Letters to Zola
Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews For Jesus, will be speaking at our
Prophecy Conference. He recently sent the following kind letter.
Dear friends of Zola's and of mine,
I am happy to write this letter
of endorsement to be used or published by Zola Levitt. As
the Founder of Jews for Jesus, I have been frequently asked
about other people's ministries as concerning Jewish evangelism.
This is the first time that I have ever felt right about
giving my personal, formal endorsement to any ministry.
I have known Zola since 1972. From the earliest days I
came to admire him and the high level of professional
conduct. When he had a daily radio program, he interviewed
me. The interview was conducted with such skill
and spiritual sensitivity that he brought out the best of
what I could have said to the radio audience.
I have personally read many of the books and pamphlets
that he has written. As a writer of several books myself, I
wish that I had the skill and ability which Zola exhibits. But
whether it's broadcasting, writing or composing music,
Zola Levitt has given himself to the task with a singular
focus that always made me proud of him as a fellow Jew.
My own ministry and the ministry I founded has been
more concerned with direct evangelism — the face-to-face
telling Jews about the Messiah of Israel. Though Zola does
not consider this his calling, he has accomplished far more
evangelism than one might think. His television programs
usually air on stations which only have other evangelists and
Bible teaching ministries. Through the years I have found
that Jews have sought him
out, even though they didn't
believe in Jesus, and listened
carefully to his teachings.
His stand on the behalf of the
state of Israel has been uncompromising.
His willingness to
fight anti-Semitism, whether
in the academic realm or propagated by the modern
Nazi bullies, has put Zola in a combative stance; more
than would allow him to be comfortable.
What has impressed me over and over again is the number
of Jewish people who have come to consider Y'shua, Jesus
as Messiah, through watching the Zola Levitt program.
Several who have come to faith in Y'shua through our ministry
were influenced by Zola Levitt.
I have found a great deal of integrity when it comes to handling
funds provided by donors. In one instance, a donor inquired
of Mark Levitt regarding a rather large bequest, which was
put into the hands of a niece as an executor. The money was
to go toward direct Jewish evangelism. The Levitt ministry
could have claimed that donation. However, when an inquiry
was made, Zola and his son, Mark who manages the affairs,
recommended that the gift go to Jews for Jesus. Zola said
that it would better fulfill the desires of the person, who
left the money to Jewish evangelism.
Such fellowship and sensitivity is indeed rare and greatly
appreciated.
Most sincerely,
Moishe Rosen
Dear Zola:
I am writing to you as your sister in Christ. I am saved,
not of works, but by my repentance for sin, and my faith in
the gracious shed blood of Jesus Christ. I was born into a
Catholic family, and raised to adulthood in Catholicism.
But I left the church because I did not accept the Church
Laws as God's Laws, and I didn't think they were based on
scripture. I have been a member of the Baptist denomination
for ten years, but first and foremost, I am a Christian. I
have a passion for studying the book of Revelation, so anything
that touches on it, has me by the heart. That is what
happened when I read the editorial concerning
Jerry Falwell's statements in your last Levitt Letter.
I am afraid the
doctrine and beliefs of Catholicism have been violated by
some statements I see as erroneous. Please bear with me,
as I take your remarks about the Catholic church, and ask
my questions about each.
When you said ". . . the Catholics, and the European
Protestants were all anti-Semitic . . ." you made quite a generalization.
My great-great-grandparents were Catholic
immigrants to the USA from Germany. Many families have
kept stories alive for generations, about how Catholic
homes hid Jewish people in a network of underground "safe
houses," and risked their own lives by doing so. Great numbers
of these hidden Jews were smuggled out of Germany
through networks of such families. And many German
Catholic families were killed for their involvement in this. . .
The point is that not all Catholics were or are anti-Semitic!
. . .You made the statement, " . . . Catholics . . . do not
hold that Jesus is Jewish even now." Would you please tell
me what you base that statement on? I was never taught
anything but the scriptural story of the life of Jesus, where
He certainly is presented as a Jew.
You stated, ". . . Catholics . . . may read it in the
Scriptures — if they read the Scriptures . . ." Let me assure
you, my Catholic family read the Scriptures; my parents
belonged to an in-home Bible study class. And we certainly
read Scripture in school, since the first hour of each school
day was catechism class. That's no less than five hours a
week, each school year, for eight years. Can you share with
me what prompted you to make that remark?
You go on to say, " . . . they (Catholics) simply don't see
it ( Jesus is Jewish) that way. In their minds, He is the King
of the Gentile church and belongs to them." I have never
heard any Catholic teaching at any time that denied Jesus as
Messiah, as Jewish, or as the Savior for all mankind, who
choose Him. On what do you ground your statements?
