Dr. Neil Lipkin

THE DR. NEIL LIPKEN STORY

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Synagogue of Youth: Beth El Zedek, Conservative (now Reconstructionist)

High School: North Central High School, 1968

College: Indiana University, 1972

Indiana University School of Dentistry: 1977

Othodontic Graduate School: 1979

Profession: Orthodontist

Marriage: Cynthia

Introduction by Jon Lieberman: I have known Neil since 1981. He is known around the Greater Indianapolis area as not only an excellent orthodontist but also as "an expert on the subject of biblical prophecy." Neil has spent hundreds of hours studying what the Bible has to say about the end times, the rapture, and events related to what is happening in Israel today.

Dr. Lipken's Story:

I grew up at Beth El Zedek congregation in Indianapolis. My parents were extremely Reform. They sort of looked down on the goyim (non-Jews). The main reason they went to Beth El was to provide me with a religious education in their Sunday School program. They only went about twice a year, if that, and that brief attendance might have even been a lot. They were very much immersed, though, in the Jewish culture. All their friends were Jewish. I attended Hebrew classes for a short period of time and my parents gave me a choice on whether I wanted to be Bar Mitzvahed or not. I thought the rituals were ridiculous, and thus I decided not to have a Bar Mitzvah. They said, "Fine."

At the time I didn’t understand why I was rejecting the Jewish rituals because all of my other friends went through it. It just didn't seem relevant or important to me.

I never thought about God. I even boasted about being a non-theist. I was an atheist until my late 20’s, but a better description might be that I was agnostic. I believed that science had all of the answers for the problems of mankind and that the Bible was antiquated. I never read it, though, but that is just what I believed.

Medical School and my first attempt to read the Jewish Bible.

I was twenty-five years old when for the first time in my life I just decided to pick up and try and read parts of the Book that I had formerly outright rejected. For the last last 2 1/2 years I had been in Medical school and I just recently transferred from the Medical school to the Indiana University School of Dentistry. When I graduated from Beth El's religious education program and was confirmed, I had been given a copy of the Tanach or Jewish Bible (what gentiles refer to as the Old Testament). I tried to understand what I was reading, but I was shocked to find it so difficult to comprehend. I consider myself an intellectual, but the message in the texts just didn't make sense. I didn’t know until later that without God enlightening the mind, my eyes would blinded to the truth of the Scriptures.

A date with a nurse and The Ten Commandments.

One night in 1975 I had a date with a nurse and I was in the lobby of her dorm on campus waiting for her to come down. The Ten Commandments movie was on TV and I found tears coming to my eyes. Here I was, an agnostic, and yet I was so moved by the supernatural events shown in the movie. I was never one to read the Bible just to try and disprove it (like many skeptics do). I just had this a priori belief that the stories in the Bible were either myth, legend, or basically non-historical nonsense. I found myself captivated by the movie and really wanted to just stay there and watch the movie, but we ended up leaving as soon as my date came down.

No Christian prior to this time had ever shared their faith with me. When I transferred to the Dental School, coincidentally all of my new friends were very committed followers of Christ. I was attracted to them, but didn’t know why.

Divorce and questioning of the meaning of life.

Within thew next 4 years ending in October, 1979, a series of events occurred that would hasten the spiritual seeking process in my life. I was divorced in 1977. That was a very lonely time for me and I began to question life itself. I began to realize that it was a fallacy to believe that true happiness depended on what you achieved in life or how many material possessions you had acquired. The excitement of all pleasures eventually loses its attraction and eventually you die. So I really pondered the meaning of all that an individual goes through in life.

