Israel Archives - Page 3 of 58 - The New Antisemitism

November 23, 2022 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Maybe Dave Chappelle Understands the Jews… Kinda!

You do not have to look hard to find antisemitism in the news daily. Lately, it has been out of the mouth of several American celebrities (Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and Dave Chappelle). I could make the observation that all three celebrities who lashed out at Jews are African Americans, but that would defeat the purpose of this article as I would try to turn a mere assumption into a fact.

Kanye West lashed out the worst, using multiple antisemitic tropes, which cost him and his career dearly. Kyrie Irving decided to promote an antisemitic movie claiming that black people are the real Jews and Dave Chappelle used 15 minutes of an SNL opening monologue to come to the rescue of the two others.

Antisemitism can be spewed in so many forms. It can be the obvious death threats such as “Jews to the camps” or “Hitler didn’t kill enough,” but it can also be in the form of a trope against the Jews and presented as fact, such as “the Jews are greedy and they control the banks,” “the Jews control Hollywood” or “the Jews want to control the world.”

The fact that some antisemitic words are not calling for physical harm on Jewish people doesn’t guarantee that the Jewish people will be safe because the words of one can quickly become the deeds of another (see the correlation between Martin Luther and Adolf Hitler. Outside of the 2,000-year-old accusation of deicide as in “the Jews killed Christ,” the most enduring lie against the Jews is that of world control through the banking system, politics and even Hollywood.

One of the most printed and distributed pamphlets to that effect is the 1904 hoax known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, compiled by Russian Sergei Nilus, who stole the idea from two French playwrights. The protocols were supposed to be the minutes from meetings of a group of Jewish influential leaders plotting to take over the world. The pamphlet has long been debunked as a hoax, but that doesn’t stop people from still using it and even selling it on Amazon. With or without the pamphlet, the trope endures. Is there any truth in that accusation?

First, Let’s bring some perspective to the notion that the Jews want to control the world before we see if there is any truth to that statement. If one were to say, “the French want to control the pastry world, I hate the French,” or “the Italians want to control the fashion industry, they should be decimated.” Would anybody believe take those statements make any sense? Of course not, because in reality, the French are really, really good, if not the best at pastry, and the Italians have an incredible sense of fashion. Those are facts, and nobody cares to argue against them because they are not jealous but instead, they desire to buy or learn how to make French pastry or acquire fine Italian garments.

So, what is the big deal with the Jews wanting to control the world? First, we absolutely don’t want to control the world, Hollywood or the banks; but if people could be led to believe it, that would easily justify all the hatred and violence against us. The truth is Jews are disproportionally represented in Hollywood, the Banking community, the medical field and the legal community. We cannot deny that there are a lot of Jewish doctors and lawyers in the world, but why should that be a problem or a threat? If they are competent, that should be all that matters.

Jewish people are usually very shrewd businesspeople, not stingy, not money hungry, simply good with handling money, but even then, such a statement is not an absolute truth, so a blanket statement should never be made either way. Jewish people have always enjoyed learning, so acquiring knowledge, be it biblical, legal, medical, financial or other, is always a welcome challenge to the Jewish community. Yet, that too isn’t 100% true of all Jewish people, so let’s not be dogmatic about it either.

Another area where you find a lot of Jewish people, is the Nobel prize category. In the last 120 years, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to more than 900 individuals or organizations, and over 210 of them have been Jewish. That is over 23% of the entire Nobel prize pool of people and organizations Yes, I agree…that’s a lot, especially considering that Jewish people make 0.02% of the world population. Does that mean that Jewish people control the Nobel Prize as well? Nonsense! Again, knowledge and innovation are two areas where Jewish people excel, and the results are more inventions and accomplishments brought on by Jews. The world is a better place because of the Jewish people and their innovations. Take for instance the polio vaccine. It was invented by Jonas Salk and saved millions of people. Was he one of too many Jewish doctors?

