3 days and 3 nights with the monks in the desert monestary of Mar Sabbas

Impression Report from Mar Sabba:
As 21st century war jets fly over the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Sabbas nestled in the cliff face of the Kidron Valley in the Judean wilderness little has been altered in the daily life of the monks here over the past 1500 years. I was given the distinct privilege to abide with them in almost every way for three days and three nights, for no Protestants are normally permitted to lodge or worship with them. The foundations of the original ascetic lifestyle remain in tact in this cradle of monasticism; no women, no electricity, no running water, no communication with the outside world; the same liturgy, icons and apophatic theology. Since Constantine made Christianity the official Roman religion in the 4th century the anchorites have been regarded by the church as "taking the place" of the martyrs, as they daily die to self, guarding their free will against falling prey to the passions and vices of the soul. Their aim is to be found in John 17:21, to be like Christ who is one in the Father, in the wilderness overcoming temptations with the wild beasts and the Spirit ministering to them. Their central idea is the pillar of Orthodoxy, a theosis, a deification of self, the transformation of man into the image of God. The monks preserve and spread the apostolic faith through worship,

liturgy, monasticism, and missions.
As I arrived from Jerusalem on January 1, 2009 I was greeted at the heavily fortified entrance and given a brief tour of the complex by a Russian monk in broken English, viewing the tomb of the desert fathers Sabba and John of Damascus. St. Sabba founded the site in the late 5th century while living in a cave opposite the existing monastery when in a vision seeing a pillar of fire found a cave behind it oriented to the east which would become the main sanctuary, today it is called the chapel of St. Nicholas. The entire site is extraordinary clean and well maintained with remains visible from the Byzantine period to today. The monks do not use standard Greenwich time but ancient Roman/Byzantine time as in Scripture (….in the 6th hour he was crucified… Luke 23:44…aka noon). The food served to me was to be eaten apart form the 30 monks because I am a Protestant. The food served was a hearty portion of cold stew consisting of no meat but potatoes and vegetables, with bread, salad, fruit and wine. Their daily life consists as follows. The day begins at 2:00 am with a three hour service in the chapel of St. Nicholas. I was permitted to partake in the entire service save the sacraments. The large cave is shrouded in darkness being only lit by candles with 800 year old icons and the bones of desert martyrs decorating its walls. While at Mar Sabba I finished memorizing the book of Revelation and it was in this service that I was first able to tell the entire book to myself from heart. The monks are awaken one hour prior to the service by a loud bell ringing 33 times, then again moments before the service starts they are summoned by the sound of a hammer knocking on wood, reminding them of Noah calling the beasts into the ark to save them from doom. As the monks enter the ark of the church their procedure is to individually venerate various icons by bowing to them and kissing them as well as the 136 skulls of the martyrs. They believe the bones not only retain their story but the Holy Spirit. The service are conducted entirely in Greek with readings from the Septuagint and their liturgy, culminating with the sacraments. From 5:00 to 8:00 am is a time of prayer and rest save for those who prepare the main and only meal of the day served at 9:00 am., save for the weekend when there are two meals served daily. From 10:00 am to 3:00 pm is a time of work and study. There was little visible evidence of the monks laboring during my visit. From 3:00 to 4:00 pm is the evening vespers service which is a time of prayer, singing, and reading that begins in the narthex of the other main chapel, the Church of the Annunciation. The monks would not permit me to venerate the icons, and during the service I first had to stand without the chapel in the entrance way, out of paradise, but on the second day was invited into the chapel with them. Following vespers there is a one hour break till the 30 minute evening prayer service starting at 5:00 pm which is followed by a time of devotions by the Abbott to his flock of which I was excluded. From 6:00 pm until 2:00 am is a time of prayer, meditation, and rest.
The three days and three nights I stayed with the monks was everything I imagined but nothing I expected, for seeing something is different than being told about it. The living conditions would be considered good for desert anchorites. The 110 rooms in the larva are small 11 feet by 11 feet but warm and decorated. Each room has one bed, desk, and lamp, with three blankets and a tub of well water to wash their hands and their feet. After the first day I felt very welcome by most of the monks especially the five who spoke some English and developed a real affinity with them. The monks were very curious about America and its new president and considered these days the birth pangs. I was scheduled to stay seven days but only stayed three for I based my decision on the unwritten rules of hospitality, not wanting to wear out my welcome and the fact that I did not want to invade their high holy Christmas services. This was advantageous as they asked me to return to them and next time to bring some maps of the Holy Land next time this stranger visits their strange land. I would like to thank Dr. Petra Heldt for making this possible.

