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The Important Role of Antisemitism & Year-End Thoughts

Brothers, Sisters, and friends,


Most of my time as of late has been occupied working on a number of new projects and resources intended to help strengthen the ecclesias (Lord willing), but with 2025 almost over, I believe it’s important to share this brief Prophecy Letter. There are many things worth commenting on, but I want to focus on what I think is one of the most relevant developments and then share a few closings thoughts for us to reflect on as 2025 nears an end.


Antisemitism – It’s Role & Relevance to Prophecy

Of all of the developments in prophecy in 2025, the stark rise in antisemitism is perhaps the single most important development in my view. Many of the wars and struggles taking place over the world have carried on with little to no dramatic results, but antisemitism has spiked since the start of the year. We see more and more news stories about Jews being attacked throughout the world simply for existing. These are just a few news items taken from yesterday:





No matter where Jews live in the world, they are realizing that they could become the target of violence simply for being Jewish. Even western nations like America, Britain, and Australia which have historically been “havens” and “Jewish friendly” are seeing a dramatic rise in violent antisemitism, and the extent of the problem is finally showing itself in the media:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is this happening, and what does the Bible have to say? Looking to Scripture, we see that antisemitism not only plays an important role in God’s plan, but that role has been revealed many ages ago. For the sake of being concise, I will cite just a few passages. Back in the days of Moses, God warned the young nation of Israel of the punishment for their disobedience:

 

Deuteronomy 28:64-65 – And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.  (65)  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

 

Israel disobeyed many times, and their greatest sin was the crucifixion of their Messiah. The result was them being scattered “among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” by the hand of the Romans. They would not find rest in their dispersed lands, and this would ensure two things:

 

1. Israel as an ethnicity would not disappear from the earth. God created the Jewish nation, and He therefore declared that the Jews are "His witnesses" (Isaiah 43:10). As long as a Jewish people exist on the earth, there is clear, undeniable evidence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is why even though He's declared that they will suffer adversity in their foreign lands, they will never cease from the earth as a people. Showing that He will never completely cast them off, God says in

 

Jeremiah 31:37 – Thus saith the LORD; If 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, saith the LORD.

 

Persecution therefore served multiple purposes. It was a punishment for their sin, and it also ensured that they could not fully assimilate in their foreign lands like so many other ethnicities have in history. If the Jews assimilated in every country they were scattered to, the Jewish people would remain. Yet God’s witnesses remain. The other reason they are persecuted amongst the nations is

 

2. Jews are being forced to seek refuge in their ancient homeland. Persecution drives people to seek escape that persecution, and God has revealed through prophecy that persecution would play a role in pushing Jews to return to their ancient homeland. Jeremiah 16:14-16 describes a time when God would send hunters to hunt Jews from the nations and cause their return to the land, and this passage is a prophecy of the Holocaust and the role it played in regathering Jews. It was the horrific actions of the Nazis (the “hunters”) which not only caused Jews to see the need for a country of their own that they could take shelter in - it created the Jewish state of Israel that exists today. While we do not believe there will be another Holocaust-type event to regather Jews to the land, persecution on a smaller scale is presently causing Jews to leave their Gentile homelands and return to the land of promise.

 

The return of the Jews to this land is a critical element in God’s plan, for He has shown that before He will cleanse and redeem them as a nation, He will first regather them:

 

Ezekiel 36:24-25 – For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.  (25)  Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

 

It is therefore critical that many, though not all, of the Jews are in the land when Jesus returns. We say “not all” of the Jews because it seems clear from Scripture that Christ will personally summon the remnant which are left among the nations. In Zechariah 10:8, the Lord says that "I will hiss (literally "whistle", "shrill") for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased." This passage shows that some Jews will be gathered after the nation has been redeemed. If one compares Zechariah 10:5-10 to Isaiah 11:11-12, 16, we see more evidence of this "second regathering action" taking place after Jesus sits upon his throne.


I also find evidence in Scripture that antisemitism in the earth will also work to gather nations against Christ when he declares himself to the world, but that is a subject for another time, For our purpose here, we need only say that more Jews will continue to return just like prophecy shows, and that makes headlines like this very exciting:

 

 

 

 

We are seeing calls throughout the world for Jews to return, and though this looks to the naked eye to be the work of man, this is the work of the angelic host we are witnessing! Just as they have in Biblical times, the angels are working upon the governments of man like a chess player moving his pieces across a board.

