The End of History—Messiah Conspiracy


CHAPTER 14—Zionists—Evangelical Christians—The Most Loyal to Israel


“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” Jesus’ words of precaution to us,

Matthew 7:15-17 KJV


“ ‘You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.’ ” Jesus’ discourse with woman of Samaria,

John 4:22 NASB


“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen....As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they [the Jews] are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.” The apostle Paul’s New Testament

letter to the Romans 9:3-5; 11:28 KJV. [ ] mine


“It’s not possible for a man to say, ‘I’m a Christian,’ and not love the Jewish people. You cannot be a Christian without being Jewish in spirit.”1 Rev. John Hagee

“One of the great questions in the world is ‘Who is a Jew?’ An equally great question is ‘Who is a Christian?’ Millions who profess Christianity could not possibly be true Christians in the biblical sense. For example, if a professing Christian is not dominated by love of neighbor, then he or she cannot possibly be called Christian. Thus many of the persecutions of history were caused by false Christians....I am an evangelical Christian who believes that God can be experienced in daily life and that we are known not only by the creeds we repeat but by the love we live out in our relations with our fellow men and women. Evangelical Christians especially have an affinity for the Jews because the Bible they love is essentially a Jewish book....”2

World-renowned evangelist, Dr. Billy Graham

14
ZIONISTS—EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS—THE MOST
LOYAL TO ISRAEL


In April 1988, the Jerusalem Post ran an interesting article which many Israelis talked about for some time. They were quite surprised to discover that the American evangelical community supported their struggle one hundred percent, while the American Jewish community was split, many siding with the Arabs and the liberal left-wing.3 The article said: “For many of the delegates to this week’s Christian Zionist Congress, the battle in the West Bank is not between a modern-day Shlomo and Ahmed, but rather between biblical Isaac and Ishmael....‘When we see on television a six-year-old Arab boy hurl a rock at an Israeli soldier, we are seeing the manifestations of this age-old struggle,’ says Cal Hubbard, U.S. spokesman of the International Christian Embassy, which sponsored the five-day congress.
Hubbard sees the current riots in theological, not political, terms. ‘It is the story of the covenant son coming back to regain his biblical promise and Ishmael not wanting to give it back. The Arabs can throw rocks from now until the millennium, but it won’t make a difference,’ he says. ‘The Jews’ return to their land is the greatest God-inspired event in the last 2,000 years.’
The return to the land, he emphasizes, is a return to the whole land, including the West Bank. ‘You can no more separate the Jews from Judea and Samaria than power from the body of a horse’....Israel is enjoying the support of an estimated 30 million Evangelical Christian Zionists in the U.S.....Whereas America’s Jewish community is deeply divided by recent events in the West Bank...the Christian Zionists are not wavering in their support....The Baltimore businessman who ‘feels Jewish in my heart’ says, ‘The restoration of the Jews to Israel, including Judea and Samaria and especially Jerusalem, represents for us a stage in the redemptive process that will end in the millennium and the coming of the Messiah’....‘If Israel left Judea and Samaria, there would be deep disappointment among many Christians worldwide,’ Hubbard says. ‘There would be a serious re-examining by some of what they see as a divinely inspired regathering of the Jews. Practically, this could mean that Christian Zionists would begin to find more fault with Israel if it abuses its authority.’
The prospect of Jews voluntarily relinquishing part of their biblical promise also sends shudders through Polly Grimes, a Los Angeles gospel concert promoter. But, she says, it would influence neither her faith nor her support for the Jewish state. ‘Our faith is not based on what happens day to day,’ Grimes says. ‘And love is not based on performance.’ ”
4

***









A Jerusalem Post article on Christian Zionists by Herb Keinon.







While in the past, people who call themselves Christians may have persecuted Jews, true Christians (identified by the words born-again, taken from the New Testament books of John and I Peter),
5 love Israel and the Jewish people as Jesus commanded! They care for Israel, we venture to say, even more than a large portion of the Jews in America.
True Christians love and do not persecute Israel—past, present and future. The New Testament commands believers to love their brothers. Remember the definition of neighbor (less intimate than brother) from the New Testament (Luke 10:29-37 NASB),
6 where it is demonstrated that the hated Samaritan was called a neighbor to the dying Jew, whereas the Levi and Cohen were indifferent to his condition. The Samaritan saved the life of the Jew, though the Jews as a group had been in a state of war with the Samaritans for five hundred years. The Samaritan saved the Jew when no one else would, even his own.

