All posts filed under: Israel

Does religion put us at risk?

Published by

Jesus spoke to a conservative religious woman, a Samaritan, and told her “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4: 23). He warned that change was coming on them. As the world struggles with the COVID pandemic, many religious groups resist health restrictions and regulations. Conservative groups that live with rituals and traditions find it hard to adapt; people who have lived their own way for centuries are not interested in changing now. This is not only true for Christian groups, the major center of infections in Israel is one Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. READ: Israel’s ultra-Orthodox communities ‘ignoring’ COVID-19 rules In Canada, Hutterite colonies have high rates of infection. These people practice their conservative religion in communes, and they love their lifestyle. I often meet Hutterites, Russian Old Believers, and Mennonites through my work, and I find them friendly and likeable, but they don’t like to change their ways. READ: Canadian Hutterite colonies struggle with coronavirus outbreaks

Israel and Egypt: The future does not look good

Published by

While the whole world is focusing on the Coronavirus Pandemic, there is other news. Some interesting things are happening in the world, and there are lessons that we could miss. As I write this, Muslims are in their month of Ramadan which according to the information I have runs this year from April 23 to May 23. About 1.8 billion people are counted as Muslim, and this year’s Ramadan is complicated with the restrictions of a pandemic lock down. A few years ago, I worked as a trainer for a bus company, and that meant I drove a school bus when a driver phoned in sick; and someone always phoned in. One morning I drove some children for a bilingual Arabic-English program, so they were from immigrant families from the Middle East. I heard two little girls talking behind me, about ‘those people’ which meant people like me. One little girl said “and they don’t have Ramadan!” They both seemed shocked by this information. That was a lesson for me; these people take their beliefs …

Why did a Danish Bible translation remove references to Israel?

Published by

Recent reports are claiming that a new translation of a Danish Bible, Bible 2020, has basically been censored removing almost every reference to the nation of Israel in the New Testament. This was the first new version of a Danish Bible published in 20 years. According to Jan Frost, who has gone through the new version in depth, Bible 2020 has replaced terms such as the “land of Israel” with phrases such as “the Jews” or the “land of Jews.” According to Frost, 59 of the 60 reference to Israel in the New Testament were changed. And even the Old Testament didn’t completely escape this renovation. In one instances, they replaced the word “Israel” with “us.” Instead of Psalm 121:4 reading: “indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” It now reads, “he who watches over us.” But somehow the names of other ancient foreign nations, such as Egypt, managed to survive in the new translation. So why did the authors of the new translation decide to remove the name Israel? In …

Why I left the left, an interview with Melanie Phillips

Published by

I just wanted to share an intriguing interview that The Sun had with former Guardian columnist Melanie Phillipst. Melanie is Jewish and was a former reporter with The Guardian, a far-left news paper in England. In this interview, she shares why she left The Guardian and essentially left the left. She also explains how the left is trying to change society. She also discusses the rise of anti semetism in the political left. I disagreed with is her description of Adolf Hitler as a fascists. Though, fascist and the extreme right have embraced Nazism, in fact Hitler headed the NSDPA or Nation Socialist German Workers’ Party, that was later abbreviated to NAZI. Melanie is broadcaster and journalist who currently writes for The Times and the Jerusalem Post.

Did the ‘Revealer of secrets’, expose Jeopardy’s botched attempt to cut a question?

Published by

The popular TV quiz, show, Jeopardy, was first created in 1964 by Mel Griffin and has gone through several renditions and the current format being broadcast today, currently hosted by Alex Trebek, was created by Sony in 1984. Its unique format provides answers and then requires competing contestants to phrase the question. However, its episode that ran on Friday, January 10, 2020, caused quite a controversy. Under a category called “Where is the church?,” the contestants were then posed with the answer: “Built in the 300s A.D., the Church of the Nativity.” The Church of Nativity claims to be on the very site that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Show host Alex Trebek specifically noted the contestants had to give the current country. In response to this answer, one of the Jeopardy contestants quickly answered “What is Palestine?” When Trebek revealed that answer was incorrect, another contestant quickly answered “What is Israel?” and was awarded the right answer. But the answer and resulting question was hugely controversial. Though it is not a country, Palestine does …

Was anti-Semitism behind the Jersey City attack?

