In the month of June, 2013, I had the privilege of travelling to Egypt with Brother Idel Suarez Jr. and his family, as well as with Brother Larry Watts. The trip had a two-fold purpose. It was for the purpose of both education and missionary work. The educational portion of the trip taught us that even in the history of a heathen nation, a nation that represents bondage to sin in the Bible, there can still be seen evidences of the Bible and of Biblical characters. The missionary portion of the trip revealed to us clearly that there is a fierce battle being waged between Jesus and Satan in this world and only those who desire the truth so much that they are willing to risk all, and possibly be rejected and persecuted by family and friends, will find the truth.

EDUCATIONAL:

TEMPLES: There are many temples located in the city of Luxor, which is about 650 km south of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt.

One of the most noteworthy temples is the temple of Hatshepsut. The historical figure of Hatshepsut is believed to be the Egyptian mother of Moses, and in many of the temples, including her own, they have defaced her. After her death they scratched out her face on the images of her on the walls, indicating that they strongly disliked her. One of the reasons they did not like her is likely because she became Pharaoh and they did not like female pharaohs. All throughout the Egyptian mythology seen on the walls of the temples, there is indication that the Egyptian people at least knew of the Bible or had heard stories of the Bible. For example, the four cherubims can be seen in certain places. Also, in one temple the tree of life, or what appears to be a mixture of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, can be viewed.

During our time in Luxor, we also had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the world famous tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. His tomb was not as luxurious or as large as many of the others tombs, due to the fact that he died suddenly at a young age; nonetheless this tomb is still rich in history.

Also of interest with the tombs in the Valley of the Kings was that we were told that a king would reserve a tomb for himself and be placed there after he died. However, in certain cases, another king would come along later and remove the original king out of that tomb and use it for himself, or move the first king to the back of the tomb.

It is very interesting that the tombs were built by slaves, and it is very possible that the Israelite slaves were used to build some of them. At the completion of the building of a tomb, all the slaves who were involved in the building of it were killed.  This was done to ensure that the secret location of a tomb was never revealed. In this way it was hoped that robbers would not come and steal all the relics from the tomb after the king died.

Unfortunately, in almost all cases, the location of the tombs were discovered by robbers and most of the relics were removed before archaeologists got to them. The one exception was the tomb of King Tuntankhamun, which was completely intact when discovered by an Englishman named Howard Carter in 1922.

In some of the paintings on the temple walls there can be seen slaves of a Jewish appearance, which were almost certainly the Israelite slaves before the Exodus.

PYRAMIDS:  One day during the seminar, which was conducted for the benefit of six interested Arab souls, we took a few hours in the morning to see the pyramids. It was quite exciting that our hotel was located just across the road from the pyramids and we had a beautiful view of them, which was especially stunning at sunrise and sunset. Each night, a light and sound show was conducted in English, Spanish and Arabic telling the history of the pyramids.  It is interesting that out of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the pyramids are the only surviving one. It is almost certain that the pyramids were there in the time of Moses, and it is even likely that they were there in the time of Joseph.

During our time in the pyramid area, Brother Suarez, his children, Brother Watts and I decided to enter one of the large pyramids. Just before we entered the pyramid the man accepting the tickets requested that we give him our cameras for safe keeping until we came out since no photos were permitted in the pyramid. However, we had reason to believe that if we gave our cameras to this man we would never see them again as he was not wearing an official badge and he was seemingly self-employed. This was not the only time in Egypt in which we had to be very careful with our personal belongings and with any money we may have had on us. We took special care because there is a certain desperation in the people of this country due to a lack of tourism in recent years and an oppressed economy. Since the revolution of 2011 the rate of unemployment has gone up, and tourism has declined. We had to be very careful as there were people on every side ready to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists, and in a similar way the devil is around us constantly waiting to take advantage of us in a weak moment. We had to learn to be careful, firm, wise as serpents and truly kind and harmless as doves. By the grace of God, we were able to do this.

As we entered the large pyramid there was only a very small place in which we could walk. We had to crouch because the ceiling was so low. Sister Linda felt claustrophobic with this situation so we temporarily left her behind, but later she gathered her courage and joined us inside. We next entered an area with a higher ceiling and flat ground and from there we went upwards. Again, as we went upwards, there was a very low ceiling, however, it was necessary to go through this in order to get to the actual room with the tomb. The pyramids were much more simple tombs than the tombs in Luxor. There were no hieroglyphics on the walls and even the coffins or Sarcophagi, as the Egyptians call them, were smaller and not as fancy.