A student next door to my parents shares the gospel with me

In 1978, I had a friend who was a Christian who lived next door to my parents. Several times I would go over and talk to her. One day she said to me that she was a born again Christian. I sarcastically replied, "Well then, I am a "dead again" Jew, who cares?" I asked her why being born again was significant because I really wanted to know what her beliefs had to do with anything important in life. So she gave me this book, The Late Great Planet Earth. I was an extremely dedicated science fiction fan. I was immediately fascinated by the connection I saw between current events and Bible prophecy. I thought that this was neater then anything I had ever read in science fiction. The idea that we were living in the "final days" captivated me. For the first time in my life I became very much interested in Israel's history, the seemingly miracle of her existence, and her survival against the odds in the last two major wars with the surrounding hostile Arab nations.

Three automobile accidents. I think God wanted to get my undivided attention.

In 1977 I was a senior in Dental School and I was driving down New York Street when and all of a car came out of a side street from seemingly nowhere, and collided into my car. The Big Buick he was driving pushed me into a ditch on the other side of the street and totaled my car. Amazingly, I wasn’t hurt, though. This was the first of three automobile accidents.

The second crash.

In November of 1978, I was driving downtown to see my Dad at Methodist Hospital and I was quite concerned and feeling anxious about him. All of a sudden a car stopped suddenly in front of me, and I plowed right into the back of his car. My head hit the windshield, shattering it to pieces. The whole front of car looked like an accordion, but I survived the wreck and was not injured.

A third, near-death automobile crash makes me conscious of God's divine protection. I hear a "voice" in my mind -- it ends up saving my life!

In 1979, on Labor day weekend, prior to leaving my home I had this 30lb bag of orthodontic plaster that I had placed in my hatch back right behind the drivers seat. I had this "strange" feeling that I should not take it with me. This "hunch" would end up saving my life. I was preparing to take a left turn into my office, when all of a sudden I heard this very urgent, yet still small voice in my mind saying, "Look in the rear mirror." This quick glance also ended up being a life saver. So I looked and all I saw on the front of this truck in silver letters was MACK. Right before the 18 wheel semi-tractor trailer hit me at 35 miles per hour, I heard a second voice. I knew that somehow it was not my thought. It was as clear as if came from outside the car. The voice said, "Put your head down between your arms and grab the steering wheel and you will be ok." All this took place in a split second. I heard metal crunching, and tires screeching and glass was touching me from all sides. The force of the impact pushed me into the left lane and finally into a ditch.

If there had been an oncoming car I would probably have been killed. My car veered off to left into traffic before I hit the ditch. Also, if I had taken that 30 pound bag of plaster, which would have been placed right behind my head, it could have smashed into my neck and paralyzed me.

You might think this strange, but the only thing that I remember from the accident was that as soon as the ambulance got there, I jumped out of the car, grabbed my camera, and started taking pictures of the car. (I was an avid amateur photographer and I had the sense of mind to know that I need documentation of this accident for insurance purposes!).

The movie, The Late Great Planet Earth, opens my eyes to the reality of God

That same week, an attorney I knew invited me over to her house to stay for the weekend, but for some reason I declined. As a single man I faced many temptations and was searching for some direction in my life. In March of 1979, The Late Great Planet Earth book was made into a movie. Since I had read the book, I was looking forward to seeing the movie. When the movie ended you could almost hear a pin drop in the theatre. People were stunned by the movie's dramatic message. Again, I didn’t know why, but as I walked out of the movie I was overwhelmed by what I had just witnessed. At that time I didn't didn’t have negative or positive thoughts about biblical prophecy.

My new office in Carmel and a "Born Again" experience

In the summer of 1979 I was reading many books about Bible prophecy and then I would look up the Scripture references noted in the books. On October 2, 1979, I opened my new office in Carmel. I had not read through the Bible yet, but I had begun looking up the prophetic texts. Then something just clicked in my mind. I came to the place where I just knew that Jesus was the Messiah and I was born again! By mid-October 1979 I had this intensified hunger for Bible study. I would come home every night and read the Bible for hours. This went on for about six months. This time I read the Bible as a learner, and not to argue with it.

