Point of View November 18, 2024 – Hour 1 : Crossing the Hidden Bridge

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:20] Thank you for joining me, it is the Monday edition of Point of View and in just a few minutes we're going to talk about what's going on in Israel.

[00:00:26] Certainly part of that has to do with the fact that our friend Mike Huckabee has been selected as the possible ambassador to Israel.

[00:00:34] We'll talk more about that a little bit later. We're going to be talking with Tony Mubarak in just a minute,

[00:00:38] but let me just mention that the next hour we'll get back into some of the issues in the news.

[00:00:43] They're still counting votes in Pennsylvania. You might say, well I've heard in California and Washington,

[00:00:49] well in Pennsylvania they're trying to count some votes that shouldn't be counted.

[00:00:53] And one of the lessons I like to pass on to some of the Democrats trying to do this in Pennsylvania is,

[00:01:00] when you're in a hole, stop digging. When you have Jonathan Turley, one of the articles we posted here,

[00:01:07] talking about how Democrats, especially in Pennsylvania, cannot be trusted with democracy.

[00:01:12] When you have a judge in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court calling out what is taking place.

[00:01:18] And when you even have the editorial page, which is pretty much left of center from the Washington Post criticizing it,

[00:01:26] probably a good time to stop. But we'll get into that next hour.

[00:01:29] As well as, what about this government efficiency organization that is being put together?

[00:01:35] You really can't call it a department, but we'll get into that as well.

[00:01:38] And while we've been paying attention to the election, there are some real concerns coming out of communist China,

[00:01:46] what is happening there in the Philippines, Taiwan and others.

[00:01:50] So we will cover lots of issues over these next two hours.

[00:01:53] But I thought it would be very good for you to have a chance to meet an individual that we've learned more about.

[00:02:00] I received a letter a while back from a Forrest Owens.

[00:02:03] Actually, he goes by Bo.

[00:02:04] So Bo has said, I'm a retired Baptist pastor, been to the Holy Land at least 15 times

[00:02:10] and on seven or eight of those, or maybe six or seven of those trips,

[00:02:13] Tony Mubarak, a Christian Arab or some people call him a Jerusalemite Christian, was their tour guide.

[00:02:21] And his twin brother Andre also have the Twin Tours and Travel organization.

[00:02:25] We have a link on the website.

[00:02:28] Both Tony and Andre were born in the Old City, very near the Via Della Rosa,

[00:02:33] continue to live in Jerusalem, very well-educated, speak at least five languages,

[00:02:37] including Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and as a very popular tour guide.

[00:02:43] And is also the author of this book I have in my hand,

[00:02:45] which I've had a chance to go through,

[00:02:47] Crossing the Hidden Bridge, Christians in the Holy Land.

[00:02:51] As I mentioned, he is a Christian living in that region of the world

[00:02:55] with more than 20 years of experience guiding Christian churches and mission groups through the Holy Land.

[00:03:01] And many people talk about how he just is able to bring alive some of the biblical passages.

[00:03:08] So, Tony, thank you for joining us today here on Point of View.

[00:03:13] Thank you, Mr. Kirby. It's my honor.

[00:03:16] We need you to speak up as much as you can.

[00:03:18] I might also mention, since he is in Israel, there will be slight delay.

[00:03:21] And I think you will appreciate this conversation.

[00:03:24] But let's get into the book for just a few minutes, Crossing the Hidden Bridge.

[00:03:27] You begin by talking about a real bridge.

[00:03:31] Of course, it's a metaphor for crossing the bridge.

[00:03:33] But you are out discovering a hidden bridge.

[00:03:37] And that was what came to be the metaphor for what you're going to be talking about today.

[00:03:44] Right. This is a real bridge.

[00:03:47] It's in the northern country of Haifa, where things are very sad at the moment.

[00:03:54] But I'm sure everyone heard about Mount Carmel.

[00:03:58] And it's hidden in one of the ravines of Mount Carmel.

[00:04:02] And it's an actual bridge, as you said.

[00:04:05] And you need a guide to take you there to show you that bridge.

[00:04:09] Yes, I've been to Mount Carmel a few times.

[00:04:11] We've never been there.

[00:04:12] But I guess we'll need to get you as a guide to get us to that.

[00:04:16] But again, you use that as kind of an illustration, a hidden bridge that most people don't even know is there.

[00:04:21] You walk across it.

