Understanding the Anti-Israel Ideology of Hezbollah

The founders of Hezbollah looked to Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini for their inspiration. This also helps to explain the intensity of their anti-Israel ideology, which is similar to the anti-Israel hatred of Hamas, which is both ideological and territorial.

Understanding the Anti-Israel Ideology of Hezbollah | Articles | The Line of Fire

In a recent article, I explained that the founders of Hezbollah looked to Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini for their inspiration. This also helps to explain the intensity of their anti-Israel ideology, which is similar to the anti-Israel hatred of Hamas, which is both ideological and territorial.

There is a well-known Islamic tradition (Sahih Muslim Book 41, Hadith 6985) that states that, 

“The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.”

The fires of Hezbollah are fueled by radical rhetoric like this.

It is that ideology, coupled with territorial disputes, that fuels the fires of Hezbollah’s murderous hatred.

Christian Antisemitism - Confronting the Lies in Today’s Church

Our Hands Are Stained With Blood: The Tragic Story of the Church and the Jewish People

Related Resources

Christian Friend, Israel’s Ultimate Enemy is Your Ultimate Enemy Too

As you see antisemitism rising worldwide and the assault on Israel intensifying, remember: this is a graphic, earthly picture of the spiritual forces arrayed against us. Then, be vigilant. Be alert. And recognize that Israel and the Church, in a unique and sovereign way, are joined at the hip...

Christian Friend, Israel’s Ultimate Enemy is Your Ultimate Enemy Too | Articles | The Line of Fire

Speaking to a Joint Session of Congress on July 25, Prime Minister Netanyahu underscored that when Israel is waging war against Hamas, Iran, and other radical Islamic powers, they are fighting America’s enemies too. That’s why the slogan of Yemen’s Houthis rebels states, “God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.” 

America and Israel are deeply intertwined.

As Prime Minister Netanyahu said in his speech, 

“That’s why the mobs in Tehran chant ‘Death to Israel’ before they chant ‘Death to America.’ For Iran Israel is first, America is next. So, when Israel fights Hamas, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we’re fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we’re fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we’re fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America.

“And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you.”

Indeed, he emphasized, “My friends, if you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”

I agree with his words and sentiments, but they only provide the natural parallel to the spiritual point I want to make here. And so, if you remember one thing and one thing only from this article, remember this: Israel’s greatest enemy, the devil himself, is out to destroy you too.

That means that the same, special, focused hatred he has towards Israel, God’s firstborn son according to the Old Testament (Exodus 4:22), is the same hatred he has towards you as a follower of Jesus (and, therefore, now a spiritual son or daughter of God). Satan is out to destroy God’s family, and that includes both His spiritual and natural children.

You might say, “Who doesn’t know that Satan is a murderer and liar? What else should we expect from him?” Allow me, then, to explain myself more clearly.

Israel is God’s unique witness nation on the earth, for better or for worse (see, for example, Isaiah 43:10, 12; 44:8). 

On the one hand, Israel is called to testify to the Lord’s faithfulness, just like a witness in court. But in another sense, the very existence of Israel bears testimony to the faithfulness of God, the holiness of God, the justice of God, and the mercy of God.

Israel (by which I mean here the Jewish people as a whole and the State of Israel itself) only exists because the Lord is faithful and good. If it were up to our own faithfulness and goodness (I write as a Jewish person myself), we would have perished long ago.

On the other hand, the fact that the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and that we have spent so many centuries in exile is a testimony to the holiness and justice of God. He did not tolerate our sin but judged us in a public, concrete way that the whole world can see, just as He laid out in the Scriptures.

Whether we like it or not, as a people, the Jewish people and nation bear witness to the character of God and to the truth of His Word.

Not only so, but Israel also provides a window into the hearts of humanity itself whereby people take out their hatred towards God on the Jewish people.

Put another way, the world hates the fact that the Lord brought us back to the Land and restored our national sovereignty, with nation and nation slandering and attacking Jews worldwide and some even actively trying to wipe out our country. 