 

In a strange way, this is one of the most "exciting" things to have witnessed in 2025. I say "exiting" not because it I am glad to see antisemitism itself - it is very troubling and difficult to see. What's exciting is what it indicates. If the world loved the Jews, Christ's return would seem far into the future. What we see from Scripture is that the more intense antisemitism becomes, the closer we are to its reversal entirely. The Jews are presently a curse among the nations, but in the Kingdom Age, the Gentiles will have a very different feeling about the Jews:


Zechariah 8:23 - Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.


The eyes of the Gentile nations will be opened. They will understand that it was God that cursed them for Israel's uncleanness (Ezekiel 39:23-24), but that God has blessed them again. In that day, the Jew will be a favored people in the earth. What a change!


There are other signs that indicate his coming is soon, and while I would love to comment on what seems to be another Israeli confrontation with Iran, the rearming of Hamas and Hezbollah, and many other important developments, we will save those comments for a future date, Lord willing. But I do want to address one question many of us likely have:

 

What Will Happen in 2026?

With 2026 on the horizon, many of us wonder what events the new year will bring. One thing is sure – we will see the rapid growth and intensity of antisemitism. We expect this to only get worse and worse as we near Christ’s coming, and we also expect Israel to be more and more isolated on the international stage.

 

But the main thing we often want to know is when Jesus is returning. We yearn for this event (as we should), but we need to ensure that we are not basing too much of the quality of our walk upon how near or far his coming seems to be. I fully believe that Christ could gather his saints at any moment, but we may sometimes fall into the thinking that if we knew that Christ was going to return next year, all of the sudden we would be “changed people” and walk uprightly. But thinking honestly and realistically, what would this change for us? Let’s think about it.

 

If we knew that Christ was returning on August 15th, 2026 (just picking a random date), then what would that change about our daily life today? Would we feel panicked and think, "That this is not enough time to get my house in order?" Or would we sigh in relief and think, "That’s plenty of time to get my house in order – I can put this off for a little while longer"? In truth, it would do very little good for us to know the exact date, and I believe this is a fact for two reasons:

 

1. Knowing the date of Christ's return does not mean we will live to see it. Our last day of life could be at any moment, so no matter how young or old we are, assuming that we will see the return of Christ is going beyond the limits of our knowledge. It reminds me of the rich man in the parable who thought he had all the time in the world and used his time to stockpile his riches, but God told him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:20). It is unwise to place progress into the future. Like Christ tells us,


Matthew 6:34 - Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

2. Most importantly, there is a greater problem that needs addressing. What do we think our Master is going to judge us by when he calls us before his judgment seat? What is it that we think will gain us a favorable sentence? Perhaps the best way to think of it is to put it another way.

 

Imagine you are the boss at a company and hold an annual review with each of your employees to examine their performance, and the outcome of that evaluation will determine whether they get a raise (and how much of a raise) or whether they’re even allowed to continue employment there. There is one employee who slacks off and does their job only when they feel like it, and this is his standard of work. However, he knows that the employee evaluations are always held on the same day each year, and two weeks before that date he begins working hard and applying himself.

 

When you – as the boss – call him into your office, how are you going to evaluate him? Will you base his evaluation off of the last two weeks of performance or over the entirety of the year? Will you pat him on the back and give him a raise because he “worked hard” and "applied himself" for the last two weeks? Anyone with sense sees how backwards that would be, and it’s because we realize that the entire character of the person should be taken into account. The worker in question is a lazy, selfish person who does not truly serve the company he works for. Even his show of “work ethic” at the end is an act of selfishness, for it is done merely to preserve his own skin.

 

Applying this to our service to Christ, how do we think Christ will judge the person who chose to only serve him in their final moments? He knows the hearts and intent of man, and he will see right through any last-ditch attempt of false righteousness. So we see – it should not matter to us when Jesus returns or when a certain “big event” in prophecy is going to take place. As Christ servants, we should be serving him with all of our hearts, mind, and substance each day that we are granted.


It is a misfortune how easily and quickly we can take for granted the blessedness, glory, and riches that we have been called to, but that is the benefit of today. We have the present to make whatever changes we need to make, and may we seek our Father's help in both perceiving the things we need to work on and having the courage and drive to address them. Who do we rather point out our shortcomings - ourselves now, or Christ at the judgment seat? If we can address our shortcomings now, Christ will not need to bring them up at all. As Paul so concisely puts it,


1 Corinthians 11:31 - For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.


Whatever time remains - be it a day or a hundred years - may we all labor now to be able to stand before Christ with even a portion of the confidence that the Apostle Paul had:


2 Timothy 4:7-8 - I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:  (8)  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.


In the Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins

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