What is antisemitism?
Antisemitism – simply put, is the irrational and demonic hatred towards the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the Jewish people. Biblically speaking, the Jewish people are a nation, a scattered nation but nevertheless a nation. At the core of this hateful attitude towards the nation of Israel, is a demonically motivated attempt to destroy them because if there is no Israel, all the promises made by God regarding the Kingdom and prophecies cannot be fulfilled. Satan’s long-standing hatred towards Israel is seen in his attempt to destroy the nation throughout the Old Testament, his attempt to destroy and divert the First Coming of the Messiah and the persecution of Israel after the Resurrection of the Messiah. Simply put, Satan is Israel’s adversary (1 Chronicles 21:1; Zechariah 3:1-2).
- Why did God choose Israel?
God’s intent was to generate a servant people who would represent Him before the world and ultimately be the means to blessing all nations who come to God (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8). God chose Israel. He could have chosen any other nation like Samoa, New Zealand or Tonga, but He didn’t. The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3) form the basis for God’s preservation of the Jewish people through time. Moses in Deuteronomy 4:37 stated that the basis of Israel’s election was God’s love for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom He had made a covenant, and He chose their descendants based on that covenantal relationship. He sovereignly chose Israel before they existed as a people or a nation for several reasons:
- To proclaim to the nations that YHWH, the God of Israel, is the one and only true God and all who seek salvation must find it exclusively in Him (Isaiah 43:10-12). This concept of one God had not been revealed to any other single nation.
- God gave Jewish people the Law which was the primary Scriptures of that day. God revealed these Scriptural truths to Israel in a way that He had not revealed them to any other nation. No other nation has had this unique privilege.
- To represent the Gentile nations before God (Exodus 16:6)
- To be the inheritors of the land of promise (Genesis 28:13)
- The ultimate righteous ruler, the Messiah would come through her line of kings (2 Samuel 7:11-16)
Israel wasn’t chosen because there was an innate righteousness within her or because of her size. It was God’s choosing, His sovereign will that she was to be set apart from all other nations. Often described by bible commentators as the ‘miracle in the Mediterranean’, Israel has survived as a distinct nation, even after centuries of dispersion from its homeland. There is no other nation that compares. The fact that the Jews have continued to survive as a people—in spite of so many attempts to destroy them—shows that the Abrahamic covenant (inclusive of all the other covenants) is still operative.
- Examples of antisemitism in our history and today:
Throughout history, the Jewish people have suffered countless attacks based on total lies, demonising them with outrageous and false accusations. The empires that have persecuted and dominated the Jews have been demonically empowered at times or had great demons influence over them. Antisemitism at its core is demonic in origin and Satan has focused his most malicious power on attacking the people of Israel through the centuries. Spain’s Edict of Expulsion of the Jews to leave the country in 1492, England’s annulment of the Balfour Declaration which saw many Jews trapped who wanted to flee the Nazis, Hitler’s attempt to rebuild the old Roman Empire and systematically murdering six million Jews, Saddam Hussein’s missile strikes on Israel on the Gulf War and modern Iran’s (Medo-Persia) threats to stage a nuclear strike upon Israel are examples of these old Empire’s on-going demonically inspired malice towards the Jews. Needless to say, the outworking of the Abrahamic Covenant has seen these nations lose its dominating power they once held as a consequence of their ill treatment of the Jewish people. Tragically, I wouldn’t have imagined having seen the events of October 7, 2023 unfold in my lifetime. On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the high holidays in Israel, on the morning of Shabbat, Hamas, the largest terrorist organisation in the world, launched one of the deadliest attacks in Israel’s short life since being re-established as a nation. To date some 1400 Israelis have been slaughtered in cold blood many of whom were babies, children and the elderly, thousands wounded, and an estimated 120 are still held hostage in Gaza. The wickedness is chilling and the event of last October tells us that these satanic activities are ramping up as the evil one knows his time is nearing the end.
- What has the Church or Body of Christ received from the Jews?
- The Saviour (Romans 9:5; Hebrews 2:14-17). In His humanity, Yeshua/Jesus was a Jew and He belonged to the Jewish people, from the Tribe of Judah.
