There is the story of King Louis XIV having asked Blaise Pascal, the renown French philosopher, to provide him with proof of the existence of God. Apparently, without any hesitation Pascal replied,“Why, the Jews, your Majesty—the Jews.” The Bible-believing Christian would agree. How can one not see any Jew today as living proof of God’s existence and faithfulness?
Yet, even as the history of the Hebrews testifies to the glory of God, He set them aside for a time. Says, the Bible, a final “time of the Gentiles” was decreed. Jesus himself identified this time saying, “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)
That era certainly came to pass and continues today. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and deported a large part of the Jewish population to Babylon. From that time on (although some might argue that the inception of this period was with the Church), it would be the time of the Gentiles. The world would be ruled by the non-Hebrew nations.
According to Sir Robert Anderson, the famed 19th century author of The Coming Prince, now is the sixth, final and longest time that the Hebrews or their descendants are under the domination of the Gentiles — the Diaspora.[i] Anderson points out that the Hebrews had been dominated by Gentiles five specific and separate periods before this present age. Quoting him, “They became slaves to king of Mesopotamia for eight years, to the king of Moab for eighteen years, to the king of Canaan for twenty years, to the Midianites for seven years and finally to the Philistines for forty years.”
Yet, despite the Bible’s clear testimony that it remains the era of the Gentiles at this very time, one of the most nefarious and stubborn beliefs about Jews around the world is that they are colluding to control the world. How could this possibly be true?
Jews, Running the World Today?
The Book of Esther in the Bible is a prophetic book, though in a different form than the literal words of the prophets. The entire book is an allegory (better said, a foreshadowing) of what the Jews would face during the Diaspora. The story takes place only two generations after the time that Jews came out of Babylon to resettle Jerusalem. The vast majority (probably nine-tenths) chose to stay inBabylon. Later, some moved elsewhere, including Susa. In the Book of Esther we see them prospering there under the Persian king Xerxes, Ester and Mordecai both piercing into the highest echelons of that society. Extra-biblical records of that era, count many Jews as prosperous merchants, traders and bankers at that time.
In the Esther account, we see that the Jews were seen as separate, yet “Jewishness” was not necessarily a religious identification as is true for many Jews today. (No reference to God is made in the entire Book of Esther.) We also note that Jews were liable to persecution. An important perspective of this story is that while the Jews would indeed prosper and gain great influence during times of the Diaspora, they would still be subject to the Gentile. Xerxes, a Gentile, was still very much in charge. So it is today even closer to home in the United States.
While many Jews have had influential positions in government (at various times, Henry Kissinger, Paul Wolfowitz, for example) and may have a strong hand on Wall Street or in Hollywood, it remains the times of the Gentiles. The Jews remain small in number (a little more than one fifth of one percent of the world population). True to Scripture, “The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.” (Deuteronomy 4:27)
It is true, however, that by the very dint of their sentence, Jews would frequently find themselves at the forefront of both good and bad movements. The Jew could be found at the edge of change, major world trends, be they social, moral or economic. But the thing to see, is that while influential, they have usually been on both sides of any debate. One thinks of the late 1800s, before 2 million Jews left Russia. Jews made up a large portion of two main opposition parties, both the Bolsheviks and the Menshevik parties. We see this division of the Jews also today in America. Jews actively exercise their opinion and influence on both sides of any spectrum.
These are some of the reasons why we can ignore the conspiracy theories that claim to involve the Jews such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. However, as Bible-believing Christians, we have a strong basis to believe in another agenda, one that God has laid out. First acting in wrath, He will cause the Jews to finally recognize the Messiah, He “the one that they have pierced.” (Zechariah 12:10) Then, indeed, He will place the Jew at the head in the world. However, this will not happen before the time of the Gentiles is ended.
Smug Christianity
In Part I of this series, we briefly reviewed the persecution of the Jew by the Gentiles. But what of the Christian? Sadly, history records many so-called Christians as having assumed a righteous role in persecuting the Jews. Here also, the atrocities are beyond count.
