Letter to Pastors

June 10, 2010


Dear Preachers:

We came home from the most recent trip to Israel, which I would say was as exciting and interesting of any I have taken, outside the two War Trips — the July-August 2006, second Lebanon War trip, and the January 2009 "Operation Cast Lead" war trip. The adrenalin rushes, the swooshing katyusha rockets, the explosions, the Cannon shooting in return, and the Rockets and Bombs falling from the Helicopters and Fighter Jets, of course, make those two trips much more exciting than this one.
 
We flew to Newark; then, rain delayed the flight there. However, Bill Legere and John Michael Magas picked us up and drove me to Tom’s house, where the Bride of My Youth met me. We drove from there on home, arriving about midnight. I showered, sat and talked with her, and went to bed at 1:00 AM. The Lord awakened me at 5:00 AM. I read my Bible, prayed, and here I now sit addressing some of the issues I see unfolding yonder in the Land God Almighty promised by "Everlasting Covenant" to the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David.
 
However, on mine and Jonathan Magas’s last full day to be in Israel, the trip up to the Lebanon Border to meet the General Officer whom I’ve known since 2006, when he was a "bird Colonel," and the Briefing he set up with the IDF Liaison Colonel and Major, and their briefing, were truly a highlight.
 
The other day, as Jonathan and I stood, in that famous Israeli Army Division’s "Vantage Point" whereby they keep an eye on their Hizballah enemies in southern Lebanon, I was amazed at how much we could learn there.
 
During the reign of King David, were you to look at a map showing Dan [southwest of Mount Hermon] and draw a triangle between Dan, southwest to Kedesh, and northwest to Tyre [in the Phoenicia kingdom], and back to Dan, we were almost in the middle of that triangle.
 
David’s Kingdom ran, in a straight east-west line past Tiphsah on the Euphrates River for approximately 225 miles. It curved southwesterly inward, from south of Aleppo to a point West of Hamath, approximately thirty miles in from the Mediterranean Sea, which land then belonged to Phoenicia.
 
David’s Kingdom then ran south to a point just south of Tyre, where it ran west to the Mediterranean again. From Tiphsah David’s kingdom ran east along the Euphrates River for approximately fifty miles then curved south past Tadmor, in southeast of Qaryatayn, down east of Salecah [east of Ashtaroth and Edrei and Ramoth-gilead], all the way down to Ezion-geber on the northern point of the Gulf of Aqaba, and then northwest of the Sinai south of Kadesh Barnea to the west El-Arish junction with the Mediterranean again.
 

In David’s Kingdom, the Litani and Leontes Rivers both The Litani River,
IN THE Arabic_language; transliterated: Nahr al-Līiţtāanīi; classical name: Leontes from the Greek word "Λέοντtεeς?" which means Lions) is an important water resource in southern Lebanon.
 
The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 km in length, the Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 million cubic meters.
 
The waters of the Litani both originate and flow entirely within the borders of Lebanon. It provides a major source for water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon, and the country as a whole.
 
As the Major and the Colonel briefed us, in the presence of the Brigadier General and his Aide, a Captain, we could look north toward that fertile Bekaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and almost see where the Litani empties into the Mediterranean, which would probably, in the event of another Israeli invasion of south Lebanon. I predict, they’ll have to do that, but, the Litani would more than likely be their northern most point of occupation.
 
One of the things I told those dear Jewish Field Grade Officers, is, that, in that case, just as in the case of the Comanche females, and Anglo-American “settlers” settling what those "Plains Indian superb-cavalrymen" called "their lands," all Ishmaelite females in their IDF gears, will too, then become "combatants."
 
Now, don’t lose me, as I am trying to keep this simple. In my Bible reading this morning I was privileged to read Psalms 37. Let me mention a few verses in that Psalm which spoke to my heart this morning.
 
Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. [I personally think this "verily" is teaching us that, as the Hebrew tells us, the "feeding" shall be "in truth," or "stableness!"
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
 
I recall a preacher asking me a year or so ago, "Brother Vineyard, why do you think God uses you? [He mentioned my usability with Dr. Ford Porter’s Bus Ministry, Dr. John Rawlings's Bus Ministry, Dr. Jerry Falwell’s Bus Ministry, Dr. Jack Hyles Bus Ministry, then as a "Leading Missionary" Pastor, in Russia when it imploded, and now, in Israel.
 
