Quick Read #19: Israel and Christianity
Early in the morning of the 7th October 2023, Hamas launched numerous rockets aimed at the State of Israel, many managed to evade their defences causing damage and loss of life. More have followed with similar results. Needless to say Israel responded; not immediately and not in kind, but with a mindset to wipe everyone in Gaza from the face of the earth. So it came as no surprise to learn Christian churches around the world became united in prayer for the welfare of Israel.
Gaza is home to around 2 million people. It is roughly 10 kilometres wide and about 40 kilometres long. Its western border is the Mediterranean. All of Gaza is fenced with high razor wire barriers with two controlled points of entry, north and south. No one can leave or enter without the correct papers or permission from the Israeli guards. It is the most surveilled place on earth described by many as an open prison, and while I agree with this common view, the question arises: how was Hamas able to stockpile numerous rockets, armaments and small arms, without being noticed by the IDF or CIA. Even Egypt was aware of what was coming and warned the Israelis days ahead.
There have been various reasons from Israel for being ‘caught off guard;’ a lack of judgement, a breakdown in security, but it wasn’t a surprise and questions remain unanswered. Was it allowed to happen with resultant death and injury to hundreds of citizens, and why was the IDF ordered to stand down for several hours during its initial phase? The answers are found in a very dark place.
I was pleased to see a recent interview with 3 rabbis from various parts of the world, who had stopped off in Ankara on their way to Jerusalem. Their spokesman laboured the point there is a huge disparity between Judaism and Zionism; that Zionists had hijacked the Jewish religion for their own evil aims. The Jewish State has been run by Zionists since its founding many of whom are not religious, but are they prepared to sacrifice their own as a pretext for total war against those whose land they occupy?
Now, it’s agreed that the first casualty of war is the truth. It is also true, especially today, that a lie can be halfway around the world before truth has got its boots on, nowhere more in evidence than Ukraine and the Jewish State. In took less than a day for the lies to begin; the beheading of infants, the rape of concert goers, and an unprovoked attack, et cetera, none of which have been verified by any means. The language from Israel and from Zionist Jews around the world is equally appalling; the Palestinians are nothing but human animals and must be exterminated; we will kill them all as it is God’s will. And this out of the mouths loved and prayed for by the Christian west..!
It is time for the Christian church to wake up to the truth, and get its head out of its backside where it has been permanently fixed since Darby and Scofield. The secular State of Israel (it has no official religion) has absolutely nothing to do with God or Scripture. It is a counterfeit possession sanctioned by the UN through fear. Christians who support the State have been deceived by the darkest of forces.
Churches have become fat on tithes, lazy in the Word and devoid of commonsense. Jesus told us to love one another; so how will you respond when He asks “did you love your enemies as well as your friends?” If anyone needs your prayers it’s them, and you can also include Christians living in Israel harassed by the Jewish State. And pray too that JESUS opens His truth in you while there’s still time.
As for Hamas they are not without fault, no one is, but what you won’t see in western media is the reason for their recent foray into Israel. For the last several months, the IDF and settlers in the West Bank have been killing Palestinians and invading Mosques, especially in Jerusalem. How would you feel if armed men came into your place of worship and forced you to leave at gunpoint? Now imagine having to put up with similar provocations for more than 50 years..! Walk a day in their shoes… you wouldn’t last five minutes.
There is no escaping the fact this is a mess, but it is one of our own making. Political Zionists helped themselves to land that was not theirs. Before the Zionists came; Muslims, Jews and Christians, lived together, and apart from the odd disagreement, in a state of general harmony. So much so, they even cared for and watched over each other’s children. But all this stopped in 1948.
The Zionists came and the killing and expulsions began: 700,000 were driven from their ancestral home for no other reason than greed. And now we are on the verge of a regional conflict because of it. As long as misguided Christians believe the Jews are God’s instrument on earth, and Jesus will return to Jerusalem, there will be no peace in Palestine, or for that matter, the rest of the world.
Every Christian that believes the Jewish State is the Will of God is living in a state of delusion. Every Christian who thinks the Jews of Israel are the descendants of the Jews of the 1st Century needs a history lesson: the history of Israel’s removal from Judea and Samaria, the Jews of Babylon, and basis of Eastern European Khazar Jewry a good place to start.
As many Rabbis will tell you, Judaism and Zionism are not the same, and while Christians financially support the Zionist State of Israel, blood is on their hands. There is, and can only ever be one Israel: The Israel of God. (Gal 6:16) And as you should know by now, it is not of this world. I pray the LORD Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father and Prince of Peace, shines His mercy upon us all.
In love and peace as always,
James