Blog

They lived on the frontlines. Galina and her elderly mother Tatiana resided in Mariupol, one of the first Ukraine cities bombed by Russia. Working at a supermarket, Galina heard the explosions and froze, saying, “The store was packed with people… there was panic and fear.” 

Galina’s apartment was damaged by rocket fire, so she and her mother took refuge in the basement. When their food ran out, she had to buy stale, moldy bread, so the two had something to eat. Galina admits, “I never prayed so much… I asked God to have mercy on us.” 

Eventually, a rescue bus took them to Moldova. Because they are Jewish, they were grateful to be able to fly to Israel as refugees, and new immigrants. Galina said, “We came with only the clothes on our back… We needed help.” They rented an apartment with money from a government grant—yet still needed appliances and food. And they were alone in a new country. 

But thankfully, friends like you were there. Through CBN Israel, caring donors offered them groceries, and a much-needed stove and washing machine. Galina exclaimed, “In our war-torn Ukraine, I could only dream of fresh bread. But now, I’m in a peaceful place, and you bring me food. I’m extremely grateful to you for helping us… May the Lord repay your generosity!” 

And your generous gift to CBN Israel can be a blessing to many who are fleeing dangerous situations and seeking a safe haven in Israel. You can provide food, housing, essentials, and financial assistance to them—as well as to others in desperate need. 

Your support can extend help and hope to lonely refugees, terror victims, Holocaust survivors, single mothers, and struggling families—giving them vital aid and encouragement. 

Please join us in reaching out with God’s love and compassion!

GIVE TODAY

The Jewish revolts against Rome (A.D. 66-136) scattered the Jewish community outside the land of Israel. Judaism never lost its connection to the land because the land was part of God’s covenant with Israel. Jewish families recited, “Next year in Jerusalem,” every Passover in the Diaspora (the Jewish community outside of the land of Israel). So, Jerusalem and the Jewish ancestral land remained part of Jewish faith and hope.

The Jewish community did not entirely leave the land of Israel after the Jewish revolts. Jewish communities resided in the land during both the Byzantine and early Muslim periods. However, the Crusaders slaughtered all inhabitants of Jerusalem upon their conquest of the city in 1099 A.D. Jews, eastern Christians, and Muslims were put to the Crusader sword.

The Medieval Jewish Sage, Nachmanides (Ramban), played an instrumental role in reestablishing a Jewish presence in Jerusalem following this period. He immigrated from Spain to Jerusalem in the thirteenth century and settled in Jerusalem on the western hill, where the Jewish Quarter of the Old City presently resides.

Another immigration of Jews occurred in the eighteenth century. These Jews came from North Africa, belonging to the Sephardic or Mizrahi branch of Judaism. They were religious. They settled in Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tiberias, and Safed. The ancient land of Israel belonged to the Ottoman Empire at this time and was part of Syro-Palestine.

The Jewishness of these cities made the Jewish populations the greatest of the various people groups inhabiting them. When Europeans began to enter the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century, the censuses they took showed the Jewish population as the largest in these cities. As a result, the Ottomans began resettling Arabs into Syro-Palestine from elsewhere in their empire in the 1850s to 1870s. This way, the Arab populations of these cities would exceed the Jewish populations.

The rise of nationalism in Europe in the nineteenth century impacted European Jewry. Some identified with nationalist sentiments in Europe; others came to express a desire for a Jewish nationhood in their ancestral homeland. This movement became known as Zionism. The growing anti-Semitism in Europe, especially eastern Europe and Russia, and the pogroms in these regions led to the beginnings of Jewish immigration into Ottoman Syro-Palestine at the end of the nineteenth century.

Many of the Jews who came to settle in Syro-Palestine were not religious, nor necessarily motivated by religion. Jewish families, like the Rothschilds, and Jewish agencies, like the Jewish National Fund, provided funding for Jews to acquire land from the Ottomans. These waves of Jewish settlers, which stretched into the early twentieth century, bought agricultural tracks of land.

Though they were not natural farmers, they learned farming establishing schools for farming and farming communities, some of which became the first kibbutzim. The Jews legitimately purchased land from the Ottomans, but this did occasionally lead to the displacement of local Arab farmers. The Ottomans did not care, as long as they were well compensated. But herein lies the beginnings of the Jewish-Arab conflict.

Jewish immigration into their ancestral homeland occurred over centuries. The deep connection of Jews to the land of Israel fueled the hope of millions to return.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

From sunset to sunset on April 17-18, Israelis marked Holocaust Memorial Day. The customary countrywide alarm sounded, announcing two solemn minutes of silence. Jewish citizens froze in remembrance, stopping everything—including their cars on busy highways and city streets where they got out and stood. 

