The politically correct blasphemy of Replacement Theology

PC, or political correctness, is a modern term referring to the shaping of one’s speech according to a certain political dogma. Though some would champion PC as a means to minimize offense in regard to race, gender, occupation, culture, disability and age-related issues, others believe that PC involves suppressing free speech because some consider certain opinions offensive or controversial.

When thought, speech and practice are suppressed in order to make everything ‘fair, equal and just,’ the result can be described accurately as ‘linguistic fascism’: “I believe that political correctness can be a form of linguistic fascism, and it sends shivers down the spine of my generation who went to war against fascism” (Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park).

Here are some brief quotes on the subject:

“Political correctness is tyranny with manners” (Charlton Heston, speech at Harvard Law School, 1999)
“I got a feeling about political correctness. I hate it. It causes us to lie silently instead of saying what we think” (Hal Holbrook)
“Political correctness is simply a speed bump in the traffic of truth, free thought and speech” (anonymous)
“Political correctness doesn’t change us, it shuts us up” (Glenn Beck)
“The root cause of our contemporary cultural poverty is intellectual dishonesty. First, the intellectuals have destroyed the foundation of culture, and second, they refuse to acknowledge it by resorting to the caves of political correctness” (Theodore Dalrymple)

A slightly longer philosophical quote from Dalrymple connects PC with the Communist practice of ‘doublethink,’ ‘doublespeak’ and ‘newspeak’ described in George Orwell’s 1984:

Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.

A mouthful of lies

One of the marks of anti-Messiah, according to the Book of Revelation, is that his speech will be full of blasphemies: “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies” (Revelation 13:5).

He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Good intentions can be evil
Both hands can be full of grease
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.

Out of the fullness of the heart

The Oxford English Dictionary describes blasphemy as an “action or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.”

The Greek origin of the word ‘blasphemy’ comes from the root meaning “to injure a reputation”. It is used to describe gross irreverence toward any person or thing worthy of exalted esteem.

One of the Hebrew words for blasphemy is “na’atza”, meaning “to deride, spurn or reject.” It can refer to men spurning God (Psalm 10:3) or scorning His prophets (Nehemiah 9:26), men despising the Jewish people (Isaiah 60:14), or even God rejecting rebellious men (Deuteronomy 32:19; Jeremiah 14:21).

Yeshua described blasphemies not as some rare sin found in unusually evil people, but as the normative fruit of an unregenerate heart: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies…” (Matthew 15:19).

Yeshua also declared that God’s mercies are so huge, that they can cover any blasphemer who repents: “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter” (Mark 3:28).

The blasphemy of Replacement Theology

Though definitely not PC, the Bible teaches that Replacement Theology is blasphemy. In the Book of Ezekiel, YHVH comments on those Arabs who have occupied the Promised Land and have claimed it for themselves as an ancestral homeland (as did the Edomites in ancient times and as do the Palestinians today): “And you will know that I am YHVH, and that I have heard all your blasphemies which you’ve spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid waste, they have been given to us to devour” (Ezekiel 35:12). For similar striking passages read Ezekiel 35:5-6, 10-11; 36:1-5; Psalm 83:1-2.

Replacement Theology teaches that the Jewish people are no longer God’s chosen people, that their land has been given to other nations, and that the covenants and promises cut with Israel no longer apply to her as a nation (but read Numbers 23:8-9; 1 Samuel 12:22; Deuteronomy 7: 6-8; Jeremiah 31:35-37; 33:17-26; Romans 11:28-29).

The clear words of the God of Israel are forever engraved in the Biblical record – anyone who tries to separate the land of Israel from the people of Israel, the Jewish people, is committing blasphemy in God’s eyes. To claim the land of Israel (which was covenanted by YHVH to Abraham’s descendants through Jacob) in whole or in part for any other people, is classified as blasphemy by the God of Israel.

These prophetic words will be hard for some to accept. But please realize that the Scriptures are not just a book that we read – it is a book that reads us!

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

A divine encounter is coming between mankind and the God of Israel. And some of what may seem PC today will be clearly labeled as blasphemous in Heaven’s Supreme Court (Daniel 7:10; Revelations 20:12).

