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Chapter 41: The Spirit-led Christian will always be Israel’s most Faithful Ally!
It is a Biblical Command that we are to Bless Israel and why shouldn’t we? First of all, the Jews gave us Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and Secondly, the Jewish people were entrusted with the oracles of God Romans 3:2.
Just as it was with Major Haddad, the Founder of the South Lebanese Army – so it is today!
The “Good Fence Memorial”: To show their appreciation for the South Lebanese Army, in 2021 Israel built the “Good Fence Memorial” next to the “Fatima Gate/Good Gate” to honor the South Lebanon Army, a Lebanese Christian Militia, for coming to their aid in battling the PLO, then Hezbollah. It was a Memorial commemorating the many South Lebanon Army soldiers who fell in combat fighting alongside the Israeli Defense Army. The spirit-led Christian will always be Israel’s most faithful ally. The “Good Fence Memorial” commemorates those SLA soldiers who paid a very heavy price for their loyalty in coming to Israel’s aid in their battles against the PLO, then Hezbollah. Those SLA soldiers who died on the battleground alongside the IDF can be likened to those who Jesus told us that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. And, that is exactly what the SLA and their families did!
John 15:13 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. NLT
Israel meant so much to Major Haddad and His Christian Militia: Read the words of Francis Rezik, Major Haddad’s spokesman, as he explained why Major Haddad, the founder of the SLA, and his troops were truly loved by Israel and why Israel meant so much to Major Haddad and His Christian Militia.
Pause and meditate on his words as you read them:
“Israel is our double savior. First, she gave us the Messiah who saved us spiritually. Then she saved us from physical destruction. The roots of our Christianity are with the Jews. Why should we not be Israel’s ally?”
The words of Francis Rezik are a Living Testament to the spiritual truths of Ephesians 2:14-18, that Christ's death on the Cross broke down the dividing walls of hostility between the Jews and the Church making them one body. Gentiles are now fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Like Major Haddad and his Christian Militia, the Spirit-led Christian will always be Israel’s most faithful ally!
Scripture confirms Major Haddad’s declaration that “the roots of our Christianity are with the Jews.”
John 4:22 reveals that when Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman, He told her that “Salvation Comes through the Jews” – that the Jewish people have the true religion and the true form of worship, and Jesus Christ the Messiah, will bring salvation to the world.
John 4:22 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. NLT
Jesus’ declaration that salvation comes through the Jews reveals the distinctive and important role of the Jewish people in God’s redemptive plan.
Just as Major Haddad declared, salvation came through the Jews. And, we know from Romans 3:2 that God entrusted the Scriptures to Israel who God called to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6).
We know from Scripture that the blessing of God’s Word was never meant for Israel alone but for all nations. We must never forget that it was the Jewish Prophets of old that wrote the Old Testament Scriptures and all the New Testament authors, with the exception of Luke the Evangelist, were Jewish as well.
Following are two news articles where Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, declared that it was the U.S.’s Biblical Admonition to help and support Israel and that God will bless those who bless Israel.
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Speaker Johnson says it’s U.S.’s ‘biblical admonition’ to help Israel Johnson spoke at a pro-Israel event on Monday night By Elizabeth Elkind Fox News
Published April 15, 2024 9:27pm EDT
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared that it was the U.S.’s "biblical admonition" to help and support Israel during a Monday night speech.
The House GOP leader was addressing an emergency meeting of Christians United For Israel, convened after Iran’s weekend missile attack on the Middle East American ally.
"I'm going to state something that you all know – at this critical moment, the United States must show unwavering strength and support for Israel…We have to make certain that the entire world understands that Israel is not alone and God is going to bless the nation that blesses Israel," Johnson said. "We understand that that's our role. It's also our biblical admonition. This is something that's an article of faith for us. It also happens to be great foreign policy."
JOHNSON TO PITCH HOUSE GOP ON ISRAEL, UKRAINE AID PLANS IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING
Speaker Mike Johnson said the U.S. must support Israel in a Monday night speech where he also praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Getty)
He spent much of his 15-minute address also laying into President Biden and other top Democrats who have been critical of Israel in its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. In particular, he singled out Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for calling for new elections in Israel.
"They're trying to dictate strategy, then they're trying to demand a change of leadership while Israel is in a battle for its very existence," Johnson said. "It’s breathtaking."
He also criticized Biden’s foreign policy with respect to Iran, including reports the administration extended a sanctions waiver last month to pump more cash into its shaky economy. The waivers were first granted in November 2018.
"It's unconscionable. I can't make sense of it. And I've talked to the White House about this. I do not understand the policy. You can't make sense of it," Johnson said.
The speaker also said he confronted Schumer by phone after he called for new Israeli elections last month.