Is this all because of the Jews themselves, without any supernatural cause? Perish the thought. 

It is because we have been chosen by God for a mission, and Satan wants to derail it.

Now, look for a moment at the murderous, barbaric, demented evil of the Hamas attack on October 7... 

Look at the bullet ridden bodies of the children and babies slaughtered in their own beds and cribs. (I’ve seen the actual footage, and it is sickening.) 

Look at the victims charred beyond recognition. 

Look at the corpses of females shot in the groin. 

Look at the twisted remains of an Israeli ambulance, obliterated by a Hamas RPG, allowing grieving parents only to recognize their children by the few remaining teeth or a DNA match with their child’s spleen.

That is a picture of the devil at work. And it is a reminder of his intense, murderous hatred for every one of us who acknowledges Jesus-Yeshua as Lord.

So, as you see antisemitism rising worldwide and the assault on Israel intensifying, remember: this is a graphic, earthly picture of the spiritual forces arrayed against us. 

Then, be vigilant. Be alert. And recognize that Israel and the Church, in a unique and sovereign way, are joined at the hip. 

Let us stand together against our common enemy, the devil.

Our Hands Are Stained With Blood - The Tragic Story of the Church and the Jewish People

The Surprising Response to My ‘Rabbi Jesus’ Post

Let’s not forget our Savior’s history and roots:Jesus was a rabbi, not a reverend. He was a Jew, not a Christian. His name was Yeshua; He was called 'Christ' because it was the Greek way of saying the Jewish word 'Messiah.'

The Surprising Response to My ‘Rabbi Jesus’ Post | Articles | The Line of Fire

On August 22, on the spur of the moment, I posted this on X and on Facebook:

His name was Yeshua and His mother's name was Miriam.

He was called Christ because it was the Greek way of saying Messiah.

He is the Savior of the world because He is Israel's Messiah.

To my surprise, while the post received 1.1 thousand likes on Facebook, where I have 587 thousand followers, it received 2.8 thousand likes on X, where I have only 61 thousand followers. 

Why so much interest in such a simple, matter of fact post?

As of this writing, the post has been viewed more than 202 thousand times on X (which is a lot for one of my posts there). It has also received more than 880 comments, quite a few of them taking issue with the post or feeling the need to clarify it. 

What’s so controversial about what I wrote?

Jesus, along with John the Immerser (aka John the Baptist), were both called “rabbi” in the New Testament, while the concept of “reverend” only came into use many centuries later (perhaps beginning in the 15th century). 

As for Jesus being a Jew not a Christian, again, that is a simple matter of historical fact and common-sense logic. That’s because the New Testament teaches that Jesus was born King of the Jews and died King of the Jews, whereas the word “Christian” was only coined more than a decade after the Lord’s death and resurrection.

As for His original name, along with that of His mother, again, these are simple, historical facts, as both Jesus and Mary are the product of Hebrew names being transmitted into Greek, then into Latin, then, eventually, into English. This is hardly rocket science.

As for the word Christ, from the Greek christos, meaning anointed, it is a translation of the Hebrew word mashiach, also meaning anointed, from which we get Messiah. 

But “Christ” was not the Lord’s last name. 

It was the Greek way of calling Jesus the (Jewish) Messiah.

Of course, as basic as all this is, it is still jarring for some people to hear, as many think of Jesus in exclusively Christian terms to the exclusion of His Jewish roots.

To do so is not just factually inaccurate. It also presents a misleading spiritual picture, raising the obvious question: If Jesus is now so disconnected from His origins and roots, why is He returning to Jerusalem? Why not return to Rome (or Constantinople, or Moscow, or the Bible Belt in the USA)?

To take this one step further, does it jar you to hear the names of the apostles in a way that would be closer to how their names sounded in Yeshua’s day? Let’s find out!