[00:04:23] But in some respects, it gets back to a question I get all the time.

[00:04:27] And that is, are there very many Christians in Israel?

[00:04:31] Whether it's we've talked about some Christians in the Gaza Strip.

[00:04:35] We've talked about Christians in, of course, what's oftentimes referred to as the West Bank.

[00:04:39] Or and sometimes they're Messianic Jews that have become Christians.

[00:04:43] But in other cases, you were talking about individuals like yourself that were born into a Christian family.

[00:04:50] Can you tell us some of that background?

[00:04:53] Sure, absolutely.

[00:04:55] To start with, definitely the Christian community is evaporating in the Holy Land and in the whole Middle East.

[00:05:05] We are now at the moment 1% in the Holy Land, both in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

[00:05:13] But in the whole Middle East, we are from 1% to 5%.

[00:05:19] And just a century ago, we were 25%.

[00:05:23] And I believe in another century, I mean, maybe the Holy Land will become only like a museum.

[00:05:31] People will come and see only visit the churches without meeting the indigenous, the local people.

[00:05:38] But despite all these difficulties, we like to create hope.

[00:05:44] And we are ready to thrive.

[00:05:49] And this is what made me to become a tour guide and made me want more to be my voice heard all over the world.

[00:05:59] And we are ready to realize that, yes, there is a small Christian community in the Holy Land.

[00:06:04] But again, we keep our faith very strong because this is the only way we can survive.

[00:06:11] Wow.

[00:06:12] You've got a whole section in your book, of course, about the Holy Land Christians.

[00:06:15] And I think it would be good for you maybe to talk about that for just a minute because not only there,

[00:06:20] you're talking about individuals that have come from various tribes that have all come together

[00:06:25] and actually are Christians practicing their Christian faith in Israel.

[00:06:29] Can you talk about that?

[00:06:33] Yes, absolutely.

[00:06:34] When I talk about the hidden bridge, I talk about all the Christians in the Holy Land that make this bridge.

[00:06:44] Now definitely we are divided according to the place we live.

[00:06:49] Whether we are Arab Israelis living in Israel or whether we are Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

[00:07:01] But even more than that, there is also now a good number of Messianic churches.

[00:07:07] I know of at least five congregations.

[00:07:11] Like, a few years ago, we didn't...

[00:07:14] This was like...

[00:07:15] Nobody would believe that there are some Jews who believe in Christ.

[00:07:18] But today, the numbers are...

[00:07:21] It's a good sign they're growing.

[00:07:22] And as well as part of the bridge are Muslims who came to believe in Christ as well.

[00:07:32] So that's also very encouraging.

[00:07:35] Because in the Holy Land, there is no pure, like, indigenous Christian village.

[00:07:42] But there are people who became Christians.

[00:07:46] So again, the good news, though we are very small and a minority.

[00:07:51] But whether it's a city in Israel or a village in the West Bank, there is a Christian community.

[00:07:58] Whether there are Arab Israelis, whether there are Messianic Jews, or there are Palestinian Muslims.

[00:08:04] But the good news, in every city, in every village, there is a small minority.

[00:08:11] God still preserves the church.

[00:08:13] And I believe the church will survive despite all these difficulties.

[00:08:18] Yes.

[00:08:18] Because it did survive through all the centuries.

[00:08:21] Let's take a break.

[00:08:22] And let me just mention one of the booklets we've made available to you in the past is this one on Israel.

[00:08:27] It just gives you a little bit of history, which we're going to talk about after the break.

[00:08:31] Tony Mubarak will take us through a little bit of the history of the nation of Israel, some of the things he does as a guide.

[00:08:37] And, of course, it's a good parallel to the one we talked about last week on anti-Semitism as well.

[00:08:42] Let's take a break.

[00:08:42] We'll continue talking about crossing the hidden bridge with Tony Mubarak right after this.

[00:08:58] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:04] Donald Trump won and Kamala Harris lost for many reasons.

[00:09:08] Certainly the economy was one of the major reasons.

[00:09:10] Pundits and economists tried to tell the voters that the economy was doing just fine.

[00:09:14] The voters didn't agree.

[00:09:16] Neither did the financial markets.

[00:09:18] Stocks rose immediately the moment it was obvious that Trump won.

[00:09:21] The editors of the Wall Street Journal argued that the stock market rally suggested a groundswell of growth optimism.