For example, most infamously, the Crusades produced incredible horrors, supposedly in the name of Christ. Heinous acts were endorsed right on down from the Vicars of Christ (the popes) to the state or the opportunist soldier. Often, it was done in the “name of Christ.” Said Emico the Wicked, a German noble who led a rabble of crusaders (German and French) to slaughter defenseless Jews in Mainz in 1096 AD, “Now let us avenge the blood of ‘the hanged one.” Or, consider this example of a state-wide action; As recorded in the Royal Decree, Expulsion from England 1290, “We, in requital for their crimes and for the honor of he Crucified, have banished then from our realm as traitors.”
Countless other such statements could be quoted that were, and are today, equally misguided and self-serving. The question begs: If the oppressions of the Gentiles will some day be fully punished (See Psalm 149-6-9) then what of the crimes of so-called Christians? Could it be possible that parts of the true Church has a hand in these sins? Here, too, prophecy provides us with some understanding.
The Jew and the Travesty of the False Church
The Prophet Micah uttered a puzzling prophecy:
“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets.” (Micah 7:9-10)
Who is the enemy here … the entity addressed as“ she” in this verse? No where in this chapter is she identified. By deduction, however, we can easily identify her. It cannot be Israel itself nor can it be the Church (which at this point is already gone.) It must be the harlot, the apostate global religion when has enveloped the false church… the same harlot depicted in Revelation 17 and also elsewhere in the Bible.
We therefore can know that persecution of the Jews, in whatever form, is a mark of the false church(though surely, some individual Christians have erred in this way.) While this persecution has already occurred over thousands of years, the capstone of this insurrection still lies ahead. And, the precedent and mindset for this taking place is already well set. Many church denominations today endorse the idea of Replacement Theology, the notion that the Church has replaced the Jews and therefore that all the promises to the Jews have been transferred to her. As such, the Jews are of no more consequence. As God is finished with them the Gentile can therefore do to the Jews as they wish for there is no more eternal consequence.
We will not present any arguments as to why this view patently denies Scripture. Suffice it to say that this view “distort[s] the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our God.” (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jewish Time-line Now Becomes Interesting
Following the miraculous refounding of the land of Israel in 1948, the Jewish people have been in the process of returning to their land. The aliyah (homecoming) is still underway, to be fully completed after “Jacob’s trouble.” Crucially, in this regard, a significant milestone occurred last year. Did you notice it?
For the first time in over 2,600 years, more Jews are now living in Israel than in any other nation. Think of the significance of this for a moment. For the first time in over 2,600 years, more Jews are now living in Israel than in any other nation. 41% of world Jewry now live in Israel, the next largest group, representing another 40%, is living in America.
This would be celebratory news were it not for the reasons why this has occurred. While the country of Israel is experiencing healthy natural population growth (now numbering 5.4 million Jews), Diaspora Jewry is declining not for reasons of aliyah, but more because of secularization and outmarriage (Jews marrying with people who are not Jewish). According to one study, whereas outmarriage rates were generally below 5% for the majority of Diaspora populations in 1930, today it is in excess of 45%.[ii] InAmerica, fewer Jews report having 2 parents of Jewish origin. Less than 40% of the 18-34 year old age group, who identify themselves as Jewish, have two Jewish parents today.[iii] In fact, a major point of debate today is the very definition Jewish identity.
For this and other reasons, the Jew is becoming ever less numerous in the world. While the Jewish people represented 7.5 people out of every 1000 people in the world in 1938, today this figure is less than half—only 3.5 per thousand.[iv]
This declining trend will continue to worsen according to some researchers. Other talk of the Hansen’s Principle phenomenon … the apparently observed trend that “ What the son wishes to forget, the grandson wishes to remember.” But such a renaissance of Jewish culture in America seems unlikely, given that evidence indicates extremely high rates of un-married cohabitation with non-Jewish partners.[v] If that is the case, the assimilation of the North American Jew will rapidly continue.
But would it seem likely, that more than one-half of world Jews in the world will remain outside ofIsrael? According the Scriptures, it is certain that the aliyah is not yet complete, this occurring only after the Tribulation. Could it be that American Jews will simply assimilate and eventually whither away? It seems doubtful. If past history is any guide to the future, it has always been true that the largest population of Jews — specifically in those countries where they reached prominence and contributed to a Golden Age — eventually were persecuted and displaced.
