Olive Tree Ministries - prophetic signs, current issues, and the Messianic Jewish movement.

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--> Posted to Jans_Articles for February, 2009

Inaugural Prayer to the God of our Many Understandings!
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for January, 2009

Inaugural Prayer to the God of Our Many Understandings!

By Jan Markell

The Obama administration and America are heading into treacherous territory. There are certain kinds of behavior that seem to anger God more than others and at this point, America is already on shaky ground. President-elect Obama has asked V. Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, to deliver the invocation at a pre-inaugural event this Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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A Spreading Sickness
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for January, 2009

A Spreading Sickness

By Jan Markell

I have learned through many years in ministry that Americans tend to yawn about troubling events that are thousands of miles away. The busyness of life causes many to have a limited focus on the world and its troubles. And so it is with the conflict in Gaza. Yes, this war is part of the everlasting hatred that began thousands of years ago. These wars will go on until the Lord returns. But let me bring the issue closer to home.

The New York Sun reports that contrary to the long held belief that Hamas "only" seeks the destruction of Israel, America is anything but safe from the terror group's wrath. Hamas leader Ismail Elbarasse was arrested a year ago after authorities witnessed his wife videotaping Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge from the SUV. The images captured by Elbarasse's wife included close-ups of cables and other features "integral to the structural integrity of the bridge."

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The Story of 2008
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for January, 2009

The Story of 2008

Commentary on the News
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Jan Markell

A one-world system in my lifetime? Never! Yet my frequent radio guest and one of our “Understanding the Times 2009” speakers, Gary Kah, has said this to me for years: “We are just one global crisis away from global government.”
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Obama's Fictitious Pro-Israel Team
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for November, 2008

by Jan Markell

There is a saying in the Jewish community, "But is it good for for the Jews?" Thus, many are asking, will the Obama administration be an asset or liability for Israel? While many Christians place little interest or importance on this, this ministry does.

Much is being made of several Jews who are now a part of the Obama administration. Some seem to think that a few are very pro-Israel Jews and that we will thus see a new course of American-Israeli relations. I hate to burst bubbles but they are dead wrong.
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America Cries, "Give us a King!"
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for November, 2008

(NOTE: The reference is I Samuel, not II Samuel.--jm)

There is a story in II Samuel 8 where we see Israel demanding a king. God was not sufficient for them, so they asked for a "real king." They got an evil one -- Saul.

America has been in a similar mood. We want a "king" to solve our many problems starting with the economy. So Israel said to Samuel, "Now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have" (II Samuel 8:5). But all the other nations had pagan kings.
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The Dual Covenant Heresy
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2008

The Dual Covenant Heresy: More End-Time Deception

By Jan Markell

If you hadn't guessed, Olive Tree Ministries is pro-Israel. In fact, we would be labeled a "Christian Zionist" organization, which certain radio ministries have derided in a most non-Christian manner. We love the Jewish people and I have or had many Jewish family members who were believers. Others went to their graves ignoring the Messiah and His message.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to various "Nights to Honor Israel" being held around the country. A local mega-church in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area has had some in recent years. I attended in 2007 and was so bitterly disappointed -- in fact, sickened --that I chose not to go back last week. Forgive me if this takes on a twinge of being harsh. That is not my purpose. I am just passionate that all come to a knowledge of the Savior while there is time. I would also like to know when was the commandment to take the Gospel to the Jew abrogated? (Romans 1:16)
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Socialism in America: A Revolution in the Making
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2008

In recent weeks it has become more obvious that America is on the yellow-brick road to Socialism. In 1962 Russian Premier Khrushchev said,

"We can't expect the American people to jump from capitalism to Communism but we can assist their leaders by giving them small amounts of Socialism until they awaken one day to find out they have Communism."

He also said that Communism would take over America "without firing a shot."

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America's Invincibility Shattered
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2008

Americans have been guilty of a sense of invincibility. Since we excel at nearly everything and have an unrivaled quality of life, most Americans feel nothing could bring us down. Until October 2008.

Now we have seen that even our economic dominance is in jeopardy. Threatened by a financial tsunami, The People’s Daily out of China states, “The world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the United States.” View Full Article

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Will the Emergent Church Submerge Yours?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for September, 2008

WILL THE EMERGENT CHURCH SUBMERGE YOURS?
by Jan Markell

I was recently contacted to do a radio interview by Elwood McQuaid of Friends of Israel. I have had Elwood on my radio program several times on issues related to Israel. I assumed he, also, wanted to talk about Israel. Wrong. He was troubled about the massive inroads of what is known as the Emergent Church and how little Christians know about it.

So, if the Emergent Church is about to submerge your church, you might not even know it!

I am borrowing some thoughts from my good friend Roger Oakland who I consider an authority on this topic.

Here are some warning signs. There still may be time to stop your church from "submerging" to "Emerging" but only if you act decisively and in union with others in your church who feel the same. A delegation of one or two will never impress church leadership who already think this "new way of doing church" is better than warmed bagels and who have swallowed the Emergent deception. And make no mistake, it is deception.

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The Devil's Delight: Deceiving the Church
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for August, 2008

THE DEVIL’S DELIGHT: DECEIVING THE CHURCH

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

I received an interesting e-mail today from a pastor and would like to build on it. The e-mail reads, “Your ministry has been a wealth of information during my sermon series preparation on the ‘death of discernment.’ There is so much to cover. I liken it to our recent trip to New York. We saw 50 major landmarks and we only scratched the surface.”

The pastor continues, “There is no way I can cover all the deception issues in a sermon series in less than three years. What would you consider to be the top ten issues on this topic?”

It will take him three years! Is it really that bad? It may be. And I’m glad I can add to a good pastor’s sermon material!

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Are Evangelical Pulpits About to Praise Islam?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for August, 2008

ARE EVANGELICAL PULPITS ABOUT TO PRAISE ISLAM?

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

Following a four-day conference last week at Yale University, Christian and Muslim leaders from around the world announced the first step of the “Common Word” exchange drafted last November. A joint statement was affirmed in their support of religious freedom and further interfaith dialogue based on their common love for God and neighbor.

But something is very wrong with this picture.

Over 140 conference participants unanimously approved a cooperative statement that signaled a “new beginning of collaboration between Christians and Muslims” where stronger assertions of faith would be required. So the statement began by affirming the “unity and absoluteness of God” and God’s merciful love as central to both religions.

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Could the Emergent Church Sway the 2008 Election?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2008

COULD THE EMERGENT CHURCH SWAY THE 2008 ELECTION?

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

The President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, isn’t surprised that many young evangelicals are moving to the left politically. He states, “There is a sense among younger evangelicals that the conservative movement has gained a bad reputation as being against things rather than for them.” Mohler continues, “I think the younger generation of evangelicals looks at a lot of older evangelicals and says, ‘You just don’t get it. You’re not connecting with the issues. You’re too happy, too consumerist, and too materialistic. You’re living in an evangelical subculture.’”

Younger Christians who might be a part of the Emergent movement, which is quite in line with the “Religious Left,” have been seriously influenced by such leaders as Brian McLaren, Tony Campollo, Jim Wallis, and a host of others. And the bottom line is that the under-30 generation could be casting a deciding vote this coming November.

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The Seductive and Subversive "Shack"
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2008

The Seductive and Subversive ''Shack''

Commentary on the News
Monday, July 07, 2008
Jan Markell

Many have asked me to comment on William P. Young's ragingly popular book, The Shack. Is this work of fiction really Christian? It is called by some as one of Christianity's most influential books. One prominent endorser says it will "leave you craving for God."

Yet people I respect highly, including Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Seminary, calls it "undiluted heresy." He maintains there is no way it can seriously address the issues of Christian faith.

Here is the scenario in brief. View Full Article

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Has God Sent This Delusion?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2008

HAS GOD SENT THIS DELUSION?

By Jan Markell
www.olivetreeviews.org

I quote my good friend and ministry colleague Jim Hutchens of "The Jerusalem Connection International" when he says, "The veiled anti-Israel action by the Presbyterian Church USA is nothing less than blatant anti-Semitism." I also agree with him. So what is the issue?

As I write truthful but unpleasant comments about the Presbyterian Church, I know many Presbyterian readers of this do not agree with their church leadership. But at the recent Presbyterian Church USA annual meeting a number of Presbyterian leaders pled passionately for a declaration of solidarity with the Palestinian Arabs. The appeal included a recommendation to adopt a series of anti-Israel measures, including proposals for divestment and for backing a suspension of American military aid to the Jewish state. In essence they called for Presbyterians to side with the Palestinians and take serious shots at the Israelis.
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Footprints of a Prophet or Tracks of a Wolf?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2008

FOOTPRINTS OF A PROPHET OR TRACKS OF A WOLF?

By Jan Markell

I am writing the "inconvenient truth" today. I have been blitzed with e-mails about the Todd Bentley "revival" in Florida. Before you fall for his stories and "signs and wonders," please allow me to make some comments. I realize this will not be received well by many.

This is a Charismatic happening called the "third wave." The "first wave" was Toronto, and it fizzled out. The "second wave" was Pensacola, and it had the same fate. Now Bentley has brought in the "third wave," and folks are coming from around the world for the "anointing." Even the Charisma Magazine editor Lee Grady says -- sounding a warning -- "My inbox has been full of messages from Charismatic leaders who are concerned about everything from Bentley's tattoos and body piercings to his claim that he once interviewed the apostle Paul in Heaven. When I called for scrutiny of some aspects of the Lakeland Revival, I was labeled a Pharisee and a 'religious policeman.' I had suddenly become the enemy." View Full Article

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Can These Bones Live? Israel at 60
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for May, 2008

CAN THESE BONES LIVE? ISRAEL AT 60

By Jan Markell

The miracle of miracles over millennia overlapping all the way to May of 2008 is overlooked by most people. It is the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948. It is the most significant and inconceivable miracle in history. Yet the geopolitical gurus around the world would never admit that.

This event was orchestrated by God, but what is that to an unbelieving world? He states, "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all nations of the earth" (Deuteronomy 14:2). Because God is a covenant keeper, not just a covenant maker, He did not do away with that covenant when Israel failed her assignment to be a godly people and a light to the world. One day she will do that.

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The Kingdom of God Won't Come Through Big Government
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for May, 2008

Linda Harvey writes in World Net Daily that Christian churches should have caught on to the quasi-Christianity of Jim Wallis and Sojourners by now. Unfortunately, a "Social Justice Revival" came to her church recently. But sadly, the gospel was hard to find on the podium.

The election year faith posturing could not have been more transparent, yet many young attendees were misled to believe that this might be authentic "revived" Christianity.

She states, "What was on the menu? Perhaps how religion can prop up left-wing priorities like race divisiveness, perpetual poverty, and America-bashing as the important issues 'real' believers should care about, rather than fighting homosexual marriage and abortion."
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Is a Taxpayer-Funded Muslim School Coming to Your Neighborhood?--Markell--April 10
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for April, 2008

Is a Taxpayer-Funded Muslim School Coming to a Neighborhood Near You?

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

I love my home state of Minnesota and don’t want it to take on the title of “the late-great state of Minnesota.” It seems to be a trend-setter when it comes to all things Islamic. Our state elected the first Muslim Congressman, Keith Ellison. And the slow but steady Islamization of Minnesota has been in the news for more than two years.

And it is again. One of our best investigative reporters in the Twin Cities is Katherine Kersten. On April 9 she broke a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that a wall of silence has been broken concerning a taxpayer-funded Muslim school in the Twin Cities.

It is the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights, a suburb of St. Paul. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion. Kersten states, “Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers.
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Of Fences and Double Standards
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for April, 2008

Of Fences and Double Standards

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

We are in pretty strange times where double standards abound. A fence is going up. You’d love to hear that it is across our southern border. It isn’t. Your tax dollars instead are going to a fence that the U.S. is helping to build to create a better Egypt-Gaza boundary.

As for progress on a fence in America, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act two years ago requiring nearly 800 miles of double fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, and Congress further appropriated (on a bipartisan vote) the money to build it. Benchmarks in the Act required 670 miles of the double fence to be completed by now. To date, less than 10 miles of the double fence have been built.

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Gloom and Doom or Our Blessed Hope?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for March, 2008

Gloom and Doom or Our Blessed Hope?

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

I played a clip on my radio show last weekend (March 8,) which you can hear early in hour 2 at “Radio Archives.”

In part the young woman states:

"The end-times are here, the end-times are here. Gloom and doom, doom and gloom! You hear about it all the time (yes, because we’re in them). I am so sick about hearing about the end-times when we have a job to do. I talked to a friend and she said the Bible said certain things were going to happen. I couldn’t believe it. So we are just to sit back and drop the ball and don’t do anything?

We have radio and TV shows just talking abut the end-times. People actually make a living out of this. Instead of having a meeting as to how the end-times are upon us, shouldn’t we be redeeming the time for the days are evil? We have a whole generation of forgotten kids—forgotten by the church so they can have their meetings on the end-times."

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Did Jesus Live in Occupied Territory?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for March, 2008

Did Jesus Live in Occupied Territory?

Commentary on the News
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Jan Markell

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is at it again, although other denominations have engaged in this abysmal behavior as well. Their 225-page report, "Israel-Palestine: A 2007-2008 Mission Study," likens Jews to "monsters" and compares the actions of Israelis to Nazis.

Strange, indeed, when Hamas TV is currently running a kids' special suggesting that they "eat Danes, not Danish pastries." The UMC uses "terrorism" to describe Israeli actions while the actions of Palestinian Arabs are described as "activism." The desire to strap explosives onto oneself has dropped to that level, I guess, in the eyes of the UMC. View Full Article

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Why Must Christianity be Re-Invented?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for February, 2008

Why Must Christianity Be Re-invented?

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

I, personally, don’t believe it needs to be, but Robert Schuller and friends spent a few days in late January planning how to do it. On my February 9 radio program, “Understanding the Times,” Roger Oakland reported on the event as he was able to attend. He stated that the prominent view from most in attendance was that Christianity as we have known it has run its course and must change. It must be re-invented or it won’t survive. Really?

As Oakland said, focusing on a relationship and not religiosity is what is important; however, true Christianity has survived just about everything including mass slaughter in Sudan. But the faith isn’t being made stronger by such events as Schuller’s “Re-Think” last month. Christianity and the church need not “re-think” and compromise their God-given biblical doctrines to accommodate the world and churches with “straying” theology.

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The Twisted World of Oprah and Friends--Markell
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for February, 2008

The Twisted World of Oprah and Friends

Commentary on the News

Jan Markell

If you haven’t heard of “A Course in Miracles” or the proposed “Peace Alliance,” then please pay attention. “New Age” queen Oprah Winfrey is promoting both, and it seems that what Oprah wants she gets due to her financial status and her loyal fans.

Starting January 1, 2008, she began a daily feature on XM Satellite Radio featuring “A Course in Miracles”—one lesson a day. And also this year, she will have her own television network. View Full Article

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The Cost of Contending
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for January, 2008

The Cost of Contending

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

Last weekend on my radio program, “Understanding the Times,” I dealt with the topic of contending for the faith. I had three guests: Pastor Bob DeWaay and two who had “contended” and run into some bumpy roads. (The two-hour program is posted at “Radio Archives” for January 26.) There is a cost to contending for the faith; one will never win a popularity contest.

Why is it necessary today? Because false theologies and teachers with skewed theology are so admired! Just visit a Christian bookstore. Which authors are prominently featured? Most likely those with the weakest or most incorrect theology. Why? Because publishing houses know they will be the big sellers! I should know. I have been in book publishing a number of years but in the last 10 to 12 years I have had to conclude that major publishing houses will not accept a manuscript of mine in the 21st century. Twenty years ago they took one after another.

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The Truth War
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for January, 2008

The Truth War

By Jan Markell

The prophet Isaiah said in his day that truth had fallen in the street (Isa. 59:14). The situation has intensified in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. That is why John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War, is one of the most important items to have in your possession today.