[00:09:27] Voters have taken off the table a big tax increase and continued regulatory barrage.

[00:09:32] Voters and investors were fearful of looming higher taxes and had already seen enough of a regulatory assault that took place under Biden-Harris.

[00:09:41] The editors do warn that stocks could fall in the future if the Trump policies turn out to be a disappointment.

[00:09:47] Concern over terrorists might be a big concern for Wall Street and on Main Street.

[00:09:51] But those concerns pale in comparison to the last few years of the highest inflation in 40 years and lower real wages.

[00:09:58] If you run the numbers, inflation-adjusted weekly earnings remained lower than when President Biden took office.

[00:10:05] Inflation wasn't the only issue.

[00:10:07] So was interest rates.

[00:10:08] Higher interest rates made it even more difficult to buy a home or to afford a new car.

[00:10:13] The average mortgage payment doubled over the last four years.

[00:10:17] The bottom 40% of earners accounted for just 6% of new auto purchases last year compared to 18% in 2019.

[00:10:26] Millions of voters who didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and 2020 voted for him this time.

[00:10:31] A significant percentage of them never voted for a Republican for President.

[00:10:35] They were ready to say bye to Bidenomics.

[00:10:38] I'm Kirby Anderson and that's my point of view.

[00:10:47] For a free booklet on a biblical view on big data, go to viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:53] That's viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:11:03] Back once again, if you would like to join the conversation today, feel free to give us a call, 1-800-351-1212.

[00:11:09] Perhaps you have traveled to Israel.

[00:11:11] Perhaps you've even had Tony as your guide.

[00:11:13] We'd love to hear from you.

[00:11:14] Or maybe you've got a comment or question, feel free to join us.

[00:11:17] Again, this book, which came out last year, Crossing the Hidden Bridge, Christians in the Holy Land.

[00:11:23] We have information about it on our website, so you can click on the picture of the book.

[00:11:27] And, of course, we also have a link to his website, which is twinstours.com.

[00:11:33] And there's also a very nice free booklet on five differences in the Middle Eastern culture that's available.

[00:11:41] There's a way you can find out more about the tours.

[00:11:43] There are also some courses and webinars and much more, so we'll talk about that in just a few minutes.

[00:11:48] But, Tony, a very significant part of your book is giving some of the history.

[00:11:52] And I think it is helpful that some people know some of the history of Israel.

[00:11:57] But I think you will bring a little different perspective looking at what happened to the various individuals, the Palestinians that were there before.

[00:12:06] So let's, if we can, just maybe start with the British mandate and the Balfour Declaration.

[00:12:14] How did Israel come to be and what happened to individuals that were either located there or actually left there because of some of those wars?

[00:12:25] Can you explain that to us?

[00:12:29] Yes, definitely.

[00:12:31] After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, after World War II, the land was divided.

[00:12:38] And we know that the Middle East was, the whole Middle East was divided.

[00:12:43] We know that there was no Lebanon, there was no Egypt, there was no Iraq, there was no Syria.

[00:12:50] It was all called, one area was called Bel-e-l-e-Sham or like the region of Damascus, all that area.

[00:13:00] But definitely we know what happened, that the British took over Iraq and this area here of the Holy Land, both Israel and Palestine at that time.

[00:13:12] Whereas the French took more Lebanon and further up in Syria.

[00:13:18] And after the partition plan that didn't work out, because they wanted to divide the land, to give part of the land to the Jews and part of the land to the people who were living there, the Palestinians.

[00:13:36] But again, this didn't work out.

[00:13:39] It went through down to the garbage of history.

[00:13:43] But in any case, it was given up to the United Nations.

[00:13:48] And the moment the British decided to leave this area, because the conflict was rising and rising and rising.

[00:13:57] And they decided there was to leave and there was a vacuum of power.

[00:14:02] So it was the right time for Israel to declare its independence in 1948.

[00:14:08] And we know that Israel was very well, was ready with its institutions and organizations, was very well-trained army.

[00:14:22] And they had the power to take over.

[00:14:28] And simply Palestinians were afraid.

[00:14:33] And like half of them ran away from their homes and houses.

[00:14:39] And the other half had to be forced to leave their villages.

[00:14:44] More than, like I can say, about 500 villages and towns were misplaced.

[00:14:54] And thus, Israel, like, miraculously took over and became the legitimate power at that time in 1948.