Being disproportionally represented is not the same as wanting to control everything. If we look hard enough, we can certainly find Jews who are control freaks, stingy, greedy and fame hungry. But all these character traits exist not because these people are Jewish but because they are people. Generally speaking, people are flawed, even if they are exceptionally gifted at what they do. It is called the fallen human nature, and yes, I must bring God into all this because He is at the root of it all, but not in a bad way!

Starting with Abraham in Genesis 12, God formed a people group through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons. We know this people today as the Jews. Through the Jews, the world would get the Bible, the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. That was God’s choice, so maybe we should leave the Jews alone and take it up with God? God’s archenemy, Satan, knows what happens when the Jewish people call upon His son Yeshua, he (Satan) is finished, so he has no choice but to try to destroy the Jews.

If the French or the Italians were in the way of Satan’s position of power in this world, it is after them that he would spend all his energy, but God chose the Jews, thus Satan will concentrate all his irrational creativity against the Jews.

So, how does that work with West’s, Irving’s and Chappelle’s comments? If I can say so without making people upset, I tend to agree with their assessments about the disproportional representation of Jewish people in these fields, but, not for the same reasons. If the world would simply accept the fact that there are a lot of Jewish doctors, lawyers, financiers and actors AND embrace them for their talents, gifts and ingenuity, the false narrative of Jewish world domination could disappear and a recognition of our talents without the world’s jealousy would do us all a lot of good.

I think it is time to realize that there are more Jewish people in influential positions that people care to admit, but not to take over the world, but rather, to make it a better place. In Judaism, it is known as Tikkun Olam (repair of the world), and if a better world could be brought on by mankind, the Jewish people would most definitely play a big part in it. I happen to believe that only Mashiach (Yeshua of Nazareth) can and will bring the perfect world when He inaugurates the 1,000-year Messianic Kingdom before the Eternal Order. Until then there is no harm enjoying what the Jewish people have provided to the world over the centuries. Let us turn jealousy into gratefulness because the Jewish people don’t want to control the world, we just want people to enjoy it more. What’s wrong with that?

November 14, 2022 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

How Do We Fight Satanic and Irrational Antisemitism?

There is no lack of organizations dedicated to fighting antisemitism on a global scale, and with the continued increase in Jew hatred, it is a good thing. Yet, I believe that when it comes to fighting antisemitism, there is a fundamental aspect of the fight that is vastly misunderstood. The reason why it is misunderstood is simply that those who fight against antisemitism often do not take into consideration the spiritual component of the oldest hatred. They truly believe that men and women of goodwill can prevail against this xenophobic virus. While I believe people can fight racism successfully and even eradicate it if they want to, it is different for antisemitism.

Antisemitism includes racism but is not the same as racism; it is a bit more complex to define. My standard definition for antisemitism is as follows: Antisemitism is the irrational, satanic hatred of the Jewish people and Israel, characterized by thoughts, words and/or deeds against them. I have yet to see a definition of antisemitism that includes the words “satanic” or “demonic”. That aspect of the problem is seldom, if ever, mentioned. I must admit that even in my case, it is not until recently that I felt the need to include the word “satanic” in my definition, but it is a key, if not THE key component. The reason is simple, and it is found in the Bible.

God has Israel and the Jewish people at the core of His plan for mankind. Genesis, the first book of the Torah and the Bible, has 50 chapters. The first 11 chapters cover mankind in general and the next 39 cover the Jewish people from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. God’s plan for the Jewish people is not an afterthought. The Jewish people wrote our Bible, gave us the prophets and Yeshua the Messiah came from Israel in His humanity. Of all beings, Satan knows that very well and he understands the ramifications of Yeshua’s first and second comings. The bottom line is this, planet earth can only have one ruler: Satan or Yeshua, and the Bible tells us that it will not bode well for Satan. He wants to destroy all that is special to God. As a result, the Jewish people and Israel have been on top of his list for a very long time. He wanted to stop Yeshua’s First Coming (Genesis 3:15) and corrupt the race through which Messiah would be born (Genesis 6:1-8). He failed! Even Yeshua’s death was part of the plan to pay for humanity’s sins. Yeshua is soon returning, and Satan is very scared because he knows what this means.