Every believer should know and have a love for the truth. We are in a generation where for convenience, personal gain, and deception-related issues, it is being ignored by many. I am reminded of the verse, “they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Thus, Solomon’s wise words, “Buy truth, and do not sell it” (Proverbs 23:23).

As MacArthur states about our climate today, “Contemporary Christians are determined to get the world to like them, and of course in the process they also want to have as much fun as possible. They are so obsessed with making the church seem ‘cool’ to unbelievers that they can’t be bothered with questions about whether another person’s doctrine is sound or not. In a climate like that, the thought of even identifying someone else’s teaching as false, (much less ‘contending earnestly’ for the faith) is a distasteful and a dangerously countercultural suggestion.”

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The New Evangelicalism (revised)
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for November, 2007

The New Evangelicalism
By Jan Markell

When I first filtered into an evangelical church at the age of 14, defining the term "evangelical" was simple, even for a kid my age. Without having to be told, I concluded evangelicals preached a solid gospel, emphasized evangelism and missions, majored in soul-winning and minored in social issues, abstained from some worldly values, were faithful in church attendance, Bible reading, and generally had a biblical worldview. I was never ashamed of the old definition of "evangelicalism."

Those churches are still around, but something has happened in the last twenty years. New leaders are rising and some do NOT preach a solid gospel yet are called evangelicals.

To me, this says today no one is really sure what "evangelicalism" means. When those leaning left such as Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis are called evangelicals, I can tell we have a new day. When "Emergent Church" leaders such as Brian McClaren, Rob Bell, and Erwin McManus are called evangelicals, something is a-miss. This is just blatant false labeling. Wallis is an apologist for Communist causes and is urging that members of the Bush administration be investigated and possibly jailed when out of office.

"The New York Times" states, "A tug of war is unfolding behind the scenes over theology--should evangelicalism be a big tent open to divergent views, or a smaller movement with more pure theology?"

Theology isn't the only issue. Some of today's so-called evangelicals are into global warming, immigration issues, anti-war movements, and other causes that were once found only in churches a part of the World and National Council of Churches. They are involved in ridding the world of AIDS, which is an impossibility, but a noble cause, but is it the cause of evangelicals? Or is it just the old social gospel from which evangelicals fled in the 1940s so a few denominations could focus almost exclusively on soul-winning and Bible teaching?

Now the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has a new leader and he hails from my hometown, Minneapolis, MN. Rev. Leith Anderson states in "Christianity Today" online that issues to be addressed by the NAE include human rights, creation care, justice and compassion for the poor, torture, and seeking peace in the world. Isn’t this the organization that should be reminding the world that it is racing towards judgment and there may not be a lot of time to repent? It sounds like making the world a better place to live is the new “great commission.”

I am very uneasy when “evangelicals” remind me of social gospel leftists and when sound theology is replaced by feelings and experience. Or when once-sound theologians applaud the new “Christian mysticism” and rally around “unity.” When church-growth methods take center stage and a church has to have a “marketing approach.” I thought God was the “Marketer-in-Chief” of all churches and ministries. He causes or hinders growth and the spiritual maturity of the body matters far more than growth in numbers. Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels has just stated that his “seeker” approach to church is a failure; however, it would appear that he is going to replace it with Emergent-friendly tactics and strategy.

Old fashioned evangelicalism is on life-support and has been snatched in what the Bible calls an “end-time falling away” (II Thess. 2). I see a new “slippery slope” and enormous compromise, and I will not remain silent. Yet the Lord loves His church. He has not forsaken it.

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Calling Evil Good Again
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2007

CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

Very recently a delegation from the NCC praised Ahmadinejad as a pious person and a witty man. "He comes across as a very religious man," said their Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations. J. Daryl Byler, Director of the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office described Ahmadinejad as having a measured tone, sounding reasonable and having a witty personality.

Byer sent a letter to President Bush stating that he wished he would meet with the Iranian leader, calling Ahmadinejad "bright and engaging." Byler went on, "Like you, he is a religious man, Mr. President. I believe you would enjoy one another's company. Your conversation could signal a positive change in a relationship severed more than 25 years ago." Shades of Mike Wallace, I know. He's a man we can do business with.

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Was Jesus' Return a Waste of Time?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2007

Was Jesus' Return a Waste of Time?

Commentary on the News

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Jan Markell

ChristianNet.com recently asked readers to respond to the question, “Are we living in the end-times?” Of the hundreds surveyed, 75% responded positively.

One said, “Everything Jesus spoke about in regards to the signs of the times at His return is happening right before our eyes.” Many of the respondents agreed that what is happening in the world today is fulfilling Bible prophecies regarding the last days. View Full Article

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Christianity Today's Israel-Bashing: This is Loving Israel?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for September, 2007

In September, "Christianity Today" (C.T.) online came out with an article titled "What it Means to Love Israel." Knowing C.T. has leaned left in recent years, I dared not get my hopes up regarding the report. I'm glad I did not.

I am being kind when I say the article hardly plays fair.
To "Christianity Today," loving Israel means slicing it up geographically and turning over most of the historically Jewish lands to her most bitter enemies. These are enemies who have sworn to destroy her by any means necessary.

But it gets worse. C.T. warns, "Beware of giving the nation (Israel) too much theological meaning..." Excuse me. The Bible is Jewish. Jesus is Jewish. The prophets were Jewish. The apostles were Jewish. The Gospel is to be taken to the Jew first. So what are we to do? Are we to erase or ignore all of this? We would be left with a stripped-down Bible that would make little sense.

The magazine goes on to say that, "True love is sometimes tough love that builds on God's unconditional love. Genesis 12:3 (I will bless those who bless you, Abraham) is often misused as a warm affirmation of anything done for expansion of Israel's influence or borders."

Israel's borders are designed by God! (Gen.15) It's His land. (Lev. 25) He also gets terribly upset at the division of His land. (Joel 3)

Additionally, Israel's borders are expanded only as she seizes territory to defend herself, and then she is expected to return it. In fact, Israel has not "expanded" in 40 years--not since 1967--when its survival was threatened with calls for war and extermination by her Arab neighbors. At that time she took some territory including Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza.

Today Gaza has been purged of all Jews and what is left? It is a haven for al-Qaida, Hamas, and other terror groups. What blinds people like "Christianity Today" from seeing that the same will happen when other territory is given up for this glorious Palestinian state? And has there been peace since Israel did this two years ago? Hardly. As this is written, terrorists in Gaza are shelling Israeli schools. The Gaza infrastructure is destroyed and the Palestinians there are penniless and jobless. Before Israel ceded control of Arabs in the region to the Palestinian Authority, the Arabs in the area experienced unprecedented prosperity and freedom known nowhere else in the Arab world.

But "Christianity Today" does not mention the fact that the Palestinians are relegated to a life of tyranny and oppression under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas.

And what about the systematic oppression by same of Arab Christians? Remember, the Palestinian Authority is the precursor to the Palestinian state that C.T. so covets and is the answer to world peace according to the United Nations. How can fellow Christians at "Christianity Today" not spend more time condemning Palestinian nationalism responsible for the slaughter or fleeing of tens of thousands of Arab Christians? In some areas there is ethnic cleansing going on, but no mention of that in the C.T. analysis.

The magazine takes shots at Dispensational Theology and suggests those who hold to that refuse to find any fault in Israel's secular leadership. They can get away with anything and we will look the other way. Please understand that the love for Israel by Dispensationalists and others is not based on the character of the Israelis but rather based on Scripture. It would be disingenuous of us not to criticize the secular humanist approach of some of her leaders.

"Christianity Today" concludes, "In a post-Holocaust world, the security needs of Israel must be honored. At the same time, restorative justice must set aside absolute claims from any parties and find a workable middle ground in which Palestinians can have a viable economic life." Yes, if only their leaders would allow them to do that.

Why is the only negative and critical focus on Israel? She remains "the apple of God's eye," a strong American ally, and the only democracy in a region of the world gone mad. Can't she have a few Christians who unashamedly love her and stand by her? A few Christians who say to the Israelis, "Israel, you are not alone." Yet the term "Christian Zionist" today takes on negative implications, slings, and arrows.

So be it. I am one.

