The Last Jihad Series by Joel C. Rosenberg

So, I was definitely late to the party when it comes to reading Joel C. Rosenberg's books, but I'm so glad I'm here now!

I just finished reading Rosenberg's 5-book series, The Last Jihad, and all I can say is: Wow! (I feel like I say that a lot when it comes to his books.

What's so incredible about this one is the story behind it, how the first book was almost completely written before September 11, 2001. And then, the same could be said for things that happened in the next year and book 2. Reading this in 2021, it's still eerie to see, because there are things in there that are happening now. 

How did this happen? Well, he based this books on Biblical prophetic texts, specifically Ex 38-39. Most recently, in book 4, The Copper Scroll, he talks about deal signed by Iraq and China as an exchange of oil for weapons. And on March 27, 2021, a very similar deal was signed in real life between China and Iran. I was literally reading book 4 when this announcement was made. 

While I've loved reading all of Rosenberg's novels so far, this one has caught my attention because it literally deals with the last days and what it could be like. I've always loved imagining what those would be like. So it definitely caught my attention and let imagination fly!

The other thing I wanted to point out from this series is how Rosenberg treats the depiction of honor and shame in this culture and explains it to the Western readers (and characters). He does an amazing job of that in book 2, The Last Days, specifically while describing the view point of Palestinian society. Pages 253-255 have an especially beautiful description of the heartache of the shame felt as a whole by the culture of the character who is speaking. His request to the President of the United States in this scene isn't so much about power or winning, so much as restoring some honor to his people.

Anyway, I loved this series! It's going on the shelf and will be read over and over, haha. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think. Please let me know in the comments below!

The 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av)

Every year, Israel observes a 3-week mourning period that ends on the 9th of Av. Because they observe the lunar calendar, which is only 360 days, it falls on a different date every year (in regards to the Gregorian calendar, like the US and much of the world use).

This year, the 9th of Av fell on Sunday, July 18.

This is a highly significant date in Jewish history, because of the BIG things that happened in the past. Are you ready for this?

This date became significant in the first place because it is the date that 10 of the 12 spies returned from Canaan with a bad report. This was the Promised Land that God had already given over to them! It was because of this, that the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years while everyone in that generation but the 2 spies who said, "Yes! Our God is able!" died.

First of all, I'm always blown away that history like that is traceable down to the exact date. Incredible! Coming from a country that is only officially 250 years old, my culture does not understand the impact of a historical record like that. At the most, we can date back 400 years to the beginning of the US colonies. That's practically last week compared to the ancient land of the Middle East.

What shocked me, though, was the history of what has happened on that date since (a date marking the disobedience and lack of faith of an entire people). Here we go... seriously, are you ready?

1. BOTH the 1st and the 2nd Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed on this date, FIVE CENTURIES APART.
2. Almost 70 years later, the Jews fell to the Romans in 133 AD in the Bar Kochba Revolt. It was then that Roman emperor Hadrian renamed the country, "Syria Palaestina", stripping the name of Israel from the land officially (for more on this topic, click here). Palaestina (Palestine in English) is the Latin form of the word, "Philistine", who were a sea-faring people who did not originate in the Land. It was the custom of the Romans to re-name a defeated land after the enemies of the inhabitants as further denigration.
3. A year later, Rome completely plowed over the Temple Mount, razing the remains to the ground.
4. In 1290, the Jews were expelled from England.
5. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain.
6. World War I began on Tisha B'Av in 1914. Because most historians believe World War II was the conclusion of WWI, that means WWII started that date too. However, more specifically, operations at the Treblinka death camp began on that date in 1942, and deportations from the Warsaw ghetto started on that date.

WOW.

To say this is a significant date to the Jewish people is a gross understatement. I'm still blown away by all I've learned about this. 

I could leave this post here, but I'm going to continue it for a bit. Because recently, I've become more aware of the Jewish foundations of United States of America in regards to our forefathers and the crafting of both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Pastor Jack Hibbs, from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California speaks often of the founding of the US and the Judeo-Christian influence on the founding fathers. If you love history, this is fascinating, and I highly recommend it. 