Jewish Believers in Jesus in Israel in 2008

In my paper I am going to answer the following questions: what is the current identity of Jews who believe in Jesus in Israel, what is the significance of the Jewish community who believe in Jesus in Israel, what is the status of the citizenship for Messianic Jews in Israel, and what is their future in Israel.
The Identity of Jews who believe in Jesus in Israel
The Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 provided the unfortunate but necessary ingredients for the serious re-orientation of Jewish life in the diaspora, for many Jews asked the question, if there really was a God why would he allow his “chosen people” to go through hell on earth at the hands of the Nazi’s? The Holocaust and the birth of Israel were also the springboard to bring back to life the 2,000 year old idea of a Jewish faith in Jesus the Messiah in the diaspora and ultimately back in the state of Israel. In 2008 [1]the legal definition of who is a Jew in Israel reflects the laws of the State of Israel originating from the Knesset, which are for the most part democratic in nature, but the laws of the land are also highly subject to the powerful influence of the Ultra Orthodox religious parties in the government. A modern example is the Shaas party not crossing the political isle and negotiating with Tzivi Lipni the Prime Minister elect in the last elections and thereby forcing another election to be held in early 2009. The most significant law relating to what law defines who is a Jew in this regard is the Law of Return. The Law of Return was first established in 1950 and guaranteed full privileges of citizenship to all Jews who wanted to immigrate to Israel from anywhere in the world no matter what their religion was. Today the definition of the Law of Return functions as a practical yet legal test of who is a Jew because it determines who is eligible to immigrate to Israel with full and automatic rights as an Israeli citizen and who is not. Consequently, the actual and precise wording of the Law of Return has become a burning issue with lobbying groups and in the Knesset itself over the years. The two major sides of the battle of who is Jew, are those who want Jewish identity to be determined by Jewish Halakhah Law, namely the minority percentage of the population of Israel, the Orthodox Jews (some 10%), and the majority of the population (some 90%), the so called secular Jews who prefer to regard Jewish identity as an issue of nationality and not necessarily have religion and politics together tell them what they can and cannot do. The original Law of Return passed in 1950 was an act of parliament without any pressure from religious interests. The Law was then amended under the clear influence and persuasion of Jewish religious tradition in 1970 for among other reasons to keep Jews who believe in Jesus out of the country by passing an amendment to the Law of Return in order to define a Jew as someone born to a Jewish mother or has converted to Judaism, and does not belong to another religion. The Israeli Bagatz, the High Court of Justice, has again and again ruled that a Jew, even if observing all the rabbinical tradition of Judaism, yet at the same time also believes that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah as foretold in the Tanach, is not regarded as a Jew but someone who is [2]embracing another religion. Consequently, such a person because of a personal religious belief is left without any national identity, and is no longer considered a “Jew” by the nation of Israel. Jews who believe in Jesus in the diaspora and in Israel are challenging the received Christian and Jewish consensus that when Jews come to believe in Jesus that they cease to be a Jew and become and Christian instead. They claim the same status in the Church that the first generation of Jewish believers in Jesus in Israel enjoyed, who expressed their faith in Jesus as Jews and in no way denied or compromised their status as being a Jew. Currently their faith is expressed in Jewish terms, with worship and community life shaped by the Hebrew Bible. This normally involves holding their weekly meetings of worship on the Sabbath, and they observe the Jewish feasts described in the Bible and do not adhere in any way to the Rabbinical laws that are not in the Bible such as not being able to drive on the Sabbath. As of today according to the state of Israel, if you have a Jewish mother and even if you also have a Jewish father but you believe in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah you are not Jewish, and therefore you are not permitted to immigrate to Israel in almost every circumstance.
Significance of the Messianic Jewish community in Israel in 2008
I think it is particularly in Israel, that the modern Jesus movement among Jews has the full potential to come back to life and to reshape the first congregations of Jewish believers in Jesus as portrayed in the New Testament. The developments in the Diaspora necessarily have an orientation to come back to Israel, whatever the size and growth rate of the movement in Israel. The amount of Jewish believers in Jesus and congregations in Israel has grown greatly since 1948. In 1948 there were less than 100 Israelis who believed in Jesus in Eretz Israel and there were only 2 congregations, in 2008 here are approximately 5,000 Jews who believe in Jesus in Eretz Israel and 100 congregations. The movement has tripled in size since the 1980’s since the huge influx of immigrants primarily from the former Soviet Union in the 1990’s. The movement of Jews believing in Jesus in Israel is remarkably diverse today, reflecting the different theologies, countries of origins, wealth, and language groups. The Messianic Jewish movement in Israel reflects the typical Israeli combination of a strong willed independence and a clear sense of belonging to a people group. Thus there is considerable variety and tensions between them, yet a general recognition that there is safety in numbers and they belong together. Though Jews who believe in Jesus in Eretz Israel is still a young and developing movement, [3]there is an estimated 70 Hebrew and/or English speaking congregations, 25 Russian speaking, and 5 Ethiopian speaking congregations in the country. The growth during the 1990’s of congregation in Israel saw a huge increase and continues to grow despite all efforts to keep “Jews” who believe in Jesus from immigrating by the Minister of Interior. We do not have any up to date statistics but these [4]2004 numbers below give an indication to the growth rate. First though it must be mentioned that it is difficult to say exactly how many Messianic Jews there are in the country, because most of the congregations are mixed with different ethnicities and nationalities. In some groups only half, or less, of the members are real Jews. According to an interview I did with Jews for Jesus in Tel Aviv there are approximately 5,000 Israelis who believe in Jesus and worship God at a local congregation some where in the country.
Persons Persons