[00:15:05] And so people, all the Palestinians, became refugees and moved to big cities like in the West Bank and further to Gaza and to the Arab countries around as well.

[00:15:20] And this, from that time, we have the land here called Israel, 1940.

[00:15:28] So that's the major event that shaped the bridge.

[00:15:32] And definitely, few years later, the Arabs attacked again Israel in 1967.

[00:15:39] But Israel was so powerful to kick them out again very strongly.

[00:15:46] And the same happened in 1973.

[00:15:49] Again, we live like war is not new for us.

[00:15:52] We, unfortunately, the Middle East, we live under wars all the time, all the time.

[00:15:59] Yes.

[00:16:00] And again, it's more as well, spiritual conflict.

[00:16:04] It's not only that it's political and it's religious.

[00:16:08] It's also religious.

[00:16:10] This makes it more complicated in this part of the land.

[00:16:13] It's always interesting here.

[00:16:14] It's never boring in our land.

[00:16:17] But despite all these difficulties, we are the Christians.

[00:16:25] We are the hope for the people here because I believe that God gave us this peace in our hearts and this love.

[00:16:32] And I don't think it's a sin if we love our people, whether they are Jews or whether they are Muslims.

[00:16:39] But I see myself as a Christian, as a tweener, can show that love of God, can show that peace of God to both sides.

[00:16:49] You know, when two sides are fighting, you need someone like a third party who understands both sides.

[00:16:55] And we, the Christians of the Holy Land, we hold the stick from the middle.

[00:16:59] Yes.

[00:17:00] Because if we hold it from one side, we're going to have the other side.

[00:17:04] But again, it's not by our power.

[00:17:07] But because of God's love that was in our hearts, we can create, we have to create hope here in the Middle East.

[00:17:15] And that, I believe, that's when both sides can live.

[00:17:20] That's the real peace, when people know the peace of God in their hearts.

[00:17:24] So whether they are Jewish, whether they are Muslim, we are all God's creation.

[00:17:29] Yes.

[00:17:30] And I think, again, you are the bridge, like you said, between the Jews and the Muslims.

[00:17:35] Let me just mention real quickly that in your book, of course, we talk about and you talk about different aspects of the Holy Land.

[00:17:43] And we've got pictures of the Church of the Annunciation and the Church at the Mount of the Beatitudes and the entrance to the Nativity Church, Damascus Gate, Western Wall, even that hidden bridge there in Mount Carmel.

[00:17:55] And in some respects, as you take people through on a tour, you're really educating them with maybe a deeper understanding of the Bible.

[00:18:05] But I think, as you've just been pointed out, the other very significant role that you have is to be, as a Christian, a bridge between Jews and Muslims.

[00:18:15] Because in the Old City, it's divided into various sectors.

[00:18:19] And you have an opportunity to, in a sense, be a diplomat, don't you?

[00:18:23] Yes.

[00:18:26] Well, right, right.

[00:18:27] We are in a special situation.

[00:18:33] Like I can say, we are in a culture shock.

[00:18:36] Well, actually, it's good that we are in a culture shock because we live in our own home and our own country, but we don't feel it's our home, our country, because we are a minority.

[00:18:47] Yes.

[00:18:48] But again, this is a good point being in the middle.

[00:18:52] Because if I was an Israeli Jew, I'm going to be like pro-Israel.

[00:18:58] If I was a Palestinian Muslim, I'm going to be pro-Palestinian.

[00:19:03] But being in the middle, seeing both sides, it's easy to take a side.

[00:19:09] But being in the middle is the most difficult.

[00:19:12] And actually, this is what makes the bridge stronger and stronger.

[00:19:16] The more people step on us, we can bring them together.

[00:19:22] And this strengthens us as well.

[00:19:24] And we can show them this hope.

[00:19:26] Because we know Christianity started here in our country, in our land, in Jerusalem, the first church.

[00:19:33] And it spread all over, right?

[00:19:36] I know it's dormant now somehow.

[00:19:39] I picture it like a volcano that erupted in Jerusalem spread to the whole world.

[00:19:46] Though this volcano looks dormant now.

[00:19:49] There are very few Christians in the Holy Land and in the Middle East.

[00:19:54] But soon this volcano will become active again.

[00:19:56] And it will explode.

[00:19:58] And nothing can stop it.

[00:19:59] And everybody is going to see God's work through us, through his people in the Holy Land.

[00:20:07] Through the Christians of the Holy Land.