When at the end of the seven-year Tribulation (also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble), Israel will realize that Yeshua is indeed the Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world, and the Jewish people will call upon Him corporately (Zechariah 12:10). It was Yeshua who declared to Israel that His return was dependent upon their crying out to Him “Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai,” in Matthew 23:37-39 ³⁷“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Satan knows that time is coming, and he is about to get “fired” (pun intended!). He continues to do everything he can to denigrate, demonize and decimate the Jews so that he can keep his position of “Prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1-2). This is the ONLY reason antisemitism exists and this is why I am convinced from a biblical perspective that it will not cease but only increase until Yeshua Sar Shalom (Jesus the Prince of Peace) returns. So, why fight it if the battle is pointless? We fight it because it is our duty to do so regardless of the immediate outcome, and the battle is far from pointless. In fighting, we might expose the lies to others that have been swayed away from support of Israel and love of Jewish people. We might never change the minds of the most virulent antisemites–Yeshua will handle them personally–but we can still influence those who are confused, uneducated and open to change.

I have yet to find a better system to expose antisemitism than the three Ds developed by Russian refusenik turned Israeli politician and activist Natan Sharansky. He posits that the best way to expose antisemitism is to see if any actions or words delivered fall into one or more of these three categories: Delegitimization, Demonization and Double Standards. These three feed off each other and are not that complicated to identify. Sharansky helps us in exposing the problem, but what we need is a solution.

Once we see that an action or words falls in any or all of the three Ds, I would like to suggest three more Ds to help us work toward a solution. Remember that the solution is not going to be a complete eradication of antisemitism. That will only happen when Yeshua returns at the end of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and takes over.

Diagnose: Using the three Ds litmus test, we must DIAGNOSE the issue and clearly determine if it qualifies as antisemitism. Dislike of a Jewish person or criticism of Israeli policies might not always be driven by Jew hatred. It might be honest and justified once we study the facts and the motives behind any move. For instance, one criticizing someone like George Soros or Chuck Schumer, for whatever reason, doesn’t necessarily qualify as antisemitism just because they have Jewish ancestry.
Determine: Once the issue is diagnosed as antisemitic, it is time to DETERMINE what course of action is necessary. Should we speak up? Should we write to, email or call local or national leaders and politicians geographically connected to the issue at stake? Should we correct the offender? Should we educate others with the truth and debunk the lies? Should we reach out to the victim(s) and voice our concerns and support? Frankly, all the questions raised above are actions to take and will always be based on a specific situation. The key is to do something!
Defend: People are quick to speak up and express their indignation, and that is good. What about coming to the defense of the Jewish people in question? If you are looking for a biblical mandate to do so, start with Genesis 12:3 and bless the Jewish people, continue with Psalm 83:5 and understand that the enemies of Israel are the very enemies of God and finish by applying the principle of the Sheep in Matthew 23:31-40. When our Jewish friends need us the most, it will be time to move from “Praying for the peace of Jerusalem” to ” Protecting the children of Jerusalem”. The proverbial rubber is about to meet the road. Get ready to rescue your Jewish friends.

We might never completely eradicate antisemitism on this side of eternity, but we cannot ignore it. If it seems to fit Delegitimization, Demonization and/or Double Standards, we must Diagnose, Determine and Defend. Your Jewish friends and family might be in for a surprise, but Yeshua isn’t expecting any less of us because the last thing He desires from believers is to sit on the fence as we wait for His return.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
(Ephesians 6:12)

October 25, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 19 Comments

Martin Luther, Kanye West and the Jews…It’s Complicated!

When Martin Luther broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, little did he know that he would be the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Nobody can deny that Luther was powerfully utilized by God to start a movement that would forever alter the course of Christianity. In his effort to break away from the human control of the Roman Catholic Church, Luther also reached out to the Jewish people hoping that they too, would see the benefits of a personal relationship with the God of the universe through the death and resurrection of His Son Yeshua of Nazareth. At first, Luther wrote some very powerful and biblically accurate sermons to explain the importance of the Jewish people in God’s plan, but it all changed.

