Defending Jerusalem's Counsel

There is still a lot of controversy and opposition stirred over the Messianic participation at to the Christ at the Checkpoint 2012 conference in Bethlehem. I have had quite a bit of dialogue off the record with several of those Messianics who participated raising the ire of their fellow Messianic Jews and Christian Zionists friends. 


Here's one thing I can say, the leaders who participated are not oblivious to the real problems in play with the CatC. Most of those who are criticizing the Messianic participation do so from a perspective of the participation being an endorsement of the radical views held by CatC speakers.  But instead of endorsing those views, the Messianic and Christian Zionists who participated, some as speakers and some as attendees, went to confront the biblical evidence of Israel's election and endeavor to moderate views through dialogue. 


Not one of those I have had exchanges with have shown the least bit of waffling on Israel's key role in what God's continuously unfolding plan is.  That seems to be the main beef from the rest of our community, wondering how in the world can these men sit down to dialogue with people who have proposed the most radical anti-Israel views for years without it meaning the Messianics had been suckered into a compromised position? 


Look, any time I see some Christian who is posing with some Palestinian terrorist or terrorist endorsing figure, big smiles plastered on their faces, embracing - it does the same thing to me that is does to you: I cringe at yet a another naive 'peacemaker' who has been suckered by taqqiyah. 


This is NOT what is going on with these Israeli Messianic leaders who went to CatC - some of whom are apostolic level leaders, others at the very least are seasoned elders in the Body of Messiah with deep roots living in Israel, fighting the good fight and working in reconciliation AND defense of Israel. They have not gone soft on Israel's role in our days for the sake of a false peace/reconciliation with those who dismiss the election of Israel as valid to our faith today. 


In my years learning the ways of God I have seen one thing often. That God requires that those who are following His Son are the ones who have to step up going the extra mile. Whether the ones we are sent to hear or whether they forbear, our effort to bring some back to the will of God is not exhausted until we go and speak to them, as Moses stood before Pharaoh or Jonah stood before Nineveh. Until we have completed our charge to speak to them eye-to-eye, God does not rise to overturn the ungodly intention. 


Instead of coming against the efforts of these Israeli Messianic and Christian leaders to engage the anti-Israeli opposition in talks, allowing them time to make headway among those that will hear, it would be nice if we would pray for their words to penetrate and that unhealed hearts would be softened. 


When Moses stood before Pharaoh, the scripture says that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. But when Jonah stood before Nineveh - a people who could not tell right from wrong - his words turned them to repent. Until this group of leaders is able to complete their mission we will not know if they have been able to impact Christian Palestinianism. 


One thing is for certain, if we continue to raise opposition to their mission, we face the distinct possibility that we are fighting what God is doing. Some of us need to take that into consideration.




A post script: For many years I have voiced my expectation that it would be from within the Israeli Messianic leadership that many of the most perplexing issues of the Messianic movement would begin to be brought to resolution and leading by example would becomd the model for the entire Messianic movement.  The issue of reconciliation of the Body between Christian Arabs and Messianic Jews is one of those problem areas that I saw godly movement in and frankly, I can see no other location on earth where this reconciliation can spring from.  Like in the first century where the apostolic Jerusalem Council was looked to as a authoritative voice of God's will, my expectation is that that there would rise up from the ranks of the Israeli Body, those with able to lead in some of the most serious issues facing us in the Messianic movement and the Church.  Don't look now, but this may be the beginning of the rise of the Jerusalem Council.  God raises up whom He will from those who are willing to go at His instruction where others fear to tread.

Brief Response to “Christ at the Checkpoint” from Messianic participants

Brief Response to “Christ at the Checkpoint”
from Messianic participants Richard Harvey, Wayne Hilsden, Dan Juster, David Loden, Lisa Loden and Evan Thomas  Issued Monday, 12 March 2012

As Messianic Jews and supporters of Israel who attended the “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference we were warmly welcomed. We participated in a personal capacity, clearly stating we did not claim to represent any other individuals, groups or organisations.

We gave presentations on God’s continuing purposes for the Jewish people and the land of Israel, assured by His covenant promises to our forefathers; the need for reconciliation to develop a deeper fellowship and partnership in the Gospel with our Arab brothers and sisters; and the building of a Messianic Jewish theology and practice of reconciliation and peace-making.

The aims of the conference organisers were clearly stated on their website, which were to

• Empower and encourage the Palestinian church.

