Christianity Archives - Page 3 of 28

July 1, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 8 Comments

Holocaust Denial Is Pure Evil?

As unfathomable as the Holocaust was to those who entered the death camps at the end of WWII, it is all the more unthinkable even to contemplate the idea that the Holocaust never happened. Of all people, General Eisenhower understood that very well when he visited a death camp with General Patton after the war. When he spoke to members of Congress who had just visited Buchenwald in 1945, he said, “You saw only one camp yesterday. There are many others. Your responsibilities, I believe, extend into a great field, and informing the people at home of things like these atrocities is one of them… Nothing is covered up. We have nothing to conceal. The barbarous treatment these people received in the German concentration camps is almost unbelievable. I want you to see for yourself and be spokesmen for the United States.”

Furthermore, in a letter to General Marshall, also in 1945, he also wrote, “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. In one room, where they were piled up twenty or thirty naked men, killed by starvation, George Patton would not even enter. He said he would get sick if he did so. 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 the tendency to charge these allegations merely to “propaganda.”

General Eisenhower somehow understood that the human race is such that if the Holocaust could be erased, minimized or denied, people would find ways to do it. He was very concerned about preserving the memory of such carnage for future generations. In spite of his efforts and that of others, Holocaust denial is a real thing in 2023.

Of all the people who spent years hunting Nazis post-WWII, Simon Wiesenthal understood that bringing those criminals to justice was critical but not enough. In his book The Sunflower, he said, “Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.”

Wiesenthal was so right! Especially as we move forward into the 21^st century and both criminals and surviving victims are in their mid-90s. Soon, very soon, first-hand accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust will be a thing of the past, and the historical revisionists will be one step closer to making the Jewish catastrophe completely disappear from the annals of history.

So was Elie Wiesel in Night, the memoir of his time in Auschwitz, “For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time,”

One of the most known Holocaust deniers is David Irving, who has written several books on the Third Reich and who has described the Holocaust as “limited,” “experimental,” “not systematic,” and “an invention of the allies.” He was exposed in a book by Jewish historian and antisemitism expert Deborah Lipstadt. In Denying the Holocaust, Lipstadt called Irving a Holocaust denier. This led to Irving suing her and Penguin Books. Irving was found by the judge to be an antisemite, a racist and a falsifier of the historical record. He lost, but unfortunately, that was just one battle against Holocaust denial that was a victory, but certainly not the war.

Why are people not trying to deny American slavery or the Russian Gulag? I am not in any way suggesting that we should deny these two other human tragedies or any others, but I am wondering why such focus is on the Jewish tragedy.

To be honest, I am not wondering why such focus is on trying to erase the Holocaust from history. Satan will invest all his efforts in trying to ridicule, minimize, ostracize and even demonize Jewish existence. He would be thrilled if he could convince some that the Holocaust never happened or was grossly exaggerated by the Allies or Jewish people to justify pushing for the creation of a Jewish state.

One way to fight Holocaust denial is through education: at home, at school, through movies and even in churches and mosques. Some have said that people talk too much about the Holocaust, but a survey taken two years ago shows otherwise.

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.

Please do not tell me that we are speaking too much about the Holocaust after you consider the result of that survey. As first-hand accounts are becoming a rarity, the memory of the Holocaust is in our hands. Our generation is now responsible for continuing the fight for the preservation of historical truth and for the respect of the memory of the six million.

Holocaust Denial is pure evil, it is an insult to the victims and the survivors. When we see it, read it or even hear it, if we remain silent, we become the new bystanders of the 21^st century. Bystanders at such a critical crossroads in human history as at any other time are becoming co-perpetrators.

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” (Elie Wiesel).

June 26, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 7 Comments

144,000 reasons to share the Gospel with your Jewish friends

Our Bible is replete with numbers, adding numerical precision to God’s counsel. Incidentally, we can tend to focus on parts of the Bible that do not have specific numbers and ignore those other parts that have precise numbers given to us for a reason. Unless otherwise specified–as in the seventy weeks of Daniel– we should always take biblical numbers literally.