In 1543, when the Jewish community didn’t meet his expectations, Luther published the book On the Jews and Their Lies, where his description of the Jewish people is so venomous that Hitler and his regime felt they were just finishing up what Luther started. In that book, Luther used language that, at the very least equaled the past and future diatribes against the Jewish people: “What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming. … I shall give you my sincere advice:
First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians.
Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues. Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies. This will bring home to them the fact that they are not masters in our country, as they boast, but that they are living in exile and in captivity, as they incessantly wail and lament about us before God.
Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them.
Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb.
Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesmen, or the like. Let them stay at home.
Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. The reason for such a measure is that, as said above, they have no other means of earning a livelihood than usury, and by it they have stolen and robbed from us….
Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam (Gen. 3:19). ….For, as we have heard, God’s anger with them is so intense that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!”

While Luther never acted on his own words, he encouraged the destruction of property, expulsion, censorship, ghettoization, financial constraints and forced labor. In her book, The War Against the Jews, Lucy Dawidowicz wrote “The line of anti-Semitic descent from Luther to Hitler is easy to draw.”

Author Daphne Olsen wrote, ” Hitler refers to Martin Luther as one of the great reformers of history, and as such, one of the ‘great warriors of this World.’ It cannot be mere coincidence that Hitler’s anti-Jewish sentiment of the 1930s and 1940s mirrors that of Luther’s anti-Semitism of the 1500s. In fact, the Nazis themselves acknowledged Martin Luther as their spiritual leader. “

At the Nuremberg Trials, the antisemitic editor of Der Stürmer, Julius Streicher claimed that “he had invented nothing not previously asserted by the German founder of the Protestant Reformation.”

It is obvious from history that writings that might appear as harmless words can do a lot of damage. Luther never acted on his antisemitic words, but Hitler and the Nazis sure did, and it ended tragically for 6,000.000 Jews (out of the 12,000.000 people they murdered.)

In the Bible, James 3:5-7 tells us, “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.” Words can be extremely lethal. Words matter! Sadly, people still don’t seem to have learned that lesson!

The Rap singer and influencer billionaire Kanye West recently went on a rant against Jewish people on social networks. In their defense, he was immediately blocked/restricted by Twitter and Instagram. His tweet said, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up, I’m going Death Con 3 on Jewish people. The funny thing is I actually cannot be anti semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and try to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” He also went on an interview with Tucker Carlson where he made some serious allegations against the Jews not being Jews, insisting that blacks were the real Jews (known as black Israelites).

Kanye West used the age-old tropes about Jewish people, claiming they control the world and love money. This was bad enough in and of itself, but when people start coming to his defense, it gets so much worse. Conservative commentator Candace Owens–whom I respected and appreciated very much until now–defended West when she stated, “If you are an honest person, you did not think this tweet was antisemitic, you didn’t think that he wrote this tweet because he hates or wants to genocide the Jewish people. This does not represent the beginning of a Holocaust.”

Somebody needs to remind Miss Owens that Luther was not planning a Holocaust when he made his discourse against the Jews. He let someone else take care of that from 1939-1945. His words became actions and those actions took the lives of 6,000.000 Jews.

The words of Mr. West were abrasive and cannot be taken as not antisemitic no matter what context. What about his recent comment about his “unshakable” relationship with Adidas when he said he can say “antisemitic s*** and they cannot drop me.” This has been drawing attention to Adidas’ old Nazi history, but they did the right thing and on October 25, 2022, they severed their business partnership with Mr. West. Adidas has dropped Kanye’s brand even though it will cost them about $250 MM for the rest of 2022. The company made a statement affirming that Adidas “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech” and said that his recent comments were “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.” Bravo Adidas, you have integrity! Additionally, West’s talent agency CAA also dropped him, and so did Balenciaga.

I am not in a position to judge him, but West claims that he is now a Christian. This is not helping to rebuild the bridge between Christians and Jews that has been burned over the centuries. There is nothing Christian in Kanye West’s words as there was nothing Christian in Luther’s diatribe against the Jews.

His [Kanye] words have already been picked up and promoted by the antisemitic organization Goyim Defense League which also prints and distributes antisemitic flyers throughout the United States. It is a matter of time before these words become actions, and American Jews fear for their safety again. What world do we live in when respectable people come to the defense of antisemites? Luther didn’t look forward to Hitler, but Hitler looked back at Luther. Kanye West is probably not looking forward to the next Hitler, but whoever that person turns out to be, they will justify their actions by looking back at people who made comments like Kanye West!

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October 13, 2022 By Olivier Melnick 4 Comments

Could The Psalm 83 War Against the Jews be Happening Now?

Few passages in the Bible are as controversial as Psalm 83. The Psalm speaks of a war against Israel led by a coalition of her worst enemies. People have interpreted this short Psalm as a prophetic plea by Asaph to God for protection in a time of conflict. The war of Psalm 83 has been placed before the Rapture or during the tribulation by various respected Bible teachers. Psalm 83 speaks of a conflict, and it is neither before the Rapture nor during the Tribulation, yet it is raging right now. The Psalm 83 war is here, and it is not what you think!

Psalm 83 was written by Asaph (Psalm 73-83), a contemporary of King David. It describes in just 18 verses, a desperate plea to the Lord by Asaph to destroy the enemies of Israel who wanted to wipe Israel off the map completely; they have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel is remembered no more.” (v. 4). The list of ten enemy nations is given later in the Psalm. Still, Asaph tells God that they conspire against Your treasured ones (v. 3). These nations correspond to ten modern nations that are peripheral neighbors surrounding the tiny sliver of land that Israel currently is. The modern nations are Jordan (Edom, Moab, and Ammon), Saudi Arabia (Ishmaelites), Egypt (Hagaraenes and Amalek), Lebanon (Gebal and Tyre), The Gaza Strip (Philistia), Iraq (Assyria) and Syria (Assyria).

When reviewing history, several of these countries or people groups have gone after Israel, some more than once and at different levels of intensity. However, as Asaph claims, the ten countries have never formed a confederation to go after Israel. So, this must be a future war as we get closer and closer to the final chapter of recorded biblical history and are inching our way into the Tribulation. I still firmly believe that the Rapture of the Saints–as a fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets–will occur before the Tribulation, but when is the Psalm 83 War supposed to take place?

Let’s assume that these ten modern countries decided to team up against tiny Israel; this poses an immediate problem since Egypt has been officially at peace with Israel since 1979 when Anwar El Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the peace treaty at the White House under President Jimmy Carter. Additionally, Jordan has also been at peace with Israel since 1994, when King Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin met again at the White House under President Bill Clinton. While not every Egyptian and Jordanian might share the peaceful behavior of their leaders, the peace treaties still hold.

Some Bible teachers will look at Zechariah 12:3, describing an attack on Jerusalem when all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. This indicates that, in the end times, the entire world will turn its back on Israel, and we are seeing an increase in international hatred as we speak. The problem here is that Zechariah tells us that the whole world will go against Israel, not just a ten-nation confederacy.

Sticking to the text and only looking at those ten nations, it would seem that the best interpretation of that list would be that Asaph is crying out to the Lord and the list of the ten enemies is a literary device to describe his despair. These people groups pretty much surrounded Israel geographically. It might have been the extent of Asaph’s knowledge of the world around him. It is akin to someone going through a very difficult time, being hit from several different angles simultaneously, and saying “the whole world is against me” as a euphemism to describe that everywhere they look, trouble is coming. Asaph possibly cried out to God about all the countries he knew that were conspiring to destroy Israel. This does not eliminate the real threats against Israel that are currently coming from some of those modern nations.

Yet, there is another aspect of the Psalm 83 war that many people overlook as they are trying to reconcile an attack from the various countries and place it properly on the timeline. I would suggest that the war of Psalm 83 is already happening from verses 3-5: They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel is remembered no more.” For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant.

The Psalm 83 war is simply a war against the Jews. It is a war fought by Satan and his posse. Each battle is an act of antisemitism coming from the enemy, subcontracting his age-old hatred of God’s chosen people. Asaph pleads with God to stop Israel’s enemies, and he also understands that hatred for Israel equates to contempt for the God of Israel. But Asaph trusts God, who defeated antisemitism in the past, to defeat it again and again (vv.9-12). The Psalm 83 war is going on right now, full speed ahead and on a global scale. Jewish people are increasingly feeling in danger for their lives.

The bottom line is that those who hate God want to hurt those He loves. It is often more successful to hurt someone’s loved ones than that very person. In the case of God, it is a bit different because He is God, but He clearly calls the Jewish people “the apple of my eye” (Zechariah 2:8). The war against the Jews has been going on for centuries, led by Satan who wants to prevent Israel from calling Yeshua back as the long-awaited Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). Satan has won many battles, but he will never win the war (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

The war against the Jews is a real war but it is also a spiritual battle, all Christians should be enlisted to fight that battle against the enemy of Israel. Pray, educate yourself and others about my people and speak up whenever you can to expose the enemy’s lies. We are on God’s side, and it is well overdue for all Christians to form a coalition of truth and conspire against Satan.

October 6, 2022 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

Are Sukkot, The Millennial Kingdom and Ezekiel’s Temple Connected?

We can learn a lot about God’s character, His promises, His relationship with Israel and with us by studying the Levitical Feasts of the Lord as they are listed, organized and described in Leviticus 23. They are divided into two groups, the Spring Festivals (Passover, First Fruits and Shavuot) and the Fall Feasts (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot). They respectively connect to the first and second coming of Yeshua the Messiah. The Spring festivals were fulfilled by His death, resurrection and birth of the Body of Messiah, while the Fall Feasts take us to a future time of fulfillment with the Rapture (thematically, not by exact date), the Great Tribulation and our ingathering and dwelling with Messiah in the Millennial Kingdom.

Based on several biblical reasons–the Levitical Feasts of the Lord not being the least of them–I adhere to a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial view of the end times. In other words, Rosh Hashanah comes before Yom Kippur which comes before Sukkot, so logically and biblically, we can look at the Rapture, the Great Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom in that order.

After the Rapture, the world will go through a tremendous time of hardship and the death of billions who were left behind after rejecting Yeshua. That time is known as the Great Tribulation or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble when God focuses on the chastisement of Israel and brings all surviving Jews at the end of the Tribulation to cry out “Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai” (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26; Matthew 23:37-39). Let’s not overlook the biblical fact that Yeshua’s Second Coming at the end of the Great Tribulation is triggered by a corporate Jewish acceptance of His messiahship. This is hugely important, especially in light of the fact that Satan’s career of lies and deceit will then come to an end and He will be relegated to an eternity of suffering away from God and without relief. If the Jewish people were not to call upon Yeshua, Satan’s position as the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-2) would be secure. That is why Satan has been so busy going after the Jews through creative antisemitism for millennia. As we return with Messiah to inaugurate His messianic kingdom, we will join those who have survived the Tribulation and participate in the 1,000-year reign of Messiah on earth from the throne of King David in Jerusalem. How does that connect to Sukkot and Ezekiel’s Temple?

Let’s start with the Feast of Sukkot or Feast of Booths (Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, which means “temporary dwelling or tent.”) It is also known as the Feasts of Tabernacles. The reference is found in Leviticus 23:33-44. Additionally, it is detailed in two other passages of Scripture, Nehemiah 8:13-18 (re-established after the Babylonian captivity) and Zechariah 14:16-19 (celebrated in the millennial kingdom). Sukkot follows Yom Kippur and is a time of great rejoicing after the solemn time of affliction of the body and the soul. It also marked the time of the first fruits of the fall harvest. The feast lasts for seven days and revolves around building temporary booths to eat in, live in and sleep in, reminding the Jewish people of the wilderness wanderings and of God’s provision and protection. At the time of sukkot in biblical days, two important ceremonies took place.

