A shield against deception
Inscribed on the pages of Sacred Scripture is accuracy to the highest degree, and infallibility, that brings total assurance to seekers of absolute truth. To point mankind to God’s Word, is to lead the human race into universal enlightenment, in the midst of a global attempt by mortals to extinguish the light of God’s message to men and women, of every race, tribe, culture and lineage. Yeshua’s (Jesus’) first admonition to His followers, when they challenged Him to give them insight as to the indicators of His Second Coming, without hesitation, He emphasized a strong distinguishing mark of the end times: deception. (Psalm 101:7). The act of hiding the truth, especially for someone’s advantage, is a hallmark of today’s world. Sadly to say, the misleading information we all are sometimes fed in world media is shocking, if not unnerving. The cheating that goes on in normal every day business, the underhandedness, dishonesty and fraud – among many other visible and decidedly dishonest practices put forth in technology, television, radio, and every other modern mode of communication – is shameful.
Because deception is running rampant, I believe we need men and women of stalwart faith from our Judeo-Christian communities to rise up, even if they are in a minority, to help get the facts straight. “A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right and evil doesn’t become good, just because it is accepted by a majority.” (R. Warren).
Multitudes in the world are being fooled because they believe lies. Spiritual leaders are also being beguiled because they refuse to assume responsibility for what is true. Too many spiritual leaders are not aware of half truths. If someone gets hold of the wrong half, they have a problem clearly seeing fact and reality. We, as believers in Jesus the Messiah, have a dilemma. Should we sacrifice truth on the altar of popularity or should we shoulder the duty to deal with accountability in our churches, basing our stand upon the absolute truth of Scripture? Thomas Aquinas said, “As a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth.” Therefore, even though some may stubbornly refuse to be taught, we have a mandate to stand for the truth in this day and age. Some of us are going to be called to speak up. It will take discernment and courage to do so. It is not a time for the fainthearted, but the time for brave followers of our Lord, to stand tall and strong…firmly rooted in God’s Word!
Hitler once said, “make the lie big. Make it simple. Keep saying it. And eventually they will believe it.” This means that beliefs can be manipulated. This is something we do not wish to happen to us. There is a wide range of incorrect “facts” out there, blatant lies, and the printing of incorrect information. Truth is bulldozed and buried in the ground by some reporting, while the media’s dirty laundry list of fabrications and half truths hangs on the line for all to see. First and foremost on the hit list of media incorrectness is Israel. Israel, a candle in the world arena of nations, is a light that the world wants extinguished, and is doing all it can to delegitimize it, and along with it, to deny the truth of Scripture. Not only do many nations deny Israel the right to exist–attempting to disconnect it from its ancient history and kingdom–but various religions are seeking to erase historical facts and rewrite history, coming against God’s Word. In spiritual terms it looks like satan is deceiving the world. We, as followers of Jesus, must be ever alert to unmask and expose his strategies.
In an article entitled, “Truth is Fallen in the Street” by Dr. Jack Hyles, he stated a perceptive observation when he said, “There will never be a virile Christianity, there will never be a Christianity or a church that will affect and influence society, until the church comes back and says, ‘This, ladies and gentlemen, is truth! As long as the Bible may or may not be so, justice will not pass, judgment will have to go back, and equity will not be able to pass in the street, until we come back to saying truth is truth and this is true!’” Truth needs to be proclaimed and declared. He goes on to say, “Where is the truth? The Bible is the truth. Every word of it is true. When this truth falls in the street, we lose our way and man dies without God. When this truth is picked up off the street and held and preached for right, man can find the way through Jesus Christ to life and life eternal.”
The popular message today is that Israel has no favor with God. Some even deny its existence, while others shout Israel has no right to their Land. While countries like Iran are physically threatening her survival, some in the Church persecute her by saying she is not the Chosen People. In a nutshell, these Churches are denying the God of Israel. I have travelled to many places on this earth, and rarely did I find a Christian who could answer my question, “What God do we worship, as Christians?” Dead silence. Finally, someone said in a shy voice, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?” The worshippers didn’t even think about who they were worshipping! This is just pure ignorance. I also found those in the Church with little or no knowledge of the nation of Israel.
