Gold, jewels and wax

Every child dreams of discovering a pot of treasure at the end of the proverbial rainbow – a heavy iron chest overflowing with rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires,  and bursting at the seams with gold coins. Visitors to the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London marvel at rich beauty, the flashing reflections glinting off the purple velvet and ermine-trimmed diadems.  When mankind wants to describe something of exquisite value, they turn to gold and precious jewels as the touchstone of value.

The Bible’s richest king, Solomon son of David, proclaimed concerning his wealth which was to be used in building the Temple: “Now with all my ability I have provided for the House of my God the gold … and the silver … and the bronze … the iron … and wood …, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance” (1 Chronicles 29:2).

More precious than jewels

Some things are considered of higher value than diamonds. The king makes a stunning declaration in Proverbs 31:10, “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels!”

Solomon, who knew a thing or two about precious metals and stones, hands us a few golden nuggets of wisdom: “There is gold, and an abundance of jewels, but the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing” (Proverbs 20:15).  “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all desirable things cannot compare with her” (Proverbs 8:11).

Jewish jewels

The God of Jacob describes His great regathering of the Jewish people from their worldwide Exile to Israel. YHVH speaks directly to Jewish Jerusalem and says, “Lift up your eyes and look around. All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live, declares YHVH, you will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride” (Isaiah 49:18).

Isaiah prophesies that the God of Isaac will wrap His people in salvation and righteousness the way a newlywed wraps herself in a bridal gown and decks herself out with jewels: “I will rejoice greatly in YHVH, My soul will exult in my God! For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

Moses instructed Bezalel to craft a fabulously expensive ephod (vest) for the High Priest to wear upon entering the Holy of Holies where he would come face to face with the God of Jacob. The golden vest was embroidered with gold filigree, and the pièce de résistance was two onyx stones engraved like a signet ring with the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These two gold-encrusted jewels were to represent the Jewish people as the High Priest made intercession, atonement and petition for the sons and daughters of Israel:

In an earthshaking prophecy regarding God’s loving restoration of Israel, YHVH declares: “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted – behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11-12).

God’s gemstone carver

When the God of Israel commissioned artisans to beautify the Tabernacle in the desert, YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.  I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Exodus 31:1-5)

The care and skill required to create great art was a foundational requirement for all artisans tasked with fashioning God’s House. Both the Tent of Meeting and the Temple called out the best that Israel’s master craftsmen could give.

In a similar way, the Apostle Paul calls on Timothy (his son in the faith) to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Hebrew concept lying behind the word for workman (’ām·mān coming from the root AMN) is connected to being reliable, unshakeable, dependable, trustworthy. It is used in our English word ‘amen’ where it has the sense of ‘may this be established!’ A trusted nanny is an ‘omenet’ and an artisan whose work is totally trustworthy is an ‘oman.’

The apostolic calling on all those who use the Scriptures for study, teaching and spiritual ministry involves using them with credibility, reliability, accuracy and trustworthiness. This also applies to those who are called to bring out prophetic applications from the Bible.

Cutting it close

We who believe today are part of a family of faithful people that goes back millennia. Some of our models of faithfulness and accuracy include:

The Hebrew word ‘faithful’ (used both for ‘artist’ and ‘following instructions faithfully’) is ne'emán, based on the Hebrew root AMN. Its Greek equivalent in the Septuagint is pistós, the same word Paul uses to describe teaching the Scriptures accurately: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Messiah Yeshua. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Messiah Yeshua” (2 Timothy 2:1-3).

Paul sets out standards for spiritual leadership in the Body of Messiah, calling them elders and overseers. In Titus 1:9 he stresses that such a one needs to hold “fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”

Spiritual authority is earned

There are some today who describe themselves as apostles or prophets or anointed teachers (see Ephesians 4:11). The spiritual prerequisites here are foundationally similar to what Paul says are needed to be an elder or an overseer. The bar is high. Not everyone can jump over it. Aspiring to or reaching for (1 Timothy 3:1; the Greek verb orégomai means ‘reach for’ or ‘aspire to’) a spiritually responsible calling requires (at a minimum) using the Scriptures in an accurate and faithful manner.  It is disconcerting to discover that some self-styled apostles, prophets and anointed teachers fail to make the bar on this matter.

