With the war in Israel, there is a lot of focus on Israel and end times prophecy. Many people are praying for Israel, and eagerly anticipating the rapture of the church and the Great Tribulation, which many Christians believe will usher in the antichrist followed by the return of Christ.
First, Some Stats About Israel
Below is a link to a Pew Research Study about the nation of Israel.
According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2016, the nation of Israel is 81% Jewish and 19% non-Jewish. Non-Jewish is comprised of 14% Muslim, 2% Druze, 2% Christian, and 1% other and non religious.
Of the 81% Jewish population, there are four sects of Jews, the Hiloni (40%), the Masorti (23%), the Dati (10%), and the Haredi (8%).
The largest sect, the Hiloni, are secular with only 2% who consider religion very important in their lives. The next largest group, the Masorti are traditional Jews, with 32% who consider religion important in their lives. The Dati are religious and 85% consider religion very important in their lives. Finally, the smallest sect, the Haredi, are ultra orthodox and 96% consider religion very important in their lives.
The largest sect, the secular Hiloni (40%) view being Jewish a matter of culture, while the smallest sect, the ultra orthodox Haredi (8%) view being Jewish a matter of religion.
The majority of ultra orthodox Haredi do not view themselves as Zionists (63%), while a majority of the other three groups do view themselves as Zionists.
Of the four sects, the majority from the religious sect, the Dati (71%), the ultra orthodox sect, the Haredi (59%) and the traditional sect, the Masorti (54%), followed lastly by the minority of the secular sect, the Hiloni (36%), agree that Arabs should be expelled from the land.
97% of the ultra orthodox Haredi, 96% of the religious Dati, 85% of the traditional Masorti, and 69% of the secular Hiloni agree that Israel should give preferential treatment to Jews.
To summarize, the geopolitical nation of Israel is not entirely Jewish, and the majority of Jews do not consider religion important, and therefore it can be assumed that the majority do not practice Judaism, making Israel a secular nation.
The minority groups that do consider religion important want to expel Arabs from Israel and believe that Jews should be given preferential treatment by Israel. The majority of Jews consider themselves Zionists, meaning they support the establishment of a Jewish community in Palestine. However, the majority within the most religious sect do not consider themselves Zionists, but consider the Zionist movement "an act of the devil". Furthermore, they believe that "the only hope for the state of Israel is its destruction."
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ultra-orthodox-anti-zionist/
What this means is that the most religious Jews do not support the popular view of the western church, which is that the modern state of Israel is the God given land of the Jews. In fact they "vigorously deny it". If that's the case, then the vast majority of western Christians do not support the religious Jews, but support the secular Jews who do not practice Judaism. Therefore western Christians support a secular, geopolitical nation that is not even supported by religious Jews - the very people who western Christians believe they are supporting. Western Christians would be wise to research the things which they support so that they know who and what they are supporting.
Look at it this way, many nations view the United States as a Christian nation, however those of us who live here and know who the nation's leaders are, know otherwise. It's the same thing for Israel. Western Christians view it as being a Jewish nation, but the devout Jews who live there, as well as in other parts of the world, know otherwise.
What About the Christians?
What I have not heard much about during the start of this war, are the Christians who live in Israel. There is much Christian support for Israel, but support for Christians who reside there seems to be non existent.
Consider the survey statistics and what this all means for Christians who reside in Israel. Many people may not know that there is a very small population of Christians within Israel (2%). These Christians are primarily comprised of converts from Judaism, and Islam. Converts from Judaism can be from any of the four Jewish sects, and converts from Islam are primarily Arab/Palestinian. 77% of Christians are Palestinian, and the remaining 23% are Jewish or other. This means that the majority of Christians are Palestinian.
Because religious Jews want to expel Arabs/Palestinians from Israel and believe that preferential treatment should be given to Jews, then they are the largest supporters of expelling Arab/Palestinian Christians from the land, as well as the largest supporters of the notion that they should be given preferential treatment above Arab/Palestinian Christians. Yet, interestingly, they are the ones in least support of the establishment of a Jewish community in Palestine.
Now, think about that. Pray about it. Think and pray about what God may think about that. I want to strongly encourage you to think and pray, spending time in thought and prayer considering what these things mean.
Before I began researching Israel, I just went with the flow without ever thinking or praying about it, but just believing that the things which I was taught about Israel were true. Why wouldn't I? Everyone I knew believed it and it was the only view that I had ever heard before. All the Christian radio and televangelists teach it and reject any other view as heresy or antisemitism. I know that I'm not the only one who simply accepted it without ever actually giving it any thought or looking into it for myself. Many Christians are the same way. We believe something to be true because the pastor said it, or because our church believes it, or because it is the doctrine of our denomination, or because the majority of Christians believe it, or because the news media says it, or because our political ideology supports it. The support of Israel is the only thing that Democrats and Republicans agree on, and therefore the United States gives Israel tens of millions of dollars every day.
