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Why Does Journalist Mike Evans Have a Museum in Jerusalem?

Answer Facet No. 3

That’s a good question. It’s not only a good question, it is a question that deserves an answer. Because the question is so important, it follows that the answer must be also. But, if the question is simple, the answer is not. Rather, it is multifaceted. There is no single answer. But, when all of the facets that comprise the answer are presented, there is no longer a need for the question to be asked.

This, then, is the third facet of the answer. Please continue to follow this series of articles from beginning to end. Somewhere along the journey you may find the answer for yourself, even before we finish.

Facet #3 – Because God Always Keeps All His Promises

Jehovah God has given many great and precious promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. Israel has, over the centuries, seen many of those promises come to pass. But the LORD is not finished. There are other promises that are being kept and others that are waiting to be fulfilled. As so many TV infomercials have proclaimed, “But wait! There’s more!” To that, we would add the colloquialism, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

As Journalist Mike Evans noted in his book Why Christians Should Support Israel, “The fact that the Jewish people exist is a miracle. The rebirth of the Nation of Israel is a miracle. The restoration of the Hebrew language is a miracle, as are the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the reunification of Jerusalem.” He put it succinctly when he added, “You either support Israel or you oppose Israel. It is that simple.”

We know that, while Israel has been established and continues to prosper, its greatest glory is yet to come when Messiah defeats the enemies of Israel, ushers in His kingdom here on Earth and rules from Jerusalem. One thing that unites every God-fearing Jew and every God-fearing Christian is that we believe the Jehovah is God and there is no other God besides Him. We also share the knowledge that, “God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good (Numbers 23:19)?” But it is more than just knowing. It is believing.

The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews describes faith as the “substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” He is specifically addressing the Biblical truth that “without faith, it is impossible to please Him,” in verse 4. To further substantiate that, he includes a very important phrase – “this is what the ancients were commended for.” In other words, men like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Joshua fully expected that God would keep all of His promises.

We believe that too.

The psalmist reminds us that, “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance (Psalm 105:8-11 NKJV).””

Jehovah continues to keep all of His promises. We believe that there has never been, nor will there ever be, a promise that He will not keep. Since His promises to Israel are clear, therefore, we embrace those promises and stand with Israel in the expectation and certainty that God will do what He has promised to do.

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Why Does Mike D Evans Have a Museum in Jerusalem?

Why Does Mike Evans Have a Museum in Jerusalem?Answer Facet No. 1

That’s a good question. It’s not only a good question, it is a question that deserves an answer. Because the question is so important, it follows that the answer must be also. But, if the question is simple, the answer is not. Rather, it is multifaceted. There is no single answer. But, when all of the facets that comprise the answer are presented, there is no longer a need for the question to be asked.

This, then, is the first facet of the answer. Please continue to follow this series of articles from beginning to end. Somewhere along the journey you may find the answer for yourself, even before we finish.

 Facet #1 – We All Believe That God Is Who He Says He Is

Moses asked the name of the one speaking to him from the bush that burned but was not consumed. The answer was “I AM that I AM” (in the Hebrew, הָיָה, or hä·yä). He is the same I AM who spoke to Isaiah and told him that “I AM God, and there is none else; I AM God and there is none like me.” He is the one who told Abraham, “I AM the Almighty God. Walk before me, and be thou perfect.” He is the one who is the Lord God of Israel. He is the one whom Elijah called the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel.

He alone is God. There is no other, and there is no other like unto Him. He is the God who created the heavens and the earth. He is the God who called Israel out of bondage and into the land promised to Abraham, to make it their home. It is the land in which the nation of Israel exists today.

That is the truth. If anyone believes otherwise, he believes a lie, because there is only one truth. All truth comes from God. Apart from Him, there is no truth, no matter what men may say. “He is the Rock. His work is perfect, for all His ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” He is the only wise God from whom all wisdom emanates. To recognize who He is and to follow Him is to have good understanding. Only the fool says that there is no God or that there is any other.

We all, including Mike D Evans, believe that God is who He says He is. We believe in the only God, Jehovah – the one who is the God of Israel.

Our museum is here in Jerusalem, Israel because we believe God and we believe that every word that proceeds out of His mouth is true. We believe, therefore, that the Promised Land of the Bible belongs to the Lord and that He has given it to Israel. We believe that prophecy is being fulfilled in Israel every day as more and more Jews make their Aliyah. We believe that Jerusalem is the God-appointed capital of Israel and that it, therefore, belongs uniquely to the Jews and those who believe that Jehovah is God.

We believe that Jerusalem is a special place with a special purpose for true Christians and Jews. We believe that anyone who loves Jehovah God with all their heart and soul and strength will love what He loves. He loves the Jewish people and Israel. Therefore, because He is who He says He is, we love the Jewish people and Israel as well.

That is the first facet of the answer to the question. It should be perfectly clear. We believe that God is who He says He is.

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Not Just Another Museum

Not Your Typical Place - Mike Evans MuseumThere are already thirty-two museums in Jerusalem. Isn’t that enough already? How can another one add anything to what is already here?

The answer to that question may not come from where most people expect. While most museums are built to preserve antiquities of some form of art, culture or history, the raison d’être for the Mike Evans Museum, officially named the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, and not just another museum, is to tell a love story that has been misunderstood, and even missed entirely, by the tellers of history. It is the story of the enduring love and compassion that true Christians have, and have had, for the Jewish people and now for the nation of Israel.

