Last week, we talked about how Israel is important during the End Times. We also had a crucial discussion on how the Church must relate to Israel in this period. In today’s post, we discuss the supernatural origins of anti-Semitism, and how the Gospel is spreading in modern-day Israel with Pastor Christopher Mantei, author of Flee to the Mountains: The Church’s Responsibility to Israel in the Final 7 Years of The Age.
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You’ve mentioned how, as a people, Israel is ready to hear the Gospel. But how is that so? Historically, there have been aversions in the Jewish communities toward Christianity.
Actually, the orthodox Jews are being saved now. There are testimonies. In fact, there is a ministry called One For Israel that is releasing “I Met Messiah.” Regular Jewish folks are coming to the Lord and are bearing witness. It’s happening already.
HISTORICAL PERSECUTION AGAINST ISRAEL IS SUPERNATURAL
However, aversion to the Gospel does still happen. It’s a historical reality. The Jews are such a small people group and throughout the centuries, they’ve experienced persecution over and over again.
And it [persecution] is from the devil.
Remember: what Satan hates is what Satan wants to die. He wants to kill them (Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20, Luke 21:24, John 10:10, Revelation 12:13).
In the past, the Jews have been hurt by religions. Christianity during the Crusades of the AD 1000’s brought out a wave of violent anti-Semitism. If the Jews did not convert to the Church, they were purged.
CHRISTIANITY AND ANTI-SEMITISM
It [the hurt] is still fresh in Israel today because of how Hitler brought the Holocaust against them. The Holocaust was the plan to solve the “Jewish Problem.” This was a term coined by Martin Luther himself, the Christian leader of the Reformation. Near the end of his life, he wrote anti-Jewish writing, urging people to burn their synagogues, burn their Torah scrolls, and to keep the Jews out of the land, forcing them to be baptized!
And that’s how Hitler was inspired. Somehow, there would be no Hitler without our assent as a Church.
But as a Church, we can speak out and say, “Wait, that’s not right! This is not how we follow Jesus!” We are ultimately called to follow Him—not to follow our imperfect Church or government leaders.
PERSECUTION OF MESSIANIC JEWS
On the other side, there are dangers to becoming a Christian if you’ve grown up in a religious Jewish background. Rabbis reiterate it to them that Jesus is a Gentile God. “He isn’t one of us,” they say. “If you follow Jesus, you’re turning your back on your whole identity as a Jew!”
Your whole Jewishness is forfeited. Personally, I have Messianic Jewish friends who have been disowned by their parents because of this. They weren’t considered Jewish anymore. Their religion and identity are so linked together that the two cannot be separated.
THE MESSIANIC JEWS OF TODAY
They [the Messianic Jews] are still growing in Israel. They’re not Gentiles who moved in. They are all legitimate Jews, and they are very bold. They face opposition. Orthodox Rabbis curse them in the streets, trying to take their property away, exposing their addresses. They are being forced to get out.
Persecution occurs against them, but praise God because He is still calling people from Israel. If we will be prophetic, we have a promise of the 144,000 that will come from the tribes of Israel in the last days (Revelation 7:4-8, 14:1-4). These people will be very bold, and we will learn a lot from them.
-Interview with Christopher Mantei by Nicole Gusto
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Continue with us next week for the final part in this series. We will be discussing with Pastor Christopher How Christians can personally prepare for the End-times.
To purchase his book, Flee to The Mountains: The Church’s Responsibility to Israel in the Final 7 Years of The Age, check out his website at Wings of The Eagle
Pastor Christopher Mantei
Christopher Mantei is the Associate Pastor of Iron Faith Fellowship church, co-Pastor of the revolutionary Endtime Church, and President of Wings Of The Eagle. Christopher has been immersed in God's Word –particularly the prophetic scriptures– for the past 30 years. Experienced in the Catholic, Protestant, and non-denominational traditions, he has been teaching (and learning) Bible prophecy in online forums since 1995. He built his first website in 1999 and has preached to thousands in person and online. Christopher also loves hosting his own radio program. He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons.
Nicole is part-nerd and part-artist. She’s a passionate speech pathologist, writer, dreamer, occasional ventriloquist, and a total geek for stories. She dances through words and writes to speak life to readers. She also regularly blogs at https://nicolegusto.com
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