Matthew 10:2-4, as rendered in the Jewish New Testament (now part of the Complete Jewish Bible): 

“These are the names of the twelve emissaries: First, Shim‘on, called Kefa, and Andrew his brother, Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother, Philip and Bar-Talmai, T’oma and Mattityahu the tax-collector, Ya‘akov Bar-Halfai and Taddai, Shim‘on the Zealot, and Y’hudah from K’riot, who betrayed him.”

If this makes you uncomfortable at all, you should ask yourself why. It might reveal some hidden and unhealthy spiritual baggage.

Getting back to my post, though, it seems that a lot of people had a problem with the last line, which stated, “He is the Savior of the world because He is Israel's Messiah,” with some commenters adding extensive commentary or clarification or correction.

But why did they find it necessary to do so? 

What’s so controversial about these words?

During His earthly ministry, Jesus said that He had come only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, sending out His disciples on that same exclusive mission (see Matthew 15:24; 10:5-6). And before His birth, the angel Gabriel explained that He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

After His resurrection, He pointed His disciples to prophecies about Him written in the Hebrew Scriptures and asked them, “Did not the Messiah [Greek, “Christ”] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26)

Yet because the mission of Israel’s Messiah included being a light to the nations (see, e.g., Isaiah 11:1-10; 42:1-7), Jesus is not only the Jewish Messiah but also the Savior of the world, and the Great Commission is to all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Put another way, if Jesus failed to be the promised Messiah of Israel, He would be the Savior of no one. 

Hence my statement, “He is the Savior of the world because He is Israel's Messiah.” And it is as both the Savior of the world and the Messiah of Israel that Jesus-Yeshua will return one day, setting up His kingdom in Jerusalem.

That’s also why, according to the book of Revelation, the eternal city in which we will dwell with God on earth is called “the New Jerusalem” (see Revelation 21:1-4). And that’s why the twelve gates of the city will bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, while the twelve foundation stones will bear the name of the twelve (all Jewish) apostles (see Revelation 21:9-14).

And in this eternal, glorious city, all those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, both Gentile and Jew, will live side by side as equals, without distinction of caste or class. We are all one in Him!

But let’s not forget our Savior’s history and roots, especially after centuries of Christian leaders portraying Him as a fair-eyed, European Gentile and, today, Muslims portraying Him as a Palestinian liberationist.

Let us recover the biblical, Jewish roots of the faith. 

This will only deepen and enhance our relationship with our heavenly Father, also known as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

60 Questions Christians Ask About Jewish Beliefs and Practices

Christian Antisemitism - Confronting the Lies in Today’s Church

The Antisemitic Unraveling of Candace Owens

As much as Candace Owens' antisemitic statements deserve ridicule and scorn, she needs our prayers. May the Lord deliver her from deception! May she awaken from this antisemitic stupor, and spit out the poisonous Kool-Aid she is drinking! May she become an advocate for righteousness and truth...

The Antisemitic Unraveling of Candace Owens | Articles | The Line of Fire

Over the last year or so, Candace Owens has made an increasing number of deeply concerning comments about the Jewish people and Israel, leading to the question: What kind of antisemitic Kool-Aid is she drinking?! 

In light of her most recent comments, the answer is: One of the worst kinds of antisemitic Kool-Aid, the kind that espouses the most ridiculous (and malicious) conspiracy theories. 

Her statements have now become completely unhinged, leading to bizarre headlines like this on an antisemitic website: “Candace Owens digs in, calling out Israel’s Frankist pedo-protection cult.” What?!

In her rant, Owens informs us that the horrors of the Holocaust did not help give birth to the modern State of Israel. Instead, many moons before this, Catholics and Christians went missing around Passover, and when their bodies were found, “they were able to trace them back to the Jews.” 

But, she tells us, she is not repeating the infamous blood libel, which alleges that Jews kidnap and kill Christians during Passover, using their blood to bake matzoh. Not at all! These people weren’t actually Jews at all. “They were Frankists,” Owens says, referring to a sex-cult led by the notorious Polish Jew Jacob Frank (1726-1791).

The only problem with this unhinged theory is everything. 

