A Boomer’s Journey Toward Supporting Israel: Timothy King
By ICEJ USA President Dr. Susan Michael
This post is excerpted from Susan Michael’s book Every Generation’s Story: 75 Years of American Christian Engagement with Israel, which follows the unique experiences of 18 American Christians representing 5 generations who responded to God’s call to go to Israel—and how it changed their lives forever.
The Vietnam war was raging. I was an American living in Toronto, Canada. I moved to Canada because of my position as merchandise manager of the Canadian Retail Division of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Such was one of the challenges the American “boomer generation” faced in the 1970s.
In 1978 I was preparing to be a volunteer for a Billy Graham event in Toronto when a preacher asked, “Have you ever considered going back to school?” I was shocked! I looked him in the eye and answered no—I had never considered returning to school. “That is,” I said, “until a few moments ago during your sermon when God ‘spoke’ to me.”
This preacher had no idea I was utterly ignorant concerning Israel and the Jewish people, of God’s eternal purposes for Israel, and of my Christian responsibility to stand with this ancient people. But God had a plan, and I was to be part of it.
He proceeded to write a letter of introduction to the Institute of Holy Land Studies on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. And in 1979 I went there to pursue a master’s degree in Judeo-Christian Studies.
How This Boomer Got to Israel
I was born October 2, 1946, as the second son of three to the late Reuben and Mary Jane King. I was the 55th of 59 grandchildren on my father’s side, whose family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from the Alsace German Swiss part of Europe in 1740 in search of religious freedom. … I became a “born again” Christian at age 11.
But I was 30 years old before I understood the full power God provides through His Holy Spirit.
By 1979, I [had] put my insurance business in trust with a colleague and headed to Jerusalem to study at the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now Jerusalem University College). I didn’t know anyone there—I just answered the call of God to learn more about Israel and the Jewish people.
In the sherut (shared taxi) from the airport on the way to Jerusalem, an Orthodox Jew in the car heard me speak in English. He responded in English, asking who I was and where I was going. When I told him, he looked stunned. A Christian who wanted to learn more about Israel and the Jewish people? How could that be?
“Where will you stay?” he asked. When I replied that I was hoping to get a room at the YMCA, he said, “No! You must stay with my family and me on your first night in Israel!” So I spent that night on their closed-in balcony. The next day, he, an Orthodox Jew, drove me, a Christian, to the Institute of Holy Land Studies on Mount Zion.
Staying in Jerusalem for His Purposes
At the end of my studies, I had every intention of returning to Toronto, resuming my business, making lots of money, and living happily ever after. But God had other plans!
Just as He “spoke” to me about coming to Israel, He now “spoke” to me about staying.
I had no visa, no more savings to live on, no place to live, and no real reason to be in Israel—except that I believed God told me to stay. I knew that if I had really heard from God, I had no choice but to obey. So in faith, I sold my business and stayed in Israel and God put the pieces in place.
Dr. George Giacumakis, the director of the Institute where I was studying, said I could sleep in the room where they stored ancient potsherds and eat at the Institute. I renewed my visa and remained in the Land to discover God’s purpose for me to be there.
The Birth of An Embassy
In 1980 Israel passed the Jerusalem Law, which declared Jerusalem as the eternal undivided capital of Israel. The 14 countries that had embassies in Jerusalem came under immense pressure from neighboring Arab oil–producing countries to not recognize this law. As a result, the embassies were all moved to Tel Aviv, and Israel was literally alone on the world stage.
However, a group of praying Christian Zionists were seeking the Lord as to what to do about the world’s abandonment of Israel. Jan Willem and Widad van der Hoeven, George Giacumakis, Merv and Merla Watson, Jay and Meridel Rawlings, and a few others prayed. God was speaking to many, especially through the van der Hoevens and Watsons: this was the time for Christians to take a stand and open an international Christian embassy in Jerusalem.
George Giacumakis said, “I see preachers, musicians, and visionaries in this room, but there is not a practical one in the bunch of you. I think I know who God wants to be the practical part of this work. God told him to stay in Israel, and he did so out of obedience, not knowing why. He has all the practical background and experience needed to start such an embassy. I think he is the man. His name is Timothy King.”
I was drawn into this grand vision from its embryonic beginning.
We presented a proposal for a Christian embassy to Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem; Menachem Begin, the prime minister; and Maurice Jaffe, head of the Great Synagogue. They each responded enthusiastically. Keep in mind, Israel was alone internationally, and yet here we were, a handful of Christians, representing millions of like-minded Bible-believing people around the world who stood with the Jewish State. They literally said, “Go for it!”
I was appointed the financial director of this fledging organization despite it having absolutely no money. Johann Lückhoff was asked to be the executive director, and Jan Willem van der Hoeven, the spokesman. …
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) was officially opened by Mayor Teddy Kollek on September 30, 1980, coinciding with another event happening at the same time: the 1980 Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The following year, during the opening night of the 1981 Feast of Tabernacles, in what was then Israel’s largest convention center, Prime Minister Menachem Begin greeted the 3,000 Christians present. But before he had even said a word, the audience rose to their feet in thunderous applause. One could see how much that reception meant to the prime minister, as Christians from around the world were literally standing with Israel when most of the world had abandoned her. It was at that event the phrase “Israel, you are not alone” was born.