It deeply concerns me to hear such warped statements
being made, because, to the best of my knowledge, they are
wrong. Has the theology of the Catholic Church changed
that much? I really doubt it. But if so, I sincerely apologize
to you for questioning you, and ask your forgiveness. But if
your statements are erroneous, I'm afraid they were risky
remarks and generalizations to make. Your statements could
bias other readers in their attitudes toward Catholics, causing
them to harden their hearts toward them, based on how
you perceive them. It could also alienate any ex-Catholic
readers you may have, and that would be a shame.
As a student of Revelation, I have some degree of
understanding of what the "universal church" is doomed to
become. But for the most part, I think that church hasn't
quite come into completion yet, and there are, even in the
Catholic church, some people who belong to our Lord!
We love you, Zola! You are a blessing from God. We
watch your television ministry, have read a lot of your work,
bought your tapes, etc. My husband and I hope to go to
Israel with you someday. But I really need to know what
you believe in regard to Catholic doctrine, and why, concerning
the statements you have made. Is this a struggle
between fact and prejudice? For this reason, I'm asking you
to please respond.
May God continue to bless you and your ministry.
Most Sincerely and Respectfully, — C. Z.
Dear Sister C.Z.,
Thank you for your compliments and your patience.
First of all, I did not really mean to say "all Catholics"
were anti-Semitic, and I am aware of German-Catholic
families who helped the Jews during the Holocaust. I
only wish that the official church in the Vatican had
done more. But the European countries, Catholic and
Protestant, in general did not do well by the Jewish people.
That is a fact of history, not a personal prejudice of
mine. After all, people move from place to place when
they feel unwelcome somewhere and that is the history
of the Jews in Europe. Note that not very many Jews leave
the United States because Jews are made welcome here.
As to Catholics not holding that Jesus is Jewish, I mean
that in terms of how they act toward Israel and the Jews.
Naturally, anyone who has even glanced at the Gospel
understands that Jesus is Jewish, but do they put that
understanding into action? How many Catholics witness
of Christ to Jewish people? How many Jewish people do
you have in your Catholic church? How much support
do you give the nation of Israel? Do you know that the
Pope has never visited there?
As to your family studying the Scriptures, I gave my experience
in a Catholic Bible study in the
"Note from Zola" on page 5.
A church that makes so many elementary errors,
knows no prophecy whatever, and doesn't care about
Israel, simply can't be studying the Scriptures, and that's
all there is to that. The Catholic church puts me in mind
of the synagogue where the Jewish people indeed read
the Scripture faithfully in every single service, but never
study it for what it means. And they, too, ironically,
know very little prophecy, even though practically 100%
of End Times prophecy concerns Israel and the Jews.
And then you say that your Catholic teaching held that
Jesus was "Savior for all mankind," but as I understand
Catholicism, one must belong to your denomination to
be saved at all. I think the teaching is rather that He is
Messiah for all those who will absorb and practice Roman
Catholic doctrine, and not that He is "the Savior for all
mankind, who choose Him."
And if you are really a student of Revelation you will
realize that the universal church is not doomed at all,
but stands to receive magnificent rewards.
Truly, sister, I think you speak from an emotional bias
and a complimentary view of the church of your childhood.
I don't blame you for that, but I am not comparing
the church against my ideas, but against Scripture. And,
in that case, a number of denominations, including
Catholicism, come up lacking.
In His service,
Zola
Zola,
I experienced a great deal of sadness when I read your
article which bashed United Methodists. You mistakenly
accuse all Methodists of being anti-Israel. 200 Methodists
do not speak for the Methodist Church. They do not
speak for anyone but themselves. They certainly do not
speak for me or my wife who are members of Christ of the
Hill United Methodist Church here in Hot Springs Village,
Arkansas. You are mistaken when you claim that salvation
and the teachings of Jesus are ignored by our denomination.
Our Pastor only preaches from the Bible. He has
never failed to make an altar call and an invitation to
make a decision for Christ since we have been attending
this church. Every denomination has "liberals" in its
ranks. But they are not in the majority in our church. We
are not anti-Israel. One thing we have to remember is
that all Palestinians are not Moslems; indeed, many of
them are Christians. The same is true of the Lebanese
people. I hope that you will reconsider your blanket accusation
toward an entire denomination because of the
actions of a few.
We have enjoyed your television show for a number of
years. Your teachings about Israel are greatly appreciated
by us. Let's all pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
In Christ,
F. B .
Zola's response:
I did not mean to offend you, dear brother. This is the sort of letter I
usually get from Catholics. I never mean to indict an entire
denomination, but I speak from personal experience. The 200 Methodists
in question are the hierarchy of your church and they do speak for your
denomination, while your church must be an excellent one (and I have
encountered excellent United Methodist churches now and again). But in
my entire career of speaking in churches, some 26 years, I've been
invited by United Methodists less than five times and each time was very
disappointed with their lack of Biblical grasp. Also please know that
the Palestinian Christians and the Lebanese Christians you refer to
would not be regarded as born-again believers in this country. They are
typically sacramentalists of the Eastern Orthodox or liberal Catholic
denominations and not knowledgeable about doctrines of Christ or Israel.
I do appreciate your compliments, and once again, please
know that I don't mean to offend.
Zola
Brother Zola,
shalom in the name of Jesus my Lord and yours.
. . . How did you arrive at the conclusion as stated in your
February newsletter under "Falwell Says," page 6,
"The liberal churches, the Catholics, etc., do not hold
that Jesus is Jewish even now. They may read it in
Scriptures—if they read Scriptures—but they simply
don't see it that way." You know as a scholar that the
Catholic Church not only reads the Scriptures, but if it
were not for the Holy Spirit working
through the Catholic Church, we would
not have the written word today. They
preserved it. The fact remains that it is
the only catholic community left. All
the others are still to this day protesting.
That is why there are over 300 denominations
and only one Roman Catholic
Church. If it were not for the Catholic
Church, the reformers such as Luther
would have taken out the book of
Hebrews, James and Revelation. They
were too Jewish. They did manage to take out 1 and 2
Maccabees, the only Old Testament books that referred
to the resurrection of the body at the final judgment (2
Maccabees 7:8-9) as well as the Feast of Hanukkah.
Brother Zola, you and I do not have all the answers or all the
questions, but we are commanded to love our neighbor
as ourselves. Even Rabbi Paul did not criticize the Greek
monuments to their gods. He only pointed to the unknown
God as a means for conversion for the Greeks.
Be surprised by truth. Read Crossing the Threshold
of Hope by John Paul II, especially the chapter titled
"Judaism" starting on page 95. Then visit with the chief
Rabbi of Chicago and ask him if deceased Cardinal Cook
thought Jesus was not Jewish. Now if you really want to
be surprised by truth, read Surprised by Truth by Patrick
Madrid. Barnes and Noble will not put it on the shelf
in fear that overzealous so-called fundamental Christians
would start to protest. They cannot handle the truth. You
can order it from Barnes and Noble's web site for $10.
Zola, I will continue to cherish your newsletters. I pray
that someday Charlotte TV Cable will even air your programs.
Until we meet here on earth or for certain in Heaven,
keep on keeping on with the Good News. — Shalom,
J.M., Charlotte, North Carolina
Dear Brother J.M.,
I seldom get a letter where I have to disagree with
almost every statement. The way I heard it, the Catholic
church suppressed the Scriptures and even martyred
some who translated them for the common folk to read—
Catholic or Protestant. The Oscar-nominated movie,
"Elizabeth," in its first scene showed Protestants being
burned alive by Catholic clerics in medieval England for
such missions.
I'm not sure you or I know who threatens to take books
out of Scripture, etc., but I can tell you that the resurrection
of the body and the Feast of Hanukkah are covered
in our present Bible, without 2 Maccabees (see
Job 14:11-15 and Job 19:25,
etc. for the resurrection and the prophecies
in
Daniel 8
for Hanukkah. See also
John 10:22
where Jesus is shown going "down to Jerusalem for the
feast of dedication [Hanukkah]").
Paul deeply criticized the Greek paganism, and as a matter of fact, that
was the theme of his entire lifetime. When he stood on Mars Hill in
plain sight of the magnificent Parthenon, perhaps the most beautiful
temple ever made by artisans, he taught that God does "not live in
temples made by human hands" (Acts 17:24). In all history, I cannot
think of a man who was more critical of Greek monuments to their gods.
So far as the writings of John Paul II, I'm sure they are inspiring, but
the fact remains that the man has not in a lifetime visited Israel even
once nor chosen to receive Jewish administrators with anything near the
same honor he gives to Yasser Arafat and company. Please see
my article on page 3, "Brief Encounter."
Thank you for your kind words about our program. While you pray that
your cable will air us, I will pray that you will come into a Biblical
church and give your whole zealous energy and drive to real service of
the real Lord.
— Your brother
To: Mark Levitt
The anti-Christ will be Jewish because he'll be the real
Messiah and he'll stand opposed to all the lies and false
teachings of Jesus. Zola Levitt should think twice before
lying about his "synagogue education." Because with
what he says about Judaism, all of his knowledge is from
a Baptist minister.
— Tim
Zola's response:
I attended Hebrew school seven years and Sunday school
ten years. I was bar-mitzvad and confirmed. I chanted the
Musef service at my bar-mitzvah, an extra honor reserved
for the most accomplished students. I went on to sing in
the synagogue junior choir and finally to become the conductor
of that choir. I've never known any Baptist minister
to be very knowledgeable about Judaism other than Dr.
Thomas McCall, our senior theologian, who attended an
orthodox synagogue for seven years and is fluent in the
Hebrew language and has made any number of pilgrimages
to Israel. And finally, the anti-Christ will not be Jewish
for the reasons I gave in our
February newsletter.
Dear Zola,
I watch your program every Sunday and enjoy it very much. I also read
all the literature you send.
On Page 6 of the March issue of Levitt Letter
you have a paragraph about criticizing Israel and "anti-Biblical mistakes of the
liberal churches," which you listed.
I do not appreciate your ranking all these churches together, calling
them "liberals" and accusing them of criticism of Israel. I belong to
the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church . . . We are a Christ-centered,
Bible-believing church and count all the Bible as the infallible Word of
God. I also go to a Presbyterian church . . . Neither of these churches
and many others do not prescribe to your accusation. Please rectify this
error. You must be aware that all denominations have liberal sects, but
not all churches in that denomination are "liberal."
— M.L.
Dear Sister M.L.,
I stand corrected. Indeed not all churches in any denomination are
either liberal, conservative, or share any other position regarding
doctrine. Frankly, I know that. My son, Aaron, whom you read about in
last month's issue, attended a Lutheran high school in Dallas and was
taught such unbiblical things as to make me come to the school and meet
with the principal. For example, he was taught that "Christianity began
in Greece."
Now, I'm not indicting your church for the problems at that school, but
I have examined a Bible issued by Lutheran teachers which holds to
Amillennialism, and I'm aware that the denomination itself is very
liturgical and less literally Biblical than many others in general.
Note, I'm not indicting your particular church, just speaking "in
general."
Please know, dear sister, that my real purpose is not to irritate
anyone, but to promote more Bible study. That is my task and my mission.
Yours in His service,
Zola


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They didn't let me down.
Editorial
To the Editor of The New York Times:
It is difficult to break off a relationship of fifteen to twenty years,
but I refuse to read The New York Times any longer. I have
complained before about your biased coverage of Israel, and you once
printed a letter to the editor which I wrote on a related subject. I
corresponded with your foreign editor because you simply get the facts
wrong over and over again, and always in an anti-Israel manner. Your
foreign editor wrote that your reporters were very experienced,
competent, etc.
I have led 60 tours to Israel in the past 26 years, and I am intimately
acquainted with the situation there. I have televised interviews with
government figures in both the Knesset and the Orient House, including
Prime Minister Netanyahu and PA "Representative for Jerusalem," Faisal
Husseini. I have friends on all sides of the complex issues there. I can
tell you with some authority that The New York Times
coverage is heavily biased against Israel.
Your naive assumption, that the Palestinians are
brave underdogs who need your help, has discolored
your reportage and your selections for the op-ed page.
The David Kimche article of this past week was the
last straw. Kimche is obviously inclined to the Palestinian
side of the peace process and is one of the few people
acquainted with Israel who seems to think that Yasser
Arafat really wants peace. I saw one off-point letter to the
editor, which you inexplicably called "Israel Won't Give In,"
responding to that awful article. I don't anticipate any
"equal space" contribution.
I will miss The Times because I often quoted it in my own
newsletters; but then again, people everywhere have come to regard your
paper as strongly biased, and you are not "the newspaper of record" that
you were when I first quoted you. In the upcoming book Foreshadows
of Wrath, to which I contributed a chapter, I make the following
prediction about The New York Times:
The New York Times . . . keeps up a steady drumbeat of
criticism of [Israel] no matter what else in the world is happening. I
would think that if . . . war broke out, the Times editor
would order his reporters to keep . . . space open for its usual Israel
coverage whatever else might be happening.
You didn't let me down.
Sincerely yours,
Zola Levitt


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Hebrew Alphabet
In response to our
April "Personal Letter," in which I discussed
the numerical values of the Hebrew alphabet, we have
heard response saying the letter vav is not 6, but 7. The confusion
lies in the peculiarity of Hebrew lettering. Some letters are
changed by the addition of a dot (or what the Lord would call a jot,
as in Matt. 5:18, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled"). The dot
makes it what we would regard as a completely different letter, but
to the Hebrew-speaker only a very slight change. Therefore, if you
look in some Western encyclopaedia or the like it will tend to list
two forms of the second letter of the alphabet. Bet and vet, however,
are essentially the same letter, each having the numerical
value of 2. It looks to the eye as though vav is the seventh letter,
but it is really only the sixth, and the value of vav is 6. See illustration below.



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