January/February 2004

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…

Silhouette of man speaking.

A New Kind of War in a New Kind of World

Talk to most people over sixty and you’re apt to detect an air of nostalgia in the conversation after a while. References to “the good old days” bore younger listeners to tears but are rewarded…

An Interview with David Bar-Illan

In 1998 David Bar-Illan was the policy and planning director for the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. He also was a primary spokesman for the prime minister. Below are portions of an…

The Tyranny of Minority Rule

What’s wrong with calling America a “Judeo-Christian” nation? “Everything,” say some people whose voices grow stronger every day.

Joshua: Profile in Courage

Sometimes the odds aren’t in our favor. But when it comes to God’s work, the “odds” don’t matter. Joshua learned what really counts.

How Big Is How Big Is Your God?

Who hasn’t heard of the Battle of Jericho? This article takes a fresh look at that amaz- ing victory and the powerful God who won it.

Archaeology Confirms the Walls ‘Fell Flat’

In 1997 two Italian archaeologists hired by the Palestinian Department of Archaeology excavated for one month at ancient Jericho. Their conclusion was not surprising, considering who hired them: No evidence supports the Jewish conquest…

Caleb’s Enduring Faith

Caleb and Joshua were kindred spirits when it came to faith. Of the twelve men Moses sent to spy out the land, only these two had faith that God would deliver Canaan into Israel’s hands…

Who is the ‘Angel of the Lord’?

He Speaks as God. “I will multiply thy seed” (Gen. 16:10); “I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Gen. 22:12); “And the angel…

Joshua’s Farewell

In a touching goodbye, Joshua reviewed Israel’s history and issued both a warning and a challenge that are still relevant today.

The Significance of Shechem

In Hebrew shechem means “shoulder,” an apt description of the town’s location in the narrow valley between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, approximately 40 miles (65 km.) north of Jerusalem. Today the world calls it Nablus…

Nineveh’s Demise

Nahum 3:1-19: Assyria’s unrelenting violence, extortion, and brutality are well documented in the records of its history. More important, however, God kept track of such savagery; and He judged it. In chapter 3 Nahum continued his vivid description…

Map of the Middle East.

Eye on Middle East Jan/Feb 2004

Following the brutal suicide bombing that took twenty-one lives and wounded sixty others at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa on October 4, 2003, Israel went on the offensive. The terrorist group Islamic Jihad quickly claimed responsibility…

God is Sovereign Part Five

We have examined the fact that God exercises sovereign rule over the universe, angels, history, nations, rulers, counselors, judges, ministries, nature, and individuals. Now we will consider another sphere of God’s sovereign rule.

An Evangelical View of the Jewish People

The subject was about anti-Semitism in the United States and what, as a Jewish businessman and state senator, the gentleman being interviewed had encountered personally. He spoke about exclusions from local clubs and a number…

The Crescent and the Cradle

The main role of the Muslim mother is to raise children according to the wishes of her husband. With that said, she desires to rear children who will become good Muslims in hopes they will…

They Cry in Silence Jan/Feb 2004

A pastor from an evangelical church was ordered to appear before local security police on August 20, 2003. Upon his arrival, he was forced to stand “like Christ was hung on the cross,” with arms…

Getting the Picture

Paul Marshall’s deeply moving observation in his book Their Blood Cries Out (see adjacent article) helped inspire the Friends of Israel “Remember” pin that reminds us to pray for our Christian brethren who suffer…

Miracle Mother Part One

Biblically speaking, Gentiles probably have more right to question God’s miracles than do Jewish people. After all, it wasn’t the Gentiles for whom God plagued Egypt or parted the Red Sea. It wasn’t the Gentiles…

Israel in the News Jan/Feb 2004

Forty-eight veteran Israel Air Force (IAF) pilots held captive in Syria or Egypt last year have petitioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to free terrorist Mustafa Dirani, who tortured IAF navigator Ron Arad, still in…

Zvi Jan/Feb 2004

History has shown us that where there is no faith there is hate. So it was with Hitler when the Nazis in Germany sang, “Today Germany belongs to us. Tomorrow, the world.” Then came Saddam Hussein….