GEORGE OTIS TRACKS DOWN THE REASON
FOR THE CHRISTIAN—MISNOMER

George Otis, a major contemporary evangelical speaker, once said: “ ‘is Christian’ semantically one of the most abused words. Satan has tried to pin that label on almost everything and everybody that isn’t a Jew. And, let’s face it, he’s enjoyed a measure of success in this terrible word-fogery. He has also taken advantage of some Jewish spiritual blindness in order to perpetuate this long, long distortion.
Oh, how Satan loves to breed enmity between the Christian and the Jew! My fury grew as I thought about his rotten tactic. I said to myself, ‘You Serpent. You’ve gotten too much mileage out of this already.’
If there is any race loved and appreciated by true born-again Christians, it is the Jews. There are good reasons why the Lord told us to love and bless the Jews. We know they are beloved of Him in a very special way. Christians appreciate the Jews’ faithfulness in carrying down through harsh millennia, both the Word and the worship of God.
And we’re still awed by God choosing a Jewish frame and also a Jewish mother for His beloved Son! We owe much culturally, as well as spiritually to the indestructible Jew. And it’s true that our hearts burn to share with them Messiah-Jesus. How, oh how could such love still be hidden to them?....My news article continued: ‘Many Christian missionaries here are not only praying for and loving Israel, but are working for her as well....All real Bible-loving Christians are truly one with Israel.”
7

A JEWISH AUTHOR SAYS, “JEWS HAVE CHRISTIANS
TO THANK FOR HOLOCAUST SURVIVAL”


Remember Jesus’ words: “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14 NASB).
These words have been fulfilled in history before! The Jewish author, Sholem Asch, wrote: “...Christianity also distinguished itself, in the particular of rescuing Jewish children, by the highest degree of self-sacrifice. It may be stated without exaggeration that almost the entire remnant of Israel which was found in the liberated countries—no matter how small its number—has the Christians to thank for its preservation. Christians who, by performing this action, placed their own lives in danger.”
8



***
DR. BAUMINGER SAYS 7000
RISKED THEIR LIVES TO SAVE JEWS


Dr. Arieh Bauminger, who was in charge of the Righteous Gentiles Archives at the Yad VaShem Holocaust and Memory Museum in Israel, told me in 1989 that they have discovered: “...six thousand righteous Christian Gentiles, who risked their lives to save Jews in Hitler’s Holocaust. And in the next few years, we believe it will finally be discovered that in fact the total number was seven thousand.”
Dr. Bauminger, a rabbi, told me these words when I interviewed him in Jerusalem for this book. A very delightful man whom I will never forget, he kindly gave me several hours of his time, for which I will always be grateful’!

RABBI EMDEN SAYS, “IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR
THE CHRISTIANS, OUR REMNANT WOULD
SURELY HAVE BEEN DESTROYED”


A famous Hasidic rabbi of Germany wrote: “For if it had not been for the Christians, our remnant would surely have been destroyed, and Israel’s hope would have been extinguished amidst the Gentiles, who hate us because of our faith....But God, our Lord, has caused the Christian wise men to arise, who protect us in every generation.”9
From Jesus’ quotations in John 15, which represent the true Christian attitude toward humanity and especially the Jews, it would seem evident that most of what has been historically recorded as Christendom, is not! Richard Wurmbrand, a precious Jewish believer in Jesus, rightly notes of the World Council of Churches: “What communion can we have with the leaders of the World Council of Churches? They have never helped with one cent the families of Christian martyrs: on the contrary, they give money to communist guerrillas in AFRICA.
10
Concerning the Catholic Church, Sir Isaac Newton said: “Having searched, and by the grace of God obtained, after knowledg in the prophetique scriptures, I have thought my self bound to communicate it for the benefit of others....For it was revealed to Daniel that the prophecies concerning the last times should be closed up and sealed until the time of the end: but then the wise should understand, and knowledg should be increased. Dan 12, 4, 9, 10...and therefore the longer they have continued in obscurity, the more hopes there is that the time is at hand in which they are to be made manifest. If they [the prophetic Scriptures] are never to be understood, to what end did God reveal them? Certainly he did it for the edification of the church; and if so, then it is as certain that the church shall at length attain to the understanding thereof. I mean not all that call themselves Christians, but a remnant, a few scattered persons which God hath chosen, such as without being (blinded).”
11


