The
Link Between Prophecy and Evangelism
Today there is a major
push to bring the gospel of salvation to the entire world, to all
the language groups in the world. By
reading the documented accounts of the field work of the major international
evangelistic organizations it becomes totally obvious that the Holy Spirit is
behind and fueling this drive to promote the gospel of salvation in today’s
“modern” times. But support and funding of these excellent international evangelistic
organizations is insufficient and sporadic at best. Some Christian groups and denominations don’t necessarily think
this worldwide push of evangelism is Biblical, or necessary, while others do.
What did Jesus Christ have to say on this subject? It’s time to take
a hard look at what Jesus actually said and determine that what he said should
govern our actions and beliefs in this important area.
First let’s note that he said there would be a major push to promote
the gospel of the kingdom to the entire world just before the
end of this evil age and his 2nd coming.
Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
What end? Verse 15-16, “When
ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let
them which be in Judea flee unto the mountains…” To those who understand Bible prophecy, verse 15 of Matthew 24 marks
the beginning of World War III, called the great tribulation in Bible language.
But in Jesus’ own words, he said that there would be this huge push to
promote the gospel of salvation around the world, and that when this was accomplished,
then the end of this evil age would come, and ultimately, if you keep reading
Matthew 24 through to verse 31, the 2nd coming of Jesus himself. These are all Jesus Christ’s own words, directly quoted and not
taken out of context. The very first
commission Jesus gave to the 500 or so disciples (students) who had faithfully
followed him, and by extension, all Christians from then on, is found in Matthew
28:18-20. It’s the only major job assignment
Jesus gave Christians to perform until he comes again. Let’s read it. Matthew 28:18-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
There are two parts to this assignment: 1) Preach, teach the gospel to
all nations, and 2) obviously, to those who respond favorably, baptize them
and teach them to observe all things, whatsoever Jesus had commanded them (and
now recorded in Scripture). This was
spoken in similar time sequence to Acts 1:8-9, where Jesus said this, “But
ye shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
That is basically the only job assignment Jesus gave his disciples (disciples:
archaic king James language for students), and by extension all Christians
born of the Holy Spirit. That job entails
preaching the gospel of salvation, which is called in some places, the gospel
of the kingdom--and to teach those who respond favorably (obviously one
can’t do much teaching to those who don’t respond favorably, their minds are
closed) the details of how to be a Christian or believer in Jesus.
This job can be broken down into two areas, one is promoting and preaching
the gospel to everyone, and the other is nourishing and supporting the body
of Christ--made up of those who respond favorably to the gospel message--believers,
nourishing them in the Word of God. Some
Christians have been blessed with talents in the nourishment end of this assignment,
while others are good at evangelism. Let each of us use the talents God gave us in the area of this assignment
where we best fit.
But
now what is the connection between prophecy and evangelism? As we have just seen in Matthew 24, Jesus predicted
(prophecied) that there would be such a large push to promote the gospel of
the kingdom just before the start of World War III, the tribulation, and that
this gospel would go around the world and reach all nations and peoples.
Then right after that is accomplished the end of this evil age would
come. Also in Matthew 24 a great persecution of Christians takes place,
which Jesus also predicted in Matthew 10, tied right to this “end time” push
of the gospel message. Could it be that
this push of the gospel message is going to be so powerful and so extensive
that it stirs up a hatred aimed at Christians? It appears so. But it hasn’t happened yet, not in this country yet (the United
States). Why? Because the gospel of the kingdom isn’t going out to the world in
sufficient power to cause this hatred and persecution of Christians on a worldwide
scale that would include the United States. Doesn’t that tell us something?
Roughly a third of the Bible is prophecy, some already fulfilled, but
a lot of prophecy is 2nd coming of the Messiah prophecy, yet to be
fulfilled. Then about a third of the
Bible is historical in nature, and about a third is instructive in nature, showing
how we ought to live spiritually, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus
Christ. But prophecy does show that
when this major push to evangelize the world is accomplished a lot of the world
will reject the message. If we are to
believe Jesus, immediately following this worldwide dissemination of the gospel
(and its rejection by the world), World War III starts. In this war, God totally gives this world over
to Satan for a 3.5 year span of time (Dispensational Pre-Millennialists believe
it’s a 7 year span--no matter, we’ll see when it occurs {if we’re still alive}).
But God’s major lesson to mankind is this:
Look and see what you get when you reject God’s invitation to a better
way of life and Eternal Life at the end--you get destruction and annihilation. Then when the world has had it’s fill of destruction
and annihilation, Jesus comes and stops the war, locks up Satan and the demons
and brings salvation to all who are left alive. The start of a whole new world without Satan
begins and lasts for 1,000 years—a world where the knowledge of salvation and
of God fills the earth as the seas cover the earth--salvation freely offered
to everyone with no more blinding influence coming from Satan, everyone’s eyes
will be opened to the truth of God (cf. Revelation 19:1-21; 20:1-6; Zechariah
14:1-19; Isaiah 35:1-10; Isaiah 11:1-16; Ezekiel 36, whole chapter). That’s the connection between Evangelism and
prophecy. Both are part of God’s lesson
plan for mankind. And as things get
close to the beginning of verse 15 of Matthew 24, we as Christians must be about
the job Jesus gave for us to accomplish, the job he said would be
accomplished before the start of World War III, the tribulation.
