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The Result of National
Disobedience
Have you ever wondered why the
Jews are the most persecuted race in history? Is it due to her tenacious
obedience to God's will, as many suggest? Not according to the Torah. God warned
Israel that if she disobeyed Him, she would be punished by a wicked nation and
be scattered among the nations (Deut. 28:64-68; Lev. 26:31-33; Luke 21:21-24).
But their misery would not end in their forced emigration. God promised to
persecute them: "I will scatter you among the nations and draw out my
sword and pursue you" (Lev. 26:33).
History records the tragic
fulfillment of this prophecy:
.722 B.C. The northern Kingdom of
Israel (the ten tribes) are taken away in the Assyrian captivity.
.586 B.C. The southern Kingdom of
Judah is taken away into Babylonian captivity and Solomon's temple is destroyed.
.50 A.D.
30,000 Jews were attacked and killed.
.66 A.D.
40,000 were destroyed.
.70 A.D. approximately 1400 years
after Moses' prediction (Deut. 28:64-68) and 40 years after Christ's prophecy
(Luke 21:21-24), 1,000,000 Jews were brutally murdered for their disobedience to
God in fulfillment of what Jesus and the prophets had predicted. Titus and the
Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and the nation, slaughtering a million people.
Many of those who survived were shipped off to the slave market of Egypt. It
wasn't long before the supply exceeded the demand and the Jews were worthless
even as lowly slaves, thus fulfilling Deut. 28:64-68. The rest were dispersed to
every country in the world.
.135 A.D. An additional 135,000
were killed in the land of Israel.
.1096 A.D. An entire Jewish
community was massacred by the Catholic crusaders on their way across Europe to
capture the Holy Land.
.1146 A.D. The slaughter of the
second crusade threatened to exceed the first.
.1236 A.D. In one town 3,000
Jewish residents were trampled under horses' hoofs.
.1348-49 A.D. During the Black
Death (Bubonic plague), the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells that
started the epidemic. Faced with further persecution, the European Jews had to
flee for their lives.
.1939-44 A.D. Adolf Hitler of
Nazi Germany carried out by far the greatest slaughter of Jews. The Jews were
subjected to unspeakable atrocities and genocide.
Why The Persecution?
The anti-missionary immediately
puts any Jew considering accepting Jesus as their Messiah under emotional
arrest. He is asked: "Are you willing to declare that all the Jews who died
in the Holocaust are going to hell?" Many wilt under this subjective
hurricane, not realizing how the holocaust fits the pattern of God's pursuance
of the Jews with the sword (Lev. 26:33). It is one of the greatest ironies of
history that the Holocaust would be cited as a reason to reject Jesus'
Messiahship. Certainly, it would be more Scriptural to view the Holocaust as
further revelation of God's hot displeasure with the Jewish nation. If anything,
the Holocaust would confirm Jesus Messiahship not disprove it. Unfortunately, as
in the case of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, innocent children and
numerous righteous Jews had to suffer for the sins of their rebellious
countrymen. Just as tragic is the fact that many righteous Christians also
perished during the Holocaust for trying to save Jews!
With regards to the doctrine of
hell, both the Old and New Covenant's speak of a horrible punishment that awaits
those who do not seek and obey God with all of their heart (Ecclesiastes 12:14;
Dan.12:2-3; Revelation 20:11-15). With so much at stake, we should not let
subjective arguments interfere with our evaluation of and obedience to God's
will as contained in the Bible.