THOUGH FEW “CHRISTIANS” ARE CHRISTIAN,
THIS DOES NOT MAKE THOSE FEW ANY LESS TRUE


Clearly the minority, as far as world Christendom is concerned, those who are referred to as born-again believers (I Pet. 4:12), are truly Christian and practice Jesus’ words. Thus no one can truthfully say real Christians persecuted Jews in the past or present to indict Jesus or His true followers in order to cause doubt about His Messiahship. If they were true Christians in accordance with these passages, they would not have hurt anyone. In fact, they would have done the exact opposite; helped and pitied the Jewish people in troubled times.
We believe, along with others, that true Christian attitudes toward the Jewish people and Israel are represented in these words from several of today’s well-known evangelical ministers, quoted from the television documentary Israel—America’s Key to Survival. The quotes run as follows:

“The primary target of Soviet expansionism in the Middle East is Israel. World public opinion is turning against Israel. Once again, acts of anti-Semitism are on the increase throughout the world. As a supporter of law and justice, as a born-again Christian, as a God-fearing person, you have a responsibility to do something to stop these forces of destruction right now!” Hal Lindsey, author/film maker

“As Evangelicals, we’re not ashamed to say that our God is the God of Israel. As Americans, we’re not ashamed to say it....”

Mike Evans, evangelical minister/author


“We look to Israel to be a leader among the nations of the earth. A leader of peace, a leader of technology, a leader of the improvement of mankind. We feel that all of us here in America who call ourselves Evangelical Christians are prepared to stand behind you in your struggle for peace, in your struggle for dignity, in your struggle for liberty in these critical days. You can count on us. We are with you in every respect.” Pat Robertson, evangelical broadcaster

“What a fulfillment of prophecy, what a testimony, what a future Israel has, and what a contribution Israel has made, is making and will make. All of us in the Christian faith here in America, salute you. We send you our warmest love and greetings. You’re constantly in our prayers and we too say, ‘Oh Jerusalem, Oh Jerusalem’ and we send our love and our prayers. God richly bless you.”

Oral Roberts, evangelist


“We are also praying for the peace of Jerusalem, because the word of God commands, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.’ We see fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament daily in all of the things that have taken place in your great land [Israel].” Rex Humbard, television evangelist. [ ] mine


“Our heart is with you one hundred percent upon the biblical positions of the word with no compromises, no discussions. We are putting together 10,000 leaders and one million Evangelicals backing them up, that are going to be personally praying. More important than anything is prayers to God, but secondly after that, standing upon the biblical positions of the word of God [supporting Israel].”12 Mike Evans,

evangelical minister and author, to Prime Minister Begin. [ ] mine

“This is one of the great phenomena in our generation, the Christian friends of Israel—indeed an historic phenomenon.”13 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s reply


“Many of you who are watching this program may be having a hard time believing that Israel’s survival is actually being threatened by such ominous forces as the PLO, the Soviet Union and more recently, by world public opinion. Now, if you are one of the skeptics, I urge you to do two important things. First, if you haven’t already done it, undertake a serious thorough study of what the Bible says about the fate of modern Israel. Second, start being more analytical about what you see, what you hear, what you read in the media. Don’t take everything at face value. Finally, I would encourage everyone of you to pick up your phones right now and call to add your name to the petition which is going to be given to our President [Reagan] urging him and other members of our government to stick by Israel at this most crucial time. Our leaders must understand that forcing Israel into some quick easy solution can only result in international catastrophe. Please, will you call and will you do it right now?” Pat Boone, Christian singer/entertainer. [ ] mine


“It was prophesied in the word of God and He has done it. And I thank God for it. I believe in the fact that God has raised up the nation of Israel again. Think about how fortunate we are as Christian people—we’re watching God Almighty—the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We’re watching Him move again just like in Bible days. Praise God.”
Kenneth Copeland, television evangelist


“We believe that God honors His word, God blesses His people and God honors those who honor His word and His people. For humanitarian reasons, we support the State of Israel. For historical reasons, believing that Palestine belongs to the Jewish people, we support the State of Israel. For legal reasons dating back to 1948, we believe the land of Palestine belongs to the Jewish people. And for theological reasons, first and foremost, we believe that God has given the land to
the people.”14
Reverend Jerry Falwell, renowned television preacher
“It’s not possible for a man to say, ‘I’m a Christian,’ and not love the Jewish people. You cannot be a Christian without being Jewish in spirit.”15 Rev. John Hagee


AS COMPARED TO EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS
AND JEWS FOR JESUS, JUST HOW LOYAL ARE
LEFT-WING
16 AMERICAN JEWS TO ISRAEL?


