Thoughts About Anti-Semitism


Yesterday (12/8/22) I listened to a discussion about Anti-Semitism on the Israel Virtual House of Prayer.  The discussion was very thought-provoking.  I listened without making any comments although a recent meditation on a passage of Scripture in Luke, chapter 10 about the seventy disciples whom Jesus had sent out to every city and place where He was about to come returning from their first missionary journey in Israel came to my mind during the discussion.

After the IVHOP discussion I reviewed that passage of Scripture in Luke 10 in light of the discussion.  These thoughts came to me.

First, I realized that the seventy disciples of Jesus were all Jews who were representing Jesus in His mission to harvest all the souls in Israel whom God the Father wanted Him to harvest.

Second, I realized that our battles with other people originate in the spiritual realm, not with the people themselves.

Third, it occurred to me from this passage that when Jesus sent out his disciples to announce His Kingdom, He equipped them with weapons of spiritual warfare to set the people of Israel free from the evil spirits which were affecting their lives so that they would be free to enter and live in His spiritual kingdom.  The result was that the seventy disciples returned to Him marveling that even the demons were subject to them in His Name.  Then He reminded them that the most important reality was that their names were written in Heaven!

Then He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the sophisticated and cunning, and have revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing before You.

Included in that passage of Luke chapter 10 is this statement of Jesus:  Luke 10:18-19    And He said to them, I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning.  Behold, I give to you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the authority of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you.   It appears to me that there is a connection between the disciples casting out demons and satan falling from heaven.  And it also appears to me that even though satan has fallen, the disciples have the authority to deal with 'serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy' and that  nothing would by an means harm them if they exercised the authority He had given them to tread down the serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy!

The key to exercising authority over the spiritual enemies of mankind is the Name of Jesus and using that authority to build the Kingdom of God.  It is also necessary to recognize that what we call 'the church' is not the Kingdom of God although there are some people in 'the church' who are subjects of the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God consists of everyone who has received Jesus into their hearts as Savior and Lord, and are learning from Jesus Himself how to function as subjects of His Kingdom.

The summary thoughts that I have come to at this point are these:

1.  God created mankind to replace satan and his followers as members of His family;
2.  God allowed Adam and Eve to go astray from Him after their own ways so that they could discover that life without God is meaningless and nasty and subject to interference from satan and his followers;
3.  God arranged for the reconciliation of mankind to Himself through the life and death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus The Anointed;
4.  God gives every member of mankind the authority to become His children, but we must use that authority to actually become children of God;
5.  There is a domain of darkness and a Kingdom of the Son of God's love, and God is in the process of rescuing as many people out of the domain of darkness and granting them entrance into the Son's Kingdom, where all desire and do the will of God.

Two things hinder the children of Israel from entering the Kingdom of God.  First, they reject Jesus, and therefore are unable to use His Name to win the battle with satan and his followers in this world.  Second, they idolize the Jewish temple or the hope of rebuilding the temple when we know from Scripture that God never spoke to anyone about building Him a temple to dwell in, but ordained the building of a tabernacle for Him to dwell in to be among His people.  As a result the temple has always been an idol which interferes with the reconciliation of God with His people.