Fewer than 150,000 Holocaust survivors remain in Israel. Six survivors always light the flames of six torches at the official state ceremony at Israel’s Yad Vashem National Holocaust Memorial. Jewish communities mend the torn tapestry of their history by their sheer will to live, using endurance, innovation, holy festivals, and family to honor those lost—still securing Israel’s safety 8,760 hours each year for the only Jewish country in the world. 

Seventy-eight years have passed since American, British, and Soviet forces liberated surviving Jews in the concentration camps. The worldwide Jewish community has developed countless educational and inspiring ways to remember and honor the men, women, and children who perished—ways that always proclaim the resounding motto, “Never Again.” 

I recently saw a creative idea that gave me fresh insights into such steadfastness. During a weekend with our close friends Rev. Dr. Tony Crisp and his wife Karen in Kingsport, Tennessee, we were their guests at Dr. Crisp’s excellent event, Jesus and the Passover. The next day we visited his office, where I gravitated toward a large book, the biggest I had ever seen. Displayed on an elegant wooden accent table, it opened in the center. I asked, “What is this, Tony?” 

Tony then picked up the heavy book, titled And Every Single One Was Someone. He explained that he had received it, gratefully, as a gift from a Jewish friend and then highlighted facts about the unusual book. “There are 1,250 pages in this book. It has only one word, JEW, written six million times.” He pointed out that “each page is imprinted with the word JEW 4,800 times.” 

In my research, I learned about Phil Chernofsky, the author of this 2013 book. He designed it as a teaching tool for his math and Jewish studies students at a Jewish day school. In a New York Times book review in 2014, Chernofsky described his concept of the stark volume, observing, “That’s how the Nazis viewed their victims: These are not individuals, these are not people, these are just a mass we have to exterminate.” In the foreword, Chernofsky invites readers to step back from the pages to note that it looks like “nothing more than a design.” Then he invites readers to look closely, and focus on one word, JEW, then a column of JEWS, realizing it may represent a family, or a page of JEWS representing a small town. 

His foreword concludes, “They are gone but we remember them.” 

Remembering the Holocaust (Yom HaShoah) is a message not only for Jews. It is for Christians. If we take God’s word seriously in the Old and New Testaments—which emphasize His eternal covenants with the Jews—clearly, we must remember! The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob commissioned us non-Jews to pray not just for the “peace of Jerusalem” but to act. The Jew hatred is no longer appearing in the margins. It has become a panorama of propaganda infecting minds globally. 

Among evangelicals, steadfast pastors are leading the way to oppose this reincarnated evil. They express their advocacy for Israel, the birthplace of our faith, in a broad range of outreaches. It may include tours to Israel, humanitarian aid to Holocaust survivors, teaching, pulpit preaching, speaking up for Israel in world governments, authoring, and funding bomb shelters. Rev. Dr. Tony Crisp is one of them. 

Born into poverty in McMinn County, in Tennessee’s Appalachian Mountains, Tony was an unlikely candidate for Israel advocacy. However, since Dr. Crisp’s profound encounter with Jesus at almost 20, then biblically understanding Israel’s importance, God has vaulted him into relentless advocacy for the last 40 years in pastorates from California to Tennessee. Tony serves as Lead Elder and Teaching Pastor at Remnant Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. His leaders and congregation are fully supportive of him, as he spends as many as four months of travel annually to teach hundreds through his company TLC Holy Land Tours. To date, he has led some 100 tours to Israel. Impacting thousands of lay people and pastors, he proclaims that the Bible is a Jewish book, written by Jews for Jews—and for us. 

Tony’s unforgettable teaching combines a brilliant biblical understanding of Israel’s ancient and modern history with extensive geographical, cultural, and archaeological expertise. He is a walking encyclopedia, a pastor with a servant heart and a sense of humor. His reach has grown internationally with his podcast, “On The Way,” already heard in 130-plus countries.  

In addition to Tony receiving numerous awards, positions, and initiatives, the historically Jewish American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) appointed him as one of several Christians to their National Council. He has spoken on AIPAC panels and at AIPAC’s General Sessions, inspiring both Jews and Christians in political advocacy with the United States Congress—making sure lawmakers continue to support Israel’s security aid. He also serves on the board of directors for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem-USA.

One of Tony’s latest and far-reaching roles is his appointment as corporate pastor for 5 Stones Intelligence, an intelligence and protective agency service based on Judeo-Christian principles. The organization engages an expert network that includes former members of the CIA, FBI, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He has already hosted numerous tours to Israel and is now planning additional tours for police officers, special agents, special forces operators, intelligence officers, and security professionals. These specialized tours are filled with biblical studies, tactical training, and intelligence briefings from Israel’s top experts. With the world descending into darkness, their grasp of biblical truths and expanded tools will bless all of us.