When biblical foundation stones are missing, the wonderfully designed body that Yeshua gave us doesn’t run as smoothly as planned.  However, when spiritual leaders bring solid and faithfully accurate teaching, the result is amazing:

Tweaking the waxen nose

Martin Luther once remarked that some theologians treat some scripture passages “like a nose of wax” – something to be twisted to suit their own theological purposes: “So we see how neatly they (ed.) deal with the Scripture, making of it just what they want, as if it were a wax nose, that one can pull this way and that” (“Also sehen wir wie fein die mit der Schrifft handeln, machen drans was sie nur wöllen, als were sie ein wechsern nasen, die man hin und her zihen möcht”; Luthers Werke 1.343.28; 1520).

Though these waxy methods can be found among many different streams, I would like to mention a few examples which touch on the Jewish people. When biblical teaching and prophecy about the Jewish people is twisted, the result is a fast-moving rocket exploding into space – but a few degrees off. The target God intended will not be hit. The power of the promises over Israel will be adulterated. The result will be a subtle growth of unhealthy spiritual fungus.

Four areas (of many) where accurate care needs to be taken when teaching about the Jewish people and their prophetic promises:

How should we then pray?

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Spices, salt and stones – apostolic foundations and the Jewish people

Jewish spice – a little dab’ll do ya

Some people look upon the subject of Hebrew roots as a marketing strategy. Others truly are interested in the Jewish perspective on the Gospels. More than a handful see it as akin to a food additive – a ‘hamburger helper’ which will spice up a bland scriptural diet. Throw in a fast reference here and there to some ancient Jewish practice – it could help season an otherwise dry Christian message by adding an interesting ‘authentic’ touch. Like the old Brylcreem ad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6F4GtyRfto), a little dab’ll do ya.

There are those who are suspicious of the whole matter. They would say, “Let’s not get carried away here. A little dab of Jewish spice is ok, but let’s not go overboard! The Jews were once the main focus, but now what’s really important is the nations and the final harvest. Jesus may one day reign in Jerusalem, but we feel more comfortable envisioning Zion as more of an international Christian city.”

There’s fear lurking just under the surface for some that ‘this whole Jewish thing could get out of control.’ Irritation can surface when the Jewishness of the gospel and the kingdom are emphasized.  Some are convinced that Messianic Jews are too pushy, too positive about the fulfilment of the Jewish promises. They feel that Messianic Jews need to ‘know their place’ and ‘mind their manners.’ “After all,” they say, “isn’t the body of Christ over 99% non-Jewish? A passing reference to Jewish customs and the occasional Messianic Jewish worship song should be quite enough! Let’s not forget that our foundations are Christian!”

It needs to be said that not everything in the Messianic Jewish movement is biblically based or in line with the Scripture. My grandfather used to say, “A goat may have a beard, but that doesn’t make him a rabbi!” In the same way, Messianic teachings and teachers need to be sifted and weighed with care: “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

Foundation stones and construction costs

The Apostles describe the Body of Messiah as still being a Jewish organism. The foundations of our Messianic faith were Jewish at the outset, and they remain Jewish to this day:

Many Christians have difficulty accepting the continuing apostolic and Jewish foundations of the Messianic faith. This is largely due to their traditional embrace of Replacement/Rejection Theology.  But the Scriptures take pains to explain that Jewish roots are not an added piece of software meant to spice up the church. Jewish roots are actually the original OS (operating system) for the body of Messiah.

The Apostle Paul says, “you (Gentiles) were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree” (Romans 11:24).  This much is clear: the olive tree is Jewish, the promises are Jewish (Romans 9:4), and the Messiah is Jewish (Matthew 1:1). Messiah’s throne will be established in a Jewish country (Jeremiah 3:17), and at the Marriage of the Lamb the Groom will certainly be Jewish (see Revelation 22:16)!