In Genesis 3:4, the first lie from the lips of the deceiver were, “You most assuredly won’t die!” Here, we are first introduced to the power of words. Over and over throughout the annals of time, satan has persuaded mankind to question God. “Yea, hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1) was another challenge raising doubts about God’s commands. “Really?” he asked. “None of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat any of it?” (Tay) Satan is a master repudiator and rebutter of God’s words and he influences mankind to question God or to totally deny Him.
A recent report from Arutz Sheva, an Israel news site, reported, “Every day, every hour, lies about Israel are spread online.” Ever since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948, the Arab world has spread enough anti-Israel propaganda around the world to cause a whole world view that Israel had stolen Arab land, and the world swallowed the pill of deception. From that incongruous starting point, major newspapers around the world, world agencies and diplomatic bodies have spread lies, and have dug their own pit by allowing their foundations to decay in a me-centered world, where rebellion against authority
is rampant.
The recent UNESCO resolution against Israel/Judea/Samaria will end up in the dust bin of history. The former POTUS (President of the United States) Barak Obama, shamefully carried out one last harmful maneuver against Israel by not vetoing Resolution 2334, which basically makes the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Kotel (Western Wall) both “occupied territory”.
Israel was nearly annihilated in the Security Council vote that demanded an end to all settlement activity and that designated all the land that Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, as well as the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, as Arab land occupied by Israel. The question on many western minds is now, who does Jerusalem belong to? Few are acknowledging that Jerusalem is the undivided eternal capital of Israel. “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us break their bonds in pieces, and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh…” (Psalm 2:1-4).
A recent headline read “Christians punish the Defender of Christians in the Middle East.” “UN Resolution 2334 was passed with the support of several Christian-dominated countries (France, Britain, Russia, Spain, Uruguay, Angola, Ukraine, Venezuela and New Zealand), while another Christian-dominated country, the United States of America, ensured the resolution’s passage by refusing to use the veto it has traditionally used against such resolutions.” (Jewishpress.com) In so doing, “the world’s Christians are betraying the only state in the Middle East that protects Christians from extinction…This attack by Christians on the Jews of Israel is reminiscent of a long tradition of Christian anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe. It appeared to be in remission for awhile, after the Christian-majority nation of Germany nearly wiped out all Jewish presence in Europe. Are we seeing a return to traditional Christian anti-Semitism, or are we seeing world leaders who are too cowardly to address the real problems (truthfully) and would rather use demonization of Israel as a distraction? Whatever the reason is, the Christians’ betrayal of the Jews is as short-sighted as it is wrong. As the Times of Israel reported this past Christmas, in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank city of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the “Christian population is rapidly disappearing,” as in the rest of the Arab Middle East. By betraying the Jews, Christians are not only continuing a long history of anti-Semitism but also undermining their own heritage.” (Fred Maroun, the Jewish Press.).
Islam claims Israel does not allow religious freedom, while the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem praises Israeli religious freedom. Arabs living in Israel shout that Israel is a land “occupier”, while the US Republican party platform expressed an unequivocal support for Israel and rejected the false notion that Israel is an occupier. The true face of apostate Christendom has been shown through the Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the USA when they called for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) based on Israel’s “human rights abuses” and “militarized violence” against Palestinians. I can tell you the truth, there is no such thing as human rights being abused by Israelis and no militarized violence perpetrated by the Israelis. My husband and I have lived in Jerusalem for 31 years. Israel, we clearly see, is one tiny nation against a big world of anti-Semitism. The final judgment of the nations is actually based upon how the nations treated His People. God will have the last word (see Hebrews 10:30).
Jerusalem is destined to be the capital of the messianic kingdom to come. It is a “City on a hill” (ir al tillah, in Hebrew) and the golden age is just beyond the horizon. As with the Jewish people, when our Watchmen pray for Jerusalem, they envision it not as it is, but as it will be when Yeshua returns. The hard truths of reality are that the coming battle will be over Jerusalem. Jerusalem is “the Place”. “There is no city on earth that can compare in value to Jerusalem…With over 800 references to Jerusalem in the Bible there is much that can be learned about it…God Himself has chosen this earthly city to dwell in and to establish His Name among men…There is no other place on earth that has such a destiny.” (D. Hershey). “For the Lord has chosen Zion: He has desired it for His habitation. This is MY resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” (Psalm 132:31-14). It will be the seat of power over all nations. This is truth. We must not be hesitant to declare it.