[00:20:08] Yes.

[00:20:09] Let me take a break.

[00:20:10] And when we come back, let's see if we can maybe open up the phones.

[00:20:13] If you have some comments or questions.

[00:20:14] 800-351-1212.

[00:20:17] I thought when I came back, I might even ask Tony about whether it is safe to again travel to Israel.

[00:20:23] I am aware of the fact that for this last year, that has not been the case.

[00:20:28] We finished our tour of Israel to actually just, you know, it was about two weeks before October 7th of last year and the attack by Hamas in Israel.

[00:20:39] But even as we are still talking about the battle with Hamas to the southwest and the battle with Hezbollah to the north, many times we have said, while traveling in Israel, we've actually felt more safe in Israel than we've had in some of the major U.S. cities.

[00:20:57] But we'll come back and talk about that and certainly learn a little bit more about how he guides individuals through that Holy Land.

[00:21:03] And maybe some insights that we can gain from an individual who lives there and is studied there and brings so much of wealth of experience and even understanding of biblical ideas.

[00:21:15] So we'll continue our conversation with Tony Mubarak.

[00:21:17] But if you'd like to join us, that number is 1-800-351-1212.

[00:21:22] We'll take a break.

[00:21:23] Come back with more right after this.

[00:21:30] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority.

[00:21:36] They say men can be women and women men.

[00:21:39] People are prosecuted differently or not at all, depending on their politics.

[00:21:44] Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens.

[00:21:49] It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing.

[00:21:52] You feel like giving up.

[00:21:54] But we can't.

[00:21:55] We shouldn't.

[00:21:56] We must not.

[00:21:57] As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II,

[00:22:02] never give in.

[00:22:03] Never give in.

[00:22:05] Never, never, never.

[00:22:06] Never yield to force.

[00:22:08] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

[00:22:12] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:22:15] This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join Point of View in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:22:22] We can't do it alone, but together, with God's help, we will overcome the darkness.

[00:22:29] Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:22:38] Pointofview.net and 800-347-5151.

[00:22:47] Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:57] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:01] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:09] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:12] Back once again, Tony Barbarak with us as we talk about his book, Crossing the Hidden Bridge, Christians in the Holy Land.

[00:23:19] But I also want to point you for just a few minutes to their website, twinstours.com.

[00:23:25] Of course, you don't have to remember that.

[00:23:26] We have a link to it on the website.

[00:23:28] But, Tony, I thought for just a minute we might talk about the fact that not only is there a possibility for people to go on a tour, whether they do that or not, there are webinars and there are courses.

[00:23:41] And a lot of that came because you and your brother, Andre, really have faced problems twice.

[00:23:46] First, we have the shutdown of the entire world in 2020 because of the pandemic.

[00:23:53] Then, just as we're coming out of that, then, of course, we have a sense almost to shut down again in Israel because of the attack in Hamas against Israel.

[00:24:04] But people can actually take courses.

[00:24:07] There's a webinar.

[00:24:08] There's even an academy.

[00:24:09] So, can you, for just a few minutes before we get back to your book, talk about what's available on your website?

[00:24:14] Because I think people, even if they're never going to be able to go to Israel, can learn a great deal from you and your brother.

[00:24:22] Right.

[00:24:23] We are using Western technology to bring our Middle Eastern culture to you from the comfort of your home.

[00:24:32] Actually, every weekend, every Friday and Saturday, every Friday we have a free webinar, a free teaching.

[00:24:41] Of different subjects.

[00:24:43] And even every Saturday, we have as well a virtual tour.

[00:24:47] We can literally bring, like, Israel to your office, to your home, to your phone.

[00:24:53] It's amazing.

[00:24:55] This technology is amazing.

[00:24:56] And virtually, we can take you to places in the Holy Land.

[00:25:00] For example, the last virtual tour I made was the northern borders of Israel.

[00:25:05] I know it's very, like, not safe to go, but virtually it's very safe.

[00:25:12] I explained what is going there.

[00:25:14] I explained virtually.

[00:25:17] I took them to Lebanon.

[00:25:19] I took them to the northern cities in Israel and showed them what is happening and what were the sources of the conflict.

[00:25:26] And even we developed an academy so that there are thousands of hours of teaching from our experience.

[00:25:35] Because we know, like, the Holy Land here is the birth of Christianity.

[00:25:41] And the Bible for us is not only the Word of God.