Carmel Assembly on Mt. Carmel (1991) 160 300
Peniel Fellowship in Tiberias (1982) 180 320
Beit Asaf in Netanya (1983) 80 190
Ohalei Rachamim in Kiryat Yam (1995) 85 280
Grace and Truth in Rishon Letzion (1976) 200 450

The Future of Jews who believe in Jesus in Israel
Today the world administrative and economic center for Jews who believe in Jesus is in the United States, but I believe that slowly but surely within the next 100 years the world center will move back to Israel where it all started 2,000 years ago. One reason is demographics despite the current wording of the Law of Return. In 1948 only 6% of world Jewry live in Eretz Israel, where in 2008 it is somewhere around 40% and the percentage is increasing not decreasing. Another reason for the shifting to Israel is because of the economic and political uncertainty in the global economy and the overall economic balance of Israel remaining strong and forecasted to remain strong, though this can change quickly. There have been large increases in the number of Jews around the world moving back to Eretz Israel, and with them will come back many Jews who believe in Jesus despite the Law of Return. Another reason for the shifting of the world center back to Israel is because of the ministry of Israeli missionary groups such as Jews for Jesus and www.yeshua.co.il. Jews for Jesus is one of many missionary groups in the country, which consists of Sabra’s, who are committed full time to telling their fellow Jews about Jesus the Jewish Messiah. Jews for Jesus has their main office in secular Tel Aviv with around 25 full time staff members who make Jesus known publicly in Israel by distributing literature on the streets of Israel, and by expensive and wide spread media advertising in Israel. I interviewed the director of Jews for Jesus in Israel, Dan Sered, and he told me that they have distributed over 250,000 pieces of literature in Hebrew to Jews here about Jesus just in 2008, that is something like 3% of the Jews in the country in just 6 months who have been personally given literature about Jesus from other Jews. Even more so, Jews for Jesus also advertises free New Testaments and websites about Jesus on billboards, buses in Tel Aviv, and on the radio. They also advertise in many of the national newspapers that have a distribution of one million subscriptions. In 2008 it is 100% legal to proselytize in Israel only under two circumstances, first, unless the person is under 18 years old, and secondly as long as you do not pay someone to change their faith. Though the religious community and Ultra Orthodox Knesset members are always in the wings trying to pass a bill to make it illegal to proselytize in Israel they have failed every time. This ruling concerning the legality of proselytizing could possibly change in favor of the religious community within the next 10 years because of the aggressive proselytization attempts that will be taking place all over the country over the next 5 years. Starting in 2008 Jews for Jesus began a six year program intending to tell the whole nation of Israel about Jesus the Jewish Messiah by having two very large and aggressive month long events every year for six years in different key regions of the country. The first campaign was in Gush-Dan in May 2008 and the second was in Upper Galilee in October. Next year the campaigns will be held on the Mediterranean Coast in May and in October in the Galilee. They are also planning a month long evangelism campaign in Jerusalem in 2014. Can you imagine 50 Israeli missionaries in Jerusalem for 30 days in the holiday month of October spread out all over Jerusalem handing out literature about Jesus the Jewish Messiah and advertising free New Testaments in newspapers and signs! Another reason I see the growth of Jewish believers in Jesus growing in Israel is because of the interest in younger people. The young Israeli’s look at the Ultra Orthodox community as out of touch and strange and therefore they are not interested in their religion. They still have a great interest in the God of Abraham and in spiritual things, and they will be introduced to Jesus some how and see Jesus as an interesting Jewish rebel with a message of love who was killed by the Romans and Jewish religious leaders of his time and therefore be interested in his story and some will become Jews who believe in Jesus and slowly but surely add to the number of Jews who believe in Jesus in Eretz Israel.
Citizenship for Jews who believe in Jesus in Israel
