Television preacher and Pastor, John Hagee has stated in the past that people who do not “support Israel” are biblically ignorant. That is quite interesting because my Bible shows me very clearly that the UNBELIEVING JEWS of our time, believe the very same stuff that the UNBELIEVING JEWS believed when they rejected and KILLED Jesus the Christ (Messiah) almost 2000 years ago! Why would I want to support a system which rejected Jesus as the Messiah when HE came the first time, and STILL REJECT HIM to this very day? They make NO APOLOGY for their beliefs, and I make NO APOLOGY for my beliefs either! They do not believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) so according to my Bible they are of an “antichrist spirit” which the Jewish apostle John mentioned in his letters. (1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, 2 John 1:7)
I DO certainly believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), and I also believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty, according to the scriptures! (Revelation 1:8, 11, 17-18, 2:8, Isaiah 44:6, 24) I also believe that anyone who REJECTS Jesus Christ, will ultimately DIE in their sins, according to Jesus Christ himself. (John 8:24, Mark 16:15-16, John 3:16-21) So I do not consider myself to be “Biblically ignorant” regarding UNBELIEVING ISRAEL at all. I do NOT support UNBELIEVING ISRAEL, and I still continue to warn others about them also, as I am doing again here in this article. That is truly a “no-brainer” for me, because I do not want to be linked or UNITED together with any group of people who reject the one (Jesus) who shed his BLOOD to SAVE my soul! My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, also prophesied of HIS OWN DEATH at the hands of the UNBELIEVING JEWS in the parable of the vineyard, and you can read about that at the end of this article.
In fact the Bible makes it clear that the unbelieving Jews were (and still are) completely IGNORANT of their own scriptures, and their own prophets when they were read in the synagogues every Sabbath (Saturday.) Why would I want to support the UNBELIEVING ISRAEL of our own day, when they CONTINUE to reject my sweet and beautiful Savior Jesus Christ? I would find myself in OPPOSITION to Jesus Christ himself if I did that!
Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this SALVATION sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, BECAUSE they KNEW HIM NOT, nor yet the voices of the PROPHETS which are read every sabbath day, they have FULFILLED them in condemning him. (Acts 13:26-27)
The spiritual condition of the Jewish people in Israel, and throughout the world, is the same today, as it was approximately 2000 years ago when the Lord came into this world. When the Lord came to minister to his own Jewish people, the majority of them rejected him as the Messiah, even though the prophets had prophesied of his coming. (Micah 5:2, Isaiah 53:1-12, Zechariah 9:9) Did the Lord Jesus Christ LOVE his own Jewish people? Absolutely YES! Did the majority of Jewish people RECEIVE Jesus Christ when he came? Absolutely NOT!
He was in the world, and the world was MADE BY HIM, and the world knew him not. He came unto HIS OWN (Israel/Jewish People), and his own received him NOT. But as many as RECEIVED HIM, to them GAVE HE POWER to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:10-12)
That should not surprise you though because the history of the children of Israel is filled with rebellion against the Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) arrived on the scene he never minced words, and he never played games with people. He did not pamper them, and he did not coddle them, and he did not tell them that they were still his chosen people, but he rebuked them without hesitation, because the Son of God was in their midst, and they despised him! He made it clear to his own people, that they were doing the very same things which their forefathers had done. Do not ever forget the words which are printed here below, because they were spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are as TRUE today, as they were back then:
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would NOT have been partakers with them in the BLOOD of THE PROPHETS. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which KILLED THE PROPHETS. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye SERPENTS, ye generation of VIPERS, how can ye escape the DAMNATION OF HELL? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you PROPHETS, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall KILL and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM, thou that KILLEST THE PROPHETS, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and YE WOULD NOT! (Matthew 23:29-37)
Many people do not realize that it was the Lord Jesus Christ himself, whom the children of Israel were rebelling against for all of those previous centuries. Yes, Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, and it was he who led Israel for all of those years. So when Jesus arrived on the scene, Israel merely continued to do what they had been doing all along, in rebelling against the Lord. Jesus Christ told them that they killed and stoned the prophets which were sent to them, and that he wanted to gather them as a mother hen, but they would have none of it. The spiritual condition of Israel for the most part is exactly the same as it was back then. The Lord also came forth with a parable (of the vineyard) whereby he declared once again that Israel killed the prophets which were sent to them, and he also prophesied of his own death, at their hands, in that very same parable. (Matthew 21:33-46) To declare that the Jewish people are still “God’s Chosen people” in spite of their willful rejection of the Son of God, is absolutely ludicrous.
