-
Unknown: Well, Shalom, and
welcome back for part two of our
-
series on understanding the
times. And last week we covered
-
a lot of information and I
realized that and we're going to
-
do the same thing this week. So,
I want you to know I'm offering
-
you a free outline of this
seminar series, all four parts.
-
All you have to do is email me
at Susan at ice j usa.org. That
-
Susan at ice j usa.org. requests
the outline for understanding
-
that times and we'll be happy to
send it to you because we do
-
cover a lot of information. And
you might even want to get that
-
outline and then listen to it a
second time and follow along.
-
We're living in absolutely
historic days, and just as
-
miraculous as the gathering of
the Jewish people to the land of
-
Israel. So is the miraculous
shift of the Christian world
-
away from an anti semitic past
and towards the Jewish people in
-
our days, we are getting grafted
into that olive tree that
-
supports our faith. But before
we began talking about this and
-
what a miracle it is, we must
understand the past and
-
understand where we come from.
So first, I want to talk to you
-
about anti semitism. And then I
want to talk to you about its
-
influence on Christian history.
You know, the hatred of the
-
Jewish people, anti semitism.
It's a unique phenomenon in the
-
human experience. There's really
nothing else that compares to
-
it. The first documented
instance of anti semitism we
-
actually read about in the Bible
and the story of Esther, where
-
we have Haman who wanted The
Jews to bow down and reverence
-
him. And when they wouldn't, he
turned against him with all the
-
might of the Persian Empire and
he fully intended to wipe them
-
out. The reason we have that
story, the Book of Esther, is
-
because of the absolute
significance of what Esther did.
-
She saved the Jewish people from
extinction, not just of the Jews
-
of the Persian Empire, you you
have to understand, the Jews of
-
the Empire of the Persian Empire
were the majority of the Jews of
-
the world had Haman succeeded in
annihilating the Jews within the
-
Persian Empire. That would have
been it for Jewish history, we
-
would have had no birth of Jesus
500 years later. Now, you would
-
have thought then, eventually
when these ancient kingdoms and
-
empires that were a little
ruthless, once they gave way to
-
Christianity, you would expect
the story to change but
-
unfortunately, we have the story
of how The Christian kings who
-
were also the head of the
Christian church, persecuted the
-
Jews, because of the church's
teaching against Judaism. They
-
blame the Jews for killing
Christ and said that they
-
deserved punishment and to be
persecuted due to Jesus's
-
crucifixion. So I'm going to
talk more about that in a
-
minute. But I want to give you
an idea here about the
-
seriousness of anti semitism.
Because once Christianity then I
-
have to say the age of the
Enlightenment came and science
-
replaced Christianity as the
primary source for authority in
-
the world. Now it was science.
And so here we have science as
-
the backbone of the Nazi
ideology of saying that there
-
were differences in races, and
that the Jewish race was
-
subhuman. And it needed to be
wiped out.
-
So these older forms of anti
semitism, whether it's It was
-
the ancient empires or it was
Christian anti semitism or it
-
was Nazi anti semitism based on
racism. None of that's really
-
accepted today, thankfully. But
instead, we have a whole new
-
form of anti semitism. It's
raising its ugly head, actually
-
with two faces. One anti
semitism is rife throughout the
-
Muslim world. And secondly,
there's a political form of anti
-
semitism that is against the
Jewish state, called anti
-
Zionism. So we're going to talk
more about all of this. What I
-
want you to take away from this
brief introduction is that the
-
evil pursuit of the Jewish
people has continued for
-
millennia. And this is why the
historian Robert wistrich called
-
it the longest hatred. It
doesn't stop all it does is
-
reinvent itself with a new
generation and a new ideology
-
with a new face. But the goal is
always the same, and it's to rid
-
the world of the Jewish people.
