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Recognizing Subtle AntiSemitism in the Church
Preface: I love the Church. I believe that the Church (comprising the justified) is God’s design (Eph. 2). I attend a healthy, Evangelical church. My desire is to help strengthen the Church with proper theology in all areas of life, but especially as it relates to my God-given calling.
You knew this already, but it’s past time to question everything you read in a commentary, hear from the pulpit or click on social media (including this post!) Within the global church, there still exists an anti-Jewish sentiment that permeates theological content, especially sermons and commentaries. This anti-Jewish sentiment is not easily recognizable by most. It does not call for us to take up pitchforks or begin a crusade, thank God! Rather, it encourages us to erase Israel from the Bible. How? By doing away with present Jewish identity and any future promises for ethnic, national Israel. This is undeniable with an overview of Jewish-Christian relations and a perusal of commentaries (If this is new to you I have plenty of recommendations that document the history of Christian antisemitism.) Yes, there have always been faithful men and women who do not allow the opinions of others to overrule the Word of God. But these are the exceptions, not the rule.
Agreeable starting point: Everything we read and hear should be viewed through the lens of Scripture, not a predisposed, anti-Jewish grid.
The below list is comprised of claims I have heard/read in one format or another over the past 15 years. Let me know when you see the nature of the problems. If you doubt any of the verses, I encourage you to open your Bible and read them in context:
Some: The bones of Ezekiel 37 are the Church.
Ezekiel the Prophet: “These bones are the whole house of Israel.” (37:11)
Some: God has rejected Israel, they were disobedient.
Paul the Apostle: “I ask, then, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not!” (Rom. 11:1)
Some: God has transferred His gifts and calling of Israel to the church. The church now fulfills Israel.
Paul the Apostle: since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29)
Some: The Church is now the true Israel, a kind of spiritual Israel.
Paul the Apostle: “A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” (Rom.11:25)
Some: God sees Israel as nothing special. Don’t confuse modern Israel for biblical Israel.
Jeremiah the Prophet: “If this fixed order departs from My presence— this is the Lord’s declaration— then also Israel’s descendants will cease to be a nation before Me forever.” (Jer. 31:36)
Some: There are no land promises for Israel that remain. Bible prophecy is allegorical/spiritual.
Ezekiel the Prophet: ”I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations.”(Ezek. 34:29)
Some: God no longer glorifies Himself through Israel like He used to. That is an "Old Testament" concept.
Ezekiel the Prophet: “It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.” (Ezek. 36:22-23)
Some: God no longer cares about geography. All promises are now fulfilled in a spiritual kingdom.
Ezekiel the Prophet: “You, mountains of Israel, will produce your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel, since their arrival is near. Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.” (Ezek. 36:8-9)
Some: God no longer regards the land of Israel as anything special today.
Joel the Prophet: “I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)
Some: Land promises are no longer important to God. They are all “fulfilled in Christ.”
Amos the Prophet: “I will plant them on their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them. Yahweh your God has spoken.” (Amos 9:15)
Some: The New Covenant is made with the church.
Jeremiah the Prophet: “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Jer. 31:31)
Some: There is no future Messianic Age. We are in the Messianic Age now.
Jesus the Messiah: “I assure you: In the Messianic Age, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.” (Matt. 19:28)
Some: There are no unique promises for the regathering of Israel. Israel is not unique anymore.
Isaiah the Prophet: “He will lift up a banner for the nations and gather the dispersed of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isa. 11:12)
Some: Those “Christian Zionists” are so misguided in their focus on Israel’s regathering.
Jeremiah the Prophet: “Nations, hear the word of the Lord, and tell it among the far off coastlands! Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him.” (Jer. 31:10)
Some: Those “Christian Zionists” are so misguided in their focus on Jerusalem’s future.
Isaiah the Prophet: “There is no rest for you, who remind the Lord. Do not give Him rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth.” (Isa. 62:6-7)
Some: Jewish characteristics are all wiped away in eternity, so it does not matter.
John the Apostle: “The city had a massive high wall, with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the 12 tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates.” (Rev. 21:12)
Some: The Jewishness of Jesus does not matter.
Paul the Apostle: “Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead and descended from David. This is according to my gospel.” (2 Tim. 2:8)
Some: There is no special, end of days salvation event forecasted for national Israel. The Church is the new Israel.
Paul the Apostle: And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Liberator will come from Zion; He will turn away godlessness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Rom. 11:26-27)
Some: Gentiles are not indebted to the Jewish people for anything. God is done with them.
Paul the Apostle: “Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to Jews in material needs.” (Rom. 15:27)
Some: There are no special reasons to share the gospel with the Jewish people.
Paul the Apostle: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16)
Some: The NT says nothing about the regathering of the Jewish people to their land.
Jesus the Messiah: “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matt. 24:31)