The Unbelieving JEWS Continually RESIST The HOLY SPIRIT
Stephen was a Christian who was filled with faith and power according to the Word of God, and he met with opposition from the Jewish leaders in Israel.
And Stephen, full of FAITH and POWER, did great wonders and miracles among the people. (Acts 6:8)
The Lord was truly using this man Stephen, and as usual the kingdom of darkness was not happy with what was happening. The religious crowd came from the synagogues because they were upset at the things which Stephen preached. (Acts 6: 8-15) Stephen then testified before them all and rehearsed the entire history of the children of Israel (read Acts 7) with a boldness that was truly inspiring. Stephen then got right to the very heart of the matter and said this:
Ye STIFFNECKED and UNCIRCUMCISED IN HEART AND EARS, ye do always RESIST the HOLY GHOST: as YOUR FATHERS DID, SO DO YE. Which of the PROPHETS have not your fathers PERSECUTED? and they have SLAIN THEM which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and MURDERERS: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and HAVE NOT KEPT IT. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But HE, being FULL of the HOLY GHOST, looked UP stedfastly into HEAVEN, and SAW THE GLORY OF GOD, and JESUS standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the HEAVENS opened, and the SON OF MAN standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and STOPPED THEIR EARS, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and STONED HIM: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they STONED Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, LORD JESUS, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, LORD, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:51-60)
Stephen referred to the Jewish religious crowd as being “stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart” and that was a very accurate description. They were not “born again” of the Spirit as the Lord, which the Lord had deemed as a necessity for entrance into the kingdom of God. (John 3:1-8) Stephen was basically saying the very same things which the Lord Jesus Christ had said to them. Stephen also mentioned the prophets which their forefathers had slain (killed), and he told them that they also resisted the Holy Ghost just like their fathers did! Stephen was about to exit this world by way of murder because of his faith in the Lord. After Stephen was killed, the people laid his clothes at the feet of a young Jewish man named Saul, who later was converted and became the apostle Paul, perhaps the most famous preacher of all time.
Paul The JEW Got Converted, And Preached JESUS As MESSIAH!
The Jewish apostle Paul was converted in dramatic fashion, even when he was on the way to Damascus to persecute and drag in some more Christians. Paul (formerly Saul) was there when Stephen was murdered as I said before, but that was not the only time that Paul consented to the death of those who preached Christ. You can read about Paul’s conversion experience in Acts 9:1-31 and hear him give his testimony in Acts 26:1-32 and I encourage you to do that. This is what the Jewish apostle Paul wrote to the people at Thessalonica:
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when YE RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is IN TRUTH, the WORD OF GOD, which effectually worketh also in YOU THAT BELIEVE. For ye, BRETHREN, became followers of the churches of GOD which in JUDAEA are in CHRIST [MESSIAH] JESUS: for ye also have SUFFERED like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the JEWS: Who both KILLED the LORD JESUS, and their OWN PROPHETS, and have PERSECUTED US; and they PLEASE NOT GOD, and are CONTRARY to ALL men: FORBIDDING US to SPEAK to the GENTILES that they might be SAVED, to FILL UP their SINS alway: for the WRATH is come upon THEM to the uttermost. (1 Thessalonians 2:11-16)
There has been a lot of talk in recent years claiming that the Jewish people were not responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, which is truly hard to fathom because that is what the scriptures teach us. I mean it is all over the scriptures (and shown in this article), and it flows perfectly together with the Old Covenant books also. In the passage above the Jewish apostle Paul who was converted himself plainly declares that the Jewish people KILLED the Lord Jesus. Not only that but Paul declared the very same things which the Lord Jesus Christ, and Stephen declared, in saying that the Jewish people also killed their own prophets. All three passages from the Bible (Word of God) agree with each other, and that is the way the scriptures work.
