(Hastings, UK) — In the early hours of Tuesday morning, fame engulfed the gates of a former synagogue in east London. This is the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the UK under investigation by counter-terrorism forces. For many British Jews, this was another attack in a rapidly growing list of attacks against them in the country.
The list is growing at an alarming pace. In March, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish voluntary agency were set on fire outside a synagogue in Golders Green, London. Weeks later, petrol bombs were thrown at a synagogue in North London, including an attempted firebombing in Finchley and an arson attack in Kenton. These targets were not confined to places of worship. A Jewish-owned shop in Watford was set on fire and daubed with antisemitic graffiti, while a memorial wall in Golders Green was also torched.
The attacks are not just against Jewish property, but also against Jews themselves. At the end of April, an Islamic man armed with a knife ran through Golders Green, attempting to attack Jewish passers-by. He seriously injured two unarmed men, Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76. We also learned from the Union of Jewish Students that one in five university students in the UK would not share accommodation with a Jew.
The escalation in attacks has prompted emergency meetings at the highest levels of Government, and the national threat level in the UK has been increased to severe, which means a terrorist attack is highly likely.
Well, for the Jewish community, it has already occurred! And they remain highly sceptical as to whether this current administration will do anything meaningful about the real problem, which stems from Islamic antisemitism and the increasing normalisation of antisemitic libels concerning the Jews. The cumulative effect on the British Jewish community is that the boundaries of antisemitic violence in Britain are being tested in real time – and the country is failing.
Seeing with Spiritual Eyes
As Christians, we unequivocally denounce all forms of racism. At its core, racism is a fundamental denial of the equality that all humans share, because we are made in the image of God. Yet there seems to be something unique about Jew-hatred, given its longevity, ferocity and ability to cross all cultural, political and religious boundaries. Ultimately, there is no reasonable, ‘natural’ explanation for this– it lies in the spiritual realm. As Christians, we need to examine the world through the lens of scripture. We need to apply a biblical worldview to all areas of life – including the issue of antisemitism.
Scripture shows us that the onslaught we see against the Jews is driven behind the scenes by a supernatural enemy – Satan.
The apostle John pulls back the spiritual curtain for us and provides a panoramic view of world history seen from the perspective of Jewish persecution: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.” (Revelation 12:1-6).
Although the language is unusual, written in the symbols and imagery common to the apocalyptic genre, it can still be understood from the context. The Bible is its own best interpreter, and the symbols are explained elsewhere in the text. The use of symbols in this genre does not detract from the real historical truth it seeks to convey. In this text, we are given two signs in the heavens. The first is “the woman”, identified as Israel through the imagery of the sun, moon and stars, taken from Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9-11. This woman is said to be pregnant.
The second sign is “the great red dragon”, a clear reference to Satan (Revelation 12:9). The dragon is depicted standing before the woman, waiting to devour the child. The woman gave “birth to a son” – the Messiah, who will rule the nations. Here we see the angelic conflict behind the satanic attempts to destroy Israel and her Messiah. Satan hates Israel because she is the vehicle through whom the Messiah came into the world. This builds on the narrative in Genesis that the seed of the woman will defeat the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Israel testifies to the veracity of God’s promises that this Son will rule, but Satan will not. Therefore, Satan will try everything in his power to remove this divine testimony from the earth and to stop the child from ruling. This, ultimately, is the spiritual battle that manifests itself in the antisemitism which has plagued the Jews’ long history.
The promises in Scripture that relate to the “child” of Revelation 12 are contained within the covenants that God made with the people of Israel (Romans 9:5). Chiefly, these are: the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18-21), the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-14) and the New covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Together, these covenants contain God’s promises to bless the children of Israel with both a Land and a Royal seed (the Son), who would go on to bless the entire world with the forgiveness of sins and rule with a rod of iron. These covenants contain God’s promises, which represent His character and nature, and were given to the house of Israel.
This connection explains why such disproportionate hatred (given the actual size of the Jewish population) is directed towards the Jews: it is the outworking of the spiritual conflict in the heavenlies that we have just glimpsed through John the apostle’s apocalyptic vision (Revelation 12). The Jews were and continue to be God’s covenant people to this day (Romans 11:1).
These covenants affirm Israel’s enduring place and purpose in God’s redemptive kingdom program, even while they are in a state of unbelief (Romans 11:25).
Much is at stake here: the satanic onslaught against the Jewish people reflects Satan’s attempt to discredit God by showing that His promises can be broken! Satan is the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1) and the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and he does his utmost to mobilise the masses in pursuit of his goal.
Such devilish ambitions are expressed by the ancient enemies of Israel in Psalm 83, and similar sentiments could be cited from world leaders today: “They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more'” (Psalm 83:3-4)
Nationally, the Bible shows us the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Romans have all persecuted the nation of Israel. This satanic attempt is clearly witnessed in modern times with the racial antisemitism of the Third Reich, the devastating Russian Pogroms, and the ongoing Islamic antisemitism rampant across parts of the Globe.
Yet despite this, we can have full assurance that Satan will never succeed. In Jeremiah 31, God says: “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever'” (Jeremiah 31:35-36).
In other words, it is impossible because the existence of the Jewish people is a testimony to God’s enduring faithfulness to keep His promises.
The pattern is now too stark to ignore, and all should be raising their voices against this evil. Unless the British church awakes from its spiritual slumber and recognises the urgency of the moment, the consequences of inaction will ensure that the problem soon lands at its own door – if it is not there already.
