Bible Archives - The New Antisemitism

October 29, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 17 Comments

Israel Had A Necessary “Eisenhower Moment” to Expose Hamas’ Bestiality

At the end of World War II, the world was in shock as it had discovered the horrors of the Holocaust that had come from one of the most educated countries on the planet. Depending on how one looks at it, the Holocaust took place ONLY eighty years ago or ALREADY eighty years ago. Within the scope of human history, it wasn’t a long time, but when we look at man’s lifespan, it helps us understand that almost all those who have gone through the horrors of the “Shoah” (catastrophe) and survived it are now gone, simply because of old age. Only a handful of firsthand survivors remain around us today, most of them in their nineties. Very soon, nobody will be able to hold someone’s hand and turn their arm to discover the infamous tattoo of doom–the death number of the camps.

The voices of the Shoah are fading away, while the voices of historical revisionism are shouting that the Holocaust was either grossly exaggerated or never happened. Its memory is in the hands of family members of Holocaust victims. That is why I continue to tell the story of how my mother was hidden in the South of France after her father was taken by the Gestapo and sent to be murdered in Auschwitz. Some people realized early on that the horrendous, organized genocide of the Jewish people had to be documented. One of these people was General Dwight Eisenhower.

He understood the importance of documenting and remembering the Holocaust the minute that he walked inside the camp at Orhdruf. As he visited this sub-camp of Buchenwald with Generals Bradley and Patton, he realized the magnitude of what he was witnessing. He immediately wrote a letter to the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General George Marshall, in which he said: …The things I saw beggar description. While I was touring the camp, I encountered three men who had been inmates and by one ruse or another, had made their escape. I interviewed them through an interpreter. The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick….I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.” 

As the story goes, General Patton had to excuse himself to go into a private corner and throw up at some point during the visit. Despite the commendable efforts made by Eisenhower and others, the Holocaust increasingly runs the risk of being relegated into some obscure corner of history, even worse…Some will soon believe that it simply never happened. This is also why part of the process was for the US military to force as many Germans as possible to witness the horrors that had taken place around them. Perpetrators and bystanders alike were faced with the results of evil in their midst.

General Eisenhower would be furious and probably disgusted by today’s younger generation. Their lack of interest and lack of knowledge of the Jewish catastrophe is helping those who wish to make it disappear from history. Some schools barely touch the subject for fear of hurting the feelings of other people groups. In the meantime, the Shoah is slowly being erased one person at a time, one memory at a time, one testimony at a time.

Fast forward to October 7, 2023, when the world became a witness to the horrors of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. We now know that their attack was straight out of the Nazi playbook. Actually, it was more like a merging of Nazis and Isis on steroids. Most people have been unable to watch any of the gruesome footage gathered by the IDF. How are human beings able to perform such torture on people including very young children and the elderly? Moreover, how can anyone in their right mind even question that what Hamas did was inhuman and clearly belonged to the category of “crimes against humanity?”

Queen Rania of Jordan has been questioning the beheading of Israeli children by Hamas in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN. Colleges and universities in the USA and other parts of the world have rallied against Israel and in favor of Hamas, putting many Jewish people at risk for their lives…in 2023. This is 1933 all over again! We have turned an important corner in modern antisemitism. The beast has been globally unleashed, and it is on a brutal rampage for Jewish lives.

To counter the irrational pushback from the media and other organizations or governments, Israeli authorities had an “Eisenhower moment.” They decided to show a group of journalists a 43-minute compilation of the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7, so that they would not forget. It is so sad that such an event would even have to be held, but the world must know. As difficult as these images are to look at, we must not turn our heads away, lest we become the new bystanders of the 21st century.

If this is the new normal for Jewish people worldwide, then, we must adjust to it as well, and as believers, we must not be silent. Thousands of Hamas sympathizers have gathered all over the globe to rally against Israel in the biggest display of double standard we have ever witnessed. The Jewish people need to know that there are Christians who are ready to commit to their rescue and safety. Where is the Church when pro-Hamas people are chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free!” or “Gas the Jews!”