• Expose the realities of the injustices in the Palestinian Territories and create awareness of the obstacles to reconciliation and peace.

• Create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum.

• Motivate participants to become advocates for the reconciliation work of the church in Palestine/Israel and its ramifications for the Middle East and the world.

Also on the agenda was promotion of non-violent resistance to the administration of Gaza and the West Bank, and the development of Palestinian Evangelical Christian theologies.

However, at no point was it assumed that we were in agreement with these aims, but rather it was expected that we had different views which needed to be heard. We were free to challenge in informal discussion and platform dialogue the differing theological and political understandings of the place of Israel in Scripture, the purposes of God, and present political realities. We reflected the concerns of the Messianic community as expressed in recent statements from the UMJC/IMJA/MJAA and Israeli Messianic groups, highlighting areas of both agreement and disagreement on the ongoing election of Israel (the Jewish people) and the promises of the Land.

We did not feel compromised in any way, but were able to freely express our own points of view, and were treated with respect. The conference organisers have issued a manifesto affirming their aims and positions, which was commended to the conference participants at the end of the conference. Some of us were shown this statement during the editorial process, out of respect and appreciation for our involvement, and out of acknowledgment of the bridges that were built during the conference. While a few of us offered advice on the composition of these documents, we do not in fact endorse all the points that were finally presented. Nor were we asked by the organizers to endorse them.

The impact of the conference has yet to be assessed. But those of us who took part were particularly impressed with the genuine attempts to meet with Messianic Jews and Christian supporters of Israel, and begin a dialogue. Our hopes and prayers are for continuing attempts at peaceful engagement with one another in fellowship, prayer and discussion, and for true reconciliation to be achieved through the atoning love of the Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel and Prince of Peace.

We hope and pray that our willingness to accept the invitation to participate in the conference has opened a door for us to strengthen genuine relationships with our Arab brothers and sisters. We trust that in the context of such relationships we will be able to address in greater depth the serious issues that concern the messianic body, both of a theological nature and existential threats and attacks against the nation of Israel.

Ephesians 4:1-4. I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.

Romans 12:18-20. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

This brief response summarises our positive engagement with the conference and its organisers. More detailed personal responses are available from the individuals named below.

Richard Harvey
Wayne Hilsden
Dan Juster
David Loden
Lisa Loden
Evan Thomas

Monday, 12 March 2012

An Israeli Messianic Jew Addresses the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference

A Tale of Two Palestinian Theologies

Along with others around the world, Israelis have noticed the rising controversy around the upcoming "Christ at the Checkpoint" (CatC) Conference hosted by Bethlehem Bible College in a few days (March 5-9). Curiously, the Israeli Body of Messiah has not spoken up in any collective way, as have several Messianic groups abroad. This is despite the fact that several of our number are scheduled to speak at this Conference. As someone living in the Land for nearly 30 years, I would like to offer my personal observations on the situation.  - Hannah Weiss  

The Context for My Tale

The 2012 “Checkpoint” Conference claims to be bringing all sides of the Christian world together to examine the plight of Palestinian Christians, and to raise consciousness and support among Christians abroad for these persecuted brethren.  Apparently the consensus is exaggerated. Opposition to CatC was prompt and vocal from evangelical, Jewish and Messianic organizations alike.  By the end of 2011, Jewish groups as diverse as the rightwing-religious Israel National News (Arutz 7) and the British Messianic Jewish Alliance had already gone on record condemning the Conference as a platform for liberal Israel-bashing.

Feeling the heat, the Conference committee members in Bethlehem posted an energetic defense on the Conference website (25/jan/12), denying that they are anti-Israel or that they support Replacement Theology.

The denial of anti-Israel bias appears to be somewhat out of touch with reality. The Conference LINKS page includes "The Palestinian Kairos Document", also known as "TheBethlehem Call", which deplores Israel's existence as “the illegal regime”. The Call rejoices that “the government and state of Israel is now regarded as an apartheid regime” and calls on the world to continue in “the deligitimization and criminalization of the Israeli government.”

Apparently not noticing this link on the CatC site - or that one of the signatories to "The Bethlehem Call" is their colleague at Bethlehem Bible College, Academic Dean Yohanna Katanacho, the apologists for the Conference deny any connection whatsoever with this document.  They don’t repudiate it, however; instead they recommend it as "worthy of study."