Due to unforeseen circumstances in the morning, Brother Watts and I came back to the pyramids later on in the day to view the large pyramid which we had not seen earlier. Although we had been told it was only possible to get to the pyramids by horse back or camel because they were 12 to 15 km away, it took us only 10 minutes to walk to the large pyramid.  This was one example of Egyptian tourism workers altering the facts in order to obtain the business of unsuspecting tourists.  While at the large pyramid, we took a few photos at different points, however we did not stay as long as we wanted to because a woman kept begging us for money for 15 to 20 minutes. In the end, we had no choice but to flee the pyramid on foot because the woman was relentless so we simply jogged away from her. I was able to give her a little money, but she wanted more, however it was not possible for me to help everyone who was begging because I did not have the means.

MISSIONARY WORK

One day while in Luxor eating at a restaurant with the Suarez family, we happened to get into a discussion with a man and a woman who were eating together. After only a few minutes of discussion and getting to know each other, the man invited us to his house the next day to have lunch with him and his family. We took him up on his offer gladly and the next day, while at his house eating lunch, it came out through conversation that there were various members in his family who were experiencing health challenges. Brother Suarez explained that he is a doctor, and that he had medical equipment in Egypt which would help him to test things like cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels, etc. A few days later we returned to this man’s house and performed these medical tests on four or five members of his family who had health concerns and were unsure how to manage these health concerns or how to ultimately overcome them. By performing these medical tests, we were able to see that there were several diabetics in the family and people with various other health issues such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Brother and Sister Suarez were able to recommend the best foods to deal with each person’s unique health challenges and, in addition, they highly recommended that these people become vegetarian and most likely their problems would clear up promptly. This was a shock to this man and his whole family because, in their culture, it is extremely uncommon for anyone to be a vegetarian. Every Egyptian we came across had an intense love for flesh foods. However, when we explained the benefits of a vegetarian diet, and the fact that they would live longer and happier lives, free of disease, they happily told us they would consider our proposition. This man and his family were very thankful for the health services that had been provided for them.

The main purpose of our trip to Egypt was to meet with six Arab souls who all come from Muslim backgrounds and live in Muslim families. In certain parts of the Arabic world, it is strongly discouraged for an individual to become a Christian and if they do end up making this choice, they could face the death sentence from either the government or from their family. So, in these countries, to study the Bible and to seek Christ is a very risky mission and could put one’s life in peril. However, all six of these individuals had a real desire to learn the deep truths of the Bible. In Egypt it is perfectly okay for a Christian who is born into a Christian family to convert to the Islamic religion, however, for a Muslim to convert to Christianity is forbidden. These six interested Arabic souls risked their lives for the opportunity to hear the truth.

Each day during the seminar the interested souls were more than happy to study for eight to nine hours. They had many pertinent questions which revealed their burning desire to find the truth. Although four out of the six spoke little to no English, we were blessed that one Arabic brother spoke fluent English and so for six long days he translated everything. During the course of our studies we addressed the Ceremonial Law, the Old Testament Sanctuary, and the Law of God—emphasizing the importance of the Sabbath. We also addressed the claim of some other Christian churches regarding the Law of God, stating that it was nailed to the cross. By the aid of the Holy Spirit, Brother Suarez was able to show that it was the Ceremonial Law that was nailed to the cross. We also looked at several Bible verses which Sunday keeping Christians use to attack the Sabbath and sanctify Sunday. By reading them in context, it became clear that their theories are erroneous.  In addition, we studied tithe and family in the context of our seven areas of stewardship: (1) Spirit, (2) Soul, (3) Body, (4) Family (including church family), (5) Social/governmental responsibilities, (6) Environment (taking care of the earth), and (7) God’s Authority and Government. Due to the depth of the studies that were presented and the many questions from the Arab souls, as well as the translation, we did not have the time to study prophecy at all.  Therefore, it was not possible to baptize them at this time; however, there is another planned trip to meet with them again in October of this year. Several of the interested Arabic souls were curious as to whether I was planning to come in October and were strongly encouraging me to come and assist in the seminar again.

For Sabbath, we opened the Sabbath together on Friday night and held hands as we often do. For several of the Arabic souls, who had only recently learned about the Sabbath from our studies, this was the first Sabbath they kept. It seemed as if they enjoyed the opportunity to rest and come apart on the Sabbath day. Throughout the Sabbath we received various studies, such as the Biblical dress and the benefits of vegetarianism, brought to us by Brother Suarez. I had the opportunity and privilege of leading the new lesson, and by God’s grace, I was able to share on the deep love of Jesus for each human soul. Two of the younger interested souls specifically thanked me afterwards and told me that the lesson I had given was a great encouragement to them—praise God.