Published by

It was described as a battle scene involving hundreds of shots being fired in a two-hour gun-battle between police and two suspects barricaded inside a Kosher market in Jersey City. Six people were killed including, the alleged suspects, a police officer and three people inside the Kosher store that serves a large Jewish population in Jersey City. The confrontation started at a nearby cemetery, when a police officer went to the scene as part of an investigation of a murder a few days earlier. The two suspects shot the officer, killing him, and then fled the scene in a U-haul van and drove to the KC Kosher Supermarket and open fired on the Jewish store. According to reports, two police officers near the market engaged the two individuals who then ran inside the store, set up barricades and started firing back. After a two-hour stand-off, the police stormed the market with an armored vehicle and killed the two suspects. Inside they also found the bodies of three Jewish people, who had apparently been killed by …

Joseph and Mary traveling to Egypt by Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1427) Credit: jean louis mazieres/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Jewishness of Christianity

Published by

Two recent articles speak to a divide, that exists in some parts of Christianity. The first involves the Mayor of the Norwegian town of Strand, Irene Heng Lauvsnes, who asked the Klippen Pentecostal Church to take down the star of David that was on display as part of its Christmas celebration in a local municipal park. The church has held ceremonies in the park for years and traditionally used the Star of David to symbolize the star that informed the magi of the birth of Christ. But this year, the mayor asked the church take it down because the Star of David symbolized the state of Israel and the Jews, and apparently some were offended. Writing for the Dagen Daily, editor Vebjorn Selbekk noted: “Municipal Christmas bureaucrats obviously do not want a Jewish or Israeli mark on their Christmas. Then we almost have to remind them of some key facts about why we celebrate Christmas at all. [Christmas] is marked by the fact that a Jewish boy was born to a Jewish mother in a …

Do two bizarre stories out of Canada define the country’s spiritual climate?

Published by

I recently read of two events that took place in Canada that in some ways define the cultural climate of hostility against Christianity and its roots. The first involved an Orthodox Priest who was allegedly fired for praying for Israel and the second involved a leader of a political party who quickly apologized after stating in a media interview that her favorite person was Jesus Christ. Father Vladimir Tobin, 77, served as a priest for St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to Breaking Israel News (BIN), he got into trouble with his overlords in the Orthodox church when he publicly prayed for Israel. BIN reports that on August 12, Tobin received a letter from America Archbishop Irénée who serves as the archbishop of Canada telling Tobin it was time for him to retire because his ministry had a “Jewish twist.” Apparently the assistant pastor at the church had contacted the archbishop complaining that during one service Tobin had asked his congregation to pray for Israel. Initially, the archbishop had asked for Tobin’s …

All Israel will be saved?

Published by

I recently read an article on Charisma News by Ron Cantor, a Messianic Jew living and ministering in Israel of how Jews are starting to accept Christ as their Messiah. Israel has a population of just over nine million people with nearly 75% Jewish, 17% Muslim and the remainder a mixture of Christian 2%, Druze 1.7% (Arab non-Muslims) and others. According to Cantor, there are about 200 Messianic congregations in Israel with over 20,000 people attending. These are Jews who believe Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and are in addition to non-Jewish Christians living in Israel. But the purpose of Cantor’s article was to report on a shift he believes is taking place in Israel. Cantor points out that Paul writes in Romans 11:25 that there was a “partial hardening” of the Jew’s heart, that led to a powerful move of God among the gentiles. During Paul’s ministry, there came a moment when he purposefully shifted his ministry to the gentiles. That took place at Corinth. When Paul arrived, as was his tradition, he went …

Who is the Jewish Messiah — Jesus or Rabbi Schneerson?