I answered that feller, "You Know, I think God likes me. [Why? Because as verse 3 teaches, I delight myself in the LORD, and he gives me the desires of mine heart!]
 
I asked you to pray for 4' 6" Stella, a Jewish maid from the former Soviet Union whom I befriended. She cried and told me of her need. I called Jolene Sloan in the Ukraine, and Jolene translated for me. I was too tired to think in the Russian in which Stella was talking to me. She is getting “booted” out of her house. She has a six-year-ole son who has been sick from birth. I gave her a couple of hundred dollars that I had. I am going to see if I can arrange more financial help for her, if you’d like to help me with that. My heart convicts me now that I should have left her my 1611 KJV-1009 Biblia Leningradensia Combination "OLD TESTAMENT" only! I shall try to get her one.
 
On this trip I saw a woman whom I met August 4, 2006, in the North End Hotel in Kiryat Shmona. I gave that woman a KJV-Hebrew [whole Bible]. I told her to put her cell phone down when she drove from Zefat to Kiryat Shmona. She would talk to her hubby back in Zefat, lean forward, and watch out the windshield for Katyusha rockets falling all around her. I marked that Bible at Prov 3:5-6. I told her to hold her hand there, trust the Lord with all her heart, and drive asking God to build an hedge of protection about her.

Psalm 37: 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
 
Since the "Obamessiah" was elected, I have had to do a lot of "ceasing from anger," and "fretting" about doing something evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
 
Verse 9 reinforces Isaiah 40:31.
 
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
 
Verses 10 and 11 make it plain. The wicked only have "a little while" then they shall be cut off, and we, the meek, shall inherit this ole sin-cursed earth, which then, after MESSIAH comes, will have "abundance of peace."
 
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
 
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
 
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
 
VERSES 14, 20 and 25, were all three especially precious to this tired ole man this Thursday morning.

When, we left that famous IDF Division installation, after dining with the General, the Colonel, the Major, and the Captain, I had Jonathan drive us west on what I call" ‘my-Lebanon-War-Highway,’ into Hanita, there on the Border with Lebanon!
 
Then, we visited there and saw all those sights in pictures, in the museum which they have, and that too, was, and is, something to see.
 
Hanita is a famous "settlement" in present-day Israeli history as the Jews set about "liberating" the Land God Almighty gave them by Everlasting Covenant.
 
Spending time a week ago Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, discussing issues with IDF COMBAT OFFICERS, is, and in of itself, an eye opener, when you just ask questions and listen to their answers. Of course, they cannot be quoted.
 
Watching the "Anti-semitism" outbursts as a result of this Turkish-Hamas attempt to break Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza has been an experience in itself. I’m not really sure that most Jews realize how bad in the lurch they are at this point in time "friend-wise" but I want be one that lets them know "I am your friend and I am in your corner."

With all that I read, and all the questions I ask, and the answers I’ve gotten, I believe, with all my heart, that, First, the Jews are backed into a corner almost as much as they were being done so during the time frame from the end of World War I to the beginning, and during World War II, and the Holocaust, with the atrocious "Anti-semitism" I read of, by accessing English versions of Iranian news, Turkish news, Syrian news, and what I can garner in Israel that Hizballah and Hamas are saying; and that Second, Israel is going to have to address the Iranian-Nuke question, probably before August 1st; which, then, Third, leads me to believe that the Israelis will be "neck-deep-in-Ishmaelite-throat-slitters" more than likely by about that August 1st, 2010 date.
 
When one looks at the Jews, and the multiplicity of enemies they certainly have "world-wide," then, as my friend, ole Dr. Denny Corle, brought out in a message right after 9-11 at a "God Save America Conference" at Dr. Keith Gomez’s Church in Elgin, Illinois, the "issue" now, as it was in the time of the call of Abraham [Genesis 11] from the Ur of the Chaldees, was the Holy Name of God. This is easy to see many, many places in the Holy Bible.
 
Psalm 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
 
In the thirty-sixth chapter of the book of Ezekiel, God’s prophecy through the prophet Ezekiel, was "unto the Mountains of Israel," [36:1]!
 
In verse 5 the issue all the "so-called" Palestinians have been addressing is called by GOD ALMIGHTY as "my land."
 
In verses 20-24, he makes the issue "simple" again. It is HIS HOLY NAME, and for HIS NAME’S SAKE!
 