I am highlighting Tony’s ministry as an example of other fine pastors who are dedicated to the biblical narrative of God’s eternal plans for His Jewish people and His Holy Land. A strong remnant exists among pastors who I am honored to know. However, the resurgence of Jew hatred and propaganda is a trumpet call for additional pastors and their congregations to lift shields of prayer, biblical teaching, and practical actions. 

Please read what the Palestinian Authority published on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, Monday April 17, as translated and reported by Palestinian Media Watch (www.PalWatch.org): “That Jews were trained by the Nazis in concentration camps to kill ‘without feeling anything’ and that the Germans would deliberately free Jews in concentration camps to ‘prepare them’ for combat against Arabs in Palestine.”

After reading the above outrage, I hope you will decide to join Tony and/or other pastors, as well as CBN Israel to spread the facts and pass on God’s Word. 

John 4:22 “Jesus said, ‘You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.’” 

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” 

Romans 11:18 “Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” 

Please join CBN Israel in prayer this week for Israel and the Jewish people:

• Pray for more pastors to proclaim truths about God’s eternal promises to Israel and the Jewish people.
• Pray asking Jesus in what ways He wants you to advocate for Israel. 
• Pray asking God to reveal every terror plot against Israel during their current, serious security threats inside and outside their land. 
• Pray that Christians will actively advocate for Israel and Jewish communities worldwide amid the rise of dangerous anti-Semitism.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

She was blind, Jewish, and came alone from Russia to Israel in 2018 to become a citizen. Living by herself in the northern city of Karmiel, she depends completely on the government to survive—along with a caretaker, who comes for a few hours. Still, she’s grateful for all she has.

She is comfortable in her neighborhood; with everything she needs nearby. She has even learned to walk those short distances on her own, which, being blind, is a huge accomplishment. 

Recently, Tanya had problems with her teeth, and required dental prosthetics. Sadly, the dental clinic botched the work—leaving her with no teeth and needing dentures urgently. She found another dentist who could do the work, but she couldn’t afford it. Who could help her? 

Thankfully, friends like you were there for her through CBN Israel. Donors provided grant money to cover the cost—and Tanya is thrilled to be eating and smiling again! They also gave her vouchers for food and necessities. Plus, they are connecting her with local partners who can offer her more services, given her blindness, and provide beyond what the government covers. 

In addition, she is thrilled that her son and his family finally immigrated to Israel and moved not far away so they can visit her—and her grandson sometimes comes to help her! 

Because you cared, Tanya is living a fuller life. And your gift to CBN Israel can help so many in need receive groceries, housing, financial aid, and more. With the influx of refugees and colder weather, your support is crucial. You can provide a lifeline to single mothers, Holocaust survivors, refugees, and more. 

Please join with us to make a difference today!

GIVE TODAY

The New Testament connects the coming of Jesus to Israel’s hopes of redemption (Luke 1:50-55, 68-75; 2:25, 38; 21:20-28; 24:21; and Acts 1:6-8). Jesus’ followers expected the end of the age would bring God’s promised redemption of Israel (Acts 1:6). They called their fellow Jews to repent as part of God’s final redemption, the resurrection of the dead, and the return of Jesus.

Jesus’ followers faced the challenge of their claim of His Messiahship. While they pointed to His resurrection as proof of God’s vindication and exaltation of Him, Rome still ruled the land of Israel and nothing had changed for the people of Israel. Ancient Judaism believed at the end of the age non-Jews would forsake their idols and turn to worship the God of Israel but remain non-Jews. The inclusion of the Gentiles into Jesus’ movement connected to this expectation as evidence that the end of the age had come.

Paul explained God’s grace to the Gentiles in Romans. Israel’s disobedience created an opportunity for the inclusion of the Gentiles into Israel, being grafted onto the olive tree of Israel. He expected non-Jews to remain non-Jews, in other words not to circumcise, but he instructed them to live Jewishly in their morality and belief in the God of Israel. They had received God’s Spirit as sons and daughters, proof God accepted them; therefore, they should walk according to the Spirit producing the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul believed the proof to Israel that Jesus was God’s Messiah was the turning of the non-Jews from their idols and worshipping the God of Israel but remaining Gentiles. By the Gentiles walking by the Spirit, living Jewishly, they testified to the end of the age and God’s fulfillment of His redemptive promises to Israel in Jesus. When Israel sees the Gentiles doing this, they will repent, which will bring the resurrection of the dead (Romans 11:15), and thus, all Israel will be safe (Romans 11:26).

To describe his position, Paul used the image of an olive tree. The non-Jews he represented by a single wild olive branch grafted on to the olive tree, which represented Israel. He reminded his Gentiles readers that “it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you” (Romans 11:18). Paul understood the horticulture of olives well. He never implied the single wild olive branch supplanted the tree, nor did he imagine a blossoming branch grafted onto a withering root.

The New Testament never indicates the followers of Jesus changed their initial proclamation: the coming of Jesus heralds the redemption of Israel. Christianity has historically struggled with this reality, trying to understand God’s relation to the Church and Israel. But those problems are ours, not the early followers of Jesus, including Paul.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

You may not immediately recognize the names of Leah, Maia, and Rina Dee who lived in Efrat, Israel. Years ago, I stayed in this beautiful town seven miles south of Jerusalem, where more than 13,000 residents—many of whom immigrated from the United States—practice their Jewish faith, hold Old Testament ideals and professional positions, and love their ancestral homeland.

Last Friday, Leah, Maia, and Rina set out on a family trip from Efrat to Tiberius for a joyous Passover visit. On the way, two Islamic Palestinian terrorists pulled up beside their car and fired on them. The car plowed off the road. In their frenzied hatred, the killers then fired 22 more shots from their Kalashnikov assault rifle, murdering sisters Maia (20) and Rina (15). The murderers mortally wounded their mother, Leah (48). She died Monday in an Israeli hospital. 

Traveling in another car further ahead, Rabbi Leo Dee and their three other children were unaware of this tragedy. He received a phone call from his sister, who had heard of an accident on that route and was checking to make sure they were all safe. Appalled, Rabbi Dee retraced his route—and discovered his family’s catastrophe. On Sunday, Rabbi Dee and his remaining children buried Maia and Rina together in a double funeral. The funerals took place with Rabbi Dee’s emotional, eloquent remarks. 

Rabbi Dee’s three family members were complete strangers to the murderers. They died for one reason: They were Jewish, viewed as mere objects in the face of coldblooded hatred. Passover ended in Israel on April 12. However, the suffering of the four remaining family members, and the town of Efrat residents who grieve with them, is stamped into the Dees’ hearts for all their days as they walk through their valley of the shadow of these senseless deaths. 

Two of my Israeli friends who live in Efrat attended the funerals. Rabbi Shmuel Bowman is the CEO of Operation Lifeshield, which delivers portable bomb shelters to at-risk communities under rocket attack. Jonathan Feldstein is the creator of the Genesis 123 foundation, which designs meaningful partnerships between Jews and Christians. Both leaders have built outstanding friendships with the Christian community worldwide. I am honored to know them. 

Shmuel observed on the day of the Dee family murders, “The disgusting thing about this tragedy is the response by the Palestinian leadership and also many ordinary Palestinians. As noon prayers ended today [Friday] on al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, hundreds of people chanted in support of the deadly terror attack… How could a human being act joyfully about such an act?”

Two days later, returning home from the double funerals, Shmuel described it as a “difficult, long day,” with thousands at the funeral crying yet reciting psalms about healing and strength “focused on the power of prayer as a force for life.” He emailed me Monday after learning about Leah’s death, revealing, “Now the sacred work of helping my friend Leo and his family, as they navigate the challenging road ahead.”

Jonathan Feldstein had already set up a link at Genesis 123 when Israel came under rocket fire from three different enemies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. Calling the murders “horrific,” Jonathan goes on to say, “Despite the threat of terror and war being real here, there’s an indescribable sense that our children are actually safer here than in most parts of the world.” 

Feldstein cites a study that Israel is the fifth-safest place in the world for tourists, far safer than the U.S. He asks, “How is this paradox possible?” and observes, “We live our lives with purpose. We are here as part of God’s promise to restore us to the Land He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants. That’s us.” He goes on to regale Passover’s festival of freedom, commenting: “Sometimes, there’s a horrible price to pay. It’s not always easy. But even at times of great domestic strife, we come together as we have now.” 

A memorable line from Leon Uris’s Exodus summarizes what Israelis bravely deal with daily: “Why must we fight for the right to live, over and over, each time the sun rises?”

On to the mainstream media, illustrations are plentiful, but a few examples show propaganda-imitating strategies from Hitler’s marketing machine against Jews. Unfortunately, it mostly overrides facts about Israel’s longing for peace 75 years later, demonstrating another malignant escalation of the world’s longest hatred.

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is a reliable non-profit Israeli research institute that provides in-depth information about Palestinian society. Here is an example of where innocent Israeli deaths are perpetuated by the Palestinian Authority’s “martyrdom” strategy despite the PA’s abuse of its own innocent children:

“The PA encourages children to see Martyrdom—death fighting Israelis—as something glorious that will bring them honor and popularity. They are told that … people will honor their Martyrdom and their pictures will be everywhere.” Children are brainwashed at summer camps, on children’s TV, and in their schools. 