A plot to get me to change my beliefs

During the next six months, my mother began to notice that I had this Bible with me all of the time. It really started to bug her. At this time I had been dating someone seriously and we were getting close to "tying the knot.". We had met in November of 1978, and now it was late 1979. I would stay at her apartment till 3:00-4:00 a.m. and then drive home. Somehow, I knew that it was not kosher to shack up or live with a woman. She was not a believer, though, and didn't have the same conviction that I now had since I was born again.

One night I was over her apartment and all of a sudden I realized I can’t have sex with her anymore. It was just not moral. I told her what had happened and that what we were doing was sinful. We overnight just stopped having sex for the next six months. All along, I didn't realize that she and my parents, behind my back, were plotting to talk me out of believing in Jesus.

In early 1980 my parents were even having Jewish dentists call me to try and "bring me to my senses." They also wanted a Lubavtich anti-Jews for Jesus Rabbi to meet with me. I did meet with him six or seven times. Every time he would bring up a so-called proof argument against Jesus, I would give him a Scripture. He would try and refute it by saying that it isn’t translated right or doesn’t mean what I think it means. One day I just flat out told him—"You’re wrong!" Finally, he gave up and said that there is nothing more that he could do for me.

Conflict with my family and the end of my dating relationship

Then my parents realized that this subtle deprogramming plan wouldn’t work. You see, my father was a kind of peaceful type of guy, but my mom can get rough. She started attacking me verbally. In order to save money while I established my new practice, I lived at home with my parents. She would argue with me for hours and say hideous things both against Jesus and the Bible. I never , though, backed down. At times I would stay at my office till midnight. This went on for about six months. Later I moved to River Bend Apartments at Castleton. They hardly spoke to me for the next few years. My dad encouraged me and said that I did have a right to believe what I wanted to believe. My mom, however, was on an intense mission to make me feel guilty and talk me out my faith in the Messiah Jesus. Their friends eventually found out and I think they were personally embarrassed by my convictions.

The woman I was dating said one night: "It is either the Bible or me." As you might realize, this relationship suddenly came to an abrupt end!

The beginning of a new chapter in my life -- a prophecy teaching ministry

It was the Summer of 1981, and as the sun was setting on my patio, I realized I was 31-years-old and just felt depressed about being alone. The phone rang. This man called and said, "Are you Neil Lipken?" I said ,"Yes." He then told me that he was a pastor, had heard about my story, and was praying when he sensed that I was going through a difficult time and needed encouragement. Wow, God was watching over me!

I was later invited to share my testimony. I, however, wanted to talk about Bible prophecy. It was later that summer that I did my first official teaching. It was a 6-hour mini-course. I couldn’t believe that I had enough material to teach for six hours. Little did I realize that this would be the beginning of a teaching ministry that would evolve into a 150-hour class! I then taught at East 91st Christian Church, and then a 20-hour class at Hope Church from December of 1980 to the Spring of 1981. In 1990 for the first time I taught out of state in the Stone Church in Chicago and taught for 2 nights on the Christian TV station, Channel 38.

I have taught in the following settings: on college campuses like Ball State and Purdue, local radio & TV shows (debated talk show host Dick Wolfsie and psychics). God has opened many door for me. I continue my practice in Carmel as an orthodontist.

In 1998 I married my wife, Cynthia, and we now share our lives together in ministry.

I do not know when the Messiah will return, but after my years of study I know one thing-- and that is that He will return as promised. The conflict in the Middle East today, which centers around a very tiny piece of real estate, Israel, has captivated the world news headlines. Why is this so? Could it be that the key to world history will soon find its consummation in that area? Could it be that the greatest event in world history is about to take place -- the coming of The Lord? Are you ready for His return? Have you been forgiven of your sins?

Take it from a former agnostic -- you will find answers if you search for them with all of your heart. God is waiting for you to come to Him today. God keeps his Word and promises.

Shalom!

If you have further questions about anything written in the testimony, please send me an email. I will also provide Neil with your email address if you would like.