The first one was known as “the outpouring of the water” when the priests marched down from the Temple to the bottom of the City of David at the pool of Siloam to fill water jugs and go back up through the “Water Gate.” Most of Psalms 120-134 were recited (The Psalms of Ascent.) As they arrived at the Temple, they poured out water at the base of the altar. This symbolized the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Israel in the last days.

The second ceremony was known as “the kindling of the lampstands” when the priests descended to the court of the women where four very tall lampstands were lit. This symbolized the Shekinah glory of God, and rabbis associated this ceremony with the Messiah, probably because of Zechariah 14:16-21.) Rabbis also applied Daniel 2:22 to the Messiah “The light dwells with Him.”

An eighth day was added by the rabbis to Sukkot, known as Simchat Torah or “Rejoicing over the Torah”. This is the time of the year when Jewish people finish reading the last weekly portion of the Torah known as a weekly Parasha, and start the cycle again. (Deuteronomy 33:27- 34:12 is read as well as Genesis 1:1-2:3.)

In the New Testament, it is mentioned in a long passage in John 7:1-10:21 when Messiah Yeshua observed the Feast and made some very profound statements. John 7:37-39 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. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yeshua was not yet glorified.
This was Yeshua’s response to “the outpouring of the water” ceremony. He was looking at the leaders and basically saying: “if you are looking for the Spirit of God, look no further, I am here!”

Then, in John 8:12 Yeshua again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Again, this is Yeshua’s response to the second ceremony known as “the kindling of the lampstands” when He is basically saying: “You are waiting for “The light that dwells with Him”, the Messiah… I am here!”

Yeshua was ready to tabernacle with His people at His First Coming, but He also knew that to validate His office of Messiah, He would have to be rejected by the majority of His people. Even though He knew that His death was part of the divine decree, He still brought up His messiahship to His own people.

What is really exciting though, is the fact that according to Zechariah 14:16-19, we will celebrate the Feast of Sukkot in the 1,000 messianic kingdom of Yeshua on earth.

Zechariah 14:16-19 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah makes it clear that Sukkot will be fulfilled by the messianic kingdom which will be a time of rejoicing after the terrible afflictions of the Great Tribulation (Yom Kippur). In the Millennium, the Feast will be obligatory for all people, Jews AND Gentiles alike. All gentiles who survived the Tribulation (the sheep Gentiles of Matthew 25:31-46) will send a delegation to Jerusalem each year to celebrate Sukkot, to worship King Messiah and celebrate the Feast. This is also a time when Messiah will “tabernacle” on earth with His subjects.

In Matthew 17:1-4, Peter who knew from Zechariah 14 that the kingdom of Messiah would be fulfilled by Sukkot, immediately asked the transfigured Yeshua if they should build three tabernacles or sukkahs. Peter was convinced that Yeshua was about to inaugurate the messianic or millennial Kingdom at that time. He understood the fulfillment, but his timing was off, and he was jumping the gun as Sukkot was the last of the Levitical feasts. Yeshua would have to die, rise again, start the Church, rapture the Church and allow for the affliction of Israel before returning and establishing His kingdom so that Sukkot could be fulfilled.
Sukkot will be fulfilled by the Messianic or Millennial Kingdom on earth. The Feast of Tabernacle will be fulfilled when all saints tabernacle with the living Word on earth.

During the millennial reign of Yeshua from Jerusalem, the fourth Temple will stand in Jerusalem. The third Temple or Tribulation Temple–never condoned by God–would have been destroyed and the fourth Temple also known as the Ezekiel Temple (Ezekiel 40-48) will come down from heaven. All believers who would have been raptured will return with Yeshua at the Second Coming at the end of the Great Tribulation to join those who would have survived the Tribulation and to enter into the Millennial Kingdom in all its beauty, including the breathtaking final Temple and fellowship with Yeshua Himself.
There has never been a more important and exciting time to know Yeshua personally. The Spring festivals were fulfilled literally and so will the Fall ones be. By trusting Yeshua today we secure our place in the Rapture (if He doesn’t call us home personally before), we avoid the tragic seven-year Tribulation and we return just in time to celebrate Sukkot for 1,000 years before we enter the eternal order in God’s presence.

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