“For all have synod”

The Vatican recently sponsored a synod (a church council convened to decide on issues of doctrine, administration or application). The synod met for two weeks in Vatican City and was composed of Catholic and Greek-Catholic bishops from the Middle East. At the conclusion of the synod, a statement was issued championing Replacement Theology – denying that the Jews are God’s chosen people, and rejecting any divine restoration of the Jewish people to their Promised Land (https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-52401320101023).

In the document’s section on cooperation with Jews, a declaration is made : “Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable.” In order to make sure that the world clearly understands what the bishops are getting at, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros explained at the synod’s news conference: “We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of all countries have become the chosen people … The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians… The justification of Israel’s occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures.”

Today is later than we think

Activity targeted against the Jewish people’s restoration to their land is increasing. The tempo is picking up, and the melody is becoming more strident. Daniel 11:32 offers us all some comfort and encouragement here: “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

Ø Pray that God will engrave the truth about His heart for Israel, a revelation of awareness concerning His restoration of the Jewish people, and a passion to obey His word – among believers in the Middle East and in your own country.

Ø Pray that your country’s leaders and your spiritual leaders will have the courage to follow their prophetic calling to be divinely obedient, even if it means being politically incorrect!

“And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to My judgments” (Ezekiel 44:23-24).

Thanks for standing with us. Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

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Dekosherizing Israel

One day in the not too distant future the armies of the world will attack and invade Israel. The Hebrew prophets clearly stress that in the days immediately before Messiah’s return, an international assault on the Jewish state will occur, a last-ditch attempt to vanquish her (Zechariah 14:1-2 etc).

God declared through the prophet Ezekiel that He will have an active hand in setting up this up. He will summon the nations for a battle royal – causing them to do an about face, putting a hook into their jaws, and pulling them down to Israel for war (Ezekiel 38:4, 8). In fact, He says that many prophecies about these anti-Israel attacks have already been given through His “servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years” that He would both catalyze this invasion and bring judgment to the nations who raise their hand against the Jewish people (Ezekiel 38:17).

As we attempt to discern the times in which we live (as did the sons of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 – men “who discerned the times and knew what Israel should do”), let us peer through the present fog and make out the shape of the road leading us toward this prophetic encounter.

The old shell game

Carnival hucksters (or carnies) have been known to swindle gullible customers out of hard-earned cash through a sleight-of-hand game involving three coconut shells. Under one of the half-shells lies a hidden object. The “mark” (the naïve customer) needs to guess under which shell the hidden object is concealed. As the carny moves the shells rapidly back and forth, the mark loses concentration for a split second, and ends up losing the game as well. Distracting the customer is the means to winning a game of confidence.

An enemy as adroit as Satan also goes in for sleight of hand. Though the Bible is clear – Satan wants to totally destroy the Jewish people (Zechariah 3:1-2; Revelation 12:4, 9) – he does not always go for a frontal attack. Often he prefers to distract his customer (which is the world, according to 1 John 5:19) from his ultimate genocidal goal.

Of course, it is also true that the enemy appreciates a flat out call for genocide (as Iran’s Ahmedinejad continues to do in word and deed). Such calls to wipe Israel off the map may motivate and mobilize many in the Islamic world. But sometimes brazen Persian chutzpa bows before a more subtle, silky, diplomatic and Western approach. This satanic strategy is our subject today, and it is a tactic which is being swallowed hook, line and sinker by the majority of the world’s population.

Delegitimizing Israel

Satan’s current strategy is an all-out attempt to delegitimize Israel. Though at first this may seem like only another political buzz-word, the enemy’s ultimate goal involves using this scheme to lead the world toward ”a final solution of the Jewish question,” to paraphrase Hitler’s call for genocide. And to a large extent his strategy is enjoying a large degree of success. Across the globe politicians and media are being seduced into first tolerating and then joining in on declarations invalidating the Jewish state (see helpful articles by Michael Oren, Tony Blair – www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/seven-existential-threats-15124; www.tonyblairoffice.org/news/entry/tony-blair-welcomes-re-start-of-direct-peace-talks-during-herzliya-speech/).