The world is being split in two as we see pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions take sides. To be sure, not all Palestinians side with Hamas. Many of them just want to live in peace, but the lines are being blurred by biased reporting and double standards. Add to that the fact that younger generations easily buy the lies about Israel because they have no clue about history. They are gullible victims of the propaganda spewers. Consider this:

63% of Millennials and Gen Z didn’t know that six million Jews died in the Holocaust.
48% of Millennials and Gen Z couldn’t name one single concentration camp.
56% of Millennials and Gen Z were unable to identify Auschwitz.
11% of Millennials and Gen Z believe that Jews caused the Holocaust.
49% of Millennials and Gen Z have seen Holocaust Denial on Social Networks.

Israel needs you, the Jewish people need you, and now is not the time to sit on the fence!

Ian Kershaw said “The Road to Auschwitz was built by hate but paved with indifference,
to which I add “The Road to another Holocaust is being rebuilt by hate but now paved with wokeness and apathy.”

October 16, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 4 Comments

It Was Not About Reclaiming The Land, It Was A 21st Century Pogrom!

“Israel is an occupier!” “Israel is an apartheid country!’ “Israel is a colonizer!” “The Zionist regime stole land from the Palestinians!” Over the last few decades, we’ve heard it all. The world has incessantly painted a very negative picture of Israel, imposing a reputation on the only Jewish state in the world that many people have now come to hate. It’s not based on facts, but it continues to be spread. As a result, amid a full-blown war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip to respond to the most extensive twenty-first-century pogrom since the Holocaust, Israel is still seen as the perpetrator.

How could Hamas accuse Israel of occupation when there are no Jews in the Gaza Strip? Hamas governs the Strip and has since 2005, after Israel unilaterally disengaged from the area. After the legislative elections of 2006, Hamas became the ruling party and has been ever since, with no new election in 17 years. The Gaza Strip is 100% Palestinian-ruled and not under “occupation”.

Incidentally, the whole land of Eretz Yisrael is Jewish land and has been for about 4,000 years. For those who care to learn history and learn from it, a timeline of the history of the Land of Israel can be beneficial. Here are just a few of the many markers on this critical timeline. Palestine is never mentioned in any of these Bible passages or anywhere in the Bible, for that matter. Jewish presence in the land has been uninterrupted for about 4,000 years:

1900 BC: God chose Abraham as the Father of the Jewish people (Genesis 12:1-3; 15).
1900 BC: Abraham’s son, Isaac, is given the land as an inheritance and takes the lead over Israel (Genesis 26:2-4).
1850 BC: Isaac’s son Jacob is given the land as an inheritance and rules over Israel (Genesis 28:12-13; 35:12).
1400 BC: Moses leads the people out of Egypt and back to Israel (Exodus 3:17; 14).
1010 BC: King David unites the 12 tribes into one nation (2 Samuel 5:1).
970 BC: King Solomon, the son of King David, built the first Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6).
930 BC: Israel is divided into the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 11:31-35).
722 BC: The Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel (1 Chronicles 5:26).
605 BC: The Babylonians conquered the Kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 24-25).
586 BC: Solomon’s Temple is destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:8-9).
539 BC: Persians conquer the Babylonians and take control of Israel (Daniel 2).
538 BC: The Jews return to Israel from the Babylonian captivity (Psalm 126:1-6; Ezra 1:1-2).
520 BC: Solomon’s Temple is rebuilt. (Ezra 1:1-6:22).
323 BC: The Ptolemies (Egypt) and Syria (Seleucids) fight over Israel (Daniel 11).
167 BC: The Hasmoneans recapture Israel (Daniel 11).
70 BC: The Romans conquer Israel (Luke 21:20, 24).
20 BC: King Herod (re)builds the Temple (Luke 2:46-47).
6 BC: Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus), the Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world, was born in Bethlehem, Judea (Micah 5:2; Luke 2).
70 AD: Romans destroy the temple (Matt. 23:37-39).