I bring forth this message to you today to combat the false teaching that the Jewish people are still in covenant with God in spite of their rejection of Jesus as Lord and Messiah. John Hagee who is known for his “Nights To Honor Israel” and the “Christians United For Israel” (CUFI) organization made this statement regarding the Jewish people:
“Trying to convert Jews is a waste of time he (Hagee) said.
Everyone else whether Buddhist or Baha’i needs to believe in Jesus, he says. But not Jews, Jews already have a covenant with God that has never been replaced with Christianity he says.
The Jewish people have a relationship with God through the law of God as given through Moses, Hagee said. I believe that every Gentile person can only come to God through the cross of Christ. I believe that every Jewish person who lives in light of the Torah, which is the word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption.
The Law of Moses is sufficient enough to bring a person into the knowledge of God until God gives him a greater revelation. And God has not said Hagee.”
[Statement DH005 , Christian Research Institute, Charlotte, NC]
Whenever I read this statement from John Hagee I find it hard to believe that more people do not speak up about these things. If there is any group of people that are responsible before the Lord, and who need to repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is the Jewish people.
The only covenant that a person (Jewish or Gentile) can have outside of Jesus Christ would be a covenant with DEATH. God offers ALL people a covenant with “everlasting life” (John 3:16) through his Son Jesus Christ. If, and when, a person rejects Jesus Christ they simply remain in a condition of spiritual death, which will ultimately land them in an eternal Hell, unless they repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15).
To declare that the Jewish people are in a relationship with God, by living in light of the Torah, through the Law of God is incomprehensible and it goes against everything that the Lord Jesus and his disciples ever preached. The Law of God shows the Jewish people (and the rest of us also) that we are dead in our sins, and in need of a Saviour. The Law of God was meant to be a schoolmaster to lead the Jewish people to faith in Jesus Christ. The Law of God stops every mouth (Jew and Gentile) from trying to justify themselves before a holy and righteous God!
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD may become GUILTY BEFORE GOD. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall NO FLESH be JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT: for by the LAW is the knowledge of SIN. (Romans 3:19-20)
That is why the Lord Jesus Christ poured out his heart to his own Jewish people when he said: Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the DAMNATION of HELL? (Matthew 23:33) The Lord used extremely strong language when he spoke to his own (Jewish) people, and he was basically calling them snakes in no uncertain terms. The bottom line is that the Gospel message is still the same and Jesus Christ is till the only way by which a person can be saved. (John 14:6, Acts 4:10-12)
For I am not ASHAMED of the GOSPEL OF CHRIST: for it is the POWER OF GOD unto SALVATION to every one that BELIEVETH; to the JEW first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
JESUS the MESSIAH, Prophesied That His Own JEWISH People Would KILL Him!
This is a must read for those of you who are interested in prophecy. In the Parable of the LORD’S VINEYARD [Matthew 21:33-46] we gain much insight into how the Lord dealt with the Jewish people of His day, regarding their rejection of not only Him, but of the prophets through the ages. This parable was given by the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of the world, almost two thousand years ago:
HEAR another PARABLE: There was a certain householder, which planted a VINEYARD, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: (Matthew 21:33)
The householder in this parable is the Lord God Almighty, and the husbandmen are the gardeners who were responsible for the vineyard. In this case the husbandmen [gardeners] are the children of Israel who were entrusted with the Word of God down through the years. The children of Israel were the ones who were instructed by the Lord, and they often had His prophets sent to them. In fact the book of Isaiah shows us clearly that the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
For the VINEYARD of the LORD of hosts is the house of ISRAEL, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold OPPRESSION; for righteousness, but behold a CRY. Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that THEY may be placed ALONE in the midst of the earth! (Isaiah 5:7-8)
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and BEAT ONE, and KILLED another, and STONED another. Again, he sent OTHER SERVANTS more than the first: and they did unto them LIKEWISE. (Matthew 21:34-36)
In this part of the parable the Lord is describing the history of the children of Israel and how they treated the sevants of the Lord. These servants were beaten, persecuted and even killed at times. In fact if you read chapter seven in the New Testament book of Acts you will hear Stephen, a man of faith and power, rehearse the history of Israel in great detail. In fact this chapter is one of the clearest testimonies in the whole New Testament of how the Jewish people were confronted regarding their rejection of JESUS their MESSIAH.
