The Hero Invasion
The city of Houston ignited a Bill of Rights uproar a few months ago, and the controversy is not likely to die down anytime soon. It started when the Houston City Council, at the urging of…
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Jerusalem and the Muslims
Most people know Jerusalem is important to three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What many may not know is that the city is referenced in the holy writings of Christians…
Jerusalem Forgotten
The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is truly apropos since a photograph can instantly tell a complete story. I’ve always thought it would be spectacular to study a picture of…
Promise Betrayed
In 1917, during World War I, the British captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks and governed it from December 1917 until May 1948 when, depleted and detested by Jews and…
Meet Hilda Goldberg
My father was assigned to be the American Express bureau chief in Palestine, and my parents arrived from England in 1929—just in time for the Arab riots. Mummy told me that in those days…
A City Divided
On June 30, 1967, the first Friday after the official reunification of Jerusalem, Muslim and Christian Arabs—whom Jordan had banned from the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, and…
Jerusalem in Prophecy
Jerusalem occupies a chosen place in the divine plan of the ages, being distinguished as such in the praise of the psalmist: “The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of…
Israel’s Government Today
In May 1948, the Jewish people became sovereign in their land for the first time in more than 2,500 years. Spearheading the modern government was the venerable David Ben-Gurion, who…
True Christian Love
1 John 4:7–21: If one thing is glaringly missing in the life of many Christians today, it is the expression of Christian love. Throughout the First Epistle of John, the apostle John emphasized…
Contrasts of Wisdom
The Bible calls attention to several problems with false wisdom, which, in reality, is not wisdom at all. After Babylon had manifested great pride in abusing the Israelites during their 70-year…
Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2015
Suha Arafat, widow of the late terrorist and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, said recently, “We need to clearly express the recognition of Israel; no one can doubt…
Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2015
I have been visiting many people lately, sowing the seeds of the gospel. It is interesting to see how different people react. Some receive the gospel with joy. Others are like stony ground…
Inside View Nov/Dec 2014
After Joseph’s brothers were reunited with him in Egypt, they began worrying he might seek revenge because they had sold him into slavery many years earlier. But Joseph…
Eye on the Middle East Nov/Dec 2014
Do a computer search for “ISIS” and “Christians” and prepare to gasp in horror. ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or simply Islamic State) is slaughtering Christians in the Middle East…
Prelude to Apocalypse
Standing atop a mountain plateau in the stark Judean wilderness, one can look down at the remains of Roman siege camps that eventually trapped some 960 Jewish men…
From the Editor Nov/Dec 2014
I don’t often read fiction (unless it masquerades as news about Israel). But when Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code came out in 2003, I decided to pick up a copy and see what all…
World Watch List 2014
Open Doors USA serves the persecuted church around the world. Each year it ranks the 50 worst countries for Christian persecution. North Korea has headed the list for 12 years…
They Cry in Silence Nov/Dec 2014
The nightmare continues for prominent Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng and his family. When Gao was released from prison in China on August 7, no one heard…
Can Three Be One?
Christians are often accused of worshiping three gods. Admittedly, the truth of a triune (three in one) God is a difficult, if not impossible, concept to grasp. God is not like…
Meet Me at the Manger
Nestled in the terraced Shepherds’ Fields on the approach to Bethlehem is a cave. I expect it is merely one of many where shepherds and townsfolk of bygone days found…
The True, Historical Jesus
Bertrand Russell was a 20th-century British philosopher and logician who rejected the idea of absolute truth. In his famous 1927 essay “Why I Am Not a Christian,” Russell wrote…
The Tax Man Cometh
A recent deal between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and an anti-faith activist group promises to threaten the religious free-speech rights of churches around the nation.
More Than a Prophet
Many people believe Jesus was a good man and a prophet. Some will even admit He was the Son of God who came to Earth. But tell them Jesus was God Himself who appeared…
The Great Admission
Messianic fervor hit a high throughout the Orthodox Jewish world in the early 1990s. Banners trumpeted messages like “Messiah Is Coming,” “We Want Messiah Now,” and…
The Divine Shepherd of Israel
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He entered a world that was bursting with anticipation. Some of the Jewish people were longing for God’s divine manifestation, as in the days of…
A Heart for Our Needs
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a 19th-century, British Baptist preacher, opened his great Christmas Eve sermon published in 1914 with these words: “He was moved with compassion…
Up Close Among Suffering Nigerians
“I’m sorry, Mr. Johnson, but your life insurance application was rejected.” When I asked why, the agent explained: “On the questionnaire, your answer about travel said you are going…
A Reason for Living
Christmastime is the season of love, friends, and family. A time to host large gatherings and hope your favorite gravy boat doesn’t end up a casualty. Or a time to go to the store…
Hanukkah in Israel
On December 16, Jewish people around the world will light the first candle in the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. This joyous holiday commemorates the cleansing of the…
Spiritual Discernment
1 John 4:1–6: First-century believers were often inundated with heretical doctrine from people whom the Bible identifies as false teachers and false prophets. At that time…
The Wisdom of God Conclusion
God gave Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar a dream that disturbed he could not sleep. Then God revealed to Daniel the dream’s content and meaning. This article explains…
Israel in the News Nov/Dec 2014
Intel will spend $6 billion to upgrade its Kiryat Gat chip manufacturing plant in one of the biggest single investments ever by a foreign company in Israel. The deal is expected to…
Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2014
Now that the Six-Day War [June 1967] is over, I was thinking the Arabs may leave us alone. But it is not so. They are preparing much trouble. I was away for three days with…
Inside View Sep/Oct 2014
This issue of Israel My Glory examines the growing anti-Zionist movement within evangelical Christianity, especially among the Millennial generation—those born between…
Eye on the Middle East Sep/Oct 2014
It is no coincidence that Hillary Clinton’s book Hard Choices was released in June, two years before the American presidential election. She is without a government job, so the…
We’re Still Here
Kiryat Shmona is Israel’s northernmost city, located near the Lebanese border in the scenic Hula Valley. Until hit by a rocket launched by terrorists from southern Lebanon…
From the Editor Sep/Oct 2014
Going to church with my family is among my favorite things to do. So when I visited one of my daughters a while ago, I was thrilled to go to church with her and her family.
Life at the Checkpoints
While Palestinian Christians complain obsessively about the so-called atrocities suffered at the checkpoints, Capt. Joshua Lazarus, a Messianic Jewish officer in charge of…
They Cry in Silence Sep/Oct 2014
Since the Islamic extremist Boko Haram kidnapped more than 300 Christian high school girls in April, it has been relentlessly attacking Nigeria’s Christians, who now are trying to…
What is Palestinian Liberation Theology?
When the State of Israel received its independence in 1948, many Arab-Christian clergymen abandoned the Old Testament because they believed it was too Zionist. In an effort…
Israel: Forever a Fact
On the cusp of a national election, the air is filled with promises. But when the election cycle ends and the ballots are tallied, we learn which promises have a shot at being kept…
The Money Behind Telos
You may have heard of multibillionaire George Soros and his liberal, global agenda. You may not have heard that he provides significant funds to an organization with ties to…
Top 5 Flaws of the Israel Apartheid Movement
This year campuses across America held their 10th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). As the name suggests, the protest organizers aim to equate the government of Israel with…
Highway to Nowhere
When the hot days of summer began to descend, two significant legal issues were heating up in Washington. One was the well-known case involving Christian-run Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc….
The Art of Reframing: Palestinian Liberation Theology
Since Israel’s rebirth as a nation, violence against the Jewish people living in the land has continued with barely a lull. Israelis have lived through three wars of survival, two intifadas…
Dr. Ateek’s Rose-Colored Glasses
Naim Ateek is not a large man. He is slender, around 5 feet 7 inches tall, with white hair and a self-effacing, gentle look about him. He is not loud or aggressive, and he would…
Tiny Israel Brings Healing to a Big World
Anyone visiting the Dead Sea region in Israel is struck by the intensity of the heat. Hundreds of years of neglect by Gentile powers made much of the territory look something like…
Pushing the Anti-Israel Agenda
The “empire” is dying, according to Phyllis Bennis. When Bennis says “empire,” she is not referring to the massive Roman Empire that once ruled Europe and the Middle East…
Evangelicals Against Israel
A mere decade ago, Christian Zionism was seen as an emerging force in American politics. As if out of nowhere, a block of 50 million to 100 million friends of Israel were poised to…
Anti-Israel Lessons in America’s Public Schools
Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic curricular materials have become endemic in public schools from Massachusetts to California. Not only do the materials insidiously inculcate anti-Israel biases disguised as history…
Loving One Another
1 John 3:11–24: In 1 John 3:10, the apostle John declared, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” These strong words…
The Wisdom of God Part Three
This article provides more examples of God’s distribution of wisdom. Nebuchadnezzar, the crown prince of Babylon, came to Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem in August 605 BC.
Israel in the News Sep/Oct 2014
Israel is a small country, with a population of 6.1 million Jews. The ratio of Americans to Jewish Israelis is a staggering 52 to 1. By press time, 43 Israeli officers and soldiers…
Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2014
There is continuous shedding of blood in the Middle East. This is the blood of hate and vengeance, not like the blood of love that our Savior shed for our salvation. Now, because…
Inside View Jul/Aug 2014
What price would I be willing to pay to follow Jesus? The question resonated with me over and over during our recent Up to Jerusalem tour. Each issue of Israel My Glory runs…
Eye on the Middle East Jul/Aug 2014
It doesn’t matter what you’re doing––bathing your 2-year-old, fixing dinner, or sleeping. You have only 11 seconds to run for safety from an incoming rocket when the siren…
Warning Bells
The identities of those responsible for distributing anti-Semitic leaflets to Jewish people in Donetsk, Ukraine, in April remain sketchy. Implications of the incident do not. The official-looking…
From the Editor Jul/Aug 2014
I am not a Facebook fan. One of my daughters has tried to get me on it, luring me with pictures of my grandchildren. And in a moment of weakness several years ago, I allowed…
The Thought Machine: It May Soon Be Reading Your Mind
Anyone who likes science fiction movies probably remembers Marty McFly’s attempts to get “back to the future.” Marty ends up in a time machine built from…
They Cry in Silence Jul/Aug 2014
Although U.S. officials and other global players were trying to help recover the girls kidnapped from a majority-Christian high school in Nigeria’s Borno state in April, scores…
High-Tech Religion or the Real Thing?
Watching the student riot “celebration” following the University of Connecticut NCAA basketball championship win in April was disturbing, to say the least. Seeing students…
A Few Things Out There
Fashion and technology are combining to make the next wave of technology more stylish. The media giant Google has created Google Glass, a wearable set of frames that is…
The Rapture: Who Is Left Behind?
A completely different world is coming—one that, for a time, will not contain a single, genuine, Bible-believing Christian. The event that removes them is called the Rapture…
Free Speech and the Well-Traveled Road
This year the White House has promoted two disconcerting proposals that would cede more power over the Internet to the international community. The result would undoubtedly…
Dark Innovation: The Role of Technology in Revelation 13
Imagine a world of the future. It is a desperate world where human beings are controlled by a single, tyrannical power. If we look behind the curtain to see what energizes…
Privacy in a Facebook World
Stories involving expanding government surveillance, increased law enforcement powers, and the bugging and tracking of American citizens have started appearing regularly…
New Survey Shows Extent of Worldwide Anti-Semitism
The results of the most comprehensive survey ever taken on global anti-Semitic attitudes were released recently by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and they have broad…
Is One-World Currency Only a Click Away?
For many people today, online shopping is the way to go. You don’t have to fight traffic on the roads or wait in long lines. There are no crowded aisles, and the store never…
What Is the Gospel?
If you were to die tonight, do you know for certain you would go to heaven? I’ve heard all types of answers to this question: “I don’t believe in heaven.” “I think I’m going to heaven….
Worshiping the Techno Gods
With technology, we can change the world.” I was sitting in an examining room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, listening to my oncologist…
Saints and Sinners
1 John 3:4–10: The First Epistle of John teaches that people who are truly born again are children of God and will practice righteousness (2:29), keeping themselves pure from sin…
The Wisdom of God Part Two
Proverbs 2:6–7 states, “The Lᴏʀᴅ gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.” However, the Bible also reveals…
Israel in the News Jul/Aug 2014
An anti-Semitic cartoon published recently in Hamas’s official daily newspaper tries to scare away new immigrants to Israel and threaten everyone living there with genocide.
Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2014
We must hold on to this land, otherwise they shall completely drive us into the sea. The Lord has promised this land to our people, and there is no power in the world that…
Inside View May/Jun 2014
Life is filled with questions. Questions help us focus on a subject and motivate us to seek answers. Many questions are simple; others can be complex. Arguably, the…
Eye on the Middle East May/Jun 2014
Sometimes it boggles the mind to see who some of the people are who withhold support from the State of Israel. The controversy is starting to die down now, but New York City Mayor…
Give More, Get War
Under threat of international isolation and more boycott and divestment scenarios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, “Enough.” His declaration of…
Banias
Banias, or Panias in Greek, is situated near the ancient remains of Caesarea Philippi at the base of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights in northern Israel. In the…
They Cry in Silence May/Jun 2014
Muslim herdsmen wielding guns and machetes attacked three villages in Kaduna state in March, killing more than 100 Christians and destroying homes. The attack came…
New-Wave Anti-Semitism
“Let’s burn the Jew!” No, the words were not taken from the yellowed pages of a Nazi manual on the mass genocide of innocent people. They were shouted in a…
Telling Tales
Everyone loves a good story. Today, perhaps the most powerful storytelling takes place on the silver screen. And 2014 looks as if Hollywood is casting its attention…
Caesarea Maritime
Caesarea is located on the Mediterranean coast between Haifa and Tel Aviv and was originally a Phoenician trading post called Strato’s Tower (c. 250 BC). In 25 BC…
Capernaum
Blue skies mirrored in the waters of the Sea of Galilee, the gentle breeze, the aroma of exotic vegetation under the hot sun, the dusty basalt and limestone ruins, the…
Mount Carmel
When most Jewish people hear the name Mount Carmel (“Vineyard of God”), they think of the wine used to celebrate Jewish holy days. The triangular-shaped, wooded…
The Dead Sea
The name Dead Sea does not appear in the Bible. Biblically, the body of water is called the “Salt Sea” (Gen. 14:3), “Sea of the Arabah” (Dt. 3:17; 4:49), and “eastern…
The Sea of Galilee Part One
Rabbis have said that Jehovah created seven seas, but the Sea of Galilee is His delight. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, called it “the ambition of Nature.”
The Sea of Galilee Part Two
On one of my early trips to Israel, I stood one blustery evening on the pier of Kibbutz Nof Ginosar on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee and watched as whitecaps…
The Garden Tomb
North of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City is a peaceful burial cave called the Garden Tomb. A peasant first discovered it in 1867. In 1874 a German missionary…
Jerusalem’s Old City
Though I’ve lived in Jerusalem almost 17 years, sometimes I still find the place bewildering. People who don’t live here probably think primarily of the Old City and its…
What and Where Is East Jerusalem?
When we bring visitors to the Sherover-Haas Promenade in our Talpiot neighborhood, with its magnificent vista of the old and new Jerusalem skyline, they often ask…
Joppa, Down by the Sea
Jaffa is the modern name for Joppa, which was and still is a major sea-port on the Mediterranean. God gave the region to the tribe of Dan (Josh. 19:40–46). The timbers…
Masada
Masada is spectacular. It’s a mighty fortress on a massive rock plateau. The mountain is about 1,500 feet above the shores of the Dead Sea. The fortification is about…
The Temple Tunnel
Above ground the Western Wall, or Kotel, measures around 187 feet long. But it actually runs another 1,350 feet underground, beneath homes in Old City Jerusalem. For centuries…
Valley of Jezreel
Standing atop the plateau of Tel Megiddo, the Valley of Jezreel (Megiddo Valley) stretches out like a verdant patchwork of farms, kibbutzim, and moshavim. Lying to the…
The Western Wall
Many people journey to Israel as pilgrims to visit the only place the Lord calls the “Holy Land” (Zech. 2:12). Others go there to see the reality of the Zionist dream birthed…
The Mount of Olives
One of the most spectacular places to visit in Israel is the Mount of Olives. The view from this elevation is breathtaking, and people gaze in awe at the Eastern Gate and…
Behold God’s Love
1 John 3:1–3: God’s redemptive program began with His love for fallen humanity. Those who have been “born of Him” (1 Jn. 2:29) by faith in Jesus Christ manifest this…
The Wisdom of God Part One
Webster’s New International Dictionary defines wise as “discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper.” It defines wisdom as the…
Israel in the News May/Jun 2014
The U.S. State Department is rejecting nearly one out of 10 Israelis who apply for tourist visas to the United States. “This is more than a threefold rise in visa rejections…
Apples of Gold May/Jun 2014
A 45-year-old man who came to Israel from Hungary some years ago would visit our home frequently. He lived nearby, and his children played with our children. However…