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Jewish World Update Jan/Feb 2022

The recent U.S. congressional drama about funding for Iron Dome was merely a sideshow to a proposed amendment by…

Apples of Gold Jan/Feb 2022

Many people do not want to talk about the Holocaust, especially the elderly, who suffered in the death camps as I did. Our young people know of the…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Nov/Dec 2021

When I was eight years old, I had a friend named Mary. She moved to Vermont from California, lived two houses away, and attended Catholic school. Every year I’d…

Inside View Nov/Dec 2021

Modern Israel has become the world’s leader in water technology, and its innovation in this important area is one way God is blessing the world…

Christian Persecution Nov/Dec 2021

As the world watched videos and images of people trying to escape the Sharia regime the Taliban is imposing in Afghanistan…

We Stand With Israel!

There is no authority on Earth except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. That may seem like a strange statement in view of…

Isaiah 52:13—53:12

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was…

Outline of Isaiah 52:13—53:12

I. THE Servant’s SUPREMACY (52:13–15) A. The Servant’s prudence (v. 13) B. The Servant praised (v. 13) C. The Servant persecuted…

The ‘Forbidden Chapter’

What joy was mine when I ministered in Israel for one month each year when I served as director of…

From the Root of Jesse

When my friend and colleague Steve Herzig lived in Chicago many years ago, he issued a challenge to some of his friends. The challenge seemed simple enough, but…

Christmas Is…

Christmas is a busy time of year. Everyone’s schedule seems to be full of holiday events. Getting together with family and friends. Singing Christmas carols. Buying…

God’s Awesome, Immutable Plan

In the 1980s, an action-adventure television series used a catchphrase that has long outlived the show: “I love it when…

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…

Facing Perilous Times

In many of his epistles, the apostle Paul warned churches that in the last days, charlatans will emerge teaching erroneous, deceptive doctrines that cause…

Living for God

Nick Foles is an NFL quarterback. He became famous for leading the Philadelphia Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2018 and was named…

Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2021

The ultra-Orthodox in Israel try to milk people out of their money. They always find something new to sell. Lately they have been…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Sep/Oct 2021

Growing up, Passover was my favorite holiday. It arrived just when New England’s harsh, snow-packed winter was finally giving way to spring…

Inside View Sep/Oct 2021

​​The Western church relies heavily on English translations of the original manuscripts of Scripture. Until John Wycliffe’s first complete translation in 1382…

Silhouette of man speaking.

Like William Henry Hechler

Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, considered William Henry Hechler the first Christian Zionist…

Map of the Middle East.

Has Ecoterrorism Hit Israel?

The February 2021 oil spill that polluted nearly half of Israel’s shoreline highlighted the country’s acute vulnerability to…

A Conversation with Joel Rosenberg

As part of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s mission to teach about Israel and the Jewish people, our North American…

The Fascinating Hebrew Calendar

It’s easy to become confused with the dates for Jewish holidays because they are not based on the solar calendar we use…

The Seven Biblical Feasts

Of all the holidays celebrated throughout history, only these seven were given by God to His people Israel…

Behold the Lamb!

Many non-Jews think Hanukkah is every Jewish person’s favorite holiday. But they would be wrong. Hanukkah is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas…

The Four Faces of Shavuot

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and found the shelves empty? Until the recent pandemic, that would have been…

Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah

Growing up, I had an annual August ritual of asking my parents two questions: When is the first day of school? Are the…

Holiday Under the Stars

Many years ago, a pastor and I visited a friend who is a rabbi at a local synagogue. Sukkot was approaching, and Rabbi offered to…

Jesus on Sukkot

The events recorded in John 7 took place during the Feast of Tabernacles—the Jewish holiday of Sukkot: “Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand…

‘Remember the Sabbath’

When my wife and I lived in Minnesota, we enjoyed visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art where more than 90,000 beautiful…

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…

Perilous Times Predicted

People who serve Satan may not realize what they are doing. But if they distort, oppose, twist, or deny the true gospel…

How to Obtain True Wisdom

Advice is cheap. Wisdom is rare. King Solomon said, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who…

Jewish World Update Sep/Oct 2021

Israel has announced that Amazon and Google won the tender to provide cloud services to the government as Israel…

Apples of Gold Sep/Oct 2021

Deuteronomy 16:19 says, “You shall not . . . take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” Therefore, it is written…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Jul/Aug 2021

Who among us, at one time or another, has not questioned God? Why, Lord, did You let my baby die? Why didn’t You heal my child? Why do You allow Christians to…

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

God Doesn’t ‘Cancel’ Us

A missionary and church planter found himself in a difficult position when the members of the so-called cancel culture endeavored to silence him…

The Real Friend of Israel

Many Americans are still reeling from the results of the 2020 presidential election. According to two surveys, between 76 and…

Job: Misery’s Poster Child

Americans entered 2020 with great hope. The stock market, employment, and prosperity were at all-time highs…

Icon of an open Bible. The Berean Box.

Q: Who Is Satan?

Satan is not mythological. He is a real being who truly exists in the world (Job 1:6) and whose name means “accuser” or “adversary.” He possesses the attributes of…

The Wrong Trifecta

After his wife’s death, C. S. Lewis kept a journal documenting his journey of grief. It was later published as A Grief Observed. One of the entries jolted me…

What Not to Say

I hung up the phone in shock. I had called looking for comfort, maybe some sympathy. A man who had been a pillar in my life and a spiritual father to me had passed away…

Can You?