So when you read these prophecies, understand, this is God’s lesson plan
for mankind. And we Christians have been given a very important
teaching job within that lesson plan of God to the world. Ask yourself this, why did God leave Satan
and the demons on this planet when he created mankind through Adam and Eve?
God is the ultimate teacher. Jesus was called Rabbi, Teacher, by his students
(disciples). God is teaching the whole
of mankind a lesson He doesn’t want forgotten--not just what His way of life
brings--but what Satan’s way of life brings--death. There’s a positive and negative side to God’s
lesson plan. Some like to avoid the
teaching of all prophecy and stick entirely to teaching about Christianity.
They avoid some of the central lessons God has to teach about what happens
when you follow Satan’s way of life. The
whole gospel is a full-bodied message with a positive element and a negative
element. Even the apostle Paul in his thorough description
of the gospel of Christ in the book of Romans points out the problem of mankind
that the gospel is meant to address (cf. Romans 1). And prophecy clearly shows the negative side
of the lesson plan--if you ignore the gospel offer from God, destruction and
annihilation will be the end result. So
we see that prophecy, the balanced teaching of it, is a vital part of God’s
lesson plan for mankind and Christians alike.
And as we see things getting close to the end, prophecy should make us
want to redouble our efforts to support worldwide evangelism, and evangelism
at all levels. Don’t lose sight of the job God has given you to do as a Christian
or Messianic believer in Yeshua. If
you wonder how you could do anything to support evangelism, that you’re just
not cut out for that--that’s fine. Your
talents may be in the area of nourishing and support of other Christians and
new-believers. But you can always lend
support to those who are doing the job in the international areas of evangelism,
and doing it quite effectively. The
one thing that they do need is steady contributions. (And it doesn’t have to
be much. A steady habit of giving is
far more important to the international evangelistic organizations than the
amount you can afford to give.) And
that is something we can all do. This
site has a whole section on evangelism, and the Mission Statement at the bottom
of the Homepage shows some of the ways international evangelism can be supported
(http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/missionstatement.htm ). You can make a difference in
how many people are given an opportunity to chose life instead of death--eternal
life! God says that he places life and
death before us, and commands us to chose life. Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have set before
thee this day life and good, and death and evil…” That lesson is spelled
out in prophecy and evangelism, when they are properly coupled together as they
should be.
Prophecies
of Jesus Christ's 2nd Coming
Introduction
I
am reproducing some introductory comments from John F. Walvoord's book "ARMAGEDDON,
OIL and the MIDDLE EAST CRISIS" that are most appropriate for this study of
prophecy. Mr. Walvoord says, "The study of prophecy, however, has been plagued
by two extremes. The one extreme is to disregard prophecy or to interpret it
in a non-literal sense. About half of the prophecies in the Bible have been
fulfilled. The study of these demonstrates that when prophecy is fulfilled,
it is fulfilled literally. Brushing aside prophecies or doubting that they will
be literally fulfilled is not supported by the pattern of fulfillment in the
past.
Another extreme, however, is to go beyond Scripture, taking what it says literally
and then interpreting this in dramatic and contemporary style. There is no scriptural
ground for setting dates for the Lord's return or the end of the world. The
student of prophecy must be careful on the one hand, to observe carefully what
God has revealed and, on the other hand, to recognize that the Bible does not
answer every question.
As students of the Bible observe proper interpretation principles, they are
becoming increasingly aware of the remarkable correspondence between the obvious
trend of world events and what the Bible predicted centuries ago. People of
all walks of life and of all religious faiths are asking the question--What
does the future hold?
Unlike the self-willed prophets of today, the prophets of the Bible did not
peddle vague and general predictions that could be adjusted to any situation.
The prophecies recorded in the Bible are detailed and intricately interwoven.
Although interpretation of minor points may vary, the overall picture is frighteningly
clear. The Bible does not simply speak of a final destructive world war but
of a whole series of carefully timed events on a doomsday calendar leading to
Armageddon...[Armageddon] is the final act in a terrifying series of events
that are very much related to today's headlines..." So says Mr. Walvoord. And
considering recent headlines while I'm writing this down on the 12th of September
2001, I'd say we are getting a little closer to that final event. This should
be a great motivator for us Christians to want to evangelize to the world and
our neighbors, showing them they can be a part of God's kingdom right now--that
they don't have to wait for the Lord's arrival on earth. For some of these events
that lead to his glorious coming are so frightening and horrible that most of
the population in this world may not survive to witness the Lord's arrival.
This should be a great motivator for us Christians, causing us to want to reach
everyone with the Good News of Salvation, and yes, perhaps a strong warning
of what's to come (wouldn't you want to be warned?). Those that just died in
the Twin Trade Towers were only a very tiny foretaste of what's to come. And
these are facts which you will come to understand as you read this study taken
directly out of the Bible. They aren't my words. These prophecies reproduced
here are God's Words. This study is in three parts:
Part I: General Survey of Old Testament 2nd Coming Prophecies;
Part II: Daniel 2 & 7, Revelation 13 & 17;
Part III: Revelation 16 & 19, The Seven Last Plagues.
Some clarification of why this site takes the Historic or Classical Pre-Millennialist
way of viewing and interpreting prophecy is needed. Please understand, I
am not attacking any Christian or denomination in the following paragraphs--but
I am challenging a particular method of interpreting Biblical prophecy, which
many Christian denominations use for interpreting Bible prophecy. Also,
when the word “heresy” is used in the following excerpt. Please understand,
the word “heresy” is used to donate a way of interpreting Bible prophecy
and not to label any Christian holding to such secondary beliefs. The following
explanation which I excerpt from Chuck Missler’s new two cassette tape
series titled “Thy Kingdom Come, Christ’s Millennial Reign” explains
the historic origin of the amillennialist way of interpreting prophecy. Chuck
Missler paints this description with a wide brush and is looser with the historic
facts and oversimplifies in ways that drives real historians crazy. But he presents
the facts in understandable language and short order without writing a book
on the subject, and that is why I use his description here of why I cannot promote
the amillennialist view on this site in the very few sections this site has
on prophecy. But first a couple observations I’ve made on the subject myself.
Some denominations fall into the category of being amillennialist in their eschatological
interpretation (interpretation of prophecy). And some Christians and Christian
denominations of the amillennialist persuasion also believe the book of Daniel
was written around 139 BC by a number of Jews who were trying to influence Jewish
thinking toward the coming Messiah--instead of properly attributing the writing
of the book of Daniel to Daniel himself under the direct inspiration and guidance
of God during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, datable to 600-539 BC. In my opinion
this belief is false and attacks the very innerency of the Word of God in the
Old Testament canon--at least in the part of God’s Word that deals with
prophecy. A person or church can have this interpretation while simultaneously
trying to jump through every imaginable hoop in utilization of proper hermeneutic
Biblical interpretation rules, and still be seriously off in their understanding
of Bible prophecy. Most Protestant churches hold this amillennialist view because
they inherited it from the medieval church they came out of in the Reformation,
and not because they carefully researched this belief. So some historic research
is needed to explain why this site will only promote the pre-millennialist interpretation
of prophecy. But first let us address the question of properly dating the writing
of the book of Daniel.
If Josephus’s ANITIQUITIES OF THE JEWS is an accepted history text (which
many historians agree it is), then those who would believe that the book of
Daniel was written in 139 BC might look up the passage in BOOK XI, Chapter VIII,
4 and 5, part of which I quote. Now remember Alexander the Great is dated to
the 330’s B.C. I quote, “And when he [Alexander] had said this to
Parmenio, and had given the high priest his right hand, the priests ran along
by him, and he came into the city; and when he went up into the temple, he offered
sacrifice to God, according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently
treated both the high priest and the priests. And when the book of Daniel
was shewed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy
the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was that person intended…”
A footnote in Josephus for this passage says “*The place shewed Alexander
might be Dan vii. 6; vii. 3-8, 20,21,22; xi. 3; some or all of them very plain
predictions of Alexander’s conquests and successors.” So if the book
of Daniel was written in 139 BC as some suppose, how in the world did a high
priest of the Jews present it to Alexander the Great in the 330’s BC in
the city of Jerusalem in the temple of God? Good question.
Another big stumbling block to the amillennialist interpretation comes to mind.
There are about 300 specific prophecies about the first coming of Jesus Christ,
the Messiah, in the Old Testament. These prophecies were all literally fulfilled,
each and every one of them. No allegorizing there. But in the Old Testament
we find many of those prophecies of Jesus 1st coming are mixed right in with
what are clearly known and recognized to be prophecies of Jesus Christ’s
2nd coming. How can one switch how he interprets these 2nd coming prophecies,
allegorizing their literal meaning away, while all the while knowing that the
1st coming prophecies that are imbedded right within the same texts were literally
fulfilled? That to me is a stretch beyond sound logic into the fantasy-land
of myth. The first part of this three part series on the 2nd coming of Jesus
Christ is a survey of all those Old Testament prophecies about the 2nd coming
of Christ, and you will see all the prophecies for Jesus Christ’s 1st coming
imbedded right within the same prophetic texts as those that apply to Jesus
Christ’s 2nd coming, so you’ll be able to make this observation right
on the spot. Don’t take my word for it, read those prophecies for yourself
in that first section, and then look them up in your own Bible and see what
I’m talking about--that the 1st coming prophecies were all literally fulfilled
and were in no way meant to be allegorized into some different meaning, and
so the 2nd coming prophecies contained in the same text also cannot be interpreted
in any other way but literal--just can’t be without breaking every rule
of Bible interpretation and common sense.