Aliyah from the Former USSR
During the 27 years I served as the financial director of the Christian Embassy, several milestones stand out in my life of obedience, trust, and sacrifice to God’s unfolding plan.
The first of these happened in the 1990s when the Iron Curtain fell and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) opened its doors, allowing Jews to make Aliyah. Jan Willem van der Hoeven, the ICEJ spokesman, announced to 3,000 Christians attending the Feast of Tabernacles that we would be chartering planes and paying for thousands of Jews to make Aliyah (return to Israel).
As I sat in the audience listening, I swallowed hard because I knew that we didn’t have enough money to pay for even one plane. I prayed and prayed and prayed as I wondered, what did he just get us into?
As I sought God about His plan for helping Jews make Aliyah, He told me to sell seats on the planes for $500 a seat. I shared the plan with my colleagues, and we did just that. It worked! People donated millions of dollars, and to date, the ICEJ has paid for and helped more than 170,000 Jews make Aliyah!
Becoming a Family
A personal milestone also happened during this time. I had been a “confirmed bachelor,” but that was about to change. In 1989 I sought the Lord for more direction, specifically for my personal life. I asked Him what He wanted from me.
His response could not have been clearer: “If you want more of me, get married!” It was that clear, that simple. I responded, “But Lord, I have failed with relationships. I have done stupid things and not done well in this area at all.”
“I will be with you every step of the way,” He said. Just as I had done many times before, I believed, trusted, and obeyed. I started “looking under every rock” for the woman He promised to bring.
Within months, Martha White appeared in Jerusalem, and within a few more months, we were married. Martha had been a Christian worker in Asia and the Pacific and had come to the Feast of Tabernacles. We were married January 4, 1990, in Jerusalem. Both of us were 43 years old, and in 1991, at the age of 44, God blessed us with our daughter, Anna. This old bachelor became a family man, and I have loved every minute of it. …
Enduring the Gulf War
In 1991 when Anna was only 3 weeks old, Saddam Hussein shot 29 Scud missiles at Israel during the Gulf War. When missiles were fired, we had to run to our sealed room, put the baby in a gas protective tent, put on our gas masks, and pray. Our prayers were answered, and we remained safe—but not without a lot of anxiety.
When the Gulf War broke out, the leadership of the Christian Embassy was abroad on speaking tours and could not return to Israel—which meant I was suddenly in charge. So I gathered our staff of 40 and told them to pray and ask God if they should go or stay, assuring them there was no pressure either way. The next day at our staff meeting, 100 percent of the staff announced they had decided to stay.
Somehow Israeli television learned about this and wanted to interview me about it. Since I was the only one from our leadership team in Israel, Martha, our three-week-old baby, the protective gas tent, and our gas masks all appeared as guests on the TV show, Between the Chairs.
Because of the war, the entire nation was glued to the television as I shared what the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem does and why we do it—and that millions of like-minded Christians were standing with them during the war. I told the listeners that 100 percent of our staff chose to stay and support Israel.
Establishing and Expanding the ICEJ
The Feast and the Christian Embassy exist as an expression of love and comfort for the people of Israel. Isaiah 40:1–2 says:
Comfort, yes, comfort My people! says your God. Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.
While the ICEJ headquarters was founded in Israel, branches began to open immediately all around the world. A vital branch is the USA Branch, and as the top American leader in Jerusalem, I gave special attention to its establishment. In 1986 I worked with Susan McElroy Michael to establish the USA Branch in Washington, DC. Susan then served as the USA administrator until the branch became fully operational under her leadership. Susan had been a fellow student in Jerusalem and part of the staff family since the ICEJ began. Together we organized events across the United States, and that branch provided the financial undergirding for the Jerusalem headquarters in those early years.
Translating in Israel
After stepping down from my position with the ICEJ in 2007, I determined that I had completed my life’s calling and work in Israel. But once again, God had other plans. In many ways my work for the Lord was just beginning.
David Swarr and Samuel Chiang approached me in 2015 and asked me to become a founding board member of the 4.2.20 Foundation (www.4220foundation.com). I had no idea what lay ahead except that this assignment dealt with Israel’s national language, Hebrew.
Some 7,000 languages exist in the world today, yet the biblical stories of Israel in the Old Testament are only available in 700. Furthermore, most Bible translations are only of the New Testament. How can Christians possibly understand the New Testament when over 24 percent of it references an Old Testament they don’t even have? In response to the obvious need, the 4.2.20 Foundation created the Institute of Biblical Languages and Translation to train Bible translators in biblical Hebrew so they can translate the Old Testament.
Called for His Purposes
As a child, I learned a song in Sunday School that summarizes everything that has happened in my life over the past 43 years: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.” The thread of trust flows through all my decisions, leading to where I am today and making Israel my home.I trusted God and obeyed His call. In return, God took this American from the “boomer” generation who knew nothing about Israel or the Jews and orchestrated a life focused on supporting His purposes for this ancient land and people.
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Timothy King is the vice president of Israel operations for the 4.2.20 Foundation and vice president of administration for the University of the Holy Land. He went to Israel for the first time in 1979 to study at the Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem, then served as the founding financial director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) for the next 27 years. He currently serves as a deacon and board member of King of Kings Congregation in Jerusalem.
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