Christians are often taught that Christians have to support the geopolitical nation of Israel because Christianity is a Jewish religion they say, or because Jesus was Jewish, or because God's covenant with Israel is still in place. According to church history, this was not the prevalent view of the church until the 1800's, meaning that the majority of the church up until that time did not believe these things about Israel. The prevalent view of the church today regarding Israel is a new doctrine which became popularized by the teachings of John Nelson Darby around 1830, which is interestingly about the same time that Mormonism came into existence by Joseph Smith. Both men were discontent with the church and claimed to have a "revelation from God" regarding the "true church and its teachings". Most Christians would agree that "new teachings" from men who have "revelations from God" are likely heresy, but ironically, because Darby's view, dispensationalism, is the prevalent view of the modern American church, to believe anything other than dispensationalism is considered heresy and antisemitism today. Based on that, that would mean that the majority of Christians before 1830 were heretics and antisemitic. I find that hard to believe.
After studying what the Bible teaches about Israel, I personally do not believe that the Bible teaches this doctrine, or that Christians are under any obligation to support Israel. The Lord Jesus is the Messiah whom Israel rejects. Jesus came and fulfilled the Law and established a new covenant with God's people, because the kingdom of Israel which God had established as His kingdom, had broken theirs. Jesus never indicated that Christians are required to support Israel, in fact He constantly rebuked their leaders and their religious practices when He was here.
But that's not to say that I do not love and pray that Jews would come to faith in Christ so that they can be saved, because I do. What I'm saying is that I do not believe that the modern state of Israel is anything more than a geopolitical nation, and that I do not believe that God has two distinct people, one being Jewish and the other being Gentile. The Bible teaches that God has one people, not two, and that His people are those who have faith in Christ. But these are issues for another article.
I research the events that are actually taking place in Israel, and I listen to the views of secular people, of Jews, of Muslims, and of Christians who are on the ground there. Truth be told, it is very difficult to know for sure what the truth is regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Because it is so difficult to know for certain, I am unwilling to side with Israel. There are too many stories of injustice by them, and if these accusations are true, even if they are still God's chosen people, they have no right doing what they are doing and they need to be held accountable. Christians need to be on the side of justice and righteousness, which is why it's so important for us to inform ourselves about these things.
I want to encourage you to be like the Bereans and study and research and think for yourself. Most Christians do not read the Bible but rely on others to teach them what it says and what it means. I want to strongly encourage you spend time in thought and prayer considering what these things mean.
Then I want to encourage you to set aside your political views and your religious views, and your views about Israel, and just think about what God may think about these things.
I thought about what might God might think about religious Jews wanting to expel the land of all other people groups so that one people group could reside there. I thought about what God may think about religious Jews wanting to expel the nation of Christians who are His children that He sent Jesus to die for and who are His people. I thought about what God might think about religious Jews wanting to expel the nation of Christians, who bring Christ into the nation. I thought about what God might think about religious Jews believing that they should be given preferential treatment above others, including Christians.
I spent time really thinking and praying about these things and asking myself if this aligns with the God of the Bible and with His plans and purposes. I ask you to do the same.
When you are finished doing that, if you are a supporter of the nation of Israel, think about how your support supports the expulsion of people other than Jews from Israel. How your support supports the expulsion of Christians and therefore the expulsion of Christ, from the nation of Israel. How your support supports the preferential treatment of Jews among other people groups in Israel. How your support supports a non-Jewish, non-Christian, secular, geopolitical nation of which the majority agrees that these things should take place. How your support supports a secular, geopolitical nation above Christians who are your spiritual family members. How your support supports a people who deny that Jesus is His Son and who deny that Jesus is the Messiah. How your support supports a people who want to re-establish the sacrificial system which God sent Jesus to die for and get rid of. How your support, supports a people who persecutes His people. Think about what God might think of your support of these things.
Then I want to encourage you to set aside your political views and your religious views, and your views about Israel, and just think about what God may think about these things.
I thought about what might God might think about religious Jews wanting to expel the land of all other people groups so that one people group could reside there. I thought about what God may think about religious Jews wanting to expel the nation of Christians who are His children that He sent Jesus to die for and who are His people. I thought about what God might think about religious Jews wanting to expel the nation of Christians, who bring Christ into the nation. I thought about what God might think about religious Jews believing that they should be given preferential treatment above others, including Christians.
