Luke 21:24, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
The reason why the world hates the Jews so much is because Israel gave the
world a conscience. God's Law came to the world through the nation of
Israel. Sin became exceedingly sinful by the Law of God (Romans 7:13). It
was through the nation of Israel that God has given us the precious Lamb of
God, Jesus, the Savior of mankind. The Bible came to us through the Jews,
and they are still and always will be God's people.
Sadly, most Jews today are Christ-rejecting followers of Judaism. Just as most of the Jews rejected their King 2,000 years ago, so do Christ-rejecting Jews today do the same. But the Jews are still God's people nonetheless. That doesn't entitle them to special treatment, or a guaranteed ticket to Heaven. No Sir! Jesus taught Nicodemus, a religious leader over the Jews, and a Jew himself, that a person must be born-again to enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:1-7).
The Bible plainly teaches in Romans 10:11-13 that God is rich unto all who call upon the name of Jesus to be forgiven of sins and saved. Eternal life is available to whosoever will call (appeal) unto the name of the Lord. Likewise, Hell fire and damnation is promised to all who refuse to obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9). There is only one plan of salvation given to man by God, and it is the same for Gentile and Jew alike (Acts 4:10-12).
Satan hates God's people, because they are the object of God's promise. It is incorrect to say that God loves Jewish people more than Gentiles. God loves all men the same, with an unconditional love (Romans 5:8; 1st John 3:16). God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11).
The Jews are hated because God has reached out to humanity through them. The Messiah, the Bible, the Ten Commandments, God's plan of redemption for mankind; all came to mankind through the nation Israel. The world, whether directly or indirectly, hates the Jews for bringing them guilt for their sins. But it is God that the world truly hates, and not the Jews.
Granted, many people hate the Jews as a whole because a small group of elite Jews own and control the newsmedia, Hollywood, the U.S. government, the International Banking system, international policy, the U.S. military, and so forth; but the Jewish people as a nation are not to blame. Freemasonry and the Illuminati's century long diabolical plot to exploit America, in order to bring to fruition a Totalitarian Global One-World Government (aka, a New World Order) are not Israel's blame.
The primary reason why Jews are hated, although
most people wouldn't admit it, is because they are God's chosen people to
serve Him, even though they have rebelled against God and He has set them
aside until the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Luke 21:24, “And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Many people today, including
Christians, go around quoting Zechariah 2:8 about Israel being the apple of
God's eye; but they deliberately overlook Luke 21:24 which teaches that the
nation of Israel will suffer persecution, killings and defeat in war until
the Lord Jesus Christ returns. God has turned to the Gentiles to preach the
Gospel to the world, to provoke the Jews to jealousy (Romans 11:11).
Misunderstandings Concern the Jews
Zechariah 2:8, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” The Jews had been taken into captivity for 70-years by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. God sent Zechariah to prophecy in Babylon. The book of the prophet Zechariah is dated 520-518 BC, while the Jews were still in Babylonian captivity.
In Genesis 12:3 God promised Abraham to bless those who bless him, and to curse those who curse him; but carefully notice that this blessing applied ONLY TO ABRAM (later to be named Abraham). God never blesses a person, a family, a city, nor a nation that disobeys and rejects His Word and only begotten Son. Genesis 22:18, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” God blessed Abraham and promised to bless the nations of the world through His decedents, i.e., Israel. Why? Because Abraham obeyed God. All nations have been blessed to have the opportunity to be saved through faith in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God. All nations have been blessed to receive the Bible. All nation's have been blessed to receive God's Commandments and promise of eternal life and blessing to those who obey Him.
But notice carefully that God never said that He would bless a rebellious people. God blessed Abraham because he obeyed the voice of the most high God. And God has blessed the nations of the world, including Israel itself, through Abraham's decedents. But God has not blessed a wicked and rebellious people. God blessed Abraham and has blessed the nations of the world, just as He promised; but God never promised to bless Israelites today who reject and disobey Him.
When God calls Israel “the apple of
His eye,” He is speaking about blessing the nation's of the earth
through the Jewish nation, just as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12:3. The
Bible teaches that any nation that attacks Israel is messing with God's
beloved nation. But this does not mean that God loves Jews more than
Gentiles, nor does it mean that God respects Jews over Gentiles. Romans 2:11
plainly teaches that God is no respecter of persons. So what does Zechariah
2:8 mean then? It means that God chose to bless the nations of the world
through Abraham's seed, and for that cause God will avenge His people. God
never promised to defend Israel, as clearly evidenced by Luke 21:24. But God
will hold any and every nation accountable that raises a hand of violence or
tyranny against Israel as a nation.
Born-again Gentiles are Called “God's People”
Please notice that God refers to Gentiles as His people in Zechariah 2:10-11, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And MANY NATIONS SHALL BE JOINED to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.”
Galatians 3:7-9,14,16,18 and 29 wonderfully explain what these Scriptures mean, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham ... That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith ... Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ ... For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise ... And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Clearly we learn that all born-again Christians are also God's people, and not just physical Jews.
There is no promise to the Jew by birth today, except Hell if they don't get saved by faith in their true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Sadly, the followers of Judaism today deny Jesus as the Christ, and claim that their Messiah is yet to come. When the Antichrist comes, the Jews will receive him instead, and he will stand up from the rebuilt third temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:31; 2nd Thessalonians 2:4).
I love the Jews, but I also love the Gentiles and Israel's Arab neighbors. I love them all with God's unconditional love. Israel was God's chosen nation to be ambassadors to the world with the Gospel message, but they rebelled against God and refused to serve Him. So in 586 BC God gave them over to Babylon for destruction. They were nearly annihilated, except for a remnant. The Jews who are born-again are truly God's people according to Galatians 3:7-29.
