Devilish

As 2,000 rockets have been fired at Israel this week, the usual suspects in the West—the Jew-haters—launch their own propaganda attacks. In this way, they work hand-in-glove with Hamas.

I want to make two points this week; both of them leave me irritated.

The first point is that, as I’ve written so many times over the years, certain American Christians despise Israel. I also stand by my statement many times that too many of them—here I’m talking about those in leadership or highly visible positions—simply do not like Jews.

It shows through their Media.

Until about a decade ago, Cameron Strang seemed fairly mainstream in his views of Israel. That is, his family has been well-known as pro-Israel publishers in the Charismatic community. But then Cameron went to Israel with anti-Israel evangelicals (or, better put, people who use the label “evangelical” in order to fool others. In reality, some of them are pagans), and he came back spouting PLO propaganda. His magazine has done untold damage in turning Millennials against the Jewish state. Another hit piece this week is proof of that.

Anti-Israel activist Todd Deatherage (he poses as an even-handed humanitarian) is interviewed about the rocket attacks from Hamas. Notice this comment:

“As we’re talking this morning, we are on day four of a massive conflagration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You’ve had hundreds of rockets fired out of the Gaza strip into South and central Israel. About nine Israelis are dead, including one or two children. And you had a massive Israeli response, mostly of an aerial bombardment campaign of the Gaza strip. There are about a hundred or more Palestinians who’ve been killed, including more than 20 children.”

You have to understand how totalitarians communicate. Here, the progressive Deatherage isn’t sure how many Jewish children have been killed. But he subtly notes that “more than” 20 Palestinian kids have died.

The way Christian media communicate about Israel is devilish.

Most of you know this drill. Hamas uses women and children as human shields. The terrorists are soulless fiends. Does anyone really believe Israel targets children? British Colonel Richard Kemp today tweeted:

“Never in history has any army made greater efforts to minimise civilian deaths in a combat zone. Whatever the media might tell you in Gaza 2021 the IDF has so far achieved one of the smallest ratios of civilian deaths in battle of any recent conflict.”

You should read the entire Relevant piece. And when you do, read it carefully and notice how Deatherage and the editors frame the argument against Israel. And not just the Jewish state. He has a particular animus for her supporters, primarily Christian Zionists.

Again, pay attention to language. How are words used to marginalize/attack someone? In this case, we see that Deatherage doesn’t spotlight the real problem here: Palestinian intransigence. Nowhere does he analyze the 100-year Arab war against the Jews in the Holy Land. The root problem here is hatred in the human heart. Most specifically, it is a continuation of the millennia-old hatred for Jews. Nothing explains this satisfactorily apart from what the Bible tells us.

Next, though the rocket attacks are horrific, I continue to be dismayed by Christians that seem to think Israel will be destroyed. Scripture tells us this will not happen. Granted, the Bible speaks of terrible times for Israel. The very last of the last days promise catastrophic wars.

But nowhere does Israel disappear.

Now, to some recent reports:

“The military-terrorist wing claimed it was using a new tactic by firing Sejil rockets at Ashqelon, which successfully evaded the Iron Dome aerial defense system and killed and wounded Israelis.”

“At 19:00 on May 11, 2021, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing threatened Israel, saying that if Israel continued attacking residential buildings in the Gaza Strip Tel Aviv would be hit hard (Izz al- Din Qassam Brigades’ Telegram channel, May 11, 2021). After the IDF destroyed the Hanadi Tower, a 13-story building in Gaza City, the military-terrorist wings of both Hamas and the PIJ threatened Tel Aviv would be attacked at 21:00. At 20:45 the terrorist organizations fired dozens of rockets at the Tel Aviv and coastal plain region. Hamas rushed to announce that 130 rockets with heavy warheads had been fired in the largest attack ever carried out against Tel Aviv. A similar barrage was fired at 03:00, May 12, 2021, at the Tel Aviv and coastal plain regions, Beersheba, Dimona and other cities.”

These escalations, including more sophisticated rockets, are progressing at an alarming rate. It’s already been estimated that Hezbollah has hundreds of thousands of rockets aimed at Israel. If this Hamas action is producing this level of damage, what would Lebanon’s arsenals do?

But that’s precisely the point. It doesn’t matter what the world plans for Israel. I have no idea at all how Israel would withstand or respond to a truly withering rocket attack. I don’t know when it might happen. I don’t know if it would be the prelude to Gog-Magog, or not.

