1241. Why the World Hates Israel – Part 2

Why the World Hates Israel
Part 2

In Part 1 of this brief series, we learned how Satan became the god of this world and how God began to un-do all that Satan had done so He could re-establish His theocratic kingdom on earth. God had provided a “Second Adam,” but before He could rule over the restored kingdom, “King Jesus” would have to complete the work He began on the cross.

While everything that needed to be done to redeem mankind was finished at Calvary, Satan and all the world systems he had established had to be judged (Rev. 6-18), the leaders and armies of those systems had to be destroyed (Rev. 19:11-21), the people of Satan’s kingdom had to be removed from the earth (Mt. 13:36-43, 47-50), and Satan had to be imprisoned in the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3).

Jesus will accomplish all this after He returns to earth at His Second Coming, not as a suffering servant, but as a Conquering King. He can’t establish His 1000-year kingdom on earth (the Millennial Kingdom) until He judges and vanquishes His enemies. This is the kingdom Israel looked forward to once her promised Messiah appeared.

Since she rejected Him when He came the first time, the kingdom was postponed until He came the second time. But He couldn’t rule over His people, Israel, until they had been purged of their rebellion and idolatry. This would take place during the 3-1/2-year Great Tribulation, which is why this period is also known as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30:7).

When Jesus “touches down” on the Mount of Olives, He will open their spiritual eyes by pouring out His Spirit of grace and supplication so they will recognize Him as the One they crucified and will mourn for Him (Zech. 12:10). He will then purify them and bring them to repentance (Zech. 12-14) as He makes them a people over which He will be pleased to rule.

This is why John the Baptist pleaded with the people of Israel to repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Mt. 3:1-2). It was at hand since the Messiah who would usher it in was standing before them. Had they not rejected Him, the kingdom was imminent. His preaching was directed at the nation of Israel. It had nothing to do with Gentiles. It was for the people of Israel so they could enter Israel’s Millennial Kingdom, also known as the “Kingdom of Heaven” since it was the kingdom where the will of Israel’s Heavenly Father would be done as it was in heaven (Mt. 6:10).

Since God had appointed Israel to fulfill a key role in ridding the earth of Satan’s rule and restoring God’s 1000-year theocratic kingdom on the restored earth, Israel became Satan’s number one target. Since He currently rules over the earth, all those under his influence unwittingly do his bidding. They are his marionettes, responding to every tug of the string, all the while, confidently asserting their independence from any outside influence. You can be sure that the irrational hatred of Israel is simply an earthly manifestation of Satan’s prideful hatred against any person or nation that is being used by God.

Satan knows Scripture well. He knows that if Israel repents, his kingdom is doomed. That is why he has been actively working to keep the world’s Jewish people in spiritual darkness, both the ultra-religious and the spiritually indifferent. Consequently, today he is turning Israel’s Jews against their Messiah and arousing the hatred of the Muslim world against these same Jews.

During the Great Tribulation (the Time of Jacob’s Trouble), Satan will turn up the heat against Israel in a final campaign to destroy her once and for all. As God is pouring out His judgments, Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will dispatch miracle-working demons to entice the nations’ rulers to send their armies to Israel for “the battle of the great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:12-14; 19:19-21) before she repents and receives her Messiah. Two-thirds of the Jewish people living in Israel will be killed (Zech. 13:8), but the remaining third will recognize Jesus (Yeshua), repent, and be used by God to usher in Israel’s Millennial Kingdom.

I hope this journey into the future helps explain why the world hates Israel. It’s all about what’s happening in the unseen world, so don’t be fooled by the way things appear. Now you know how to pray.