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Silhouette of man speaking.

Editorial

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise…

The Messiah of The Common People

Today many people are confused by the differing sects and denominations of Christendom. The Jewish community today is also divided into various groups -Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, etc.

Moses: Preparations for the Promised Land

It had been such a long time since the children of Israel left Egypt; memories of the plagues that led to that dramatic exodus had faded. Although the significance of Passover night was still a reality to them…

The Cessation of Revelational Gifts

The previous article on spiritual gifts dealt with several significant factors. First, it presented three lines of evidence to the effect that God intended the revelational and sign gifts which He gave to the early Church to be temporary.

The Unbelief Of Israel Romans 9:30-10:1

One of the questions I am often asked is, “Why did the Jewish people of Christ’s day reject Him?” Many Christians are puzzled over the fact that, while Israel knew the Old Testament messianic prophecies…

Apples of Gold

Joel of Jerusalem Oct/Nov 1988

When I was employed as a construction worker, I had many Arab friends, and they often came to my home to visit. Since the recent problems in Israel have developed, however, they don’t come to see me anymore.

“What Shall We Then Say To These Things?”

Each year Jewish people the world over observe the feast of Passover. The dinner on the first evening of the seven-day observance is very special. It is called the “seder.” And, for the children especially, it is a time of great excitement.

Rightly Dividing

A Time To Encourage Haggai 2:1-9

Haggai’s message had stirred Judah from idle­ness. The sound of workmen removing sixty years of rubble, refacing stones and beginning to build on the foundation laid sixteen years earlier filled Jerusalem.

Moses: Jealousy In The Camp

The sin of jealousy does not usually involve an isolated incident. It often has far-reaching effects. It has been the cause of broken relationships in families, resulting in loved ones not speaking to each other for weeks, months, even years.

Spiritual Gifts – Their Duration

Sincere Christians disagree with each other concerning the issue of the duration of spiritual gifts. Some believe that God intended all the gifts possessed by the early Church to remain in the Church throughout its history.

Apples of Gold

Joel of Jerusalem Aug/Sep 1988

In the Talmud it is written, “Do not lose faith in divine retribution.” There are many people in Israel who are quick to despair because of the present situation in the nation.

The Men of Qumran and the Messiah

He decided to climb the face of the cliff himself to bring them back. Little did Juma realize as he began his climb on that January day in 1947 that those straying goats would eventually…

Spiritual Gifts – Their Distribution And Relationships

The previous article examined three major items related to the subject of spiritual gifts; namely, a definition and the discernment and purpose of spiritual gifts.  The present article will investigate several more items.

Moses: The Failure of Faith

The desert was exceptionally hot, the annoying dust covered their bodies and the diet was monotonous. What normally should have taken several weeks had stretched out to what seemed to be almost infinity.

A Time To Build Haggai 1:1-15

The country is in a building boom. Houses are springing up like mushrooms, dotting major expressways and rolling farmland, with price tags unimaginable to past generations.

Apples of Gold

Joel of Jerusalem Jun/Jul 1988

In 1 Thessalonians 5:13 the Lord admonishes us to be at peace among ourselves. However, some people who appear to be nice and peace loving are only trying to impress others with their lofty character.

I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked

Our world appears to be infinite. The more scientists measure the universe, the more they realize it is immeasurable. The more they seek to describe it within boundaries, the more they realize it is boundless.

The Sons of Noah

The ark had been parked. The deluge was passed, and it was now time for Noah and his family to enter into the post­ diluvian brave new world that awaited them.

Victory Over Apostasy

This is the year of the Olympics. Athletes have toned their muscles and perfected their skills in preparation for the games. After years of rigorous physical training, mental hardening and national com­petition, the athlete is confident of victory.

Moses: Be Still And Know That I Am God

During the wilderness journey, the rebellious nation of Israel built their golden calf, but then they had to face God’s discipline. Death came to three thousand men (Ex. 32:28b), but the judgment of God was stayed.

Who Can Find A Virtuous Woman?

There she is, every man’s dream. Industrious, faithful, strong, capable, gracious, domestic, giving and altogether wise.

Does Election Destroy God’s Righteousness?

