Sunday, October 28, 2018

THE SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING REVEALS THE SUPERNATURAL ORIGINS OF ANTISEMITISM

           
         This past week, a despicable crime was committed in the name of hate. Nazi sympathizer, Robert Bowers, stormed into a the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire, killing 11 people.  Bowers shouted, "All Jews must die!", before he gunned down worshipers gathered for Sabbath services.  

         So many are asking, "Why?"
  
          Throughout the world, Jews are hated, maligned and distrusted.  Today, many claim hatred of the Jews is justified because of the Palestinian crises.  This argument fails because the Jews were hated, maligned and distrusted throughout history, whether they were in the Land or not.



          Hatred for the Jew is Satanic to the core. One of Satan's many ploys to topple God's plan is to eliminate the Jewish people.

        Every one of the writings of the Major prophets end with pronouncements of the future glory and restoration of the 12 tribes of Israel.  What better way to thwart God's plan than to eliminate the Jews?  Suddenly the words of our deranged gunman take on a new context, "All Jews must die!"  Yeah, if you are Satan and you are trying to knock God off His throne. 

                I have often said, "if you want proof God exists, look to the Jew."  No other nation of people have ever been called God's chosen, on no other nation of people do the hinges of prophecy turn and no other nation of people have been given God's promise of future redemption and restoration.  Without the Jewish people, God's promises to all men fail and God is no longer God.

           The almost universal hatred for the Jewish people, throughout time, is strong evidence that God exists.  The universal hatred of the Jews is irrational and baseless as the Jewish people have never posed a threat to any nation in which they have lived.  

           In America, Jews do not proselytize, protest, or engage in organized crime yet they are, by some, blamed for all that is wrong in the world.  Senseless!  This kind of senseless universal hatred only makes sense in a world where God exists and God has an adversary.

             Speaking of the nation of Israel, the prophet Zechariah wrote: Zechariah 2:8 For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:
         
              Clearly this hatred is of supernatural origin.   

               The antisemitism of the early church bears as much blame as Hitler and today's neo-Nazis.  Church history is rancid with hatred for the Jews, from the inquisition to the very foundations of the reformation.  Some of this is contributed to the persecution of Christians by Jewish authorities in the first century, which ended abruptly in 70 AD when Jerusalem was sacked by Rome.

         What many have lost sight of is, our faith, as Christians, is built on the foundation of martyred Jews who accepted Yeshua as Messiah.   It is very ironic how anyone can claim to hate Jews in the name of Christ when Jesus Himself was a Jew!  When I say ironic, I really mean idiotic...

          Antisemitism has no place in the church.  The Jews are referred to, in the early part of the first chapter of the book of Ephesians, as God's elect.  Later, in the same chapter, the Apostle Paul - a Jew -  refers to the Gentile believers as also being included into the promises of God through faith in Christ.

          The very foundation of our faith in Christ's sacrifice comes from the Jewish law which states:  Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.  In other words, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.  

        With no Temple in Jerusalem, there is no place to sacrifice for sin. God did not leave His people without a sacrifice, Christ's blood was shed on the cross and serves as a once for all sacrifice, rather than the needed repeated sacrifices of sheep, goats and bulls.  

         Isaiah 53 clearly prophecies a suffering servant who would come and redeem His people Israel.  God loves the Jewish people, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, days before He went to the cross, lamenting: Matthew 23:37 -  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

           The Apostle Paul stated: Romans 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

            Nowhere in Christian scripture is hatred or violence against the Jews encouraged - in fact, just the opposite. If you are a Christ follower, know that the enemy of the Jews hates you as well. We must conquer love through hate.   

Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!

No comments:

Post a Comment