You would benefit by visiting out "Israel" category on the Web site here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/israel.shtml There are some moving visuals provided for you. Also visit our category "Palestine" here http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/palestine.shtml but only if you are willing to read the inconvenient truth.

Awaiting His return,
Jan Markell

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Willow Creek and Jimmy Carter
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for August, 2007

CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

A big leader in the church-growth movement is Willowcreek Church under the leadership of Pastor Bill Hybels. August 9 to 11 they had their annual Leadership Summit at their church. There were 80,000 in attendance, and the program was beamed into 176 sites via audiovisual technology.

This event troubles me and here's why.

One of the guests was former President Jimmy Carter. On the Willowcreek Web site it states, "Jimmy Carter has done more since retiring from the office of president than most people accomplish in a lifetime. The author of more than 20 books is recognized worldwide for his leading work in conflict resolution, diplomacy, and humanitarian work."

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Rewarding Not-So-Bad-Terrorists
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2007

Rewarding Not-So-Bad-Terrorists

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

This week President Bush announced an upcoming international meeting of representatives from nations that support a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians, which reject violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and commit to all previous agreements between the parties. Many of those "nations" are in the Middle East and consider Israel's very existence to be an outrage, or as they call it, a "catastrophe."

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One Nation Under Gods?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2007

One Nation Under Gods?

Commentary on the News

Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Jan Markell

If you had been in the U.S. Senate last week you might have thought we were one nation under 300 million gods. Maharishi Harry Reid invited a Hindu chaplain from Nevada to open the Senate in prayer. Rajan Zed came up to the podium. To which of the 300 million gods he was about to pray to we will never know.

Zed led off but was interrupted several times by the righteous in the balcony trying to proclaim that America serves just one God, the Judeo-Christian God. They were hauled out of the chamber while the senators apparently paid little attention. The protestors were only trying to remind all present that America remains "one nation under God" and not one nation interested in Hinduism's many gods. View Full Article

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Answering "The Bible Answerman"--Markell
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2007

Hanegraff states "Much of American Middle East policy is influenced by a huge voting bloc of evangelicals who are taught not to question Israel's divine right to the land.

"God is not pro-Jew. He is pro-justice. He is not pro-Palestinian. He is pro-peace. Only a gospel of peace and justice is potent enough to break the stranglehold of anti-Semitism and racism fueled in part by bad theology."

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Gaza: And Nobody Saw it Coming?!
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2007

Gaza: And Nobody Saw it Coming??!

Commentary on the News

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Jan Markell

The ghost of Yaser Arafat lives on as his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is simply Arafat in a $1,000 suit. The stripes on a leopard don't change easily. In the Islamic world, they hardly ever do.

But to Abbas' credit back in January 2006, while under extreme U.S. pressure to have "free Palestinian elections," Abbas earnestly sought to delay them sensing Hamas would come to power as they did. So the brutal reign of Hamas began, duly elected. The White House and State Department insisted on the elections, sure that the "curative powers of democracy" would solve many issues. Rice later stated, "Nobody saw it coming," meaning the win by Hamas. View Full Article

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No Ties to Terror? You've Got to be Kidding
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for May, 2007

Eight years ago America opened its arms to tens of thousands of ethnic Muslim Albanian refugees from Kosovo. The first plane load came to Ft. Dix, NJ.
Military leaders worked day and night to turn the base into a family-friendly village for them, including ethnic food preparations. The man in charge, Gen. Zais, said, "We want to welcome these people to America the way we might wish our grandparents and great-grandparents had been welcomed to Ellis Island."

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Beware of the Christian Taliban
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for April, 2007

No other group in America would tolerate this kind of hostility. Imagine dramatizing the villains as Islamic fundamentalists. While in the minds of some there is little difference between Christian fundamentalists and Muslim fundamentalists, political correctness is displayed among most all minorities except Christians. It's open season on Christians.

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The National Association of Evangelicals Heads Left--Markell--March 21
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for March, 2007

The NEA Heads Left
Commentary on the News
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Jan Markell

Why am I not surprised? Is there any institution, agency, culture issue, etc., not moving to the left today? Since the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was founded in the 1940s to counter the "religious left," they would not succumb, would they? Wrong. They are headed toward the left coast.
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The Appease Disease--Again
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for March, 2007

The Appease Disease—Again
Commentary on the News
Friday, March 02, 2007
Jan Markell

I have concluded that some of America's leaders are having tea with the Mad Hatter and that the brew has been spiked to alter judgment. There is a new Washington policy to dialogue with (and appease) our bitter enemies, Iran and Syria. Condoleezza Rice has just stated we will start to negotiate with them over Iraq and other issues. Go back in history and put this scenario in the middle of WWII and imagine the fall-out. Somebody tell me what is different about our enemies 60 years later other than that they are more brutal?
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The "Bible-Basher Man" and His End Time Confusion
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2006

The “Bible Basher-Man” and the End Times
Jan Markell
www.olivetreeviews.org

The Christian Research Institute founded by Dr. Walter Martin, is now under the leadership of Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answerman. I say he's the "Bible Basher-Man" though to be fair, some of the false teachers he exposes deserve it. Others don't because they are not false; rather, they are blatant truth-tellers. I am not above naming names of those I think are a threat to the sheep, so I give Hank some space there.

However, I don't cut him slack when he denounces the truth-tellers, the on target prophecy teachers, and sound, biblical scholars. He's gone overboard on this in recent months. He's confused a lot of people on the fence not knowing what to believe about the end-times. And he never does it with love and for that matter, he and his guests have a note of derision in their voice.

He recently featured Steven Sizer and his book, "Christian Zionism: Road Map to Armageddon." I've been a Dispensational Christian Zionist for decades but have never encountered the so-called "road map." But these men believe it will mysteriously lead to Armageddon which is their way of denouncing solid Dispensational theology, or for the newcomer, "Left Behind" theology. Testimonials for Sizer's book read like the "Who's Who" of the religious Left. One testimonial reads, "After reading Sizer's book, I believe that Zionism, both political and Christian, is incompatible with Christian faith." The lowest blow is the fact that they called Christian Zionists "cultists."

Why is it that Christians standing by Israel is so offensive that we are "cultists"? We are incompatible to faith? Can't she have just one little group that is willing to stand with her both because of her biblical importance past, present, and future, and the fact that she is America's ally and a strong democracy?

Sizer and Hanegraaff spent two hours blasting away. She doesn't deserve the land. There is no uniqueness to Jerusalem. I guess she rates with the Canary Islands.

Hank is at it again. In recent days, he and Gary DeMar, both Preterists, say that all prophecy is history. It all happened in 70 AD. The Tribulation was the persecution of the saints. Nero was the Antichrist. Preterism cannot be substantiated from the Bible unless you jump through so many hermeneutical hoops that it stretches credulity. You can read more about it at my "Prophecy Watch" link here: http://www.olivetreeviews.org/articles/Prophecy.shtml#newsitemEEypVyAVypFCdwyYmB Scholar Dr. David Reagan was one of our conference speakers October 6-7.

To hear Hanegraaff and DeMar you would think people with the proper eschatological view had a mental disorder. Certain Dispensational teachers are addressed as though they were theological infants. Some of those included Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, and Dr. Thomas Ice. This is nothing new. It is also nothing new that these men and others are never invited to the program to engage in debate or dialogue.

I have talked privately to Gary DeMar. DeMar, Hanegraaff, Gary North, and Ken Gentry, are the four Preterists leading the pack in denouncing the truth, confusing seekers after Bible prophecy truth, and skewing the Bible as it concerns the last days. DeMar talked to me about coming to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and asked that I set up a debate for him. I said, how about using Hanegraaff's platform of millions for that, Gary? Why won't Hank allow that on his program? What is he afraid of?

There are some public debates and for this I give DeMar some credit. You can listen to one at this link:
http://www.pre-trib.org/ Look for the "Free Download" debate between DeMar and Dr. Thomas Ice. You will learn a lot about this theology that is growing by leaps and bounds largely due to the high profile "Bible Basher-Man", Hank Hanegraaff who never misses an opportunity to skew the end-time scenario.

(For more information about Olive Tree Ministries, Jan’s e-alerts, or free print newsletter, visit her Web site, www.olivetreeviews.org.)

