I am always extremely hesitant to use the term “Holocaust” to describe anything other than the events that took place in Nazi occupied Europe in the 40s. The gruesome horror of the Shoah (Hebrew word for the Holocaust meaning “the Catastrophe”), places it in a league of its own in the annals of human depravity and ethnic cleansing. This is of course not meant in any way to minimize any other genocide, but simply to recognize the unique place held by the Holocaust.
This catastrophe could be summarized as “the systematic attempt at the complete destruction of European Jewry” and even though the words “Shoah” and “Holocaust” have become somewhat taboo within most civilized circles, various components from the events that these two words describe remain a threat to my people worldwide.
The current Iranian regime has repeatedly stated that Israel deserves complete annihilation and that they would be “honored” to take part in such an event.
Hamas continually and indiscriminately shoots rockets from Gaza onto Israeli targets. Even though they result in very little damage to Israel in terms of actual death toll, they do cause a tremendous psychological strain on the population. Commentary columnist Alana Goodman said it best when she wrote:” The truth is, Hamas’s rockets don’t cause as many casualties as they otherwise would because Israel goes to great lengths to protect its people. It spends fortunes on bomb shelters and missile defense systems. In contrast, Israel’s military responses cause more Palestinian casualties than they otherwise would because Hamas goes to great lengths to endanger its people. It shoots missiles out of hospitals and schools, uses children as human shields, and tell Gaza civilians to ignore Israeli warning pamphlets that advise them to leave targeted neighborhoods”.
I could continue (like I regularly do) to expose the Jew haters of the world like Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, various dictators and world leaders as well as many liberals, but as I have also done in the past, I cannot help but remember that God has promised to never, EVER completely destroy Israel! (Jeremiah 31:35-37). And that, if you ask me is the glorious future that I am hanging on to, when it comes to my people.
But today, I am drawn to a passage of the Bible that is very disturbing and that very few, including myself, care to comment on. This is a passage found in Zechariah 13:8-9 and that has yet to be fulfilled:“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. “And 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.’”
This most troubling passage describes the land of Israel during the last days (a time of history that is drawing near). Anyone holding to a pre-tribulational and pre-millennial view of the end days (I would put myself in that category) would understand these two verses to contextually describe Israel towards the end of the 7 year Great Tribulation. At that time, two-thirds of all Jews–by then in the Land–will be decimated, leaving only one-third to be refined like silver and gold or in other words “saved”.
Christians have often been accused of anti-Semitism simply because of the fact that they voiced their desire for Messiah’s Second Coming to take place “now”, which seems to imply that they are pushing for the destruction of two-thirds of all living Jews (about 10,000,000 by today’s numbers). In reality, those accusing Christians need only to take it up with God.
So, what are we to do in light of such a burdensome passage of Scripture? We certainly cannot ignore it (too many have done exactly that). We could, through a series of theological gymnastics, change its meaning, but then we would have to live with the consequences. Maybe you can, but I am certainly not willing to do that.
Instead, we must accept that by the end of God’s program, before the return of Yeshua, two-thirds of the Jewish people will perish. Yet, and that is a detail of extreme importance, God said two-thirds but never gave us an exact number. So, instead of dwelling on the fact that if it happened today it would decimate 10,000,000 Jews, let us work together on reducing that unknown total number of Jewish people that will populate the land of Israel during the Tribulation. Oh, and by the way, if you are unsure about the timing of the Rapture, the Great Tribulation and/or the Millennium, you are still faced with the same dilemma, except that you might live through it with the two-thirds of Israel instead of being caught up in the air prior.
Let us work together at reducing the number of Jewish people who do not know Yeshua thus reducing the final two-thirds of Zechariah 13:8-9.
Fighting anti-Semitism is crucial but it must be paired with sharing the hope we have in Yeshua. Additionally, if there is indeed another Holocaust on the horizon, it looks like we can all play a part in reducing its death toll, and that to me, put us smack in the middle of God’s will (Genesis 12:3).
The Two Sides of Philo-Semitism!
The world has survived the demise of the Mayan Calendar and the holiday season, yet I am still unclear on which was actually more dangerous to humanity. As we enter a new year as well as a second term for President Obama, I believe that the United States is about be faced with some decisions that could affect us and the rest of our world community for years to come.
The global financial crisis continues to take us down what appears to be an economic drain with no end in sight but the total collapse of western civilization. But lest I am ONLY accused of being somewhat negative, allow me to also continue with the dispensing of my usual leitmotif about the blessing and cursing of Israel and the Jewish people and its consequences (Genesis 12:3).
In France, where I was for the last three weeks, there is a period of time between Christmas and the new year known as la trêve des confiseurs or “the sweets shops truce”when it is considered highly uncouth to approach any serious or difficult subject of any kind in the public arena. So, by virtue of this yearly truce started in 1875, the subject of antisemitism was not on anybody’s list. The reality of course, is that antisemitism never takes a break.
I believe that 2013 will see a continued increase in antisemitic acts both verbally AND physically all around the world. I also believe that now more than ever is the perfect time to STAND WITH ISRAEL when most of the world will stand and speak against her. The liberal bias against my people will not stop, rather, it will increase. Islamists will renew their common goal to eradicate Israel and for the most part, the rest of the planet will switch their TV sets to the newest reality show because let’s face it, “real” news about the middle- east (if even available) is too depressing!
Fortunately for Israel, there are still some decent people, albeit in decreasing numbers, who care enough to take a stand and speak up in her defense. These people display the opposite of antisemitism, known as “philo-semitism”. The word philo is Greek for “having an affinity or preference for”. To be philo-semitic thus refers to a person or organization that will display love and care for Israel and /or the Jewish people. So, it’s all good right? Philo-semitic people are the friends of the Jews after all, so what could be wrong?
Technically, the word describes a very positive attitude towards Israel and the Jewish people, but is it possible that there are two sides to philo-semitism? This requires us to take a closer look at philo-semitic people’s motives.
The good side of philo-semitism
While in Paris, I recently lectured about the French village of Le Chambon sur Lignon in central France where about 5,000 villagers (most of them descendants of French Huguenots) saved about 5,000 jewish kids from the Nazi death machine. I even had the privilege of meeting Armand Laferrère, the grandson of a Parisian Huguenot who sent many of these kids down to Le Chambon.
When asked why they did what they did, the villagers of Le Chambon all gave a similar answer, something like “it was the most natural thing to do”. They also understood from the Bible that the Jews were the chosen people of God and that as such they had to be treated with the utmost respect and much love, WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED! To the villagers, they were human beings first and Jews second.
When expressed properly, philo-semitism should be an unconditional love of the Jewish people as human beings AND because they have a special place in God’s eyes (Zechariah 2:8). Additionally, if displayed ethically, philo-semitism should never cause one to turn a blind eye on any injustice caused by Israel or the Jewish people. That is pretty much black and white when you think about it! Yet there is another side to philo-semitism that I find hypocritical at best and potentially lethal at worse.
The bad side of philo-semitism
It is one thing to have a special place in our hearts for Israel and the Jewish people, it is another thing to be interested in Israel simply from an eschatological perspective (eschatology is the study of the end times). Unfortunately, many Christians’ understanding of Israel and the Jewish people, even though it is a biblical one, is also an eschatological one, and that can possibly create a very unhealthy agenda.
Too many Christians visit Israel or the “Holy Land” with biblical lenses that are slightly out of focus. Their farsightedness forces them only look at Israel and the Jewish people from a biblical/historical perspective and in the process, they can miss the fact that modern Israel (as different as it might be from their expectations) is a real country, with real people facing some real issues daily.
These believers need corrective lenses to help them see Israel today and support the Jewish people for who they are!
Additionally, way too many Christians only see Israel eschatologically. In other words, modern Israel is a fulfillment of prophecy and one of the key components in the Second Coming of Yeshua after two thirds of Israel is destroyed during the bloody carnage known as the Great Tribulation (Zechariah 12:10, 13:9, Romans 11:26, Jeremiah 31:31-34).
While all this is true biblically and gives us and Israel a glorious future to look forward to, Israel absolutely cannot be used as the catalyst for the Second Coming of Yeshua.
Instead, all those who have put their trust in Yeshua for their present life and their awesome future should look at Israel and the Jewish people with compassion and a genuine desire to see them all join us into eternity with the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob. Our philo-semitism should never be motivated by Israel’s role in God’s program for the last days–as true and biblically validating as it is–but by our burden to see the lost sheep of the tribe of Israel find their Messiah before time runs out.
Yes, we should support Israel!
Yes, we should fight antisemitism!
Yes, we should anticipate a great future for those who trust Yeshua as their Savior!
and Yes we should boldly share His message of salvation with the Jewish people, but we must also remember that:
PHILO-SEMITISM IS THE OPPOSITE OF ANTISEMITISM ONLY WHEN IT IS UNCONDITIONAL, ANYTHING LESS IS DOING A DISSERVICE TO MY PEOPLE!
