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The Divine Role of Antisemitism & Israel's Isolation

With Israel growing more and more isolated on the world stage, what does God's Word say about this and how should believers view Israel? We cover this sometimes "tricky" subject in light of Scripture, offering a history of US-Israel relations, how they are worsening, and why this is happening according to God's plan. Ultimately, it will lead to Israel's redemption as a nation.


Either watch the class below or read it by scrolling past the video.



This class is entitled “The Divine Purpose of Antisemitism & Israel’s Isolation”. The last class I gave on this subject was called “Israel’s Final Redemption”, and it focused on the necessity of Israel’s isolation in God’s plan. Rather than spend much more time on that, I’ll refer you to the recording of it so you can watch it on your own (Israel's Final Redemption). The crux of it is that Israel’s redemption is intimately tied to their isolation on the world stage. That class looked at passages which indicate Israel will be alone, and also how Israel must be brought to a point of desperation so they need the advent of their Messiah.


For this class, we’re going to build upon this and give more real-world, current-event context to it. We’ll focus on Israel’s relationship with America since its rebirth to see how it’s changed over time, where we are today, where it’s heading.


But there’s a bigger relevance to us than just knowing “what’s going to happen”. There’s an underlying question which plays a large role in how we interpret what we see:


How Should Christadelphians View & Talk About Israel?

It’s been said that “if we think we are not impacted by the world, we’re likely just lagging a little behind.” Most of us – I’m sure – can attest to this as we’ve seen it happen. We think we’re uninfluenced by the world, but in reality, we’re merely adopting its ways in slow motion. Take clothing, for example. Think of what was considered “respectable” clothing at a Bible school years ago versus what we see in many places today. What the world was wearing 10-20 years ago and we considered “inappropriate” is now common attire at Bible schools.

In the same way, we’ve seen modern Christendom become more liberal and trading in what God’s Word actually teaches for what they find pleasing, and one obvious result of this was their acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Christadelphians have been staunchly against this because we know what God’s position is on it, but we’re now hearing cases where Christadelphians are no longer seeing problems with this.


As relating to our subject today, the world is growing more and more antagonistic of Israel.



Even many Christians are turning on Israel. Many are likening Israel to Nazi Germany.


Christadelphians know the role that Israel plays in God’s plan, and as we are to be strangers in this earth, we watch and witness God’s plan unfolding with confidence, knowing that His will is being done. But increasingly so, we hear of believers talking about Israel in the same way that the world does. Some even seem excited about the prospect of Israel facing trouble – as if to “stick it to them”. Is this the correct disposition? How should we view Israel and how the world is responding to them?


I think the easiest and only sure way to answer this is to look at examples in Scripture. With Israel today, we’re talking about prophecies which show that Israel will be an unrighteous nation until they are humbled and accept Christ. This is an integral part of God’s plan even though it involves Israel’s ignorance and wickedness. The question is, Are there other things in Scripture that were not pleasant but were necessary? And if so, how did believers of the time talk about them?


There are a few which come to mind:

  1. The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem

  2. Israel’s crucifixion of Christ & the Roman desolation of Jerusalem


In all of these, we see the importance of seeing things from God’s view and not from man’s view. As we look at these, put yourself in the shoes of a causal observing living at the time. What would your position be at each stage of these things?


1.    Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem

Habakkuk 1:6 – For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.


God raised them up to execute judgment upon nations, particularly Israel:


Jeremiah 32:28-29 – Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:  (29)  And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.


Israel was wicked, God raised up the Babylonians to do His will. If we lived at the time, how would we talk about Israel? We would have heard what Jeremiah had said about it, so we would know that it is God’s will. Would we have joined in with the Babylonians and rejoiced to see Israel punished? Now consider this:


Jeremiah 50:10-11 – And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.  (11)  Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage…


Fast forward a little in time, and now God is condemning Babylon for destroying God’s heritage (Israel) and rejoicing in doing so. There’s no question about it:


Jeremiah 50:17-18 – Israel is a scattered sheep… first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.  (18)  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.