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Beware of the Christian Zionists
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2006

What does Armageddon have to do with Christian Zionists? Steven Sizer has written a book titled, “Christian Zionism: Road Map to Armageddon.” I’ve been a Christian Zionist who believes in a literal Armageddon for decades and I’ve never seen the so-called “road map” but somehow it mysteriously leads to Armageddon.

The testimonials for Sizer’s book read like a “Who’s Who of the religious Left.” One says, “After reading Sizer’s book, I believe that Zionism, both political and Christian, is incompatible with Christian faith.” The author goes on to call Christian Zionists cultists.

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Why Are They Silencing the Watchmen?--Markell---Sept. 2
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for September, 2006

It does seem strange that the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has canned another excellent, timely, and warning-sounding program, "Zola Levitt Presents."

Their reason is that Levitt's programming was not Arab/Muslim-friendly. This is the second time they have done this in a year as they scrapped Hal Lindsey's truth-telling last January, then recanted if they would be allowed to censor his program. Hal was told he was too pro-Israel and anti-Arab. He moved on--a wise choice.

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The Fence Hypocrisy--Markell
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for May, 2006

Isn't it ironic? Both Israel and America are societies engaged in struggles over their futures due to evil-doers crossing borders. Both are acting in self-defense to stop invaders. Both countries are getting heat from various sources for trying to protect themselves. So both Israel and America are pursuing a security fence and Israel's will be completed this year. And the world, with many Americans chiming in, says "Mr. Prime Minister, tear down that wall."

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Green Christianity
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for February, 2006

Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Jan Markell

Recently 85 "evangelical" Christians formed the "Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) and created the "Evangelical Climate Initiative." They had a media ad blitz February 9 and received extensive national attention.

Their message is that global warming hurts the world's poor the most. Signers-on included pastors, college and seminary presidents, aid organizations, denominational heads, and more. To read the entire list, go to this link http://www.christiansandclimate.org/signatories

Many conservative evangelicals have a problem with this effort. Is this a part of the "great commission?" Yes, we have a responsibility to the earth and the creatures and elements over which man was given authority to rule. But fighting the pollution and global warming wars will lead to only one thing: One world globalism.

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The War Against Bible Prophecy
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for February, 2006

In Defense of the Faith

Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Jan Markell

I wasn’t born all that long ago so I still recall wonderful prophecy conferences in my Baptist church some twenty years ago. But in the last ten to fifteen years the message that the King is coming has become a downer with implications that the issues surrounding it are “gloom and doom.” When did you last hear it preached in your church? When did you last hear radio or TV preachers talk about it unless they were an eschatology-related ministry?

Recently a Christian publishing house advised me that he had learned that most Christian houses were dropping newly-submitted Bible prophecy books with a few exceptions. LaHaye/Jenkins will likely continue to sell as well as Mark Hitchcock through Multnomah, and sadly, Hannegraff’s false Preterism books. Harvest House seems open only to Dr. J. Randall Price on Temple issues. Teachers like Hal Lindsey, Grant Jeffrey, and Dave Hunt, and David Reagan, have resorted to forming their own publishing houses or just self-publishing.

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Jesus is Coming: People Yawn and Not Yearn
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for October, 2005

Jesus is Coming, Yet People Yawn and Not Yearn
Commentary on the News
Jan Markell

I recognize we’re an apathetic generation that loves to be entertained rather than think real serious thoughts. At least some feel that way. But there is one form of apathy I don’t get and that is the fact that people are yawning over the return of the King of kings and not yearning for it.

This is the greatest news on earth. Titus calls it our “blessed hope.” The Lord will put an end to all sorrow, sighing, tears, disasters, broken relationships, and more.

The apathy factor has grown since 9/11. America was torn for a few months and then many forgot because it wasn’t in their neighborhood. People went back to sleep while the evil doers in this country continue their plotting.

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The ACLU: America's Non Islamic Jihadists
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for August, 2005

The ACLU, or American Civil Liberties Union (perhaps better named Assault Christian Liberties Unmercifully) is carrying on their own brand of jihad in America.

They are anti-American. They are anti-Christian. They are against most everything righteous. To me they are just a terror organization without the explosives because they are trying to destroy America from within. Here are just a few examples to illustrate this. The examples are, in fact, legion but space doesn’t permit them all.

• The New York branch of the ACLU announced that it was going to court to stop the random searches on the New York subway system. Guess they want the terrorists to have unfettered access to New York City’s metro transit system.

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The Importance of Understanding the End Times
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2005

The Importance of Understanding the “End Times”
By Jan Markell

To be perfectly honest, I am growing weary of the many voices I hear saying that the world makes no sense today. It makes perfect sense if one understands the proper eschatology or doctrine of the "last days." The problem is that there is either little or no interest in the topic or it is being taught improperly. Why is it that even the History Channel, A & E, Discovery Network, etc. are paying more attention to it than the churches? In most churches it was shelved 20 years ago as "controversial," "divisive", and "gloom and doom." What is gloom and doom about the fact that the King is coming? Hanging on to this "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) should be able to get the believer through most any trial.

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Will God Allow a Palestinian State?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2005

Will God Allow a Palestinian State?--Jan Markell

While Christian Zionists and evangelicals in general agonize that Jews are literally violently being torn from parts of the covenant land of Israel, I think there is a scenario few are considering: Will God allow this tragedy to go through to fulfillment and the ultimate, a Palestinian state on Jewish land? While some of this will be much more understandable in August if the disengagement goes through, I continue to sense that God will put a sovereign stop to it.

The push for this since 1967, intensified in 1993 with Oslo I, followed by Oslo II, Tenet Plan, Mitchell Plan, Camp David Plan, ad nauseum, has generally run into roadblocks where negotiators go home with their tail between their legs and regroup and try again.

My questioning is based on what is happening right now. Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority (PA but formerly the PLO) is besieged on all sides. Though a brutal terrorist himself and planner of the 1972 Munich Olympic slaughter of Israeli athletes, he is under relentless attack and opposition from other terrorist factions such as Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and even al-Qaida. He is a walking target as are his assistants. Many say he has lost all control and the ultra-violent factions are seeking ultimate control.

To put it in simple terms, the entire Palestinian Authority is descending into chaos. They have their own civil war going on. The 50,000 plus PA security and police forces are not doing their job. One of the world's worst terrorist outfits, Hamas, is seeking to take over PA leadership and while Washington remains much too friendly with Hamas, it is hard to see America allow Hamas turn the entire region in chaos.

But here's what would force America to back out of the pressure-tactics: An Israel 9/11. While that is drastic and would be tragic beyond words since Israel is following disengagement orders to the letter and truly seeks a deluded and false peace, America would have to step back or look like one gigantic hypocrite nation. Would we invite Osama bin Laden to occupy one of our 50 states and reward him for his terror? America simply could not pressure Israel if she suffered a devastating attack. To be sure the heartless E.U., U.N., and Russia, all members of the "Quartet" along with America could still push for it, but the likelihood of a Palestinian state emerging out of an Israeli 9/11 seems unthinkable, except in our upside-down world.

A disaster was averted last week. A young Palestinian woman, a suicide bomber, came into an Israeli hospital for treatment with legitimate burns. However, she was strapped with explosives and planned to detonate herself in the middle of a "crowded area of the hospital." Only Israel treats injured people in such circumstances that are sworn to kill them.

Many attacks are thwarted daily due to the Hand of God. But multiply that incident on an even larger scale: A major office complex, hotel, or even the Knesset (parliament). Consider the slaughter of hundreds or even thousands of innocent Israelis, with the proven perpetrators being your average PA terrorist of any of the factions, and "peace plans" would take a terrible, if not permanent, set-back. The PA has a marvelous affinity for shooting themselves in the foot (while they massacre Israelis) and putting "peace plans" on hold over the years.

Could America support such a state or even special concessions for a regime that would pull off mass slaughter?