Published by

There is an interesting story on Breaking Israel News (BIN) of how a group of Orthodox Jews from an organization called the Yad L’Achim recently prevented a Christian missionary group from baptizing several Jews in the Sea of Galilee. There was no mention of  the name of the Christian organization. The plan was to transport the Jews from Tel Aviv to Tiberias for the baptism. According to BIN the organization decided to baptize the Jews on the sabbath believing it would hinder any opposition as the Old Testament law limits travel on the sabbath for Orthodox Jews. But apparently there was away around it, or they just ignored the prohibition against travel and about 15 students who attended a Yad L’Achim religious school in Tel Aviv made their way to the spot that the Jews were preparing to load a bus to Tiberias. Some orthodox Jews were wearing shirts, “Jew stop! Christianity is not our way.” There was a bit of a confrontation at the bus between the missionaries and the members of Yad L’Achim …

Antisemitism warnings in Germany: spokesman warns against wearing a kippah in public

Published by

In an interview with the German newspaper, Funke, Germany’s antisemitism commissioner Felix Klein warned that Jewish men should not wear their kippah or skull cap in public due to the rapid increase in antisemitic attacks in recent years. There are approximately 200,000 Jews living in Germany. According to Breaking Israel News, in 2018 Berlin reported nearly a 20% increase of antisemitic offenses over the previous year with nearly 300 incidents reported in Germany’s capital. With 1,649 attacks in 2018, overall the country registered a 10% increase in hate offenses over 2017. But what is particularly disturbing is that the number of violent antisemitic attacks has nearly doubled over 2017 increasing from 37 to 62 in 2018. Though the police and mainline media report that these attacks are due to right-wing fanaticism, this is not what the Jews are reporting. They suggest that Muslim extremists and left wing fanatics are equal partners in Germany’s hate crimes. A recent survey of Jews in the EU showed that 41% indicated the most serious antisemitic offenses came from people …

Palestine Credit: rainwiz/Flickr/Creative Commons

Who belongs in Palestine — Jews or Muslims?

Published by

When we talk of Palestine, we immediately think of the Palestinians, a group of Muslims, who are fighting to be recognized as a separate nation. Israel has basically opposed this initiative for one simple reason — one of the leading political groups in Palestine, Hamas, stated in its 1988 covenant that one of its goals is the annihilation of Israel: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).” Israel is unwilling to accept Palestine as nation until they are willing to accept Israel as a nation. But what does the word Palestine refer to? Most believe it was a word the Roman developed to describe the ancient Philistines who have have since disappeared. Based on this belief, modern Palestinians have claimed this area as their homeland. However, modern scholarship is challenging this notion. There is strong evidence that the word Palestine was originally used to refer to Israel, not the Philistines. In an article published …

Chinese Christian tourists displaying the Israeli flag on the Temple Mount on April 11, 2018

Israeli flag displayed on the Temple Mount for the first time in over 50 years

Published by

It hasn’t happened for over 50 years, but an Israeli flag was proudly displayed on the Temple Mount on Wednesday, April 11, 2018. The only significant difference is that it wasn’t Jews holding the flag, but a group of Chinese Christian tourists. Though, the Temple Mount is the former home of the Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and is located in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, the Muslims basically control the Temple Mount that features the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They even have their own Jordanian Islamic security that works with Israeli police to enforce order on the Mount. For the most part, the Muslims have successfully prevented Jews from praying on the Temple Mount and even displaying symbols of the Jewish religion or Israeli nationalism such as the Israeli flag. The last time an Israeli flag appeared on the Temple Mount was shortly after the 1967 six-day war, when Israel captured East Jerusalem where the Temple Mount is located. The Israelis flew their flag …

The Muslim Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Credit: Patrick McKay/Flickr/Creative Commons

Why did Israel’s Sanhedrin ask the Arab world to help build the third Jewish Temple?

Published by

Breaking Israel News recently reported on a letter written by Israel’s nascent Sanhedrin asking the Arab world to join in building the third Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The court sent its request in English, Hebrew and Arabic. The nascent Sanhedrin is a Jewish court made up of 71 elders. A similar court has historically provided spiritual and sometimes political guidance to Israel through out its history. It was the Sanhedrin that asked the Romans to crucify Christ. So why did they ask the Muslims for help? Certainly expediency is one of the reasons. Orthodox Jews believe that God wants them to rebuild the Temple. However, the Temple Mount is now controlled by the Jordanian government and under the current political arrangement, Orthodox Jews would probably need Jordan’s permission to build. It is traditionally believed that the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock on the location of the second Jewish Temple the Romans destroyed in 70 AD. I don’t think the Jews believe Muslims would be willing to destroy the Dome of the Rock, Islam’s …

