Israel, the Church, and Anti-Semitism | What the Church Needs to Hear
From the desk of Curt Landry…
- You have a responsibility to understand your spiritual heritage
- You have a responsibility to teach and train your children on the legacy of truth that empowers
- Together, we have a responsibility—as the One New Man—to dismantle the distorted lies of the enemy, pull up a seat at our Father’s table, and reclaim covenant blessings
The recent acts of anti-Semitism—the shooting in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last October, and the most recent shooting in the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California—are shaking the nation. Such hostility causes people to question, fear, and possibly even worse—hate.
I ask you today, as the Body of Christ, are these acts of anti-Semitism shaking you enough to be the voice of truth?
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a recorded 1,879 anti-Semitic incidents occurred in the United States in 2018. In a year-end audit, the ADL discovered an alarming trend revealing…[i]
- A dramatic increase in physical assaults, including the deadliest attack on Jews in United States history
- A wave of robocalls targeting Jewish schools, JCCs, and synagogues
- A significant number of incidents at K-12 schools and college campuses
This is appalling. As one Washington Post writer put it, it isn’t “unimaginable but inevitable.” The fact this “isn’t unimaginable” should shake the Church at its roots. The buildup of these acts needs to grab our hearts and our attention. We have a responsibility to dismantle these distorted lies. YOU have a responsibility to step up and stand for the chosen people of God.
I must reiterate my point. The Christian community must be educated and taught about the heritage that has been stolen and replaced with hate. Some are completely unaware of the anti-Semitic beliefs that are moving like an undercurrent within the Christian community.
Anti-Semitism Is Anti-God
This was the reason for writing my book, Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage. We are entering a time of great awakening. We’re seeing churches, families, communities, and governments begin to split.
“For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.”—Luke 12:52
This is not God’s design, but this is what happens when we cut off our heritage and fail to leave a legacy of truth. We must be talking to our children about the significance of the covenant and Israel’s future, and take an action of remembrance to honor our roots.
God has made eternal, unbreakable covenants with Israel. That will never change. For if they were transferred to the Church, this would make God a liar. When we stand with Israel it is a prophetic act, declaring the manifestation of her covenant promises while believing in our own.
“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth—if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.”—Psalm 137:5-6
Believers today have a responsibility to leave a legacy that empowers the next generation—it is important now more than ever.
As the passing of time continues to tick by, the enemy will try to bring down the Jewish people; he wants the Christian community to be ignorant of their covenant promises that are rooted in Hebraic history. Because when Believers are unknowingly falling into lies, Satan’s plan gains momentum.
“And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.”—Romans 11:17-18 (emphasis added)
Are You Understanding Scripture through a Hebraic or Hellenized Lens?
When Jesus came, everything He did and said was in the context of the Jewish culture. He clearly took a deeper dive into this with His teaching (just read the Sermon on the Mount), but the foundation was still Jewish.
Many of us are taught scripture through a Western lens and unknowingly receive a watered-down message. The diluted understanding is like taking the vibrant colors of blue and purple and putting a muted, sheer gray over them. We still see the color, but we lose the brilliance and beauty. We miss out on the true experience of seeing them in their fullness.
Most of us can quote Matthew 6:33 by heart: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things shall be added to you.”
In Hebrew, the word righteous is tzedakah, which means justice and fairness. We should be seeking God’s justice for the nations—in the Jewish culture this carries the concept of literally doing things that facilitate empowerment and freedom.
Anti-Semitism goes directly against God’s tzedakah. The only way for us to truly grasp the fullness of God and to make a difference—creating safer communities, schools, neighborhoods, churches, and families—is to teach and train our children about their spiritual heritage. IF we aren’t, we are doing them an injustice.
If we aren’t teaching, they will be taught by the world what they should believe and infer for themselves the ways they should act out those beliefs.
What Will You Do?
When is enough, enough? YOU have a responsibility. I have responsibility. And if we intend to fulfill our assignments to be the kings and priests that God tells us we are, that responsibility must manifest into leaving a legacy that matters and empowers.
“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew…”—Romans 11:1-2
If you want to learn more about how the Jewish roots being removed from the Church has stolen your blessings, download our FREE e-book! Just click on the link below.
[i] https://www.adl.org/2018-audit-H