Yet Zechariah 12 says that ALL nations will turn on Israel, so we cannot rule out the fact that America may still push the creation of a Palestinian state no matter what the situation is in that region. Joel 3 clearly says that all nations who have participated in the dividing of God's land will be severely judged. However, God's land has been divided many times including in 1917, 1947 - 1949, and more. The reference to division may end there. There may, in fact, never be a Palestinian state on Israeli land. The clock is ticking and we may know sooner rather than later. Continue to pray for the situation, that the truth of the debacle could be revealed in a far less horrific manner than violence and bloodshed to awaken politicians and diplomats to the mistake they are making.

To learn more about this, visit the following categories at my Web site: www.olivetreeviews.org, "Palestine", Israel, and Israel's Road Map. I highly recommend Bill Koenig’s book, “Eye to Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel” which is available at “Our Products” on the site or via the resource flyer.

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Eastern Mysticism & Christianity Not Compatible
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2005

Commentary on the News

Jan Markell

What do you say when a good friend who loves God, reads her Bible, and talks and walks her faith becomes a devotee of “Christian yoga”? You might brace yourself and prepare yourself, because “Christian yoga” is coming to a church near you. And to those who understand yoga’s Hindu roots and to all former New Agers, it will never be compatible with Evangelical Christianity.

The May 20 edition of “Christianity Today” on line featured an interview with a woman who says she is an Evangelical and proud of it, however, she is a devotee of yoga. She says she breathes in Christ and out stress. Holy Spirit in, fear out. God the Father in, carbon dioxide out. She is so thankful someone pried open her Evangelical mind to the wonders of yoga. She states, “Give me five minutes of yoga and my mind immediately goes to the metaphor of God’s Spirit being omnipresent and as necessary as air.” She insists the Hindu gods will never make it to her yoga mat. She would be in the chorus singing that yoga doesn’t belong to Hinduism but to “world spirituality.” Frankly, that doesn’t sound any better.

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Dobson is the Antichrist and the Rest of Us Are the Taliban--Markell
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for May, 2005

James Dobson is the Antichrist and the Rest of Us Are the 'Taliban'

Commentary on the News

Monday, May 02, 2005

Jan Markell

Recently Ken Salazar (D-CO) called James Dobson the Antichrist. Having caused a bit of a fire storm, he later apologized and just said all like Dobson are fanatics and dangerous but that’s nothing new.

Many are throwing around the term “theocracy” in a negative way. That means in their eyes some are trying to establish a world governed by God, or at the very least, the Bible. Recently in Washington, secular humanists and liberals of all persuasion convened in Washington to strategize how to counter what they believe is a growing threat from conservatives and the “religious right.”

This battle isn’t new but now it seems the heavy armor is coming out, partly because today black is white, right is wrong, wrong is right, up is down, and good is evil (Is. 5:20). What should we expect?

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The New "Supernatural Sprituality"--Markell
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for April, 2005

The Dangers of the New ''Supernatural Spirituality''

Commentary on the News

Jan Markell

Good people are playing with matches today, and some are conservative and Evangelical Christians. An endless array of deceptive and "spiritual-sounding" religious experiences are flourishing.

Some call it the new "pop spirituality" and because so many people don't fully understand it or its origins, and because shepherds are not sounding enough alarms, "people are perishing for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Some of this is "feelings-based" and fits in well with "comfortable Christianity" and the "feel good" longings 21st Century people have.

What's going on seems to be a "death of discernment" across the board--all faiths, and including people of no faith. Some churches continue to use as a discussion forum Dan Brown's huge best-seller, "The DaVinci Code." Doubleday publishers state, "None of us dreamed it would be such a historic publication. If 'Harry Potter' stands as the essential popular read for young people, 'The DaVinci Code' has captured the crown for adults."

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The Religious Left: 1933 - 2005
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for March, 2005

Commentary on the News

Jan Markell

There isn't much that has changed with the "religious Left" all the way back to 1933. Let me illustrate.

We have recently witnessed the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the concentration camp that claimed so many lives during the Holocaust. The "religious Left" had some complicity back then as well. Many of those churches, both Protestant and Catholic, turned a blind eye to the plight of those being gassed and starved. Most denominations and individual churches co-operated in it all because they had been seduced by Hitler.

There were denominations and individual churches that refused this kind of co-operation to be sure. They would not put Hitler's picture on their wall or altar as they were commanded to do. I write about this in my book about Holocaust survivor Anita Dittman. Her pastor from the Lutheran Confessional Church ignored the Nazis sitting in his service and aided the Jews of his community as well.
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Replacement Theology Leads to "Replacement Reality"
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for December, 2004

''Replacement Theology Leads to Replacement Reality''

Commentary on the News

Jan Markell

The “religious left” has always troubled me. They seem to be focused on things that are unscriptural and unspiritual. Their world view is hardly that of the conservative, Bible-believing Christian. In the early days of my ministry I would now and then minister in these churches—at least those bold enough to invite a pro-Bible prophecy, pro-Israel speaker.

I give that remnant credit! However, there were never more than two or three in attendance at my classes even though the church membership was in the thousands. Conclusion: I was not tracking with these people who wanted to hear about poverty, the environment, a Palestinian state, and human rights! And it finally dawned on me that I was but spinning my wheels. They didn’t have the eyes to see or ears to hear the truth.

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Saddam Hussein And Nebuchadnezzar: A Tale Of Two Kings
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for December, 2003

SADDAM HUSSEIN AND NEBUCHADNEZZAR: A TALE OF TWO KINGS
By Jan Markell

There was a king long ago named Nebuchadnezzar who reigned in Babylon. He took the Jewish people into captivity including Daniel and enslaved them. Babylon was a city of evil and would always be a symbol of wickedness and sorcery. He was extremely impressed with his might and power, but God stripped him of his reign and even took away his sanity. King Nebuchadnezzar was relegated to roaming among the animals and vermin and eating grass. His hair grew like eagle?s feathers and his nails grew like bird's claws. You can read the story in Daniel 4.

A king in the 20th Century, Saddam Hussein, fashioned himself as the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar. He occupied the land that was once Babylon but now is known as Iraq. Saddam had coins made with his face on one side and Nebuchadnezzar's on the other. Saddam also longed to take the Jews into captivity but in a different manner--by exterminating them with missiles and weapons of mass destruction. He made an unsuccessful attempt at it during the Gulf War when he dumped 39 scuds on the city of Tel Aviv. Saddam was so obsessed with being like all that Babylon represented that he was steeped in the occult and had a personal wizard. He even rebuilt the ancient city of Babylon to be a 21st Century Disneyland, honoring Nebuchadnezzar and the wickedness of Babylon.

Saddam is a lot like Nebuchadnezzar, and though his mental status may not be known for some time, he surely acts like a man who had lost his mind. There are other parallels as well, for Saddam would eventually have to flee and live in a hole like a beast with the vermin around him. His hair grew like eagle's feathers and his nails grew like bird's claws. He went from royalty to rags; from the palaces to the pits.

But King Nebuchadnezzar realized his wicked ways after a period of living like a beast and dwelling among them. He raised his eyes to heaven and reason returned to him. He blessed God and praised and honored Him who lives forever. His majesty and splendor were restored. He states in Daniel 4:7, "I praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."

Here is where the two kings part company! At least as of this writing Saddam Hussein has not acknowledged the King of heaven. But is anything too difficult for God? The Bible says, "God takes no pleasure in any man's death." (Ezekiel 33:11) His love and forgiveness are so great that he would save anyone who would repent and turn from their wicked ways.

Can we pray this for Saddam Hussein? Why not? It seems like an impossibility, I know, but God is the God of the impossible. How much better to turn our attention to this rather than focus on the darkness and evil he perpetrated and represents. We might pray that Saddam would see that the Jews whom he so hated gave the world a Savior who could even forgive him of his obsessive hatred and wickedness if he would but call on His Name and repent.

That's how great God's love is! He forgives even when we can't and even when we want only the worst for all evil men.