Now what is our position? Are we still rooting for Babylon? Not so - we see that rejoicing over Israel’s punishment was sin. While we might comfort ourselves at the beginning in thinking we are “righteous” in condemning Israel, we would soon find ourselves facing God’s wrath.


What should have been our position? The book of Lamentations describes this very thing. While it shows that the punishment was just, it is by no means expressed in joy. There was mournful, hopeful prayer for restoration. It’s possible to acknowledge justice while still empathizing with the sufferers. Even though God’s judgment was just, there was still compassion:


Lamentations 3:48 – Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

On the contrary, we find a group which did rejoice over Israel’s punishment. Lamentations 4:21 talks about Edom rejoicing over Jerusalem’s destruction, and it says that the cup of iniquity would pass to them. We read in Obadiah,


Obadiah 1:10-12 – For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.  (11)  In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.  (12)  But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.


What follows is the prophecy of Edom’s final destruction. It’s unwise to rejoice in Israel’s calamity.

We see the same exact thing with


2.    Christ’s Crucifixion & The Roman Desolation of Jerusalem

Most of us are familiar with the prophecies of Israel’s scattering by Rome, and that resulted from the crucifixion of their Messiah. If we pay attention to only one example of this kind, let it be this one – and pay close attention to the working pieces here.


We know that the sacrifice of Christ was essential for mankind’s salvation. Had he not been crucified, not a single human being would attain the resurrection or eternal life. But this necessitated the blindness of Israel to God’s ultimate plan. Paul explicitly explains this to the Corinthians:


1 Corinthians 2:8 – (the wisdom of God) Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.


Think about this – Christians villainize Israel for crucifying their Messiah. Was it a good thing to do? Obviously not, and that is why the Romans were brought against Jerusalem to end the Jewish commonwealth. But had they not crucified him the entire races perishes. If we lived at the time, we certainly wouldn’t have wanted to join in with the Jews and cry, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”, even though that was necessary. BUT we also wouldn’t want to take the position which Peter did and resist God’s plan when he said concerning Christ’s death, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” (Matthew 16:22). Do we remember how Christ responded to this?


Matthew 16:23 – But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.


Can you imagine Peter’s surprise at such a sharp rebuke? Does this not put the subject in a new light? By imposing his own thoughts of what should and should not be done, Peter became an adversary to Christ because he was opposing God’s plan. Doing so shows the bigger problem – that we savor things of man over the things of God. God’s Word is not the only thing which molds our perspectives. The question for us is, Do we ever think thoughts like Peter? Do we ever oppose God’s will? 


We are juggling two things: the necessity of certain events to transpire versus the “right and wrong thing to do”. We cannot congratulate the Jews on crucifying Christ, but we also shouldn’t say that they shouldn’t have. So, what are we to do?


Let’s see what the Spirit-filled believers of that day did. Look at what Peter later says to the Jews and how he weaves these things together:


Acts 2:22-23 – Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:  (23)  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:


Peter tells them plainly – “Christ was delivered to you by God’s plan, and your wicked hands have slain him.” But did Peter wag the finger at them? Keep in mind that the fate of the nation was already set – they had crucified Christ, and the Romans were therefore going to destroy Jerusalem. While the fate of the nation was set by the determinate foreknowledge of God, individuals could be saved:


Acts 2:36-38 – Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.  (37)  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  (38)  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you…


So we see that God’s will for the nation is set, but individual people can be saved. God’s plan must take its course, even though this necessitates ignorance of certain parties. And when we look at Christ on the pole, do we not see him expressing this very thing?


Luke 23:34 – Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…


He’s acknowledging the necessity of their blindness and asking God to have mercy on them because of it. This is the crux of it for us – justice mixed with mercy, compassion, and love. The way of the flesh is to take an extreme position of “for” or “against”, but that’s not the way of the Spirit in cases like this. It’s submission to God’s will and ultimate knowledge.


What does that mean for us with Israel today and their blindness to Christ? What should our position be? Let’s look at what Paul says. I was amazed at the pointedness with which he addresses this subject:


Romans 11:25-26 – For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.  (26)  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:


He ties it all in for us. We learn:


  1. Israel will remain in a blind state until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in. Condemning them for being blind does not do any good because they’re blinded according to the foreknowledge of God.