So, the Land has always been a Jewish land if one is to believe the Bible. Yet, for some who do not believe in God or do not hold the Bible as inspired and without error (in the original manuscripts), we must include the modern-day confirmations of 1917 with the Balfour Declaration, the 1920 San Remo Conference, and the United Nations November 17, 1947 vote of Israel as the modern Jewish state, leading to the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948.

This all goes to prove that biblically, politically, and historically, the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. There were always Jewish people in the Land. While their presence went thick and thin through the centuries, there was NEVER a time in Israel when Jews were not present. Even now, the Jewish people gave away Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) and the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is Jewish land occupied by “Palestinians” if you really want to know. Since the Oslo Accords, Israel has worked hard at the idea of “Land for Peace”; yet, here we are, in October 2023, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that it will never work. October 7, 2023, will be remembered as the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. No matter our belief about “occupation,” Hamas has the blood of innocents on their hands.

As much as the Palestinian narrative has wanted us to believe it was, this was never about the land. This has always been about the complete annihilation of the Jewish people and the complete eradication of the State of Israel from the world map. If it ever was about land, why is self-ruling 100% Palestinian Gaza complaining about occupation? If it was truly about land, shouldn’t the inhabitants of Gaza be grateful for their area, as little as it may be? If it was about land, shouldn’t the Gaza residents show an example and grow their region with the funds sent by the global community? Finally, if it was about land, why did Yasir Arafat turn down Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000, when he was offered 100% of Gaza and 95% of Judea and Samaria?

That is because the land grab is an excuse for complete genocide. We just saw what Hamas is capable of. They committed a modern-day pogrom against Jewish people, and they would do it again if given a chance. They must not be given that chance. To be clear, the definition of a pogrom is: “an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group.” This was exactly what took place on October 7, 2023.

The ultimate enemy of Israel is Satan who is obsessed with destroying the Jews. We must understand that this is a spiritual battle before anything else. The Bible promises that when God resumes His program which hinges around the Jewish people, Israel and Jerusalem, there will be casualties, but He also promises to never, ever forsake Israel (Jeremiah 31:35-37). Be it Satan, Hamas or any other antisemitic entity, Israel’s enemies will be defeated. Although this is 2023 and the Holocaust is only 80 years in our rearview mirror, there are those who would have it all happen again. The motto of “never again” seems forgotten and has been replaced by “gas the Jews!” This had nothing to do with the land, it was a pogrom. The goal is the murder of all Jewish people, not just in Gaza but the whole world. Let’s face our new reality. It is open season on the Jewish people again!

October 11, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 3 Comments

Global Antisemitism Has Officially Reached The Point of No Return!

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, early in the morning in Israel, Hamas terrorists attacked civilians and military personnel in over twenty locations. It didn’t take long for the world to realize that this was not a localized terrorist attack. This one was big and it was planned. Prime Minister Netanyahu first declared that Israel was in “a state of war,” and soon after, he officially declared that Israel was “at war” by invoking article 40 aleph. This had not happened since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, under Prime Minister Golda Meir. It has been less than a week, and casualties are over 1,200 in Israel. More than 150 were taken hostage and some might have been executed in the last few days. It breaks my heart to even say this, but Israel is at war, and this is going to be a long and messy one.

One thing we cannot say about Hamas is that they didn’t tell us how they feel about Israel and the Jewish people. The Hamas Covenant is clear, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it (Preamble.) “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him. (article 7.)”

Hamas is a terrorist organization. UN Security Council Resolution 1566 defines terrorism very clearly: “criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.” This is exactly what Hamas did on Saturday, Oct 7, 2023, and I certainly wish I could say that the whole world is seeing through them. I wish I could say that Hamas is not fooling anyone, but unfortunately, I can’t!