What I do know is that God will not allow Israel to be destroyed. It isn’t going to happen.

This is what the new state of Israel said 73 years ago:

“We appeal – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.”

The Arabs gave Israel the middle finger then, just as they are now. The tragic loss of life on both sides is sickening.

But the methods the world has used to deal with the conflict is so off-base, it’s almost laughable.

Nothing will solve this terrible situation until Jesus returns.

In the meantime, I implore you to let it settle into your mind that Israel is here to stay. Permanent regardless of what the Media say. Lasting irrespective of the evil intents of men and women in government, media, and religious circles.

Keep your mind sharp, your heart guarded. Pray for Israel.

God is in complete control.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

www.thegodthatanswers.com

 

 

 

 

Pro-“Palestine”/Anti-Israel

On Twitter this week, I noticed a bit by Eugene Cho, the leftist “evangelical” from Seattle:

“We pray for India, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar & other nations enduring suffering. We confess that our tears are often limited to the West or those who look, worship, & think like us. Jesus, may our compassion transcend borders. Break our hearts for the things that break Yours.”

I’ve written about Cho before. He’s a solid member of the progressive set that has infiltrated evangelicalism. His Twitter bio is comical, including his description of himself as a “visionary.” This is always a label given to self-absorbed, self-appointed “leaders.” Remember, if someone has to tell you he’s a visionary, he isn’t.

Anyway, the real point of this is that Cho’s community is shot-through with pro Palestinian activists, so that his tweet is pretty hollow when you factor-in his exclusion of murdered Israeli Jews from the platitudes he sends out. He wouldn’t be caught dead calling the PLO on the carpet for oppressing people.

I noticed a link to his latest book, No Longer Strangers. Get a load of the Amazon description, in part:

“What does evangelism look like at its best?

“Evangelism can hurt sometimes. Well-meaning Christians who welcome immigrants and refugees and share the gospel with them will often alienate the very people they are trying to serve through cultural misconceptions or insensitivity to their life experiences. In No Longer Strangers, diverse voices lay out a vision for a healthier evangelism that can honor the most vulnerable—many of whom have lived through trauma, oppression, persecution, and the effects of colonialism—while foregrounding the message of the gospel. “

In Cho’s left-wing world, “white colonialism” (which would necessarily include Israel, since white Great Britain paved the way for the Jewish state, and the white U.S. recognized Israel in 1948) is responsible for most of the world’s ills. No mention at all of Islamic terrorism, Chinese aggression and murder, or political corruption in Washington (which adds untold suffering).

And the contributors to Cho’s book, and his endorsements, let us know clearly that the pro Palestinian community within America’s evangelistic churches is thriving. Read about just one contributor, Andrew Bush:

“Rev. Andrew F. Bush and his wife, Karen, have served internationally, for almost thirty-five years, in the Philippines, the Palestinian Territories, and Israel. Presently, he is the director of the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice in Bethlehem in the Palestinian Territories, as well as pastor of the East Jerusalem International Church. Previously, he was the chair of the Department of Global Service and Mission at Eastern University in St. David’s, Pennsylvania. His books include Learning from the Least: Reflections on a Journey in Mission with Palestinian Christians and Millennials and The Mission of God: A Prophetic Dialogue. He holds post-graduate degrees from the École Biblique et Archéologique Française in Jerusalem and Princeton Theological Seminary.”

Several things to note here. He is based in large part in Bethlehem; no Christian can operate freely where the PLO rules. He also taught at Eastern University, the perch of leftist leaders like Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne, who have published lies about Israel. Bush also graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, which went hard-left a hundred years ago.

Now, what makes Cho’s Palestinian advocacy really dangerous is his inclusion of “evangelical” voices like Ann Voskamp (the popular writer) and K.J. Hill, an associate pastor at the Summit Church, where SBC President JD Greear holds court.

Think about that for a minute. As I’ve said many times, such have crept in unawares, to quote a great NT writer. This is not 1950, when liberalism in churches was largely confined to dying mainline churches. Now, the worst radicals are found right in the very heart of evangelicalism.

This and many other reasons show us clearly that Israel is being marginalized not only within churches, but globally. The kind of garbage pumped out by Cho, Voskamp, et al is dangerous for Israel.

They would deny that, of course. That’s what leftists do.

Just know that among the worst anti-Israel activists in the entire world today are those planted in the American church community.

This is a stain on American Christianity.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

www.thegodthatanswers.com