The Apostle tells us that God’s household is “built on the foundation of the (Jewish) apostles and prophets, Messiah Yeshua Himself being the corner stone” (Ephesians 2:19-21). It’s true that the majority of the Body of Messiah is not descended from Jacob. God planned it that way. He is delighted in the multifaceted expressions of grace and creativity found in the mosaic of the nations. Yeshua all the same defines the Body as “the commonwealth of Israel” which has ongoing Jewish and apostolic foundations. And YHVH has chosen Israel to be the key to world revival (see https://davidstent.org/books/), to bring light to a dark world by being a servant to the nations.

Jewish architectural plans

In the New Testament, the apostolic gospel is described as being foundational:

The Jewish roots of the gospel message are not an afterthought in the construction process. They are cemented into the original foundation, rooted in God’s covenants with Israel (see Romans 9:4).

Quanto costa?

Yeshua shares some divine wisdom with us regarding house building. Before we start the project, we need to ask ourselves, “How much will this cost me?”

To build solidly on a biblically Jewish and Messianic foundation will exact a cost from us. What is that cost?

The Scriptures are over 95% written by Jews. The audience at the time of its writing was nearly entirely Jewish. The subject matter of biblical prophecy is over 92% directed to the Jews and most of it concerns the destiny of the Jewish people, their homeland and their calling. If leaders in today’s Body of Messiah start teaching the Scriptures this way – the way they are written – and courageously communicate God’s heart and the scriptural strategies concerning the Jewish people, it will cost them. There will be derision, rejection and persecution.

Some people don’t want a gospel which is rooted in God’s heart and priority promises to Israel. They will vote with their feet and choose less radical paths. We should not be surprised, because it happened to Yeshua as well:

The time for hesitation’s through.  We need to do more than grant verbal assent to these biblical truths. An occasional nibble from a few crumbs of Jewish roots won’t supply adequate nutrition. Why not eat haute cuisine from the Messianic Jewish banquet table!  As Luke 5:4 says, it’s time to put out into the deep water and let down our nets for a catch. There are riches awaiting any believer who begins to delve into the Jewish foundations of the gospel.

Back to the salt mines

“S’iz shver tzu zayn a Yid!” (It’s hard to be a Jew), goes the old Yiddish proverb. It’s also hard to be a disciple of Messiah Yeshua.

Part of the cost of discipleship is holding fast to God’s heart and strategic priority concerning the Jewish people. This is not a negotiable issue.

Messiah Yeshua sadly explains what happens when we (who are supposed to be salt and preservative in a rotting world – see Matthew 5:13) lose our distinctive taste and flavor:

Tweaking our priorities

God’s apostolic priorities are underscored in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew with priority (prōton – chiefly, especially, with priority) and also to the Greek.”  As the Apostle said, the promises given to Israel are not an appendix, neither are they obscure. They are God’s priority and at the foundation of YHVH’s strategic heart: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29).

The Bible’s focus should be our focus. There is no benefit in shying away from God’s priority teachings concerning Israel. Whatever our present focus and calling, let’s walk in step with what Yeshua tells us in the word of God about Israel and her destiny. Israel is not an appendix, but it is close to the very heart of the Lord.

Urgency

The parable of the ten virgins stresses the need for spiritual alertness in times when we are dull to what’s really happening spiritually:

The foundations of the New Jerusalem are Jewish. The twelve foundation stones under the twelve gates are glowing with the names of the twelve Jewish Apostles, while the twelve gates are eternally engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Jacob:

In light of these amazing future realities, let’s get back to basics and make the plain things the main things in the outworking of our lives and ministries!

How should we then pray?