Little by little, line upon line, an international movement is capturing world opinion, effectively portraying Israel as a sinful, renegade, maverick threat to world peace. From trade unions to the United Nations, from “peace movements” to “peace flotillas” – the initial goal is to boycott Israel, her universities, her agricultural produce, the free travel of her citizens, etc. Its penultimate goal is a total shunning of Israel as a “pariah state.”

Once again, Europe is targeting Jews for “special treatment.” Once again Jews visiting Europe or living there feel as if they are suddenly “wearing yellow stars.” This time, however, it is not the forces of the right who are the instigators of this new outbreak of an age-old anti-Semitic virus. It is the so-called “progressive” groups who are on the forefront of this battle line.

Sad to say, even one or two Messianic leaders in Israel have unwittingly become fellow travelers on the fringes of this movement, participating in educational attempts in Christian and Messianic circles to delegitimize and downplay God’s hand in restoring the Jewish people, their state and renascent army. They speak publically of Israel as a failing, unrighteous country – while simultaneously supporting one or two Israeli Arab Christian ministries which brazenly undermine and delegitimize God’s restoring of the Jewish people to their own promised land.

Pray that God will increase discernment and courage for Messianic leadership in Israel and for Christian leaders internationally regarding these issues.

Stoning the Neighborhood Bully

Many years ago a gem of a Jewish movie came out of Montreal titled “Lies My Father Told Me.” In one scene an old Orthodox Jewish grandfather refers to “a great rabbi” who spoke to a lynch mob intent on stoning a Jewish prostitute (John 8:7). “A great rabbi?” asks another Jewish man in the scene. “And what was He, if not a great rabbi?” answers the grandfather.

Some of the nations of the world may feel, like that lynch mob, that Israel deserves a good stoning. But a great Rabbi named Yeshua has totally different plans for Israel (Jeremiah 30:11; Amos 9:8). He will not condemn the people whom He is restoring to their own land – His Jewish people for whom He bled and died (Isaiah 53:4-6).

The nations of the world have swallowed a double standard regarding the Jewish state. No one bats an eye when Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia forbid Jews from travelling to their country, or taking up residence there, or even building synagogues in Mecca or Medina.

Yet Israel is expected to allow Muslim Brotherhood jihadi terrorists free access to Gaza on Turkish ships like the Mavi Marmara, part of the “Free Gaza” flotilla (www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjkLUcbJWo). It is supposed to allow thousands of Islamist rockets to fall on Israeli farms and cities without ever retaliating – whether from Gaza’s Hamastan or from Lebanon’s Hezbollahstan. It is supposed to negotiate with Palestinian leaders who will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state and openly call for its destruction. As Bob Dylan wryly comments in “Neighborhood Bully,” it seems that Israel is just “supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.”

In each case the delegitimizers insist that Israel’s “evil nature” is the root cause of all problems, and that Islamist responses of violence are understandable and even justifiable. Herein lies the soft evil underbelly of the delegitimization movement – it winks knowingly as it justifies jihad against the Jewish state.

Every nation must get stoned

Yet the Lord God of Israel has a very different perspective. He prophesies in Jeremiah 50 that He is the One who is returning Israel the people to Israel the land. He vows that this process will result in Him cutting a new and everlasting covenant with the Jewish people. And He points out that He Himself will judge and punish the nations of the world who devour Israel – those nations who frantically plead innocence before God and argue that “wicked Israel had it coming” – that the Jews deserve the nations’ hatred and abuse.

“In those days, at that time, declares YHVH, the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek YHVH their God. They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to YHVH in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they sinned against YHVH, their true pasture, YHVH, the hope of their fathers’” (Jeremiah 50:4-7).

Rebuking the devourer

Israel’s failings do not change or block God’s covenant love for the Jewish people, nor does Jewish sin stymie the fulfillment of YHVH’s promises to them. Though God’s enemies may try to point an accusing finger at Israel (as they also do on the stages of today’s world), God Himself warns Israel’s accusers that His day of reckoning is at hand – and on that Day the devourers will in turn be devoured (Romans 2:5-11)!