First, this is the same, fictitious blood libel, just blamed on Frankists rather than Jews. Second, the Frankists, with all their perverted practices, did not kidnap and kill Catholics and Christians, using their blood for Passover. Third, the Frankists actually were Jews, although some of them eventually converted to Catholicism. 

But I quibble. Why should we trip over historical facts?

According to Owens, Leo Frank killed Mary Phagan during Passover (in 1913) for these same nefarious, bloody purposes. (Apparently, he must have been a Frankist too, since his last name was Frank!) And, she states firmly, “this Frankist cult, which is masquerading behind Jews, still participates in this s--- to this day.” 

We will soon find out that it is these fake Jews who helped found Israel, which is why, she tells us, Israel is a sanctuary state for pedophiles. Surely, nothing antisemitic here! And surely, we shouldn’t stumble over the fact that most legal scholars believe that Leo Frank was falsely accused and wrongly convicted of the crime. 

Tragically, he was dragged from a jail by an angry mob and lynched. But not to worry. After all, Frank was a Jew, right?

Owens claims that “the nation of Israel may have been established by some Frankists,” which is why “Zionists defend pedophiles and criminals.” But of course! How did we miss that? Yes, we are told, this is why Israel allows “pedophiles from America to flee and receive protection from their state.” (BTW, Owens jokes that she will punch you in the face if you dare say that Israel is our ally. They are anything but an ally and friend. All clear?)

What is Owens’s proof about the founding of Israel? “It is looking like Theodor Herzl’s family” came from the exact same area in Moravia and Bohemia “where the Frankist cult was founded.” And while Owens says “maybe” about her theory, she has read “a ton of books” and is quite sure about it. She also informs us that Herzl said that he didn’t care how many Jews had to die in order to establish the Jewish state. How did all the Herzl scholars miss this? 

And why quibble over the fact that the Frankist cult originated primarily in Podolia, which is in modern-day Ukraine. After all, Ukraine and Moravia and Bohemia are all in Europe, right? That’s pretty close! And at some point in time, some Frankists were located in the same country where Herzl was born. So, obviously, he himself was a Frankist sex pervert, and as the founder of Israel, that explains why the Jewish state is a sanctuary for pedophiles. Candace is on a roll! And since no one questions whether Herzl was Jewish, it appears that the Frankists masquerading as Jews were Jews after all. Got it!

As for the fact that the Frankists had largely disappeared by the time of Herzl’s birth, again, why split hairs over things like chronology and history and dates and facts? Owens has a theory! 

Not only so, but Owens wants us to know that Israel was involved in the assassination of JFK. It was a Mossad job! 

But no one dare speak about these things. That’s because America is being held hostage by a foreign country – Israel! And so she fearlessly proclaims, “We are an occupied nation!”

Owens informs us that the first Jewish Supreme Court justice, Louis Brandeis, was a Frankist. Don’t believe her? She has an ironclad answer: “Look it up!”

Unfortunately, not even my AI bots could figure out where this nonsensical and diabolical theory came from, with AI Claude pointing out that: 1) “The Frankist movement was primarily active in the 18th century, while Brandeis lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” 2) “Brandeis was known for his strong ethical standards and progressive reforms, which seem at odds with what is known about Frankist beliefs and practices.” 3) “There are no reputable historical sources that suggest Brandeis had any connection to Frankism.” (These are just some of the points Claude raised, which also noted, “This myth might have originated from anti-Semitic conspiracy theories . . . .”)

But Owens has still more to say. She alleges that “every person who speaks about Israel has to basically say a statement like, ‘I don’t want to get killed.’” Yes, of course! No one in America or abroad would dare say anything negative about Israel or the Jewish people for fear of being killed by the Israelis. And if anything happens to her? “Blame the Zionists, like 1,000 percent, blame the Zionists . . . .”

Thankfully, she provides an “easy litmus test” by which you can judge “any commentator.” If they don’t condemn Israel’s defense of pedophiles and acknowledge that Louis Brandeis was a Frankist, then they, too, are evil, psychopathic Zionists. 