With that in mind, here are those excerpts from Chuck Missler’s “Thy
Kingdom Come” which will add some historic perspective of where Amillennialism
came from, and thus why it’s a flawed way of interpreting Biblical eschatology.
They are excerpted here to fill in vital background information on the Amillennialist
view of prophecy and why this website does not subscribe to this view.
“What I’d like to talk about a little bit is, ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’
We’ve heard that a lot, haven’t we. Isn’t it in the Lord’s
Prayer?--‘Thy Kingdom Come?’ What does that mean? It may shock you
to realize that probably nine churches out of ten have no idea what that means.
In fact, they deny the root doctrine that lies behind this. We see it says in
Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’
What on earth does that mean? We’re going to explore that a little bit.
Nothing in heaven or earth is more certain. How is that prayed? Jesus taught
us to pray that. How often has that been prayed over 1900 years? You know, in
Luke 19 Jesus said that a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive
a kingdom and to return. And he goes on with this parable. Who’s the nobleman?
Our Lord. He’s left, he’s coming back, and to receive the kingdom.
The return of Jesus Christ to rule on the planet earth, you’ll
be shocked to learn how controversial that is. Many of us here probably
take that for granted. There are 1,845 references to that in the Old Testament.
Seventeen books give prominence to that very event. Three hundred and eighteen
references in the New Testament, in two hundred and sixteen chapters. Twenty-three
of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament give prominence to the return
of Jesus Christ to rule on the planet earth. You would think that we could get
it, wouldn’t you? You’d think that we’d understand that. Most
of us realize there are three-hundred specific specifications that Christ fulfilled
in his first coming, his first advent as they call it. For every one of those
there are eight of them for his second coming. So it’s a big topic.
Now tragically there was a very prominent church father by the name of Origen.
He was very pious, popular, he was very persuasive. He’s one of the great
figures of the third century church. He wrote many important documents, but
he primarily presented Christian doctrine in Greek terms, in Hellenic terms.
But the real tragedy is he introduced a theory of inspiration, or interpretation
I should say, that allegorized the Scripture to extremes. And his writings influenced
Augustine somewhat later. Now get the picture of Augustine. Augustine was that
bishop of Hippo in North Africa from 354 to about 430 [AD]. Very, very influential
guy, he’s one of the most influential leaders of the western Church. He
wrote “The City of God” which portrayed the church as a new civic
order during the ruins of the Roman Empire. About this time, by 476 the Roman
Empire is in pieces. So it’s already starting to fall apart. But get the
picture. From, ah, 325 and following, the Roman Empire--Constantine made the
Christian religion legal, big step. The second successor after him made it the
state religion. Get the picture of a government funded pulpit where a pastor
is preaching that Jesus is coming soon to rid the world of its evil rulers.
That wasn’t what you called politically correct. That was embarrassing.
So they began to soften that by saying “Well, he’s gonna rule in our
hearts.” So “literally dispossessing the earth of its usurpers and
ruling” became watered down and away. So although Augustine’s writings,
many of them, defeated numerous heresies of the period, his allegorical reposturing
of an Amillennial eschatology-eschatology is the study of the end times or last
things. And Amillennialism is a term used by those who deny a literal Millennium,
as such. We’re gonna hit that head-on. And of course from Augustine you
get Auchwitz. [this statement of Chuck’s put in context a little later.]
You see, Origen allegorizes Scripture, Augustine institutionalizes that allegorization
of the Scripture in what we call Amillennialism. And that led to a Medieval
eschatology that the Reformation failed to restore. You know the Reformation
under Martin Luther and the rest of them did an incredible job
at what we call satireology--that’s the study of salvation. They returned
to the Scripture and recognized that salvation comes by faith alone. Many people
willingly died being burned at the stake in their commitment to the authority
of Scripture, in satireology. The great tragedy of the Reformation was they
didn’t go far enough. They accomplished great things in soteriology, but
they ignored the eschatology. They continued to embrace an Amillennial eschatology
that was their heritage from the Medieval church. And so, because of that, most
Protestant denominations are Amillennial in their eschatology. And that also
leads them to being post-tribulational in their views. We’re gonna talk
a little bit about that.
What are the problems with Amillenialism? Well first of all, the Old Testament
is replete with promises of a Messianic rule--the Messiah all through the Old
Testament. In fact, it was so emphasized that when Jesus came in humility they
didn’t recognize him because they had their eyes fixed on one that was
going to come in power and rule. The destiny of Israel is all wrapped up in
this. The destiny of Israel and God’s Covenant is denied by most modern
Christian churches tragically, because of this [Amillennial] heritage.
