A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR JACK VAN IMPE

We want to continue our study where we ended last week.

Birth of Zionism

The first of these organizations was called “Hoveve Zion,” or “Lovers of Zion.” This was a worldwide movement to promote interest in Jewish settlement in Palestine.

The second organization was a small group named “Bilu,” composed of people who actually went to Palestine and began to work the land in spite of the objections of the Turks. The circumstances were very difficult and the settlements that were started were not economically successful. They were taken under the protection and assistance of Baron Edmund DeRothschild. In this way they survived.

The move among the Jews to return to their land, the stirring of the dry bones, was a small affair for more than a dozen years. In 1895, however, a dramatic event set one man’s heart afire for the cause of Zionism. His name was Theodor Herzl.

Herzl, a Jewish Austrian newspaperman, had come to Paris to cover the public humiliation of Alfred Dreyfus, a French soldier convicted of collaboration with Germany. Dreyfus, a Jew, seemed the perfect example of one who had assimilated into the European culture and society, overcoming race and religion barriers. Having attended a famous military academy in France, he had received the rank of captain. Now he was accused of giving French military information to the German military attaché at Paris. Despite scanty evidence, a secret court-martial condemned Dreyfus to public humiliation and life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. The case has gone down in history as a miscarriage of French justice.

The public humiliation of Dreyfus took place in January of 1895. Theodor Herzl stood with the crowd and heard them begin to cry, “Kill the traitor, kill the Jew.” As the Jewish writer listened to the screams of the mob, a shock wave rolled through his entire being. Herzl heard that same crowd in effect crying for his blood, since he was also a Jew.

Walking away from the spectacle, Theodor Herzl was a broken man. Like Dreyfus, he had lived in comfort and had almost forgotten the persecutions of his people and the barriers that had existed between Jews and Gentiles through the centuries. Now he understood that those barriers still remained, that hatred for Jews was still real, and that all Jews were in jeopardy wherever they found themselves in the world. This awful awakening sent Herzl into seclusion to write a book that would shake the world and play an important role in establishing the State of Israel.

Herzl’s book was a one-hundred-page work entitled: Der Judenstaat — The Jewish State. The book began: “The Jews who will it shall have a state of their own.”

In 1897, two years after the publication of his book, Theodor Herzl called the first World Zionist Congress to session in Basle, Switzerland. The meeting was held in a gambling casino. The name of those determined to bring about the return to their land would now be “Zionists,” so named for Mount Zion in Palestine. Herzl was elected the international executive. A Jewish fund was established as well as a land bank to make it possible to purchase land in Palestine. A flag was chosen. The colors were white and blue for the colors of the tallith prayer shawl, and “Hatikvah” (The Hope) was designated as a national anthem.

At the conclusion of that first Zionist Congress, Herzl wrote in his diary, “I have founded the Jewish state. If I were to say so today, people would laugh at me, but in five years’ time, certainly in fifty years, it will be seen that I was right.” (On November 29, 1947, almost fifty years after Herzl wrote the words, the General Assembly of the United Nations by a majority vote made the birth of the State of Israel legally possible. In May of 1948, the nation was born.)

The new leader of Zionism exhausted himself in the cause to which he was committed. During the next eight years he met with many of the world’s statesmen. This leader of a homeless people had a vision of a modern-day exodus. He dreamed not of straggling groups finding their way back to the Jewish homeland, but rather of great companies of Jews settling in their land and prospering there.

Herzl spent much of his early effort seeking sponsoring nations among the European powers. His first thought was of Germany and he wooed Wilhelm II. Finding no help there, he turned to England. In 1903, one year before Herzl’s death, the British offered the Jews the country of Uganda as a place to settle. Although the Jews rejected this African area, England’s offer gave official recognition to the Jewish right of a homeland. Herzl counted that a great victory.

Shortly after the turn of the century, increased persecution in Russia sent many immigrants to Palestine. Herzl’s work was bearing fruit. Among these Jewish settlers was a young man named David Green from Plonsk, a Polish town northwest of Warsaw. His father, an attorney, had been an avid Zionist and young Green had listened enthusiastically as his father discussed the merits of Zionism with his friends.

