Pat Robertson: Remembering a Great Christian Zionist
Psalm 1: 1-3
Blessed is the man. . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
It is fitting that Christian TV visionary Pat Robertson died on June 8 so near to Jerusalem Day because the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 was an event that thrilled Pat. He was one of God’s greatest watchmen on Jerusalem’s walls.
Pat, 93, was a spiritual giant of our generation, a father to many, a broadcaster, humanitarian, entrepreneur, educator, author, statesman, a man of global influence, and a true lover of Zion.
Only God can fully measure the influence of Pat Robertson upon our generation. He was not only the pioneer of Christian broadcasting–emulated and envied by many– but he also truly understood the times concerning the rebirth of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once said in a broadcast, “We have no greater friend in the world, and I mean that–we have no greater friend.”
It was from Pat Robertson that my husband and I first learned prophetic truths concerning the Levitical Feasts, which is an important topic neglected by many traditional denominational churches. My husband was a seminary graduate with a master’s degree when we joined the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), yet it was from Pat that we learned about the prophetic nature of the fall festivals of the LORD — the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. The name of God in Pat’s first TV station in Virginia–WYAH–revealed his forward-thinking and eschatological influence.
Pat was a major force in Christian Zionism against the scourge of replacement theology. For decades he literally taught his vast audiences about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the significance of End-Time events as he commentated upon the news on his daily TV show, The 700 Club.
Pat’s vision was to take Christian broadcasting to the entire world, and in his vision, he held a special reverence in his heart for Israel. We’ll never forget the excitement of his first satellite feed from the Mt. of Olives, and we will forever be grateful that he commissioned us to move to Israel in 1982 to start what became the CBN news bureau, and in those early days also the headquarters of our Middle East TV news. This was still the time of terrestrial TV when our news tapes had to be driven by taxi daily from our Jerusalem studio to Middle East TV located in the enclave of Southern Lebanon.
The son of a U.S. Senator, Pat was influential in politics, having run for the presidency of the United States in 1986. He was conversant on all the issues, including health. He taught us to pray for the sick, and he also preached healthy eating–surely reasons for his long life of 93 years.
Pat Robertson’s influence extended into the next generation. Our son David became vice president of CBN’s humanitarian organization, Operation Blessing. Thanks to Pat’s great vision to help the poor, sick and needy, David moved throughout the earth wherever there was a crisis. When an earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, his Operation Blessing disaster relief field hospital flew its flag along with Israeli humanitarians.
The summary of Pat’s legacy is that he dared to believe God: he believed in the faithfulness of God’s Word, and he dared to do whatever God instructed him to do–whether it was to build an international television network beginning with $3, as well as a worldwide humanitarian outreach, the American Center of Law and Justice and Regent University. Pat graduated magna cum laude from Yale Law School and was undoubtedly brilliant, yet he never tired of preaching the simplicity of Biblical truths. He was a man of constant prayer, always seeking wisdom and guidance. According to Gordon Robertson, some of his father’s last words were: “I tried to listen to the Lord. I loved you all. I walked with the Lord. I hope I’ve passed that on to you.”
For more information on Pat’s life and legacy, visit this link. https://www2.cbn.com/pat-robertson
Christine Darg’s website is www.JerusalemChannel.tv
The post Pat Robertson: Remembering a Great Christian Zionist appeared first on Israel365 News.
Israel in the News