According to the Israeli Supreme Court, [5]“citizenship grants a person rights and obligations at the highest level and therefore granting of it, or the revocation of it, needs to be done after a factual and worthy examination”. There are three different ways according to the Law of Citizenship wherein an Israeli can have their citizenship taken away. The first way is to visit an enemy nation of Israel, the second is to commit treason, and the third reason is if one’s citizenship was acquired on the basis of false information. The importance of the right of citizenship in the nation of Israel cannot be underestimated. It is so important to the individual that even those who commit the worst crimes against the country are given a fair and balanced trial before the Israeli Supreme Court to determine whether their citizenship should possibly be taken away. There was an idea of revoking the citizenship of Igal Amir on grounds of treason for his assassination of Yitzchak Rabin. The Israeli High Supreme Court came to a decision that the citizenship of the man who murdered the Prime Minister should not be revoked. Then there was the idea of revoking the citizenship of the two Knesset members, Whatal Taha and Jamal Zahalka from the Balad party because they illegally visited an enemy state of Israel. The Chief Justices decided that departure from Israel to an enemy nation does not create an automatic prerequisite for having one’s Israeli citizenship taken away. Despite the fact that the nation of Israel recognizes the International Law, which considers the right of citizenship as one of the most important of civil rights, and despite the fact that the right of citizenship grants a person many basic privileges in their relationship before their own State, and despite the fact that the right of citizenship is essential in order to implement the freedom of transportation in a nation, it appears the nation of Israel, especially the Minister of Interior is so concerned with one minority religious group of 5,000 persons, the Messianic Jewish community in Israel, that they are actually revoking many of the citizenships of these people who have once already been given legal citizenship when they immigrated. Some of these Israeli citizens who have immigrated to Israel and believe in Jesus have received letters in the mail from the Minister of Interior demanding that they come to a meeting in order to “review their current civil status” without any further explanation in the letter. What was the reason for the Minister of Interior summoning these Israeli citizens to review their citizenship? Did they betray the nation of Israel? Did they represent a threat to national security? Did they visit an enemy state? Did they murder someone? The answer to all these questions is no. What did they do? Nothing. They just have a belief that clashes with the Ultra Orthodox religious parties. Once the citizens come to the meeting to “review their status” they are often deceived and forced to sign official paper work that says that their citizenship was based on false information and then their citizenship is revoked and they are deported out of the country without being able to present their case to the Supreme Court. These tactics showed by the Ultra Orthodox religious community and some members of the Minister of Interior show their fear of this minority group’s potential continued growth and how desperate they are to keep Jews who believe in Jesus out of Israel.
Summary
The Messianic Jewish community in Israel forms a very distinct group due to unique religious, cultural, and social features. Though the Law of Return makes it “impossible” to be a Jew and believe in Jesus and to immigrate to Israel many still are. A poll done towards secular Israelis in the late 1980’s asked them if they would object to a Jew who believes in Jesus immigrating to Israel, and the overwhelming majority of the secular Israelis did not care. In the long run the Jews who believe in Jesus in Israel have to pursue a public education campaign to make secular and rational Israeli’s aware of their minority status, who they actually are, and what they believe, coupled with working at the legislative level. It is clear that the number of Messianic Jews and congregations in the country is growing and not declining, and that they are here to stay despite the ideals of the Ultra Orthodox Jews……”for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing, but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God”.
[1] Kai Kjaer-Hansen, Jewish Identity and Faith in Jesus page 80
[2] Israeli Supreme Court ruling regarding Oswald Rufeisen
[3] Juster and Hocken, The Messianic Jewish Movement page 9 line 12
[4] Juster and Hocken, The Messianic Jewish Movement page 18 line 18
[5] Michael Decker, Revocation of Citizenship page 17 line 1

