The Christ in Prophecy Journal

What Lies Behind the Hatred?

Subscribe to our Channel

Why does the world hate the Jews?

Tim Moore: To help us answer that question, we are joined by Olivier Melnick of Chosen People Ministries.

Olivier, there’s been a lot of news stories as of late showing a rise in Antisemitism, even here in the United States. What does this really tell us about what’s coming down the road?

Olivier Melnick: If you want to know what’s going on with Antisemitism in the world, look at what’s happening in Eastern and Western Europe. Often Europe serves as a barometer of where things are and what’s coming to the States within one to three years. So, right now I’ve been monitoring Europe pretty closely, especially since I’m from France.

Right now we have a surge of Antisemitism in the US like we’ve never seen before. In just the last couple of years, we’ve seen a synagogue attack in Pittsburgh and then another one in the San Diego area. I recently moved to Texas, but then a synagogue was attacked in Colleyville, which is in the Dallas area. I was reporting for Chosen People during the hostage situation. Colleyville — nobody would even know where that is, so these attacks could happen anywhere and at any time. Even though the FBI concluded that the Colleyville attack was not related to anything Jewish, it still happened on a Saturday Shabbat at a synagogue, so I’m pretty sure there was an Antisemitic connection there.

Tim Moore: Yes, the FBI report was so very disappointing in that our own government backpedaled. This just demonstrates that our own government has got its head buried in the sand concerning Antisemitism when it’s trying to deflect from the truth of what is truly happening.

Olivier Melnick: The governmental officials are either Antisemitic or so insensitive to the real problem that they just don’t even see it, which is possible, or maybe a little bit of both.

Nathan Jones: Where is this hatred coming from? Last I read there are 14 million Jews on the planet. That’s a very, very tiny minority across the entire planet. And yet, the U.N. seems to exist to do nothing but condemn Israel all of the time. Their behavior encourages the Muslim world to destroy the Jewish people. Even the indifference that the West exhibits towards the Jewish people, and even the way the Church has persecuted the Jewish people throughout its history, is quite puzzling. Why such hatred of the Jewish people?

Olivier Melnick: I have used a definition of Antisemitism that I’ve come up with quite a few years ago. I just recently added one word to it. I just recently added the word “Satan.” Antisemitism is the satanic, irrational hatred of the Jewish people and Israel characterized by thoughts, words, and deeds. So, Antisemitism at its core is satanic and irrational. Why irrational? Because you see people on the extreme left and then people from radical Islam that have absolutely nothing ideologically in common hold hands against Israel. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” is how these two different ideologies operate.

Nathan Jones: Why then does Satan hate the Jewish people so much?

Olivier Melnick: First of all, Satan hates everything that God loves and he loves everything that God hates. God loves the Jewish people. They are the Chosen People and the apple of His eye. God promises that He will never forsake Israel.

This being said, we don’t want to get into the false doctrine that God loves the Jews so much that they don’t need Jesus. That’s called Dual Covenant Theology and we are not going to go there because it’s not biblical.

So, yes, God loves the Jewish people. He has a plan for Israel. As a matter of fact, the seven-year Tribulation is basically God resuming His program with Israel. It’s called “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jeremiah 30:7. God is going to bring Israel together and the Jewish remnant is going to call on Yeshua to return. Yeshua does not return until Israel calls Him, and if Israel doesn’t call Him, then He doesn’t come back. And who’s not really excited about his retirement plan which starts when Jesus comes back? It’s Satan. So, Satan is the inventor of Antisemitism.

Tim Moore: Satan thought He had become victorious when Jesus was hung on the cross, thinking he had defeated the Messiah. And yet, God used that moment of seeming defeat and turned it into the greatest victory for all who place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Likewise, all of these Satanic pogroms and programs that Satan has used to try to inspire hatred toward the Jewish people, at the end of the day, will turn the Jewish people back to the Lord. We never want to be a part of that hatred, but God will use all things together for good to bring the lost back to Himself. They will call out to Him whom we have pierced, and they will turn back to God and cry out for Jesus their Messiah to return shouting, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mat. 23:39). We so look forward to that day!

Olivier Melnick: God will allow these things to happen for His good purposes. After all, here’s the big million-dollar question: Why did God allow the Holocaust? Why in the world would a loving, compassionate God allow six million Jews to die? I’m sorry, I don’t have an answer for that except that my God still is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing. There wasn’t a glitch in His program where God exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, my goodness, I looked away for just a minute and six million Jews died!” That’s not what it is.

I don’t have an answer, but I do know that God’s plan is perfect. We know that He loves people. But, He will still allow bad things to happen.

That was the biggest hurdle for my mother when I led her to the Lord. While my dad was in the hospital, I went back to France and told her: “Mom, you know that Dad is not going to be living much longer. More than ever, you need to trust in God.” She lost her father in Auschwitz when she was 15 years old. He was taken by the Gestapo and he died in Auschwitz. So, she looked at me and replied, “You want me to trust God, do you? The same God who allowed my father to be taken by the Gestapo and died in Auschwitz?” I’d held that conversation with her for years.

I prayed for my parents for 28 years until the Holy Spirit finally gave me her answer. Does this ever happen to you when the Holy Spirit gives you just the right words to say? I sure wish He would do that more often because I would say fewer things that I now regret!

At that time my son still lived at home with us, so I said, “Mom, if JD actually came home one night and a police officer comes with him and states, ‘We caught your son running two red lights and three stop signs and I have a fine, and it’s going to be very expensive, so how do you want to pay for that?’ And he’s looking at me and I say, ‘Sir, my son is 20 years old. He knows the law. He’s got his license. He broke the law. Why are you looking at me? I’m not responsible.'” So, I looked back at my mother and asked, “Mom, why do you want to hold God responsible for what man did to other men?” Well, she looked at me and she agreed, “That makes sense!” So, it was God’s timing.

God was not involved in orchestrating the Holocaust in any way, shape, or form. In Isaiah 63:9, the verse states that in all of their affliction He was afflicted. And so, in all of the afflictions of the Jewish people, God was also afflicted. Every single Jewish person who died in the Holocaust — their deaths did not please please God.

Tim Moore: As we are seeing a rise in Antisemitism, it’s happening more and more on college campuses and universities where the BDS movement and the radicalized pro-Palestine movements are pushed by professors and their students. Therefore, I have to remind people of how good the Jewish people were to the Palestinians before there ever was a nation of Israel.

An ideological, political hatred of Israel and of the Jews is something that Christians cannot possibly be a part of. Rather, Christians must speak out against Antisemitism. We have to stand with God’s chosen people because the Church has been grafted into Abraham’s promises. Those blessings should continue to flow back to the Jewish people. Paul said that we should actually be making the Jewish people jealous because of our loving relationship with our Jewish Messiah. We need to be a conduit and a blessing to the Jewish people.

Olivier Melnick: Absolutely, I agree with you. But, unfortunately, for the most part, Christianity throughout history has instead been making the Jewish people angry instead of jealous. Romans tells us that Christians are supposed to be making us Jews jealous of what we have. We’re supposed to be jealous of you having a personal relationship with the Jewish messiah. And so, there’s a lot of work to be done by the Church to make the Jewish people jealous instead of angry. That’s very important.

Tim Moore: When we actually study the Word of God and get to know our great God and Savior Jesus Christ even better, God’s love for the Jewish people will fill your heart. You’ll be anxiously looking for a Jew to pour God’s blessings back into. So, pray, not only for the peace of Jerusalem but for the salvation of specific Jews in your life.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

RELATED ARTICLES

ABOUT AUTHOR View all posts Author Website

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

LEAVE A REPLY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *