The bitter root of anti-Semitism and Israel bashing

State Persecution

Herod wasn't the first or last politician to persecute God's people. Satan toys with world leaders, manipulating their minds to accomplish his diabolical purposes (Revelation 16:14). His disturbed mentality is too often revealed in troubled heads of state. The political realm - with its international tension - aptly reflects a spiritual conflict of interests (Daniel 10:13). Behind the human scenes are the true "star wars" (Revelation 12:7).

Pharaoh also "had his reasons" to accuse Israel of dual loyalty. His cold-blooded attempt to murder every Hebrew boy (to avert an imagined insurrection) cost him the life of his son and cursed his kingdom!

The forces of evil were well aware of God's prophecy to Abraham (Genesis 15:14). It decreed Egypt's destruction and Israel's deliverance. In the midst of apparent defeat, Israel's survival was insured: Moses was hid by a "righteous Gentile" and grew up in the courts where he would later appeal, "LET MY PEOPLE GO!" Passover, our Festival of Freedom, marks Israel's independence from Egypt. The seventh day Sabbath also commemorates Jacob's rest from forced labor (Deuteronmy 5:15).

Then there was wicked Haman. Satan stirred him up against "those arrogant Jews" who refused to assimilate (Esther 3:8). He slandered the Jews as worthless rabble, incited the king to act intolerant, and insisted "the only good Jew is a dead Jew!"

This mad call for genocide struck at the heart of Israel: Judah, the Scepter-tribe, from whence the Messiah was to come! Haman's hatred backfired though, taking his life in the process, as well as removing many other threats to Judah's existence. Purim celebrates this remarkable turnaround of events. This Jewish renaissance enabled a number of Jews to return to Israel and pave the way for Christ's coming.

Bethlehem, where David had been born and raised, awaited his descendant who was predestined to give birth to the Messiah (Micah 5:2). For that to occur, it was necessary for Jews to again be living there! (Shamefully, today Bethlehem suffers under Arab occupation since Israel's retreated and permitted the City of David and birthplace of Jesus to become the dirty village of Mohammed!).

The Destroyer attempted to take Israel's life and thus defeat God's purpose to overthrow him - in due time - from One who would be born to them; Pharaoh failed and Egypt fell; Haman was sent to the gallows with his ten sons, hung by his own plot to bury Judah; Herod knew that Israel's Firstborn - God's Son - had been born and went all out to abort His Ascension to David's throne. He also failed and the source of his Roman power was dried up and he died. Satan "can't win for losing!"

Even Christ's crucifixion was part of the plan. Jesus' resurrection enables us to break Satan's stranglehold over our lives! The devil is doomed! He knows his days are numbered and he's getting desperate....

Precious Legacy

One of the greatest crimes against humanity was Hitler's war against the Jews, the "Holocaust." Although Satan hates every human being, he especially hates those descended from Jacob-Israel (primarily the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic and Jewish peoples). He knows they're instrumental in his eventual overthrow. And out of Israel he's targeted the Jews. They've borne the brunt of his brutality. Why? Because:

1. All the top positions in God's Kingdom (under Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) will be filled with Jews! That explains the spiritual significance of "the Jewish conspiracy" theory. Satan is feeding people with half-truths and grotesque exaggerations, poisoning minds against the Jews and anything "Jewish." He sneers at their accomplishments and turns their praise into persecution!

2. The Jews are representative of all Israel, and they (NOT Ishmael!) hold the Promised Land in trust for all Twelve Tribes (Romans 3:2).

3. The Jews have preserved the Bible, thereby retaining the knowledge of the true God and His Sabbath and Holy Days (and when to properly observe them).

4. The Jews are LIVING PROOF of God's invincible plan!
No wonder the devil feels threatened by any Jewish presence and has repeatedly attempted to erase them from off the earth! (I'm reminded of "Precious Legacy." It was an exhibition of Jewish things on loan from Prague to America. The Nazis had collected these treasures to display in their proposed "Museum of an Extinct People!").

Jesus Christ, the KING of Kings, was born and raised a Jew. Ruling with but under Him in GOD'S GOVERNMENT, will be David - resurrected to reign over all Israel (Ezekiel 37:24). King David was a Jew. Jesus' twelve disciples, the founding-fathers of "the Christian nation" (1 Peter 2:9), all Jews, were particularly promised: "...when the Son of man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28). Christ is going to fill every office in His Administration with those whom the FATHER has personally recommended - not just the Jews, but they've got His Word on it for key positions.

Hitler continued Satan's enmity against the Jews. He (possessed by the devil himself) declared WAR on Abraham's descendants - and lost! "The Master Race" attempted to eliminate any competition from the Chosen People, but Germany suffered defeat and went down in flames....

Every spring, Jews read in the Haggadah (a special booklet for Passover): "In every generation there are those who rise against us to annihilate us. But the Holy One blessed is He, ever saves us from their hand." However, it goes beyond simply celebrating our miraculous past; it expresses faith and confidence that God (past, present and future) will always save us: "And may we thank you with a new song for our redemption and the liberation of our soul. Blessed are You O Lord who redeems Israel."

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS HAS BEEN PROVEN throughout the generations. Yes, He allows atrocities to occur, and governments and individuals have gone berserk for awhile, but only to a point. Then GOD steps in and the rest is history. Even Satan will come to his end (Revelation 20:10).

Israel, Jesus and the Jews have survived! We'll also survive - and the whole world will survive because of us. GOD'S PLAN WILL STAND: those who oppose it will fall.

Excerpt from Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, chapter 1, "Survival Guaranteed!"