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Some time ago, in an email communication, a friend of mine mentioned the atrocities which were committed against the Jews during World War II by Adolf Hitler. That is, what is commonly referred to as the Holocaust. Whether or not six million victims is an accurate figure has been a subject of debate for many years. I discuss this issue further in my article entitled "The Holocaust: Did God Make a Mistake?". Regardless, this was indeed a tragic event, and a blemish on the conscience of humankind. It goes without saying that the wholesale slaughter of innocent men, women and children -- no matter their race or religion -- should not be condoned by anyone for any reason; whether it was seventy years ago, or today.

However, what particularly caught my attention, was the fact that as we communicated via email, my friend used the term "God's Jewish children." Likewise, he later commented that he hoped that the Lord would be merciful in His impending judgments against the United States of America, due to her long, close friendship with, and support of, the state of Israel.

My friend's comments reminded me of a popular belief which has been embraced by quite a few American Christians. In fact, this belief has become even more widespread since I first authored this article twenty-three years ago, due to pro-Israel organizations such as John Hagee's "Citizens United for Israel", or CUFI. According to this belief, in spite of their staunch, continual rejection of Jesus Christ for two millennia, in some strange way, Israel and the Jews still hold some special place in God's heart, and the Jews are still His chosen people whom He loves above all others. Can you see something wrong with that belief?

In other words, while the rest of the Gentile world is lost in sin, and is in dire need of a Savior, this belief seems to suggest that in spite of the fact that their ancestors are the ones who murdered their very Savior, the Jewish nation has been exonerated of all guilt because of their special status with God. In short, it makes it sound as if God has turned a blind eye to their wickedness and rebellion. It in fact makes it appear as if God is a racist. It suggests that He is very partial in His judgments of the world. So, what is the truth to this matter?

As I have explained on previous occasions, whenever we are faced with a question to which we do not know the answer, instead of trying to figure it out in our own minds with our own carnal wisdom, it is imperative that we go directly to the Word of God in search of an answer. Neither should we simply rely upon hearsay, or the opinions of others. This is precisely what occurred in Acts chapter seventeen with the Apostle Paul and his companion, Silas. When Paul and Silas went to preach at the synagogue in Berea, the Jews did not simply accept what they were being told, unlike what many foolish people do today. Instead, we are told that they in fact searched the Scriptures daily, in order to confirm that what they were being told by Paul and Silas was true; as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few."


Even with my writings, I encourage my readers to scrutinize them, and to compare what I say with the Scriptures. After all, as I point out in the article entitled "Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word", I am only human. I don't know it all; and I am still learning, just like everyone else. Of course, knowing that some of you do not have the motivation to pull out your Bibles and check for yourselves, I do try to include as much scriptural support for my views as I can in every article and series that I write. After all, your faith needs to rest on God's Word, and not just in what I write.

Now, concerning the question regarding the relationship that God currently has with the Jews, the first thing I would like to point out is that if one reads the Old Testament closely, he or she will indeed come to the realization that God did in fact choose the Jewish nation to fulfill His purposes. As all Christians know, God's ultimate purpose was to bring His own Son -- Jesus Christ, the Savior -- into the world. Putting it plain and simple, Jesus was born of Jewish stock. As Jesus Himself said to the Samaritan woman at the well:

"Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."


This could be understood in two ways. First, is the fact that Jesus was Jewish after the flesh, and salvation would proceed from His death on the cross. Second, it was through the first chosen Disciples, who were Jews, that the Gospel of Salvation would eventually be spread to the known world of that day and slowly trickle down to us two thousand years later. So in essence, Salvation is of, or has proceeded from, the Jews.

But getting back to the main point here, one detail which some people tend to overlook is that the Lord's relationship with the Hebrews/Jews in the Old Testament was CONDITIONAL. From the time He chose Abraham, to the time He freed the Hebrew children from Egyptian bondage, clear up to the end of the Old Testament, dozens of times the Lord would say such things as the following:

"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you."


The Lord made it very clear to the patriarchal Jews what was required of them if they expected to be called the people of God and partake of the Lord's blessings and protection. As I make it very clear in my article "The Children of God and Politics", time after time after time, the Old Testament Jews, because of their own hard-heartedness and stubborn ways, rebelled against the Lord. While some modern-day Christians point to the Jews as historically being God's chosen people, they fail dismally when it comes to looking at the whole picture. The Old Testament is a continuous history of invasion and chastisement with small periods of obedience to the Lord sandwiched in between. As the prophet Jonah said in his moment of desperation:

"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."


