By Esther Korson
Part 2 of 2
In the first part of this blog, I told the testimony of an Arab Christian from Bethlehem who came to know and to love the Jewish people. It’s a rare occurrence in this day and age, but it’s hard to understand why it’s so rare. God calls Himself the God of Israel, and Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel. I’ve heard of many ‘Christians’ who have adopted ‘Replacement Theology’, believing that God is finished with the Jewish people and all of the blessings are now for the church instead. And just yesterday I heard that there are a large number of Evangelical Christians—until now Israel’s staunchest supporters—who believe that this Israel has nothing to do with the Lord! I’m practically speechless!
For those who uphold those strange beliefs, it would behold them to read very carefully Paul’s words to the Gentile Christians in Romans 11; especially where he cautions “Has God cast away His people? God forbid…God has not cast away His people which He foreknew…” And then he warned them, “Boast not against the branches (Israel)…Be not high minded, but fear…For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved…”
Those who have swallowed those lies need only to be pitied and prayed for, because they are missing so many of the miracles of God that have occurred—and that continue to occur—since Israel became a nation. They are missing the wonders of being alive in this day when Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled—and are still being fulfilled—right before our eyes!
Somehow I’m reminded of a state dinner given in former Prime Minister Begin’s honour in Washington D. C. in the late ‘70’s. A number of us were watching it live on the Israeli TV channel (in those days, that was the only channel). President Reagan began the meeting by telling some slightly off-colour Bible jokes, not realizing that they would be an offense to Mr. Begin. And then it was Prime Minister Begin’s turn to speak. This is the tongue-in-cheek story that he told:
“I apologize in advance for the chauvinism of this story! A while ago, I was invited to President Reagan’s oval office. I noticed while there that he had three telephones on his desk, a red one, a white one, and a blue one.
‘What are they for?’ I asked him.
‘The red one is our direct line to Moscow, and the blue one is to Thatcher,’ Reagan replied.
‘And what about the white one?’ I asked.
‘Oh, that is our line to God.’
‘Do you use it often?’ I asked.
‘Oh, no,’ Reagan hastily replied. “It’s a very long distance call, you know, and we have to try to conserve costs!’
And then President Reagan came to visit me (a dig because Reagan had not come to visit Begin), in Jerusalem, our eternal capital. (When we heard that statement on Israeli television, it was greeted with wild cheers, as it was said with Begin’s usual great courage. Neither the United States nor most other capitals of the world will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel!) And he noticed that I also have three telephones on my desk, a red one, a white one and a blue one.
‘And what are your telephones for?’ Reagan asked me.
And so I told him that the red one was to Sadat (Begin and Sadat had just made peace between Egypt and Israel); and the blue one was to Mitterrand. (It was a dig because France at that time had been so anti-Israel).
‘And the white one?’ Reagan asked.
‘Oh, that’s our direct line to God.’
‘And do you use it very often?’ Reagan inquired.
‘Of course!’ I told him. ‘All the time! From Jerusalem it’s considered a local call!’”
Since this truly is God’s country, it does feel like a ‘local call’! It’s almost impossible to be in Israel without being aware of God’s presence and love. That’s what makes this nation so special. So anyone in the world—Arab or otherwise—who has truly opened his heart to the Lord God of Israel—will soon sense His love for His nation and His people—in these days, especially.
And now I would like to tell you about another very brave Arab Christian. He is a pastor living in the Arab Christian town of Nazareth by the name of Father Gabriel Nadaf.
Journalist and author Lela Gilbert explained it to ‘United with Israel’ in this way: “Christians are fleeing Muslim lands in record numbers; in fact there are predictions that, in the years to come, there may be none left in the Middle East. And since terrorist threats against ‘Zionists and Christians’ never cease, even the safety of Israel’s thriving and growing Christian community can no longer be taken for granted. For these reasons, a number of Israel’s Christians have chosen to take action. Their courageous leader, Father Gabriel Nadaf, is an articulate Greek Orthodox priest who has lived with death threats since the beginning of his mission. He wants the Christian Arab community to join the IDF! (Almost 80% of the Arab Druze community serves in the Israeli army as do a number of Bedouins. There is a special Bedouin unit—they are the best trackers in the world!)
As reported by ‘United with Israel’, “Our goal is to guard the Holy Land and the State of
Israel,” Nadaf declared in a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu last summer. “We have broken the barrier of fear—the State deserves that we do our part in defending it. Those who oppose the integration of the Christian community in the institutions of state do not walk in the path of Christianity.”
And guess who promised to defend and protect them? Benjamin Netanyahu. Hey, wait a minute, that’s our Prime Minister, isn’t it?! This is what he had to say when the two of them met! “Members of the Christian community must be allowed to enlist in the IDF. You are loyal citizens who want to defend the State and I salute you and support you. We will not tolerate threats against you and we will act to enforce the law with a heavy hand against those who persecute you. The State of Israel and the Prime Minister stand alongside you.”
Last August, the Prime Minister’s office said that there was a significant increase in the number of Christian enlistees in the IDF—from 35 a year ago to approximately 100 in 2013, with another 500 young people from the community doing community service.
Nadaf commented that his son, who will soon enlist in a combat unit in the Israeli army, “is cursed by people, and I tell him to ignore them.” But sadly, in May, Nadaf’s son was beaten and needed hospitalization. “The incitement of verbal threats has now passed into physical violence as their goal is to intimidate me and my family. But I am not afraid.” Following the attack, Netanyahu stated the next day in a cabinet meeting, “We will protect them.”
Israel Hayom reported Nadaf as saying, “We want young Christians to be completely integrated into Israeli society, and this means also carrying the equal share of the burden,” said the fearless priest. “Our future as a Christian minority is wrapped up in the future of the State of Israel.”
There are truly brave Arab Christians out there. Our prayers will strengthen them, since prayer always helps—so let’s pray!
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