Old Jerusalem Credit: Ronan Shenhav/Flickr/Creative Commons

The US accelerates its decision to move embassy to Jerusalem

Published by

On Saturday, Feb 24, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced that the plan to set up the American embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, made late last year has been moved up. With expectations that the move would not be made until 2019, Trump stated the embassy will begin its transfer to Jerusalem in May this year. The first step will see American Ambassador David Friedman and a small support staff set up an office in the Jerusalem neighborhood Arnona giving it official American status. Over the next several months, the rest of the staff will be moved over as facilities are prepared for their arrival. A new building will also be constructed at a different location. In his February announcement, Trump said it was an anniversary gift for the Israelis. May 14th is Israel’s Independence Day and this years marks the 70th anniversary of Israel’s restoration as a nation. Shortly after Trump made his May announcement, Guatemala stated it would be moving its embassy in mid-May as well. For security reasons, the government …

Roof of booths set up in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles Credit: Yoninah/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Converging end times prophecies of Orthodox Jews and Christians

Published by

Breaking Israel News (BIN) has always been a source of interesting articles. Published by a group of Orthodox Jews, I find that they have much in common with Christians. They believe the Old Testament is the inspired Word of God and though they reject Jesus as the Messiah, they nevertheless are looking ahead to the coming Jewish Messiah. And while we look at events taking place on earth as a sign of Jesus second return, they interpret many of those same signs as evidence of the Jewish Messiah’s coming. Recently BIN published an article listing five Biblical prophecies fulfilled in 2017 that pointed to the soon arrival of the Jewish Messiah. In her article, Eliana Rudee the first one she discusses is: “Jerusalem as a place of assembly for non-Jews.” There were a number of Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the gentiles pouring into Israel at the end of the age. In her article, Rudee cites a verse out of Zechariah: 16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the …

Jerusalem, Israel's capital city Credit: Deror avi/Wikipedia

Uproar as America decides to move its embassy to Jerusalem

Published by

It has been a very unusual situation. Since Israel was restored as a sovereign nation in 1948, Jerusalem has been its capital city. Yet no foreign embassies are found in Israel’s capital like they typically are with other nations. Instead, the embassies are located in Tel Aviv, 67 kms away. It was a move done to try to appease the Palestinians and hopefully have them sign a peace treaty with Israel. Of course that never happened and will never happen, because how can you appease an enemy that in its own charter calls for the complete annihilation of Israel. In its covenant or charter written in 1998, the terrorist group Hamas which helps control Palestine states: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” With this as one of its stated goals, Hamas is not interested in peace. So when President Trump announced Wednesday morning that he would be moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, the Palestinians were outraged. But they were outraged …

Camels crossing a desert in Iran Credit: my life, the Universe and everything/Flickr

Similar to Evangelicals, Roman Catholics are reporting Muslims converting to Christianity

Published by

According to World Watch Monitor, on November 12, an Iranian who had converted to Christianity, lost his appeal of a ten-year prison sentence for sharing his faith. In May, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, along with three men from Azerbaijan were sentenced to ten years for missionary activity along with trumped-up charges of “actions against national security.” The secret police arrested the four men when they attended a wedding in June 2016. Shortly after their arrest, the Iranians allowed the three Azerbaijans to leave Iran while on bail and then sentenced them in abstention. It is doubtful they will return to complete their sentence. But unfortunately, Naser must fulfill his sentence in the brutal Iranian prison system renown for its torture. Since early spring, human rights groups have noticed Iranian courts are handing out unusually long sentences to Christians for simply sharing their faith. Yet despite Iran’s crackdown on Christianity, or maybe because of it, reports are coming in about the large numbers of Muslims abandoning Islam and embracing Christianity in Iran and other Islamic countries. Even …

Jews for Jesus office in Kentish Town, London, England Credit: Jim Linwood/Wikipedia

Poll: Jewish Millennials express an unusual interest in Christ

Published by

A survey of American Jewish Millennials, those born between 1984 and 1999, revealed a surprising acceptance of Jesus. The poll of 599 Jews aged 18 to 33, found that 48% of them celebrated Christmas, 33% said that God desires a personal relationship with people and 28% looked upon Jesus as a spiritual leader. However, what was perhaps most shocking is that 21% of them said Jesus was God incarnate. Essentially, over one in five believed Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. The poll conducted by Barna Group on behalf of Jews for Jesus further discovered that Jewish Millennials have a higher interest in spiritual matters than previous generations of Jews. Jews for Jesus is a Christian organization made up of Jews who have accepted Christ as the Messiah. Many Jewish scholars were completely caught off guard by this poll that Barna titled: Jewish Millennials: The Beliefs and Behaviors Shaping Young Jews in America. Stanford University Jewish Professor Ari Kelman said as part of the report: “These don’t look like the Jews I recognize. I was not …

London Bridge tower highlighted Credit: Wikipedia/cmglee

Who do British Jews consider their biggest threats?

Published by

Using YouGov, a survey company, the British organization Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has conducted an annual survey of English attitudes towards Jews since 2015. Perhaps the most disturbing fact to come out of this year’s survey is that over the past two years a third of the Jews living in England had considered leaving due to the growing antisemitism in that country. The survey also found that 25% do not believe Jews have a long-term future in England with a further 21% stating they were uncertain. However, this was still better than what they see going on across the English Channel when 35% said they did not believe Jews have a long-term future in Europe and 24% stating they were unsure. This is certainly paving the way for further Jewish migration to Israel, an event prophesied in the Old Testament centuries earlier: 3 “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture… (Jeremiah 23:3 NASV) Perhaps not surprisingly …

Hebron Credit: Ronan Shenhav/Flickr/Creative Commons

UNESCO’s bizarre motions

Published by

Earlier this month, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) continued to rewrite history, which according to some is the organization’s favorite pastime. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee declared Israel the “occupier of the Western Wall and Jerusalem’s old city” as part of its annual meeting held in Kraków, Poland July 2 to 12th. With eight abstaining, the 21-member committee approved the motion in a 10-3 vote on July 3, 2017. Israel’s Foreign Ministry described the vote as “sad, needless and pathetic.” Such motions do little more than politicize important cultural and religious sites in the Middle East and further enflames already heated tensions. Predictably the Palestinian Authority jumped on the vote using it as another platform calling for the removal of Israel’s control of Jerusalem, a city that has been a part of Jewish theology and history for thousands of years. Then a few days later in a secret meeting, the Word Heritage Committee continued its rewrite declaring Hebron and the cave of the Patriarchs as endangered “Palestinian” sites. Located 32 km south of Jerusalem …

Streets of Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea Credit: Keith Martin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Did a mystical Jewish rabbi foresee 22 years ago the rising threat of North Korea?

Published by

Breaking Israel News (BIN) is reporting on the strange prediction that Rabbi Levi Sa’adia Nachamanii made in a 1994 speech, one month before he died. In it, he discussed who would be the greatest threat facing Israel. He said it would not be Arab countries, but in fact North Korea. “Not Syria, not Persia (Iran), and not Babylon (Iraq), and not Gaddafi (Libya),” Nachamanii said, adding that “Korea will arrive here.” Nachamanii is from a mystical branch of Judaism called Kabbalah. It is a centuries-old tradition in Judaism that is derived from two ancient texts — the Zohar and Sefer Yezirah. They tend to spiritualize every word and number in the Bible. Some believe they stray into the occult through magical rites such as using amulets for healing, the belief that lost souls can inhabit people requiring deliverance that Kabbalists perform and forcing oaths on demons. But Kabbalists also have an intense interest in the end times and the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Perhaps one of the strangest stories to come out of this …

Zoroaster temple in Iran Credit: Bastian/Flickr/Creative Commons

So Who is Zoroaster?

Published by

About three thousand years ago, probably in the times of David and Solomon in the Bible, a man named Zoroaster or Zarathustra began preaching about one God, and one great force of evil in the world. His home was probably near Afghanistan and his teaching came to dominate all Iranian people, from northern India to Greece, in Europe. Information about times and places is mostly lost, but scholars agree that someone tried to turn people to God, in central Asia, many centuries ago. According to Tabari, a Sunni Muslim who lived about a thousand years ago, Zoroaster the ancient prophet of Iran was from Israel and a disciple of Jeremiah, or he travelled with a Hebrew prophet. We know the Persians were often kind to Israel and their temple in Jerusalem. Kings of Persia (Iran) ordered the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem: “Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “The …

View of the Dome of the Rock and Western Wall. Many believe the Muslim Dome of the Rock is built on the original site of the Jewish Temple destroyed in 70 AD. Credit: Boris G/Flickr/Creative Commons

Will God allow a third Jewish temple to be built?