  2. Christ will save Israel and then “turn away ungodliness from Jacob”. We should not expect the Jews to be righteous today!

  3. This is part of God’s plan (“this mystery”). It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not, it’s God’s plan.


  4. We need to acknowledge this “lest we be wise in our own eyes”. Let these things shape our perspective – let God’s Word have the say. Imposing our own mortal thoughts/perspectives is valueless and opposes God. This ultimately deals with our pride and whether we savor things of God or of men.


Israel’s blindness will not cease until they see the holes in Christ’s hands (Zechariah 13:6), so our position toward Israel should not change until that happens. Seeing that these are necessary parts of God’s plan, the only position we can take which does not put us in any wrong is to step back, acknowledge God’s will, trust that it will bring the prophesied results. For Israel itself, we can empathize with their sufferings like how Christ mourned over Jerusalem’s fate on the mount of Olives (or how the prophet cries over Jerusalem in Lamentations), but we should not curse them for being blind (we’ll see more on this). Again, it is of God that they are blind. We shouldn’t expect Israel to be righteous because that will only occur under Christ’s rule.


Now that we have covered this, I want to give a brief


Overview of the US-Israel Relationship

I want to look at the world today and some of the mechanics of what’s going on that most average news-watchers aren’t aware of, but they’re the things which are driving events. This is the angelic host at work.


Basically every nation on earth is assuming greater anti-Israel views, but the main one we want to focus on is the US. We’re looking at them because we believe that Israel must stand alone, and in looking at Israel today, they aren’t alone – and that’s almost strictly because of the US. America is Israel’s only real ally, so if that relationship is damaged or severed, then what we see in our present day will match what we see in prophecy. That’s why this is one of the most important and exciting developments for me to follow and witness.


Now we must remember our limits. With prophecy, God always tells us what will happen, but He rarely explains how it will come to pass. That is for the believers of the day to watch for. We can only guess why America won’t come to Israel’s aid in their time of need. That being said, there are only so many possibilities, and I think we can break it down to a few.


In order to help someone else, you must have two things simultaneously:

1.     The willingness to help, and

2.     The means and ability to help.


We have to have both. If we have the desire to help but no ability, then it doesn't do any good. Likewise, if we have the ability to help but do not want to, then the other person is still helpless. Either America will not want to help Israel in their time of need, they will not be able to help, or perhaps both.


If we look at these two main categories, we can quickly come up with a list of possible scenarios which would bring each about:

No Willingness to Help

No Ability to Help

  • President elected who is unfavorable to Israel

  • America loses influence in Middle East

  • Populace does not support Israel, hinders American government from doing so

  • America entangled in war which demands attention and resources (think WWIII)

  • Pressure from international partners

  • Social unrest/Civil War in America

  • Israeli interests too different from or conflict with American interests

  • Unable to continue providing financial aid

 

These are all things which could bring about this break. It’s likely that many from both categories will contribute to it, and I say that because we seem to be witnessing it right now. If I had to put greater emphasis on one over the other, I believe America’s willingness to help may be the greatest influence.


We have nations who want Israel destroyed, and many of them also are tired of the US. Even if they want Israel gone, they know they can only do so much as long as America is their ally. So let’s think of this from America’s enemies’ point-of-view.


Thinking strategically, America is recognized as the world's greatest superpower. Even their enemies know that they cannot defeat America by going head-to-head with it. Now, a third World War could potentially change this as there are many factors involved, but so far as a nation choosing to fight and overthrow the US goes, it’s very slim and nearly impossible. America's enemies know this and have therefore chosen to try to defeat it from within. This means polarizing the American public.


For America’s enemies, the best thing that could possibly happen is another American Civil War. This, more than anything else, would weaken America, and America's enemies have intentionally been stoking the flames of political hatred. Think of how the past few decades have seen a strong and clear widening of the gap between the left and the right. You might even recall seeing news headlines expressing the fear of another civil war. There’s a lot more on this, but simply be aware that these forces are at work, and it’s a contributing factor. America’s enemies want it to be divided.