Ezekiel 36:20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.
22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
 
In verse "they profaned my Holy Name;" vs 21 "I had pity for mine Holy Name;" vs 22 "but for Mine Holy Names’" [sake]; vs 23, And I will sanctify my great name!

In that passage
in Psalms 83:6, from which I shall just mention the first of the Jews’ enemies, the Edomites.
 
The Edomites were descendants of Esau, or Edom, who expelled the original inhabitants, the Horites [Deuteronomy 2:12], whose rulers were sheikhs [Genesis 36:29-30].
 
A statement made in Genesis 36:31 serves to fix the period of the dynasty of the eight kings. They "reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel;" i.e., before the time of Moses, who may be regarded as the "first virtual king" of Israel, by comparing Deuteronomy 33:5 and Exodus 18:1-10.
 
The princes, that is, the "dukes" of the Edomites are named in Genesis 36:40-43, and were probably "petty chiefs" or "sheikhs" of their several clans just as in seen in the petty "war-lords" now in Iraq and also Afghanistan.
 
Esau’s bitter hatred to his brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining his blessing appears to have been inherited by Esau’s latest posterity.
 
The Edomites peremptorily refused to permit the Israelites to pass through their land [Numbers 20:18-21].
 
For 400 years then the Bible is silent regarding them. Then, King Saul attacked and defeated them in 1 Samuel 14:47. Some forty years later David overthrew their army in the "Valley of Salt," and his general, General Joab, following up the victory, destroyed nearly the whole male population in 1 Kings 11:15-16, and placed Jewish garrisons in all the strongholds of Edom 2 Samuel 8:13-14.
 
Hadad, a member of the royal family of Edom, made his escape with a few followers to Egypt, where he was kindly received by Pharaoh. After the death of David he returned and tried to excite his countrymen to rebellion against Israel, but failing in the attempt he went on to Syria, wwere he became one of King Solomon’s greatest enemies in 1 Kings 11:14-23.
 
In the reign of Jehoshaphat, 875 B.C., the Edomites attempted to invade Israel in conjunction with Ammon and Moab, but were miraculously destroyed in the Valley of Berachah in 2 Chronicles 20:22.
 
A few years later they revolted against Jehoram, elected a king, and for half a century retained their independence. In 2 Chronicles 21:8.
 
They were then attacked by Amaziah, and Sela their great stronghold was captured in 2 Kings 14:7 and 2 Chronicles 25:11-12. Yet, the Israelites were never able again completely to subdue them as 2 Chronicles 28:17 teaches.
 
When Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, the Edomites joined him, and took an active part in the plunder of the city and slaughter of the Jews.
 
It is my opinion, historically, that "their cruelty" is specifically mentioned in the 137th Psalm.
 
And, it is my opinion, that it was on account of these acts of cruelty committed upon the Jews in the day of their calamity that the Edomites were so fearfully denounced by later prophets, as is seen in Isaiah 34:5-8, 63:1-4; Jeremiah 49:17; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 25:13-14; Amos 1:11-12; and Obadiah 8, 10.
 
On the conquest of Judah, the Edomites, probably in reward for their services during the war, were permitted to settle in southern Palestine, and the whole plateau between it and Egypt; but, there were about the same time driven out of Edom proper by the Nabateans.
 
During the rule of the Maccabees there were again completely subdued by the Jews. The Greek and Roman writers called the province Idumea. During Titus’s siege, 20,000 Idumaeans were admitted to the Holy City, which they promptly filled with robbery, rapine, and bloodshed. And, then, from that time, I haven’t been able to find them in the pages of history, but, since they are enemies of the Jews, I must confess I haven’t looked very hard.
 
However, they are the first of Psalms 83 mention of Jewish enemies. And it is my prayer that all Jews everywhere—Oklahoma City Jews, American Jews, Israeli Jews, those everywhere—get the idea that Independent Baptists are 150% with them in their corner. And, if what I am saying is to come to pass — that they soon will be attacked by their Iranian-Syrian-Turkish-Hizballah-Hamas enemies — I shall be raising money to take as aid to the Jews who won’t be able to flee out of the range of the new sophisticated rockets their enemies now have — and shall be feeding IDF troops hot meals. I shall need your help in that regard. God then will bless the both of us, for blessing the Jews.
 
JIM VINEYARD
YEDIDIM OF ISRAEL