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

The Passover pattern

Passover actually happened. It was a real historical event. Real Hebrew slaves, real Egyptian bondage, and real Ten Plagues:

God created Passover to be a highly significant time for the Jewish people:

The word Paul uses here is τυπικῶς  (typikōs; see Exodus 29:40, the heavenly blueprint/pattern of the Tabernacle). It refers to a pattern given to the Jewish people which is meant to teach them something, a model for imitation. Paul is saying that Passover contains an instructional message for Israel (‘a pattern for them’): God wants Jacob to learn from the Exodus history and to take its lessons to heart.  Paul affirms that the Exodus ‘patterns’ have spiritual and practical benefit for non-Jews as well: “Now these . . . were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The God of the spirits of all flesh (Numbers 16:22) has revealed His Passover pattern to Israel while simultaneously sharing a complementary Scriptural plumbline with the entire human race: the Jewish people and their spiritual inheritance (Romans 15:27) have an abiding calling and irrevocable priority in human and spiritual history (Romans 11:29). And He wants the nations to gain wisdom from studying and understanding this calling. With that in mind, this newsletter takes a radical look at Passover and considers God’s original Exodus principles.

The actual day is important

Passover commemorates the actual day when the angel passed over Jewish homes in Egypt (Psalm 78:49; Exodus 12:29). Like the commemoration of America’s 9/11 or France’s Bastille Day, the actual calendar day is important here.

Passover is the calendar connection between the Jewish people and God’s mighty redeeming acts on their behalf.

Location, location, location

Psalm 114:1 calls on the Jewish people to remember that “Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language.” God’s real-time deliverance happened in a real neighborhood very close by.

Moses prophesied that, after the Jewish people conquered and settled the Promised Land, Passover would move to a new home in Jerusalem. Its celebration would become part of the prism of the Jewish people’s capitol city:

This centrality of Jewish Jerusalem in the Passover story is reflected in the Passover Seder’s final proclamation – “Next year in Jerusalem! L’shana haba’a birushalyim!”

Joshua’s first Passover

Three crucial events happened when Israel celebrated their first Passover in the Land of Israel:

Joshua’s Passover is ripe with prophetic significance. God had now brought the Jewish people into their Promised Land. The byword is now ‘out with the old, in with the new.’ YHVH’s prophetic promises were now to be actualized through Israel’s physical and spiritual efforts.

The delayed Passover revival

In Numbers 9:9-13 YHVH gave instructions to Moses: any Jew who missed celebrating the Passover at the proper time due to extenuating circumstances, could celebrate it one month later on the 10th day of the second month.

Before King Hezekiah ascended to the throne, his father Ahaz had led Judah into gross idolatry and severe profanation of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 28:22-25; 29:5-9. 18-19). Hezekiah was crowned in a bit of a rush (2 Chronicles 29:36). His most pressing desire was to cleanse and rededicate the Temple (2 Chronicles 29). As soon as that was accomplished, Hezekiah and his staff set about preparing for the long forgotten Feast of Passover. But they couldn’t get it together in time for the first month of the year. They needed to resort to the ‘Numbers 9’ clause, moving the date of Passover to the second month of the Jewish calendar:

Hezekiah sent messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming a call to repentance and an invitation to celebrate a renewed Passover (2 Chronicles 30:5-12). Some despised his call and mocked the messengers, but “the hand of God was . . . on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of YHVH” (2 Chronicles 30:12). Demonic altars were destroyed (30:14) and the Passover was then celebrated with great joy: “The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised YHVH day after day with loud instruments to YHVH” (2 Chronicles 30:21).

Repentance, re-dedication, removal of idols, revival, worship and joy – these six ingredients are the atomic core of Hezekiah’s Passover revival.  Covenant faithfulness (at this time in history the Sinai covenant was the focus) and obedience was a major key here as well.

 Ain’t been nothin’ quite like it!

Hezekiah’s great-grandson Josiah was eight years old (2 Chronicles 34:1) when he ascended to the throne. At the ripe old age of 16, he threw his entire weight into shaping a revolutionary revival – one which hit its spiritual zenith on Passover:

After the cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple (echoing the acts of his great-grandfather Hezekiah), Josiah kicked off a celebration of the Passover greater than any other Passover up to that time:

The foundation stones of the Passover pattern were the same – a heart seeking after the God of Jacob, an honoring of and obedience to God’s enscripturated word, a holy zeal for God’s glory. These building blocks undergirded the greatest Passover revival in Jewish history.