Published by

Many orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians are looking forward to the day when Jews build a third temple in Jerusalem, replacing the one destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD during the Bar Kokhba Jewish revolt. Both groups believe its construction would fulfill Biblical prophecy. And recent events in Jerusalem added to the excitement. According to Breaking Israel News (BIN), the Jewish Sanhedrin reenacted the Jewish Passover on Thursday, April 5, 2017 near the site of the original Jewish Temple. This was the fifteenth year that they held the Passover in Jerusalem that included building an altar and the actual sacrifice of a lamb using Jewish Priests. According to BIN, this year’s Passover was held closer to the Temple’s location than it had been in earlier years.  In order to accommodate a sacrifice this close to the Temple Mount, the Sanhedrin used the courts to get police protection. Jewish priests performed the sacrifice with instruments, utensils and clothing provided by the Temple Institute an organization dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish Temple. Attendance at the Passover …

A woman prays near the Tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Credit: Jelle Drok/Flickr/Creative Commons

About Jerusalem

Published by

In recent years, I have been blessed to spend several weeks in the eternal city of Jerusalem. This is the only city on the earth which the LORD God of Israel declared, “In Jerusalem, I will put my name forever” (2 Kings 21:4-7). During my time in Israel, Psalm 122:6 was constantly before my eyes;  “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you.” Jerusalem is the most prayed for city in the universe.  At every meal, Jews pray the blessing, “Blessed are you, O LORD, who will build up Jerusalem in mercy.” Every Monday the Jews recite Psalm 48 from their Prayer Book; “Walk about Zion and go all around her” (verse 12). Jerusalem is a spiritual city (not sinless), set apart for a Holy God. Many days I spent just walking around Jerusalem and was constantly reminded of the  blessings connected with Israel that can only come from the true LORD God.  Indeed the peace of Jesus Christ is evident in the streets and there are places where one can …

The main hindrance to constructing the Third Jewish Temple is the Muslim Dome of the Rock that Orthodox Jews believe sits on the original site of the Jewish Temple. Credit: Davit Ortmann/Flickr/Creative Commons

Jewish Sanhedrin re-introduces the half-shekel Temple Tax

Published by

A report in Breaking Israel News (BIN) says the nascent Sanhedrin has introduced an official half-shekel temple tax. Referred to as the mitzvah or commandment, the money will be dedicated to operating a third Jewish temple if it is ever built. The half-shekel tax was first set up under Moses to help fund the tabernacle. Jews paid it when Israel conducted a national census (Exodus 30:15). The Jewish leadership then introduced a one-third temple tax during the rebuilding of the temple under Ezra and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:32; Ezra 6:8). It was collected annually. The tax was re-introduced when Herod built the second temple in 20 BC. The half-shekel tax, worth about $4 today, was collected three times a year during annual pilgrimages to the temple. They had actual tax collectors whose job was to collect the tax. We even have an account of Jesus and Peter paying the temple tax (Matthew 17). However, it is clear that Jesus felt no obligation to pay the mitzvah (verses 25-26). So why did Jesus pay it? He agreed …

Dome of the Rock is a Muslim shrine, not a mosque. Credit: Monidas De Mon/Flickr/Creative Commons

More trouble on the Temple Mount

Published by

WND.com is reporting a confrontation with Muslim authorities that happened November 17, 2016 on the Temple Mount. WND.com editor Joseph Farrah along with Jonathan Cahn — a Messianic rabbi most famous for his New York Times‘ best seller, The Harbinger — were co-leading a group of 406 people on a visit to Israel. Part of this trip included a visit to the 40-acre Temple Mount located in the heart of Jerusalem. It was the original site of the First and Second Jewish Temples. The Romans destroyed the second temple used in Jesus’ day in 70AD. Today, the site is home to two Muslim buildings — the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Though Israeli government controls  the site, it has given the Jordanian Waqf, essentially an Islamic police force, considerable leeway on controlling the Temple Mount. Among other things, the Waqf monitors dress and ensures that Jews and Christians don’t pray on the site. That latter provision has forced the Jews to pray at the Western Wall down below. As part of the trip to …