I spent time really thinking and praying about these things and asking myself if this aligns with the God of the Bible and with His plans and purposes. I ask you to do the same.
When you are finished doing that, if you are a supporter of the nation of Israel, think about how your support supports the expulsion of people other than Jews from Israel. How your support supports the expulsion of Christians and therefore the expulsion of Christ, from the nation of Israel. How your support supports the preferential treatment of Jews among other people groups in Israel. How your support supports a non-Jewish, non-Christian, secular, geopolitical nation of which the majority agrees that these things should take place. How your support supports a secular, geopolitical nation above Christians who are your spiritual family members. How your support supports a people who deny that Jesus is His Son and who deny that Jesus is the Messiah. How your support supports a people who want to re-establish the sacrificial system which God sent Jesus to die for and get rid of. How your support, supports a people who persecutes His people. Think about what God might think of your support of these things.
- A secular, non-religious, geopolitical nation
- Ridding the nation of all people except for Jews
- Ridding the nation of Christians
- Ridding the nation of Christ
- Giving preferential treatment to Jews above all others
- Favoring a secular geopolitical nation over Christians who are your spiritual family members
- A people who deny that Jesus is the Messiah
- A people who deny that Jesus is the Son of God
- Re-establishing the sacrificial system which Jesus's sacrifice ended
- The persecution of Christians
- Possibly genocide
I apologize for how harsh that sounds, but these are questions that I dealt with and they are questions that most Christians never consider, but must consider because Israel is regarded so highly by Christians.
The U.S. is a strong ally of Israel and supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both politically and religiously. What a lot of Christians may not know is that earlier this year, ultra orthodox members of the Knesset, which is essentially Netanyahu's cabinet, were pushing to imprison non-Jewish people, especially Christians for sharing their faith with others. The draft law also stated that the New Testament would be illegal. It was only because of pressure from American evangelicals and other global leaders that Netanyahu rejected the bill.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230322-christians-will-face-jail-in-israel-for-proselytising-under-proposed-bill/
https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Two-Knesset-members-propose-law-banning-spread-of-Christianity-in-Israel-27672
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230322-christians-will-face-jail-in-israel-for-proselytising-under-proposed-bill/
https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-20/Middle-East/Two-Knesset-members-propose-law-banning-spread-of-Christianity-in-Israel-27672
In 2018, Israel adopted a law called, "The Law of Return", which grants Jews citizenship within the country, however, Muslims and Christians do not have the same rights. I have heard stories of Christians and missionaries who could not enter the nation for ministry or who were forced to leave. One story goes that Netanyahu was in the U.S. meeting with our government leaders when the bill was enacted, and unbeknownst to them, they sent him back the next day with $3 million. I cannot find the story online to verify it, but I heard it from a ministry leader who is highly involved in ministry pertaining to Christian persecution, so I believe that it's possible. It goes to show that the U.S. government and those who are not in Israel, do not have the knowledge of everything going on there, or how crooked the Israeli government may be. According to this ministry leader, Israel is glad to have the support of the U.S. and of American evangelicals, while at the same time they betray us without us even knowing it.
The Law of Return supports the Zionist movement, while restricting non-Jews. Palestinians have gone so far as to call it part of Israel's apartheid against them. Under the law, the Hebrew language was made the language of the state and it allows for the establishment of the controversial Jewish settlements. Whether Palestine was a state or not prior to the United Nations giving a portion of the region to Israel, there have been Palestinians living there for generations, whom Israelis have no right to take land from. If anyone disagrees, then you would have no problem if the government enacted a law which said that China can have your land and your home which your family has lived on and farmed for generations. And then when you don't leave because you decide to stand your ground, the Chinese force you to leave by tearing down your home or worse, shooting you and your family. Most Christians rightfully did not like the government forcing them to wear a mask during Covid, so I suspect that most would be much more upset if the government allowed another nation to take their home from them.
The Voice of the Martyrs who has monitored the persecution of Christians for decades ranks Israel as "Hostile" towards Christians. Persecution comes from both followers of Islam and ultra orthodox Jews. It is important for Christians to understand that the Jews who many Christians support, are persecuting Christians. We expect it from the followers of Islam, but we do not expect it from Jews. We do not expect it because we do not hear about it in the media and because we consider Jews as being the Christian counterpart and because the U.S. is an ally of Israel. However, the reality is that Jews in Israel, as well as Muslims, persecute Christians, and as we have already seen, the majority want to expel the land of all non-Jews, including Christians, which is persecution.
https://www.persecution.com/globalprayerguide/israel/?_source_code=WHPB20C
The Voice of the Martyrs are not the only ones who report Christian persecution in Israel. There are many in the region who report that it takes place on a regular basis. An easy internet search will provide many articles on the subject.
https://imeu.org/article/discrimination-hate-crimes-against-christian-palestinians-in-the-holy-land
When discussing Israel, the western world categorize Arabs as Palestinian which is largely Muslim. Because of this, the population of Israel is viewed as consisting of Jews and Muslims, and the small population of Christians is not acknowledged by the west. Israeli Christians often feel secondary to Jews. They feel forgotten and like American Christians do not even realize that they exist.