In answer to this, we quote a segment from an article in the Jerusalem Times/Jewish Press entitled, “Rallies Tout Opposing Views on Uprisings.” A portion of the article read: “...the so-called peaceniks carried the PLO flag next to that of Israel and noted that ‘a good number of them were wearing ‘Jackson for president’ buttons....”17
The article also stated that this view was representative of a very small percentage of American Jews. Several speakers drew comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany and the Israeli army and barbarians. Mordecai Levy, of the Jewish Defense Organization, was shocked by the outcome of what was supposed to have been a “peace” rally.
The sons of Israel have died in the heroic effort to salvage their land, which God promised to them (Gen. 17:7-8)! What is the response of a growing number of liberals living comfortably in the West? In 1989, The Jewish Tribune, a Miami-based Jewish newspaper, addressed this issue and pointed out that liberal American Jewry is potentially lethal to Israel. This newspaper published a letter to the editor by Lee Halpern entitled, “Reader Criticizes Liberals,” which read: “Sadly, a number of wealthy American Jewish liberals have been using their financial might to force their ideology on Israel. The American Jewish Committee, for example, has been arranging meetings between young Israelis and Arabs—meetings which give the Arabs a golden opportunity to propagandize and undermine the morale and self confidence of the Israel teens. The organization known as the ‘New Israel Fund’ sends millions of dollars each year to Israeli groups like the left-wing Association for Civil Rights which defends the civil rights of...Arab terrorists—a classic case of liberalism gone haywire. This sort of liberal meddling will be Israel’s undoing. Thank heavens there are those like Irving Moskowitz and ‘Americans for a Safe Israel’ to offer some straight thinking before it’s too late.”
18









































Here are a few magazine and newspaper clippings illustrating the pro-Israel stance and born-again Christian concern for Israel. Courtesy of the International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem.














































When the chips are down, virtually one hundred percent of the pro-Israel Zionist Christians and Jews for Jesus will support Israel! Can half of America’s Jewish community make this claim? In light of the reports we quoted, it seems the answer is no. A very sad no; a no which is to be pitied because of the blood of those who have fought to ensure a safe Israel for their children and for the future of the Jewish people. Israelis are aware of this. This is a photo of an Israeli protest of an American left-wing government official in the late 1970’s.



At present, the greater majority of Israelis are conservatives, or what many would call “right-wing.” They are concerned for their nation and children and, my God, why shouldn’t they be! It’s time for conservatives who believe in a safe nation with freedom for all to draw the line! Wouldn’t you ? Maybe this will happen in the next Israeli election.

DID TRUE BELIEVING CHRISTIANS
SAVE THOUSANDS OF JEWS FROM HITLER?


In times of true need, as documented here, the only true and measurable help for the Jews can be found in the hearts and hands of Evangelical Christians. Israel has a memorial located near Mount Herzl called Yad VaShem, which is dedicated to displaying the horrifying acts perpetrated by the Nazis upon the Jewish people.
Outside of this memorial, Israel has planted a forest of trees called, “The Forest of the Righteous Gentiles.” Each tree was planted in memory of someone who saved the Jewish people from Hitler. If you look carefully at the pictures, you will notice a name under each tree.
“...Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel....” God, I Kings 19:18 KJV19

Just how many and who are the righteous Gentiles represented by the many trees planted outside the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum in Israel? Rabbi Arieh L. Bauminger, director of the museum, member of the Committee for the Righteous Among the Nations, and himself a Holocaust survivor, told me there were: “...six thousand righteous Christian Gentiles, who risked their lives to save Jews in Hitler’s Holocaust. And in the next few years, we believe it will finally be discovered that, in fact, the total number was seven thousand.”
Dr. Bauminger was in charge of establishing the criteria by which these people were chosen. He told me it was decided that this title was not given to those who merely saved or helped Jews escape, but rather those who helped in spite of a danger to their own lives and the lives of their loved ones—this is why another 1000 are expected to be discovered through intense investigation. Many thousands were killed and can only be found through others who testify that they were helped by them.



“Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,...And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?...and as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye, therefore do greatly err. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus’ answer to a Jewish doctor of the law, as recorded in the New Testament, Mark 12:18, 24, 26-31 KJV

“In this book, writing from the depths of our hearts, we render infinite thanks and homage to the Righteous People who risked their lives to rescue Jews during one of the most tragic periods in the history of the Jewish nation.”

Abba Eban, in his foreword to Arieh Bauminger’s book, The Righteous


“If G-d is ‘Love,’ how can Christians explain the silence and indifference of the Church and most Christian nations while six million Jews were being gassed and burned by the Germans?”20
Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, quoted from the

anti-missionary publication, The Real Messiah


Abba Eban, the famous Israeli statesman, comments on those Christians who saved so many Jews in his foreword to Dr. Bauminger’s book, The Righteous. Eban, a Jew speaking for many Jews today, wrote: “In this book, writing from the depths of our hearts, we render infinite thanks and homage to the Righteous People who risked their lives to rescue Jews during one of the most tragic periods in the history of the Jewish nation....These saviours were men and women impelled by the Bible’s behest, ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself!’....they chose to hazard their own existence and to jeopardize the welfare of their nearest and dearest....In the name of that selfsame justice, we owe a debt of everlasting gratitude and of tribute to these Righteous People.”
21





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The entrance to the Garden of the Righteous Gentiles, which
leads to the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.