- Salvation (John 4:22). The promise of Messianic salvation was given to the Jews.
- Scriptures (Deut. 4:7-8; Romans 3:1-2). The Law of Moses served as God’s standard of righteousness and served as the rule of life which was uniquely given to Israel to produce and for safe keeping.
- The concept of the local church. The church’s concept of assembly, elder leadership, baptism, and communion are entirely Jewish in its origins.
- Spiritual blessings (Rom. 15:27; Eph. 2:11-16; 3:5-6). When Jesus died, He broke down the middle wall of partition that kept Gentiles from enjoying Jewish spiritual blessings.
- What are some of the attitudes that the Church has had towards Israel?
Two thousand years of Scripture-twisting by the church to accommodate and justify atrocious behaviour against the Jews have left a bloody stain on mankind in general and the church in particular. By the 4th Century, Jewish evangelism effectively ceased, the number of Jewish believers began to dwindle until they eventually disappeared from church history. The failure of the Church to share the gospel with the Jewish people has led to her unable to have Jewish believers to help rightfully divide the Word of God and prevent erroneous teachings such as Transference Theology and Replacement Theology which sadly are views still held by the Church at large today. The former says – when Israel rejected the Messiah, all of God’s covenantal promises were transferred to the Church. And the latter believes that when Israel rejected the Messiah, the Church replaced Israel in God’s standing. In Romans 9:7-13, Paul shows that it was in the program of God that Israel would reject the Messiahship of Yeshua and as a result the gospel went out freely among the Gentiles. Paul teaches here what Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 49:1-13. What Paul is not saying, and indeed will not say, is that the promises were taken away from physical Israel and given to the Church. These promises are still going to be given to physical Israel but only to that part of physical Israel that believes. We as Gentiles should be praising God that because of Israel’s disobedience, salvation came to us!
There are key biblical distinctions between Israel and the Church and a failure to maintain that distinction will only result in a misinterpretation of what the Scriptures teach.
- In light of our position in Christ, what is our call to action as believers?
- Pray without ceasing. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). The event of October 7th has left a devastating and traumatic people – both Jews and Palestinians. In this time of horror and bewilderment, pray that they look to God for salvation, for hope, for understanding. Pray that their hearts are soften to the leading of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If we want to reflect His heart and walk in His footsteps, we must pray for our enemies. We have all been enemies of God at some point, and we are only saved by His grace.
- Pray for freedom for the Israeli hostages and their families. There’s a lot at stake right now in the Middle East, these are weighty matters and weighty conversations. The world’s eyes are on Israel and so we look to God to guide the course. There are many believers in the Israeli Defence Force, please cover them all in prayer and pray that their lives will be a witness to their fellow comrades. Pray for Israelis to turn to God at this time, Jews and Arabs, believers and unbelievers to look to God who can heal and restore.
- We as believers must be bold in our stance against antisemitism, we need to condemn it in any form from believers and unbelievers alike. Speak truth in love. Antisemitism is an attack on the God of the Bible. If you haven’t yet spoken up in support of Israel – start doing so now in light of what you know as believer of God’s Word.
- Romans 10:14-21 reminds us that there will be no calling without faith, no faith without hearing, no hearing without preaching and no preaching without sending. We are to continue to pray for the salvation of both Jews and Gentile. How are you doing in this area? Have you shared Jesus with anyone lately?
- Do not be deceived, be in your Word daily. Fill your mind with God’s Word to stand against the deception of the evil one. Pray that the truth will always prevail in the midst of lies and evil as wickedness increases all around us.
- Romans 1:16 tells us that the gospel is continuously God’s power to save, and it is continuously to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The gospel, whenever it goes out, is to go out to the Jew first both in active and passive evangelism. We have a responsibility as Gentile believers to put this in action as we are instructed biblically to share in material things with the Jewish people because we have become partakers of Jewish spiritual blessings. Pray and seek the Lord as you consider Jewish missions and ministries you can come alongside and support.
If one fully understands God’s dealing with the Jewish people, if believers clearly understand God’s plan and program for Israel and if we appreciate if from God’s standpoint, we too, will have to say with Paul, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! (Romans 11:33a).
For it is written: “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE WILL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” (Romans 14:11)