David Green was not content to simply debate the issues. He longed to live in Israel and had come there to contribute to the establishment of that nation. In their book, O Jerusalem, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre write that young Green found Jerusalem like a modern tower of Babel, with Jews speaking forty different languages and half of them unable to communicate with the other half.

Changing his name to David Ben-Gurion, this young immigrant became the editor of a Zionist trade union paper committed to the revival of the Hebrew language. After Herzl’s death, he would become an important force in the establishment and development of the nation he loved.

The foundation of the nation had been laid. The dry bones were coming together. Ezekiel’s vision was on its way to fulfillment; the most significant sign of the end times and the return of the Messiah would, in the next half century, become a reality.

But there were troubled times ahead.

War would come to Europe and to the world. Jews would find themselves in the middle of a global war, having friends on both sides of the conflict. The war itself would threaten to extinguish Zionism. For a time it would seem as if the bones of the vision would retreat to the dust and be as dry as the arid soil of the land the Jews were seeking to reclaim.

How did this struggling people manage to overcome the perils of World War I?

What part would World War I play in the development of the State of Israel and in setting the stage for the final drama of the ages?

What events in World War I were necessary to prepare the world for closing time?

We will cover these topics in the coming weeks.

FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

The Night God Took Off His Mask

The ancient Greeks loved the theater. Their writers created elaborate stories — both comedies and tragedies — in the form of plays to be acted out in their amphitheaters.

Greek actors, skilled at playing many roles, switched from one character to another by going backstage and changing masks. When an actor returned to the stage with a new face he became another person.

The Greek word for one of these people of many faces was hypokrite — or hypocrite in English. It has come to mean one who acts out a part or pretends to be what he is not.

In the New Testament Jesus chided the religious elite of His day, the scribes and Pharisees who were more concerned with the traditions and ceremonies of serving God than the meaning and purpose of God’s laws. He said, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Mark 7:6).

Today so many who call themselves Christians have an extensive collection of masks they can put on and take off at will. They wear many different faces, depending on where they are, who they are with, and what they are doing.

Don’t misunderstand me — I’m not talking about being able to perform different functions as a person. A man may be a husband, father, businessman, sports enthusiast, handyman, scholar, and spiritual leader. A woman may be a wife, mother, counselor, chef, chauffeur, seamstress, designer, musician, gardener, etc. But in both examples, the individual can remain the same person while performing various functions.

Hypocrisy comes from attempting to be completely different people according to the environment or situation in which we find ourselves. And all of us are tempted to try our hand at role playing at one time or another.

The real you!

Do you ever find yourself acting one way at church, another way at home, and still another at work? Have you ever considered allowing your values, appearance, vocabulary, personality, and behavior to change dramatically from Sunday to Monday… from your work place to your home… from public to private life?

Are there times when you wonder who — and what — is the real you?

Several years ago, Dr. Van Impe and I knew of a young evangelist who had enormous ability. He was handsome, knowledgeable, and articulate. He spoke with eloquence, diction, and power. It seemed certain that he would become one of the most effective ministers in America.

I remember especially his strong messages about the evils of alcohol and how the devil was using strong drink to cause untold misery and destroy countless lives.

Then, in the prime of his life, this young minister suddenly died! In an instant he was gone. Later, it was revealed that he had fought an unending personal battle with liquor. Many nights after his evangelistic services he drank himself into an alcoholic stupor. How tragic that he proclaimed the life-changing, transforming power of Christ’s salvation to multiplied thousands, yet never accepted God’s deliverance from the satanic bondage that enslaved him.

Mixed signals

One troubled young man in California came to as after a service and said, “I don’t understand my dad’s religion. He’s a deacon in the church and he seems so pious and so holy. But when he comes home, he yells and swears at my mother.” This boy was troubled at the mixed signals he was receiving from his father’s behavior. He realized that something was dreadfully wrong.

The Apostle James asked, Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? (James 3:11, 12).

Of course not! Then why is it that we often see entire casts of characters wrapped up in a single individual? Sometimes we’re not quite sure which face they will show us next. How can this happen?

I believe it may be explained by noting that man loses the awareness of his true identity when he loses sight of who God is! When man — either deliberately or accidentally — loses sight of God the Father, he soon loses his way in the resulting darkness.

The Bible tells how in the beginning the Lord God himself came into the Garden of Eden to have fellowship with Adam and Eve. He knew them personally… and they knew Him.