All over the world (Canada, Europe, USA), people have gathered on the streets to protest and speak up. While there were people coming to show their support to Israel, many more came with a pro-Palestinian agenda and unashamedly voiced their support for Hamas, chanting, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Shall be Free!” which is a euphemism for killing all Jews in Israel. How in the world could anyone support the barbaric torturing and killing of innocent civilians (children, teenagers, adults and the elderly alike, including beheading? This is not about occupation or a two-state solution. This is pure, evil antisemitism. There were even people displaying swastikas during a protest in Time Square, NY.

Jewish people worldwide do not feel safe anymore. When on the street, they have to watch their backs. When at services in Synagogue, they fear armed intruders at any moment. They stay home, lock their doors and pray for the best. This is no life to live, but safety first, I understand, yet, even that, might not be safe anymore.

Apparently, a hacker has claimed that he has stolen genetic data from millions of users on the DNA ancestry service 23andMe. The company originally stated that they had not been hacked, but they eventually requested that all their users change their passwords immediately. The hacker also claimed that he was willing to sell a million names of individuals with Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jews) lineage. If the hack actually happened, it means that Jewish people are now being identified at the individual level, including personal data and home addresses. We are now seeing the stage being set for the rounding up of Jews. I do not take the Holocaust lightly, considering that I lost my grandfather in Auschwitz, but we have to start drawing parallels between the 2023 open season on the Jews and the 1930s open season on the Jews .

In 1935, the Nazi regime announced two new laws related to race: The Reich Citizenship Law and The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor. They were meant to identify and ostracize the Jews. As they were first introduced in Nuremberg, they became known as “The Nuremberg Laws.” This was the start of the Nazi death factories. But, before the Nazis could kill 6,000.000 Jews in the Death Camps, they had to transport them there, and before they could transport them they had to gather and keep them together in ghettos, but before all that, the Jewish people had to be identified, thus the Nuremberg Laws.

Once the Nuremberg Laws were put in place, the domino effect started. In August 1938, all Jews had to have the names “Sara” for females and “Israel” for males, added to their identification papers for quick identification. Three months later, the stamped red letter “J” was added to the passports of all the Jewish people. One month later Kristallnacht took place in Germany. It has been recognized as the official start of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” In September of 1941, the Yellow Star patch (that my parents wore in France) became mandatory.

Even if the hacker’s story is not true, the mere fact that someone thought of doing such a thing, shows the world’s obsession with the destruction of all Jewish people. Maybe this hacker is a fake and he has nothing, but the idea is now in the open and someone will find a way to get Jewish addresses. This is pure evil and it validates Satan’s main agenda: The destruction of Israel and all Jews. The dominos are in place and it only takes one push.

This war is going to be won by Israel one way or another. Bibi stated it very simply, “Hamas started the war, but we will finish it!” Hamas will be stopped and incapacitated. The biggest lesson might end up being that it is no longer safe for Jews ANYWHERE including Israel. Antisemitism has been constantly repackaged by Satan over the centuries and even in the last few decades. Today, in a vicious race to get the Jews everywhere, global antisemitism might have reached the point of no return!

So, the only remaining safe harbor for Jews is now–on a more individual level–in the homes of loving Christians who will do anything to help Israel. The challenge is that most Jewish people don’t know if they can trust their Christian neighbors. It is time to reach out to your Jewish friends and open your home and your heart to them. Let us all model our behavior after the Tribulation sheep of Matthew 25:31-46, “³⁴“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.“

These Gentile Christians are reminiscent of the Yad Vashem Righteous Among the Nations who saved Jews during WW2, including my mother and her two cousins. I call them the New Righteous Among the Nations.

Bibi Netanyahu called all Israeli reservists to duty. Maybe it is time for all New Righteous Among the Nations to respond to the call of duty as well.
Israel and Diaspora Jews can certainly use a few friends right now!

Am Yisrael Chai!

September 29, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Sukkot and The Millennial Kingdom: Will You Be Part of It?

Right after Yom Kippur, the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar, comes a Holy Day that brings much hope as it commemorates God’s provision for and protection of the children of Israel during the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings. The feast of Sukkot, or Tabernacles or Booths, is a joyous celebration all over the Diaspora, wherever there is a Jewish community.

