Zola Levitt (December 3, 1938 – April 19, 2006) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

believer in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

who founded Zola Levitt Ministries, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, in 1979.

Ministry and religious works

Known for his relatability, charisma and visits to evangelical churches dressed as a

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...

, Levitt grew his organization's outreach to a national scale. Levitt authored books and wrote, produced, and directed Judeo-Christian music and musicals. Furthermore, he created a popular free print publication, ''The Levitt Letter'', which covered global news with a Messianic focus. He also produced and starred in his own television and radio programs, concluding each episode with his signature phrase “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.” Because Levitt sought to share the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

with

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

through the use of Old Testament Scripture, he drew "protest from the factions of the Jewish community, which objected to what they felt was a distortion of Jewish teachings." Levitt sponsored a grove in Israel to which his followers could donate trees with the purpose of making the country green in preparation for

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

's return.

Theological beliefs

Levitt was a classical

dispensationalist Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

, believing that the

nation of Israel Israel is a country in Western Asia. Israel may also refer to: Places * Land of Israel, the traditional Jewish name for the geographical region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River ** The Holy Land, a common appellation for rou ...

is playing a crucial role in signalling the beginning of the

end times Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

. Levitt disagreed with progressive dispensationalism, which supposes that aspects of the

Millennial Kingdom Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future ...

are present in the modern world. Levitt opposed such a stance because he believed it minimized the role of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

's plan for the future.

References

External links

Zola Levitt Ministries official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Zola 1938 births 2006 deaths American evangelicals People from Pittsburgh People from Dallas Duquesne University alumni Indiana University alumni