Prophet, priest and Passover

In the days of the Persian occupation of Israel, the Jews who had returned from Babylonian Exile were encouraged by the prophetic ministry of “Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia” (Ezra 6:14).

The underpinnings of this special Passover had similar spiritual dynamics – dedicating the House of YHVH, presenting a sin offering, re-establishing Levitical service and worship, and obeying YHVH’s feast calendar in Leviticus 23.  A physical return of the Jewish exiles to the Land of Israel was the first step in the process. The call to holiness then involved them distancing themselves from the surrounding nations’ paganism. These returning exiles and their Passover made it into the Bible!

What would Yeshua do?

Some of us have seen wrist bands engraved with the letters WWJD (‘what would Jesus do?’). So let’s ask the question here: what would Yeshua do on Passover? The answer is pretty clear:

Yeshua was at home with the Passover like a fish is at home in water. He was the Author of the Feast, and He delighted to celebrate it. And in His crucifixion and resurrection He would be the prophetic fulfilment of the Feast – the Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19).

Passover – a season of repentance, rededication, revival and worship

Passover was the season when powerful revival broke out among the Jewish people.  This festive time shimmers with God’s redemptive purposes.

There is a prophetic future for Passover as well. Ezekiel 45:18-24 reveals that the Jerusalem celebration of Passover will be a yearly occurrence when Messiah Yeshua returns to set up His throne. As Bob Dylan says, “He’s got plans of His own to set up His throne – when He returns!”

There are some voices declaring that this specific Passover will be a milestone in the dramatic manifestation of God’s kingdom.  Whatever happens in this regard, let us approach this Passover season with a sober and humble spirit, remembering the above-mentioned biblical things that God challenges us to remember!

How should we then pray?

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Drinking the cup of poison

In The Princess Bride, Vizzini and the Dread Pirate Roberts are involved in a duel to the death (https://wiki.c2.com/?BattleOfWits). The burning question is this: into which goblet did Roberts slip the deadly iocaine powder (an imaginary substance)? During their verbal sparring Vizzini philosophizes, “Are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet, or his enemy’s?”

That’s certainly a fair question: who would try to poison himself?  Regrettably and increasingly, people are doing just that. They are drinking deeply from a venomous brew of false conspiracy theories served up daily on the internet. Mark Fenster in his Conspiracy theories: Secrecy and power in American culture (2008, University of Minnesota Press) does not mince words: as far as conspiracy theories go, the web has become a “Petri dish for paranoids.”

Conspiracy theories are an ‘equal opportunity deceiver.’ They are found on both the left and the right of the political spectrum and among most religious streams. Christians of all stripes (Catholics, Orthodox, Reformed, Evangelicals and Charismatics) are not immune. Most of us have at one time or another run into unsmiling adherents of some conspiracy theory.

At this moment there are hundreds of opinions circulating on the internet about the coronavirus pandemic: Does a pandemic even exist? Is it some kind of ‘plandemic’ plot? Who is to blame? Is it all due to 5G, to AI, to Bill Gates or …? Will civilization survive, etc.? 

Conspiracy theories are dangerous whirlpools dragging us into turbulent and deep waters. The rapids on this wild ride pour over the waterfalls of paranoia and finally collect in the cesspools of anti-Semitism. What is a conspiracy theory? What kind of soil aids these wild seeds to sprout? What is the twisted reasoning that causes so many imprudent infantrymen to blindly march into self-deception?

Evil powerful people

Here’s a personal testimony about my first-hand experience with conspiracy theories. I was born into a conspiracy theory family. My parents were dyed in the wool Communists of the Stalinist stripe. Their world was clearly defined. Enemies were lurking everywhere – capitalists, fascists, political centrists and religious people. The FBI and the CIA were agents from the inferno. And of course, to make matters worse, most of these implacable foes were also virulent anti-Semites. I grew up in a world surrounded by evil and powerful people.