At one point Stephen addressed the Jewish leaders who were standing before him and said the following:
Ye STIFFNECKED and UNCIRCUMCISED in HEART and EARS, ye do always RESIST the HOLY GHOST: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just (RIGHTEOUS) One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and MURDERERS: (Acts 7:51-52)
Stephen told the Jewish leaders that they were resisting the Holy Ghost just as their fathers did. Stephen also made a point of telling these Jewish leaders that they were responsible for killing the prophets who prophesied of the coming Christ [MESSIAH]. We know the Messiah is Jesus. Stephen was stoned to death a short time later like so many others of the Lord’s faithful witnesses. [Acts 7:55-60]
But last of all he SENT unto them HIS SON, saying, They will reverence MY SON. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us KILL HIM, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they CAUGHT HIM, and CAST HIM OUT of the vineyard, and SLEW HIM. (Matthew 21:37-39)
This part of the parable describes what happened when Jesus Christ arrived on the scene. He was rejected by the majority of the Jewish people, especially the chief priests and the elders, and they wanted Jesus Christ to be put to death. The scriptures below testify to the truth that they were surely involved in putting Christ [MESSIAH] to death.
When the morning was come, all the CHIEF PRIESTS and ELDERS of the people took counsel against JESUS to PUT HIM to DEATH: (Matthew 27:1)
The Lord was not surprised by what was coming and He told His own disciples that His death was the fulfillment of prophecy. The Word of God is truly amazing in its accuracy regarding the prophetic word. The scriptures foresaw what took place here, and declared it hundreds of years before.
Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to JERUSALEM, and ALL THINGS that are WRITTEN by the PROPHETS concerning the SON of MAN shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be MOCKED, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and PUT HIM to DEATH: and the THIRD DAY he shall RISE AGAIN. (Luke 18:31-33)
When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, WHAT WILL HE DO unto those husbandmen? (Matthew 21:40)
Here the Lord Jesus Christ asks the Jewish religious leaders, who were listening to Him tell this parable, what should be done to those who did all of those things to the Lord’s servants. Jesus was now getting to the very heart of the matter, as He always did, and He wanted them to give Him the answer to His question.
They say unto him, He will miserably DESTROY those WICKED MEN, and will let out HIS VINEYARD unto OTHER husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. (Matthew 21:41)
The Jewish religious rulers responded and told Jesus, that those who did those things were wicked and they should be destroyed! Not only that, but they said that the vineyard should be let out [given over to] to other husbandmen [gardeners] who would bring forth the fruits in their seasons. They had no idea that their answer played right into the meaning of the parable. They were able to see the unrighteousness of what was done to the servants in that parable, but they did not realize that they were the very ones whom the Lord was describing.
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye NEVER READ in the SCRIPTURES, The STONE (JESUS) which the builders rejected, the same is become the HEAD of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:42)
The Lord Jesus Christ then quoted Psalm 118:22 regarding Himself as being that STONE which the builders [Israel] rejected and who had become the head of the corner [or cornerstone]. The Lord was basically telling the leaders of Israel that the very one standing before them was the very one whom they needed. The Lord was and is the chief cornerstone in the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom which would be made up of Jewish and Gentile believers.