So now that you understand the
-
spiritually evil nature of anti
semitism, I want to talk to you
-
specifically about its influence
on the Christian story on
-
Christian history. Now, we all
know that Jesus and the early
-
Christians were all Jewish. They
kept the Sabbath, they kept the
-
feast. In the beginning, they
worshiped right alongside the
-
Jewish people in the temple. But
over time, certain tensions did
-
develop and a record of one of
the earliest tensions is found
-
in the book of Acts, chapter 15.
And this is when the Holy Spirit
-
has begun to fall on Gentiles.
And the mainstream Jewish
-
community did not like this
because it was bringing pagan
-
influences in through this
messianic body. And the
-
Messianic Jews didn't know what
to do with it. They hadn't been
-
expecting God to fall for the
Holy Spirit to fall on the
-
Gentiles. So they had a church
Council and thankfully the
-
finding of the church Council in
Acts 15 was that you and I, the
-
Gentile believers coming into
the body of Christ did not have
-
to become Jewish. We did not
have to be sec circumcised. We
-
did not have to obey the law in
order to follow Jesus. But this
-
did indicate to us that there
were some tensions going on in
-
the book of Acts. It was between
the Gentiles coming into the
-
body of Christ it was with
between them and the Messianic
-
believers. And then it was
between the Messianic believers
-
and the largest, the larger
Jewish world. Now, as a result
-
of this ruling, and large scale
missionary activities of the
-
Apostle Paul and the other
apostles More and more Gentiles
-
are coming into the
-
church.
-
And it's taking on a different
-
face a different look. A lot of
these Gentiles coming into the
-
church, they didn't have any
appreciation for the Jewish
-
roots of Christianity. I mean,
they didn't even understand a
-
lot of the laws or know about
it. And so they were leading the
-
church in kind of a foreign way.
And so there's more and more
-
tension. But then in 70 ad, we
have a traumatic moment for the
-
people of Israel. When the Roman
Empire comes in, they do a siege
-
of Jerusalem. It ends very
badly, they destroy Jerusalem,
-
they destroy the temple. And now
the headquarters for Judaism has
-
been destroyed. The temple was
the headquarters,
-
the high priests that serves in
the temple they were the
-
leaders.
-
So the the headquarters for
mainstream Judaism moved up
-
north of the country into the
region of time period. The early
-
church is still they're coming
back to Jerusalem but they
-
actually had fled because of the
Roman siege. So there's now like
-
a geographic difference between
mainstream Judaism and the head
-
of the church, and then the head
of the church is becoming more
-
and more Gentile. And we have
leaders developing in other
-
cities like Antioch or
Alexandria or or in areas that
-
are primarily Gentile and
primarily pagan. Another main
-
moment in the history of this
growing rift taking place was in
-
135 ad a hole 50 years later, 60
years after the destruction of
-
Jerusalem, we have a small band
of Jews that still try to rebel
-
against the Roman rule and try
to reestablish Jewish
-
sovereignty and they followed a
leader who was known as bar
-
coke. The bar kokhba revolt did
not succeed. It failed. But in
-
the meantime the the Jews that
were trying to follow bar kokhba
-
and trying to make this
rebellion succeed actually
-
proclaimed him to be Messiah. So
those Jews that follow Jesus as
-
Messiah could not have anything
to do with following bar kokhba.
-
And it actually became bloody.
There were missing Anik Jews
-
that believed in Jesus were
actually killed during this
-
revolt because they didn't join
in. This is known as the real
-
split. This is the Rift, this is
it. It's all over between any
-
kind of unity between Judaism
and Christianity between the
-
synagogue and the church. It's
divided now. So throughout the
-
Gentile world, though we have
the churches growing and growing
-
and church leadership is
developing in these other areas.