But there were also Robin Hoods in my universe. Union organizers and revolutionaries, spies and radical artists, musicians and writers, and especially Russia’s leaders – these were the safe and progressive folk on the correct side of the battle. My parents always reminded me that anti-Semitism was illegal in the Soviet Union. Had not Stalin himself declared this (www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1931/01/12.htm; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_and_antisemitism)!

In the words of a Russia scholar, all conspiracy theories rely on “a melodramatic structure: a group of bad actors are manipulating events behind the scenes, and only a select few who know the truth can struggle against them. This is all actually quite comforting and optimistic, because it means that, when something bad happens, it’s not simply random – there is someone to blame and someone to fight” (“Plots Against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy After Socialism;” Cornell University Press, 2019; Eliot Borenstein, Professor of Russian and Slavic studies, NYU’s Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia).

Losing control in troubling times

Like mold oozing out of a damp wall, conspiracy theories thrive in times of societal stress, political instability and polarization. When people feel powerless, fearful and confused about developments, they crave the fast food of easy answers. “If you’re angry, conspiracy theories tell you why your anger is justified. If you feel like a victim, they tell you who to blame” (Borenstein, Plots). These theories “provide a frame of interpretation for public events”  (“Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style of Mass Opinion;” J. Eric Oliver & Thomas J. Wood;  March 5, 2014; page 953). Those who board this conspiracy train see themselves as having privileged access to, and knowledge of, what they think is reality.

It was once in vogue to assume that jihadists come from the lower echelons of Islamic society, and that their grievances are economic in nature. The truth is that most come from the middle classes and have above-average education and living standards.  This same point is true concerning followers of conspiracy theories – its followers originate from the educated and the middle class. “The imagined model of an ignorant priest-ridden peasantry or proletariat, replacing religious and superstitious belief with equally far-fetched notions of how society works, turns out to be completely wrong. It has typically been the professors, the university students, the artists, the managers, the journalists and the civil servants who have concocted and disseminated the conspiracies”  (“Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History;” David Aaronovitch, Penguin, 2010).

Destroyers of our nation and values

There are times when people feel that the earth is moving under their feet, and that the traditional common narrative of their nation is fading. These concerns and fears are the hothouse which catalyzes a mushroom-like spread of conspiracy theories. When people feel that society is under attack by ‘others,’ they want to know who these ‘others’ are.  What’s the name of this group which is weakening our community and destroying our nation? Whoever this group is, it must be stopped/eliminated before they achieve victory over us, say the people. And so step by step the groundwork is laid. This is how the Nazi state rose to power in the Germany of the 1930’s. At that time the Jewish people were the targeted ‘other.’

Today some identify these ‘destroyers of society’ as being on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. This targeted group is stigmatized as ‘not really belonging to our nation.’ Conversely, the target sometimes focuses on the opposite end of the spectrum – ruling and wealthy elites, depicted as traitors and international Rasputins. Recent developments in American politics have shown the fickle influence of both of these dynamics.

When a state uses conspiracy theories

In the Soviet Union, with a recognized history of state secrecy, people took it for granted that they were being lied to. “In the absence of reliable information, people fill in the blank spots with speculation” (Borenstein, Plots). Today the realpolitik of Vladimir Putin “leverages conspiracy theory by positing that Russia is always the victim of plots by hostile forces, both internal and external. So the conflict here is not between the people and the state, but the state and the forces that want to destroy it. The state is the hero” (Borenstein, Plots).

Russia’s leaders use anti-Western conspiracy discourse “in the public sphere with the aim of fostering social and national cohesion in the country.  The notion of conspiracy linked to the actions of the West has emerged as a crucial functional element of the regime’s ideological underpinnings. Such a discourse exploits people’s nostalgic sentiments about their country’s past greatness, justifies the introduction of restrictive laws and serves as a substitute for practical actions in achieving community cohesion” (“Conspiracy Discourse in post-Soviet Russia: Political Strategies of Capture of the Public Sphere [1991-2014]; Ilya Yablokov, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Manchester).

Circular reasoning

When a conspiracy theorist is asked for proof of his or her assertions, his answers may vary and come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The most common reaction is that there are mountains of (supposed) evidence for the conspiracy theory in question. On the other hand, sometimes there is a totally opposite reaction: Do you really want to know why is there no evidence available to prove our conspiracy theory? It’s obvious, is the response. The lack of evidence in itself is proof of the top-secret nature of this conspiracy!