In an example from CNN on April 7, 2023, Becky Anderson, CNN host of Connect the World, stated, “Earlier this week Israeli police stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, one of Islam’s holiest sites. They did that twice. They arrested hundreds of Palestinians.” For a few seconds she mentioned Maia and Rina Dee. “Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, two Israeli women were shot and killed and a third critically wounded at what Israeli police are calling a Palestinian terror attack on an Israeli car that was driving in the occupied West Bank.” 

Basically, CNN said twice that Leah, Maia, and Rina Dee were at fault for driving on a main highway in the occupied West Bank. In fact, the area is Samaria and Judea, Israel’s biblical heartland—and one sister was a teenager. 

Even worse—with no mention of Jewish murders—here is what Amnesty International added amid layers of lies: that a second consecutive night-time attack on Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque “illustrates the sheer brutality of Israel’s apartheid. …These orchestrated attacks demonstrate just how far Israeli authorities will go to maintain their cruel system of apartheid. … Once again, Israeli security forces have shown the world what apartheid looks like … turned one of the holiest sites in Islam into a crime scene.” But the exact opposite is true. Cause and effect are rarely well covered by mainstream world media.

Frequently, prior to Jewish holidays, Iran’s nearby proxies circulate lies that Jews are going to “invade and take over” the al-Aqsa mosque. This dangerous ritual is against the rules and protocol of the Muslim authorities themselves. The lies are the beginning of the conflict’s cause yet are almost completely ignored by the media.

Last Friday, after Ramadan prayers ended, dozens of Palestinians remained in the mosque for an overnight. Muslim worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque reported the facts, saying that the violent outbreak had been instigated by “Muslim extremists” who barricaded themselves in the mosque, imprisoned the worshippers there, and kept other Muslims from entering the mosque to pray. The perpetrators had backpacks filled with weapons, stones, and fireworks to use against the Israeli police who maintain security atop the Temple Mount. 

After repeatedly trying to negotiate, the Israeli police were then forced to restore order. When they began clearing the mosque, the instigators then used their mobile phones to show that “the Jewish occupation is desecrating the third-holiest mosque in the world.” Thus, they accomplished their intended purpose. Never mind that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still praying on the Temple Mount during Ramadan, which ends April 20. 

Some media reported earlier about the Palestinian mosque takeovers. However, when Israeli police cleared out the worshippers from the mosque, mainstream media instantly latched onto that event—excusing perpetrators and terrorists, and instead blaming Israel with outsized lies. 

Cause is now ignored, effect is amplified, and leftist broadcasters covered the murders of Israeli civilians like Leah, Maia, and Rina Dee as if they were not human beings. While Palestinians gave out candy in their streets to celebrate the Jewish sisters’ deaths, Rabbi Leo Dee declared through his tears at the double funeral, “The formula for faith is always to focus on what you do have and not what you do not have. I still have three wonderful children and a wonderful wife.” Today, he cannot claim that last blessing—he is now a widower. 

We urge you to join our CBN Israel team this week to pray repeatedly with Psalm 59:1-3: “Deliver me from my enemies, O God; be my fortress against those who are attacking me. Deliver me from evildoers and save me from those who are after my blood. See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, LORD” (NIV).

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the Dee family using Isaiah 42:3—“A bent reed He will not break off
  And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”
• Pray for the rapidly evolving security challenges Israel is facing where their enemies sense weakness and disunity within the population. 
• Pray for Israeli military for readiness and willingness to lay aside unusual political disputes to defend their nation. 
• Pray for Christians worldwide to become active purveyors of facts about Israel to counteract propaganda.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

By Marc Turnage

The traditional location of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which sits within the heart of the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The origin of the church goes back to the Emperor Constantine. His mother the Empress Helena on a visit to the Holy Land (326 A.D.) was shown this location by local Christians and identified as the place where Jesus’ crucifixion and burial took place. Upon that site, her son built the first church, which was called the Church of the Resurrection. 

Archaeological excavations within the church have uncovered the history of the site. In the 8^th-7^th centuries B.C., the location of the Holy Sepulchre was a large limestone quarry to the northwest of the walled city of Jerusalem. According to the excavator, the site continued to be used as a quarry until the first century B.C. when it was filled in with soil and stone flakes from the quarry. The site at this time became a garden or orchard that contained fig, carob, and olive trees. At the same time, it developed into a cemetery. Within the complex of the Holy Sepulchre, tombs dating to the first century have been discovered.