When you get to the New Testament you got another problem. Gabriel meets Mary
and gives her an announcement of her new child, that he is going to take David’s
throne, Luke chapter one, verses 31-32. Well that’s a problem. David’s
throne didn’t exist in those days. They were ruled by Rome. The king was
an Edomite, Idumean, they’d say. Herod was a Roman appointee, wasn’t
even Jewish. That wasn’t David’s throne. And yet her child was going
to take David’s throne. Has Jesus ever done that? No. Where’s he now?
On his Father’s throne, not on his throne. I believe his throne’s
gonna be the Mercy seat, that will reappear as a gift when he comes. That’s
a whole nuther study. And there are numerous confirmations of all of this in
the New Testament, let alone all the Old Testament promises. To dismiss or somehow
explain away the Millennium--there are many views about eschatology that good
scholars can differ on. Most of us meet once a year just to do that, to share
different views of subtleties and details. And yet there is one view, that if
you hold that view, it has disturbing implications. Some are post-trib, pre-trib,
fine. But if you’re amillennial you’ve got a problem, because
to dismiss or explain away the Millennium is to impugn the character of God.
You’re calling God a liar. God means what he says and says what
he means. He is the opposite of Allah. The Muslims worship a god who is presented
as being unknowable, capricious, he can do anything. There’s no certainty,
no certainty about Allah. The God of the Bible, the God of Abram, Yitshak and
Jakob, the God that we worship, delights in making and keeping his promises.
To imply he doesn’t keep his promises is to attack the thing that he holds
dear, his character. And amillennialism, tragically, does that very thing. And
yet it’s embraced, I would say, by nine out of ten churches in America.”
In the quote above, a remark was made about “Augustine to Auschwitz”,
which needs some clarification, which Mr. Missler clarifies this in his notes
which came with the tapes, which I quote: “One of the derivative aspects
of an amillennial perspective is that it denies Israel’s role in God’s
plans. This also leads to a “replacement theology” in which the Church
is viewed as replacing Israel in God’s program for mankind. In addition
to forcing an allegorization of many key passages of Scripture, this also led
to the tragedy of the Holocaust in Europe. The responsibility for the six million
Jews who were systematically murdered in the concentration camps has to include
the silent pulpits who had embraced this heretical eschatology and its attendant
anti-Semitism.”
Now that we’ve probably offended all the amillennialists reading this,
I wish to make one point perfectly clear that Chuck Missler briefly touched
on. Martin Luther and all the other reformers got their soteriology (doctrinal
knowledge of salvation) totally correct, so that means many members of their
churches were born-again Christians. Even though their eschatology differed
dramatically, they were still born-again Christians. That means that the 9 out
of 10 Christian churches that Chuck Missler says are probably amillennialist
in their eschatology can still be composed of born-again Christians. Interpretation
of prophecy, called eschatology, is totally secondary when compared to the saving
knowledge of Salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Those doctrines of soteriology
[salvation] are primary to one’s salvation. So whether a person
is amillennialist or pre-millennialist in their prophetic interpretation of
the Bible does not effect one bit their standing before Christ in matters of
being born-again and salvation through Christ alone. I have merely
attempted to point out some of the faulty logic of the amillennialist interpretation
of prophecy and why this site cannot endorse it. But this site is mainly composed
of quality Gospel of Christ oriented material having nothing to do with prophecy.
The bulk of the material on this web site is quality gospel of Christ material
for the nourishment of all denominations. I bear no ill will toward my amillennialist
brothers in Christ or the denominations they come from. We are in agreement
on some very important points. We both believe that Christ’s return will
end the misery and suffering we experience on this earth. We both understand
that the church is the instrument God is using to preach his message to the
world today--a message of salvation through Christ--regardless how we interpret
prophecy. Each of us has no doubt that ultimately eternity is what we long for
when there will be no more death, pain, or suffering. We both believe that Christ
has all power on heaven and on earth, and that it is only a matter of time before
he comes back to set things straight. We both believe that Scripture sets before
us God’s plan of redemption for his saints and his ultimate plan for the
entire universe (though we disagree about specifics). Jesus is at the center
of God’s work and the Holy Scriptures contain all that is sufficient for
our salvation--regardless of our methods of interpreting prophecy. We need always
to keep these things in mind as we deal with each other.
So that gives some of the historic background of Amillennialism. Now let’s
read some pretty awesome prophecies of Jesus Christ’s, the Messiah’s
2nd coming, and come to see why these prophecies can’t be allegorized away.
In the section ahead, you’ll see a vital part of the book of Revelation
imbedded in the Old Testament prophecies. When you see them and then read how
they fit right into Revelation 16, you’ll see for yourself how the Bible
defeats amillennialism all by itself. Research this issue for yourself. Don’t
follow a view just because everyone else around you does, or because you yourself
have been brought up believing it. The Bible says, “Prove all things, hold
fast to that which is good.”