-
areas of the Roman Empire. And
then there's another form of
-
tension. And that is that
throughout the Roman Empire,
-
Judaism was recognized as a
legal religion. They were
-
allowed to practice Judaism. And
as long as Christianity was seen
-
as a part of Judaism, it was
protected. But once this
-
division took place, now the
Christians are completely
-
unprotected. They're persecuted
by the Roman authority. And
-
because of the bar kokhba
revolt, then eventually the
-
Jewish religion is also
outlawed, and it's a time of
-
great persecution of both Jews
and Christians. And, but there's
-
a little bit of animosity here,
between the two groups. All of
-
this changes in an a moment, in
the year 312 ad, when the
-
emperor of the Roman Empire
becomes Christian, and he
-
declares the state religion of
the Roman Empire to be
-
Christian. Now this is a major
thing for the Christians, all of
-
a sudden, they're no longer
persecuted. They won. They're
-
victorious. But the poor Jews
are still persecuted now, not by
-
the Romans as a pagan Empire,
that by the Christian empire of
-
Rome. So as the church left its
position as a persecuted
-
minority and took on political
power, it became spiritually
-
corrupt, and its stance towards
the Jews was very negative. As
-
the Church Fathers began to try
to differentiate between the
-
church in those ugly Jews, those
persecuted Jews, they began to
-
preach against Judaism. Now, the
reason is that they didn't want
-
there to be any confusion
between the Christians and the
-
Jews. Jewish religion so they
they taught against Judaism that
-
this is the root of a problem
that lasted for centuries. So
-
it's very important that you
understand here. The preaching
-
was not against the Jewish
people as individuals. It was
-
against the Jewish religion as
Church Fathers attempted to draw
-
a distinction between
Christianity and Judaism. But
-
they preached so negatively
against Judaism, that they
-
actually paved the way for anti
semitism and the persecution of
-
the Jewish individuals. So I'm
just going to give you one
-
example. St. JOHN chrysostom,
because he is known as the
-
golden tongue. He was a
beautiful orator
-
of the love of God. Now listen
to what he said. He said, The
-
synagogue is worse than a
brothel.
-
It's a den of scouts.
-
It's the temple of demons. It's
a place of meeting for the
-
Assassins of Christ. And as for
me, I hate the synagogue. I hate
-
the Jews for the same reason.
And he actually said, God hates
-
you, too. So this is the
beginning of what we call
-
replacement theology. This is
where the Church Fathers
-
preached that Judaism had been
completely rejected by God,
-
because they had killed Christ.
They were rejected, they were
-
cursed, and they were now
replaced by the church, in the
-
plans and purposes of God. This
teaching brought great damage to
-
the Jewish people for centuries.
During the long ages of the dark
-
ages of the Middle Ages, every
type of degrading law was then
-
passed against the Jewish people
because remember, you know, Most
-
of us, we, I know, speaking as
an American, I live in a
-
democracy and I don't really
understand the whole concept of
-
a state church, and that the
head of my government is the
-
head of my church. Back in the
Middle Ages, this was very much
-
the case. And these
-
corrupt
-
secular leaders were the head of
the church and they took this
-
anti Jewish preaching in the
church and used it to pass laws
-
against the Jewish people. So
the Jewish people weren't
-
allowed to work certain jobs,
they weren't allowed to own
-
property, they weren't allowed
to prosper in any way. And they
-
were frequently given the option
of being baptized or being
-
persecuted or being even
expelled and sometimes their
-
children were kidnapped and
forced to be baptized. Now, I
-
want to read for you some
excerpts from A confessional
-
that a Jewish person had to
confess when they were baptized
-
into Christianity. You'll
understand now why the Jewish
-
people look upon conversion in
such a negative way because this
-
is what was forced upon them.
And this is what a little bit of
-
what they had to say it's a very
long confession. I've only
-
pulled out a few sentences. But
this is the heart of it. They
-
had to say, I renounce every
right and observance
-
of the Jewish religion.
-
I promise that I will never
return to the vomit of Jewish
-
superstition. We will not
practice carnal circumcision, or
-
celebrate the Passover,
-
the Sabbath, or any of the feast
days connected with the Jewish
-
religion. I renounce absolutely
everything Jewish so you can
-
understand why baptism became a
very dirty word for the Jewish
-
people, it meant a betrayal of
everything that they'd ever
-
known as Jewish and against
their families and against their
-
heritage and against their
forefathers. So it's very, very,
-
very sad part of history. Now,
in addition to force baptisms,
-
we had them being forced to live
in walled in neighborhoods in
-
the cities called a ghetto. This
began in Venice, Italy. But then
-
they that progressed, and it
wasn't enough just to have them
-
living in a Walden section of
the city that was locked on
-
Sundays and locked on Christian
holidays so that these dirty
-
Jewish people couldn't come out
into the streets and mix with
-
the Christians as they went back
and forth to church or as they
-
celebrated their Sunday. That
wasn't bad enough. So churches,
-
some countries began to expel
the Jews. You know, the The
-
first country to expel the Jews
was England. And in 1290, King
-
Edward the first of England was
the first to expel Jewish
-
citizens from his nation. And
they were expelled from them
-
France and Italy and Hungary and
Switzerland and Germany and
-
Austria. And if you know your
map, you can see how that they
-
would flee one country into the
neighboring country. And then
-
they'd have to flee that country
and go into the neighboring
-
country. And then they had to
flee that one and they went
-
next, and then they had to flee
there. And you can actually
-
follow this on the map. You
know, here in the United States,
-
we we have a little saying that
in 1400 92, Columbus sailed the
-
ocean blue and Columbus founded
America. But in 1492, Spain also
-
expelled every two. This was
during the Spanish Inquisition.
-
So I know that at this point in
the story, a lot of you are
-
thinking, but I'm not Catholic.
I have nothing to do with that
-
background. I'm Protestant. I'm
evangelical, I'm a boring
-
employee, real Christians
wouldn't do that. And that's why
-
I'm, we always have to tell you
the story about the father of
-
the Protestant Reformation,
because it's just more of the
-
same. Martin Luther, and when he
broke away from the Catholic
-
Church, and he had a lot of very
tough things to say about the
-
Catholic Church. But one of them
was that he said, No wonder the
-
Jews have been converted to
Christianity. You know, our
-
Pope's and our monks have
treated them, like dogs, not
-
even human beings. And so he
began to reach out in a very
-
friendly way to the Jewish
people. But it wasn't genuine.
-
All he wanted was for them to
convert to Christianity and when
-
they didn't convert, then at the
end of his life when he was
-
older, and according to the
historians, he was quite grumpy
-
in many ways and his health was
bad. But he really turned
-
against the Jewish people. And
he wrote a book called The Jews
-
and their lies. And I want to
quote to you from Martin Luther,
-
the father of the Protestant
Reformation. He said here,
-
perhaps I will attract some of
the Jews to the Christian faith.
-
But when he didn't, sorry, on to
the next quote, next quote, he
-
said, First, their synagogue
should be set on fire. Secondly,
-
their home should likewise be
broken down and destroyed.
-
Thirdly, they should be deprived
of their prayer books and town
-
moods and their rabbis must be
forbidden under threat of death
-
to teach anymore and their
parents Sports and traveling
-
privileges should be absolutely
forbidden to the Jews. To sum it
-
up dear princes and nobles who
have Jews in your domain, if
-
this advice of mine does not
suit you, then find a better
-
one, so that you and we may all
be free of this insufferable
-
devilish burden the Jews.
-
Now what's so alarming is that
400 years later, in luthers,
-
country, Germany, Hitler came up
with the final solution, and it
-
was extermination. So I want to
be very clear here now that
-
Christianity did not create the
Holocaust. Nazi ism was not
-
Christian. It was anti
christian. But Christian anti
-
semitism made the Holocaust
possible. Without the history of
-
anti Jewish persecution and anti
Jewish legislation, the
-
Holocaust would have been
inconceivable. Hitler and the
-
Nazis found in medieval
Christian legislation, a model
-
for their own and they read, and
they reprinted and distributed
-
Martin Luther his writings in
order to validate what they were
-
doing and get public support for
it. Hitler told to Catholic
-
Bishops that did actually
question his policies on the
-
Jews and he said he was only
putting into effect what
-
Christianity had preached and
practiced for 2000 years.
-
Now, the
-
Holocaust historian Raul
hilberg. In his book The
-
destruction of the European
Jews, he said it this way He
-
said First, the early church
declared, you have no right to
-
live amongst us as Jews. Then
their secular rulers followed
-
and said You do not have the
right to live amongst us. And
-
then the Nazis came and said,
you do not have the right to
-
live. Now, this is the deadly
progression of anti semitism.
-
And the fact that the Christian
church had any role to play in
-
this history is a shame. And
it's something that we all have
-
to come to terms with. But the
good news is after such a sad
-
history, and as such a terrible
stain on the history of
-
Christianity in the world, that
today, you and I are privileged
-
to be a part of an amazing shift
in history away from that anti
-
semitic past and towards the
Jewish people. And to understand
-
how this shift is taking place,
there's three things The
-
foundation for it began about
500 years ago, when the Bible
-
began to be translated into the
everyday languages of the
-
people, and was mass distributed
through the printing press. More
-
and more people were then able
to read the Bible for
-
themselves. And they began to
see that the Bible was full of
-
promises to the Jewish people
that one day, they would be
-
drawn back to their land, and
that God had made all these
-
promises that were still yet to
be fulfilled. And they began to
-
actually pray for the
restoration of the Jewish people
-
to their homeland, and the
fulfillment of God's promises to
-
them. Of course, these prompt
these Christians also knew that
-
a one of those promises was the
return of the Messiah to the
-
land. But that laid a great
foundation. But there's two
-
other things in history that
have happened that have
-
solidified This turn from our
anti semitic past because
-
remember, even Martin Luther had
the scriptures in his language.
-
So that's not a failsafe. But we
have learned from the heart and
-
the tragedy of the Holocaust.
And we have understood the role
-
of Christian anti semitism. And
it brought about a monumental
-
shift nothing less than an
earthquake within Christianity.
-
The Catholic Church learned and
and has repented of its guilt
-
here. They have they reevaluated
their theology towards the
-
Jewish people, they actually
even change some of their
-
liturgy, their Good Friday
liturgy, and they have really
-
made a great effort to build a
relationship of mutual respect
-
with the Jewish people and the
Jewish religion. Now, the other
-
thing that has happened, though,
has been the birth and the
-
existence of the State of
Israel. So you and I were not a
-
part of the Catholic Church,
maybe in that shift, maybe you
-
are. Also the Lutheran Church
made a huge shift. They actually
-
disavowed the writings, the anti
semitic writings of their
-
founder, Luther. There's been
other moves in the historic
-
churches in Europe, but but some
of us don't feel connected to
-
that we're a part of an
evangelical church and, and we
-
have been more profoundly
affected by the existence of the
-
State of Israel. Because we've
been able to go there on tour,
-
we've been able to see where
Jesus walked. But while we were
-
there, we came to know the
Hebraic culture, the Jewish
-
religion of Jesus and to meet
his brethren, the Jewish people,
-
and we have begun to build a
relationship with the Jewish
-
people built on mutual respect.
So these three things together
-
the translation of the Bible The
which brought about a whole
-
movement of Christianity, which
today is the fastest growing
-
segment of Christianity, the
evangelical segment, and will
-
one day be the largest segment
of Christianity. So the
-
translation of the Bible, the
lessons of the Holocaust, and
-
here the existence of the State
of Israel has brought about a
-
change that you and I are
privileged to be a part of. No
-
longer are we looking down on
the Jewish people and heaping
-
condemnation on them and
instead, or honoring them, just
-
as the Apostle Paul said, to
honor them as the roots of our
-
faith, because they support us.
He said, We don't support them.