[00:25:45] It's like the Word of God spoken through the people in history.

[00:25:49] And those people and that history cannot be ignored.

[00:25:53] So, again, I know people cannot come physically to the Holy Land at the moment.

[00:25:59] We can bring the Holy Land to you.

[00:26:02] We have to become creative and we have to learn from your Western technology.

[00:26:08] So we are enjoying that and the people as well.

[00:26:11] I wanted to have you, for just another minute or two, talk about that.

[00:26:14] Because one of the things you try to do is help us, and you talk about this in your book, but it's also on your website,

[00:26:19] to really understand the Bible the way the writers intended it.

[00:26:23] Because you need to understand the audience that the Bible was written for.

[00:26:27] And because you are conversant in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic,

[00:26:32] you can, in some respects, provide a real perspective.

[00:26:35] And it is only when I've traveled to Israel and realized that what Jesus said here was said to this group in this geographical location,

[00:26:46] it really unfolds a lot of what we as Westerners who have never been to the Middle East really don't understand.

[00:26:53] So, in some respects, the academy you've put together, the teaching you've put together,

[00:26:58] really helps us to dig deeper and understand biblical interpretation.

[00:27:03] Correct?

[00:27:03] Correct.

[00:27:06] It's going to bring more clarity, especially to understand the Bible from different lengths, from a Middle Eastern culture.

[00:27:14] And, again, I'll just give you one quick example.

[00:27:19] It's great to know, like, the divinity of Christ, but I believe it's also important to know his humanity as well, to focus on his humanity.

[00:27:28] So, the more we understand historical Jesus, make us better understand spiritual Jesus.

[00:27:36] For example, Jesus is not the cool, blonde-haired and blue-eyed homeboy dude.

[00:27:42] Jesus wasn't white.

[00:27:44] He was a bronze king, a Middle Eastern Jew.

[00:27:48] So, it's very important to go back to the first century.

[00:27:52] And Jesus did not speak English, right?

[00:27:56] The Aramaic was a common language at that time.

[00:28:01] So, until today, we, the indigenous Christians, do understand Aramaic.

[00:28:07] So, when we go back to the roots, you're going to understand the Bible better.

[00:28:12] Your eyes are going to be open.

[00:28:13] I think it's going to become more clear that the story is going to be confirmed for you,

[00:28:18] and your faith is going to get strengthened as well.

[00:28:23] So, right, coming to the land here, seeing from a different perspective,

[00:28:30] from our Middle Eastern eye, makes the picture complete.

[00:28:34] This began maybe for just a few minutes to talk about, again, this idea of the bridge.

[00:28:39] And I think our listeners probably understand, you know,

[00:28:41] some of the questions that Jewish people have about Christians.

[00:28:46] But you also have a whole section here about Muslims and Christian believers from a Muslim background.

[00:28:54] Can you speak to that?

[00:28:55] Because not only do you have Muslims, obviously, in Jerusalem and in Israel,

[00:29:01] but Israel is surrounded by Muslim nations.

[00:29:05] And I think you bring a unique perspective to how even Muslims perceive Christians.

[00:29:11] Can you share that with us?

[00:29:14] Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

[00:29:16] Now, again, that the spirit of Islam and the spirit of Judaism both reject Jesus being the son of God.

[00:29:30] Now, definitely there is no way in Islam and in Judaism for God, the creator,

[00:29:36] to become flesh and to become part of creation.

[00:29:40] This is blasphemous.

[00:29:41] So there's no way they can accept it.

[00:29:44] But only, only God has to reveal this for his people.

[00:29:49] And how he's going to reveal it?

[00:29:51] By using us, the Christians.

[00:29:53] And once this happens, you know what?

[00:29:56] Our faith gets provoked.

[00:29:58] You know, we find these people coming from complete darkness to light,

[00:30:05] and they are on fire for God and makes us, the Christians, want to become stronger Christians.

[00:30:12] When we see, like, Muslims becoming Christians who were from a Muslim background,

[00:30:19] and as well, the same as Jews who come from a Jewish background become Christians.

[00:30:25] And this is when we all come together, we can sense the power of God coming down to us,

[00:30:33] coming to the church, to the one church.

[00:30:36] Because when Jesus was on the cross, you know, he said,

[00:30:41] Father, forgive them.

[00:30:43] They don't know what they are doing.

[00:30:45] Ignorance is a big problem.