What follows is a book report, made from excerpts taken from Michael L. Brown’s “Our Hands Are Stained With BLOOD”.
It is said of a good book, “I could not put it down.”
I must say of Our Hands Are Stained With Blood, “I wanted
to put it down, set it aside, not read it or deal with its issues”—but I couldn’t.
The Lord would not let me put it down.
I was too convicted. Convicted of my ignorance. Ignorance of the spirit of
anti-Semitism that has been in the Church and in many so-called Christians throughout
history. I did not know the extent
of the persecution by Gentile “Christians” toward our Jewish brethren in the
past. I know it now—thanks to Mike Brown’s
thorough research and indisputable historical facts.
The statements of Christian leaders of the past toward the Jew left me
shaken and awakened.
What scares me is that a similar spirit
of anti-Semitism is in the Church today among some segments of the Body of Christ.
This has come in the form of a popular teaching circulating in the Church
called “Replacement Theology,” the idea that the Church is the new
This book is therefore a wake-up call to
the Church. As a pastor I want anti-Semitism
to stop at the church door. It must have
no place among true Christians. Wherever we see this attitude raise its ugly
head we must work to change it. And may
intercessors be raised up to pray for the gospel to go “to the Jew first.”
I consider myself to be a lover of
My prayer is that you will be as deeply
moved as I was by this book, and that you will see that it gets into the hands
of pastors, Christian leaders and laymen, as I plan to do—whether they are sensitive
to Jewish issues or not. No one can be
the same toward the Jewish people, both those who believe in Jesus and those
who do not, after reading Our Hands Are Stained With Blood.
Don Wilkerson
This book needed to be written. Gentile believers need to know what was done to the Jewish people over the centuries in the name of Jesus.
We Gentile believers need to understand
the pain and suffering that countless pseudo-Christians have brought upon the
Jewish people. Only then can we ever
begin to comprehend the depth of the pain and sorrow they have endured at the
hands of so-called “Christians”.
Although much of what you will read cannot
be attributed to genuine Christian believers, some of it can. There is an unnerving trend toward a renewed
anti-Semitic spirit, even among Christians, not only in the
We need to understand our responsibility
“to stand in the gap” on behalf of God’s still-chosen people. Genuine prayers of intercession need to be offered
on the behalf of
Finally, we need to be reminded to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Scripture commands us to do, that the glory
of the Lord might subdue the earth, and that at His coming, there would be a
Bride made up of Jewish and Gentile believers alike, standing together in genuine
unity and in the bonds of peace.
From the
Preface:
“…It is the Christian
Church—in name, though not in spirit—that has actually written much of
An Orthodox Jewish author in a book published in 1991, could say: “Today, one of the most fundamental causes of Jewish suffering is the hatred of Christians towards Jews and the Jewish faith.” This Jewish author actually believes:
From his birth,
every Christian, practicing or nominal, imbibes the belief that the Jews, i.e.,
any and every individual Jew, are answerable for the murder of his messiah.
Indeed, the overwhelming majority of the acts of persecution, religious
coercion and massacres suffered in history by our People came at the hands of
Christians. Thus we see that Christianity was a significant
and major cause of Jewish suffering (Meir Simcha Sokolovsky).
As you read some of the chapters that follow—especially as you realize that for many Jews, this “Christianity” was the only brand they ever saw—you will feel revulsion, shock and anger. No doubt your reaction will be, “But that’s not the real Church! That’s not me! True Christians are filled with love, not hate.”
On the one hand, that is absolutely true. The Church that butchered Jewish men, women and children could only be a thoroughly apostate Church. In order to emphasize that point, I have often put the words “Church” and “Christian” in quotation marks. Throughout the book, you will be reminded of that…
…we must realize that both in the past and in the present, the erroneous theology of true Christians has helped open the door for all types of murderous persecutions of the Jews. The fact that some of this theology is still alive today is strong evidence that the contemporary Church needs to repent…”
“…Worse still—this is almost beyond comprehension—there are Christian leaders whose ministries are largely devoted to warning believers to beware of evil Israel. I am not exaggerating!
There is still an ugly spirit in the Body that must be exposed. It is bad enough that the same diabolical spirit of anti-Semitism influences much of the world today. But that it still exists in the Church is unthinkable! Would to God that this generation of believers would finally drive out that foul spirit.
This book has been written with a burning (and often broken) heart, in the hope that the people of God today would utterly repudiate the Church’s sins of yesterday. This will bring reconciliation—reconciliation of the Church to the Jewish people, and reconciliation of the Jewish people to their Messiah.
No doubt there will be controversy, from both Christian and Jewish perspectives. I only ask that you, the reader, read this book with an open heart before God. The results are in His hands. May your heart be stirred to action as you read the pages that follow!
