Bill Sutter

The Zvi I Knew

Considering all of the difficulties he faced as a Holocaust survivor and a moneyless, unemployed immigrant in a precarious Israel, Zvi Kalisher had every reason to become…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2012

The Friends of Israel is known for being a forward-looking ministry. Though not neglecting important lessons of the past and working to keep abreast of the impact of current events…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2012

The world is filled with travesties of justice, and among the worst is the demonization of Israel. Yet Israel wants peace, and almost all its neighbors want…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2011

“Thus says the Lord Gᴏᴅ: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her’” (Ezek. 5:5). Every trip to Israel is a life-impacting…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2011

I remember well when a group from Israel’s Knesset launched the Christian Allies Caucus in 2004. Spanning a spectrum of Jewish political parties in Israel, these Members of the Knesset (MKs) hoped…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2011

I look forward to meeting Dr. Haldor Lillenas in heaven someday. This pastor/evangelist was a prolific writer of some 4,000 hymns and sacred songs extolling the Bible as God’s Word…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2011

Blatant attempts to defame Israel as illegitimate and deny the Jewish state its rightful place among the countries of the world have been painfully obvious to those of us who stand with…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2011

In 1950, a mere two years after the birth of the modern State of Israel, a historic conference was convened by then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel.

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2011

“I’ve rarely felt such fellowship and trust among Christians and Jews.” That’s how Jewish author Dr. Stephen Spector reflected on a remarkable event held recently at Ohev Shalom in Richboro…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2010

Before Benjamin Netanyahu began his current term as prime minister of Israel, he spoke about Iran at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I’ll never forget hearing him declare with conviction…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2010

Keeping your eye on the ball is not only good advice in baseball, it is also essential to clearly understand and properly respond to the conflict in the Middle East. Israel’s…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2010

The world is a strange place. What it needs the most is often what it hates the most. Of all the countries in the world, Israel is probably the most hated. People call…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2010

On my first trip to Israel in 1989, I remember thinking how much the Israelis struggled to live in the land of God’s promise. Soaring inflation, high unemployment, and persistent…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2010

Many Jewish people these days are increasingly inquisitive about the unique phenomenon of Christian support for Israel in the face of growing anti-Israel sentiment worldwide. They want to know what really…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2010

A dynamic factor in the Jewish people’s prophetic return to Zion is a special group of several thousand young men and women designated as “lone soldiers.” Leaving everything behind, including their families…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2009

Raslan Abu Rukun. His name is more Arabic than Jewish. Yet a few months ago, 33-year-old Raslan Abu Rukun was welcomed to his new post as Israel’s deputy consul general…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2009

Recently we have witnessed an almost daily assault on biblical values designed, it would seem, to subvert the influence of America’s Judeo-Christian heritage on the forces of God-free humanism. Inaugural festivities…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2009

Making her way to me through the crowd, Helene spoke with emotion: “It’s because of your kind of Christians that people like me even exist. They hid my father and his parents…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2009

Have you noticed the Institute of Jewish Studies advertisement on the inside front cover of this issue of Israel My Glory? We have an exciting development! The Friends of Israel…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2009

Readers of Israel My Glory understand from Scripture that Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people and the focal point of God’s plan for humanity. We also realize that the founding…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2009

The prophetic significance of meeting Jewish people who have come home to their Land of Promise was not lost on those of us who recently went “Up to Jerusalem” with The Friends…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2008

Lisa was on the job only two days when the call came. But she was ready. Sixty intensive hours in the classroom, including written instruction and practical training, had prepared her…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2008

When Bethel Baptist Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, celebrated the modern State of Israel’s 60th anniversary, it went all out! The congregation staged a biblically based, three-act dramatic performance of The Life of Moses…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2008

Over the years, many people who have traveled “Up to Jerusalem” with us have told me about the sites and experiences on our tour that affected them the most. The list usually includes our boat…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2008

Widespread “Israel at 60” celebrations in Jewish communities this year are reminders of the certainty of God’s promises to the Jewish people. Christians who have been participating in these events realize they are expressing…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2008

We recently received a personal invitation and media advisory from international Muslim leaders calling for a meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This Muslim-Christian event was billed as an “historic olive branch.”

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2008

This year—2008—marks the 60th anniversary of the rebirth of the nation of Israel. On May 14, 1948, the Jewish People’s Council assembled at the Tel Aviv Museum to approve the historic proclamation…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2007

When Halina entered the room, we immediately realized we were in the presence of someone special. Now 89 years old, Halina has logged 45 years of service with The Friends…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2007

A question raised at a recent Day in the Prophetic Word wasn’t related to Bible prophecy, but it was a good question nonetheless. What is The Friends of Israel doing to reach…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2007

Zionism is belief in and support of Israel as the God-given homeland of the Jewish people. As Christians, we understand that our Zionist beliefs are firmly rooted in the Bible…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2007

Reports from many areas of our worldwide ministry indicate a resurgence of an errant teaching best described as Replacement Theology. Deviating from a literal interpretation of God’s prophetic Word, Replacement…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2007

We have experienced a little taste of heaven on earth.” This comment, shared toward the end of our recent Christian/Jewish journey to Israel, struck a responsive chord in all our hearts…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2007