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Potter and Christian Worldviews Clash
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for July, 2003

POTTER WORLDVIEW NOT COMPATIBLE WITH CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
By Jan Markell

"Pottermania" is back this summer, thanks to J.K. Rowlings newest book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." If this is not a problem in your household, count your blessings! It is in millions of both Christian and non-Christian homes where there is a "Potter obsession." Kids are "bewitched" with Harry, pun intended. The books have sold 200 million copies in 60 languages. The author ranks in wealth with the Queen of England from the sale of books, movies, trinkets, etc. Rowlings is now worth over $500 million. How has she done it? By seducing kids. O.K., now a bundle of you are mad at me. Go ahead and be that way. If I can spare one kid from being lured into the evil world of the occult, I can live with a few of you thinking I'm a fanatic.

The fifth book was released at Midnight on Summer Solstice, June 21. Coincidence? No. This whole series is so shrouded with the blatant occult and occult symbolism that this was anticipated long ago. The Solstice dates are big with today's pagans, witches, and Satanists. These dates often require a blood sacrifice that night as has been the case with Solstice dates for centuries.

Visit a bookstore on the night of the release of one of these books, although now you'll have to wait a while. If there is absolutely no occult link to Potter, why are small children asked to stay up past Midnight? Why do the kids, parents, and store personnel dress in diabolical costumes glorifying witchcraft? And some of you Christian parents, why are you among them all dressed the same, going along with this evil marketing scheme that glorifies only the world of darkness when we are to be beacons of light? Aren't we supposed to expose the deeds of darkness and not participate in them? (Eph. 5:11)

Both Christian and non-Christian parents tell me that Potter is harmless fantasy, allegory, and that it's getting kids to read. They will argue that kids are smart enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality, but are they? How about all the kids in the world who are into Potter and who are also spiritually illiterate? Harry is their worldview. If it's real in Harry's world, then what happens in his world can happen in theirs. I have dozens of quotes from kids confirming this. They long to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, but as with Santa Claus, when told it doesn't exist, many sink into a depression or refuse to believe it.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is 870 pages long. That should keep kids mesmerized all summer and beyond, as many of them read it up to a half-dozen times. In this book Potter and friends are now in their fifth year of occult training at Hogwarts. They're much more sophisticated in their understanding of the dark arts and more rebellious towards authorities. They continue to lie, steal, cheat, break the rules, and often get rewarded for that behavior. They are engaged in blatant evil, but since Harry is the hero, he represents "good evil." So we have "good evil battling bad evil", or as some would say, "good witchcraft defeating bad witchcraft." In the end the winner is--witchcraft and evil! If Harry has to use stronger, meaner witchcraft to win in any conflict, that is just great. Bring it on: "Advanced Witchcraft 401." Much of what is happening in all of Potter takes place in the real world of the occult. That's what your kids are reading.

Sadly, some kids who don't really want to go along with this mayhem often face rejection from their peers; thus Christian kids and parents compromise their faith and ignore legions of Scripture verses that tell us to flee all things occultic. Popularity with peers often trumps Biblical mandates. What starts out as seemingly harmless fun at a young age could mean that same child is totally lured into the dangerously dark world of evil a decade from now. It's that old "slippery slope" and those slopes never tilt upward.

So parents, beware. You are being seduced, too. You could even have some literal blood on your hands some day. Sensationalistic? No--welcome to the occult-saturated 21st Century. The devil wants to get his licks in while he still has some time left, and he knows it is running out. Mom and dad, if you don't act, Harry Potter will seduce more kids than the Beatles and "Star Wars" combined. And J.K. Rowlings knows it in spite of her denials that she has any occult knowledge.

Let the buyer beware. Eternity could even be at stake.

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Waiting For A Miracle
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2003

WAITING FOR A MIRACLE

By Jan Markell

Can you imagine dreading the words, "You look so good"? I did for 21 years. That's because I suffered from a mysterious chronic illness that made me feel wretched on the inside, but I had no external manifestations. I didn't have a cast, wasn't in a wheelchair, nor did I have a bandage for my wounds.

Yet the chronically ill are very sick, out of work, out of money, many out of hope, in great despair, and some have even lost spouses who can't endure it all. I am single and didn't lose a spouse, but lost many friends who just grew weary of my weariness.

My problem was the "chronic fatigue syndrome" that over two decades caused me to spend about $100,000 on traditional and alternative medicine to make me well. Most places I visited told me it was all "in my head", or I was under too much stress, or clinically depressed, or I was just seeking sympathy or attention. I assure you none of these were true! I contracted the disease in 1979, and in 1987 parts of the medical community began to acknowledge that this was a new mystery illness with organic roots. It was then that I got the diagnosis. That was good news! The bad news: The disease likely had no treatment, no cure, and its manifestations would never show up on a medical test. And not all of the medical world would ever acknowledge it was real.

Illness isn't bashful. It shows itself in spite of our best efforts to get well, seek prayer, and have faith for a healing. It saps our energy, money, makes us irritable, rearranges our lives, limits our social life, strains our relationships, spoils our future, and occupies our thoughts day and night. Chronic illness ~ illness that never goes away ~ is a merry-go-round of discomfort, misunderstanding, humiliation, frustration, doctor's appointments, drugs, tests, fears, and tears. It can be painfully lonely. Only fellow travelers really understand. The world of the well never will.

It is a full time job with no pay or benefits. It shatters dreams. It makes us feel imprisoned for a crime we didn't really commit, at least not knowingly. After a few years, we forget who we were when we were well. Chronic illness affects emotions, facial expression and tone of voice. Our personality changes. We lose the buffer zone that causes us the ability to cope with life's annoyances and disappointments.

Thus I wrote the book "Waiting for a Miracle" in 1992, published by Baker Book House in 1993 (now out of print and available only from the author. See "Products" on the web site.) I had searched bookstores and catalogues and found not a single book that would encourage people like me from a Christian perspective. Why would God take people out, or limit them, when serving Him in full-time ministry? Why would He allow them to be set aside and even taken out of ministry with mysterious plagues that didn't even exist 30 years ago? We have been conquering illnesses for years and wiping out many. Now strange new ones were appearing in the 1970's to the present.

I have learned that health is the greatest gift next to salvation. Without it, one cannot fight crises large or small. When health is compromised, the devil comes in like a flood with fears and questions: Will I ever be the same? Can I even survive this unwelcome visitor? How will I pay my bills? The doubts and questions are just as ominous as the affliction.

During this ordeal, friends would sometimes put me down as though I was obsessed with something. Well, yes, it would be nice to feel well. One said to me, "You just have to be visiting a doctor a day, don't you"? I was crushed, and more than once. She suggested I had some kind of neurotic compulsion. The compulsion was to rid myself of debilitating symptoms from the "chronic fatigue syndrome" that made me want to sleep around the clock. I would go to bed exhausted and wake up exhausted. The world of the well wakes up refreshed. Not in my case. I could have collapsed in a heap any hour of the day from 1979 to 2000.

I had no means of support other than work, so I pressed on as best as I could in ministry, even traveling great distances to minister in this country and Israel. I was often in front of large crowds and had to express myself articulately without losing my train of thought. This disease also messes up the mind, so that was difficult. I looked good. People couldn't figure me out and I was reluctant to talk about it and draw further attention to the problem. But God is no respecter of persons, and even His faithful servants in full-time ministry get struck down. He has His purposes in all of this, which are all outlined in the book, "Waiting for a Miracle".

People across the country and in Israel who did know of the situation prayed for me earnestly. I did attend many healing services, but this disease is stubborn and the circumstances never changed for even a day of relief. So I began to feel abandoned by God, particularly when the circumstances would get even worse.

Most of my doctors, except for a "chronic fatigue syndrome" specialist, kept insisting my problem was severe depression. I told them I wouldn't be the least bit depressed if I could just stop feeling so tired and function normally again. I finally took their misguided advice and submitted to prescription after prescription of anti-depressants, and finally to one whole year of needless electric shock treatments, as well as other hospitalizations and a host of misdiagnoses. Since there was no treatment for this disease, I thought maybe these other treatments would have a positive effect. It was a time of great humiliation.

I spent years pondering what went wrong. I had to cut way down on my ministry for a time and felt ashamed and confused. I blamed myself. But what had I done wrong? Some told me I must have some secret sin. Talk about an abundance of "Job's comforters"! O.K., God didn't send this nightmare, but He allowed it. He could take it away.

