In every age it seems Satan raises up antagonists towards our faith. These men and women listen to the voice of the devil and persecute Christians. A chief example was Herod who killed James, “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.” (Acts 12:1-3). It was at that time the rest of the apostles decided to leave Jerusalem. Well a successor in the Herodian spirit is in Israel’s 2023 leadership today, his name is Itamar Ben-Gvir, and he is fiercely against Christians:
“Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been accused of discrimination against Christians and of inciting violence against the Christian community.
Ben-Gvir, head of Israel’s far right Otzma Yehudit (“Jewish Power”) party, has been criticized by Christians for his past defense of Bentzi Gopstein, leader of the radical anti-assimilation group Lehava, who, according to the Jerusalem Post, has led violent protests against both Christian and Messianic events, and who once said Israel should expel its entire Christian population.
A lawyer, Ben-Gvir in 2015 also defended a man convicted of arson for setting fire to the Roman Catholic Church of Loaves and Fishes, called the “Church of the Multiplication,” at Tabgha, along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.” (Crux, https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2023/01/holy-land-church-leaders-condemn-settler-attack-in-jerusalems-christian-quarter)
Attacks on Christian cemeteries (see my post https://sirjeffreypendragonblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/they-will-consider-nothing-sacred.html?m=1), churches, and places of business (read about the latest attack here https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2023/01/holy-land-church-leaders-condemn-settler-attack-in-jerusalems-christian-quarter ) by Jewish Power radicals have increased. I remember CBN News reporting a Christian event in Jerusalem which was worship just for Messianic Christians, not and outreach to Jews, in the foray of the event Jews were holding signs that spoke against the Trinity and then they got violent and attacked people; again the event was for churches not an outreach to Jews (https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2019/june/jewish-protesters-assault-messianic-believers-christians-some-were-cut-in-the-face).
This Jewish Power Party is what happens when you do not forgive. Jesus tells us we must forgive, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25), but Jews sadly hold on to bitterness over the Holocaust and what the evil Nazis did to them and form radical Zionist movements over the dark memory of their near annihilation. This Jewish Power Party wants to remove all non-Jews from Israel, using terror and accusations; the irony is they have become Jewish Nazis, by not forgiving as we Christians must, the Jewish Power Radicals have turned into their once persecutors; the abused having become the abusers; this is why Jesus teaches us to forgive, firstly because we were forgiven by Him, “Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you,” (Ephesians 4:32) and all people are frail and make mistakes and sin, so we cannot caste a stone (John 8:7), but we also forgive so that we do not become those who abused us and continue to persecute us. We are told by Jesus to pray for our persecutors, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44).
Ben-Gvir’s & The Jewish Power Party’s hatred of Christians is baffling. It was Christians who hid and saved Jews from extermination during The Holocaust. In fact, our people (Christians) suffered with the Jews, being decimated, “7 Million Jews perished in the Holocaust, 12 Million Christians perished in the Holocaust. Almost double the Christians were killed by the Nazis.” (Rosemary Schindler, Oscar Schindler’s Niece). Why is Ben-Gvir against the faith that risked life, limb, and even died to save Jews during the Holocaust? Jesus Christ our Lord whom we worship is descended bodily from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David (Romans 1:1-5, Luke 3:1-53), so Gvir seeks to persecute the followers of a Hebrew? We Christians share the same Torah, Pentateuch, Prophets, and full Old Testament as the Jews; in fact we had Jews translate our old testaments in our Bibles from Hebrew. In contrast, Muslims do not have that common thread of the Books of Moses, Prophets, Kings, and The whole Old Testament; Muslims have an entirely different book called The Qu’ran/ Koran. It does have Musa or Moses in it, but interpreted by Islam’s Prophet Muhammed’s revelations which differ from the Jewish and Christian revelations.
Ben-Gvir is a new Herod, and he is risking the economy of Israel. The majority of tourists who contribute to the commerce of Israel are visiting Christians who want to see were Jesus walked, talked, healed, died for sins, rose from the dead, ascended, will return and more. Gvir and the Jewish Power Party t is going to harm an already damaged tourism revenue stream that was effected by Covid. If these attacks on Christians, Christian holy sites, and more continues, the result will lead to people not visiting Israel and contributing revenue. Benjamin Netanyahu needs to find a means to unseat Ben-Gvir, and curb the radical Jewish Power Party before its radical Zionism/Jewish Nazism destroys the congenial relations between Christians and Jews, and damages tourism in the holy land, as well as support from predominately Christian Western nations like The United States. Amen.
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