As for America and Israel, I just finished a book called We Are Not One by Eric Alterman, and it’s all about the American-Israel relationship, what it was founded on, and why it has been changing for some time. It does a great job at explaining the forces which are widening the gap between America and Israel, and shows how it’s only getting worse.


Put simply, the pillars which American support for Israel was originally founded on have all been cracking for decades. In explaining the basis of American support for Israel, he explains,


“Prior to 1967, Israel enjoyed broad support in the United States, especially among liberals and leftists. It was perceived to be a Spartan, socialist, anti-imperialist nation and very much an underdog in its constant battle with the surrounding Arab nations that sought its destruction. The image of an Israeli David fighting off the Arab Goliath… lived on as a tool for Israel’s supporters in the debates they faced… Israel’s ability to call itself ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’ earned it considerable credit with the non-Jewish American public…” (We Are Not One, pg. 9).


The Holocaust played an enormous role in this because it created unprecedented American support for Israel to fund its security, and it fought for Israel on the world stage. Israel would not be where they are today without American aid. They receive more American financial aid than any other country on the planet (U.S. Foreign Assistance by Country). The last fully reported number was $6.8 billion just for 2024, and it has been much higher in previous years. America largely pays for Israel’s defense – you may recall a few years ago that Iran fired a ton of missiles at Israel, and Israel needed to restock the Iron Dome. Biden tried using this as a tool to pressure Israel into doing certain things. Israel has relied heavily on American aid.


Israel also has the most impactful lobby in history – AIPAC. They fund election campaigns for candidates who view Israel favorably, and this influence extends to passing legislation in America. Israel has enjoyed more influence in American government than any other nation, but that is also changing now too.


All of the change really started in the 1980s, specifically with the 1982 Lebanon War. Alterman explains, “The debate about Israel’s character began to shift in the 1980s… as Israel came to be perceived as more and more a conservative cause, liberals and leftists evinced growing sympathy for the plight of the displaced Palestinians, who, now stateless and oppressed, had come to occupy the underdog role that history had previously assigned to the Jews.” (We Are Not One, pgs. 9-10).


This is where the fundamental shift began. America supported Israel because they were liberal, secular, anti-imperialist, and the underdog, but now it became clear that Israel was conservative, religious, imperialist (in the world’s estimation), and a superpower. That caused disillusionment.


One of the most significant changes was due to time and the onset of a new generation. Significant changes come with new generations because the things they witness form their perspective of things. What happened before they were alive isn’t as impactful as what they have seen in their own life. This is true of our ecclesias today and presents issues for us.


The same thing was true concerning the Holocaust. Americans who saw and heard of the horrors of the Holocaust saw clearly that Jews were the oppressed party who needed their own homeland if they were to continue on, and they therefore threw full support behind them. For the generation that saw the first few decades of Israel’s rebirth, they saw a tiny state of Israel fending off the great, professional armies of Arab nations which literally surrounded them, and they could see that Israel was the “oppressed”. Israel was David and the Arabs were Goliath.


But after the 1980s, Americans who grew up did not see an Israel who was fending off great enemies – they saw one who was preemptively striking enemies. Even though this was necessary for Israel, it painted a different picture of Israel in the minds of these young Americans. Israel didn’t seem like the “oppressed underdog”. Then the Arabs fabricated the concept of a “Palestinian people”, a people which still attacked Israel with rocks and Israel responded with guns. For these young Americans, the so-called “Palestinians” were now David and Israel looked like the Goliath. Regardless of whether it is accurate or not, the role of Israel had swapped in the minds of Americans. This explains why we are seeing people calling Israel “the new Nazis”, and this is only going to get worse. The generation growing up today is learning about Israel as the new Nazis and the greatest problem in the Middle East, so this problem is only going to get worse.