Jewish people get together and build the yearly booth or sukkah, which will stay erect for a week, during which, weather permitting, they will eat meals, invite friends, and sometimes even sleep in it. The Feast of Tabernacles is indeed a meaningful way to end the High Holy Days season on the Jewish calendar. Yet, there is so much more to the feast of Sukkot than meets the eye! As a reminder, the Fall Feasts will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Yeshua the Messiah and the order is very important. Remember that calendar events repeat each year in the same order, Rosh Hashanah always occurs ten days before Yom Kippur, which happens a few days before Sukkot.

• Rosh Hashanah: Leviticus 23:23-25 – The Regathering of the Saints (Isaiah 27:12-13 – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians. 15:15-58)
• Yom Kippur: Leviticus 23:26-32 – The Great Tribulation (Ezekiel 36:24-25; Zechariah 13:8-9, 12:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10)
• Sukkot: Leviticus 23:33-44 – The Ingathering of the Messiah and the Believers (John 7:38-39, 8:12; Zechariah 14:16-19; Matthew 17:4)

Biblically speaking, the Feast of Booths memorialized the wilderness wanderings. It was one of the three Jerusalem “pilgrimage” festivals required for every healthy Jewish male to make. It is mentioned in all three sections of the Tanach. In four books of the Law or Torah (Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-43; Exodus 23:14:17; Numbers 29:12-38; Deuteronomy 16:13-16, 31:9-13), in the Prophets or Nevi’im (1 Kings 8:1-66, 12:25-33; Zechariah 14:16-19), and the Writings or Ketuvim (II Chronicles 7:8-10; Ezra 3:4; Nehemiah 8:13-18.)

Besides the many regulations about the Feast in the Tanach and the Talmud, Sukkot was important to first-century believers. Knowing their Scriptures, they understood the importance of the Feast. At Yeshua’s transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw their Messiah, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, in a way that made them believe that He was inaugurating the Messianic (Millennial) Kingdom during which we will celebrate Sukkot and build booths (Zechariah 14:16-19), so Peter asked Yeshua,“Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4.) But, it wasn’t the time for Yeshua to inaugurate His messianic kingdom.

Nevertheless, He made two very profound statements in the context of the Feast of Sukkot. In John 7:37-38, we read, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” During Tabernacles, every day for seven days, the priest would go downhill from the Temple compound to the city of David, where the pool of Siloam was located. They would fill jugs with water and return to the Temple through the Water Gate to arrive at the Temple’s outer court. (b. Middoth II.6.; Sukkah 48a-b.) To enter the inner court, the priests had to climb 15 steps. At each step, they sang a Psalm from 120-134. In the Hebrew text, these are known as The Psalms of Ascent. Upon entering the inner court, they poured out the water at the altar’s base and rejoiced greatly. The rabbis believed that the Water Ceremony symbolized the outpouring of the Spirit of God on Israel in the last days. The Jewish prophets also mention the outpouring of the Spirit of God.

Additionally, At the end of the first day of tabernacles, the priests descended to the women’s court, which was illuminated by four tall golden lampstands, and the priests would fill the lampstands’ bowls with oil. This process gave a lot of light and was visible from a distance all over Jerusalem. Rabbis of old believed this symbolized the Shekinah glory of the Lord. They also saw a connection between the kindling and the Messiah, which was probably derived from Zechariah 14:16-19. It is at that moment that Yeshua also added in John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

At each ceremony, Yeshua was proclaiming His messianic office to His brethren according to the flesh, and they pretty much ignored Him, as they were too busy going through all the motions that symbolized the hope they had about the future coming of their Messiah. How ironic!

The Millennial Kingdom, also known as the Messianic Kingdom will fulfill the Feast of Sukkot when we will tabernacle with God in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6-7) for 1,000 years on earth. This will be a time of fellowship like we never had before, as we will anticipate our entrance into the eternal order. So, w who exactly will be in the millennial kingdom? Will it be open to all people of goodwill, or only to a certain group, and if yes, how does that group qualify to get in?