So, what are we to make of God’s description of the 144,000 men from Israel in Revelation? Keeping with the context, in Revelation 7:1-8, they will be 12,000 Jewish men from the 12 tribes of Israel. They will not be Jehovah’s Witnesses or any other group of men. There is no reason to believe that they are spiritual Israel either.

Some have argued that tribal identity is no longer identifiable since–to the exception of the Levites who carry their tribal identity in their names like Cohen or Levy– all records kept inside the Temple in Jerusalem were destroyed when that very Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. So, today, the vast majority of the Jewish people do not know their tribal origins and will not be able to discover it by any other means. While this identity is lost to men, it was never lost to our omniscient God, and since He will personally hand-select the 144,000 men to become world evangelists during the Tribulation, we ought not to worry about who they are.

On the other hand, we ought to rejoice and be very grateful that even during such a time of turmoil on planet Earth during the Tribulation, God will provide a way out of eternal damnation through the powerful evangelistic ministry of these 144,000 preachers of the Word. The future of some of our loved ones left behind will depend on the witness of these evangelists.

In Revelation 14:1-5, we read again about the 144,000, this time towards the end of the Great Tribulation.

1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. 4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

We can learn several things about these men from the two passages:

• Revelation 14:1 tells us that they will receive the special seal from the Lamb and the Father on their forehead as they will be set apart for a very special ministry. That seal will also protect them from harm during the Great Tribulation, also known as the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” since it will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on the Jewish people.
Revelation 14:1, “having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”

• Revelation 14:3 explains to us that they have been purchased. Yeshua paid the price for these men with His own blood, so they belong to Him.
Revelation 14:3, “the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.”

• Revelation 14:4 adds that these 144,000 Jewish men will be pure as not having defiled themselves with women. There is no reason to look at this part allegorically. This speaks of virgin men set aside for celibacy and service to God.
Revelation 14:4 “These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste.”

• Revelation 14:4 also tells us that these men will be obedient to the call that they have received from the Lamb. They will be persistent and consistent against all odds.
Revelation 14:4 “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”

These men will turn out to be the greatest evangelists the world has ever known. Incidentally, since the Jewish people have been scattered by God into the Diaspora, we can find Jewish people all over the globe, and they usually speak at least two languages and often more. What a great asset to their evangelistic endeavor during the Tribulation. They will be unstoppable and through their ministry, many people will come to a saving knowledge of Yeshua the Messiah.

These men will be Jewish men left behind as unbelievers after the pre-tribulational, pre-millennial Rapture of the Church. They will become believers after the Rapture and then start their evangelistic ministry. Now, the one thing we cannot do as believers is to set a date for the Rapture. Yeshua Himself warned us. Nobody knows the day or the hour and we shouldn’t try to figure it out.
Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

Yet, there is something that we should do and be very excited about doing. When we look around us, no matter what country we live in, most people get the impression that we truly are in the last hour of the end-days. It is surprising to see that Yeshua hasn’t already returned to snatch the Saints and allow for the Tribulation to start. But God doesn’t wish for anyone to perish.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

While many will never accept Yeshua as the Son of God, Savior of the world and Messiah of Israel, He is longsuffering and is giving the world more time to come to Him. Considering the times we live in, it might not be an exaggeration to believe that some of the Jewish males we encounter and share the Gospel with will become part of the 144,000. This is supposed to be an encouragement to all believers. Today, whenever we share the Gospel with a Jewish man, you could be planting a Gospel seed in the heart of one of the future 144,000. We would be investing in future kingdom work way beyond the Rapture. Along those lines, we also ought to start praying for the 144,000 and their ministry.

So, aside from seeking to bless the Jewish people and in return, be blessed by the God of Israel according to the promise given in Genesis 12:3, we truly have 144,000 reasons to share the Gospel with Jewish people today. We truly live in exciting times!

June 18, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 18 Comments

I Missed the Rapture…Now What?