-
They support us. So this is a
major
-
change and what a privilege to
be a part of this generation,
-
that we can be a part of the
positive part of Christian
-
history, and our relationship
towards Israel and the Jewish
-
people. This is at the very
heart of the Ministry of the
-
International Christian embassy
Jerusalem, we have helped to
-
pioneer a whole new relationship
with the Jewish people in
-
Israel, and through our branches
all around the world. I know
-
that here in the United States,
I've been a part of a major
-
shift, and a tremendous
relationship between Jews and
-
Christians. It's been such a
blessing, such a privilege to be
-
a part of this. I'm so thankful
that I'm a part of this
-
generation. But we don't
understand what a miracle that
-
we are a part of. And the Jewish
people look at us as a miracle.
-
Sometimes they look at us and
they don't really believe us
-
because they know all that
history. And that's why it's so
-
important that you also know
that history so that as you
-
engage with the Jewish people in
your nation, that and here in
-
Israel, that you know, this
history because they certainly
-
do and You can help build a
whole new relationship with them
-
built on mutual respect, and
unconditional love or not in
-
this because of anything, we
think we're going to get back
-
out of it. We're in it because
God's hand is on them. He's
-
brought them back to their land.
He's blessing them. And we want
-
to be a part of that blessing.
Praise the Lord. So as I said in
-
the beginning, if you'd like to
have an outline of today's
-
teaching, along with actually
the whole series, send me an
-
email at Susan and ice j. u. s.
a.org. asked for the
-
understanding the times outline
and we'll send it to you and
-
I've got another free offer for
you. If you want to know more
-
about anti semitism, I have a
free booklet that you can
-
download. Just go to www.ic e
jusa.org. forward slash Asch
-
free booklet and you can
download a free booklet on anti
-
semitism. It reviews this
history. It reviews anti
-
semitism around the world today,
and what you and I can do in
-
order to stand against it. I'm
so grateful that you spent this
-
time to learn about this painful
history and the miracle you're a
-
part of I asked the Lord to
bless you as you go forward in
-
your week. Please come back.
Listen to part three. We're
-
going to talk about the
spiritual battle against Israel
-
and the Jewish people how we see
that and how we can stand
-
against it. So be sure not to
miss part three, and I'll see
-
you there.
-
God bless you. Shalom, Shalom.
-
like everywhere else Israel has
been hit by the Coronavirus. You
-
come here to Ben Gurion Airport
and you see that there are very
-
few planes in and out of the
country. But the few that are
-
coming are bringing Jews on them
from all around the world who
-
are desperate to make aljada
Israel they see Israel as safer
-
as having a better economic
potential for the future for
-
them. And Israeli officials have
managed to bring evacuation
-
flights even amidst all the
corona travel bans and it's
-
exciting to report that the
Christian embassy has brought
-
over a thousand Jews on these
rescue flights over the past
-
four months since February.
Every month around 250 Jews
-
coming home to Israel on flights
sponsored by the Christian
-
embassy. And we want to
challenge you to help us keep up
-
this pace. In the coming months
that we bring at least 250
-
Jewish people home on alioth
flights, you can go to our site
-
on.ice.org slash rescue 250 and
you can help book a seat for
-
some Jewish family to come home.
The flights that are coming now
-
are bringing Jews who are stuck
in limbo. They thought they were
-
going to make Ollie all this
year and they left their jobs.
-
They sold their apartments and
all of a sudden Corona hit. And
-
many of them have been
destitute. We've also had cancer
-
patients who needed to Get to
Israel for life saving surgery.
-
Many emergencies help us with
our rescue 250 campaign,
-
bringing at least 250 Jews home.
Despite the corona you could be
-
part of this remarkable story
that even amid the Coronavirus,
-
all the Bible prophecies about
the Jewish people coming back to
-
the land of Israel in the last
days, it is still happening.
-
Nothing has been able to stop
it. But we need your help. Go to
-
our site and help book a flight
for a Jewish family today.