Survey of Religious Jews

I recently conducted a Bible question survey in Jerusalem among religious Jews in order to get a consensus of their Biblical knowledge of the Jewish Messiah. I asked 100 Religious Jews from 20-40 years of age a simple question, "Can you tell me one verse from heart about the Messiah from the Bible?" I chose Religious Jews because they apparently commit their lives to learning the Scriptures and the Rabbinic writings. If the person answered yes, then the follow up question was, "What does the verse say about the Messiah, and where is it found in the Bible?" Out of the 100 people surveyed, 87 were men and 13 were girls. Only 5% of the Religious Jews surveyed could answer in the positive! That is to say 95% of the Religious Jews surveyed who spend their lives studying could not tell me one Bible verse from memory about the Messiah! 4 of the 5 also gave the wrong chapter and book reference and could only paraphrase the verse. The texts mentioned were Psalm 2, Zecheriah 9, 14, and Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Hosea 4:6....my people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge".

Reporting from Jerusalem.....

Temple Mount Sifting Project 2008

Today I participated in the Temple Mount sifting project on the Mount of Olives. Here is a short account of what has transpired at the site since the project began in 2004.

In the mid 1990's the Islamic Waqf renovated an area of the southwest corner of the Temple Mount called Solomon's Stables. The Waqf renovated the area into a mosque able to hold 10,000 persons but there was a problem with entrances and exits. The Waqf recieved permission by the Israel Antiquity Authorities to put in a "staircase" but it actually ended up being a huge tunnel dug into the belly of the Mount with tractors. The debris from the Mount was loaded unto hundreds of semi trucks and dumped in various places in Jerusalem such as the Kidron Valley. Once archeologists got wind what was happening it was too late to stop the dig, so the next best thing was to get permission to sift the debris from the Temple Mount which took 5 years to get permission to do. So in 2004 permission was granted under the supervision of my teacher Dr. Gabriel Barkay. As of the end of 2008, 25% of the debris has been sifted and precious remains have been found from Iron Age 1, Iron Age 2 (the First Temple), the Persian, Hellenisitc, Roman (the Second Temple), Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Malmuk, Turkish, and modern periods.

The remains include many Solomonic Temple period figurines and weights, as well as numerous remains of burnt kosher animal bones such as sheep and goats, a seal with the name of Pashur the son of Immer the priest (Jeremiah 20:1), Babylonian arrowheads, coins from the Second Temple such as the Holy Jerusalem silver half shekel tax coin just found, Roman games and dice, and Byzantine coins, of which I found two myself today. 25% of the pottery that has been sifted is from the Second Temple period. The sifting project is planned to be finished in 12-15 years.

Reporting from Jerusalem.....

Judges 19....a historical geography note.....

And it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of Mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-judah. And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her fathers house in Bethlehem-judah.....and her husband arose and went after her.....to bring her back again.....The man rose up and departed (from Bethlehem-judah) and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem, .....his concubine was with him, and he said we will not turn aside here into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel, we will pass over to Gibeah.

The purpose of this short article is to put in print the time duration for a 30 year old explorer walking along the ancient north-south watershed ridge route aprox. 7 miles from Bethlehm to Gibeah, tracing the journey mentioned in Judges 19.