The world we live in has changed. Civility in communication seems to be a thing of the past. There was a time, not too long ago, when people could discuss any topic and agree to disagree over a cup of coffee or a meal without arguing or feeling threatened by the other interlocutor. Those days are gone! Additionally, there are topics that always seem to be more controversial than others. One such topic is the Rapture of the Believers by Yeshua. Some people believe that there is no such thing as a Rapture, while others firmly believe in the event but are arguing about the timing of such an event and if it will be before or during the Tribulation.

In other words…there are more views about the rapture than we can shake a stick at. I don’t intend to write another article defending the pre-tribulation and pre-millennial Rapture, but I will state my position from the start and assert that the Rapture will occur before the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (the Great Tribulation) begins. Taking a pre-tribulational and pre-millennial position, when we read 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed,” we are told of a “last trumpet”.

Many have argued that this is a reference to the last trumpet in God’s prophetic program, as in Revelation 11:15. In 1 Corinthians 15:52, the subject is the Church being caught up in the sky to be with Yeshua. The trumpet of God’s grace sounds to announce that event. It also connects to the Tekiah Gedolah, or the last trumpet of the Feast of Rosh Hashanah (this doesn’t necessitate for the Rapture to happen on Rosh Hashanah. It could, but it doesn’t have to, and if it does, it will not be because it was Rosh Hashanah since no one knows the exact date and time of the Rapture). On the other hand, the trumpet in Revelation 11:15 is within a different context. It relates to a fallen, rebellious world and the judgment of sinners and is part of a progressive series of judgments during the Great Tribulation. We are looking at two very different trumpets.

Based on the biblical premise that the Rapture is an event that will only include those (Jews and Gentiles) who have placed their trust in the death and resurrection of Yeshua for their sins, only Believers will be taken up at that time. Many will be left behind, and whoever is left behind will have to deal with the consequences triggered by the Great Tribulation one way or another. The Great Tribulation, also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), will last seven years (Daniel 9:26-27).

In the beginning, things might appear to be under control on planet Earth. It is very likely that News and government agencies will hide the sudden disappearance of millions of people behind the cloak of alien abduction. Keep in mind that anyone who is a believer will disappear at the moment of the Rapture, a moment that nobody can schedule ahead of time. What happens when an airline pilot or train conductor disappears without any warning? What about the myriads of motorists that will also vanish at the same time? Whatever the reason people left behind will be given, they will still be in the midst of much chaos. A man will rise for the occasion and keep things under control, giving people much hope. In the Bible, this man is known as the Antichrist (Revelation 13). This charismatic, likable and convincing man will inspire people to follow and trust him until he demands to be worshipped as God Himself at the mid-point of the Tribulation.

During this time, people will have a choice to make that will have eternal consequences. If you are left behind, will you take the Mark of the Beast or will you decline to accept it? The Beast’s deputy, known is the Bible as the False Prophet, will run a propaganda campaign to entice people to take the Mark (Revelation 13:11-18). People who didn’t take the Mark will have severe limitations to their existence and survival. Nobody will be allowed to buy or sell without the Mark (Revelation 13:17). Eventually, those who decide not to take the Mark will be executed (Revelation 20:4). It will not be too late to refuse the Mark of the Beast and not worship the Antichrist, but that will result in suffering great harm and dying as Tribulation martyrs. It could all have been avoided if they had been Raptured.

Today, many people make fun of the Rapture and the Tribulation, mentioning that these are just superstitious beliefs with no foundation or that the Bible is a crutch used by people to go through life. I don’t expect everyone reading this article to agree with my views or even to believe that the Rapture is a literal future event that will take place right before the Great Tribulation. But if you find yourself on the other side of an event where millions of people have disappeared all over the planet at the exact same moment, don’t believe for a moment that aliens got them. If you find yourself “left behind”, you will have the most important choice of your life to make. Will you succumb under the pressure of the Antichrist, or will you reject his lies, effectively signing your death warrant from the world’s perspective but signing a new lease on eternal life in God’s presence from the Word’s perspective?