“It is our duty to discover these knights of morality [righteous Gentiles], to establish contact with them, to pay them our debt of gratitude and to express to them our admiration for their courage...These few saved not only the Jews but the honour of Man.”22 Kadish Luz, Speaker of Israel’s Parliament

Dr. Bauminger also wrote: “There were not a few Gentiles who risked their own lives, and imperilled their families, in aiding Jewish fugitives, feeding and clothing them, sheltering them, furnishing them with forged ‘Aryan’ papers. Conscious of the hideous consequences if they were caught, they yet rendered salvation, and the deeds of these Righteous People are all the more to be marvelled at and be thankful for against the background of an overwhelming populace...even ready to betray hidden Jews to the Gestapo for a price.”
23
Just to name a few of these people, Bauminger writes: “It is impossible not to mention Vladas, a village schoolmaster in Lithuania...who for years hid nine Jews in his home, thwarting every Gestapo inquisition; even his young son was adamantly silent about the hidden Jews, though the Nazis thrashed him savagely. Eduardo Focherini, a newspaper editor in Bologna, was put to death by the Gestapo for smuggling Jews out of Italy....Oswald Bosko....(was arrested because of his pro-Jewish activities, charged by the Gestapo with treason, and executed on 18 September 1944.)”
24
Corrie Ten Boom, the loving old woman whose book, The Hiding Place, later became a film,
25 saved many Jews in her own personal “hiding place” behind a double wall in her home. Corrie was a wonderful Evangelical Christian who said she was willing to save Jesus’ people, the Jews, from the Holocaust even if it meant her death. Even though she was relentlessly beaten by the Gestapo, she never turned in any of the Jews she was hiding. Recently, Corrie died and her tree was placed in the Yad VaShem Memorial Park in Israel.




Corrie Ten Boom’s name plaque and tree.


The famous Christian Swedish diplomat, Raul Wallenberg, who some feel is still alive and incarcerated in Russia, saved 100,000 Jews. Dr. Bauminger describes this “angel of mercy”:
26 “...Wallenberg rented 32 houses that he proclaimed a Swedish extraterritorial zone. Into these houses Wallenberg brought his ‘protected Jews,’ after having duly provided them with forged papers in the name of the Swedish Embassy and the Red Cross.”27
Bauminger went on to tell how Wallenberg hid the Jewish children in “churches or private Christian homes,” and that: “ ‘All this was done by a courageous man who had the strength of his convictions to act according to his conscience and beliefs. As in the case of King Christian of Denmark, Wallenberg’s deeds once more bring to mind the poignant thought: how much greater could have been the number of survivors in the lands of extermination, had there been others like him....’ ”
28


The Wallenberg Memorial, built to honor the man
who saved 100,000 Jews from the Holocaust.


The phrase from the Talmud, in the lower right-hand corner of the Wallenberg Memorial, says that if you save one person, you also save their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren... (See Sanhedrin 37a).


PAST CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS (WHO SAVED JEWS
FROM THE HOLOCAUST) ECHO THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIAN ZIONISM—PROTECT ISRAEL


In a recent edition of the Jerusalem Courier, David Allen Lewis pointed out: “It is encouraging to discover that many American Evangelicals did actually denounce Hitler. Pentecostal preachers were almost universally clear in their anti-Nazi declarations. Voss and Rausch state: ‘During Hitler’s ‘final solution’ to the Jewish problem, Fundamentalist-Evangelicals believed that the Jewish people were being exterminated by the millions, while more liberal Christians and periodicals, such as The Christian Century, were labeling the reports of atrocity propaganda. Gaebelein’s Our Hope magazine gave factual reports of atrocities against the Jewish people during the 1930s and 1940s. The Fundamentalist-Evangelical world view lent itself very well to such convictions, even when they seemed beyond the realm of belief....’...The good news is that there are many Evangelicals and Pentecostals who are in tune with Biblical truth in relation to Israel and the Jewish people. How I thank God for those who refuse to be intimidated, who rise above the general apathy that attends this subject.
One might smugly take comfort in the fact that many American Evangelicals did resist Hitler from afar....”
29
Malcolm Hedding, in his article entitled, “Christian Zionism,” noted: “...famous Christian Zionists such as Orde Charles Wingate, John Hayes Holmes, Professor Reinhold Niebhur and Corrie Ten Boom who, at great personal risk during the Second World War, rescued Jews from the hands of Nazism. All these believed that Scripture promised the restoration of the Jewish State in Palestine. Most of them died in hope but some, like Corrie Ten Boom, lived to see the impossible come true.
Yes, Christian Zionism has a long history. Today the movement has swelled to embrace thousands. All of them see their task as being far from over, since the same forces that sought the destruction of Israel in decades past are still at work today. The survival and preservation of Israel is dependent upon the same kind of help and support that made her existence a reality. Christian Zionists believe that in seeking her peace they are in the long run working for the world’s peace (Isaiah 2:1-4). The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Christians United For Israel and the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel are in the forefront of this struggle for Israel’s survival, peace and blessing.”
30