Sarcasm aside, Owens is peddling some really sick, terribly dangerous stuff, given her popularity and influence. 

May she awaken from this antisemitic stupor, may she spit out the poisonous Kool-Aid she is drinking, and may she become an advocate for righteousness and truth. And as much as her statements deserve ridicule and scorn, she needs our prayers. (I say this out of concern, not condescension.)

May the Lord deliver Candace Owens from deception!

*Author’s note: As for Louis Brandeis allegedly being a Frankist -- and therefore, somehow involved in sexual perversion -- by the time of Brandeis, the Frankists were simply a part of the Catholic Church with no connection to the earlier sexual rites. It is true that his parents were Frankists, but not in the sense that Owens alleges, which is where the confusion lies. It's fairly easy to verify this.

Highlights from Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress

“Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly, many anti-Israel protesters choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers... My friends... remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory."

Highlights from Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress | Articles | The Line of Fire

Wednesday marked the fourth time that Prime Minister Netanyahu has addressed a joint session of Congress, the most of any world leader in history. 

His staunchest critics have claimed that the real reason for his visit to the States was “to enlist domestic American support to keep waging the war” rather than to end the war and bring home the hostages. Others have faulted him for failing to deliver anything of substance in terms of a long term solution, let alone making serious concessions toward the Palestinians. 

His supporters saw things very differently, with one headline proclaiming, “JOINT SESSION: In wartime address to Congress, Netanyahu gives ‘masterclass in global diplomacy,’ most powerful speech of his career — 55 standing ovations.”

While the Middle East pundits parse the details, here are some of the most memorable lines from his speech. Bibi sure knows how to fire up the crowd. Indeed, the “no fewer than 55 standing ovations” marked “the most of any such speaker in Congressional history.” (Note that he is more popular in America than in Israel, especially among American evangelicals.)

After his introductory greetings, these were his opening lines: 

“We meet today at a crossroads of history. Our world is in upheaval. In the Middle East, Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel and our Arab friends. This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization. It’s a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.”

After introducing several IDF soldiers who were sitting in the audience today, including “Lieutenant Yonatan, Jonathan Ben Hamo who lost a leg in Gaza and continued to fight,” he said, “My friends, these are the soldiers of Israel—unbowed, undaunted, unafraid.”

On the difference between good and evil: 

“Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. Yet incredibly many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. They stand with people who came into the kibbutzim, into a home, the parents hid the children, the two babies, in the attic, in a secret attic. They murdered the family, the parents, they found the secret latch to the hidden attic and then they murdered the babies. These protesters stand with them. They should be ashamed of themselves.

“They refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas.”

“It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza.’ They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC.’

“These protesters chant ‘From the river to the sea.’ But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about. They not only get an F in geography, they get an F in history. They call Israel a colonialist state. Don’t they know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?

“For nearly four thousand years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It’s always been our home; it will always be our home.”

On the misguided “justice” of the ICC: 

“The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is utter complete nonsense. It’s a complete fabrication. Israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That’s half a million tons of food, and that’s more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who aren’t getting enough food, it’s not because Israel is blocking it, it’s because Hamas is stealing it.”

On the difference between Israel and Hamas: 

“For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. For Hamas, it’s a strategy. They actually want Palestinian civilians to die, so that Israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it’s won.”

On Iran’s war with Israel and the world: 

“In the Middle East, Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing. And that should come as no surprise. When he founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini pledged, 'We will export our revolution to the entire world. We will export the Islamic revolution to the entire world.' Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran’s maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It’s America, the guardian of Western civilization and the world’s greatest power. That’s why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy.

“Last month, I heard a revealing comment, ostensibly about the war in Gaza, but about something else. It came from the foreign minister of Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, and he said this: ‘This is not a war with Israel. Israel,’ he said, ‘is merely a tool. The main war, the real war, is with America.’”

“And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city that you come from, we’re not only protecting ourselves. We’re protecting you.