With keen insight into the human heart, Paul presented the first objection to election in the form of a question: “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness [injustice] with God?” (v. 14a).

Apples of Gold

Joel of Jerusalem Mar/May 1988

As we know, a small match can cause very great destruction. And so it is with the tongue, which is one of the smallest parts of the human body but also one of the strongest and  most  dangerous parts.

Little Is Much When God Is In It!

There is great and comforting truth in the statement, “Little is much when God is in it.” How could we think it to be otherwise if the Sovereign of the universe has taken up our cause?

Moses and The Messiah

There were three administrative offices given by the Lord God to Israel to rule over and guide them – the king, the priest and the prophet. The king ruled over Israel for God; the priest represented the people before God;

Defending The Righteousness Of God Romans 9:6-13

If you have trouble understanding some of the Apostle Paul’s teachings, you are not alone. Even his apostolic colleague, Peter, admitted that some of Paul’s writings contain truths which are hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:16).

Unmasking The Apostate

The winds of apostasy are raging worldwide. Such news is not new or startling, for the Bible predicted that in the last days apostates would flood into the church with their heretical teachings.

Moses – Rejecting God’s Direction

God gave leadership to assist Moses as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness. There were men who judged in personal affairs and elders who directed in civil and a few religious affairs.

The Grace Administration of God’s Moral Absolutes

The previous article presented biblical evidence for two major conclusions. First, the Mosaic Law is an indivisible unit; therefore, if a person places himself under the moral aspect of the Mosaic Law,

Was It Worth It?

We had maintained a continued vigil in the coronary care unit as Lilyan’s life hung by a thread, but she rallied (for which we fervently prayed) when her beloved daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren arrived from up North.

Apples of Gold

Joel of Jerusalem Dec/Jan 1987/1988

In the days preceding Christmas, many people in Israel ask believers, “How can God have a birthday?” The concept of the birth of Jesus is very hard for the Jewish people to accept.

Apostates In Profile

He was born near Lynn, Indiana, on May 13,1931. At the age of twenty-one, he became pastor of his first church. He preached a fundamental Christianity early in his ministry, but his message radically changed…

Moses Leadership In The Wilderness

God had directed Moses into the wilderness. The multitude of the children of Israel had followed his leadership and were now deep into the peninsula of Sinai. They had already faced many problems.

Men Cannot Curse What God Has Blessed

Anyone who has travelled with small children will remember the question that inevitably arises from at least one of them, “Are we almost there?” Sometimes the query is, “How much longer before we get there?”

A Heart Aflame Romans 9:1-5

When I accepted Christ as my Savior while a university freshman, I wondered if I were the only Jewish per­son who had ever made this decision. In due course, while reading the New Tes­tament, I discovered that the first-century Church…

Joel of Jerusalem Oct/Nov 1987

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be “diligent in season,out of season” (2 Tim. 4:1) and “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [us] a reason of the hope that is in [us], with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15).

How Happy Is The Birthday?

The year was 1787; the place, the city of Philadelphia; the purpose, men had gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation which were loosely holding the thirteen infant states together. But instead of Articles of Confederation…

Apostasy – A Falling Away

Apostasy is like a subtle viper that snares its victim and slowly squeezes the life out of it. For this reason, Jude reached back into the Old Testament and picked three lucid illustrations that would impact the Christian…

Moses

Often as we travel along the highways, we come to an unmarked fork in the road. We make a choice – one way is followed, the other left behind. A course is established that hopefully will lead to the final destination.

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

If a poll were taken to determine which of Jacob’s twelve sons were the most famous, certainly either Joseph or Judah would be the favored one. Although more space is given in the Scriptures…

Joel of Jerusalem Aug/Sep 1987

Since my recent heart attack, I have been advised by my doctors to give up my employment as a carpenter and go on permanent disability. Of course, no one wants to become inactive, but I pray this will not be the case with me.

Dear Son,

In recent days you have been much on my heart. I find myself asking the invariable questions: Where did the years go? How did they pass so quickly? When was it that you passed from adolescence to young manhood?

Tempted? or Tested?

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (Jas. 1:13).