Why Is The World Micromanaging Israel?
It is very obvious that when you tell a lie long enough, the masses eventually believe it to be the truth. While in prison for his failed putsch attempt of 1923, Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) that was later published in 1925 (vol.1) and 1926 (vol.2). So, by the mid-twenties, Hitler was already spreading his vitriol about the Jewish people to a people plagued by an apparently unrecoverable economic crisis. Germany bought the lies, some parts of Europe followed suit and within 10 years the “European Jew” had become the sub-race that HAD to be completely annihilated. Europe had found a scapegoat! Or should I say that Europe had”rediscovered” the same scapegoat of old used throughout history to carry the blame for all the ills of the planet? The lies had become the truth, and the rest remains eternally branded on the Jewish psyche as 6,000,000 Jews perished in the camps.
For a short period after WWII, the subject of antisemitism and the Shoah (Hebrew word for the Holocaust) became highly taboo as a greatly reduced Jewish community of refugees sought to leave Europe and settle in the “Promise Land”. Before long it was 1948 and the modern state of Israel was born, by a miracle of God and through the work of the then still ethical United Nations.
Decades of lies, political manipulation and propaganda led the world to start turning on Israel. The media slowly became one of the strongest ally of the enemies of the Jews (the same media that is apparently “controlled” by the Jews). We must be such a self-destructive people!
Eventually, after a parade of pompous and embarrassing anti-Israel diatribes, on November 29, 2012, exactly 65 years to the day after Israel was re-born as a nation, the UN voted to include Palestine as a non-voting member. The lies had become the truth again and Israel was well on its way to further delegitimization by 179 countries out of 193.
Now that Palestine is being recognized, albeit as a nonmember observer state, the envelope will continue to be pushed further and further. Mahmoud Abbas still vows to destroy Israel and to make Jerusalem the “eternal capital of Palestine”. But the rules have changed now that a precedent has been set. The November UN vote proved that unilateral decisions can be made regardless of any peace negotiations, that is of course only in the case of Israel “the occupier”. With the Oslo Accords now defunct, if not officially, at least in principle, the Palestinian Authority will continue to manipulate the media and the international political community for full membership in the UN. Frankly, I see very few obstacles in the way of that happening soon, as the world appears to be on a mission to micromanage Israel.
Since the November vote, Six European nations have asked Israel to give a clear account for their continued settlements in the “occupied territories”. Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany and Sweden are calling on Israel ambassadors in their respective countries to reconsider Israel’s additional settlements in light of the recent inclusion of Palestine in the UN. This claim (supported by US secretary of State Hillary Clinton) is made because it is believed that Israel’s settlement decision is counterproductive in the area of peacemaking. But wait a minute, is that “peacemaking” with the very people who ignored any dialogue with Israel and went to “daddy UN” to cry for recognition? How fair is that? Oh, I forgot, we’re dealing with Israel, so we don’t have to be fair, we just have to try to run Israel from afar! The lies have become the truth again.
As if this wasn’t enough, apparently emboldened by the recent vote, the UN passed another resolution on December 4th (174/6/6) asking Israel to allow nuclear inspectors in. Currently, Israel has not signed a non-proliferation treaty and it looks like the UN is working towards cornering them to do so. I find this both ironic and tragic when we allow a country like Iran to build a bomb under our nose knowing full well that they intend to use it on Israel and even Americans, and Israel is asked to allow nuclear inspectors in. The enemies are left alone to build a weapon of mass destruction and our only true friend in the middle east is asked to share its nuclear agenda AND arsenal with the world.
Israel has officially been a sovereign state since 1948 and has proven highly capable of running its own affairs as well as defending its borders. They need our support not our finger pointing and ordering around.
Last time the Jews were told what to do, where to go and how to surrender their property about 70 years ago, it didn’t end too well, did it? Not to mention when were told to stay within the Pale of Settlement in eastern Europe and not to mention when Queen Isabella of Spain told us to leave and kept our property, not to mention the Crusades, not to……well you get the idea! I beg the world and the UN to stay out of Israel’s business and quit trying to micromanage Israel lest you end up mismanaging them!
I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU AND I WILL CURSE HIM WHO CURSES YOU – GENESIS 12:3
Was the UN Vote for Palestine a Faux Pas?
The New WMD against Israel: Worldwide Media Distortion!
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