At the end of the seven-year Tribulation, surviving Jewish people will call Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai, and Yeshua will return down to earth from heaven with all the saints that he had caught up in the air at the Rapture, seven years prior. We will then enter the 1,000-year kingdom of Messiah on earth when He will reign in Jerusalem from the throne of David. Messiah will regather Israel physically and revive her spiritually (Ezekiel 36:24-38,) as well as defeat the Antichrist (Revelation 19:19-21.) Soon after, we will enter the kingdom. Incidentally, the concept of the kingdom is all over the Jewish Scriptures (Isaiah2:1-5, 11:1-16, 32:1-20,35:1-10, 60:1-22; Jeremiah 31:1-10, 33:1-26; Ezekiel 37:14:28; Amos 9:11-15, Zechariah 14:6-21.)

Those who have placed their trust in the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah will enter the kingdom with Him after the Second Coming. Along with them, will be the Old Testament believers who will be resurrected at the end of the Tribulation (Daniel 12:1-2.)

Some people wait until the last minute to make a decision, but the most important decision of a lifetime cannot wait, especially if death occurs prior to that decision being made. The time to follow Yeshua the Messiah is today, since nobody knows what tomorrow is made of.

Let us all endure together until the Rapture, as we share boldly with those who have not yet accepted Yeshua as the Messiah. Then, after the Rapture and seven years in God’s presence and protection from His wrath, we return to earth with Yeshua in our glorified, eternal bodies, and we will celebrate sukkot with Him on earth for 1,000 years. At that time, all the Jewish festivals of Leviticus 23 will have been fulfilled in Messiah. God truly is the master architect of human history, and the thread that keeps it all together is Yeshua the Messiah. Maranatha!

September 20, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 13 Comments

The Critical PROPHETIC Implication of YOM KIPPUR!

Based on the perfect record of the Spring Festivals all fulfilled at the First Coming of Yeshua, the Fall Feasts will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Yeshua the Messiah:
• Rosh Hashanah: Leviticus 23:23-25 – The Regathering of the Saints (Isaiah 27:12-13 – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians. 15:15-58)
• Yom Kippur: Leviticus 23:26-32 – The Great Tribulation (Ezekiel 36:24-25; Zechariah 13:8-9, 12:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10)
• Sukkot: Leviticus 23:33-44 – The Ingathering of the Messiah and the Believers (John 7:38-39, 8:12; Zechariah 14:16-19; Matthew 17:4)

The order is very important. Keeping in mind that calendar events repeat each year in the same order, Rosh Hashanah always occurs ten days before Yom Kippur, which happens a few days prior to Sukkot. There are good reasons to connect Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah (The Day of Trumpets) with the Rapture of the Body of Messiah–if not by date, at the very least, thematically. Logically, Yom Kippur would connect with the next event on God’s program, and that is the Time of Jacob’s Trouble or Great Tribulation, also known as Daniel’s 70th week (Daniel 9:27.)

Yom Kippur is a very solemn day on the Jewish calendar. It is a holy day but not a feast. It is a fast of one day when Jewish people reflect at home or in the synagogue. No comfortable clothes are worn, no perfume, and no food. Of course, we have come a long way from the strict regimen that the High Priest had to undergo in biblical times (Leviticus 16,) but the date is taken very seriously by contemporary rabbis.

It is believed that on Yom Kippur, God opens three books in heaven: The Book of the “Wicked,” the Book of the “In-Between,” and the Book of the “Righteous.” Obviously, nobody cares to be listed in the Book of the “Wicked,” and nobody is arrogant enough to claim belonging to the Book of the “Righteous.” That leaves just about every religious Jew praying that their name will be listed in the Book of the “In-Between” for the next year until the following Yom Kippur.
Toward that goal, religious Jews are given a period of ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as Yamin Moraim or the “Days of Awe.” This Rabbinic addition to the Jewish calendar has only one purpose: giving a Jewish person the opportunity to make amends, ask for forgiveness or apologize for wrongdoing or wrong saying, placing them in good standing with God right before He decides to place their name in one of the three books.