That is not a good thing. Jesus said that his followers must have love for one another, yet many are unaware that Christians even exist in Israel and that persecution against them is increasing. Due to this lack of knowledge, there is massive support of their Jewish persecutors by Christians.
Some residents of Israel, including some Christians, have reported that Israel has been "cleansing the land" of Palestinians, and that they have taken advantage of this attack by Hamas to finish the job. Is it true? I don't know because I'm not there to know for sure what the intentions of the participants are, however based on the fact that the majority of Jews want to expel Arabs from Israel from the Pew Research report, it is a possibility.
Stephen Sizer, a Christian from the UK who supports Israeli Christians and who is involved with peacemaking between Jews and Palestinians, shared a post by Jeff Halper who resides in Jerusalem and is on The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, after the Hamas attack. He wrote,
When discussing Israel, the western world categorize Arabs as Palestinian which is largely Muslim. Because of this, the population of Israel is viewed as consisting of Jews and Muslims, and the small population of Christians is not acknowledged by the west. Israeli Christians often feel secondary to Jews. They feel forgotten and like American Christians do not even realize that they exist.
That is not a good thing. Jesus said that his followers must have love for one another, yet many are unaware that Christians even exist in Israel and that persecution against them is increasing. Due to this lack of knowledge, there is massive support of their Jewish persecutors by Christians.
Some residents of Israel, including some Christians, have reported that Israel has been "cleansing the land" of Palestinians, and that they have taken advantage of this attack by Hamas to finish the job. Is it true? I don't know because I'm not there to know for sure what the intentions of the participants are, however based on the fact that the majority of Jews want to expel Arabs from Israel from the Pew Research report, it is a possibility.
Stephen Sizer, a Christian from the UK who supports Israeli Christians and who is involved with peacemaking between Jews and Palestinians, shared a post by Jeff Halper who resides in Jerusalem and is on The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, after the Hamas attack. He wrote,
"I am going to bed tonight in full certainty that as I sleep, Israel, a member state of the UN, abetted, armed and egged on by the US and the other G-7 countries that rule the world, is committing genocide in Gaza.
"Confining two and half million people to a tiny area (while cynically and cruelly advising them to "leave"), cutting off all food, water and electricity, declaring that all Gazans are Hamas, thus making even children legitimate targets, carpet bombing for days to "soften" the terrain, and then, tonight as I sleep, invading with an army of 300,000 soldiers -- that is THE definition of genocide.
"The world is run by war criminals, which imperils oppressed and poor people the world over. But tonight we must think of the people of Gaza, thousands of whom will die in the next days, their lives destroyed, their cities, town and villages obliterated.
"The dramaric break-out by Hamas fighter could have been a heroic and potentially decisive blow for Palestinian liberation. In fact, it did achieve at least two strategic goals. It restored Palestinian pride and agency by resisting oppression and proving that Israel was not invincible. And it demonstrated that the Palestinians can no longer be ignored and excluded as political actors. which the cynical, US-led attempt to "normalize" Israel in the Arab and Muslim world without addressing the Palestinian national rights tried to do.
"Having said that, Hamas ultimately failed the Palestinian people when its well-planned operation descended into wanton carnage. That is what happens when resistance loses its political focus and simply lashes out. Given the conditions the Gazans have been subjected to, especially over the past 16 years of cruel beseigement, unchecked rage and violence can be understood but not excused.
"Whether or not Hamas instructed its fighters to slaughter innocent people for its shock effect or simply failed to instill political discipline in its ranks, their horrendous acts, in my view, turned a breath-taking act of defiance into a stain on the Palestinian people and its fight for freedom. They must be condemned, first and foremost by the Palestinians themselves.
"And yet, again, we must remember that Hamas and its excesses are the product of a century of systematic and brutal destruction of the Palestinian people by a Zionist project determined to displace the Palestinian people, take its lands, turn their country into an exclusively Jewish state and Palestine into Israel, and eliminate all traces of their collective existence, history and culture. This decades-old process of cultural genocide, accompanied by oppression, dispossession and killing, has led to tonight, when Zionism/Israel becomes overtly genocidal. The imprisonment and systematic killing of Palestinians has already spread to the West Bank, where soldiers and settlers alike have been given a green light to drive Palestinians off their land - and kill them if they resist.