A few days ago, a joint rebukepublished by four Messianic organizations (the UMJC, MJAA, MJAI and the International Alliance of Messianic Jewish Synagogues) provoked a still sharper rebuttal from CatC spokespeople. “A Response to Representatives of the InternationalMessianic Jewish Community” (21/feb/12) provides a detailed 11-point declaration intended to prove that the international Messianic community has falsely accused them.

There are some interesting paradoxes here. One is the emphasis on the Kingdom of G-d taking priority over the inheritance of the Land, applicable to both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples (point 9); this is undermined by the great pains one of the “Response” signatories has taken to establish who he believes G-d has – and has not – mandated to inherit the Land. (More details later.) Another anomaly is the moderate assertion (point 10) that as Palestinian believers they have the right to protest against “Israeli policies” – a far cry from the “Bethlehem Call” that was co-authored by another signatory of this “Response”, Conference speaker Hanna Katanacho (as mentioned above).  But I digress.

It is true that the explicit goal of the Conference is not to denounce the state of Israel, or the Jews. They have a more vulnerable target in mind: the Christian Zionists.

Spokesmen for the Simon Weisenthal Center agreed in their commentary in the Jerusalem Post; they called the CatC event an "assault on lovers of Zion" which amounts to "stealth theo-terrorism". ("Palestinians to Evangelicals: Zionism is a sin", 14/nov/11)

A stated goal of this Conference is to "create a platform for serious engagement with Christian Zionism and an open forum for ongoing dialogue between all positions within the Evangelical theological spectrum."  Sure enough, their speaker lineup has the full range of Christian opinion, from Replacement Theology to Christian Zionism - even some familiar faces from the Israeli Messianic community who identify themselves as Zionists in word and deed.

One of the defenses in the CatC “Response” to the international Messianic community is that Israeli Messianic leader “Wayne Hilsdon [sic - Hilsden, longtime pastor at King of Kings Congregation in Jerusalem]... has the support of most of the Messianic leaders in Jerusalem regarding his participation” in the upcoming Conference.

I cannot confirm or deny that claim.  I can, however, speculate that the willingness of Messianic Israelis (and of Zionists in general) to participate in CatC 2012 might be because the Conference promotional material gives the impression that only one form of Christian Zionism is being taken to task: the extremist type that gives uncritical support to Israeli government policy and doesn't care a fig for Palestinian rights. 

Given such an appearance of moderation, facing off with Replacement theologians could be seen as an opportunity to bring balance to this "open forum".  But based on the press release from the previous Conference (CatC 2010), the "ongoing dialog" has already established a starting point: Christians must repent from any brand of Zionism that affirms the Tanach passages promising the land of Israel to the Jews.

One of the scheduled speakers at this year's Conference and its Program Director, British vicar Stephen Sizer, openly stated in a UK church last fall that the brethren who hold such a belief are "an abomination" (Rivercourt Methodist Church, King Street, Hammersmith, "Jerusalem Under Threat" rally, 6/oct/11). 

The press release following the 2010 Conference was almost as blunt: "The conference speakers repudiated" Christian Zionism as "nationalist chauvinism" which violates the teachings of Christ and shows an ignorance of the scriptures.

The Palestinian Theology Behind “Christ at the Checkpoint”

The theological support for this stance is supplied by Dr. Salim Munayer, head of the reconciliation ministry Musalaha, and was presented in detail in his keynote address at the previous Conference (CatC 2010). Dr. Munayer, who will also be speaking at the upcoming Conference, signed the above-mentioned “Response” from the Conference organizers to the Messianic organizations. 

In the Israeli Messianic community, Dr. Munayer is known for Jewish-Palestinian youth trips sponsored by his organization, which encourages dialog between the two groups. More recently, Dr. Munayer directed a leadership training seminar for Messianic Israeli youth counselors, in partnership with the directors of a popular Messianic youth camp here in Israel.

Less well-known is Dr. Munayer’s endorsement of the anti-Zionist documentary, “With God on Our Side” (released in 2010). The synopsis states that the film’s goal is to “look at the theology of Christian Zionism, which teaches that because the Jews are God's chosen people, they have a divine right to the land of Israel.” 

In keeping with the conflicting messages coming from CatC representatives (the film’s producer, Porter Speakman, is also a speaker at CatC 2012), the film’s website asserts, “God does not take sides with certain people groups, nations and agendas,” and then inexplicably quotes Joshua’s encounter with the angelic Commander as he embarked on the Israelite conquest of this very same Land.