This is based on the basic rabbinic principle that man can atone for his own sins through works. But can one truly go back to all the people they hurt? Does God consider the best effort? This seems to be a stressful predicament that Jewish people find themselves into, unless of course, they consider that Yeshua the Messiah paid the price for their shortcomings once and for all, over 2,000 years ago. Then, there is no need for any guesswork on the writing of our names because the Bible tells us that once we place our trust in the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), our name is written forever in the Lamb’s Book of Life ( Revelation 20:15; 21:27.)

But beyond the Jewish traditions attached to Yom Kippur, we must consider the grave prophetic implication of that Holy Day. One of three key scriptures for Yom Kippur, along with Leviticus 16:1-34 and Numbers 29:7-11, is Leviticus 23:26-32 where, among other details, we are told that Jewish people are to humble themselves. It is to be a solemn day to humble or afflict the soul. So, along that theme, Yom Kippur is also a day of repentance based on Ezekiel 33:19: “But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them.”

The word kippur comes from the Hebrew kaphar meaning “to cover.” It is found 110 times in the Tenach, mostly in Leviticus and Numbers. The word is not found in the New Testament. While the sacrificial system covered individual sins, Yom Kippur covered national sins, but it was only applied to the individual who afflicted his soul (Leviticus 23.) Yom Kippur will be fulfilled by the Great Tribulation, also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and Israel’s national Atonement in the Tribulation (Ezekiel 20:33-38; Hosea 5:15-6:3; Zechariah 12:10-13:1)

Hosea 5:15 speaks of the physical affliction of Israel, while Hosea 6:1-3 speaks of the spiritual affliction of Israel.

One tragic aspect of the Great Tribulation, seen as God resuming His divine program about Israel, is found in Zechariah 13:8-9: “And it will come about in all the land,” Declares the Lord, That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. ⁹And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘they are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

Sadly, it appears that two-thirds of the Jewish people will perish during the Great Tribulation. If this were to happen today, 10,000,000 Jewish people would die, and that would be almost twice Hitler’s Holocaust. Taking a closer look at that passage, we notice that the verses speak of a percentage and NOT an exact number. All throughout the Bible, God is very precise when He wants to be, and He will not hesitate to give us exact numbers. So, what are we to do with a percentage? Well, rejoice and get busy!

As a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial believer, I believe in a literal Rapture of the believers that will occur before the Great Tribulation takes place. Anyone who has believed that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world from Acts 2 forward will be taken in the Rapture, and that includes Jewish people who become believers in the Messiah. So, the more Jewish people come to Yeshua before the Rapture, the less will have to endure the Great Tribulation. The percentage of 2/3 and 1/3 will always be the same, but it is up to us to boldly proclaim the Gospel to our Jewish friends and reduce the numbers contained within the percentages.

Incidentally, the 1/3 that is “refined as silver and tested as gold” will become believers at the end of the seven years as, according to Zechariah 12:10, they proclaim Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai! So, Yom Kippur has a great fulfillment for the world in general and for the Jewish people in particular. It ushers in the return of Yeshua on earth, in Jerusalem, to inaugurate the Messianic or Millennial kingdom. Yeshua will not return until the remnant of Jewish people call on Him at the end of the Tribulation.

Rosh Hashanah will be fulfilled by the Rapture. (No, it is not necessary that the Rapture happens on Rosh Hashanah for the event to fulfill the Feast.)
Yom Kippur will be fulfilled by the Great Tribulation and the chastising of Israel, bringing the 1/3 to salvation and ushering in the return of Yeshua. It all makes sense in that order. Then, if you consider the perfect correlation between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Millenial Kingdom (Leviticus 23:33-43; Exodus 23:14-17; John 7:38-39, 8:12; Zechariah 14:16-19), you quickly realize that it is all part of God’s plan for the ages and it is simply perfect!

Subscribe to our Daily Devotions

Archived Articles

Tags