A Nation and a People Like No Other

And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself. (1 Chron. 17:21)

THE HORRENDOUS ATTACK on Israel by Hamas on 7 October 2023, and the subsequent anti-Israel responses – both in the streets of our towns and cities and most of the legacy media – illustrates the extent to which much of our world is now reminiscent of 1930s Germany which led to Kristallnacht and ultimately the Holocaust.

Media response

Meanwhile, the media and organisations like the United Nations have been and continue to be extremely influential in shaping anti-Israel views. The BBC doggedly refuses to class Hamas as a terrorist grouping in spite of the UK Government’s affirmation of such status. The influential and largely unaccountable national/international broadcaster is continuing to resist efforts to force the publication of an internal report in 2004, which examined the organisation in terms of institutional antisemitism¹. University campuses have now also become fertile grounds for anti-Israel activism.

"The BBC doggedly refuses to class Hamas as a terrorist grouping in spite of the UK Government’s affirmation of such status ."

This significant increase in antisemitic attitudes coupled with the spread of Islam –in the West and indeed around the world – will surely oblige Bible-believing Christians to come to a view on God's present and future purposes for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

Church of Scotland response

Of course, followers of non-Christian religions, secular humanists and atheists have opinions based on their own creeds, perceptions and understandings². However, one would expect to find an alignment with God’s prophetic purposes amongst those who claim to have the Bible as their ultimate authority.

Yet in 2007 the Church of Scotland affirmed a declaration which “categorically reject[ed] Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation”. This prompted a robust rebuttal from one of the denomination’s senior ministers. Rev. David Torrance wrote: “God is actively present in this world which he has redeemed in Christ. He is encountering the nations today in mercy and in judgement. He is spiritually/physically encountering them today through Israel”. Undaunted however, in its annual General Assembly of 2013, the Denomination’s ‘Inheritance of Abraham’ document further denied God’s special purposes for the Jews and the nation of Israel.

"... one would expect to find an alignment with God’s prophetic purposes amongst those who claim to have the Bible as their ultimate authority."

The report caused the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities to state that it: “deeply regrets the Church of Scotland's approval of a report that provides a veneer of theological respectability for what is effectively a call for the destruction of the State of Israel.” The Denomination’s position is similar to that of Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer who has previously been barred from ministry by the Church of England for sharing “virulently antisemitic” material.

Divided opinion

All this stands in stark contrast with that of Bishop J.C. Ryle who, half -a-century before the modern-day state of Israel came into being, wrote:

“It is high time for Christians to interpret unfulfilled prophecy by the light of prophecies already fulfilled. The curses of the Jews were brought to pass literally; so also will be the blessings. The scattering was literal; so also will be the gathering. The pulling down of Zion was literal; so also will be the building up. The rejection of Israel was literal; so also will be the restoration”.

This scenario and spectrum of divided opinion is indicative of the differences of views within the Christian church amongst those who respectively –

teach and hold to Replacement Theology (aka Supercessionism) – the view that believers under the New Covenant ‘replace’ the Jews and Israel in God’s purposes.³

have not been taught i.e. those who have had no clear teaching on God’s covenants and the prophetic scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments.⁴
very sadly, 'will not be taught' i.e. minds have been made up, and views resolutely fixed.⁵
believe that God has yet a special place in His present and future purposes for the Jews and the nation of Israel - even though mainly and presently the people are in unbelief regarding Jesus as the Messiah (Ezek. 39:27 – 29).

Biblical Understanding

As the world moves inexorably towards the second coming of Jesus Christ, and for those who believe the Bible's teaching that 'his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives' (Zech 14:4), the question of attitudes towards, and beliefs regarding the Jews and Israel will increasingly come into very sharp and vitally-important focus. In the light of the aforementioned Hamas attack, and the subsequent and varied responses, the issue will be critical in terms of a biblical understanding between now and Kingdom come.

"... the question of attitudes towards, and beliefs regarding the Jews and Israel will increasingly come into very sharp and vitally-important focus."

In the final analysis (on any given topic) the will and purposes of God trump all human thoughts, prejudices, religious teachings, media bias, political postures and public opinion.

God tells and warns us -

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. (Zech 12:2-3)

Could it be that that day is nearer than we might think?

Endnotes.

In 2004, the BBC spent £270,000 on a 20,000 word document but is still refusing to publish it.
Religious Jews are still awaiting the Messiah and do not believe that Jesus was and is that person.
The American pastor John Piper has said: “A non-covenant-keeping people does not have a divine right to the present possession of the land of promise. Both the experience of divine blessing and the habitation of the land are conditional on Israel's keeping the covenant God made with her”. However, this is to fail to acknowledge that the covenant which God made with Abraham was and is unilateral and unconditional (Gen. 15:7-21; Ps. 105:8-11).
Those in pews who sit under pastors/teachers who hold to Piper’s view will probably and mainly be amongst this grouping.
There are many who are probably swayed by the antisemitism which has prevailed throughout history. See The Longest Hatred.

The Editor, 31/01/2024