The Seed of The Woman

Conversations between individuals have often turned the tide of history. A conversation between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill decided the fate of millions in post-war Europe.

Moses – A Night Long Remembered

Deeply ingrained in each of our minds are certain unforgettable events. Perhaps it is the memory of the birth of a long-awaited child or a grim reminder of a terrible tragedy reported by an officer of the law.

Contending for The Faith

The emergence of heretical religions in recent years has been phenomenal. An estimated 2,000 man-made eastern philosophical religious systems have sprung up throughout America.

The Beginning and Nature of The Church

Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology disagree concerning two major matters related to the Church. Those two matters are: first, the time that the Church began, and, second, the nature of the Church.

Joel of Jerusalem Jun/Jul 1987

Many of you I do not know personally, but we are all one family in the Lord, and I experienced this family-type closeness and concern very recently. As many of you may already know…

He Sat Down!

Sitting down is no special thing. Secretaries sit down. Executives sit down. Students sit down much of the time. People sit down to eat their meals.  People sit down to watch television. People sit down to socialize.

The Sad Ones and The Savior

The passengers were seated in the jetliner as it climbed to its cruising altitude. Over the intercom came a calm voice notifying everyone that the plane was fully automated – in fact, there were no cabin attendants and no pilots!

Moses – Confrontation With Pharaoh

For eighty years God had prepared Moses to lead His people Israel. Half of those years Moses had lived in the Egyptian palace; the other half in Midian, tending sheep. Much time had been spent at Mount Horeb, the mountain of God.

Christ’s Atonement and Animal Sacrifices In Israel

How does the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ relate to the animal sacrifices which God gave to Israel through Moses? What did the blood of these animals accomplish during the days of the Old Covenant theocracy?

The Good Shepherd of Israel

As shepherd of a flock, I am called upon to comfort and to encourage people who hurt. Although there are times when I don’t know what to say, I know that even though this frail shepherd fails…

The Kingdom of God Concept In The Scriptures

The last five articles have surveyed the history of millennial views within organized Christendom. They demonstrated the fact that Premillennialism was the original view of the Church.

Jude

Jude called himself “the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (v. 1). The name Jude is derived from Judah and pronounced Judas in Greek; it was a very common name in the first century.

Security in An Age Of Apostasy

Lina Sandell Berg was no stranger to affliction. At the tender age of twelve, she lay stricken with a paralysis that confined her to bed. Although physicians had all but given up on her…

Joel of Jerusalem Apr/May 1987

What a wonderful feeling it is to be one of the Chosen People of God and to live in the Promised Land which He has given to us as His people.

Busyness In The Service Of The King

We live in a world that rushes like a car with the accelerator jammed to the floor and the body thrown back in the seat. Life exists at a high rate of speed, a dizzy blur to the passengers on board.

“I am the light of the world”

The Jewish holiday of Chanukkah originated in the year 165 B.C. It commemorates the victorious struggle of the Jewish people against Syrian oppression for national survival and religious freedom.

The Holiness Of Places Where God Is Uniquely Present

The previous article concerning the holiness of God indicated that holiness is the quality of being different, distinct or unique from the common or ordinary. In light of this concept of holiness…

The Day of The Lord Unveiled

Judah had asked, “Where is the God of justice?” With sarcastic skepticism, the nation had questioned whether God was even available to take just action against the wicked and provide justice for the righteous.

The Shepherd of Israel

When the New Testament presents the Lord Jesus Christ as our Shepherd, it does so in a threefold manner. The writer to the Hebrews calls Christ “that great Shepherd” who is risen from the dead…

Moses – From A Sword to A Staff

It was not easy being on Pharaoh’s list of the ten most wanted men. Moses’ path of flight from the king led him to the land of Midian. He was finally safe from the long arm of this powerful ruler.

The Grace of God In The Life Of A Twice-Born Jewess

What a privilege to share what God has done in my life! The oldest of three children, I was reared in a Jewish home by good, loving parents. Although we rarely attended synagogue, we celebrated the holidays.

