What To Do About The Hunters?
In the previous two articles we tackled the questions: “Why the hunters”, “What do the hunters look like” and “Where are they?”
This month we’ll examine what needs to be done now that we know the “why, who and where.”
Before we get to the “what” and the “how” I’d like to address a few foundational issues that will greatly affect how to react towards the hunters: anti-Semitism and Replacement Theology.
Replacement Theology
A belief system unfortunately widespread in Christianity today is the concept of “Replacement Theology.” We have touched upon this theory briefly before. To reiterate, the teaching is that the Church has replaced Israel as the covenant recipients of God, thereby nullifying God’s promises to Israel. Many mistakenly believe that because of their sin and their rejection of Yeshua/Jesus as the Messiah, God has cast Israel off entirely and substituted her with the Church. The concept teaches that because the promises of God to Israel have been transferred to the Church through the New Covenant, the curses of the Old Covenant now become the fate of Israel; therefore, the only hope of salvation for Israel and the Jewish people is to become saved and follow the modern church system, forsaking their unique Jewish customs and history. The deduction is that their past plan, future, hope and calling in God has essentially been revoked.
This viewpoint is quite contra-scriptural. I cannot go into detail here, but I will share these two scriptures:
28Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience. – Romans 11:28-30
[NKJV] [emphasis added]35Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): 36”If these ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever”. 37Thus says the Lord: “If the heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done says the Lord.” – Jeremiah 31:35-37 [NKJV]
Simply on the basis of these scriptures we see the foundation for Replacement Theology begins to fall apart, yet these are only two of many scriptures. Ponder this; if God would cast off Israel and the Jewish people forever because of their sin and unbelief where does that leave the Church? If sin and unbelief is the test for being replaced by God, then the Church should have been replaced long ago.
Replacement Theology eradicates any need for Israel to exist as a nation in God’s plan for the earth. If Israel and the Jewish people have been substituted then it doesn’t matter how much land Israel is asked to give up for supposed peace. If God’s promise of the land of Israel to the Jewish people is null and void then there ceases to be a reason for Christians to defend the nation of Israel against those who seek her destruction.
Replacement Theology invariably leads to our next topic, anti-Zionism.
Anti-Semitism’s New Clothes
“. . . You declare, my friend that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely ‘anti-Zionist.’ And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valley’s of God’s green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews – this is God’s own truth.
Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot on the soul of mankind. In this we are in full agreement. So know also this: anti-Zionist is inherently anti-Semitic, and ever will be so . . .
And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is anti-Semitism . . .
Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews – make no mistake about it.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Excerpted from “Letter to an Anti-Zionist Friend,” Saturday Review_XLVII (Aug 1967), p76 1These words were written by Dr. King over 30 years ago, but they could have been written yesterday.
After WWII and the fall of the Third Reich, anti-Semitism needed new packaging. The blatant racial anti-Semitism practiced by Hitler and the Nazis was no longer tolerated. Racial stereotyping and scapegoating of a people group, particularly Jews, was discouraged, outlawed and prosecuted. Anti-Semitism didn’t die; it went underground until an acceptable disguise for it’s evil could be found. That disguise is anti-Zionism; anti-Semitism wrapped in a cloak of political legitimacy.
Israel’s detractors often say in essence, “I have nothing against the Jewish people, just the nation of Israel” or “I don’t have a problem with the nation of Israel as a secular state, just as a Jewish one.” On the surface this appears acceptable, except for the question, what exactly is Zionism?
According to the Jewish Virtual Library the definition is:
Zionism, the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.2
And from the official website for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
The origin of “Zionism” is the biblical word “Zion”, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). Zionism is an ideology which expresses the yearning of Jews the world over for their historical homeland – Zion, the Land of Israel.3
So, Zionism is the idea and desire of the Jewish people all over the world to return to their ancient homeland. This is also God’s desire as mentioned in previous articles, (see Isaiah 11:11-12, Isaiah 43:5-6 and Amos 9:14-15, to name a few).
The question remains, can one be against Zionism and not be against the Jewish people? Dr. King had it right.
Why bring up Replacement Theology and Anti-Zionism? If a believer adheres to one or both of these philosophies then their prayer and intercession for Israel and the Jewish people will be greatly hindered.
How should one react if they’ve accepted one or both of these beliefs? Please study the Word of our Father to see what He has to say about Israel and the Jewish people. Ask God to expose any strongholds of incorrect doctrine or teaching in our lives. Ask God to show us if we harbor any anti-Semitism, hatred or ill will towards the Jewish people and Israel, and then repent as the Holy Spirit leads. Ask Him to bring healing, unity and truth.
What should we do about the Hunters?
Now we come to the focus of this article. We know who the hunters are, where they are and why God is using them for his purposes, but what do we as members of the body of Messiah do now?
Pray
First we pray that God would protect the Jewish people of the Diaspora and that they would heed the call of the fishers and make Aliyah – the return to the Land of Israel. We pray and ask God to restrain the hunters so those who so desire can return in time.
