Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear

“FOR ZION’S sake will I [Isaiah] not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest until her imputed righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness, and her salvation radiates as does a burning torch…I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, who will never hold their peace day or night; you who [are His servants and by your prayers] put the Lord in remembrance [of His promises], keep not silence, and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise in the earth.” —Isaiah 62.1, 6-7

Never before in the history of mankind has the urgency for the Church to stand with Israel been more crucial. What is unfolding worldwide concerning the land of Israel and her people today is history on the edge of repeating itself.

In a January 2007 interview at the Knesset hosted by Curt Landry, then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke these prophetic words to the worldwide evangelical community:

“It’s 1938—Iran is Germany and it’s racing to arm itself with nuclear weapons… Hitler set out on a world conflict and then sought to develop nuclear weapons—Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is going about it in the reverse order. First he wants to get nuclear weapons and then… resurrect the Islamic Empire, which is of course geared toward the great satan (America)—we’re just the little satan (Israel)—the first stop on the way. This is a common danger to all of us. I have this eerie feeling that just as in the 1930’s, the free societies did not understand the great peril they were in because of fanatic ideology that was arming itself. In many ways I see a similarity here, but I think that this time it’s more dangerous…”

Now, nearly eight years later, the parallel of Nazi Germany and Iran has been clearly defined. What we are witnessing today is an eerie reflection of past history made manifest before our very eyes. Iran remains on a seemingly unstoppable course of nuclear world dominance and power. And the world—although aware of the dangers—prefers to negotiate with Iran’s extreme Islamic fundamentalist leadership; a leadership whose focused agenda is to continue on their dangerous course of nuclear world domination—all the while, continuously threatening to wipe the very existence of the Jewish homeland and her people off the map.

In a recent, September 29, 2014 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a clarion call that a nuclear Iran would amount to global genocide.

“Don’t be fooled by Iran’s manipulative charm offensive, it’s designed for one purpose only: To lift the sanctions and remove the obstacles on Iran’s path to the bomb. Allowing that to happen would be a grave danger to our common future. Once Iran produces atomic bombs the charm will disappear… Together we must recognize the global threat of militant Islam, the primacy of dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons… All this may fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but it’s the truth. And the truth must always be spoken, especially here, in the United Nations.”

Netanyahu then concluded his speech with a quote from the Prophet Isaiah:

“Isaiah, our great prophet of peace, taught us nearly 3,000 years ago in Jerusalem to speak truth to power… ‘For the sake of Zion, I will not be silent. For the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still. Until her justice shines bright, and her salvation glows like a flaming torch.’ Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s light a torch of truth and justice to safeguard our common future.”

So the Church Stood Silent…

History records that most of the Church in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, as well as in most of Europe and North America, stood silent while the Jews were being systematically persecuted, deported, and murdered by the millions. The Protestant Church heard the warnings, but did little to nothing to prevent the onslaught of Nazi terrorism openly thrust upon the Jewish people. Those in church leadership who wished to avoid political persecution and possible extermination themselves by the brutal Nazi regime, oftentimes overruled those Christians who wished to take a public stand in defense of the Jews throughout the Nazi-occupied territory.

Some church leaders throughout Europe and North America condemned Hitler’s brutal terrorist acts against the Jews, and deliberated the best possible solution to rescue them from the mass-slaughter, but sadly there was a general lack of unity and decisiveness which led to the ultimate silencing of the Church.

Will the Church Rise-Up?

The Church’s silence during the Nazi era was caused by a lapse of unity and determination.

Reflecting upon the failure of the Church to challenge Nazism in the 1930s and 40s should alert Christians today to look upon church institutions and government entities who passively acquiesce to current BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Many Christians today recognize the past failure of the Church to resist Nazism and to stand up in defense of their Jewish brothers and sisters during that dark and turbulent era.

With lessons learned, these Christians are beginning to rise-up and take a stand regarding today’s rising tide of world terror. Iran’s looming nuclear threat is at the doorstep, and brutal Islamic terrorist regimes like, Al Qaeda, Hamas and ISIS are on a seemingly unstoppable path of destruction. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are being raped, murdered, and displaced throughout the Middle East, and ‘lone wolf’ attacks are reaching the shores of Europe and North America.

Failure to develop adequate moral and political responses to the systematic slaughter of Jews and Christians throughout the Middle East is not an option. Fostering the great delusion that the Church is NOT anti-Semitic only proves that many Christians are still walking in denial of past history.

It is evident that a dark and foreboding cloud is once again rising over the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel… but the question is: Are we ready? Are we a unified and determined Church who will rise-up and stem the tide against anti-Semitism as we position ourselves to defend God’s chosen people?

With your voice, I believe that we can become that Church!

“FOR ZION’S sake will I [Isaiah] not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest until her imputed righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness, and her salvation radiates as does a burning torch…”—Isaiah 62.1