Our attention never wavered as Maway Ananya told her dramatic story recently at The Friends of Israel headquarters in New Jersey. Born in 1982 into an Orthodox Jewish family in Ethiopia…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2006

Fallen Israeli Sgt. Michael Levin, 22, was buried in August on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem amid an outpouring of mourners, the likes of which are usually reserved for persons of great fame. Thousands…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2006

They came from across the United States and Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia. The occasion was The Friends of Israel’s 2006 field-staff conference, a gathering held every three years. For some…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2006

Much more than a trip—an experience of a lifetime! That’s the way it is when you travel to Israel with The Friends of Israel. And that’s the way all 128 of us felt during…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2006

Tears welled up in our eyes as Holocaust survivor Gerda Klein described the devastation of her “tsunami.” In a subdued voice, she recounted, “Ours was a wave of hatred that swept away…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2006

When swastikas were spray painted on our Friends of Israel signs last summer, this hateful action was not a random occurrence. When anti-Semitic slogans and vulgar images were plastered on the Jewish…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2006

I was approaching the microphone to introduce Walid Shoebat as our prophecy conference speaker recently when a thought raced into my mind: The grace of God is a miracle! But for the grace…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2005

So said Dr. Yuri Shtern, cochairman of the Israeli Knesset’s Christian Allies Caucus, an organization of historic proportions that underscores the growing friendship between the Jewish and evangelical communities.

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2005

On September 11, 2001, Muslim terrorists hijacked airliners and used them to destroy the massive twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and severely damage the Pentagon in Washington…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2005

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces” (Ps. 122:6–7). Jerusalem. The very word stirs the hearts of Jews and Christians alike.

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2005

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose (Isa. 35:1). With the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 followed…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2005

Joyce Shoff found herself in a quandary. perhaps it’s one that is familiar to you too. She had a God-given love for the Jewish people and believed He wanted her to reach out to them…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2005

As services at the Jerusalem Assembly in Israel came to a close recently, I realized that those of us in attendance had witnessed the compelling truth of Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2004

Thus reads the headline on the brochure from Volunteers for Israel (VFI). Since VFI’s inception in 1982, more than a hundred thousand people from thirty countries have volunteered their time and energy to immerse themselves…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2004

The release of The Passion of the Christ earlier this year evoked much discussion and controversy within both Christian and Jewish communities. For the most part, Christians responded to the representation of Christ’s suffering…

Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2004

It’s a term that arouses concern, even fear, in the hearts of people, especially if they are Jewish. It is also one of the most mischaracterized subjects of the Bible’s prophetic teachings.

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2004

In traveling to Israel recently on a solidarity tour with representatives of our nearby Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Jewish community, we prayed that our lives as Christians would reflect both our commitment to the Bible…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2004

While awaiting a flight at the Denver, Colorado, airport in May, a headline from The Denver Post captured my attention: “Opening service unites Presbyterians.” Eric Gorski, the newspaper’s religion writer, was reporting the start…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2003

More and more Jewish people are beginning to recognize a simple truth we Christians have known for years: Protestantism is a mixed bag. Not all Protestants believe the Bible is God’s Word; not all interpret…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2003

Recently The Friends of Israel joined the Jewish community in a solidarity rally for Israel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. By our presence we sought to demonstrate that, as Bible-believing Christians, we are loyal friends…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2003

If you were to shop in Norway today, you would see all Israeli products clearly identified as being from Israel. They are being singled out, not to make them easier to purchase, but to make…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2003

Many Jewish people assume that, as Bible-believing Christians, we direct our attention to the New Testament to the exclusion of the Old Testament. They are unaware that our keen interest in studying the Bible…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Mar/Apr 2003

Israelis were proud . . . and so were we. Then they grieved; and we grieved with them. For a fleeting moment, the beleaguered Jewish state forgot its bitter sorrow as it watched its first astronaut…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Nov/Dec 2002

The leader of a Jewish organization recently asked me about the puzzling lack of support for Israel within mainline Protestant denominations. I explained that the root of the problem is theological. A significant and disturbing development…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Sep/Oct 2002

We are excited about the changes taking place on the Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU) campus for the incoming class at our Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS). These students will be the first to occupy…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jul/Aug 2002

For almost two years, the State of Israel has been under unusual pressure. She has suffered mercilessly at the hands of Arab-Muslim mobs and has been treated as an outcast by many countries…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk May/Jun 2002

The theme of this issue of Israel My Glory, “Comfort Ye My People,” voices an important commitment of The Friends of Israel since its inception. The Christians who so willingly met in 1938 to form…

From Bill Sutter’s Desk Jan/Feb 2002

Each day The Friends of Israel sends out hundreds of pieces of literature intended to spread God’s Word, encourage God’s children, support His Chosen People, and glorify our precious Lord and Savior. The Lord has so graciously…

Poland Land of Memories

Hardly a Jewish person alive would fail to recognize the name Auschwitz. Although more than 50 years have passed since the Allies liberated the vile death factories of the Third Reich…

The Zion Connection: Jews and Christians—Common Ground

A growing alliance of Jews and Christians is attracting increasing attention today. It is an alliance rooted in Judeo-Christian values. The Christians involved are known as evangelicals or Bible-believing Christians. They are joining…

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…