“My friends, If you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this: Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”

“The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages. But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.

“That’s what total victory means, and we will settle for nothing less.”

Is Ben Shapiro an 'Antichrist' According to 1 John?

Does Ben Shapiro need Jesus-Yeshua? Absolutely, and that will continue to be my prayer for him. May God open his eyes to see and give him the courage to follow! But is he an antichrist according to 1 John 2:22?  NO, NOT AT ALL.

Is Ben Shapiro an Antichrist According to 1 John? | Articles | The Line of Fire

For many Christians, the Bible is crystal clear on the subject: anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ (meaning, the Messiah) is a liar and an antichrist (see 1 John 2:22). 

After all, these Christians reason, if you are not for Christ you are against Christ, and that makes you literally “anti-Christ.” As Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). 

Based on that logic, Jewish leaders like Ben Shapiro and Dennis Prager, despite their conservative values and despite working side by side with Christians, are both antichrists. 

On the one hand, it is undeniable that the New Testament divides human beings into the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness (e.g., 1 John 5:19; Colossians 1:13). 

And it is absolutely true that the New Testament declares that salvation for every human being, both Gentile and Jew, comes through Jesus the Messiah alone (e.g., John 14:6; Acts 4:12). 

Outside of Him, the New Testament teaches, we are lost.

In that sense, we can agree that, spiritually speaking, those who are not for Jesus are against Him. But are they the ones John is describing as “antichrists” in 1 John 2:22, and should we refer to Shapiro and Prager as “antichrists,” as some Christians have done? 

In 1 John, the author is dealing with heretical pseudo-believers who were once part of the local Christian assemblies but who have now departed. He writes, 

“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:18–19, my emphasis)

Notice, “they” were once part of our communities, but now “they” have left. These are the “antichrists” of whom John speaks. How do we recognize people like this? 

“Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:22–23)

Then, so that there can be no ambiguity at all, he explains, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” (1 John 2:26, my emphasis) As New Testament scholar Stephen Smalley writes (with reference to 1 John 2:22), “For the first time in 1 John the content of the heretics’ christological error is specified” (Stephen S. Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, Word Biblical Commentary [Dallas: Word, 1984], 111). 

So, John is dealing with heretical Christians, not Jews who don’t believe in Jesus or idol worshipers or, by implication, Muslims or Buddhists. This is an in-house dispute. That’s why John calls such people “liars.” They have been presented with the truth about Jesus and they claim to be orthodox in their Christian faith, yet they are lying.

This hardly applies to Jewish men like Shapiro or Prager who strongly encourage Christians to practice their faith rather than telling them that they shouldn’t believe that Jesus is the Christ.

According to Smalley (and I’ll simplify his language), John was either speaking of a former pagan who now professed faith in Jesus but in a heretical way, or a professing Jewish Christian who held to a heretical view of Jesus. But John was not addressing Jews who did not believe in Jesus at all, since they had a different expectation of who the Messiah would be.

This makes perfect sense. After all, let’s say that you were an ultra-Orthodox Jew raised in a tight-knit religious community in Jerusalem. You have never read the New Testament or interacted with a true Christian, and the only “Jesus” you know is the Jesus of church history. In your mind, there is a straight line from the New Testament to the Crusades and from the antisemitic writings of Luther to the horrors of the Holocaust, an event which took place in the heart of “Christian” Europe.

The “Christianity” you heard about from previous generations is the religion of the pogroms, when enraged “Christians” wreaked havoc on Jewish communities after celebrating Easter, eager to pay back the “Christ killers.” (For more on this bloody history, see my book Our Hands Are Stained with Blood.)

You might also associate Christianity with church buildings filled with statues of Jesus and the saints, which is absolutely abhorrent to you, an explicit violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. 

For your part, you spend hours every day in study and prayer, wanting to express your love for God by remaining loyal to Him and keeping His commandments, willing to die for Him rather than convert for a false, idolatrous religion.