The Lord wanted to bless and prosper the Old Testament Jews, but through their own insistence in wanting to do things their own way, following after strange gods, setting up their own earthly ruler instead of following the Lord as their sovereign King, etc., they forsook the mercy of the Lord and opened themselves up to attack from their enemies. Even at the time of Christ's birth they were again under foreign occupation and domination because of their sins. When a person or nation rejects God's mercy through obedience to His Word, they become targets for Satan's wrath; and many times this wrath is expressed through the earthly rulers and powers which he controls.

The Lord sent Prophet after Prophet to warn the Jews of their wicked ways all the way up to the "period of silence" some three to four hundred years before the birth of Christ. As I point out in "Who is Babylon the Great?", most of these Prophets were ridiculed, persecuted and slain by those to whom they were sent to warn. That is, their very own people, the Jews; and in particular, the Jewish religious hierarchy.

By the time of Christ's arrival on Earth, the Jewish spiritual elders had a very smug self-righteous religion based on keeping The Law and oral tradition; but with very little of the true Spirit of God. They had their people in bondage to keeping The Law, what is known as the Torah, and any new Word from the Lord via His prophets had been shunned upon for several hundred years. In fact, it was punishable by excommunication from the temple.

Based on the above, is it any wonder then that when John the Baptist and Jesus came preaching against their religion of self-righteous works that they were immediately rejected? John was beheaded by Herod at Salome's insistence, and Jesus was ultimately crucified by the Romans at the behest of the Scribes and Pharisees.

At this point, it is important to differentiate between those who were the spiritual rulers of Israel, and the common people, many of which received Jesus's words gladly. As it says in part in the Gospel of Mark:

". . . And the common people heard him gladly."


Many people, particularly Christians, are familiar with the following verse from the Gospel of John:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"


This verse is of course referring to those who accept Jesus as their only Lord and Saviour. However, they neglect to read the verses which come both before and after this verse. Verse thirteen goes on to say:

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."


This is the first instance in the Gospel of John where we are told of the necessity of being born again spiritually. Jesus expanded further on this in John chapter three where He said the following to Nicodemus:

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."


The Apostle Paul also shed some light on this important issue in his epistle to the Romans when he said:

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."


The above verses are but a few examples which show that the true Israel of God, the true Jews, are not those who are born Jewish after the flesh, but rather those people who are born of the Spirit through their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The true Israel of God, His true Church, is a worldwide body of believers who are not bound to the little physical country of Israel, or to the Jewish religion. For a further expansion on this topic, please refer to some of my other articles which deal with the spiritual nature of God's True Church.

And what of the flesh Jews, those who some claim still have a special link and relationship with God? For starters, consider the little-quoted verse which comes right before John 1:12:

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not"


The Jewish rulers rejected Jesus, and that is why He took His message of love and salvation to the poor and down-trodden, to those who still had open hearts to hear The Truth when it came to them. Through His death on the Cross, Jesus made Salvation freely available to ALL men of ALL nations. Consider His following words:

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto me."


As can be seen, Salvation through Jesus Christ is not a white man's thing. It is not a religion created just for the Western world. Through Jesus' death on the Cross, God is extending His love and mercy to ALL men everywhere; but as the prophet Jonah said, we are the ones who must make the conscious choice to accept God's mercy through His Son Jesus.

The Jewish people not only rejected that mercy, but like the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, they brought the curse of God upon themselves through their own mouths when they said:

"Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children."


Notice that it doesn't just say the Scribes and Pharisees shouted this, but it says that ALL the people answered this. It appears that those who were proclaiming Him King and Saviour one week, were the next crying out for His blood. Consequently, Jesus had nothing good to say about them. Consider the following verses:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."


"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."


"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."


The above verses are indeed strong, but nevertheless, they speak a truth which must be heard. This strange relationship between American Christians and the Jewish state is a farce. How can anyone who really knows the Scriptures accept this as anything but blasphemy and a mockery of our Lord and Saviour? As the above verses make so clear, those who claim to be true Jews are in fact the very children of hell!

Jesus Himself prophesied that the Kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to the Gentiles as a result of their unbelieving hearts:

"And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven."


