“For I would not, breth­ren, that ye should be ignorant of this mys­tery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blind­ness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gen­tiles be come in.
   And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliver­er, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
   For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins.
   As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes but as touching the election, they are the beloved for the fathers’ sakes.” Ro­m 11:25-28 

God has clearly warned the Church not to think of herself more than she should, that blind­ness came to the Jews so there could be a time of salvation for the whole world. This “suspension” of time for the Gentile’s sakes has a pre­scribed end. In due course the Jews will be saved. Yet in its dark igno­rance the Church has often forgot­ten this truth and ignored the promise to the Jews who are the seed of Abraham. Over the last thousand years the Church has belittled, ac­cused, persecuted, and even killed the Jews. Christianity as a whole has condoned their hatred of the Jews by believing that it was the Jews who killed Jesus and that because of that God has cast them adrift forever. The Church has used this rationale to feed its self-righ­teous attitude and to excuse persecution of the Jews. But no matter how or why this attitude and spirit has prevailed it has been one of deep igno­rance and is scripturally wrong.

The Jews were no more responsi­ble for the death of Christ than the Gentile world, and the Gentiles were no less responsible than the Jews. Let this truth be established in your heart and mind, as Jesus said;

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
   No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” John 10:17-18

Jesus surrendered his life for our (Jew and Gentile) sakes. Those involved in making the trap for Jesus are still guilty, however. Remember, it was not only the Jews (with their trumped up char­ges) that bear the blame, but ROME (representing us Gentiles) approved the execu­tion and it was the Gentile soldiers who mocked and scourged Jesus, placed the crown of thorns on His head, made Him carry the cross up Golgotha, and pierced Him in His side. Yes, we all bear responsibility for hating and crucifying God. It was a con­spiracy of all mankind.

That the Jews shoulder sole re­spon­sibility for the death of Jesus is the first great misconception the Church has carried against the nation Israel and it inevitably leads to a very serious mistake. Wherever this ignorance persists it is believed that the Jews have been cast off forever by God. Romans chapter 9, 10 and 11 should be stud­ied carefully by every Chris­tian and taken to heart. It estab­lishes who we are and who the Jews are in the face of God’s plan of redemp­tion.

“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to pro­voke them to jealousy.
   Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the dimin­ish­ing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness? …
   For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
   And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
   Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root but the root thee.
   Thou wilt say then, The Branch­es were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
   Well; because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear:
   For if God spared not the natu­ral branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” Rom. 11:11-12, 16-21

As the prophecy says, all Israel shall be saved. The time of the Gen­tiles shall come to an end just as God has declared. The Church had forgotten these basic promis­es and God’s sure word of proph­ecy. Becoming wise in her own conceits and puffed up in the spiritu­al pride of the blessings which God had bestowed upon her she became ignorant and injurious.

But, glory to God, the Holy Ghost has lifted this condition. The knowl­edge about the nation of Israel and its election has been restored to the Church in our lifetime. In every de­nomi­na­tion and group the truth about the chosen nation has come to light. The establishment of a Jewish state in Israel in 1948 and the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the denominations during the sixties and seventies has forced the Christian believer to look at the Jews with greater compassion. Churches every­where have decided to support the Jewish cause and to sing the praises of God’s chosen nation. The Holy Ghost has confronted us with this marvelous truth and it is up to each individual believer to receive it in his or her heart.

Yet, to indiscriminately support the Jews in everything they do may have peculiar dangers lurking within it, too. We must use keen discern­ment. The day is shortly coming when the Jews and luke­warm Chris­tians will again be in league against God. The two will conspire with the antichrist to set him up in the temple in Jerusalem as God Him­self. To the Jews and Christians in­volved in that work we owe no loyal­ty. God will not require that His people support apos­tate Jews work­ing for humanism even if they are of the chosen nation. We cannot give all Jewish causes and action carte blanche support.