WHY DID TRUE CHRISTIANS SAVE THE JEWS?
BECAUSE OF THE BIBLE’S AND JESUS’
TEACHINGS OF LOVE

The reason has been truthfully and beautifully stated in the article entitled, “Gentiles Who Dared To Save Jews,” by Peter Colón. He wrote: “The wonderful thing about the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles is its acclamation to the testimony of ordinary people. Recent studies on the specific motives of the more religiously minded rescuers revealed that there were some basic spiritual considerations for their conduct. Foremost was the teaching of God’s love and protection for the Jews as recorded in the Bible. Passages such as ‘I [God] have
loved thee [Israel] with an everlasting love’ (Jer. 31:3) and ‘he that toucheth you [Israel] toucheth the apple of his [God’s] eye’ (Zech. 2:8) were strong incentives. Other biblical passages—such as the golden rule of Matthew 7:12; the story of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37; the love-for-God-and-neighbor commandment of Matthew 22:34-40; and the impending judgement to come of Matthew 25:33-46—were strong motivating factors that incited devout Christians to help the Jews. For them, the evils of anti-Semitism did not infiltrate their Christian theology.”
31
Colón listed a few of the righteous Christians and their deeds done out of love for the Jews, in the same article: “Their names are immortalized on a narrow walkway that leads to the Israeli Holocaust Memorial called Yad Vashem. This street is affectionately referred to as the ‘Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles.’
On both sides of the path to the memorial thousands of evergreen carob trees are planted. At the base of each tree is a plaque inscribed with a name to commemorate an individual—exceptional individuals who believed that all people were created in the image and likeness of God and were therefore worth saving. The details of their heroic deeds are shining tributes to their humanity and sense of decency in helping the oppressed.
Along the path, one tree salutes a heroic man named Joop Westerweel, a Dutch Plymouth Brethren teacher. The father of four, he felt compassion for the plight of Jewish children and devised a plan to smuggle them from Nazi-occupied Holland into neutral Spain. The scheme worked and thousands of children were saved. Eventually he was caught, and Gestapo agents tortured him daily then condemned him to die in a horrid concentration camp. Today his carob tree is beautifully maintained by some of those same children, now adults, whom he sacrificed his life to save....In Vilna, Poland, a simple librarian named Anna Simaite hid Jewish children. She helped feed starving Jews using her own food rationing card. She also helped forge identity passes. At the same time the daring Jadzia Duniec supplied weapons to the Jewish underground. He was caught and murdered by the Gestapo. Another brave woman, Sophia Debicka, turned her humble home into a base for the Jewish resistance.
Abbe Alexander Glasberg of France rescued 2,000 French Jews and even managed to maintain a ‘safe house’ for 65 Jewish teens. A simple French pastor with the heart of a lion personally traveled to the various concentration camps and boldly requested the release of Jewish children. In many cases he was successful....In Belgium, Louis Celis rasied four young Jewish children as his own. When it was safe, he spirited them to their ancient homeland, Israel. Ingebjorg Fortyedt Sletten, a member of the Norwegian resistance, saved several Jewish families in Oslo, including the chief rabbi of the city.”
32



This small boat was used by the Danes to smuggle Jews from Gillelje, Denmark, to fishing boats at sea, on their way to the safety of Sweden.



Here are a few books written by Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. They say they owe their lives to those Christians who aided them in their fight for survival and Jesus, the one they came to realize is the Jewish Messiah, through whom they were miraculously preserved.



This citation is presented by Yad VaShem to righteous Gentiles in
honor of their commitment to save Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.