One of the challenges for modern visitors to the church is its location within the modern Old City of Jerusalem and its walls. Jesus was crucified outside of the city walls. The modern Old City walls, built in the 16^th century, however, have nothing to do with the walls of Jesus’ Jerusalem. Jews did not bury within the walls of city, but rather outside. The presence of first century tombs within the Holy Sepulchre complex indicates that this location stood outside the walls of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. 

Jewish tombs in the first century consisted of two types: kokhim and arcosolia. The most common being the kokhim. A kokh (singular) was a long, narrow recess cut into a rock tomb in which a body, coffin, or ossuary (bone box) could be laid. The typical kokhim tomb was hewn into the hillside and consisted of a square chamber. The entrance to an ordinary kokhim tomb was a small square opening that required a person entering to stoop. The height of the chamber was usually less than that of a person, so they often cut a square pit into the floor of the chamber. This pit created a bench on three sides of the chamber where the bodies of the deceased could be prepared. 

After the chamber and the pit were cut, the kokhim were cut level with the top of the benches and perpendicular to the wall of the tomb in a counter clockwise direction, from right to left, in every wall except the entrance wall. One to three kokhim were usually cut per wall. The kokh had roughly vaulted ceilings and were the length of the deceased or a coffin. After the deceased was placed into the kokh, a blocking stone sealed the square entrance of the tomb. Small stones and plaster helped to further seal the blocking stone. The tomb was sealed in a manner that it blended into the surrounding hillside. 

In addition to the kokhim tomb, arcosolia tombs began to appear sporadically during the first century. The arcosolia is a bench-like aperture with an arched ceiling hewn into the length of the wall. This style of burial was more expensive since only three burial places existed within a tomb chamber instead of six or nine, as typically found within kokhim tombs. Approximately 130 arcosolia tombs have been discovered in Jerusalem and over half of them also contain kokhim. Ossuaries (bone boxes) could be placed on the arcosolia benches.

The tomb identified within the Holy Sepulchre as the tomb of Jesus was originally an arcosolium (singular) with an antechamber; however, the centuries of pilgrims and the various destructions of the church have deformed and obliterated the tomb. What visitors see today is a later structure; nevertheless, the tomb originally contained a first century arcosolium tomb. 

The Roman Emperor Hadrian built on top of the quarry-garden-cemetery a raised platform with another platform on it where he built a temple to Venus/Aphrodite in the second century. This pagan temple was removed when Constantine built his church. 

Constantine built a rotunda around Jesus’ tomb. The rock of Golgotha was exposed to the open air in a garden, and on the other side of the garden, Constantine built a basilica church. 

The question arises whether or not the Holy Sepulchre contains the location of Jesus’ tomb. What we can say is this: 1) The site was a cemetery in the first century with first century tombs. 2) From the second century until the arrival of the Empress Helena, the actual tomb had been covered for 300 years. The fact that the local Christian memory remembered this location, where a first century cemetery existed, even though it was covered by the Hadrianic temple strongly suggests the authenticity of the site. 3) When Helena was shown this site, it sat like now within the walled, urban city of Jerusalem, which would have seemed strange to ancient pilgrims as it does to modern. 

Yet, the memory of the local Christian community remembered that this location once lay outside of the walls of Jerusalem. Ten to fifteen years after Jesus’ death and burial a wall was built in Jerusalem that enclosed this area into the city. 

Pilgrims to Jerusalem often wonder if the Holy Sepulchre marks the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. The archaeology and tradition of the site support its claims. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

The Gospel of Luke makes clear that the chief priests and their scribes sought to kill Jesus because He challenged those selling in the Temple, the economy the chief priests controlled (Luke 19:47). They could not openly attack Him because of His overwhelming popularity with the people (Luke 19:48). Throughout Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem, His teachings and actions criticized and challenged the corruption of the chief priests, the Sadducean aristocracy of Jerusalem (Luke 19:45-46; 20:1-40). His popularity with the masses protected Him against the chief priests (Luke 19:47-48; 20:19; 22:2).

The book of Acts portrays this same group as the opponents of the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 4:1-7), who, like their master, enjoyed the favor of the Jewish masses. The Gospels relate how the chief priests, and the officers of the Temple used the cloak of darkness to arrest Jesus so they could conceal their actions from the Jewish people (Luke 22:52). Jesus pointed this out to them, “When I was with you day after day in the Temple, you did not lay hands on Me” (Luke 22:53). The crowds of Jerusalem never turned their backs on Jesus. Luke relates how the crowds mourned Jesus, upon seeing the Romans brutalize Him (23:27, 48).