[00:30:47] And sadly, sadly, people are getting more religious and more radical from both sides.

[00:30:55] But again, the love of God can change these people.

[00:31:00] And once this happens, that's when we have the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of God.

[00:31:08] Again, it has to be, it's the time of the harvest.

[00:31:12] God is doing amazing things.

[00:31:15] God is revealing himself.

[00:31:17] God is doing amazing things.

[00:31:17] And we have these families.

[00:31:19] We have not only individuals coming to know the truth in Christ.

[00:31:25] And again, this is what brings them peace.

[00:31:28] And this is what brings them love.

[00:31:29] And I don't want to sound very spiritual, but this is the solution for us here.

[00:31:34] Yes.

[00:31:34] Because this conflict has been so long and so sad.

[00:31:39] And hatred is growing.

[00:31:42] and while people are hating each other more than ever before so they need some hope they need some

[00:31:50] life and again that that's when the heart starts to change and that's when we have the real peace

[00:31:57] and the real love so pray pray for jerusalem pray for the holy land imagine the holy land here

[00:32:05] is without christians this means more hatred more bloodshed more uh more healing and people now

[00:32:14] are breaking out they're they start to repent they want to find god so please pray for us for

[00:32:22] for the church as well so that we are ready we are ready because the harvest is coming and again

[00:32:28] that's uh that's amazing that's amazing uh because i i do have like in the church we have a men's

[00:32:37] meeting which i mentioned in my book and god works tremendously here and at the same time

[00:32:43] uh my my advisor is a messianic jew and he helped me so much uh in uh in our business how how to

[00:32:55] to thrive in our business to all these difficulties so again when the body of christ comes together

[00:33:02] it's uh there's nothing more powerful than that that uh that's the real love of christ yeah

[00:33:10] let's take a break but again good news is probably more uh muslims have become christians in the last

[00:33:17] few decades than in the previous uh 1400 years but the downside is of course we just talked about is the

[00:33:24] amount of hatred has intensified but let's take a break the book is entitled crossing the hidden

[00:33:30] bridge when we come back there's a last section on the hidden bridge revealed christian arab theology

[00:33:36] and the parable of the good samaritan we'll talk about that with tony mbark right after this

[00:33:41] you're listening to point of view your listener supported source for truth right for a few more

[00:34:01] minutes as we talk today about crossing the hidden bridge christians on the holy land

[00:34:04] tony mbark and last section the hidden bridge revealed and you talk about the fact that of

[00:34:10] course as a tour guide you've met a christian tourist and pilgrims all the time and i've been after your

[00:34:16] first interaction you feel a kindred spirit with them of course that's due to the spirit of god

[00:34:20] working in us and even the love of jesus but there is some things that we can learn from you

[00:34:27] in the west from what you call your christian arab theology can you share some of that with us

[00:34:35] all right uh absolutely in short i name it like the progressive theology which is like

[00:34:46] there is this famous doctor let's say and me as a human i get sick so i'm gonna go to the to my

[00:34:54] family doctor and he's gonna give me prescription so i am well again but because i'm human i'm gonna

[00:35:01] get sick again so i'm gonna go to the same family doctor this famous family doctor but he's gonna give

[00:35:07] me now a different treatment this does not mean that this famous doctor changed but his way to treat me

[00:35:16] change so this is god the great doctor of the great creator of humanity first he worked through through

[00:35:27] the patriarchs and the matriarchs then through the prophet then through the jewish people then through

[00:35:34] christ then through the church and now through the holy spirit so it's called progressive theology it's

[00:35:41] not that god changed but his ways dealing with us as humans as humans have changed i believe it's not

[00:35:48] anymore the land not anymore it's more now the holy spirit that works in the people so like definitely he

[00:35:58] used the jewish people for sure to because he had a goal because history has a direction to to be to be

[00:36:05] revealed in christ and to show god's love to all people god loves all all his people all his creation

[00:36:14] it's not a sin to love our own people whether jews or or modulians and despite actually the power of

[00:36:24] christ's love gonna go like through all the pain and through all the suffering that's when we're gonna see

[00:36:32] the truth that's when the love of god gonna change all the people and that's what he has done us so he came to us

[00:36:39] and he showed us his love practically through his plan so that was the plan from the beginning

[00:36:47] until the end to show god's love for all his people for all his creation through different ways through the land

