 Thessalonians 2:1–6: The apostle Paul’s abrupt departure from Thessalonica brought accusations that he was a religious charlatan preaching for financial gain and personal honor. If the accusations went unanswered, they…
The scattered stones and ruins of the ancient city of Philippi silently lay in the bright Grecian sun. Standing there, as I scanned the landscape around me, the organized rubble seemed to shout, “This is the place! This is the place…
Donald Trump will be the most pro-Israel president in the history of the United States, a Trump advisor told The Jerusalem Post. “The level of friendship between the U.S. and Israel is going to grow like never before…
Here in Israel, most people know the Hebrew song “Ani Ma’amin,” or “I Believe.” In English, the lyrics read, “I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah. I believe.” Recently I visited an ultra-Orthodox synagogue…
I started working for Elwood McQuaid in 1999. He was executive director of The Friends of Israel and always led our Up to Jerusalem tours. My mother-in-law, Vera Bowker, then FOI’s publications manager…
“This is the most important lesson you will learn today!” Rafi said as the Jeep came to a stop on a dirt road, about half a mile from the fence dividing Gaza from Israel. Rafi climbed out with a…
By the time this issue of Israel My Glory arrives in mailboxes, America’s democracy may be days away from the 2016 presidential election. Or the election finally will be over, and the local voting booth will…
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are working to repair bilateral relations. Long fraught with tension, ties between the geopolitical rivals reached a new low after…
Thousands of Christians who fled to Germany from Islamic countries for safety and religious freedom now face violence, harassment, and death threats for their faith from Muslim refugees in Germany’s…
Names mean a lot to God. That’s why He specifically chose the Messiah’s name to reflect His mission on Earth. “What’s in a name?” Juliet asks Romeo, adding, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, not exactly…
A look at the interesting link between Israel’s holiest holidays and this world-renowned oratorio. My wife and I traveled to Great Britain in 2008. One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to London’s Westminster Abbey…
A pastor’s visit to the Ten Boom house reminds us how the faith of one Christian family preserved many Jewish lives during the Holocaust. We were in the last room on our tour through the Corrie ten Boom Museum…
The wonderful Christmas season will soon be here. It’s a time to celebrate the divinely supernatural, when God did something for humanity that is so spectacular it has to be experienced personally to be understood.
Although we’ll never grasp God in His entirety, we can still learn about Him through three things in particular. When I was a PhD candidate, I had to endure a comprehensive oral examination before four professors…
During His incarnation, Christ was humiliated for our sake. Here are seven characteristics of Jesus that should make us love Him even more. You are about to read one of the most enlightening passages in all of Scripture…
Bobby was exactly my age—only 28. The cause of death was a horrific car crash. His extended family was unchurched, and I was asked to pray with them and later conduct the funeral. As a young pastor…
I am Charlie Perry’s great grandson. That fact may not mean much today, but in my small hometown many years ago, it meant plenty. Charles H. Perry was a man of impeccable integrity…
I am not a Jew. I feel I should make that clear from the beginning. I don’t keep kosher. I don’t like gefilte fish. And the first time someone called me a “mensch,” I thought he was insulting me. No, I will never be mistaken for a Jewish man…
1 Thessalonians 1:9–10: When the Thessalonians received Jesus Christ as their Savior, they experienced a thrilling transformation. They were completely delivered from the darkness and depravity of paganism and anxiously…
Have you ever asked yourself, Why is the world the way it is? What’s going on here? Most people have. Here is a brief explanation in an edited excerpt from Dr. Renald Showers’ extraordinary book What on Earth Is God Doing?
I was fully prepared to breeze over a July 14 article in theguardian.com headlined “Ghostbusters in line for China ban due to supernatural theme.” But I read it, and I’m glad I did…
World Vision, an American-based Christian charity, has shut down its Gaza office, laid off 120 Gaza employees, and canceled its projects in the region after Israel indicted its Gaza manager for allegedly funneling $7 million…
It is now the time of year when Christians celebrate the Lord’s birth and sing, “Joy to the world! The Lord is come.” In Israel, people are celebrating the feast of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights…
Have you ever heard of the Yazoo land scandal of 1795? Apparently, it is considered “the most corrupt deal in American history,” according to historynewsnetwork.org…
It is common to cross paths with Christians who don’t believe the Jewish people today are God’s Chosen People. They fail to see how Israel fits into God’s plan for this world…
Claustrophobia is the fear of being confined in a tight space. It’s an anxiety disorder that can make someone feel like he is alone and suffocating. A woman who suffers from claustrophobia once told me…
Representatives from 26 countries and international organizations met in Paris recently in an effort to relaunch stalled peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. But the initiative is doomed to fail…
The Muslim governor of the Muslim-dominated Kaduna state in Nigeria recently proposed a law that would stifle Christian freedoms and criminalize street preaching…
What do you do when the Bible says one thing and the government says another? Follow the principle the apostle Peter gave us. A significant parade of years has passed since my grammar school days…
The book of Micah is one of the 12 Minor Prophets in the Bible—minor not because of content but because of size. The Minor Prophets cover similar themes as the other Prophets, but they also…
Thirty miles north of Jerusalem, in what most people call the West Bank, lie the ruins of Samaria, ancient capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Though the area today is closed to tourists for…
The locations mentioned in Micah 1 have names that are similar to the verbs in the same sentence,1 creating plays on words that are lost when translating the text from its original Hebrew…
What goes around comes around. That means you can’t get away with doing wrong because eventually, wrong will be done to you. Biblically, it is the law of sowing and reaping, something the Judean leaders…
The prophet Micah’s message of doom must have troubled Judah’s leaders. After all, if Judah were destroyed, how would God fulfill the vows He made to the children of Israel in the…
The prophet Micah wrote during extremely difficult days in the history of the Jewish nation. Crime was rampant, greed was everywhere, Judah’s leaders were cruel, and righteousness was…
It’s election year in America, and again many are hoping for new leadership to restore the glory of our country. We think if only we get the right leaders into positions of influence, then perhaps we can…
1 Thessalonians 1:5–8: The apostle Paul did not preach on the power of positive thinking to the Thessalonians. He did not use skillful oratory, philosophical arguments, clever expressions, or…
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843–1921) was a significant American theologian, writer, and pastor who is best known for his Scofield Reference Bible, one of the most influential theological works of the…
In despotisms and tyrannies, people have no rights to be informed about the conduct of their leaders. That is not surprising, as neither their input nor their influence is wanted…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu vowed that the recent terror attacks in Judea and Samaria will not drive Israelis from their homes. “We will strengthen this place,” he told the…
Isaiah 49 says, “You are My servant, O Israel. You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (vv. 3, 6). Many Hasidic Jews believe they are the servants of God, chosen by…
I grew up in a Catholic town. Most of my friends attended either one of the many Roman Catholic churches in the area or the First Congregational Church downtown. Had you asked me…
During the 15 years I have ministered with The Friends of Israel, I have been impressed with the longevity of our staff. We have very little turnover, and many of our colleagues work…
The United Nations is obsessed with Israel. So obsessed that, if it were a person, it would need therapy. If it were a sports organization like FIFA (the soccer world’s governing body prosecuted for corruption last year), its representatives…
Israel has acquiesced to a plan to transfer sovereignty of two strategically important islands in the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia as part of an informal, emerging alliance between…
An imprisoned Christian convert from Islam recently sneaked a message of encouragement to Iran’s Christians in the face of a government crackdown that has crippled the country’s…
Israel’s wise King Solomon, with years of world-watching behind him, concluded, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9)…