Concluding, the concerns that are keystone issues today, are: (a) the rise of Christian anti-Semitism and the ongoing heresy of Replacement Theology in our churches worldwide, (b) the ongoing inaccurate and unfair media coverage of Israel to the world, and (c) the upsurge of anti-Christian, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel undercurrent in the world today. All three major topics flow out from a hatred for the God of Creation, who says Himself, He is the God of Israel! (Mark 12:26).
We must observe our ongoing struggle to eradicate the barefaced lie of Replacement Theology. The origins of the false teaching began centuries ago with Church forefathers who were anti-Semitic in their hearts. Today, the heresy has been re-kindled in Europe and in America (even though in America there are probably more Israel supporters than anywhere else in the world). By negating the promises God has made to Abraham and his descendants, the “Church” refuses Israel the place and role in God’s plans and purposes for which she has been called. By refusing to read the Torah, called the “Old Testament” by most Christians, spiritual leadership becomes callous and indifferent to Israel’s past, present and future. “In a sermon I heard recently, a well-known American evangelical teacher announced to his congregation that he would prefer to have the church “fix his car” rather than to get a “free trip” to Israel for his 30th anniversary”. (John J. Parsons, Hebrew for Christians). Perhaps our pastors and leaders need to read what the great prophet Jeremiah predicted will happen in the future. “…the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth and shall say, surely our fathers have inherited lies…” (Jeremiah 61:19). The Septuagint tells us that the nations will come from the extremity of the earth to admit that their fathers attributed to generations of believers (and non-believers) believing fabrications about the Jewish people. “They killed Christ!” “God is finished with Israel!” and “the Jews are the scum of the earth!” These are all allegations from the mouths of “Christians” throughout the ages. As long as the scourge of this harmful theology continues, the all-embracing blessing for the followers of Yeshua (Jesus) will not be realized in its fullness. In the coming age and kingdom on this earth, it is made very clear in God’s Word, that there will be no anti-Semites under God’s dominion rule.
It is only recently that we have been introduced to the terminology “fake news”. I’m sure it has been around for a long time, but it has been brought to the surface during President Donald Trump’s campaign and early days in the White House. False information about Israel, both Arab and world media propaganda published under the guise of authentic news has finally been exposed. Misleading the world with constant lies about Jewish people, the Land, the nation and its right to their God-given possession of the Land has been to misinform the public via social networks and different modes of modern communication. It is nothing new, but it has been given a more powerful audience with today’s technology.
Finally, as we watch the devious and dishonest manner in which liberals, the left, and all who wish to see a One World Government, spew lies about Israel, it will necessitate advocates and campaigners of absolute truth, which is to be found only in one place: God’s unchanging Word! If we do not hold fast to our convictions, we will end up being fooled, as much of the world is today. Let us not be as many in the Church worldwide, refusing to accept what is true about Israel and God’s Chosen People. God’s promises have not failed them. The dry bones, the army of people, the restoration, rebirth of the nation, and return of the people, have all taken place, just as He said. The future of Israel is as bright as the shining sun. Her perpetual and timeless existence is as certain as the sun, moon, stars and the sea are in His care (Jeremiah 31:35-37). For those who cannot accept the truth, they will indeed be fooled and they, or their children, will one day have to admit that they inherited “lies”.
Let us all carry the torch of the one permanent light in this dark world today, for it is undoubtedly, without hesitation or reservation, our shield of absolute truth on which every human being may rest their belief, protection and confidence. It will be our lifelong stable rock which will never move. From wherever we live, we will join other like minded redeemed from the earth, when we meet on the road to Zion to take part, with the redeemed of Israel, in the Kingdom that is advancing to this earth. In Jerusalem, the King will teach us the Law of the Lord and His Ways. “ Many people will say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3, NIV). Let us all remember, there are two paths that lead to deception, as Kierkegaard said. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true. Embarking on the right path will move us forward and prevent us from inheriting lies masked in deception. As a matter of honor, we owe it to one another to present absolute truth.
-Sharon Sanders-