I will never forget the feeling I had when I performed the Heimlich maneuver on my dear friend Eddie Sussman’s son, Elad, dislodging the food he was choking on from his throat. His mother, Ruth, brought her little boy out of the kitchen, blue, saying, “I’ve tried and I can’t get it!” When Elad began to breathe again, I realized what the Lord had done through me that night in Jerusalem and I thanked Him! This frightening close call gives me some small idea of what it must have felt like for those ancient believers when they saved people during the Holocaust.



The heavy coverage of the Christian Zionist Congress by the
Jerusalem Post shows Israel’s interest in Christian Zionism.




Arieh Bauminger, pictured here, author of The Righteous and Roll of Honour, documents an incredible number of righteous who saved countless Jews from Hitler’s Holocaust.
“...For if it had not been for the Christians, our remnant would surely have been destroyed, and Israel’s hope would have been extinguished amidst the Gentiles, who hate us because of our faith....But God, our Lord, has caused the Christian wise men to arise, who protect us in every generation.33 Rabbi Emden

of Hamburg (concerning true believers), 1757


TWO RESPECTED JEWISH AUTHORITIES AFFIRM
TRUE CHRISTIANS WERE HEROES AND THAT
THEY RISKED THEIR LIVES TO SAVE JEWS


Have you ever heard that familiar statement, “The world stood by and watched while six million Jews were murdered”? Did the true followers of Jesus do this? While the “world” might have, those who truly believed in Jesus as Messiah did just the opposite! Jesus once said you are in the world but not of the world
34 (John 15:19).
Let’s hear the testimonies of two eminent Jewish personalities on this issue, Dr. Arieh Bauminger and Sholem Asch. The famed Jewish author, Sholem Asch, who does not believe in Jesus as Messiah, wrote: “Christianity also distinguished itself, in the particular of rescuing Jewish children, by the highest degree of self-sacrifice. It may be stated without exaggeration that almost the entire remnant of Israel which was found in the liberated countries—no matter how small its number—has the Christians to thank for its preservation. Christians who, by performing this action, placed their own lives in danger.”
35
Israeli children are being taught the novel truth in Israel today, and that is that true Christians risked their lives to save Jews. On field trips to the museum, they not only see the Yad VaShem Holocaust Memorial Forest, in which each tree was planted in memory of one who saved Jews from Hitler, but they study a book called Roll of Honour, which describes heroes from twenty-three nations who risked their lives, and in some cases, were even murdered while rescuing Jews in World War II.
36 Dr. Bauminger told me in a personal interview that there are now 5000 Christian heroes and within a few years, we will discover perhaps 7000 who risked their lives to save Jews.

DESPITE THE WARNINGS OF FOREIGN RABBIS,
ISRAEL’S NATIONAL TEXTBOOKS PORTRAY
JESUS FOR THE HERO THAT HE IS!


This new knowledge about true Christians is arousing Israeli children’s interest
37 in the New Testament and the person of Jesus. There is a new openness that was not there before to talk about Jesus! This is evidenced by the fear of a group of American and English rabbis who have warned against Jesus’ heroism, as portrayed in Israel’s schoolbooks. The Jewish scholar Pinchas Lapide documents: “...the present day schoolbooks of Israel contain what is undoubtedly the most sympathetic picture of Jesus ever offered to a generation of Jewish children by their teachers. This fact is confirmed by, among other things, the protests of a group of Rabbis (most are recent immigrants from America and England) who recently issued a public warning in Jerusalem that the ‘heroic Jesus’ presented in the schools today could pave the way for conversion efforts among the Jews by the ever-active missionary societies.”38




Schoolchildren playing a Hanukkah game in their classroom.


1 Rev. John Hagee, Why We Honor the Jews. This audio tape is available through John Hagee Ministries, POB 1400, San Antonio, TX, USA 78295.

2 Leonard C. Yaseen, The Jesus Connection, To Triumph Over Anti-Semitism. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, © 1985, p. ix, used by permission.

3 In recent years, we have seen the birth of a conservative Jewish movement which supports Israel. We pray that this constituency continues to grow.

4 Herb Keinon, “West Bank Uprising, Christian Zionists Have No Doubts Over the Outcome,” Jerusalem magazine of the Jerusalem Post, © Apr. 15, 1988, p. 14, used by permission.

5 These passages from the New Testament read as follows: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever....There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (I Pet. 1:22-23; John 3:1-3 KJV).

6 Jesus details the Samaritan-Jewish situation in this passage where He speaks with a lawyer: “But wishing to justify himself, he [the lawyer] said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied and said, ‘A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and what ever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?’ And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same’ ” (Luke 10:29-37 NASB).

7 George Otis, The Ghost of Hagar. Van Nuys, CA: Time-Light Books, © 1974, pp. 44, 47, used by permission.

8 Arthur W. Kac, The Messiahship of Jesus, p. 18.

9 Pinchas Lapide, Israelis, Jews, and Jesus, p. 105. Lapide’s source was Lechem Shamayim (Hamburg, 1757), p. 30 ff.

10 Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, Jesus to the Communist World, Inc., “The Voice of the Martyrs,” 1967-1977. Available through The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc., POB 11, Glendale, CA, USA 91209.

11 Yahuda Manuscript 1. Newton’s spelling of three hundred years ago. [ ] mine.

12 From a meeting with Prime Minister Begin and key evangelical leaders in Jerusalem, led by Mike Evans.

13 Ibid.

14 Mike Evans, Israel, America’s Key to Survival, broadcast aired June 1983. Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, presented the prestigious Jabotinsky Award from the government of Israel to Jerry Falwell in appreciation of his Christian support for Israel and the Jewish people. After Israel bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, Begin first called Jerry Falwell, because of his great trust in Falwell’s love of Israel, and asked him to “tell America why Israel needed to protect herself.” Dan O’Neill and Don Wagner, Peace or Armageddon, pp. 83-84.

15 Rev. John Hagee, Why We Honor The Jews.

16 There is an appreciable Jewish community on the right side of the political spectrum, which is growing and is more or less solidly pro-Israel, as is the true born-again Christian.

17 Julius Liebb, “Rallies Tout Opposing Views on Uprisings,” Jewish Press, May 6, 1988, p. 60.

18 Lee Halpern, “Reader Criticizes Liberals,” Jewish Tribune, Miami, Mar. 10, 1989.

19 In this verse, God said to Elija that He still had 7000 Jews loyal to Him. Amazingly enough, there are approximately 7000 righteous Gentiles who saved the children of Israel from the Holocaust!

20 Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, et al, The Real Messiah, pp. 57-58.

21 Rabbi Arieh L. Bauminger, The Righteous, 3rd Edition. Jerusalem: Yad VaShem; Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority, © 1983, p. foreword, used by permission.

22 Ibid, p. 11.

23 Ibid, p. 10. Spellings are Bauminger’s.

24 Ibid, pp. 10-14.

25 This film is now available on home video.

26 Ibid, p. 79.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid, p. 81. Attorney General of Israel at the Eichmann trial.

29 David Allen Lewis, “Was Hitler a Christian?”, Jerusalem Courier, Vol. 7, No.. 2. Springfield, MO: David A. Lewis Ministries, Inc., © 1988, p. 2, used by permission.

30 Malcolm Hedding, “Christian Zionism,” Jerusalem Courier, Vol. 7, No.. 2, © 1988, p. 6, used by permission.

31 Peter Colón, “Gentiles Who Dared To Save Jews,” Israel My Glory, © Apr./May 1995, p. 12, used by permission.

32 Ibid, pp. 11-12.

33 Pinchas Lapide, Israelis, Jews, and Jesus, p. 105. Bold mine. Lapide’s source was Lechem Shamayim (Hamburg, 1757), p. 30 ff.

34 The New Testament uses the word “world” as a generic term to describe all those who have not believed in Jesus. In contemporary terms we can say all those who are not born-again or who have not accepted Jesus as their personal Messiah, Savior and forgiver! This includes the majority of Catholic “churches” and a sizable portion of Protestantism!

35 Arthur W. Kac, The Messiahship of Jesus, p. 18.

36 They are taught from: “...a little booklet by school inspector Dr. Arie L. Bauminger which was introduced in 1967 in all classes beyond primary level and has been in continual use since then as a teaching aid. It is entitled Honor Roll, and it recounts in sixty pages the glorious deeds of some of the ‘just men of the nations’ who risked their lives—many in fact were killed—to rescue Jews during World War II....these roughly eight hundred ‘heroes of charity’ came from twenty-three different countries....” Pinchas Lapide, Israelis, Jews, and Jesus, p. 63.

37 On March 26, 1987, the Jerusalem Times/Jewish Press ran an interesting article entitled “The Scandal of Avoda Zara in Kibbutzim.” The author of the article was obviously very upset at the circulation of the Hebrew New Testament within Israel. He reported that the Hebrew New Testament, bound together with the Old Testament, was prevalent in the kibbutzim (social farms in Israel) and that a kibbutznik teacher said that they were not being thrown away. I know this is true because my friend Michael Bentley gave one hundred and fifty of the kibbutzim, several thousand Bibles containing New Testaments in the 1980’s, before he was forced to leave Israel. There are about three hundred kibbutzim presently operating within the land of Israel.

38 Ibid, pp. 67-68.