“But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares YHVH, because you are called an outcast, Zion ‘for whom no one cares’” (Jeremiah 30:16-17).

With this Scripture in mind, consider the recent quote from Iran’s President regarding the Jewish state: “‘Any offensive against Iran means the annihilation of the Zionist entity,’ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a visit to the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. ‘Iran does not care much about this entity because it is on its way to decay’” (AP, June 9, 2010).

Devourers past, present and future should put the following Scripture on their laptop screensavers: “Israel was holy to YHVH, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them, declares YHVH” (Jeremiah 2:3).

Pray for a revelation of God’s heart concerning Israel to be imparted to the leaders of Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. Remember to pray for your own country’s leaders as well in this regard.

Boycotting Israel

Many years ago my Stalinist mother instructed me in the finer arts of boycotting German vehicles as a partial response to the Holocaust. My older brother (who later became a lawyer) wryly commented at the time that our family also owned a Citroen, and that in revolutionary Algeria these vehicles were also seen as “vehicles of oppression”…

For years the Arab world has prosecuted a boycott against Israel, but for most of those decades their attempts were internationally seen as a fanatic expression of rabid regimes. Recently, however, boycotts specifically targeting the Jewish state are coming into a vogue that has not been seen since brown-shirted Nazi thugs patrolled the Reich’s streets armed with heavy truncheons.

The year 2010 has not quite come to an end, but already she has witnessed the following foreboding aktions of the delegitimization movement:

British and Scottish trade unions and universities have linked arms with Swedish and Norwegian dockworkers in boycotting Israeli foods and cargoes, research students and teachers.

Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu recently praised Olympia Food Co-op’s boycott of Israeli foodstuffs, as did Irish Nobel Prize recipient Mairead Maguire (a recent arrestee on the Turkish terror flotilla to Gaza).

The Presbyterian (PCUSA) and British Methodist churches have come out in favor of boycotting Israeli products.

Even the famous pop reggae band Boney M was told on July 22, 2010 not to sing the Bible-based hit “Rivers of Babylon” at the Palestinian International Festival in Ramallah, due to its quotation from Psalm 137 calling for the return of the Jewish people to Biblical Zion (King David’s capitol city), which today is considered by the world as part of Palestinian Jerusalem!

Pray for revelation and conviction to sweep over the Christian leaders and congregations of Western Europe regarding God’s heart for Israel and His strategies for them and their land..

Hang together or hang separately

In a courageous article José María Aznar (former Prime Minister of Spain 1996-2004) responds to boycott calls, exhorting the world to “support Israel; if it goes down, we all go down.”

“Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbors using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathizers, it faces a campaign of delegitimization through international law and diplomacy. Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival” (www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/main/showNews/id/9401).

Arrested development?

Certain Palestinian and radical leftist groups in Europe have tried to use EU laws to summarily arrest Israeli politicians, generals and soldiers who come to visit European countries on official or even private business. The honors list of those who narrowly evaded arrest include:

former IDF Major-General Doron Almog (https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7251954.stm);
Kadima party chairwoman Tzipi Livni (www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/14/tzipi-livni-israel-gaza-arrest);
Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (https://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/09/2009928181312543279.html);
former GSS Director Avi Dichter (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3479583,00.html);
former COS Moshe Ya’alon (www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/14/israeli-moshe-yaalon-visit-arrest).

It is becoming dangerous for Israeli civil servants, politicians and security personnel to travel in Europe due to the efforts of the anti-Israel delegitimizers. In Genesis 12:3 the God of Abraham promises that those who curse Israel will be cursed directly by Abraham’s God.

Though the ramifications of His word may eventually come as a surprise to some, those who believe Holy Writ need to remain prayerfully “on our toes” in the Spirit.

Pray for God to raise up champions for His people and defenders of righteousness among the nations – people who will lift up banners of truth and equity in defense of the Jewish nation and their restoration to their Promised Land.