Walking:
Bethlehem to Ramat Rahel: 45 minuets
Ramat Rahel to Jerusalem: 45 minuets
Jerusalem to Gibeah: 1 Hour 30 minuets
Bethlehem to Gibeah: 3 hours
Not being cut into 12 pieces: Priceless

November 11, 2008
Weather: clear and sunny.....75 degrees
Tom Meyer exploring in and around Jerusalem

Genesis 10 and an Introduction to the Historical Geography of Israel

According to Yohanan Aharoni (The Land of the Bible), the purpose of Genesis 10 is to provide a historical and geographical description of the land of Canaan as the land between. The geopolitical situation of the Levant was certainly impressed upon the minds of the ancients, and Moses waxes eloquently in describing the land through a genealogy of the inhabitants in and around the land between. The roster is a survey of mostly Gentilic nations, 70 in number (the number 70 representing the number of totality, in Job 38-40 the Lord asks Job 70 questions, forgive 70 times 7 is quoted in Matthew 18:22). The chapter is in the form of a genealogical tree, working in the form of a pyramid from the top down, starting with the three sons of Noah; Shem, Ham and Japheteh. The sons of Shem settled mostly to the east of the Levant and were the closest related to the Israelites, the sons of Ham mostly to the south, and the sons of Japheteh mostly to the north and northwest. The order followed in the survey is political and territorial, as well as being divided by their ethnicity and language, the sons of Noah and their sons are allotted homelands. The sons of Japheteh settled on the outermost fringes of the known world in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The sons of Japheteh were the progenitors of the Greek and Pre-Greek nations. Gomer the father of the Celtic family, Magog in Russia, Madai the Medes, Javan in Greece, Tubal in Anatolia around the Black Sea, Mesheceh in Anatolia, and Tiras, the progenitor of the Thracians. The next generation of the sons of Japheteh continued to expand their territor; the son of Gomer, Ashkenaz dwelt in modern day Germany, and the sons of Javan; Elishah in Cyprus, Tarshish in Tarshish, Kittim in Crete, and Dodanim in Rhodes. The sons of Japheteh were of an Indo-European dialect. The second group contains the sons of Ham which were Semitic despite their allegiance to Egypt. To the sons of Ham belong the Canaanites such as the Jebusites, Amorites, and Girgashties. Even the Philistines who settled in the southern coastal plain were considered in the orbit of the sphere of Egyptian influence. The descendants of Ham, Seba, Havilah, Sheba, and Dedan settled in the South Arabia region but still had a close affinity to Africa. Though Asshur is included in the genealogy of the sons of Shem, the son of Cush, Nimrod the mighty hunter, was the progenitor of settlements in Assyria between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Nimrod founded cities in southern Mesopotamia in Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh. In northern Mesopotamia he founded cities in Nineveh, Rehoboth, and Calah. The borders of the land of Canaan are given in the allotment to the sons of Ham. The border starts at the Phoenician coastal city of Sidon, traverses south through the Plain of Acco, the Sharon Plain, and the Coastal Plain to the port city of Gaza, the "strong city," which was the most important and closest city in the Levant to Egypt. The border continues from Gaza east to the cities of the plain, Sodom, and Gomorrah which are traditionally located at the southern end of the Dead Sea. The border continued north to Lasha (Dan) and did not include any of Transjordan. The sons of Shem were speakers of a northwest Semitic dialect and did not inhabit any of the region of Transjordan. The third group contains the sons of Shem, which were the closest related to the Israelites, through Joktan the father of Eber. Besides Elam who settled in southern Persia, and Lud who settled in Asia Minor, the sons of Shem inhabited three different regions to the east of the Levant. Asshur and his sons settled in Mesopotamia, Aram and his sons settled in northern Mesopotamia, along the Fertile Crescent to Syria and into northern Transjordan, and the sons of Joktan settled in the region around South Arabia. The purpose of the Table of Nations is to reflect the ethnic and geographical world of the Israelites at a very early stage. The survey is to show the sphere of influence of the three sons of Noah, to identify how they settled to the south, east, north, and northwest of the land of Canaan. This is the main idea, to show how all of humanity is connected to and came from the Levant, the Promise Land.
(The Sacred Bridge page 30) Although it is used often in religious circles, the term "Promise Land" is not documented in the Bible. Genesis 15:18-21 furnishes the basis for this term. The promise or land covenant between God and Abram says "on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, unto thy seed have I given this land, from the River of Egypt, unto the great river, the River Euphrates..." The area encompassed here begins in the south at the River of Egypt, which is to be identified with Wadi el-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula, and the River Euphrates to the north is well known. 1 Kings 5:4 makes specific allusion to Tiphsah at the bend in the Euphrates were convenient fords existed in antiquity as the northern border of the Solomonic kingdom. The geographical entity envisioned in the Genesis promise is repeated in Deuteronomy, ".....turn and set out...to Lebanon, as far as the Great River, the River Euphrates (1:7)," as well as in Joshua, "from the wilderness and this Lebanon, unto the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hitties (northern Syria), and unto the Great Sea (Mediterranean), towards the going down of the sun shall be your coast" (Joshua 1:3,4). Yet the territory where the sons of Israel settled was traditionally between Dan and Beersheba (1 Kings 4:25), the same idea is given as early as Deuteronomy 34:2,3 when Moses saw the land which the Lord sware unto Abraham, Issac, and Jacob from Mt. Nebo in Transjordan, "unto Dan.....unto the Negev." This does not mean that the exact border or Israel ran alongside the tel’s of Dan and Beersheba, but that these two cities were located at the northern and southern most extremity of the country recognized as being settled by the tribes of Israel. There are also some east-west or west-east cross-sectional descriptions of the land that represent a Judahite viewpoint since they include the Shephelah (Deuteronomy 1:7, Joshua 10:40, 11:16, 17, Judges 1:9, 2 Chronicles 26:10). The overall character of the land of Israel is given in Deuteronomy 8:7,8 "For the Lord thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs that spring out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of oil olive, and dates." The list gives the two basic components of the topography of the land; valleys and hills. The list also includes the seven species of food for which the country is known. The foodstuffs are divided into winter foods in the valleys such as wheat and barley, and summer foods in the hills, vines and fig trees, etc. The terrains of each of the 19 regions visited on the 15 day field study will be described in and of themselves. The overall character of the climate of the land of Israel is given in Genesis 8:22, "seedtime and harvest," or "cold and heat," and "summer and winter." The Bible only recognizes two seasons in the Levant. (The Sacred Bridge page 41) The year is divided into two halves, one beginning with Nisan, the first month, and another beginning with Tishri, the seventh month. These Babylonian month names were not in use in pre-exilic Israel but adopted afterwards. The Old Testament sacred festivals fell in the seventh month period embracing the Passover in Nisan and the Tabernacles in Tishri. During the winter, the main agricultural activities are devoted to grain crops expected in the spring and summer, in the summer the work was on vines and in orchards, for the summer fruits (2 Samuel 16:1, Micah 7:1). Every month there was something to do, there was never an unfertile season in the Levant, either in the north of south. The "eyes of the Lord" were upon the land from the beginning to the end of the year (Deuteronomy 11:12). The weather pattern in winter consists of low-pressure systems that arrive from the west and northwest. Those from northern Italy pass along the Adriatic to Greece and the Aegean, reaching Syria. The others come from southern Italy to the central Mediterranean and across to the Levant. The rainy season begins during October or November and usually come in three phases, the "early rain," "rain," and the "latter rain" (Deuteronomy 11:13-17). The early rain is hoped for just after the Feast of Tabernacles, it is a light sprinkling to soften the hard earth and to facilitate plowing. It may come in September but usually arrives sometime in October. 3The principal rain, about 75%, falls between December and February. The main sowing takes place from November through December and late sowing usually is done during a break in the rains in January. By March the grass is high enough to cut for fodder, and in April the "latter rain" is needed as a final dose to swell the grain. Though near the end of March the hot desert winds, sirocco or khamsin can begin. The rains are deposited more intensively on the mountain ranges of Judah, Ephraim, and Galilee than in other regions. The differing climate of the respective regions is an outcome of the contest between the arid desert and wet sea colliding. The amount of precipitation varies greatly in different parts of the country due to their geographical location and is intensified by the great differences in altitude. There is a difference of several degrees in temperature during the winter between Jerusalem and the seacoast, the latter being much milder. Beyond the watershed ridge in Ephraim and Judah there is a rain shadow since most of the precipitation has fallen on the hills, thus the dry chalk of the Judean Wilderness has little chance of getting moisture. However, the same winds that brought the rains from the west descend again to the humid depression and greenhouse of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea region where they pick up more moisture to be deposited in the ranges of Gilead and Moab. In a drought year for western Israel, the dry winds and high temperatures cause higher evaporation in the Rift Valley so that Transjordan actually may have a slightly higher precipitation for a change (Ruth 1:1). The snows of Mt. Hermon provide the principal water source for the Jordan River. Most of the winter rainwater is absorbed by the limestone mountains of Cisjordan and descend to a deep underground water table which was not utilized in antiquity. However, some of the water did break through to the surface in the form of springs and wells though some were considered brackish. These were generally located along the edge of the plains at the foot of the hill ranges. The true agricultural cycle of Israel is reflected in a school exercise from the 10th century, viz. the Gezer Calendar. The calendar will be discussed later in the Gezer section, but there is no doubt that it deals with twelve months, four periods of two months each and four periods of only one month. The series matches the real cycle of agricultural activities in the Levant. In the history of Israel and the connected regions, the network of roads was of prime importance because of their value as arteries or lifelines for regional and international commerce in the Near East. Unlike the country’s geographical structure which tends to induce fragmentation, the network of important routes crossing the Levant cultivated political and economic unification in periods, often under the power of a foreign empire. (The Land of the Bible page 43) The broken landscape of Israel makes it very difficult to develop new roads, so the pattern has remained more or less the same. For example, the Senonian valleys were the most suitable for traffic, (as they are today, such as Route 38 traversing the Shephelah on the Senonian seam between the Hill Country and the Shephelah) as the soft rock developed a smooth surface and were exposed at the base of hills. At strategic points dominating the major road junctions important cities were founded (i.e. Gezer, Megiddo, Hazor) whose fate became linked with the economic and military development of the route. 5Three types of routes may be distinguished according to function and measure of importance: international highways, intra-regional routes, and local trails. Preparation of road beds was limited to removing rocks and leveling surface when necessary (Isaiah 62:10, Amarna 199, Mesha Stone line 26). Many roads were named after the final destination such as "the way to Shur" and "the way to Edom" (Genesis 16:7, 2 Kings 3:20). The watershed ridge traversing the entire hill country from Hebron to Shechem follows a single track corresponding to the watershed, and the deep wadis on both sides prevent travelers from turning to the right hand or to the left. The main cities in the hill country were located on or astride from the watershed ridge (Debir, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Gibeah, Mizpah, Bethel, Shechem), though latitudinal routes crossing the country from east to west are more numerous than longitudinal roads.