There are many other things we could mention, but as for what lies ahead, everything is pointing to things worsening US-Israel ties. Aside from the growing hatred of Israel amongst Americans, Israel’s right-wing government wants to pursue its religious ambitions and establish the “greater Israel” – the land promised to Abraham. This means taking over Arab countries, and how do you think Americans will view that? It will only solidify in their minds that Israel is a violent, “oppressor” state. We see this going on right now in Gaza:



Israel is trying to root out Hamas (and probably expand borders too), but the world only sees it as oppression and a land-grab. Israel wants to do many more things than this, but can you guess who has prevented them? It is America. This is where it gets exciting.


Because America has been a life-line for Israel, they’ve also enjoyed leverage over Israel. There have been countless things Israel wanted to do but was forced to refrain due strictly to American pressure. To cite the most recent example of this from last week,



These are hundreds of examples of Israel wanting to do something but having to refrain only due to American pressure. But as of a month or so ago, Israel is actively taking steps to remove this.




Netanyahu is working to wean Israel off of American aid, and America is going along with this. The story being told is that “Israel is so successful now that they don’t need American aid” in order to try and preserve the good relationship between the two, but the main objective is to give Israel greater freedom of action. If America doesn’t have leverage to prevent Israel from doing something, Israel can act as they please. And Israelis are supportive this push.



Yet even with American support, Israel is experiencing friction with the current US administration due to their different interests:




With the Iran deal - Israel was part of negotiations for a while but nothing came about. Israel’s desires were what were killing a deal, so Trump left them out of it, and Israel's interests are NOT represented or protected in the deal. Israel has already been the "wrench in the gear" in the eyes of the world, and they’re going to continue to be. Netanyahu is going to act how he sees fit, and it has already caused problems for Trump with the current deal. If this deal fails and it looks like Israel is the culprit, how do you think Trump would respond – particularly if it led to a regional war? He’d say, “I tried fixing things but you kept messing it up. You're on your own.” 


There’s much more, but we can see what’s happening. If Israel does lessen its support from America, Israel will work to achieve whatever goals they want, and as a result, they will be even more villainized on the world scene – even by America.


What we’ve covered is really only a narrow view of how this relationship is fracturing, but there are other things we don’t have time to delve into like the de-Christianization of America. It was just reported that “Gen Z is the Least Christian Generation in America” (Prophecy News Watch). We’re also seeing the growing popularity of outspokenly anti-Israel politicians; many of whom are openly call for violence against Jews.


Conclusion

So where does this leave us as believers? All signs are showing that Israel is increasingly being isolated in the world, and that’s precisely what we expect from prophecy. This will bring about some trouble for the nation, but it is necessary trouble which will ultimately result in their humbling before Christ and their redemption. Let us not condemn Israel. Like one astute Christian reporter wrote, Do not become Edom - All Israel News


Edom is an example of why we shouldn’t oppose Israel even if God is rebukes them. As we saw earlier,

Obadiah 1:12 – …But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.


If we condemn Israel, we’re taking a position like Peter with Christ’s death. It’s “savoring the things of man rather than the things of God” because we’re viewing things how we want them to be, not how God’s righteous plan is orchestrated. Let’s see these things from the Divine view – that revealed in prophecy. Everything we see in the news needs to go through the lens of Scripture. People just see what’s going on and respond compulsively. You and I need to ask, “How does this play into God’s plan? How is God using this to further prophecy?” This is the only thing that truly matters, and it should define our perspective.


Do we pray for our Father’s will to be done but then oppose what the angelic host are doing? Do we profess to be sojourners in these lands who seek the age to come, but show through our opinions and actions that we are bound up in this world?


We therefore rejoice because of these signs, for they are clear indications that we are fast approaching the time of Israel’s redemption, and because we find the immortalized saints coming to Israel’s aid in their time of need, it means that our own salvation is drawing very near.


Israel is God’s nation, they will be redeemed, and we’ve had that process explained to us in prophecy. God loves them even in their ignorance – though His anger can be kindled against them – and we should love them as well for the same reason. Love does not mean approval of everything they do. It’s a love based on their purpose in God’s plan.


As to what our position ought to be on Israel, I can think of nothing better than to let the Scriptures summarize it for us:


Psalms 122:6 – Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.


In the One Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins

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