"But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


How can this possibly be? It is very simple, just as we modern-day Christians look BACK in faith to Jesus's death on the Cross, as the famous chapter of Hebrews eleven says, all of the Old Testament patriarchs looked FORWARD in faith to Jesus' birth, life and death on the Cross for the Atonement of their sins, and their ultimate reward in the Heavenly City. But sadly, beginning in their own lifetimes, their own families and descendants, those who were destined to be "the children of the Kingdom", the flesh Jews, began to go astray and follow after other gods; which they continue to do to this very day. Please refer to some of my other articles for further details on these topics.

This is why Jesus said the "children of the kingdom" would be cast out. Those who claim to be "the children of the kingdom" and chosen nation of God are in fact no such thing. How can they be when they have rejected the One sent to save them? And it is because they rejected their Saviour, Yeshua, that they continue to wait for another one. Orthodox Jews are convinced that this savior, when he arrives, will bring them military victories and will be responsible for the final reconstruction of Solomon's temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Consider the recent news story of a red heifer calf being born in Israel. In the Jewish historical and religious sense, this is seen as a very important development and a sign from God. Within a few short years, we may witness the culmination of some key Endtime prophetic events!

In Paul's second epistle to the Thessalonians, we read the following sobering verses:

". . . because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"


If you read additional verses in this chapter, you will see that it is dealing with the rise of the Antichrist who sits in the temple of God at Jerusalem, claiming that he is in fact God. Because of their rejection of the true Savior, the Jewish nation may soon commit its greatest error yet, when it proclaims to the world, the arrival of its savior, one whom they refer to as "Moshiach". For a long time I had thought that the Jewish savior and the Antichrist were one and the same; however, as I explained in my article, "The Kings of the North and the South", I am now considering the possibility that this "Moshiach" might be what the Prophet Daniel refers to as "the prince of the covenant", the one who may possibly be responsible for drawing up the coming peace accord, or who will in some way be involved in its signing with the Antichrist. If my new understanding is correct, the Jews will learn an important lesson about trusting in the Lord, instead of in the arm of the flesh, when their Jewish "Moshiach" is first betrayed by, and then defeated by the Antichrist. But this will all be to break and humble them, and to destroy their self-confidence, and their confidence in their own religion, and ultimately draw them closer to the Lord.

While this paper may carry a very negative tone for some, it should be recognized that it is scripturally sound. The evidence is there for anyone who really wants to know the truth. Through their own conscious choice and rejection of the Savior, the majority of the Jewish people have forfeited their rights as the chosen people of God, and those rights have been transferred to a spiritual church and nation, whose builder and founder is Jesus Christ Himself. Consider what the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians:

"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."


In the Book of the Prophet Zechariah, we find the following obscure verse:

"And MANY NATIONS shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee."


In the above verse, we have not just one nation -- meaning Israel -- but many nations which belong to the Lord. This is a true picture of the righteousness and mercy of God. All men and nations everywhere who accept Jesus can be a part of God's holy Kingdom, and not just the nation of Israel.

But this is not the end of the story, for as the Prophet Jeremiah said many times, God is married to His rebellious and backsliding wife, meaning the nation of Israel; as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever."


"Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:"


"Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God."


"Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return."


"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him."


In spite of the Lord's many pleadings to Israel through His Prophets, one of the final verses in the Old Testament which exemplifies Israel's reaction to the Lord's many pleadings reads as follows:

"But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear."


However, it should be noted that there are indications in both the Old and the New Testaments that ultimately, in spite of her current wayward condition, even the nation of Israel will finally be redeemed. However, this will not occur until the Lord has utterly broken and humbled her through war and invasion. This may possibly be something we should expect sometime in the near future. For as Jesus Himself prophesied:

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."


It will only be after utter military defeat and severe suffering, that the pride of Israel will finally be broken, and she will be willing to admit the error of her ways and confess that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God and the Savior of the world. He is her very own Saviour whom she has long denied and rejected. In the meantime, we should be thankful that a small portion of Jews, such as the "Jews for Jesus", and the Messianic Jews, in spite of harsh criticism from their Jewish brethren, have begun to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The bottom line is that when it comes to sin, we are all in the same boat regardless of our national origin. God does not play favorites. In His eyes, we are all sinners in need of a Savior. In the final analysis, all that really counts to Him is whether or not we have accepted and believe in the Sacrifice of His Son on the Cross. After all, Jesus died for the sins of ALL men, including for the sins of the flesh Jews. As the Apostle Paul said:

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall NO flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."


Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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