By the same token, the “Response” signed by Dr. Munayer appeals to Messianic Zionists: “We plead with you to respect the theological diversities that exist between us;” while in a trailer promo for the film he goes on record rejecting that diversity as a threat to his existence: “The implication of Christian Zionism, as we would understand it - the world will hear it here - is that to accept this theology is to commit suicide as a peoplehood.” [sic]

For those not familiar with Dr. Munayer's alternative, which he calls "Theology of the Land", here is a summary gleaned from his keynote address at CatC 2010:

1.      The covenant made by G-d to the Jewish people giving them the land of Canaan was conditional on their being obedient - worshiping G-d only, and making the right moral and ethical choices.

2.      When the Jews became unfaithful, they lost their right to live in this Land.

3.      When Yeshua came (or possibly since the time of creation... this point was unclear), the concept of "land by covenant" became universal. Every people was given a land from G-d by covenant, with the same conditions as those G-d gave to the Jews.

4.      Zionism is a dream of the Jews to return to the place where they had historical connections.  It is understandable, but it's not moral. The right from G-d to live in this land passed to the Palestinians. They cannot accept the status of "strangers dwelling with" Israel - the Palestinians are "the indigenous people" and therefore are the rightful heirs to it.

5.      The Europeans (not G-d) returned the Jews to this place, out of guilt for European sins against them during the Holocaust. The Europeans caused Jewish suffering, so they should pay the price, not the Palestinians.

6.      There is no return of the Jews to this Land prophesied in scripture. Christians who believe that the covenant promise of this land still belongs to the Jews are misunderstanding the Bible, and they are promoting injustice.

Listening to the entire address will reveal how the scriptures are used to justify this theology, and which passages are ignored.  (scroll down to Dr. Munayer's audio file: "From Land of Strife to Land of Reconciliation"

Another Palestinian Theology

Readers who stayed with me this far might be tempted to give up hope on any reconciliation with our Palestinian brethren that doesn’t do violence to G-d’s word.  Before you despair, let me introduce you to a small flock of Palestinians living in the same neighborhood as the Conference venue - only one kilometer from the “checkpoint” from which the Conference borrowed its name. These other Palestinians would stand that Conference on its head and put its theology to shame... had they been invited. 

To simply quote this second Palestinian theology would not do justice to the power and love conveyed by the speaker in a few simple words. Nor would it capture the context that shows the high price they are paying for their stand. 

I invite you to take a few more minutes to listen and watch Pastor Steven Khoury and his father Pastor Naim Khoury, leaders (respectively) of Calvary Baptist Church in Jerusalem and First Baptist Church of Bethlehem, interviewed by the Christian Broadcasting Network: 

"Tried by Fire: Bethlehem'sRemnant"  (filmed 21/oct/09)

Conclusion

Speaking as a Messianic Jewish Israeli, I declare these persecuted, ostracized, unsung theologians to be our true Palestinian brethren in the Land. They uphold all of G-d's word, with no compromise or apologies, and I am sorry to have discovered their existence only recently. 

They are worthy of our prayers, encouragement and tangible support – as well as a place of honor at the next Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation effort attended by Messianic believers.

It is my fervent hope that my fellow-believers in Israel who are engaged in Palestinian-Israeli dialog will make the appropriate changes.

Hannah Weiss

Restorers of Zion on-line network: http://www.restorersofzion.org

NOTE:  Pastor Steven Khoury is sponsored by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem and accepts speaking invitations abroad.

Standing in the Gap Guest Column by an Israeli Ministry

A second-generation Israeli Messianic minister recently preached this word in northern Israel.  He must remain nameless for the sake of security issues, but we thought this was an excellent word about how the Body of Messiah in Israel is “standing in the gap” for the unsaved Israeli people, and how we believers in the nations may in turn “stand in the gap” for them.


STANDING IN THE GAP (BREACH) 
The righteous, prophetic remnant within Israel is called to stand in the breach and to build up protection for all of Israel. They are called to prepare the people for the future, for difficulty, for the day of judgment, and the day of war. They are called to identify the threats against Israel, prepare the people for them, and be dynamically available to fill in and make up for weaknesses in the defense of the people in standing against the attacking forces.

Eze 13:3  Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who … have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD.