Hopefully, the Messiah will come first and America will never be the handmaiden to another such atrocity and therefore suffer being uprooted. Time will tell. Of one thing we can be sure: When the Jew leaves America, it will be the harbinger of the downfall of the USA. For, to repeat, “I will bless those who bless you, “ said Lord Jehovah. (Genesis 12:3)
The Coming Protocols of God
Ultimately, once the Jews repent and recognize their Messiah, they will be forgiven as well. “In those days, at that time,” declares the LORD, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, or I will forgive the remnant I spare.” (Jeremiah 50:20)
The next uppermost fact to realize is that the times of the Gentiles will end. In the not-to-
distant future, the tables will be turned. The Israelites will reign on earth. Jesus Christ himself will be in the seat of David justice and law will go out of Jerusalem.
In this seat of God-given power and wealth, will Israel be forgiving and non-retaliatory to the nations that have persecuted its peoples through the ages? Scripture is clear about the fate that will befall nations. “This is what the LORD says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. “But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.” “But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 12:14, 17)
At the end of the Tribulation, the Jews indeed will recognize their Messiah. Then will begin the Millennium, the seventh, final and greatest period where Israel would again flourish unmolested and free of international interference in its own land.
Once the tribes of Jacob are restored, says the Lord, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) “[…] once again he will chooseIsrael.” (Isaiah 14:1)
Thoughts to Ponder
As Christians, we do not need to be apologists for the Jews, nor condone every action of the modern state of Israel. However, there are several things we must do: Firstly, “If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.” (Romans 11:17-18)
Next, “Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.” (Romans 11:20-21)
While a judgment and restoration has been set for the Jews, the Gentile best remember that judgment waits for them also. For the Christian, the Bema seat still lies ahead for us. Thanks to the Jew — Jesus Christ, in the flesh — we are spared eternal damnation (and so also the House of Jacob) but we do not escape judgment. That trembling time still lies ahead. Oh, may God’s severity that he has showed the Jew pass over me. How many countless times have we been disobedient as was Israeland Judah. Yet, Jesus Christ, has been faithful to forgive us.
According to the Prophet Hosea, this restoration surely draws near. Hosea was inspired to say, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” (Hosea 6:2) As a “day is as a thousand years” (Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8) it is now well into the second half of the third day for the Jews. If we count from 606 BC, the time from which the captivity byBabylonia began, 612 years of this third day have already passed. Given this reference point, we can be reasonably sure that the Tribulation will occur in less than 388 years and the Rapture in less than 381 years.
As God’s plan decrees, one day there will be a Jewish, global confederacy. It will be the Millennium … and not as the result of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion or any other contrived conspiracy theory. Gentiles will then be thankful that Jews are not the evil they are often made out to be. “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, `Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’ ” (Zechariah 8:23)
God will restore the Jews for the sake of His promises to the patriarchs. (Romans 11:28) This is such wonderful news for Jews and Christians alike. For if God is willing to go to such lengths to keep His promise for “David sake” how much more so on behalf of Jesus Christ, His own Son.
Could it only be so soon: As the Jewish people have said at Passover for thousands of years: “Next year, in Jerusalem.”
October 2007 – Wilfred J. Hahn
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About the Author: Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst and chairman of the country’s largest global investment operation his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His most recent book is The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free.
[i] Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince. Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. 1957 Reprint Page 83.
[ii] Serigo Della Pergola, Jewish Out-Marriage: A Global Perspective, International Roundtable on Intermarriage, Brandeis University, December 18, 2003 Table 1.
[iii] The North American Jewish Databank, National Jewish Population Survey, 2000-2001.
[iv] Aron Heller, “Think tank: Jewish numbers in decline,” reporting on The Conference on the Future of the Jewish People – July 12, 2007 The Columbian. Accessed July 27, 2007: http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=25655&sec=35&con=4http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=25655&sec=35&con=4
[v] Serigo Della Pergola, Jewish Out-Marriage: A Global Perspective, International Roundtable on Intermarriage, Brandeis University, December 18, 2003 Table 1.