Why The Holocaust? II
Considering this month’s Yom HaShoah service on Monday, April 13th at 7:00 PM, we are sharing a biblical perspective on this horror from history.
Satan’s Activity to Stop the Redeemer
God promised that the Redeemer of mankind, would be the Jewish Messiah of Israel, and would also be the Destroyer of Satan “So the LORD said to the serpent: “Because you have done this (deceived Adam & Eve)…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed: He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel“ (Gen. 3:15).
Stop Messiah from Coming!
Since the Redeemer was promised to come through the Jewish people (Gen. 12:3, 22:18; 49:10; Isaiah 11:10; 49:5-7; etc.), Satan would attempt to stop this Redeemer from coming by destroying the Jewish people. But Messiah did come, died for our sins, and was raised from the dead! On this point we know Satan has failed. But if he has failed, why is Satan still trying to destroy the Jewish people today?
Right now, “the devil prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). But when Messiah returns to earth (The 2nd Coming) to restore the Davidic Kingdom, He will then have Satan bound for 1,000 years (Rev. 20: 1-3). Afterward, Satan will be “thrown in the Lake of Fire” forever (Rev. 20:10)! The lynchpin to all this future activity and victory of God is the survival of the Jewish people.
Return, O Israel!
The return of the Lord to reign on planet earth is dependent upon the repentance of Israel. This is why Yeshua *(the Jewish way to say Jesus) said to our people, “You will not see me again until you say, “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai – Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord’” (Matt. 23:39). Here we find a consistent principle. Just as David could not rule over all of Israel and completely remove his adversaries until the people accepted him as king (2 Sam. 5:1-5), Yeshua will not return to reign on the Throne of David and remove the Adversary, Satan, until the Jewish people acknowledge Yeshua as King.
The Rejected One
Similarly, after first being rejected, Moses was able to deliver the Israelis from Egyptian bondage and the clutches of Pharoah, only after Moses was accepted. Joseph as well, could only deliver our people, his estranged family, from destruction, only after his brethren repented of their rejection of him and accepted that this ‘rejected one’ was actually God’s means for their salvation (Genesis 50:20).
Indeed, the prophecy of Isaiah 53 is not so much a prophecy of the coming of Messiah as much as it is a prophecy of the Jewish people confessing their rejection of the true Messiah, who would die as atonement for their sins (Isaiah 53:4-10). This confession will be made at the Second Coming of Messiah: “And I (God) will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10). Then Messiah will return as “His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives” (Zech. 14:4).
Repentence
Peter reiterates this point when he proclaims to the Jewish people, “Repent and turn to God, that your sins might be wiped away, in order that the times of refreshing might come from the Lord, and that He might send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you – even Yeshua. He must remain in Heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything as He promised…” (Acts 3:19-21). Yeshua must remain in Heaven until the Jewish people repent and turn to Him. The return of Yeshua who will “restore everything” (“the times of refreshing”) as well as the destruction of Satan), depends on the Jewish people “Repenting and returning to God.”
Stop Messiah from Coming Again!
Therefore, Satan is desperately trying to stop the return of the Messiah. That’s why Satan is doing all he can to destroy the Jewish people. At the same time, he is trying to make faith in Yeshua so alien and repugnant that no self-respecting Jew, let alone the nation, would ever desire to repent and trust in Him! Every congregation of believers in Yeshua, Jewish or Gentile, which doesn’t endeavor to bring the Good News to the Jewish people, is actually playing into the present plan of Satan: stop Israel from recognizing their Messiah, Satan’s destroyer, so Messiah can’t return.
Spiritual Warfare
Conclusion: Why holocausts? Because of ‘spiritual warfare.’ Therefore, let us “fight the good fight” (I Timothy 6:12) for “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). I’m asking that you encourage your believing congregations to “Remember the Holocaust” at their services, to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) and do all they can to bring the Good News of Messiah to Jewish people around the world. And may Israel soon say, “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai: Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
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