Dr. Mike Evans has dedicated his entire life to telling the story of Zionism and to encouraging the people of Israel. To this day, he advises Israeli leaders and assists survivors of the Nazi death camps. He has lobbied in the halls of the UN on behalf of Israel, written numerous books in support of Zionism, and boldly stood up and confronted enemies of the Jewish state face-to-face. If love is demonstrated by actions, there can be no doubt that Dr. Evans loves Israel.

This museum is the capstone on a legacy of love for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. It is yet another way of communicating the beautiful story of the love that true Christians have for the Jews.

We cannot undo the despicable acts perpetrated upon the Jews over the centuries in the name of “the church.” But we can, through this museum, illustrate that the political position of the traditional, mainstream church does not represent the true position of countless Christians all over the world who love the Jews and who pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

As Philip invited Nathanael, so we invite you to “Come and see.” Here you will learn the stories of many goyim whom God has used to prove that, when “the righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, [He] delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

Our expectation is that, within these walls every visitor will become acquainted with the stories of men and women who have gone to great lengths to aid and protect the Jews, promote the cause of Zionism and preserve the nation of Israel. But, more than the education, our hope is that each person will sense the love of our staff and realize that it represents the love of multitudes among the nations who also love them.

Politicians and men of high position throughout the ages have misappropriated the Christian label without understanding its true meaning and have often used that label to promote their personal agendas to persecute the Jewish people. Much to our mutual misfortune, this has led to misconceptions that Christians hate the Jews and cannot be trusted. The Mike Evans Museum exists as a beacon of assurance that those misconceptions are false.

We love you, Israel. We pray for your peace, Jerusalem. We bless you, children of Abraham. We know the plans that YHWH has for you, plans for you to prosper. We are here to demonstrate and teach you how much we care, and to share with you the stories of others who have gone before who have done the same. Shalom.

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The Machal

The Machal“You came to us when we needed you the most, during those dark and uncertain days in our War of Independence. The people of Israel, the State of Israel, will never forget it.  We will ever cherish this unique contribution made by you, the volunteers of the MACHAL.” ~ The Honorable Yitzhak Rabin

MACHAL is an acronym for “mitnadvei hutz laAretz.” It is rendered in English as “volunteers from abroad.” The volunteer force was a rag-tag assemblage of 3,500 men and women from more than 40 countries, many of whom were already war weary from fighting in Europe and the Pacific just a few years earlier. They came to Israel as friends of Zion and lovers of freedom, with a passion for reestablishing a home for the Jewish people in the place that had always been their home.

They came to Israel because they were needed. They came because they believed G-d. They came because of their love for the Jewish people. They came because they knew there might be no Israel if they did not.

What was a land of milk and honey in the days of Moses and Joshua, was now a barren wilderness where only a few, scattered settlements eked out an existence. This, now deserted and forsaken land, was what the world had to offer the Jewish people who had managed to survive the single, most outrageous massacre in human history. All that was left of the Jews had begun to return to all that was left of their homeland.

Yet, the peoples who were soon to be their neighbors had vowed to drive the Jewish people into the sea. They began their attempt on the day that Israel was declared a nation. It was, in effect, an Arab attempt to finish what Hitler had started.

The untold story is that those young warriors actually risked losing their American and Canadian citizenship as well as their lives to defend other people’s families and a land they had never seen. They served as an eternal link between the Jews of Israel and the Jews of the United States and Canada. In the words of one Israeli colonel, the intrinsic value of the MACHAL was that “we Israelis knew we were not alone.” Forty of those Americans and Canadians heroically gave their lives for Israeli independence.

Every Jewish leader since 1948 has recognized the contribution of the men and women who were willing to risk everything so that the Jewish people could once again have something to call their own. Whether or not the MACHAL made all the difference in the Israeli War for Independence, we may never know. But we do know that they made a difference.

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Yossi Peled, Zionist Hero & Board of Trustees Chairman

Yossi Peled, Zionist Hero & Board of Trustees ChairmanFriends of Zion is honored to have Yossi Peled, a hero of Zionism, as the Chairman of our Board of Trustees.

Born in Belgium in 1941, Josef Mendelvich was one of the millions of Jews who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when the Nazis were intent on implementing Hitler’s Final Solution. Yossi survived the war in the care of a Christian family. Following the war he made Aliyah to the new nation of Israel with his mother. His father had perished at Auschwitz. But, not only did he come to Israel, he became as much of Israel as anyone could hope to be, helping to share the country into what it is today.

Yossi spent 30 years in the IDF, including being a company commander in the Six-Day War, a battalion commander during the War of Attrition, a brigade commander in the Yom Kippur War and, later, a division commander in the Sinai. He rose to the position of Aluf – the second highest rank in the IDF, akin to Major General – of the Northern Command, a position subsequently held by current IDF chief, Benny Gantz.

While it is tempting to speak of life after retirement from the military, Yossi has never really retired. He has just continued to keep on working for the success of the nation of Israel and the Zionist cause. Following stints as CEO of Tadiran Telecom and the Second Israel Broadcasting Authority, Yossi decided to enter politics as a member of the Likud party, becoming Minister without Portfolio from 2009 through March 2013. Most recently, he has been Chairman of the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline. He has spent much of his professional and personal time providing assistance to Holocaust survivors living in Israel.

Yossi Peled is a fine representative of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. We are proud to have him represent the Friends of Zion.