Maybe God wanted me quiet so He could have my full attention. He got it for several years. The only thing I ever heard was, "If things never change and you never get well, will you still love me and trust me?" I told Him I would to the best of my ability.

Finally a number of doctors confirmed that this was, in fact, the "chronic fatigue syndrome" and that I should stop running around searching for additional answers. In a sense I felt vindicated when the majority vote came in like this: I was neither lazy nor crazy. I should just adjust my life to it and accept it and reduce my ministry load, which by then had been cut by one third. I was comforted to read that many of God's servants had experienced a "dark night of the soul."

One day in the summer of 2000 I awakened refreshed! I had done nothing differently. I had energy all day, and then all week. Six months later, I had no fatigue. Around that time I had not sought special healing or tried any new treatment. Now over four years later, I have not had one day of fatigue. I had done nothing different to bring about the change. It was a sovereign gift from the Lord.

God seldom gives us the long-range view of a troubled journey. It is a day-by-day trust experience. He has a wise plan for our life and it may involve a few time outs. It usually makes no sense at the time and perhaps never will. And it Eternity, we won't even remember these detours.

My burden was chronic illness, but whatever it is--and it may seem as gigantic as a mountain--God has already figured out a way for us to climb it, but it may begin with small steps. Answers may take years. Can you wait that long, trusting in His perfect will for your life? God's mountain climbers walk in precarious places. Yet, "He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon the high places." (Hab. 3:19)

God speaks to us through our pain. He can use it to make us very aware of Him. The symphony He is working out includes minor chords, dissonance, and tiring fugal passages. But those of us who follow His conducting through these early movements will, with renewed strength, someday burst into song. Even if the trial does not end in this lifetime, in the next, remember, there will be no sorrow, or sighing, or pain.

Yes, I got my miracle. You can, too. Just hang on!

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IBM and the Holocaust
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2003

IBM AND THE HOLOCAUST; THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN NAZI GERMANY AND AMERICA?S MOST POWERFUL CORPORATION, a book review by Jan Markell

No one can say that author Edwin Black didn't do his homework for this book. More than 100 people in seven countries participated in the research of his book. Its more than 500 pages are a painful but imperative read for friends of Israel, for it details the conscious involvement of IBM in America and its German subsidiary in the Holocaust. A single American company with an autocratic, greedy chairman, Thomas J. Watson, head of IBM during W.W.II, provided what no previous Jew-haters ever had: an early form of technology.

IBM began in Germany in 1860 when Herman Hollerith invented a device called the Hollerith punch card system. In effect, what he created was nothing less than a nineteenth-century bar code for human beings. From its inception, IBM was in business to count people. It also had the ability to identify and quantify the people counted. It took Thomas Watson, IBM employees, and Adolph Hitler in the twentieth-century to convert a practical piece of automation for the purpose of its ultimate cruelty and destruction.

When Hitler came to power in 1933, his goal was to locate, identify, number, transport, confine, and eventually destroy much of Europe's Jewish population. The coordination necessary was so complex that some form of early "automation" was necessary. Eventually, thousands of these Hollerith punch card machines were dispatched throughout German-dominated Europe.

The cards had punched holes that could detail nationality, age, marital status, number of children, work skills, deviant or antisocial behavior, character traits, physical characteristics, work skills, and more. The Hollerith machine was so accurate for its day that it made the German trains run on time and thoroughly catalogued their human cargo.

Evidence uncovered by Black's 100 researchers convincingly proves that Watson and "IBM New York" understood from the onset in 1933 that it was courting and doing business with the upper echelon of the Nazi Party. IBM officials and Thomas Watson's personal representatives were constantly in Berlin or Geneva monitoring activities and ensuring that the parent company in New York was not cut out of any of the profits or business opportunities.

When U.S. law made such dealings illegal, IBM's Swiss office handled IBM's management of the European destruction. Duplicate copies of code books were kept in IBM's New York offices in case field books were lost. Thomas Watson made sure that profits remained with IBM New York and not in the coffers of an IBM subsidiary. After all, "business" was IBM's middle name.

In a grimly poetic manner, Black sums up the heinous union of IBM and Hitler by saying, "As the clock ticked, as the punch cards clicked, as Jews in Germany saw their existence vaporizing, others saw their corporate fortunes rise. Even as German Jewry hid in their homes and wept in despair, even as the world quietly trembled in fear, there was singing. Exhilarated, mesmerized, the faithful would sing, and sing loudly to their leaders--on both sides of the Atlantic. Some uniforms were brown. Some were blue."

Author Edwin Black experienced extraordinary cooperation from nearly every source in his quest for this story with one exception - IBM. They rebuffed his requests for access to documents and interviews, but ultimately he was allowed access. Thus, with hundreds of IBM documents placed at his disposal, Black was able to accurately unravel this story. He backs up every fact with black and white, hardcopy documentation.

Early on in the book Black gives us his reason for writing it, "Only through exposing and examining what really occurred (during the Holocaust) can the world of technology finally adopt the well-worn motto: Never Again."

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Harry Potter: Much A-Do About Nothing?
--> Posted to Jans_Articles for June, 2003

HARRY POTTER: MUCH A-DO ABOUT NOTHING?, by Jan Markell

That's what many say, including some Bible believing Christians. I disagree. I call it "politically correct paganism", for some of the following reasons.

Here are some fast facts. Only the Bible outsells the Potter series. Kids in 140 nations are reading it and accepting Harry as their role model because they are spiritually illiterate, as are many of their parents. As a result, many kids think that what is cool in Harry's world would be cool to try in the real world. Thus, they can be easily lured into the occult, thanks to hero Harry, who utilizes good witchcraft to win over bad witchcraft. In my estimation, Harry is not teaching "Witchcraft & Wizardry 101" but "Advanced Witchcraft & Wizardry 401."

Deception abounds here, a characteristic Jesus warned would be a primary sign of the last days. Author Connie Neal, well-meaning as she is, misguides many in her book "What's A Christian To Do With Harry Potter?" She suggests that Jesus would have read the books to the kids of His day and turned them into parables. Her upbeat view of Potter does not stand alone, however. Dozens of Christian organizations, including the magazine "Christianity Today", praises Potter as benign fantasy reading, "A Christmas gift for all to enjoy," says the magazine.

Joanne Rowling stated in an interview in USA Today, July, 2000, that "I made a very conscious decision that I was writing about someone evil". She is not really directing that description towards Harry Potter, but other characters, including the very evil Lord Voldemort. She kept her promise. She has woven 65 genuine occult themes into her first four books and promises that each book is going to get darker and darker. So I ask the obvious: "What fellowship has light with darkness"? (II Corinthians 6:14-17) Additionally, all practices that are detestable to God listed in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 are prominent in Harry Potter.

There is a pervasive fascination with blood in the Potter books that is downplayed in the movies so that it doesn't gross out unsuspecting parents. In the books, limbs are severed in rituals, there is the drinking of blood from a dead animal, and Harry's "shed blood" allows evil Lord Voldemort to rise from the dead.

If Harry Potter is so innocent as some suggest, then why would the "London Sunday Times", July 12, 2000 edition, liken Potter to Aleister Crowley's Satanism? Crowley is considered one of the most evil men ever to have lived. Why would horror novelist Stephen King write in the "New York Times", July 23, 2000, that Potter would provide children with a good introduction to his own gruesome and demonic horror novels? A high priest of the First Church of Satan in Salem, Massachusetts in a July 2000 edition of "Time" magazine, that they have had more applicants than they can handle, thanks to Harry Potter!

All of this just confirms that Harry Potter is a book series and film that is morally flawed, filled with egocentric characters who lie, cheat, steal, use profanity, spill blood, refuse to repent, and practice occult techniques. Harry is portrayed as the character who uses "good evil" to overcome "bad evil". In the end, it's all about evil!

It's just fantasy you say? When did God say that real life must be holy, but the fantasy we read or watch can be occultic? We're to "abstain from every form of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:22). It is clear from James 4:7-8 and II Timothy 2:22 that we are to flee evil and cling to good.

It's my opinion that Harry Potter is one of the most blatant examples of "evil called good" (Isaiah 5:20) in the 21st century

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