Charles Spurgeon, a nineteenth-century English preacher is known to be to England what D. L. Moody was to America. His words summarize what our search to know God should be: the highest goal in life. However, to attempt to speculate or describe the enormity of the Supreme Being of the Universe, in words, is nearly impossible, because He is beyond measure. Extolling His Name on the cover of this edition of For Zion’s Sake is one way to honor His Majesty. It seems to me that God Almighty is never extolled nor given tribute enough from believers, be they Jews or Christians. May this viewpoint from the heart bring Him Glory—and then fade into the unending tribute which will be ALL HIS in His Coming Kingdom!

Our Jewish roots are linked to Bible history and it is impossible to escape our Jewish foundations, because they are tied to the Jewish Messiah. I would add a thought to  Mary Pipher’s quote above: if the Church does not know her history, then she does not know the spiritual family to which she belongs. Who then is she? Today’s Church needs a revelation of her bridegroom’s family.

Between the covers of the Book of Books lay vested, sacred Hebrew scrolls. These words of God, given through the Prophets of Israel, were priceless to Shaul (Paul) and they likewise, should be to Christians today.

The mercy seat was the lid or cover of solid gold on the Ark, which was a small chest overlaid with gold. Visualize at each end of the Mercy Seat, and in one piece with it, two hammered gold cherubim (seraphs or angels) facing one another. Their outstretched wings overshadowed the gold atonement cover and their faces constantly looked down upon it. They were symbols of the presence and holiness of the Lord and were His chosen instruments of judgment for any sinful approach toward His Presence. As the cherubim looked upon the blood sprinkled by the High Priest of Israel, the wrath of God was appeased and they were at peace. God spoke from above the mercy seat (Exodus 25:22) and the seraphim provided a throne for God where He would mediate His rule on earth as a representation of the throne in Heaven in the times of the Great Temple in Jerusalem.

“It was in the days of Ahasuerus, a Persian king who governed over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India all the way to Ethiopia” (Esther 1:1). During the third year of his kingdom rule, Ahasuerus decided to make a display of his  wealth to nobles and princes of the provinces under his jurisdiction.

“…then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).The depth of spiritual darkness that has arisen on the earth today no one with the inner light of God has ever seen before (not since the darkness of the Middle Ages). There is little doubt the world has fallen into chaos and through advanced technology evil has increased rapidly. It seems satan has captured the hearts and minds of multitudes and now holds them hostage. Unless extreme Islamic militants such as ISIS and ISIL see the light of Jesus Christ, through the mercy of One True God of Israel, the blood-thirsty spirit of death, with its obsession to kill anyone who challenges it, will continue to stalk the earth. The rallying cry, always shrill, and always shouted in chorus has decreed all Christians and Jews must die unless they bow to Allah.

While anti-Semitism worldwidehas continued to manifest for over the past six decades, it still remains an extremely shameful matter—the cursing of Israel. God clearly warned mankind against this mistake in His word. “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great…and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee…” (Genesis 12:2-3). However, an even greater disgrace, is Christian anti-Semitism, in view of the fact that “…judgment must begin at the house of God…” (1Peter 4:17). We who love the Lord Yeshua with all of our hearts, should know better than to participate in the violation of the above Scripture. While I do not claim to have all the answers, I am certain that there will be absolutely no anti-Semitism in the hearts of any person in God’s Coming Kingdom.

Does the Land Really Belong to the Jews?

The above question is asked by so many in today’s anti-Semitic world and media. I would like to answer the question by quoting the Abstract of a Dissertation discovered in our personal library, written in 2005, entitled “The Historical and Legal Right of the Jews to the Land of Israel” by (Richard E. Bristol, PhD). He also gives the answer! “While the Bible provides satisfactory proof of rights to the current Land of Israel and much more to those who believe the Bible, it provides no justification for the current State of Israel for the millions who do not recognize the Bible as inerrant truth. Establishing the Jews as a nation and tracing the history of the Jews in the territory in question is the only way to prove a historic and legal claim to the Land as a Nation-State. The Jews have a national identity as defined in scholarly definition. They have a historic tie to the Land. By international law as accepted by the League of Nations, the United Nations, international treaties, and right of conquest, Israel has rights to all of the Gaza Strip and Judea-Samaria, currently referred to as the West Bank.” This is the premise on which I build my own case in defense of Israel.

Elijah’s challenge to Israel on Mt. Carmel was, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21, NIV). “Both Moses and Joshua, in their farewell discourses picture the people as standing between two alternative courses of action…Moses phrases the choice as one between obedience and disobedience…”Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15, NIV). (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery).

FACING THE PAST: “Years ago, my husband and I stood in front of Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany, in front of the door where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses “with hammer strokes which echoed throughout all of Europe” (Luther Memorial of Saxony-Anhalt). This act of defiance against the Catholic Church became the symbol of the Reformation of October, 1517. The movement brought reform from abuses caused by the Roman Catholic Church and ended in the establishment of many Protestant/Reformed churches. Mark Batterson, Christian Post columnist, author of the book, Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity was part of a group of Christian leaders that gathered in Wittenberg, Germany, in 2008, to discuss the state of Christianity. The question came up: “Do we need another Reformation?” His short answer was “yes”.