Then they sinned by disobeying God. Immediately Adam and Eve changed the way they acted — they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. Ultimately they were driven out of the Garden… and out of fellowship with God.

From that day on, the human family began to lose sight of God — to forget who He was and what He was really like.

Putting a mask on God

As the years and centuries went by, man created a picture of God that was so distorted and mistaken that very few really understood His divine plan and His tender lovingkindness.

In the eloquent words of Paul the apostle: When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man (Romans 1:21-23).

I like the way The Living Bible expresses verse 21 — And after a while they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what He wanted them to do.

In effect, man created a mask — grotesque and corrupt — and used it to cover the face of God. And darkness again covered the earth and the lives of men.

It was then that God chose to reveal himself afresh and anew to all mankind. Paul Scherer described “the night of all nights when God came down ‘the stairs of heaven with a child in his arms .'”

Throwing aside the crude mask that man had placed upon Him, the Father sent His Son, Jesus, from heaven to earth — to once again walk among men and show them who God is and what He is like. So Jesus came, ministering to the poor, healing the sick, pouring out boundless love to all men. “Do you see me and my works?” He asked. “Then understand that this is the nature of God. For when you see me, you see the Father.”

Identify with God

Oh, my friend, the joy of seeing the Father… of having fellowship with God! This is the secret of true self-discovery. For as you find out who God is and your eternal relationship with Him through Christ, you will suddenly see yourself in a new light.

And then, you can strip away all your masks and faces and go forth in your new identity — as a child of God.

Join me in giving thanks for that first Christmas, when God took off His mask and revealed himself to us again. If you have not yet received Him, I urge you now to –Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

Your program has helped change my life. I was suicidal, depressed, on drugs and denying God because I prayed nightly not to wake up again. I watched your program and saw how happy you were and when Rexella called me to accept Jesus into my heart, I prayed along with Jack. I pray daily in thanksgiving and repentance and ask the Lord to send His spirit to me to fill me with grace. I read the scriptures and tears come to my eyes reading about the Lord’s love for me. I try to tell others about the light that is Jesus Christ and nobody wants to hear it. I am saddened by Americans falling away from faith. Keep up the Good work! I am praying for Jack’s recovery! God bless America and JVI MINISTRIES

J. R.

I feel so calm after hearing your program, words and readings. Even in a world facing such hate coming from every direction. When I tune in to your program, I feel the peace of Christ. In spite of facing the hate in the world, your prayers and calm response to all the hate that is directed to all of us, helps me take a deep breath and remember all that Christ did for us all.

Thank you,

Joan H.

HIGHLIGHTED PRODUCT OFFERS

Beware: False Prophets, Damnable Heresies & Doctrines of Demons

God has given me a desperately needed message to equip the Christians of the world to combat the apostasy and hypocrisy of many so-called Christian leaders in pulpits today I Timothy 4:1 says in these latter days some shall depart the Christina faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons

In this video teaching, I name names and show you the antichrists claiming to speak in the name of the Church today. You and your family deserve to know the truth

Dr Jack Van Impe

Drs. Jack and Rexella Van Impe enlighten you with answers to these critical questions;

• Where is false prophecy rampant in the Church today?
• Is it right to judge false prophets?
• How do I know if my church is apostate?
• How are new Bible translations destroying the message of Christianity
• When is it right to change anything in God’s Word?
• Who is advancing an unholy hybrid of Christianity and Islam called Chrislam?
• And many more!

New Age Deceivers!

New Age deceptions about the faith are being proclaimed even from the pulpits of America’s churches! And these lies promoted as ‘Gospel’ are just one more sign of the great falling away predicted in Bible prophecy. They’re a sign that Jesus is coming soon! In this video, prophecy experts Drs. Jack and Rexella Van Impe expose the most shocking lies promoted in the name of Christianity today!

• How can Christians distinguish the real Christ from false christs?
• What does the Bible really say about sin? How is the New Age Movement, and some evangelical ministers, wrong about it?
• Whom did David Wilkerson predict would become ‘angels of light’ and ‘tools of deception’?
• What is ‘666’, and who is teaching members of his church to tattoo it on their bodies?
• Who are the foremost celebrities and ministers promoting the New Age Movement?
• And More!