One thing he's said several times (so I don't have an exact link to share other than his channel), is that in addition to people of Jewish ancestry who were part of the nation's foundations, our country's law is founded on the Mosiac Law. Our nation has benefited, first from following God's Word (and those of us who are Jesus followers), and also in the secondhand blessing coming from God blessing the works of the hands of the Jewish people who ended up in the States (Gen. 12:1-3). 

So much so, that did you catch one of the dates up above?

In 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain, one now-famous Jew sailed due West and made an incredible discovery.

Almost 300 years later, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence, originally crafted on July 2, was signed by all and made official—also on Tisha b'Av.

Obviously, while there are connections between the US and Israel because of what was discussed above, it is just a link, that's all. The US is not a replacement or the 'new' Israel or anything like that. Neither has the Church replaced Israel. It's just that our nation has benefitted because of: 1) our foundations, 2) history of Christianity, 3) the presence of Jews in our country, and 4) support of Israel (pre-2021). 

I do find it significant, though, that the entire history of 9th of Av began with the results of an exploration (the 12 spies into the Promised Land), and the story of the US begins with an exploration into a new land. That being said:

• since the whole history of that date began with the original disobedience and lack of faith of the Jewish people, 
• and it continues to be a significant date of pain and consequences of these things, 
• and since there is a connection between the US and Israel, as established above, 
• and because of the recent disturbing and difficult events in the US because our culture has shifted on its values and focus, 

I did some research on the 9th of Av in US events. 

I haven't found much yet, because it is obviously from Jewish culture and the Jewish calendar. So I want to do more. BUT, I did remember something in recent history that happened in the summer, so I looked it up. And, what guess what?

On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court upheld in Obergefell v Hodges that all states in the US must grant new (and recognize existing) same-sex marriages within the US. 

This was the 9th of Av of that year.

Please let me know in the comments below: Did you know the history of the 9th of Av? I'd love to know what you think!

**Research links: Chabad.org, The Jerusalem Post, Behold Israel, Wikipedia, Ray Bentley's Step in to the Story: The Dire Straits, Jack Hibbs, 

The Elijah Chronicles by Ray Bentley and Bodie Thoene

Have you heard of The Elijah Chronicles?

This 3-book series follows American Jack Garrison from his initial fact-finding mission to Israel through an incredible adventure throughout the Holy Land. My favorite part is that it is set in modern times, so there are mentions of real-life world leaders and events that just happened a few months ago. But it's more than just being a modern day story. This is how Amazon describes it: Watch history, prophecy, and current events leap to life as best-selling author Bodie Thoene and prophecy scholar Ray Bentley lead you on a journey that melds the past, present, and future into one unforgettable story. 

I've read many books by Bodie Thoene (co-authored by her husband, Brock), and reviewed them here. So I'm familiar with her work, though not Ray Bentley's. I was excited by the premise of this trilogy and enjoyed it. However, before I go into something specific I learned from this series, I do want to say that as an avid reader, I felt something lacking from this series. The physical books themselves are shorter than a true novel, and their print is large. It felt more like I was reading 3 novellas than 3 full-length novels, and this was evident to me in the reading. I didn't get as immersed in the stories as I normally would, because of the lack of detail. In addition, at times the actual timing in the series felt abrupt and unclear, especially in the 3rd book. Since The Cyrus Mandate is set in 2020 and discusses real-life events, I knew what it was referring to. For instance, Covid-19 and its effects are just suddenly referred to as having arrived and the characters are dealing with the normal. But there was no build up to that (outside of one mention something being released from China in one of Jack's visions). But for readers 10, 20, 30 + years from now, will they understand the minutiae that led to that scene (will we even be here, haha)? It could be the purpose of this series was to show the truths of today and what is going on for the modern reader in a fiction form. If so, this series met its purpose and they writers did a great job! It's just that for me personally, as a lover of Israel and someone who loves a good novel, I wanted more (because it was great)!