MILITARY THREATS  Obviously there are mortal military threats against Israel. Even "friendly" neighbors (such as Jordan and Egypt) have different undercurrents of anti-Israel sentiment and incitement. Iran is coupling the most serious verbal threats with its determined bid at developing nuclear weapons, which appears to be on the very threshold of success. Israeli intelligence experts are continuously analyzing the current constellation of forces most likely to cause attacks or outright war on Israel. The popular uprisings of the Arab "Spring" are bringing to power extreme Muslim groups very antagonistic toward Israel. We are so accustomed to these threats, that the occasional missile sent by terrorist groups from Gaza into southern Israel barely receives mention in the Israeli press much less in the international media.

A partial list of current military threats:

    Iran

    Syria

    Hizbullah - Lebanon

    Hamas – Gaza

    Egypt

    Turkey

    Terrorist groups in the Palestinian Authority territories

OTHER THREATS  In addition to the recognized, visible and reported military threats, there are also other threats on Israel (and many of them against all of humanity).

A partial list:

    Anti-Israel sentiment in the international media and in many nations

    Economic need and the fear of it

    Violence in our societies

    Substance abuse

    Pornography

    Sexual Immorality

    Breakdown of families, from chronic dysfunction to divorce

THREAT ON SEVERAL LEVELS  As we translate the military imagery of Ezekiel into our daily lives let us also remember that each and every one of these threats is on several levels.  The soldier fighting most effectively fights at the end of the day because he feels the threat against all that is closest to him: his friends and his family, and ultimately, his own life. As we become aware of all these threats, we must recognize that they are arrayed against us on each of these levels.

    Against the entire human race

    Against a nation

    Against a city/neighborhood

    Against our congregational family

    Against our home family

    Against us personally

HOW CAN WE STAND IN THE BREACH  In warfare, the soldiers supplement a system of defense that is in place, such as a wall. If the enemy punches a hole (a "breach") in the defense, soldiers must rush bravely into the breach and close the gap in defending the people. How can we do the same?

God is seeking for those who are willing, aware and available.  Such people are rare and sometimes cannot be found:  Eze 22:30  And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.

Psa 106:23  Therefore he said he would destroy them-- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him...

Moses stood in the breach in intercession on behalf of his people in their sin. Moses' intercession consisted of recounting before God, God's destiny, His calling and intention and promises, of calling on God to relent from just judgment in favor of un - merited grace in continuing to draw the people of Israel into a future of cooperation with their Lord in displaying Himself and His works to the people of the earth. Ultimately Moses asks God to erase Moses from the book of life, if judgment cannot be averted.

In Yeshua Himself we see the ultimate example of the man whom God sought (and became) and found who would stand in the breach on behalf of Israel and all mankind.

So we have in Moses and Yeshua two examples of standing in the breach, standing in the gap:

    Speaking in righteousness,

    Agreeing with God that His will be done on earth,

    Contending for weak and fallen men,

    Believing in spite of what we see with our eyes at present

    Contending for God's purposes and promises

    Believing even in the most unpromising of circumstances for God's covenant people to enter into their destiny

    Bringing atonement for sin

A REMNANT IN ISRAEL TODAY  Isa 58:12  And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach…

This prophecy points to a people who return to Israel and rebuild and are rebuilt, a people who will be repairers of the breach, a people who will stand in the gap.  May we stand together in agreement for this people to arise. May we be among them.

Wannsee: Evil Gets Organized

by Eddie Santoro in  Jerusalem

Ahavat Yeshua Congregation (The Love of Yeshua) 

Zion’s Glory and Tikkun Ministries

It happened 70 years ago. The date was January 20, 1942. For the first time since the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the subsequent blitzkrieg conquest of Europe, the Nazi war machine was having difficulties. The drive to occupy Moscow had stalled, being held up by the long and hard Russian winter. At the same time, the British troops had a series of victories in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, the United States had all but renounced its neutrality and had started supplying the Allied Forces with much needed armaments while it began mobilizing for its soon entry into the war.


But even as the German political and nationalistic goal of establishing the “Third Reich” was beginning to crumble,  the true satanic goal of this war; the destruction of the Jewish people was accelerating. Satan knew that in order to stop God's plan to return the Messiah, there could not be an Israel. The Jewish people had to be destroyed.


On that January day, Germany's top ranking officials gathered for the "Wannsee Conference" in Berlin to formulate a "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem”. The Nazi machine had already gathered most of the Jews of Europe into squalid ghettos and concentration camps. They had been denied all human rights and thousands were dying daily of starvation and disease. But the imprisonment, dehumanization and gradual destruction of the Jewish people was not enough.