“(God) will render to every man according to his deeds:
   To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and im­mor­tality, eternal life.
   But unto them that are conten­tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
   Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile:
   But glory, honour and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
  For there is no respect of per­sons with God.” Rom. 2:6-11

How then should we support the Jews?
What then should we do? God wants us to acknowledge and help Israel doe­sn’t he? Yes, we should defend the Jews and respect the fact that they are heirs to the promises made to Abra­ham, Isaac and Jacob. We should rejoice in the fulfilling of prophecy and aid them in their spiritual fight against the anti­christ spirit of the world; and we should promote the re-establish­ment of Israel in today’s world because it is God’s plan being manifested. We should be careful not to be influenced by the hu­manistic arguments that ever rage against the Jews in today’s atmosphere of international power politics regardless of how logical or compelling they seem. Yet, in another sense, all that is happening in Israel is none of the Chu­rch’s business. If we are not to be deceived by events shortly to come to pass we must be wise as serpents but gentle as doves. Much of what we are witness­ing in Israel today is a sort of family squabble. What is happening in the Middle East, with the violence, intrigue and jockeying for peace, is the fulfillment of end-time prophe­cy.

God’s workings with the Jews, even to the Church, remains a mys­tery and a paradox: like a father chastising his son. Through the prophet, Micah, God announced that He has a con­troversy with his child.

“Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.” Mic. 6:2

But through his prophet,  Zecha­ri­ah, God has also  estab­lished Israel as his dear child, saying,

“Deliv­er thy­self, O Zion, that dwellest with the daugh­ter of Baby­lon.
   For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the na­tions which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye.” Zech. 2:7-8

He loves the child but there is a breach between them, one that only the parties in­volved can resolve. The Church has as much insight into this contro­versy as a stranger, who pass­ing by, sees a father chasten­ing his child and has no perfect understand­ing what is really happening. I look forward with great antici­pa­tion to the day when the contro­versy that God has with the “apple of his eye” comes to its saving con­clu­sion. What a day that will be, I am sure. As the scripture says,

“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” Rom. 11:15

We can only now guess at the full meaning of this scripture. Until then we ought to have compassion on Israel and aid them in their battle against the antichrist spirit and the spirit of a world always ready to persecute them. I believe time will reveal that the born-again, Spirit-filled Christian walks a tight-rope of faith concern­ing the Jews and how to react to their plight. Therefore, I will not support those Jews who betray the calling of the nation Israel by compromising with the spirits of the antichrist and human­ism. For the day is fast ap­proaching, and has even started, when Jews in power will support and uphold the Antichrist in return for peace with the nations of the Gen­tiles. Just as this is now happening we can be sure that the days are rap­idly approaching when the Jews and the Gentiles will conspire together, just as in the days of Christ’s first coming, against the plan of God. This time, instead of trying to kill God, the conspira­tors will attempt to depose God and usurp His Lordship by wor­shipping the antichrist as he sits on the throne of God, in God’s temple, in God’s city. We can be certain this con­spiracy will take place because it is written in the books of the proph­ets, in Daniel, and in Reve­lation. It will be a time of great evil and holo­caust for the Jewish people and for all those who hold fast the testimony of Jesus.

The leaders who guide the world into the con­spir­acy of the antichrist, I will not follow, we should not follow, nor am I re­quired to follow. Isaiah heard and recorded these words over 2500 years ago but the Spirit now speaks them to the Church today:

“For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
   Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom, this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.
   Sanctify the Lord of hosts him­self; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
   And he shall be for a sanctu­ary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem .
   And many among them shall stu­mble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken”. Isaiah 8:11-15

When we start to understand the nature of end-time prophecy it be­comes apparent that the Christian must stand by and, in many ways, be content to watch the drama unfold, to watch the conspira­tors swarm together. But we must also be ready to help the afflicted Jews who refuse to be part of the “confederacy” that was prophe­sied so long ago. In the meantime we should not look down on the Jews or be preju­diced against them, or proclaim the Gentile world as the chosen peo­ples of God. Instead, I will look for the fulfill­ment of prophecy, which includes the salvation of Israel, the judgment of the world, the redemption of the Church, and, of course, the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds.

#3 Fellowship: The Sharing Of Fruit