He also attacked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for criticizing Netanyahu (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"I called the senator and I said, ‘What are you doing?" Johnson said. "What if I came out and made a statement and called for a regime change in Ukraine…your hair would be on fire."
It came just after Johnson unveiled a new plan to fund Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan in a closed-door meeting with the House GOP conference.
Under his proposal the House would hold separate votes on each funding priority sometime at the end of this week, likely Friday, he told reporters after the meeting.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
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The Washington Post
Evangelicals are fed up with the House GOP’s Israel aid holdouts
Speaker Mike Johnson is under pressure from the country’s largest Christian Zionist organization to rein in the Freedom Caucus conservatives blocking more U.S. funding
By Abigail Hauslohner April 13, 2024 at 10:02 a.m. EDT
GREENVILLE, N.C. — The father and son pastors, Danny and Stephen Hoell, had just returned from Israel, and it was time for the congregants gathered before them to hear what American Christians can — what they must — do to support the Jewish state in this time of peril.
“You just can’t be a Christian and watch the nation of Israel go through what they’re going through, and sit back and do absolutely nothing,” said Stephen Hoell, who in late-March was visiting his father’s church, New Life Pentecostal, here in Greenville.
“That’s right,” a few people called out from the pews. “Amen.”
Now in its seventh month of war in Gaza, Israel is facing an onslaught of criticism for the brutality of its campaign. Polls show most Americans believe Israel has a right to defend itself after Hamas’s devastating cross-border attack Oct. 7. But a growing number also think its conduct — killing tens of thousands of women and children over six months — has become unacceptable, with President Biden, congressional Democrats and even the anticipated Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, all voicing frustration.
To the Hoells, however, and to Christians United For Israel (CUFI) — the country’s largest Christian Zionist organization, which had deputized Stephen to deliver the evening’s presentation — no amount of criticism could dampen their devotion. They see it as incumbent on Christ’s followers to ensure Washington’s commitment to Israel doesn’t waver either — not in the face of liberal opposition nor because of political conservatives who have veered toward isolationism in matters of foreign policy.
“We’re going to hold every single one of our elected officials accountable to make sure that if there is only one nation that’s going to stand with the nation of Israel, it had better be the United States of America,” he told the congregants.
The Biden administration is urging Israeli officials not to escalate tensions in the region after their coalition stopped more than 300 Iranian-launched drones and missiles heading toward Israel. Follow live updates.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this month is expected to take up the issue of supplemental spending for Israel, Ukraine and other national security priorities contained in a Senate-approved package that has stalled for months amid Republican opposition to funding the war in Ukraine, and Democrats’ resistance to approving aid piecemeal.
Hundreds of pastors and Christian community leaders linked to CUFI are planning an “emergency fly-in” to Washington to lobby Johnson (R-La.), according to a person familiar with the organization’s planning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.
CUFI has not taken a public stance on Ukraine aid, but says it has raised millions of dollars to help Jewish Ukrainians seek refuge in Israel. The organization’s leaders, who declined to comment for this article, have also conveyed to lawmakers that a package including both Ukraine and Israel aid is most likely to receive the bipartisan support it needs to pass, this person added.
While CUFI reserves much of its venom for President Biden and Democrats, whom it has accused of “betrayal,” it has also taken aim at the Freedom Caucus, whose members have opposed Israel aid — like other foreign aid — because they “hate common sense,” the group’s nonprofit arm claimed in a recent update shared with subscribers and policymakers. In a separate update late last month, it charged Johnson with allowing the House to be “held hostage by fringe isolationist members of his own caucus,” an apparent reference to the 14 Republicans, including Freedom Caucus leaders, who earlier this year broke ranks to sink a stand-alone aid package for Israel.
Johnson, himself a churchgoing Evangelical, has said his “worldview” can be found in the “Bible off your shelf.” He has, however, resisted bringing a Senate-approved national security spending package to a vote amid fierce opposition from other conservatives determined to rein in U.S. debt.
Trump, whose closest allies in Congress belong to the Freedom Caucus, has said Israel needs to get the Gaza war “over with, and get it over with fast.”
Freedom Caucus chair, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), told The Washington Post he considers Israel “one of our most important allies on the world stage,” and called for Congress to continue to stand with the Jewish state “as it defends itself against this evil.”
“However at a time when we are adding a trillion dollars to our debt every 100 days, the era of borrowing for emergency spending must end,” he said. “We should support Israel responsibly” and pay for it “by cutting other unjustified, wasteful spending.”