In light of the weakening war effort, a more certain means of their total destruction needed to be implemented. The goal of this evil gathering was to find the quickest and most efficient way to murder all of the Jewish people in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

This planned Holocaust was not a new strategy. Time and again the Jewish people had been attacked and murdered for the crime of being Jewish. Pharaoh had attempted to destroy them in the days of  Moses' birth. Herod had taken his turn at the time of Yeshua's birth. And throughout later history the Jewish people had suffered persecution, expulsion and death at the hands of every “civilized” European nation.


But now at this moment, right before the time that God had determined to rebirth the State of Israel, Satan's servant Hitler and his demonic organization gathered to plan the “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem”. It was at the "Wannsee Conference" that leaders such as Himmler, Eichmann, Muller and twelve other high Nazi officials finalized the idea of building death camps throughout Europe and the mass transportation by rail of the Jewish people to their appointment with death. Never in history had the mass murder of so many millions of people been transformed into a precise and almost business like undertaking. Actual documents from the conference (pictured above) numbered an incredible 11,000,000 people who were set apart to be murdered!

But now at this moment, right before the time that God had determined to rebirth the State of Israel, Satan's servant Hitler and his demonic organization gathered to plan the “Final Solution to the Jewish Problem”. 

Over the following years, the "Final Solution" would become operational through the construction of death camps. Auschwitz, Triblanca, Bergen Belsen, Buchenwald and Dauchow, just to mention a few, are today infamous for the horror that was carried out within them. Their sole purpose was the systematic and efficient annihilation of millions of Jews along with any other people that the Nazi's found undesirable. 


Highlighting the fact that the primary demonic goal of World War II was the destruction of the Jewish people is the reality that in the later years of the war, as the German war effort was being stopped, the number of those being murdered increased. The ovens continued to burn non stop until the last minute. It was as if Satan knew that his time was short and his desire to accomplish his goal manifest in an obsession by the Nazis to complete their evil work before they were defeated.


Not too much has changed since then. The primary goal of the powers of darkness is still to prevent the return of the Messiah. And as always the means of accomplishing this goal is through the destruction of the Jewish people.
Today antisemitism has taken on a new name. In much of the world, hating Jewish people just because they are Jewish is politically incorrect.  So in response to this new found sensitivity, the enemy of God has found a more palatable way of presenting his goal. The new face of antisemitism is now anti Israel. You do not have to hate the Jewish people and try to kill them which would brand you anti-Semitic. Rather, you can just stand against Israel and work toward its destruction. This will be enough to prevent the fulfillment of God's great plan for this earth. But in the end there is no difference. To hate Israel is to hate the Jewish people.

The new face of antisemitism is now anti Israel.

 Today there is a never ending campaign to delegitimize and criminalize and ultimately destroy the nation of Israel. Whether it is Iran's threat to remove Israel from the earth, or the unending condemnation in the United Nations, or the Islamic Jihad which openly calls for the destruction of Israel and the removal of the “cancerous Jews”, or European democracies that look upon the one democratic nation in the Middle East and condemn it while overlooking the horrendous behavior of the nations that surround it, the truth cannot be denied. The enemies of God are once again taking aim at their age old target. It is Israel that represents God's faithfulness and it is Israel to which Yeshua must return.


Seventy years ago fifteen people from just one nation gathered together to plot the destruction of God's “Chosen People”. Their actions were the expression of the Kingdom of Darkness upon the planet Earth. Today, it is not the leaders of just one nation but rather it is the nations of the world that are gathering against Israel.


As the Day of the Lord draws nearer, the anger and hatred of the enemies of God is increasing. Our Bible tells us that there will be one last, great gathering of all the nations  against Israel. The Bible also tells us that in the last hour, as Jerusalem is being destroyed, the Messiah will return.

Yeshua's feet will touch down in the Jewish city of Jerusalem and the “Lion from the Tribe of Judah” will make war against the very ones who are attempting to destroy his beloved Israel. He who guards Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers. He has written her name upon the palm of his hand and as a mother cannot forget her firstborn son, he will come to save his people. 


In this day and at this time, even as we remember the evil of the past, let those of us who love God and love his Word arise to stand with the nation and people of Israel. May each of us take our place on the wall and with one loud voice proclaim God's love and purpose in these challenging days. May we stand united;Jew and Gentile, that the world may know that He is Lord.








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