The chief priests of Jerusalem controlled a monopoly. They set the prices for the sacrifices. Pilgrims were forced to pay these inflated prices since they could not bring their sacrifices from a distance. Jewish sources relate how on occasion sacrifices cost so much people could not participate in the Temple festivals, and Pharisaic leaders rebuked the chief priests for their greed (b. Baba Batra 3b-4a; m. Kerithoth 1:7).

Archaeological excavations in Jerusalem have uncovered high priestly homes which attest to the opulent and lavish lifestyle in which these priests lived. Jewish sources, like Josephus, portray the priests and their slaves as protecting their wealth and power with brutal action (see Mark 14:43). Jesus condemned the corruption of the chief priests publicly (Luke 19:46, 20:9-19).

He linked their corruption to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. His was not the only voice criticizing the Jerusalem high priests in the first century. Many Jews were hopeful that He was the promised redeemer (see Luke 24:21). His popularity among the masses gave gravity to His condemnation of the chief priests. He had to be killed lest Caiaphas and the other chief priests lose their position and wealth (John 11:49-50).

It is a cruel tragedy of Christian history how the blame for the death of Jesus has been laid at the feet of the Jewish people, many of whom “hung upon His words” (Luke 19:48). The greed of a small group of the high priestly Jerusalem Sadducean aristocracy led to Jesus’ arrest and handing over to Pilate. They used the darkness of night to cover their clandestine activities from the site of the Jewish people (see Luke 22:52-53; Acts 5:27-28). They used their power and relationship with the Roman governor to ensure His death (see Luke 22:66; 23:10, 13, and 21; and John 19:6).

Their desire to protect their power and wealth motivated them to orchestrate Jesus’ death at the hands of the Romans. They are not alone in human history in perpetrating heinous actions motivated by a lust for money and power.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Wildflowers are draping Israel’s hills in a show of breathtaking spring beauty. But they do so amid unprecedented political, religious, and security anxieties in the streets. Jerusalem teems with crisscrossing religious observances from the three monotheistic religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—while Tel Aviv has been the epicenter of three months of massive protests. Hopefully, conflicts and disunity will transition into celebrations during Passover, which began April 5 and conclude on April 12.

At the Western Wall (Kotel), hope is tucked into every crevice of its stones with written prayers from throngs of Jewish and Christian residents and pilgrims. Sixty feet above them, over 100,000 Muslims crowd onto the Temple Mount for Ramadan prayers. The Ramadan holy month began March 22 and lasts until April 21. The Jewish seven-day Passover annually proclaims the Israelites’ freedom from Egyptian slavery. Christians just celebrated Palm Sunday to begin our Holy Week, where we too rejoice in freedom—freedom from sin’s slavery through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus, The Perfect Lamb of God. 

The on-edge atmosphere in Israel—with overlapping religious observances of Christians, Jews, and Muslims—is taking place after 13 weeks of massive protests about the Knesset’s attempts to overhaul Israel’s judiciary. Prime Minister Netanyahu is hoping to restore the “lost balance” between the branches of government. Although he has finally paused the extremely controversial legislation until April 30, strife remains evident. Israelis are sharply divided on the issue and outraged at a variety of their leaders.

The judiciary reform potential and the competing interests of the secular, religious, political, and military are nuanced and complex, especially to those of us who do not live in Israel. At Ben Gurion Airport before the Prime Minister delayed the legislation, a few dozen protestors held up signs reading, “Welcome to the dictatorship.” Nevertheless, the fact that protests are going on is still a sign of Israel’s vibrant democracy, although the current disunity is alarming.

Most disturbing are the divisions developing due to some elite reservists’ units in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) refusing to show up for duty. Briefly put, due to Israel’s small size and daily threats, the State of Israel requires every Israeli citizen over age 18—Jewish, Druze, and Circassian—to serve. After their active duty, many Israelis continue in the reserves until their 40s, providing a security backbone in a crisis. Prime Minister Netanyahu gave an ominous warning describing the current refusals as a threat to Israel’s existential foundation: “The country cannot exist without the IDF. There will not be a nation, it’s very simple.” 

Netanyahu’s background serving in his younger years in an elite IDF combat unit, an expert on Iran’s nuclear pursuit, and with 15 total years as the prime minister, suggests he knows what he is talking about. Israel’s security concerns are escalating. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stationed in Syria means the Israeli Air Force must make more frequent incursions over Syria to bomb weapons depots and weapons convoys still arriving in that country on the ground and in the air. Internal terrorism from Palestinians is sanctioned by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and a new Palestinian terror group called the Lion’s Den operates around Nablus, Jericho, and Jenin. The absolute necessity for the IDF to be on high alert and  ready to defend the nation and its people cannot be understated. Hamas, the Gaza terror government, has already maintained its foothold in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

Israel’s enemies—both internal and external—pose a serious threat to the continual survival of the Jewish nation and her people. Its enemies rejoice as they watch Israel’s intensified internal strife and conflict. That reality, joined by an upsurge of anti-Semitism worldwide, means Israel faces an alarming convergence of problems.