Anti-Semitism as the ‘one ring to bind them all’

Anyone who begins to research the house of conspiracy theories quickly discovers that a hidden dragon of anti-Semitism is lying across the threshold. For many advocates of conspiracy theory perspectives, the Jewish people are intimately bound up in world control and manipulation. Conspiracy eschatology emphasizes the exact opposite of the Bible’s positive Last Days teaching regarding the centrality and priority of Jewish people, God’s key to life from the dead for the world.

We know people who have unknowingly bought into anti-Jewish conspiracy theories – e.g., that Jews control world banks and economy; that they control Hollywood and the music industry; that Zionists control America and its political parties, etc. Rachel and I have many times heard that:

the Jewish people control the Masonic movement            

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Masonic_conspiracy_theory

the Jewish people control the world through the Illuminati  

www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/29/former-conspiracy-theorist-when-they-say-%E2%80%98illuminati%E2%8099-or-%E2%80%98reptiles%E2%80%99-they-mean-jews/

the Jewish people control the world through Communism

www.covenant.idc.ac.il/en/vol1/issue3/Jews-Communists-and-Jewish-Communists.html

the Rothschilds control the world through Capitalism and banks          

www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/27/anatomy-of-a-conspiracy-theory/

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4311

www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/03/19/the-rothschilds-a-pamphlet-by-satan-and-conspiracy-theories-tied-to-a-battle-200-years-ago/

the Jewish people are behind every major conspiracy

www.myjewishlearning.com/article/conspiracy-theories-the-jews/

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/antisemitism-open-your-eyes-jeremy-corbyn-labour

https://muhammad-mosque-12.com/the-final-call/897-minister-farrakhan-on-the-illuminati-the-secret-relationship-between-blacks-jews-u-s-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootless_cosmopolitan

the Jewish people are behind the coronavirus

www.meforum.org/60583/conspiracy-theories-in-a-time-of-virus

www.ynetnews.com/article/B1xuHBePU

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-jews/

Biblical insight regarding evil conspiracies

The Bible clearly teaches about the reality of evil spiritual conspiracies:

Satan may use human conspiracies as part of his warfare strategies – whether false teachers, cruel dictators, rapacious industrialists or bloodthirsty revolutionaries. Hatred is his language and his spiritual dynamic. We who are followers of Messiah Yeshua need to keep aware that our fight is not ultimately against flesh and blood. And “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Satanic conspiracies – the targeting of Israel

Satan is aware that YHVH prioritizes the Jewish people in His created order (see Genesis 12:3; Numbers 23:9; Isaiah 43:3-4; Romans 1:16; 2:9-10; 3:1-2; 9:1-5; 11:28-29). Whatever God has chosen to cherish, Satan has chosen to destroy: “Then Satan stood up against Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1).

Revelation 12 unpacks Satan’s Last Days strategy – his targeting of the Jewish people for destruction.

Satan’s conspiracy to destroy the Jewish people is the stuff of future Middle East prophecy:

The corona pandemic is a dry run. It can help us prepare for other future pandemics (see https://davidstent.org/passover-plagues-and-the-god-of-the-hebrews/). The medical challenges and economic shakings are significant, but not as intense as those future ones described in Revelation 6:7-8 or 11:6.  Present pressures can aid us in gearing up and getting ready for times of more intense shakings.

Little children, guard yourselves from conspiracies!

John the Apostle warned his brothers and sisters in the faith, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols!” (1 John 5:21). As the world trembles under the finger of God, let us find our shelter from fear, threat and instability under the protection of His mighty presence: “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You! And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by” (Psalm 57:1).

The fruit of conspiracy theories are the deeds of the flesh – hatred, suspicion, enmities, strife, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions and factions (Galatians 5:19-20). Let us choose instead to walk in the Spirit (5:16) and not carry out the desires of the flesh!

How should we then pray?

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

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