Joel of Jerusalem Feb/Mar 1987

I was recently walking along the street in the old city of Jerusalem, and I saw two young orthodox Jewish students carrying what appeared to be a very heavy package.

Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on December 25th?

Every year in the Hebrew month Kislev (December), on the 25th day of that month, Jewish people the world over celebrate Chanukkah.1  It is “nonbiblical” in origin and emerged as a result of events that occurred during the intertestament period.

The Holiness of God

When people sing, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, what are they singing about? What is the holiness of God? Some think that the sum total of God’s holiness is His sinlessness; however, that is not so.

A Word About Words

Philippians 1:27 states, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ . . .” The word conversation, used so often in the New Testament, literally means manner of life. It is more than your talk.

The Two Faces of Judah

A deceitful person is called two-faced or a hypocrite. This was a word used in the Greek theater to describe actors who put large painted masks in front of their faces to denote the characters they were playing…

MOSES: The Man of God

Long before the birth of a child, Christian parents often pray for the one that will be born. Many invoke their Lord for the early salvation of the baby soon to bless their home.

Joel of Jerusalem Dec/Jan 1986/1987

We read many times in the Bible that the people of Israel are God’s chosen people, His peculiar treasure. The people of Israel consider this to be a great honor, but most forget that there are some conditions involved…

These Are the Twelve Tribes of Israel

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is that which their father spoke unto them, and blessed them; every one, according to his blessing, he blessed them. Genesis 49:28

How have we robbed you, God?

With the exception of organized crime, robbery is the most prevalent and costly crime in America. Many are surprised to find that shoplifting and employee theft rank together as the number one type of robbery.

David: The Man and His God

The biography of a man’s life can be written chronologically, by subject or by events that trace the course of that life. We can study his background, upbringing, marriage, family and even his death.

Joel of Jerusalem Oct/Nov 1986

There is a saying here in Israel, “What the eye does not see the heart does not grieve for.” But I do see, and therefore I grieve and cannot be silent.

Blessing or Cursing

Few would deny the truth of this beloved hymn. We need God’s mercy drops falling around us, but we need the outpouring of His showers of blessing perhaps even more. But what is God’s blessing?

THE LIFE OF DAVID: The Later Years

How swiftly the years pass! For a person over fifty, it seems only a short time since graduation from high school or college. Twenty-five or thirty years of a good marriage pass by swiftly…

Where Is The God Of Justice Malachi 2:17-3:6

When Judah returned to her land, she expected to experience prosper­ity and glory as in the days of Solomon. But such was not the case! In fact, the opposite was true. Their wicked enemies lived in pros­perity while Judah suffered privation.

A Word About Words

A proper understanding of the words of Scripture is essential to a proper understanding of the message of Scripture. Misunderstanding, or lack of understanding, robs many Christians of a true appreciation of their riches in Christ.

The Tribes of Israel In The End Times

Jacob’s series of deathbed blessings on his twelve sons in Genesis 49 were also prophecies of what would characterize the tribes that came from each son. All of these prophecies have been fulfilled…

The Millennial View of Early Church Leaders

The previous article began to examine the history of the different Millennial views which have been held by the organized Church during its time in the world. That article noted that numerous historians declare that Premillennialism…

Joel of Jerusalem Aug/Sep 1986

Recently I had to pay a visit to the local medical clinic, and, as I am sure is the case ail over the world, I had to wait a very long time before I could see a doctor and receive treatment.

Faith

Some crucially important questions are being directed at you. They have to do with faith. Do you want to please God? The Bible says, “. . . without faith it is impossible to please him [God] . . .” (Heb. 11:6).

David And His Children – Tragedy!

Children are a bless­ing from the Lord. A happy home with little ones filling it is a delight that is beyond descrip­tion. Many childless couples would give all of their resources to have youngsters of their own.

Breaking The Marriage Covenant Malachi 2:10-16

The United States has the highest divorce rate in the world at almost fifty percent. Many more who are emotionally divorced from each other would like to terminate their marriages, but they stay together because…

The Ten Lost Tribes

In December, 1984, astounding news leaked to the World Press. For over a year the Israeli government had been secretly flying over ten thousand Ethiopian Jews out of their refugee camps in the Sudan…