At the hotel where we stayed there was a large pool, and each day many people, due to the scorching heat, were in the pool. One of the Arabic souls asked if it was ok for us to swim on Sabbath, however, Brother Suarez stated that this would be doing our own pleasure on Sabbath. Thankfully, this soul accepted the explanation and had no problem abiding by this.

On the final morning that we were with them, we bade them farewell. For many of us it was an emotional goodbye because over the course of the seminar we really felt united together in Christian love.

On one of our final days in Egypt, we (Brother Suarez, his family and I) went to the world famous Alabaster Mosque.  I got some great pictures of the mosque on the outside from various angles, but unfortunately I never had the privilege of going inside. Brother Suarez and his family did go inside; however I missed out because on the way to the entrance of the Mosque I got into a discussion with several Muslim women, and this discussion took nearly an hour of my time. By the time our discussion was finished the Alabaster Mosque was closed. These women really did their utmost to convert me to the Islamic religion; they were very impressed by how much I knew about the Islamic Religion and they automatically assumed I was an interested soul, seeking for the truth of Mohammed. As our conversation progressed they asked me if I adhered to any religion or if I was a Christian, and without hesitation I said, “yes, I most certainly am a Christian.” However, they still treated me as an individual seeking for the truth of their religion. For some time I was willing to oblige and willing to hear all of the things they had to share.  I listened politely. When they asked me if I was searching for truth, I explained that I believed that I had already found the truth in the Bible; however, I considered myself to be a truth-seeker and would never stop searching for more light within the Bible. At this point in our conversation there was a shift and it became less them trying to convert me, and more a mutual sharing with each other of our faiths. Although they presented all manner of doubts about the Bible by saying that it has been changed over the years, I thank the Lord for the ability to find an answer to their arguments. They also came up with many reasons as to why they do not believe that Jesus was divine and how He could not possibly be the Son of God, however, when I needed certain Bible verses the Holy Spirit brought them to my mind and I shared them with the women. I was able to give an answer for all of their doubts about Christ’s divinity from the Bible. By the end of the conversation they explained that they were very impressed with my knowledge of religion, specifically my knowledge of the Bible, and they had never expected I knew half of what I did when they began their discussion with me. They also repeated a few times that they could really see that I was a sincere and honest soul and that I had a lot of love inside of me for others, and they believed that God would lead me to the truth because I was sincere. I can only thank the Lord for them seeing Christ in me because I know that it is all Christ and none of me. I mentioned to them that God had already led me to the truth and that the Bible is a beautiful book and if they were to give it a chance it would have a profound impact on their lives. In the end I hesitantly went to shake one of their hands, knowing that this may be against their religion and sure enough they rejected my handshake saying that in their religion women were to be viewed as queens. I explained to them that I respected that and I wished more nominal Christian girls would carry themselves as queens, in the sense of having self-respect and conducting themselves in a manner that would draw respect from others. This is not to say that women in the Christian faith should start to wear the Hijab, or dress in the way that Muslim women do, however, I firmly believe that certain members of the Christian world can learn something from the Islamic world about having a more modest deportment.

At the end they all requested my email address so they could send me information which supposedly would prove their point of view. As of yet I have not received anything. I pray that some of them will contact me so that I can share more of the love of Christ with them.

Although our church has not entered far into the Arab world we have entered at least seven Arab dominated countries with ongoing preparations to enter Gambia, Chad, Iraq, and others. It was therefore very encouraging to be able to have the privilege of touching a few lives with the love of Christ and to have the opportunity of spreading the gospel in this part of the world.

The interested believers we came into contact with are up against all the wily darts that Satan can muster. We take for granted the reading of our Bible, however every time they open up their Bible they are at risk of being caught and persecuted—even to death.  This is an indication of how earnest and sincere their desire is to find the truth. We were able to give several tablets away to these Arabic souls and in this way they can have greater access to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, in a more discreet manner. They need all of our prayers as they begin this journey with Jesus, which will hopefully last a lifetime. Although the obstacles they face may be fierce, if they truly learn to trust fully in God He will remove every obstacle from their way and clear a smooth path to the foot of the cross.  Let us keep them in our prayers as we continue to meet with them and share more of the wonderful truths of the Bible with them. Amen.

Richard Eaton