Muslim quarter of Old Jerusalem. Credit: meghamama/Flickr/Creative Commons

2,700 year-old reference to Jerusalem discovered on a piece of papyri

Published by

On October 26, 2016, archaeologists announced they uncovered the earliest non-Biblical reference to Jerusalem. This proves once again that the indisputable Jewish connection to Jerusalem predates the Muslim arrival by thousands of years. They discovered the name Jerusalem on an ancient piece of papyri radio carbon dated to 7 BC that antiquity robbers had pillaged from Judean desert caves in the West Bank. This is the oldest extra-Biblical reference to Jerusalem found so far. The 2,700 year-old papyri was uncovered in an operation undertaken by Israel Antiquities Authority who became aware of the theft and mounted an operation to seize back the stolen antiquities before the robbers sold it on the black market. The small piece of papyri written in Hebrew reads “From the king’s maid servant, from Na’arat, jars of wine to Jerusalem.” Because the writer specifically calls herself a servant of the king, archaeologists suspect the document — referring to the transfer of two jars of wine to Jerusalem — was part of a tax payment. It was made during the reign of …

When national leaders choose to believe a lie

Published by

The Nation of Israel and Jews have been part of the Middle East for thousands of years. One of the earliest non-Biblical references to Israel is found on the Merneptah Stele in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. The stele, a 10 foot high (3 meters) granite stone monument, was discovered in 1896 during archaeological work on the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes Also called the Israel Stele, it is dated to the reign of the Egyptian king Merneptah (1213 BC – 1203 BC). It outlines his various military victories. The last three lines list his defeat of Canaan including Israel: “Israel is laid waste and his seed is not;” Yet despite this find and thousands of other archaeological discoveries, in a recent UN vote Egypt along with 23 other nations passed a motion that effectively denies any Israeli connection to Jerusalem’s temple mount and Western Wall (the Jewish Wailing Wall). This  motion declaring the Temple Mount a purely Muslim site was passed in a 24-6 vote by the United Nations Educational and Scientific and …

The Temple Mount Photo: Jordan Pickett/Flickr/Creative Commons

Shocking news: Jewish Sanhedrin appoints a High Priest

Published by

Breaking Israel News reports that Israel’s “Nascent Sanhedrin” has just appointed a high priest. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, a prominent Jewish scholar knowledgeable in Jewish sacrifices. The announcement was a bit surprising considering there is no Jewish Temple. But a spokesperson for the ‘Nascent Sanhedrin’ explained that they wanted to have a High Priest in place in case there is a sudden change in policy on the Temple Mount. The ‘Nascent Sanhedrin‘ also called the developing Sanhedrin was set up in Israel in 2004. It is considered a national court of Jewish Law. Over the last 500 years, there have been six failed attempts to establish a Sanhedrin. This is the most successful so far. The major obstacle to constructing a Temple is that the Temple Mount with its Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock is controlled by the Muslims. Because of this, the Israeli government limits Jewish access to the site and forbids prayer on the Temple Mount. When Jews visit they are not allowed to pray including bowing their heads …

The Dead Sea Photo: Daniel Godwin/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is Ezekiel’s prophecy about the Dead Sea coming to life?

Published by

Español : ¿Está cobrando vida la profecía de Ezequiel sobre el Mar Muerto? At 429 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest land spot on earth. And as its name suggests due to its salt density (nearly 10 times denser than the ocean), nothing is able to live in the water. This includes fish and other aquatic life. It doesn’t even have plant life along its shore because of the layers of salt. The sea which is 50 kms long borders Israel, Palestine and Jordan. It is a popular Mediterranean tourist destination, and due to the water’s density, people float more than swim in its water. Because of its high mineral concentrations, many believe its water and mud have medicinal qualities. Apparently, even King Herod the Great had a health spa of sorts along its shores. The Bible talks about the Dead Sea a few times. The first is found in Genesis 14:3. But perhaps one of the stranger mentions is an end-time prophecy by Ezekiel that one day the Dead Sea …

Hundreds of Orthodox Jews turning to Christ. Photo: Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem Claudius Prober/Flickr/Creative Commons