[00:36:56] through uh through our fathers our patriarchs and our matriarchs but now it's through his son through

[00:37:04] his holy spirit so again we were talking about just an opportunity to watch how god has unfolded his

[00:37:12] have you a revelation and how today we are dependent upon of course god's word on the holy spirit and i just

[00:37:21] i'm grateful that there is a remnant of christians even there in jerusalem but i also recognize how

[00:37:27] difficult it is for you in that set of circumstances because in some respects um you're caught between

[00:37:35] uh of course you talk about this one of your chapters the jewish um antagonism towards christians

[00:37:41] and of course we've already talked about the muslim antagonism towards christians and yet if we're

[00:37:48] looking for a way to build bridge it's of course the bridge that is established by christians who

[00:37:54] actually are going to reach out and ultimately the bridge is jesus christ isn't it right because as a

[00:38:04] minority we know christian abs we know very much about the majority we know about the jews two-thirds of

[00:38:12] our bible is the old testament that's the book that the jews that they live in and also because we speak

[00:38:21] that we were forced to speak the arabic language in the seventh century when islam came so we know the

[00:38:26] culture of the muslims and again as we are like being shaken all the time and but this is when our smell

[00:38:36] is gonna be spread uh so this is when we're gonna show the smell of christ uh it's like uh you have to

[00:38:45] shake the the bottle of perfume so that you can smell its odor and we've been checking all the time and

[00:38:51] that's that's a good thing because this is what keeps us strong this is what keeps us holding on

[00:38:57] and again uh in the middle of the pain and the suffering but again that's how how like we can

[00:39:06] see how god's love uh was also through the pain and the suffering as well for all the people in the

[00:39:13] holy land let me just mention just before i let you go that we do have a link to twins tours dot com

[00:39:19] and again uh there will probably be tours in the future but you don't have to necessarily get an airplane

[00:39:26] and fly over there because you are really dedicated to what you call teaching the roots of scripture

[00:39:32] because these are the brutes in the first century culture the first century customs even the context

[00:39:40] and in some respects that is something that when we just read our bibles but don't maybe understand

[00:39:46] some of the history you can kind of open that up and then you have webinars and you have uh free

[00:39:53] courses you have an academy so if people sign up uh talk about uh how they can do that because there's a

[00:40:00] way if they just sign up to receive some of the material you also have this free guide which is

[00:40:06] entitled five differences in the middle eastern culture can you talk about that yeah absolutely absolutely

[00:40:14] uh again uh our website is as you mentioned www.twins tours.com which is t-w-i-n-t-o-u-r-s dot com and once you go into our website

[00:40:32] uh screen gonna pop up for you and then i do ask you if you want to know like main five cultural differences

[00:40:43] between the east and the west and simply you can put your name and your email then you become subscribed

[00:40:51] to our monthly uh newsletter and from the website itself you can go where it says free webinars and

[00:41:01] you can go also to the academy and you can go also to the virtual tools so it's easy to to maneuver

[00:41:09] but again you can click with us and once you're gonna get our newsletter then we can invite you to

[00:41:17] these webinars and become part and build this friendship with uh with uh with the people in

[00:41:23] the holy land here until until hopefully you can come in person and and be here in the holy land very

[00:41:32] good well tony thank you for being with us and um appreciate the ability to talk across the sea to you

[00:41:40] in israel of course we had a slight delay but i think it was very helpful but uh thank you for joining

[00:41:45] us today here on point of view thank you for making our voices uh possible to reach uh

[00:41:58] let me take a break and let me mention again those virtual tours some of the ways in which you can also

[00:42:04] go to israel without leaving the security of your own home and there's just quite a few that take you

[00:42:10] through the west bank the city of david exploring the dome of the rock and many others so there's all

[00:42:16] sorts of great resources so those are available to you of course on our website point of view dot net

[00:42:21] and of course we have a link to that website as well we come back though we have a lot to cover

[00:42:26] and of course the most significant one i'll start off with is uh they're still counting votes or want to

[00:42:32] count votes in pennsylvania because democrats they're apparently are not content with the idea that their

[00:42:40] current u.s senator was defeated so they want to change some of the rules and we're going to talk

[00:42:45] about that then we'll get into some other issues as well what will for example the deportations maybe

[00:42:51] look like what about this government efficiency program will that actually put aside finally the

[00:42:58] idea of a woke agenda what's happening in china we've got a lot to cover we'll try to cover all of

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