Tipping Point Quick Hits (11.02.23)

Supporting Israel, historic antisemitism and an AI executive order

Note from Jimmy Evans: First, thank you again for your support of Tipping Point. Our ministry and media staff are working around-the-clock to keep up with the news coming out of Israel. We know you trust our coverage of the war and we want to continue providing it for you. If you appreciate our hopeful coverage during a time of uncertainty, we encourage you to make an additional gift to support our mission. Please visit give.endtimes.com or click the button below.

And as a reminder, as we wait for Amazon’s approval, Mark Hitchcock and I are giving paid subscribers a FREE digital copy of our new book, What’s Next? Israel-Gaza War. To download your free digital copy, click the link at the bottom of this email.

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Christians Giving to Israel at Record Levels

While the world is standing against Israel, the good news is that American Christians seem to be renewing their support of Israel. According to a recent report in Christianity Today, the war has resulted in millions of dollars in donations to ministries that support Israel:

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) has received millions in donations since the war broke out, more than any other two-week period in its history.

Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which calls itself the largest pro-Israel organization in the US, sent $1 million to fund first responders within days of the October 7 barrage and continues to fundraise.

And The Joshua Fund, founded by Christian author Joel Rosenberg, has collected over $685,000 in donations. The organization is operating 21 aid distribution centers, delivering pallets of toilet paper, bottled water, and other supplies.

Thousands of new donors are reaching out to these organizations, many of which have spent years building relationships in Israel. According to the magazine, around half of U.S. evangelicals “consider support for Israel and the Jewish people to be an important priority in their charitable behavior.” Giving to nonprofits working in the Holy Land has been increasing for several years, but the Hamas attacks have brought exponential growth in support.

Some of these organizations are also helping Arab churches in the West Bank, where a sizable population of Palestinian Christians still live.

One quote from the article stood out to me. It’s by Yael Eckstein, the president and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews:

“Jewish people having enemies is nothing new. We’ve gone through this from biblical times to today. What’s new is we now have millions of Christian friends who stand with us as watchmen at the wall, who do not slumber or sleep,” said Eckstein. “I don’t take that lightly.”

I have been encouraged by our government’s strong political and military support for Israel’s right to self-defense against the Hamas terrorists, including the overwhelming support for Israel’s counterattack by President Biden as well as the Pentagon. (Of course, Biden is still calling for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and this two-state solution would require Israel to give up some of its land. That stance, which many American presidents have held in the past, does not encourage me.)

I think America’s Christian community shares the belief that now, more than ever, is the time to throw our support behind Israel. I am grateful that Christian believers here in the U.S. and around the world are standing proudly alongside Israel, and I hope it continues.

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All Eyes Are on Israel

More than two thousand years ago, the prophet Zechariah wrote that, in the last days, the eyes of the world would be on Israel:

The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”—Zechariah 12:1-3 NKJV

“A cup of drunkenness…”

“A very heavy stone for all peoples…”

“All nations…gathered against it.”

If you’ve ever wondered what that reality might look like, all you have to do today is watch the news. It’s happening before our eyes. All the world’s attention is on Israel in the aftermath of the slaughter of Israeli civilians on October 7. Israel is now at war and working to root out the perpetrators of that evil, Hamas—and all at once nations are beginning to turn against Israel.

For instance, yesterday, the South American nation of Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel in protest of attacks on the Gaza Strip, accusing Israel of “committing crimes against humanity” because of civilian deaths. It’s not the first time Bolivia has done this: Bolivia also cut ties in 2009 during another round of fighting in Gaza, but had restored that diplomatic relationship in 2020.