Some may be thinking, “If God is using the hunters for His purposes than why should we pray against them for the protection of the Jewish people of the Diaspora?”
While it is true that God is using the hunters, let’s review the “why”. God is using the hunters to get His people home to Eretz Israel. Because some will not go on their own, He will drive them before the demonic inspired hatred of the hunters, not because He is a mean and angry God, but because He loves His people and knows that in order for them to fulfill their destiny they must be in the place He has chosen for them. The world is out of kilter when Israel and the Jewish people are out of place. This is God’s order.
As we have stated before, the Word clearly shows that it is God’s plan for the Jewish people to return to the geographical land of Israel. According to Jeremiah 1:12, God is watching over His Word to perform it. Why pray for protection and restraint from the hunters? Because while they are part of God’s plan, He also wishes that none were lost:
9The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. – 2 Peter 3:9 [NKJV]
14Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. – Matthew 18:14 [NKJV]
17But Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever. – Isaiah 45:17 [NKJV]
While we can’t stop the hunters, we can pray for grace and protection for those in their path and that they will flee safely.
Support Aliyah
The surest way to get the Jewish people out of the path of the hunters is to assist with ministries helping them make Aliyah. If more people can answer the call of the fishers than fewer will be left in the sights of the hunters. Your support for these ministries can take many forms. You can pray and intercede for the ministries and their fishing teams. Going out and finding the Jewish people and helping them return to Israel is a time consuming, labor intensive and sometimes dangerous endeavor. The people accomplishing this need your prayers and intercession as much as the people they are trying to help.
Another obvious area is financial giving to these ministries. As with anything else it takes money to get the job done. Can you think of a better way to spend your money than to be part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy?
You can also prayerfully and financially support ministries like Bridges for Peace and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem who have programs to assist the Olim (Jewish Immigrants) after they arrive in Israel.
Pray and ask God what part He would have you play in the return of His people to His land.
Become Informed
6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. – Hosea 4:6 [NJKV]
I am a firm believer in “informed intercession.” Also if we are to determine the times and season in which we live, we need to be aware of the signs and what’s going on around us.
When it comes to Israel and the Jewish people we often cannot rely on the mainstream media to provide us with fair and balanced reporting. We must make an effort to seek other news sources to get the overall picture of the truth.
For those with limited time to read the news, two excellent resources available are International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) and Bridges for Peace. ICEJ offers free news updates Monday though Friday reporting stories concerning the land of Israel, it’s people and Jewish people around the world. Stories from many different news sources are compiled in a concise digest form.
Bridges for Peace offers a weekly news update with prayer focus that contains several news stories on topics similar to the ICEJ report, along with scriptures and a prayer focus for many of them. This can be used as a valuable tool in interceding for Israel and the Jewish people.
Another excellent news source is The Jerusalem Post. As the name implies it is a Jerusalem based newspaper available on the web. The Jerusalem Post is a conservative newspaper; if a more liberal viewpoint is preferred try Haaretz, (but why would you want to do that J)? You will find news and views in both papers that you will not find in much of the mainstream Western media.
Two of my favorite sources for opinions and commentary are FrontPage Magazine and Townhall. These are clearinghouses for articles by conservative writers and other news sources. FrontPage is a well-organized site, which often provides a great deal of information about topics related to Israel, the Jewish people and anti-Semitism.
I highly recommend taking the time to do some research of your own – the results can be very rewarding. Some suggested areas for investigation might include the history and background of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict or the history of anti-Semitism in the church.
Take an Active Role
Once armed with the truth, do something with it! Just as faith without works is dead, so is knowledge without application and action. What form this action takes is between Father God and yourself. You may in some way hold your elected leaders or the media accountable for their words and deeds. Whatever you do, do so in love. Some guidelines to follow are:
1A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. – Proverbs 15:1 [NKJV]
6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. – Colossians 4:6 [NKJV]
Ministries Assisting In Aliyah
Ezra International – www.ezrausa.org
Bridges for Peace – www.bridgesforpeace.com
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem – www.icej.org
Christians for Israel – www.c4israel.org, www.christiansforsirael.org, www.c4i.ca
Exobus – www.exobus.orgSuggested Resources
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem – www.icej.org
Bridges for Peace – www.bridgesforpeace.com
The Jerusalem Post – www.jpost.com
Haaretz – www.Haaretz.com
FrontPage Magazine – www.frontpagemag.com
Townhall.com – www.townhall.comNotes:
1“ ‘Anti-Zionism = Anti-Semitism’ – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Anti-Semitism and Holocaust, Christian Action for Israel, www.christianactionforisrael.org/antiholo/ml_king.html, 01/15/03
2“A Definition of Zionism”, Jewish Virtual Library, www.us-israel.org/jsource/Zionism/zionism.html, 01/15/03
3Neuberger, Prof. Benyamin, “ZIONISM: Background, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00ng0, 01/15/03