And there is more. Israel prides itself in its treatment of Christians—as being the safest place for them to thrive. However, church leaders in Jerusalem’s Old City are troubled by growing incidents in their houses of worship and elsewhere. In February, an American Jewish tourist vandalized a statue of Jesus in Jerusalem’s Church of the Flagellation. An Armenian priest was spit upon. “Death to Christians” was sprayed on the wall of a monastery and two Jewish teens damaged 28 tombstones at the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery. Ahead of Holy Week, Anglican, Armenian, Catholic, Orthodox, and other worshippers appealed to the government to ensure the safety for all Christian observances with the huge crowds of pilgrims streaming into Israel.

Clearly, Israel is undergoing a time of immense pressure and crushing. Now, in Holy Week 2023, it is a reminder that Jesus Himself underwent a crushing for us in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. After finishing His last Passover supper, Jesus and His eleven disciples walked to Gethsemane in the darkness. “Gethsemane” combines two Hebrew words, Gat and Shmanim, defined as “the place where olive oil is pressed”—the “Garden of the Olive Press.”

In Jesus’ day, Gethsemane was a well-known location where presses made of stone crushed the olives. The larger presses included stones suspended with ropes from wooden crossbeams—some weighing up to a ton. The pulp underwent crushing until the precious commodity emptied into clay jars used for cooking, anointing oil, and Temple lamps.

Isaiah 53:5 foretold, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.” Like the wooden crossbeams of the olive presses, our Savior Jesus hung on the wooden beams of the cross crushed under the incalculable weight of our sins. Jesus bore a burden that only He in the history of the world confronted. He gave and sacrificed His life for all people for all time, producing the precious oil and blood of our redemption. 

Following Jesus from the Garden of the Olive Press into the traumatic, violent night, recall what He said to the religious leaders: “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). Despite the fact that Jesus was Jewish in His humanity, that His disciples were Jewish, and that the early church was composed mostly of Jews, Jews are blamed for “killing Jesus.” This accusation has led to centuries of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, which in effect ignores God’s redemptive plan of salvation. Remember, Jesus said, “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” No one could stop God’s redemptive plan!

Knowing more about Gethsemane and Jesus’ identification with the olive presses is another dimension about Jesus being crushed for us! During our Holy Week, let us agree that we must increase our prayers on Israel’s behalf, not because it is perfect, for no nation or persons are perfect. Yet, we do it because we believe in a perfect Jewish Savior who loves Israel and each of us unconditionally.

Our CBN Israel team encourages you, your families, and friends to have a glorious Resurrection Day remembering the eternal hope we have in our Lord Jesus! May you rejoice remembering that God’s Perfect Lamb perfected John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Please join CBN Israel in prayer this week for the Jewish nation and people:

• Pray fervently for the peace of Jerusalem as instructed in Psalm 122. 
• Pray for wise decisions from Prime Minister Netanyahu and all Israeli leaders.
• Pray for restored unity in the Israeli military and among all Israelis.
• Pray with thanks for Israel’s endless contributions to our world.
• Pray that Israel’s enemies will not take advantage of the current chaos.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

For over a decade, CBN Israel has hosted a special Passover dinner for single-parent families, widows, and families in crisis. These events are offered in various locations all over the country.

Through these Passover gatherings, friends like you are making it possible to provide families with a quality dinner as well as a meaningful time of fellowship. At the culmination of the evening, each family is blessed with a holiday package and food vouchers.

Thanks to caring donors, the individuals and families who attend are reminded that they are not forgotten—and they are not alone. These holiday events also enable CBN Israel to maintain contact with each household in order to continually assess the needs and offer basic assistance. 

“CBN Israel has been giving me help and support for over a decade—since my two children were babies,” said one single mom. “It makes me so happy that you care about us—both during holidays like Passover and all throughout the year. I cannot thank you enough!”

Another woman shared, “I am a new immigrant in Israel without any family or relatives. I am so grateful that you invite us to come celebrate Passover and other holidays with CBN Israel. You not only welcome us with dinner and hospitality; you also give me food vouchers so that I can afford to buy food and other essentials for my kids. Thank you!”

And your gift can be a blessing to many others in need across the Holy Land—with food, shelter, financial assistance, job training, and more. Thank you so much!

As the cries for help increase, your support is crucial. You can offer a lifeline to Holocaust survivors, immigrants, single mothers, and terror victims.

GIVE TODAY