Israel vs. Iran

Within the last 100 days the final pieces have been put into place for preparation of Israel's preemptive strike on Iran. Israel has been given two different American made military defensive systems by the Bush administration; one on the land and one on the sea, as well as a purchasing a huge stash of specialty American GBU bombs. Along with their own defense systems, Israel will have 100% protection to combat the retaliation that Iran will attempt to put forward when Israel alone strikes Iran. These huge defensive upgrades gives Israel the same technological protection as America has for example in the northern hemisphere against Russia. According to inside sources, in May when President Bush visited Israel for the last time during his presidency, he gave the country a grand final gift, an almost invisible missle defense system now functioning somewhere under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The underwater control center is about the size of an oil rig and its exact location is top secret. The defensive center can intercept ballistic missles in the high stratosphere and outer space along with providing hyper detailed air control of the whole Mediterranean Sea basin to Afghanistan.
In September Israel purchased 1,000Guided Bomb Unit 28's (GBU-28). The GBU 28 is a 5,000 pound laser guided bunker busting bomb that contains at least 600 pounds of high explosives that can penetrate 250 feet deep into the ground then explode. The bombs will specifically be used to penetrate hardened Iranian command and nuclear centers located deep under ground.
Just this week it was announced that an American high resolution radar system called X- Band is set up at the Nevatim air base in the Negev that has the ability to track objects the size of an orange over 1,000 miles away. X Band will be opertaed by 120 American soldiers, making it the first time in history that American military personnel has been permenatly stationed in the Land. Now comes the waiting game…… Tom, live from Jerusalem.