What is the best thing to do? Accept Yeshua today. Right now. If you die without Him now or without him during the Tribulation, you will still be separated from God and eternity with him. If you accept Him TODAY, you will spend eternity with Him AND be spared from the Tribulation. The Lake of Fire was always reserved for the devil and his angels, not for human beings. Truly, the best thing for you now is to accept Yeshua TODAY.

May 23, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

The Myth of the Greedy Jew Exposed!

The ritual murder of Christian babies for blood to make Passover matzoh and the killing of Christ are two of the most enduring accusations against the Jewish people. Both are easy to debunk if one is interested in historical truth instead of accepting unfounded antisemitic tropes. Not far behind, and still benefitting from immense popularity around the globe, is the false accusation that Jews are very greedy, and as a result, they control most of the financial institutions of the world.
Painting the Jewish people as greedy lovers of money continues to be a pervasive accusation. Most of the time this is accepted at face value without any desire to check the facts. Statements describing Jewish people, such as “It’s all about the Benjamins!” or “The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous.” are very damaging.

Another damaging way to paint the Jewish people as greedy is in jokes that people tell, linking Jewish people with greed, extreme wealth and bank control. These jokes represent the perfect illustration for what I describe in my new book as “desensitization“–one of the ten criteria defining the normalization of antisemitism. I have heard these jokes for over fifty years in multiple countries and social settings. People truly believe that they are funny when they are indeed very damaging. Just as retelling a racist “joke” promotes more racism, so retelling these “jokes” promotes more antisemitism.

Are there Jewish people who are greedy and love to control money? Of course, there are; but it is not because they are Jewish, but rather, because they are flawed people with selfish, self-serving agendas. Greed can also be found in non-Jews, but nobody is going around telling the world that Gentiles want to control the financial world and have a lot of money in their pockets, and yet, Gentiles constitute 99.08% of the world population. Is it possible that there is more than meets the eye when Jews are accused of greed and bank control?

In all honesty, there are a lot of Jewish people in the financial world and many of them are or have been extremely successful and as a result, have amassed large fortunes. This is based on what is known as shrewdness. Jewish people are shrewd. They are good at business transactions which helps them make good profits, and again, this is not exclusive to Jewish people. There are plenty of successful Gentiles in the world, but shrewdness might be more prevalent among Jewish people, for which they really shouldn’t have to apologize. Additionally, Jewish philanthropy is one of the highest in the world. Jewish people can actually be very generous with their money. This is based on two traditions: tzedakah (charitable giving) and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).The question remains, “how did we get to where most people believe Jews love money?” For an answer, we must travel back to the Middle Ages, when it became increasingly difficult for Jews to be part of a guild, own their own business and even own slaves making agriculture almost impossible. Not necessarily by choice, the Jewish community became deeply involved in money lending. The process took a while, but the results are at the core of this very old diatribe.

Christians were not allowed to borrow money from other Christians, but ONLY from Jews, who in turn would collect the money back with interest. This was pretty much the only way that the Jewish people could earn a living when all other fields of labor were forbidden to them or made very difficult to enter. Kings of Europe started taxing the Jewish moneylenders on their profit. Taxes kept increasing, so the Jewish moneylenders had to keep pace and increase their interest rates. The process went on for a while and gave birth to the myth of the “greedy Jew.” Some Jewish moneylenders did raise their rates too high, trying to take advantage of needy Christians, but they were not in the majority and ended up with a poor reputation in both the Christian and Jewish communities. Again, these happened to be greedy first and Jewish second.

As moneylending increased, antisemitism amongst the masses became more of a reality. Poor peasants, always in need of money and often borrowing from Jewish moneylenders, ended up building resentment as they were borrowing from “unbelievers”. It almost always led to physical abuse and killings of Jewish people. Princes and nobles would protect the Jewish moneylenders as long as they could benefit from them, but if the borrowers and/or mobs attacked the Jewish community, the princes and nobles would easily abandon “their Jews”. By the end of the thirteenth century, Jews had been expelled from France, England and most of Germany, mostly because of issues in money lending.