Report on Israeli website states hundreds of Orthodox Jews are accepting Jesus

Published by

An article published on a Hebrew website, MyNet, intended to warn Jews living in Petach Tikva, Israel of Christians/Messianic Jews preaching Jesus has instead revealed hundreds of Orthodox Jews are accepting Christ as the Jewish Messiah. Kehila News, a Messianic website, was the first to report on the curious article on MyNet which functions as a news portal for the Israeli City of Petach Tikva.  Kehila describes the reaction among Orthodox Jews as a “spiritual meltdown.” Located in Central Israel, Petach Tikva has a population of 225,00, of which 70,000 are considered Orthodox Jews or haredim. The strength of the Orthodox population is seen in the 300 synagogues and eight ritual baths in the city. MyNet accused Christians/Messianic Jews of sharing propaganda. Even the city’s acting Mayor Uriel Boso waded into the controversy voicing his concern. Boso specifically cited Jews for Jesus as one of the main offending groups. According to Kehila, Boso described the number of Jews becoming Christians as a “dire phenomena.” The article on MyNet is in Hebrew, and below is a rough …

Saint Elijah's Monastery in Mosul, Iraq. Dated to the sixth century, it is the oldest monastery in Iraq. Photo: Doug/Wikipedia/Creative Commons

Forgiving through the fire

Published by

  Earlier this month, Islamic extremists burned a 12-year old Christian girl to death. She was living in Mosul, Iraq with her family when ISIS terrorists showed up at their home demanding the Coptic Christian family pay jizya. The jizya is a tax that over the centuries Muslims have forced Christians and Jews living in their territory to pay. The Muslim Qur’an mentions jizya , but does not specify how much the tax should be. Traditionally, it has been looked upon as a tax non-Muslims pay to practice their faith in Muslim countries. If paid, it is supposed to protect Christians from Muslim attacks.  It also indicates that the people being taxed are in submission to their Muslim rulers. Some Muslim Imams (teachers) even consider it a form of punishment for not being Muslim. Most Muslim nations do not impose the jizya, but it has made an appearance recently in areas controlled by ISIS and the Taliban. According to the British Newspaper The Express, when the jihadists showed up they demanded the family pay the …

The Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem seen from the Mount of Olives. Photo: Boris G./Flickr/Creative Commons

If you want to be a Temple priest in Israel, make sure you weren’t born in a hospital

Published by

Jerusalem’s Temple Institute has just announced it is accepting applications for priests to serve in a yet to be built Jewish Temple. The Institute, which started in 1987, is dedicated to seeing a third temple built in Jerusalem replacing the Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Over the years, it has completed a number of items in preparation for this third Temple. This includes constructing 70 pieces of temple furniture part of which one is a massive altar, that can be taken apart and moved to the Temple once it is constructed. Everything was meticulously prepared according to Biblical instructions.  They have also ordered the architectural drawings for a third temple. This is a tricky task because it must meet Biblical specifications as well as modern building practices. The Institute is even creating a herd of red cattle using imported embryos from red Angus beef in America. An unblemished red heifer is necessary for some of the Temple sacrifices. Recently the Temple Institute announced it is now accepting applications for positions of Temple …

Old Jerusalem Photo: Eugene Kaspersky/Flickr/Creative Commons

As the Jewish population returns to pre-holocaust numbers, a Hitler clothing store opens in Cairo

Published by

According to a report released by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), in 2015 the number of Jews in the world has nearly returned to population numbers seen in the 1930s before World War II. During World War II, as part of his final solution, Nazi leader Adolph Hitler slaughtered an estimated six million Jews in his death camps –Auschwitz, Auschwitz–Birkenau, Treblinka, Bełżec, Majdanek, Chełmno and Sobibór. The Jewish population in Europe was decimated with 66% of European Jews murdered between 1941 and 1945. By the end of the war, the Jewish population was estimated at about 11 million. According to its annual report, JPPI states the Jewish population has been steadily increasing since the War and today sits at 16.6 million. This includes 14.2 million with two Jewish parents and the remainder made up of people with one Jewish parent, who nevertheless identify themselves as Jewish. The fastest growth spurt took place between 2005 and 2015 which resulted in an 8% increase attributed largely to orthodox families. Averaging three children per family, Jews typically have larger …