There is one thing I wanted to highlight specifically from the series, and that is the discussion on pages 240-242 of The Cyrus Mandate. One of the characters asks how Jews and Arabs are linked in Biblical prophecy, and Jack replies by explaining about the sons of Abraham, not only Isaac and Ishmael, but also the sons he had with Keturah, the wife he married after Sarah died. By his explanation, the Sunni nations are cousins of Isaac's descendants: "They share blood with one another. They are cousins to one another, it makes sense that they could come together in mutual blessing, mutual protection, mutual economic and technology and medical benefit" (referring to the historic Abraham accords). However, Shia Muslims, like Iran, are not related by away of Abraham. And this is where Ezekiel 38-39 comes into play. "God is using geopolitical reasons, pragmatic reasons, economic reasons, protection reasons, all of these things. He's bringing the Abrahamic family together".

I thought this was such a great explanation of the incredibly complicated situation in the Middle East that many outside of this region do not understand completely. And in light of the Abraham Accords that have happened since (UAE, Bahrain, Bhutan, Morocco, Sudan, Kosovo) and the ones that might come soon it was especially enlightening. 

If you like reading contemporary fiction set in "our day" that is strongly linked with real-life events, then this series is worth the read! You can get it here on Amazon, and please let me know what you think about it below!

BIG NEWS from Israel! (I'm going in July!)

Last week was a BIG week in Israel!

First, Naftali Bennett was officially sworn in as the new Prime Minister, after Netanyahu's historic 12-years of service. 

PM Bennett represents a coalition government, made up of parties from left, right, and center. It's the first of its kind to be in power. He will hold the PM position for 2 years and 3 months, and then Yair Lapid will be PM for the same amount of time.

Second, Gaza announced a new Prime Minister as well. Their new premier is Issam al-Da'alis, and he was also sworn in on Sunday.

Third, on June 15, Israel officially lifted all mask mandates for both inside and outside. Now, the only people who have to wear them are either traveling on planes, on their way to quarantine, or people in long-term care facilities.

But, the biggest news for me, was that ISRAEL IS OPENING TO FOREIGN TOURISTS JULY 1!!!!

Which brings me to MY big news- I'm going to Israel! As of the date I'm writing this post, I'm still looking at tickets, but I know it will happen sometime next month! Remember how my trip for April 2020 was cancelled? I'm so thankful that it has worked out for this year, and I cannot wait to get there and explore this incredible, amazing Land and culture!

Latest Update from Israel (From Sunday, May 16)

Yesterday was the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) in Israel, and like last year, people celebrated close to their homes. Last year, it was because of a pandemic; this year because of violence.

The most recent number I've seen at the time of writing this blog post, since last Monday, Hamas has fired over 3,000 rockets at Israel. 

The best summary I've seen so far for what's happening now is from Behold Israel's Amir Tsarfati. He gave this update last night from his home in the Galilee, steps away from his bomb shelter, with flashes in the background and the sound of F-16's taking off nearby.

Click here or on the image above to watch. I guarantee it's worth it!

Oh, and as Amir points out at the end, Shavuot comes 50 days after Passover. It's a celebration of when God gave the Law to Israel through Moses. And it was being celebrated almost 2000 years ago when the Holy Spirit came to the Upper Room with flaming tongues of fire. Which means one thing:

Happy birthday, Church!!!

(thanks for that reminder, Amir!)

Apeirogon by Colum McCann

 Can you say this word?

Yeah, I can't either. An apeirogon is a shape with an infinite number of sides. And this book is aptly named. Apeirogon isn't written or formatted like a typical book. It follows the story of two fathers, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who lose young daughters in the conflict. Written in 3 parts, there aren't even chapters so much as sections—a many different sides making up the shape of the story. 

I'm sure there's so much symbolism I missed in reading this book, but a few I picked up on: flowers, birds, and the name of the story.

Again, what I picked up on while reading this story is how much I have to learn. McCann did a masterful job in showing the similarities between the two fathers, their humanity and their shared heartbreak—which in turn leads them to an unlikely friendship.

This story will definitely make you think and will challenge the reader. You can check it out here on Amazon if you are interested!

Chosen by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Last week, I re-read a beloved series from the 1990s, the Full Circle Series by Lisa Tawn Bergren. It's a fun series because each book is set in an incredibly picturesque (and adventurous!) location, and the main characters of each novel are loosely connected to each other (a relative, friend, or roommate of the heroine/hero of the previous book... hence, a full circle). 