"What Zionism/Israel has done to the Palestinian people stands as one of the great crimes of modern history. This, perpetuated by Jews and supported by Jewish "liberals" abroad beginning just three years after the Holocaust, mocks and makes hollow Jewish traditions of social justice.
"In the end, Zionism has destroyed two peoples, the Palestinians and the Jews. But tonight we must all vow to do whatever is necessary to save to Palestinian people and restore their national rights. Forging a shared and inclusive and egalitarian state and society sounds absurd tonight, even a cruel, inappropriate joke. But that is where, after all the blood that has been shed so superfluously, we must go.
"Want to "take sides"? OK, here's the choice: Apartheid/genocide in an ethnically pure Jewish state built on the ruins of Palestine vs one democratic state of equal citizens accompanied by a l-o-n-g, painful but necessary process of restoring Palestinian rights. acknowledging the crimes and injustices committed by us Israeli Jews and reparations. More than the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of South Africa. More like the still-incomplete process of Germany addressing the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Your choice."
Again, I live in a very small rural town in America, removed from the situation, so I cannot confirm Halper's allegations, but I cannot dismiss them either because others in the region are saying similar things. There are various Christians and churches within the region as well as humanitarian organizations who are accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians, and who are calling for others around the world to identify them as an apartheid state. These allegations have been going on well before the war, and not only from Palestinians. Halper is an American who now lives in Jerusalem. I hope these allegations are not true, but now having heard them, I cannot just dismiss them because that would be irresponsible of me.
Another thing that I have considered, but have not heard anyone else mention, is the possibility of this war being due to God's judgement of Israel. That sounds like a really bad thing to say, especially with the prevalent belief that they are His chosen people, but even in the Old Testament, God's judgement came upon them for their disobedience. He gave the northern kingdom over to Assyria and He gave the southern kingdom over to Babylon. Then, in AD 70, He destroyed the temple and Jerusalem by the hand of the Romans.
Furthermore, God judged pagan Egypt when He had Moses lead them out of the country, and He judged pagan Canaan when He sent Israel in to conquer the land. Egypt was totally depleted of its resources after the tenth plague, and if Israel would have been obedient, all of the Canaanites would have been destroyed.
God also judges those who cause harm to His people. He remembered them and heard their cry when they cried out to Him in Egypt. When Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees, he said that they and their generation were being held responsible for persecuting and killing God's prophets. If Israel is persecuting Christians and doing the things that some are accusing them of, then it is not unreasonable to think that this war may be God's judgement against them. I have no idea if it is or not, but it is a possibility.
Because of all these things, I am cautious to jump on the bandwagon for the support of Israel, and I would advise you to do the same. There is more going on than meets the eye. I have been told that it's dangerous to not support Israel, but I cannot help but think that it's dangerous to support them. If you don't believe me, that's ok. Just know that I base everything here on information from various media organizations. I have provided several links to articles that support what I'm saying, but if you choose not to believe what they say, then please do your own research. The internet has unlimited sources. If you choose not to believe it or not to research it, then as Halper said, "It's your choice", but considering everything I've stated, that approach to be very irresponsible.
Some who read this might accuse me of being antisemitic, but I assure you that I have no hatred for Jews or for anyone, but I view everyone as being in need of Christ. I believe that as Christians we need to be on the side of justice and righteousness, and if there is injustice or unrighteousness taking place, we need to condemn it and speak out against it, no matter who is doing it.
As a Christian, it is my responsibility to know what the Bible teaches about important issues and I must consider what God thinks about the people and the things that I support. I must first and foremost seek to please and to glorify Him. Second, I must support my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially above those who reject Jesus and his sacrifice, and who persecute His followers. I must love and pray for the salvation of Jews as well as for the salvation of Palestinians. I must pray for all those who are caught in the devastation of this war in Israel, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, and others. I am called as a Christian to love God first, followed by loving my fellow members of Christ's body and loving my neighbor. I am called to love my enemies and to pray for those who persecute me as well as the other members of Christ's body. I am called to support and to act in justice and in righteousness. I am called to obey Christ and his commands and to go and make disciples of all nations. including both Jews and Palestinians in Israel. Some of them will be future disciples of Christ. These things are what I believe to be the true Christian response to the war in Israel.
My plea is for Christians to support their Christian brothers and sisters in Israel and to love and pray for all who are involved in the war. Hamas should be condemned for it's act against Israel, but as Christians, we need to pray for them as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment