Following our article on The Church in Israel last year (Here), we were grateful for the opportunity to interview Rev David Zadok, minister of Grace and Truth, a congregation located in Kannot, Israel.

Can you provide a brief background about yourself and how you came to Christ?

I was born in Israel to both Iraqi (Babylonian) Jews parents. From the age of three I grow up in Iran with my uncle and aunt. At age of 17, due to the Islamic revolution in Iran, my family sent me to San Diego, California. It was there that through the ministry of Navigators and New Life OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church), that the Lord converted me and was baptised there.

Continue reading “An Interview with Rev David Zadok (Israel)” →

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)

In our day, and on our own Island, false prophets are all around us. It is a familiar sight to see well-dressed younger men or women, usually American, walking the streets in pairs, with a backpack and a badge bearing the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). They are missionaries better known to us as Mormons. They warmly introduce themselves as Christians. Their purpose is to engage people in conversation, to seemingly introduce them to Jesus Christ and invite them to their church. As commendable as this may appear to us, when we look a bit deeper, we find that we are actually faced with false prophets who appear in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.     

Continue reading “False Prophets – The Mormons” →

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)

In our day, and on our own Island, false prophets are all around us. Many of us have answered a knock at the door not to find a familiar face standing there or even to find someone sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which ought to be a welcome sight to any believer. Rather, as we open the door we discover that we are faced with two people, greeting us with smiles, seeking to share the Gospel according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and to invite us to their church. They don’t introduce themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses, but upon asking the question, our suspicions are confirmed.

Continue reading “False Prophets – The Knock at the Door” →

“How much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Romans 11:24) 

In AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans under Titus. It is said that not a single Jew was left alive in Jerusalem, as all were either killed or taken away as prisoners. The Romans destroyed much of the city, including the second temple, the very centre of Jewish life. Most of the information on the destruction of Jerusalem comes from the writings of the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37-AD 100). According to Josephus, over a million Jews died as a result of either violence or famine. It has been noted that this number exceeded the entire population of Jerusalem. This has been accounted for by the fact that many were thought to have travelled to Jerusalem to partake of the Passover, but got trapped in the siege.  

Last month marked the 75^th anniversary of the creation of the modern nation state of Israel. On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Guiron, the Prime Minister of Israel, read out Israel’s Declaration of Independence, leaving Jews free to return to and govern themselves in their own land. Immediately after, Israel was attacked by 5 neighbouring Arab states. The Israeli-Palestinian issue remains one of the world’s most enduring conflicts with numerous political efforts made to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.  

Continue reading “The Church in Israel” →

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)

What is it to be “inspired?” We regularly hear and read of the term, commonly used in everyday life. Authors are said to be inspiring if they write a page turning novel, or a powerful real life story that motivates or encourages. Political leaders or ordinary members of the public are referred to as inspirational if they show great leadership or courage in the face of adversity. Musicians are referred to as inspiring if they write or perform a beautiful piece of music. In the sporting world we often hear of inspirational substitutions, which changed the course of a game.

What do theologians mean when they say that the Scriptures are inspired? Whilst the Scriptures certainly motivate and encourage, as well as cultivating leadership and courage, whilst the Scriptures are beautiful, leading to transformative change, that is not primarily what we mean by the inspiration of Scripture. What we mean when we say that the Scriptures are inspired is that the Bible is breathed out by God, as He prompted the writers of Scripture, who were moved by the Holy Spirit. “Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The idea is that the Spirit breathed the Word into men’s hearts and minds, so that they wrote exactly what He wanted them to write, and so that they were preserved from error, which would have otherwise been natural to them as sinful men. As they wrote, they recorded God’s own thoughts, as James Bannerman put it, “making the voice of God speak to us in a human accent.”

Continue reading “The Spirit and Scripture” →

“…and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, from an estimated population of 140 million, there were around two million Christians in Africa. By the end of the twentieth century, the population had grown to around 810 million with around 380 million Christians.  

In Africa, as a whole, Christianity and Islam are split relatively equally, each representing around 45% of the population with the remainder represented by indigenous African religions. Christianity is more dominant in the south, whilst Islam is more dominant in the North. Africa’s population grew hugely in the 20^th century, yet at the same time, Christianity saw a tremendous growth during that period.

Africa is one of the world’s richest continents, in terms of natural resources, yet it has some of the world’s poorest people. Poverty has a long history in Africa and the continent has a disturbing past, associated with colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. At the same time, Africa is a continent of thousands of languages and cultures, with a vibrant and innovative people, along with some of the fastest growing economies in the world, including Rwanda and Tanzania.      

Having said that, when we consider Africa, what significance, if any, does the African church hold in our thinking?

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On a recent visit to Scotland, along with his wife and 6 children, Steven Lee, the founder of Sermon Audio (Here), spent a few days in Lewis. We were thankful to meet him for a short time of fellowship and took the opportunity to  interview him.

What brings you to Stornoway and have you visited our islands before?

I have never been to Scotland before but it was always a personal dream of mine to visit the Isle of Lewis because of all that I read and heard about the revival that took place here on the island during the early 1950s under the ministry of Duncan Campbell. We don’t live in the past, but I believe it is both helpful and Scriptural to have a healthy remembrance of what God did in history so as to keep the fires of our hearts burning for the future. 

Continue reading “An Interview with Steven Lee, Sermon Audio Founder” →

“Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5)

The world watched as NASA’s Perseverance Rover completed its seven month journey to Mars, entering the Martian atmosphere, descending and successfully landing on 18^th February. Perseverance landed in a crater that scientists believe once held a lake, there being evidence of both an inflow and an outflow channel. The Rover is a motorised vehicle intended to travel across the surface of the planet. The purpose of the mission is to explore the planet, seeking for signs of past life. The Rover will collect rock and soil samples as well as testing oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere.

Unmanned missions to Mars are not new, dating as they do back to the Soviet Union’s failed 1971 mission. NASA’s Curiosity Rover mission, which landed in 2012, collected a series of fascinating images of the Red Planet (Here). Perseverance is said to be an upgrade of Curiosity, carrying 19 cameras, microphones and a miniature helicopter, with an on-board camera powered by a solar panel. Ultimately, the mission is said to be a stepping stone towards human exploration of Mars. This NASA plans to achieve by 2033. The world’s richest man, SpaceX founder Elon Musk, has even more ambitious plans, aiming to land humans on Mars by 2026 to establish a small human colony focused on the establishment of manufacturing, food production and power plants. Eventually, Musk intends to establish cities on Mars by transporting 100 people at a time in a reusable starship.

Continue reading “The Wisdom of Men” →

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

In a day and age where the Bible is increasingly dismissed, it is strange to hear so many appealing to Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. “Judge not, that you be not judged,” is one of the most quoted texts in the whole of the Bible. It is often quoted and misunderstood from within the Church. Likewise, it is frequently cited and misused by those out with the Church.

There are many who have misinterpreted the meaning of these words. For instance, Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, grossly misapplied the verse by stating that Christ is forbidding judgement by law courts, “take no part whatever in the administration of the law.” The common usage within the church today tends to be, “I’m not judging,” or “who am I to judge?” Similarly, out with the church, we are likely to hear “don’t judge me,” or “is that not you judging?” Effectively, when framed as such, the implication is a prohibition against asserting that any specific course of action is wrong, whatever it may be, as that would be “judging someone.” We should never judge, we should never condemn any action, as tolerance is one of the highest of virtues. Is that the correct understanding of these words?

Continue reading “Who am I to Judge?” →