It is never fun to be in God’s waiting room. If Job could speak with us, he probably would verify the difficulty of waiting on the Lord. Job’s story, told in the Bible book…

The Message of the Gospel

As we read the book of Job today, we have the advantage of seeing what Job could not see: the spiritual challenge that…

My Sweet Monty

The first Bible story I heard as a little girl was the story of Abraham. I was 5 years old; yet when I heard the word bless, I knew it was something good…

The Journey of Processing Pain

Nineteen years ago in March, our only daughter left for work in the morning, never to come home. We remember that day…

Faithful in Service

What is the church? Many people think of it solely as a building—sometimes a great and majestic cathedral and sometimes an unadorned, small, simple structure…

Controlling Our Tongues

Eating crow is never fun. The good news is we never have to eat words we fail to speak. Words are powerful…

Jewish World Update Jul/Aug 2021

Jewish people the world over are still grieving over the loss of more than 45 people who were crushed to death in a horrific…

Apples of Gold Jul/Aug 2021

Israel is filled with many false teachers. They grow like mushrooms after the rain. They are extremely active, and every few days we see a new “holy one.” Many people here believe…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor May/Jun 2021

Shortly after I became a Christian in 1980, I was invited to a luncheon sponsored by the local branch of a nondenominational, evangelical Christian organization…

Inside View May/Jun 2021

The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry is devoted to sharing the gospel. Gospel is part of our name; and since our inception in 1938, we have lived…

Silhouette of man speaking.

The New Middle East

Last December I stumbled across an article that nearly knocked me off my chair. The headline read, “Israel and the UAE working together…

Map of the Middle East.

Nuclear Iran Looms Large

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz recently estimated Iran is a year or two away from building a nuclear bomb…

A Letter to My Dad

Another Father’s Day is just around the corner. My dad passed away in 2008; and at age 97, my mom still misses him. Perhaps that was why she showed me…

From Death to Life

Population 4.18 million. Situated like a jewel by the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, it beckons to tourists from around the world to enjoy its nonstop nightlife…

Three Spiritual Journeys

I was born into a Christian home and grew up learning about God and His Word. As an 8-year-old in summer Bible school…

Getting the ‘Package Deal’

“What do you mean you became a Christian at 21? Aren’t you a pastor’s daughter?” an older gentleman asked me…

He Never Let Go

My story begins with my father, who was enjoying recognition as a successful research chemist despite two big problems: He was a functioning alcoholic and an atheist…

What is the Gospel?

Many years ago, my wife and I were invited to dinner at the home of a prominent older woman. She knew governors and senators and had been friends with Albert Einstein…

ABC

Here are the ABCs of accepting Jesus as your Savior: A. Acknowledge and repent of your sin, realizing sin separates us from a holy and righteous God…

Until We Meet Again

It is with both sadness and joy that we announce the homegoing of our dear friend and coworker, Bob Duarte, who entered the presence of the Lord…

The Lord’s Servant

Confronting false teaching is not easy, particularly for a young minister. But it is necessary, as the apostle Paul explained to his protégé Timothy…

Strengthening Your Faith

Board game or boardroom, everyone hates being neutralized. Having our influence or effectiveness nullified by an adversary…

Jewish World Update May/Jun 2021

A new group of “Democrats” has emerged in America that intends to wipe Christian values from the nation’s landscape…

Apples of Gold May/Jun 2021

As we say here in Israel, “Le roi est mort, vive le roi,” which is French for “The king is dead, long live the king!” Apparently, a new “king” is coming—a rabbi…

Antique fountain pen on parchment.

From the Editor Mar/Apr 2021

When I became a Christian, I didn’t know much about Christianity. I didn’t know the New Testament or doctrine or what God expected of me as a believer…

Inside View Mar/Apr 2021

I often meet friends of Israel who tell me Bible prophecy is seldom taught today. It went from being an extremely popular topic among Christians to a forgotten relic…

Silhouette of man speaking.

‘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…

Map of the Middle East.

The Win-Win Infuriating Iran

Morocco recently established full diplomatic relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, an effort by the United States…

No Place Like Home

A bump on the head and a trip to Oz was all it took for Dorothy to realize there’s no place like home. Dorothy is the main character in L. Frank Baum’s children’s book…

The Coming Conflagration

“It is apocalyptic.” U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon didn’t exaggerate much when he assessed the wildfires that ravaged…

Advice From Vance Havner

As we move closer and closer to the Rapture of the church, the world will grow more and more godless. Believers will become…

The Secret to Serving Christ

When I was a teenager, I enjoyed visiting my pastor’s study. His bookshelves were sprinkled with interesting knickknacks…

The Christian Thing to Do

The toxic turn in the nature of the American political system, bitterly pitting factions and friends against one another, has…

How to Walk With God

Someone has aptly said, “Counting time is not nearly as important as making time count!” No one can stop the clock of history. It ticks with exactness through each…

Our Purpose for Living

What is the ultimate purpose for a Christian’s use of spiritual gifts? The apostle Peter stated it succinctly: “That in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…