Does the current rise in antisemitism portend the coming of the Antichrist against Israel as prophesied in the Bible?
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When the Antichrist Invades Israel
I’m going to start this post with the ending – the end of Jewish rule over Israel. I’m talking about the start of a 3 1/2 year siege of Israel by the Antichrist and his armies (Rev. 11:2). This is the time of the Great Tribulation.
This time begins when the Antichrist’s armies invade Israel and the Antichrist commits the abomination of desolation.
While mentioned by many prophets, Zechariah provides the clearest description of this horrific event.
“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled,…” (Zec,. 14:2).
Jesus warned of the panic on this day, stating, “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Clearly, these will be terrible times, but they will come.
So what should we look for in advance of this invasion? One of the most significant signs that portend its coming is often forgotten. That sign is antisemitism.
Satan Moves Against the Jews Before Moves of God
Satan has long tried to destroy God’s chosen people to cut-off the promises God made to the descendants of Jacob. Many of these moves against the Jews occurred just before God was ready to do something big in Israel.
One example of this when Haman tried to kill all the Jews while in exile in Babylon. Why did satan move against the Jews at that time? He moved because he knew that an order would soon be issued to restore the temple as foretold by Isaiah. This was satan’s chance to stop God’s plan while the Jews were still in exile.
Another example of this is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who most believe acted in the paradigm of the Antichrist. He tried to destroy the Jew’s laws and religion in order to completely remove their identity as a people. Once again, the timing of this move is significant. The next large event to occur in Israel was the birth of the Messiah. And Satan knew this based on the timeline angel Gabriel revealed to Daniel. Through this move against the Jews, satan attempted to stop the promised Messiah from coming.
And it was less than 100 years ago that satan tried once again to wipe out the Jews in Nazi Germany. Once again, there was a reason for satan’s timing.
It was the end of WWI when the British and the Zionists held the first discussions about granting land in Israel back to the Jews. This is the same time when antisemitism accelerated in Germany. Satan knew he had to move quickly to disrupt the restoration of Israel.
Antisemitism Precedes Satan’s Moves Against the Jews
So why does antisemitism precede satan’s attacks against the Jews?
The reason is that the lies told about the Jews turn people’s hearts and minds against them. Lies that the Jews control society behind the scenes or perform atrocities against other people change people’s views about them. No longer are they viewed as friendly neighbors, but people with evil intentions not to be trusted. The lies justify the persecution, so when persecution comes against them, the masses accept it.
In Esther 3:6, it is clear that Haman had a predisposition of hatred for the Jews before he learned that Mordecai was a Jew. Haman’s heart was already filled with antisemitism, and it only took Mordecai’s resistance to trigger plans for genocide.
Likewise, in Germany, antisemitism rose rising rapidly after WWI. After losing the war, the Jews were blamed for covert activities that caused Germany to lose the war. By 1919 Adolf Hitler had embraced antisemitism, and it became a tenant of the German Worker’s Party, the predecessor to the Nazi party. Just 22 years later, the Nazis gassed the first Jews.
As described in the Bible, when the Antichrist invades Israel, there is limited resistance. The nations gather against Israel, not in defense of it. The reason for this is that the nations will see this invasion as just. They will see it as righting wrongs committed by Israel against the Palestinians. In this way, antisemitism will pave the way for the Antichrist to move against Israel.
So as we near the Great Tribulation, we would expect to see antisemitism arise once again. Are we?
Signs Appearing that Parallel Nazi Germany
In Germany, most of the movements against the Jews occurred in just eight short years. In the year Hitler was appointed Chancellor in 1933, Jewish businesses were boycotted, and Jews were restricted from farming, the arts, and journalism. By 1934 the government took away their rights to health insurance. By 1938, Jews were restricted from practicing law and medicine, from selling goods, and even from attending public schools. In 1941, the gassing of Jews began.
Today, we stand among rising antisemitism but on a global scale. What is alarming is that antisemitic moves today are similar to antisemitic moves in pre-Holocaust Germany.
These similarities exist between pre-Holocaust Germany and the world today
- In Germany, antisemitism first rose in university student organizations. Nearly 80 years later, a campus divestment campaign was initiated by Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of California, Berkeley. Since that time, a total of 133 BDS measures have been considered by student bodies (91 of which were defeated). According to the Jerusalem Post, a new account in Instagram documents campus antisemitism. Since opening one month ago, about 800 incidents have been submitted with 130 posted.
- From the beginning, Hitler moved to boycott Jewish businesses. This is also happening in modern times. The BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) movement is disguised as a Palestinian-initiated, pro-Palestinian movement, but was started by anti-semites. BDS is based on the lie that Israel is a racist, apartheid state like South Africa was.
- A few years later, Hitler worked to exclude the Jews from the economy. We see similar calls against Israel by European trade organizations. Here are two articles from a pro-BDS organization, European Trade Union Initiative for Justice in Palestine. 34 European trade unions say European governments must ban settlement trade, and the European Federation of Public Services Unions calls to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement.
If you believe antisemitism is contained in isolated incidents, take a look that the breadth of occurrences detailed next.
The World Against the Jews
The rise in antisemitism today is rising across the globe.
The Bible tells us that the world will be against Israel. “…all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it” (Zech. 12:3).
Here is a sample of antisemitism news articles from the Jerusalem Post in the past four weeks alone.
- Polish-language newspaper in Toronto blames Jews for the pandemic
- USC student gov’t head quit because she was harassed for being pro-Israel
- ‘Umbrella Academy’ under fire for alleged use of antisemitic tropes
- Jewish, Black historical Virginia cemeteries vandalized with Nazi symbol
- BDS ‘Jew-hater’ convicted for violent assault in Germany
- Corbyn’s local Labour Party to debate rejecting IHRA antisemitism meaning
- Survivors appeal to Facebook to remove Holocaust denial posts
- Jay Electronica joins fellow rappers in tweeting antisemitic tirade
- Jewish leaders call on NAACP leader to resign over antisemitism
- Twitter users call for 48 hour boycott of site due to antisemitism
- Charity leader calls Jews ‘grandchildren of monkeys, pigs’, resigns
- German Foreign Ministry hires Islamist who defends Israel’s destruction
- European Jewish Congress urges German MPs to stop their ‘hate crimes’
- Star of David taken down by Twitter, citing ‘hateful imagery’
- Madonna posts part of Louis Farrakhan’s July 4th speech
- Farkash-Hacohen: 2020 is the ‘Year of Delegitimization’ against Israel
- CIJA responds to ‘Post’ article after CNP called for removal of Jews from Canada
- Amid coronavirus and protests, celebrities are promoting antisemitism
- French town that saved Jews in WWII recently elected antisemitic mayor
Knowing the Future Empowers Us to Make a Difference
So if we can’t do anything to stop this event, why is it important for us to watch for it?
Because if we know what to watch for and see it coming, we can help those who are about to be affected.
In Nazi Germany, some remained quiet, compliant, despite the evil being witnessed around them. But others risked their lives to help the Jews.
God calls us to help the persecuted regardless of the suffering that we may incur as a result. He calls us to be courageous (Joshua 1:9). Jesus tells us specifically that “the cowardly” will be included with the “unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars” in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).
Decide now what you are willing to fall for, so when the times comes, you will stand for it.