Even though I've read this series many times, I'd forgotten the setting of book 5: Israel!

(it has a different cover on Amazon, but this is the cover I have)

Like I said, I'd completely forgotten about this book! But in addition to describing so many places I visited on my first trip to Israel, it reminded me of A Chosen People novels by Robert Whitlow and all I've been reading about the conflict and dynamics of Israel and Palestine. Like Hana in A Chosen People, the main character is a Christian Palestinian woman, and she has one of the most fascinating jobs (to me!) ever: a biblical archeologist!

For me, it's all so incredible to explore, but the dynamics of a Palastinian Christian biblical archeologist- WOW!

So if you've ever wanted to join to a dig (at the Temple Mount!) in the heart of Jerusalem (#goals), and have an incredible adventure, all while exploring the culture and issues and modern day Israel, this is definitely the book for you!

You can buy it here on Amazon (Oh, and while reading the whole series will give you the #fullcircleeffect, you don't necessarily have to read the other books in the series to read this one- although I do recommend them all... ESPECIALLY book 4. Don't get me started on that one!)!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and the UAE

Back in June, I talked about how Israel was supposed to annex Gaza and the West Bank on July 1. As time passed, I wondered what happened; why I wasn't reading stories saying "it happened". Then, last week, this incredible news was announced:

WOW!

The United Arab Emirates has become the 3rd Arab nation to strike a peace deal with Israel, the first being Egypt in 1967 and Jordan in 1994.

According to Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel, "Israel and the UAE have been working together in developing new methods to more efficiently combat COVID-19. As part of this new partnership, the two countries will share in trade, travel, tourism, and even technology." Behold Israel notes that while Palestine, Iran, and Turkey are against this peace deal, other Arab states support it (and might even follow with their own). In fact, one report I heard said that OMan will sign one in the next 2 weeks and Bahrain will follow (Bahrain has already picked out a building for an Israeli embassy!), Morocco, and then maybe even Saudi Arabia. Already Saudi Arabia is allowing Israeli flights to cross their airspace to get to the UAE. 

For more of the implications of this peace deal, you can watch Amir Tsarfati's update here:

What do you think of this historic event?

Reading the Bible in Color

In Bishop T.D. Jakes' panel discussion with Christine Caine, Judah Smith, Carl Lentz, Dr. Caroline Leaf, and Ron Carpenter that I shared last week, Bishop Jakes recommended the following book:
Is Christianity the White Man's Religion by Antipas L. Harris. I was so intrigued that I ordered it last week and read it.

I highly recommend this book, as it gives an in-depth, Biblical and historical exploration of how the myth of Christianity being the white man's religion came about—and how centuries of this impacts us today. 

But what stood out to me was Part II, titled "Have we been taught to misread the Bible?". This section, and specifically Chapter 6: "The Color of the Bible" specifically reminded me of the chapter on race and ethnicity in the Bible in Misreading Scriptures with Western Eyes, which I discussed here. In fact... as I re-read this chapter in order to review it on this blog, I just realized that Harris quotes Randolph and O'Brien on this very topic!

Harris points out on page 82 that "... very few people in the Bible had white skin. In fact, most of the central figures in the Bible were people of color and were born in difficult circumstances, including many of the biblical patriarchs and prophets stretching from Abraham to David and, yes, Jesus.... Additionally, most of the authors of the books of the Bible were people of color. In the New Testament, the author of the Gospel of Mark was a Jew from Cyrene, which is located in the modern northeast region of Libya. Most scholars believe that the book of Mark was the first of the Gospel writings, and that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke use Mark as a guide for their outline. This would mean that the author of the first synoptic Gospel was an African Jew" (pages 82 and 83). He goes on to point out, that Apollos, was an Egyptian Jew from Alexandria, and he is believed by some to be the author of Hebrews.

Ultimately, "the Bible features members from a kaleidoscope of ethnicities. From Israelites to Kushites, Egyptians to Babylonians, Romans to Jews, and North Africans to Greeks, the Bible contains rich ethnic threads with accompanying ideological influences" (pages 83-84).

However, it's so easy to miss this as a modern Western reader, partially because some of the clues given don't translate to us (for instance, in the sentence above, a reader might have to look up Kush to know that it was in Africa. The other part (and a big part) is the history of how Christianity became Eurocentric, which Harris describes clearly in pages 85-94. "From Genesis to Revelation, the majority of the Bible in the Bible are from an Afro-Asiatic context with a range of brown skin, thick and thin lips, broad and slender noses, tall and fat structures, and so on. There are indeed people of a European descent in the New Testament, but they have a much less prominent presence than Hollywood would have us believe" (page 97).

I highly recommend Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? because I think it asks a lot of important questions and is a biblically-based exploration of what the modern, Western Church has missed. It's given me so much to think, pray over, and consider as I continue to study God's Word and live for Him. 

In this review, I'm only focusing on one small part because it connects with the topic of both modern-day and ancient Israel, mainly that I encourage every Christian to slow down as they are reading a story or text in the Bible and instead of reading "Apollos from Alexandria" or "the Ethiopian Eunuch" and moving on quickly to the action, to reading the Bible in color.

I'm convinced this will add so much more context and understanding to our comprehension and exposition of the Scripture. Harris is as well, as he calls for more theologians of color (and women), for he states, "We must not continue to trick ourselves into thinking that people's experiences are not important when interpreting Scripture. Of course, we must be faithful to the text, but human experience is as a significant part of interpreting the Word of God in Scripture" (page 73). This is because we all read through the lenses of our own experiences. For instance, as a woman, I might have more questions about stories of women and mentions of women that men might have, an immigrant living in foreign country would read passages about foreigners differently, a single will read differently than a married person or a widow, a child might have a different view than an adult, etc. "Indeed, life experiences inform the questions we bring to the biblical text. Scripture invites all of God's children to the theological task of connecting the narrative of the biblical text with the reader's lived experience" (page 77).

I also wanted to take this time to highlight a friend of mine who is doing this beautifully. Her name is Jennifer Lucy Tyler, and she is passionate about theology and Bible literacy (as well as an author, entrepreneur, and the founder of Soul Circles). I first met her years ago, and in addition to loving her as my sister and friend, have great respect for her walk with God and her calling. She is a leading voice in our generation as a woman who loves the Word, and I hope you check her site out! Click here or on the photo below to learn more about her ministry!

I'm going to end this post with questions to consider, and would love to know what you think in the comments below: Do you read the Bible in color? If you do, how has that impacted your reading of it? How has your life experiences inform how you read it?

A response to racial tensions in Israel

What I'm going to focus on today might seem off topic, because at the outset it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Israel. Ultimately, it's my blog, so I can talk about what I want, right?

But in light of what I talked about last week, and here in April, I feel charged to share this conversation about the Church and Race. Last week, Bishop T.D. Jakes hosted a panel discussion online about recent events in the US—and where to go from here.

At first, I wasn't sure I'd watch. I only recognized 2 faces other than Bishop Jakes (the women), and it's very clear what appears to be out-of-balance about this panel. Why was this about race, when all the invitees (other than the host) are white?

Well, Bishop Jakes explains this at the end, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I will say here that the two women on this panel, Christine Caine of international anti-trafficking organization A21 and Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist and mental health expert, aren't from the US. Caine is Australian and Leaf is South African. So they both had very interesting insights, not just from their professions, but as foreigners to the US (and especially Leaf's perspective as someone who lived through the apartheid-era in South Africa).

What I do want to say, is PLEASE GO WATCH THIS DISCUSSION. It's an hour and 37 minutes long, and I had to watch it in 30 minute chunks just because there was so much weighty TRUTH in there that I needed to take time and chew on it. It is worth taking the time to watch.

And, while the topic is obviously focusing on the specific response (and responsibility) of the Church for Race, especially in light of the current events and the horrific history of slavery, injustice, and racism in the US, I think there are truths in here that could be applied to the racial situation in Israel. It could be that these are apples and oranges, but I believe all racial tension has the same root, and connections can be made from this video that we don't want to miss.

I'd love to know what you think! Please watch it (click on the photo or the link above) and let me know below!