That is hardly the person John is speaking about, since that person is not “lying” by denying that Jesus is the Christ. Rather, as Paul wrote about himself before coming to faith, they are acting in ignorance and unbelief (see 1 Timothy 1:13). But they are not “lying.”

That’s why I describe such people as being “so near and yet so far” in terms of their faith (there’s a whole chapter devoted to the subject in Our Hands Are Stained with Blood). 

And that’s why I pray so fervently for their eyes to be open to the real Jesus-Yeshua, our only Messiah and King, as I am convinced by Scripture that they are lost without Him.

But to say, as a recent debater did, that Jews practice an antichrist religion and are guilty of “blasphemy” because they don’t believe in the hypostatic union of Christ, is the height of theological arrogance. It is the very thing Paul warned about in Romans 11:17-25 in a related, though different context. 

Quoting 1 John in support of such views, it is an abuse of the Word of God.

Does Ben Shapiro need Jesus-Yeshua? Absolutely, and that will continue to be my prayer for him. May God open his eyes to see and give him the courage to follow! 

But is he an antichrist according to 1 John 2:22? 

After writing this article, I noticed that Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab who is often accused of antisemitism, replied to my post asking if, according to the New Testament, Ben Shapiro was an antichrist. He replied, “Yes, and it isn’t up for debate or discussion.” Not surprisingly, he did not reply to my offer to debate him on this, or my invitation to simply come state his position on The Line of Fire broadcast.

The Ominous Resurfacing of ‘Christian’ Antisemitism

The matter is urgent!!  May God awaken His Church to denounce this foul, demonic plague and declare to the Jewish people (and the world) that these ugly anti-Jewish voices do NOT represent Jesus or the gospel.

The Ominous Resurfacing of ‘Christian’ Antisemitism | Articles | The Line of Fire

A Christian social media influencer with a large platform recently texted me after reading my 2021 book Christian Antisemitism: Confronting the Lies in Today’s Church. He was burdened and grieved by the contents of the book, saying to me, “This needs to be updated!” 

I responded, “That’s the problem. The book was an update to my previous book on ‘Christian’ antisemitism, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood: The Tragic Story of the Church and the Jewish People.” 

Now he was telling me that the update needed to be updated. 

That’s how rapidly this insidious spiritual disease is spreading again in the Church.

While I can’t demonstrate this statistically, I have been documenting it anecdotally, and it seems that the lid has been taken off and hidden views are now being shared openly.

For example, after a recent debate on the ongoing election of Israel, I spotted this comment on X, speaking of the Jewish people: “The porn, trans and usury people? Imma go with Martin Luther.” 

The post also contained a screenshot of a vile, antisemitic Luther quote.

Yes, this is the same Luther who, in 1543, called for Jewish synagogues to be set on fire and places of business to be broken down and destroyed, for rabbis to be forbidden to teach on the penalty of death, for Jews to be rounded up in ghettos and deprived of jobs – and more. 

Yet this individual wrote, “Imma go with Martin Luther”?

You might say, “He’s obviously just another loony antisemite.”

Perhaps so, but according to his profile, he is a “1689 Baptist,” meaning that he holds to the London Confession of 1689 and takes pride in his Baptist “orthodoxy.” He also states that he is a “Church history buff” and “Abortion abolitionist,” among other things. 

So, he is an antisemite, for sure. But he is also a professing committed, evangelical, pro-life Christian. 

When I responded to a video of a Lutheran pastor who shockingly downplayed Luther’s antisemitism, I made clear that this pastor had opened the door to more antisemitic sentiments. (The pastor’s name is Chris Rosebrough and the video was produced by American Gospel, known for their strongly anti-charismatic stands.) As predicted, those sentiments found expression on our YouTube channel, as professing Christians posted their comments in defense of Luther.

“If Chris Rosebrough is correct and it was a deep theological concern, a love for Christ, a love for the church, and a desire to protect God's people from false teachers that drove Luther to speak the way he did about the Jews, then what Luther said pales in comparison with what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write in Galatians 5:12: ‘I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!’”