‘It is a biblical issue’
CUFI’s founder, the Texas-based pastor John Hagee, has said that Israel’s creation in 1948 is a sign of Jesus’ imminent return to Earth. Hagee has preached that modern Israel is the manifestation of God’s will — which cannot be challenged. Among CUFI’s core beliefs is the expectation that when Jesus returns, the battle of Armageddon will ensue, after which, Jesus will rule over a Christian world from Jerusalem.
The strategy seeks to amplify voices in support of Israel, targeting lawmakers deemed by CUFI to be most at risk of letting additional aid become a casualty of the far-right’s push for a more America First-minded foreign policy, the person familiar with the group’s plans said.
CUFI, this person added, has been in communication with Johnson’s office “consistently” and remains confident he will “ensure Israel has what it needs.”
Johnson’s office did not respond to questions about CUFI and other Evangelical groups’ outreach on the matter. America’s pro-Israel policy has always enjoyed broad bipartisan backing, but the Gaza war has caused unprecedented strain. The Biden administration has warned of a policy shift, and some Democrats have called to slash aid, if Israel doesn’t do more to limit the staggering civilian death toll and halt an emerging famine. An important contingent of Black Evangelicals also has called for ending Israel aid, accusing it of committing a “mass genocide” in Gaza.
Such developments make any ambiguity in the Republican ranks — where most have continued to rally around Israel — all the more worrisome to Christian Zionists.
“I do think more and more individuals are concerned about isolationism, and that kind of isolationist thought appearing on Capitol Hill,” said Brent Leatherwood, who heads the advocacy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States and a reliably GOP voting bloc. “I think most Southern Baptists, most Evangelicals, we understand that when America steps back from the world stage, that creates a vacuum, and far too often the vacuum is filled by evil forces,” said Leatherwood, who is not affiliated with CUFI.
Many Christians look at their lawmakers’ failure to pass supplemental assistance for Israel, Ukraine and other issues as a reflection of “Congress being largely ineffective right now, and being unable to agree on some very basic things,” Leatherwood said. “I think your average Christian is bewildered by the lack of action.”
A ‘soft power’
In the darkness outside New Life Pentecostal, an electronic billboard invited people in to “learn why you should stand with Israel and what you can do to defend Israel.” From the pulpit, Stephen Hoell said he was hoping to provide congregants with tools “to be able to counter the lies” he said were advanced by Israel’s adversaries and the mainstream media.
“You hear that Israel is said to be an occupier of a land that they do not own — they’re occupying the Palestinians’ residence,” Hoell said. “Well, before I went to Israel … I wouldn’t know what to say to that.” Now he does, he added. “Let me tell you that occupiers do not dig in the ground that they’re said to occupy and find artifacts from their own people dating back 3,500 years!”
Evangelical groups like CUFI, while less prominent than the better funded Jewish lobbyist group AIPAC — consistently one of the highest contributors to political campaigns across both parties — nonetheless wield broad influence in Washington, said Anthea Butler, chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s religious studies department. What CUFI and other Evangelical groups lobbying for Israel lack in campaign spending, relative to AIPAC, they make up for in grass-roots appeal, she said.
“It’s a different kind of power. It’s a soft power.” CUFI helps get pastors and “regular Evangelicals at home” to see how important Israel is, Butler said, and those voices filter up to Washington.
Former vice president Mike Pence is presented the Defender of Israel award by Christians United For Israel founder John Hagee, right, during the 2023 CUFI summit in Arlington, Va. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In 2023 alone, CUFI lobbied for a dozen pro-Israel bills in the House and Senate, according to the campaign finance database Open Secrets. The group claims numerous legislative and political victories, including Trump’s 2017 decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “after more than 135,000 CUFI members emailed the White House,” the group’s website says. In North Carolina, the two dozen people in Stephen Hoell’s audience nodded and called out affirmatively as he spoke. But while the mostly retirement-age group were all devout Christians, they were still a long way from Capitol Hill, and Hoell seemed to anticipate their uncertainty about how they could impact national politics. “You’re sitting here thinking: ‘We’re from the country. What in the world can I do?’” Hoell said to the congregants.
“You have a chance to be a watchman on the wall,” he said. “We at Christians United for Israel, we line up with God’s mandate. We declare that for Zion’s sake, we will not keep silent.”
“CUFI does not stand with the nation of Israel because it’s a political issue. We stand with the nation of Israel because it is a biblical issue,” Stephen Hoell told the congregants at New Life Pentecostal.
“We are on the brink of the coming of the rapture,” his father added at the end of the presentation. The Post was permitted to attend the event at New Life, a modest church on the rural outskirts of Greenville. But the Hoells declined to be interviewed.
Of the more than 200 events CUFI says it has sponsored since Oct. 7, most have occurred in places like this one: small- to medium-sized communities situated in solidly red — or at least purple — parts of the country.
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