Chapter One
The Final Solution
“You are about to go on a journey. The soldiers have ordered you aboard and the train is ready to leave. You stand side by side with your family, wondering what will come next. You are crowded into a railway cattle car, packed with dozens of other adults and children. Where are they taking us now?…”
Let’s find out:
“…The old, the sick,
pregnant women and small children, two thousand innocent souls, were shot and
brutally thrown into [freshly dug] graves, one on top of the other.
Many of them were still alive! For
most of the children they didn’t even waste a bullet.
They were just thrown in alive. And
together with those who were only wounded, finished their lives under the pressure
of the human mass…We learned of the massacre from the Polish police themselves.
They told [our friend] Moshe Hersh about it in great detail, because
they themselves had taken part in that slaughter.
On the following Sunday, they went to church
with their families, as if nothing had happened. They suffered no guilt feelings. After all, they were only murdering Jews, with
the blessing of their priests, who inflamed them from their pulpits on Sundays”
(Martin Rosenblum, quoted in Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: A History of the Jews During the Second World War [New
York: Henry Holt, 1985, p. 445, my emphasis]
p. 177, Notes section of Our Hands
Are Stained With BLOOD.
Chapter Two
A Terrible, Tragic Past
“Christianity
did not create the Holocaust; indeed Nazism was anti-Christian, but it made
it possible. Without Christian antisemitism,
the Holocaust would have been inconceivable…Hitler and the Nazis found in medieval
Catholic anti-Jewish legislation a model for their own, and they read and reprinted
Martin Luther’s virulently antisemitic writings. It is instructive that the Holocaust was unleashed
by the only major country in
“…The German
Nazis, then, did not discard the past; they built upon it. They did not begin a development; they completed
it. [Raul Hillberg, The Destruction of the European Jews…1985]”
Chapter Three
A Blessed and
Beautiful Stream
“It is true that the Church has sinned terribly against the
Jewish people. But not all the Church has sinned. Wherever
Jesus has been lifted up and adored, there have always been genuine lovers of
Learn about this stream of love and river of blood and who plays an active role within each.
Chapter Four
The Rabbis: Stiff-necked,
Hardhearted and Proud?
“There are hypocritical leaders in every religion.
There are charlatans in every faith.
But are the rabbis especially guilty?
Are they worse than everyone else? Do
they all conceal horrible sins in their hearts? Are they ungodly blasphemers, since they deny
Jesus as Lord? Are they superficial legalists,
since they reject the New Covenant?” The truth about the way most of the rabbis are
and were in history will amaze and humble you. Are you ready for the truth?
Chapter Five
Miriam and Jacob:
Household Names in the
Savior’s Home
“What do you think of when you hear the words, “Mary, the mother of Jesus”? Do you think of a statue in a Catholic church somewhere, with the Son of God as a babe in His mother’s lap? It certainly sounds “Christian,” doesn’t it? Now, what do you think when you hear the words, “Miriam, the mother of Yeshua”? Quite a different picture comes to mind! This one looks extremely Jewish.
Well, for the record: The mother of Jesus was named Miriam as surely as the sister of Moses was named Miriam. In fact, all the Mary’s in the New Testament were Jewish women called Miriam. (That’s right, Mary Magdalene was actually Miriam of Magdala! If we had called her “Mary,” she would not have known we were talking to her.) Because the New Testament was written in Greek, the names have come down to us in Greek dress. But, if we want to get our facts straight, we need to understand that John was really Jochanan (pronounced Yochanan), Matthew was really Mattityahu (Mattai for short) and good ol’ Simon Peter was really Shimon Kepha. In fact, James was really not James at all. He was Jacob!…”
Do you really understand the culture the Christian church was born out
of? If you’re so not sure now, you need
to read this chapter. Modern Messianic
Jewish congregations may be carbon copies of the original
Chapter Six
Bad Reporting,
Bias and Bigotry
“What do the major newspapers, news magazines and news broadcasts on television and radio all have in common? It is a history of misleading, anti-Israel reporting! Here are some examples…
What follows in this chapter is a factual expose of reported stories and
the actual truth that debunks each and every one. Do you have the courage to learn the truth and
be set free from all the lies? Read the
real plain truth about this bias as Chapter Six exposes and separates fact from
fiction behind the sensational news stories of the mainstream press. Who are the real bigots?
Chapter Eight
The Inquisition Isn’t Over
“Everyone has heard about the Spanish Inquisition. In the days of Christopher Columbus and of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, the Catholic Church launched a terrible persecution against suspected heretics. Thousands [of Jews] were imprisoned, tortured and burned at the stake.
All this is common knowledge. But how many of us know that there was a particular “heresy” the Spanish Inquisition sought to uncover and destroy?”