“God and His people hate false teaching. It's a serious matter. And it calls for strong language. And it's loving to use strong language. Because we love God, we love His truth, and we love His people. And when His people are threatened by false teaching, God is angry and calls us to warn and denounce with strong language. Is this what Luther was doing?”

But of course! Luther was motivated by love, just like the Nazis who joyfully reprinted Luther’s Jew-hating screeds.

“Chris did a great job of explaining yes WITH historical context why Luther said what he said, and how Luther wasn’t aware that it was sin since it was the law of the Roman Catholic state that those who held to false religions were breaking the law. You chose to claim that Chris was being untruthful which is not true.”

Still another asked, “Has anyone here read parts of the Talmud?”

Yet another produced quotes allegedly from Harry Truman, comparing the Jews to Hitler and Stalin, then claiming that Albert Einstein (and “25+ other high-ranking Jewish intelligentsia”) made similar charges in a 1947 letter to the New York Times. 

You can be assured that this viewer, too, claimed to be a Christian, referencing the need for the Jews to be saved.

On and on this drivel goes, with still another writing, 

“You’re bothered by what Luther said about the Jews but not bothered by what they have said and do say about your own savior? How about the fact that they spit on Christians in the streets of Israel? Oh wait. Dr Brown you’re not worried about that. You instead would rather make videos against the Christians who speak out about it.”

And this, about me: “. . . I believe loyalty to his people supercedes [sic] that of his wishy-washy Christian faith.”

Again, this is all quite anecdotal, but I could multiply quotes like these, all from alleged, committed Christians, almost ad infinitum. And I see them coming in increasing measure, be it from extremist Catholics or from those who weaponize the words “Christ is King” or from alleged charismatic prophets. 

Even my theological opponent in the aforementioned recent debate, who denied that the Jewish people are in any sense “chosen,” quoted a number of standard New Testament texts that are misused by antisemites to claim that all Jews are children of the devil (John 8:44) and that all Jews who deny Jesus are not really Jews but are the synagogue of Satan (Revelation 2:9; 3:9), among other passages. He also stated that Judaism is an “antichrist, blasphemous” religion, with some viewers offering their “amen” in the comments section.

In fact, it is becoming a mark of Christian orthodoxy to demonize the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. To fail to do so in the strongest, even vilest terms, is to raise questions about your own faith. What a contrast from Paul’s words about his own Jewish people who rejected Jesus as Messiah, stating that, “I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge” (Romans 10:2).

The irony for me personally is that, as a Jewish believer in Jesus, I have been reaching out to my own people for almost 53 years since the moment I came to faith. And I have always affirmed, without hesitation, that Jesus-Yeshua is the only way to the Father and that Jews who reject Him, no matter how pious they may be, are still lost.

Yet because I affirm with Scripture that the Jewish people remain chosen (for a mission, without the guarantee of their salvation, as taught throughout the Bible), and because I unceasingly stand against antisemitic libels, that makes my own faith suspect in the eyes of the “orthodox” Christians. 

To add insult to injury, these Christian zealots fail to realize that one of the biggest reasons that Jewish people do not believe in Jesus is the conduct of the Church, which at times offered Jews baptism or death, among other horrors.

Unfortunately, it would not surprise me if this anti-Jewish rhetoric does not become much uglier in the days ahead, even to the point of threats and violence (along with calls for Jews to leave America). 

As Christian researcher Aaron David Fruh wrote in the Jerusalem Post on July 20, 2023, 

“Today theological Antisemitism is flourishing in church pulpits and seminary lecterns. Replacement theology would lay dormant for several years after the Holocaust but has returned with vengeance. It would only be a matter of time before theological Antisemitism would merge with nationalism as it did in the 4th century under Constantine and as it did during the Holocaust under the Nazis.”

May God awaken His Church to denounce this foul plague and declare to the Jewish people and the world that these ugly voices do not represent Jesus or the gospel. 

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