We need to refrain from telling jokes about Jewish people liking money. If and when we hear such a joke, we ought not to laugh but immediately correct the person, privately if at all possible and in love. This is not based on facts but on a myth borne out of financial hardship and tension during the Middle Ages. Some might argue that all ethnic jokes are told in poor taste, and I tend to agree with that statement. Unfortunately, as poor taste as it is to paint the Irish as lucky or the French as obnoxious, these false accusations have never led to the killing of Irish or French people. In the case of the Jewish people, it is a different story. Human nature mixed with unfounded jealousy and misinformation has always led to antisemitism, and antisemitism, too often, has also led to the murders of innocent Jewish people.

May 10, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

The Six Stages of Antisemitism: It’s About to Get a Lot Worse!

Antisemitism, also known as the longest hatred, didn’t happen in a vacuum. It progressively grew, morphed and reinvented itself. It has been creatively adapted to fit the times. As one surveys the history of the Jewish people, it quickly becomes evident that it has been and continues to be punctuated by acts of antisemitism.

Forced baptisms and conversions, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Pogroms, the Holocaust and the Middle East crisis are just a few of Satan’s creative ways to turn the world against the Jews. He succeeded in millions of casualties even though God promised never to forsake Israel completely(Jeremiah 31:35-37.)

He has been busy on two fronts toward the same goal: the destruction of the Jews. First, he works hard at turning the Jewish people against Yeshua by erroneously making them believe that following Him is antithetical to remaining a Jew. Second, he has turned many within the Church against the Jews throughout history and even today with the growth and influence of Replacement Theology.

Some believe that antisemitism was at its apex stage during the Holocaust and stopped after that. If history stopped, I could agree with such a statement. Still, almost eighty years have passed, and outside of maybe slowing down a bit for two decades after the Holocaust, antisemitism is alive and well. It has been on an uninterrupted continuum since biblical days.

We can also look at antisemitism as existing on a spectrum throughout the history of the Jewish people. To understand the gravity of the current situation, we must study that spectrum. This will allow us to determine where normalization sits on the spectrum and what it means to us today.

As we study the spectrum of antisemitism, one thing will become evident: Antisemitism doesn’t vacillate through history, going back and forth on the spectrum from non-existent to full force. Instead, it keeps moving in the same direction, never looking back. It might slow down a bit when a particular historical figure appears on the world scene and sees Jewish people with favor, such as–within reason–Charlemagne (747-814) or Napoleon (1769-1821). Still, it never completely ceases, even with their favorable treatment.

So, the spectrum moves only in one direction at various speeds but never reverses direction. It is driven by Satan from one end to the other, without exception.

The starting point of antisemitism is found in the biblical record of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament.) Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph (Exodus 1), Haman in the book of Esther, the Amalekites (Exodus 17) or even the list of people groups provided by Asaph in Psalm 83. Those are obvious examples of the enemies of Israel. Still, the animosity goes back to Genesis 3:15, when the seed of the serpent (Satan) fights the seed of the woman (Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah).

At the origin, it was nothing more than biblical pagan jealousy. The people around Israel were jealous of the “chosen people” status of Israel declared by God (Deuteronomy 7:6-8; 14:2; 26:17-19; 2 Samuel 7:23-24, Psalm 105:8-15; 135:4; Isaiah 41:8). The Jewish people have been set aside by the God of Israel for His purpose, and that makes many people jealous, For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord God.” (1 Kings 8:53).

Moving into the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), we find many passages that paint part of the Jewish leadership as antagonistic to Yeshua and His followers. This doesn’t validate the antisemitic tone that many have tried to attribute to the Greek Scriptures. That part of the Bible is not antisemitic, but it is not within the scope of this article to address that issue.

After the closing of the Canon of Scripture, from the late 1^st century forward, many of the ante-Nicaean Church Fathers contributed to the building of an early anti-Jewish sentiment. The following generations of Church Fathers continued the diatribes. This section of the spectrum could be called theological anti-Judaism. It continued throughout history with various degrees of intensity, peaking at times such as the Crusades or the Inquisition and specific recurring times on the calendar such as Holy Week as it became Classical Antisemitism.

Unbeknownst to him, Martin Luther set the stage for the Holocaust in his pamphlet “On the Jews and their lies.” He never intended for the Jews to be mass-murdered, but his words carried much weight, which led to tragic consequences. Martin Luther couldn’t look forward to the future or Adolf Hitler, but Hitler most definitely looked back at Luther and chose to act upon the theologian’s every word and beyond. There was another shift, and Classical Antisemitism became Racial Antisemitism. Hitler described the Jews as vermin and sub-humans to be eradicated for the betterment of mankind. He tried to support his lethal agenda against a backdrop of science by promoting Eugenics (debunked soon after, but seeing a bizarre comeback in the 21^st century).

Then came the interlude—two decades of relative respite for the Jews. The words “antisemitic” or “antisemitism” became taboo after the Holocaust. To be sure, while the words were avoided, the thoughts and actions continued. Yet, it was time for Satan to reinvent the oldest hatred. So, he repackaged it in the form of anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism so that an antisemite could continue their nefarious agenda without being called an antisemite. Most scholars now agree that this period, which continues to this day, is known as the New Antisemitism. It has benefited quite a bit from the advent of the Internet and social networks. People feel good about being social justice advocates while they demonize Israel and the Jews.

Yet, the spectrum is even broader. In 2012, in Toulouse, France, a man killed seven Jewish people total, including a rabbi and two young children at a day school. In my opinion, this attack marks when Jewish people started getting killed again for being Jewish. In 2015, during the “I am Charlie” days, a man entered a kosher supermarket on the east side of Paris, took Jewish people hostages, and ended up killing four of them. Keep in mind that killing four or more people in one event constitutes a “mass killing.” The carnage continues to this day all over the world. This is what I have called End-Times Antisemitism. It is part of the new antisemitism but is a hybrid of classical antisemitism (biblical days to Holocaust) and the new antisemitism (1948 to today).

I believe that there is one more brand of antisemitism coming, and I call it Tribulation Antisemitism. It will be a time of great turmoil and destruction for the Jewish people left behind. According to Zechariah 13:8-9, two-thirds of the Jewish people living at that time will perish, and one-third will survive and become followers of Yeshua the Messiah. As difficult as it is to say and comprehend, it will be a time far worse than the Holocaust for the Jews.

While, again, this is not within the scope of this work, I believe in a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial Rapture of the Church. Believers will be taken up in the air by Yeshua before the start of the Tribulation, also known as the Time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).

The reason why I need to clarify my eschatological position is to avoid being accused of escapism. Some who do not adhere to a pre-Tribulation Rapture feel that those who do are simply buying into a doctrine of escapism to avoid the terrible days ahead. Believing in a pre-Tribulation Rapture should encourage believers to share with the lost before we are all gone. That includes sharing with our Jewish friends who will suffer the most during the Tribulation. I truly cannot wait for Yeshua to call us home, and yet, I can wait for Him to do so, as long as I can be used to lead more people to Him. Time is of the essence as the stage is being finalized for the antichrist and the Tribulation a little more each day.

This is where the normalization of antisemitism comes on the spectrum. While antisemitism has existed since biblical days, there always were people to defend the Jews against the libels and the diatribes. Israel’s advocates continue to be as vocal as they can today, but they are a dying breed.

What will happen when antisemitism becomes normalized and goes mainstream? This shift must occur for the Tribulation events to occur with such intensity. When normalization occurs, it will be open season for the Jews and those who defend them. We are not quite there, but we are very close. In other words, the stage is set for the final iteration of antisemitism… The incentive to share Yeshua with our Jewish friends has never been so palpable!

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