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be TAKEN FROM YOU, and GIVEN to a NATION bringing forth the fruits thereof. (Matthew 21:43)
Could Jesus Christ, the creator of the earth, [John 1:1-3], have been any clearer in His pronunciation against the leaders of Israel. The Lord made His point that Israel had rejected the prophets who were sent to them, and they would end up killing Him too. Yes, the Lord was prophesying of His very own death, but He was also telling Israel that the Kingdom would be taken from them, and it was! The nation that the Lord said would be given the Kingdom is simply that “holy nation” of believers described by Peter. [1 Peter 2:9-10] This gospel is not about Israel but it is all about Jesus Christ. The prophets prophesy about Jesus Christ because it is all about HIM. The Lord is going to have a people who serve Him and worship HIM with all of their heart, and those people are going to come from every part of this large world in which we live. If a person has not been born again then they are not part of the Kingdom of God [John 3:1-8] because entrance into this Kingdom is only through Jesus Christ. Do not let anybody replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a false gospel, because a curse comes along with a false gospel. [Galatians 1:8-9]
Who Are God’s Chosen People?
They are those who believe the testimony that God gave of His Son Jesus Christ! [Jewish and Gentile]
Who Is The “Apple of God’s Eye”?
It is those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! [Jewish and Gentile]
God is not a respector of persons, and any person who desires salvation in Christ will not be turned away. Does that mean that a person who has lived without the Lord, their whole life, can “repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) and get SAVED? Absolutely YES. That person can also be called the apple of God’s eye, AFTER they get SAVED, and they are considered to be just as much a part of God’s chosen people, as any person who has ever received the Lord, since the beginning of the world. This gospel is NOT about ISRAEL, but it is all about JESUS CHRIST!
Do you remember what the Lord Jesus Christ told that Gentile woman of Samaria concerning the worship of God?
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that MESSIAS (MESSIAH) cometh, which is called CHRIST: when he is come, he will tell us all things. JESUS saith unto her, I that speak unto thee AM HE. (John 4:21-26)
Jesus made it clear to this Gentile woman, that the city of Jerusalem did not matter when it came to the worship of God. Jesus told the woman that God must be worshiped in Spirit and truth, and the physical location had nothing to do with the true worship of God. Perhaps Jesus was looking forward into this modern day where people have made a religious idol out of the city of Jerusalem, and the National State of Israel.
Jesus told this Gentile woman that He was in fact the Messiah that she was looking for, which clearly shows us that the Lord will reveal Himself to anyone who truly desires to know Him. This woman had been married many times, and she was living with a man at the time, but the Lord offered her mercy. Do you remember what the angel said to the apostle John, in the book of Revelation, when John went to bow down and worship him?
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of JESUS: worship GOD: for the testimony of JESUS is the spirit of PROPHECY. (Revelation 19:10)
If a person does not have the testimony of Jesus in their heart, and on their lips, then they are not true worshipers of God. The angel made that very clear to John. The angel also let John know that the spirit of prophecy will put the testimony of Jesus within a persons heart. If a person truly wants to know what the Word of God is about, then they will find out very quickly that it is Jesus Christ who is the central figure in the Bible, and the redeemer whom they need.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Matthew 21:44)
Jesus Christ did not mince words when He spoke, and here he tells the Jewish leaders that those who reject Him would end up as powder. The word of God still stands true today for both Jew and Gentile. It is either Christ or nothing, and there are no back doors, side doors, or any other door you might think of in this plan of salvation. Jesus said this:
JESUS saith unto him, I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE: no man cometh unto the Father, but BY ME. (John 14:6)
And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a PROPHET. (Matthew 21:45-46)
At this point the Jewish priests and the Pharisees caught on to what Jesus was telling them, and they realized that He was speaking about them. They would have grabbed Jesus right then and there but they feared for their own lives so they did not take Him at this point. The following quote is from the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and it applies to ALL people in the world, including the Jewish people:
For GOD so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only begotten SON, that whosoever believeth in HIM should NOT perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. For GOD sent NOT his SON into the world to condemn the world; but that the world THROUGH HIM might be SAVED. He that believeth on HIM is NOT CONDEMNED: but he that believeth not IS CONDEMNED already, BECAUSE he hath NOT believed in the name of the only begotten SON of GOD. (John 3:16-18)