This one will amaze you! But it has been part and parcel of the apostate church as well as many genuine churches, that Jews who converted to Christianity up until very recently had to forsake every vestige of their Jewish background and religious practices. But be it known:
“Rather than taking the Law away from
Of course, observance of the Law does not make us more righteous, more loved or more spiritual. Through the cross our sins are forgiven, and the Spirit leads us in paths of life. But where is it written that believers, in particular Jewish believers, are forbidden to observe the Law? Where is it written that the Spirit always leads us away from and against the Law?
Let’s get more specific: Where do the Scriptures clearly and decisively make Sunday into the Sabbath? (Forget about Church tradition. What does the Bible say?) Then why are Jewish believers who set aside Saturday for Sabbath worship considered divisive?
Where does God say to forget the biblical feasts? Then why are Jewish believers who celebrate the feasts instead of later, man-made holidays, accused of going back under the Law? [and certain Sabbatarian Christian churches and denominations who keep the biblical feasts instead of the man-made holidays—they are labeled (I say libeled) as legalists.]
Where does the Word teach that Jews must become Gentiles to be saved? We have really forgotten our roots!
Chapter Nine
Are You a Crusader
for Christ?
“According to Romans
11:11, “salvation has come to the Gentiles to make
If
you think so, then you need to read what follows in this chapter--what an Israeli
writer has had to say on this subject. Also,
why do Jewish believers insist on
calling themselves Messianic Jews?
Chapter Ten
“More Tears”
“A little more than 100 years ago, a Christian minister to the Jews “was
asked what he thought wanting on the part of the friends of
Why more tears? What does he mean
by this?
Chapter Eleven
So Near and Yet So Far
Is Judaism evil and anti-God?
Learn the plain truth on this matter.
The facts revealed in this chapter will astound and humble you.
Chapter Twelve
Has God Forsaken
His People?
“Some things are non-negotiable. God’s
covenant with
This is a question that needs answering once and for all from an honest
and biblically accurate study of God’s Word.
This chapter provides a clear definitive answer from just such a study.
Chapter Thirteen
Natural Children and
God’s Children
“Romans is Paul’s theological masterpiece. In the first eleven chapters, he lays out the absolute essentials of our faith. In the last five chapters, he tells us how to live. If we understand Romans, we understand the gospel.
It is in Romans that Paul demonstrates that all have sinned, Jew and
Gentile alike. It is here that he opens up the incredible revelation
of justification by faith [the same identical faith Abraham was saved by].
(Think of trying to understand that without Romans!)
It is here that he speaks of our struggle with sin, our victory over
sin and life in the Spirit of God. And
then he brings it all to a climax with an in-depth teaching about
A proper understanding of what Paul teaches about Israel in Romans clears
up just which Israel Paul is teaching about in Romans—the natural children of
God—the Jews—or the spiritual Children of God, the believers in Jesus.
Have we been wrong in our understanding of just who
“Here is where the Church, which has been primarily
Gentile since the second century, has made a big mistake. She has been guilty of boasting over the natural
branches, forgetting her root and misinterpreting
Chapter Fourteen
“Thou Shalt Not Steal”
“…We [Jewish believers in Jesus] are not as much the fourth branch of
Judaism as we are the Jewish part of the Church!
It is only together with the rest of the Body that we will be perfect…It
has not been enough [for the Gentile church] to spiritually apply God’s promises
to
Want to see how this happened?
Chapter Fifteen
A Diabolical Plan
“With every fiber of his depraved, sinister being, Satan despises the Jews. He hates them with a perfect hatred. Their total destruction is his goal. He is the author of the spirit of anti-Semitism. There is no other way to explain the venomous hostility that has been hurled against the Jews by so many people in so many countries for so many years.
Why the Jews?…anti-Semitism existed before
Christianity began.
Hatred against the Jews has been too intense, too cruel, too universal, too destructive to be explained in terms of divine punishment alone. Yossel Rakover’s Holocaust prayer says it so painfully well:
You say, I know,
that we have sinned, O Lord. It must
surely be true! And therefore we are
punished? I can understand that too! But I should like You
to tell me whether there is any sin in
the world deserving such a punishment as the punishment we have received!
Anti-Semitism has clearly overstepped the bounds of heavenly judgment and chastisement.
But why? Who’s responsible? Is it God, as many assume? Or is it really Satan. Read the evidence provided in this chapter and
decide for yourself.
Chapter Sixteen
Life From the Dead
“…Did
they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?
Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation
has come to the Gentiles to make
The
day will come when Gentile believers will make
“[For] if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! (Rom. 11:12).”..
…Today,
there are men and women across the globe who are children of the living God,
the spiritual seed of Abraham, joint-heirs with the Messiah, recipients of eternal
life, blood-washed, Spirit-filled, consecrated saints as a result of Israel’s transgression.
How much greater will
At
this very moment, a continuous stream of praise ascends to heaven in more than
2500 languages, and angels shout for joy as sinners repent worldwide
as a result of
Find out how and what must be done first to
bring this about—to do this, you must order the book and read it.
To order online try any of these urls:
http://www.icnministries.org/resources/books.htm
For a