The Strong Delusion of Christian Zionism & John Hagee

A very good post from Soul Refuge from here -

“I turned on the television the other night and realized that there was a convention being televised for Christians United For Israel (CUFI).  The CUFI is an organization which was founded by Pastor and author John Hagee which encourages Christians to stand with the modern state of Israel. The person speaking was a Jewish man by the name of David Brog (Executive Director of CUFI).  I listened as he sang the praises of former US President Harry Truman, because President Truman recognized Israel as a state.  President Truman was the president that authorized the use of atomic bombs over in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Mr Brog then sang similar praises about John Hagee, who received a standing ovation as he was introduced.

I listened as Mr Brog spoke in a room filled with people claiming to be Christians.  He told them that their Christian theology demands that they stand with Israel.  I knew where he was coming from and I am fully aware of what is being taught in many evangelical churches today.  I used to believe certain dispensational teachings, such as the land belonging to Israel, because that’s what was being taught in most churches.  However my further study of the scriptures revealed otherwise.  I never believed for a moment that a person Jewish or Gentile could be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ.  I had no idea that many of the Bible teachers taught that the Jewish people were still God’s chosen people and that they are still in covenant with him, even though they do not believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah). 

 In recent years , I have been hearing  Bible teachers talk about the church of Jesus Christ as being a mere parenthesis in God’s plan and that the Jewish people are under a different covenant.  I came across an article by the Christian Research Institute regarding Pastor John Hagee, which was Statement DH005. Here are a few excerpts from that statement:

“Trying to convert Jews is a waste of time he (Hagee) said.

Everyone else whether Buddhist or Baha’i needs to believe in Jesus, he says. But not Jews, Jews already have a covenant with God that has never been replaced with Christianity he says.

The Jewish people have a relationship with God through the law of God as given through Moses, Hagee said. I believe that every Gentile person can only come to God through the cross of Christ. I believe that every Jewish person who lives in light of the Torah, which is the word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption.

The Law of Moses is sufficient enough to bring a person into the knowledge of God until God gives him a greater revelation. And God has not said Hagee.”

[Statement DH005 , Christian Research Institute, Charlotte, NC]

SALVATION FOR THE JEW ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST

It is absolutely amazing to me that John Hagee could make such statements as those above considering the overwhelming proof in God’s Word that contradict what he said.  The greatest revelation that God has given to the Jewish people and the rest of the world is found in Jesus Christ. In other words Jesus Christ is God’s last word to mankind, and that most certainly includes the Jewish people. Listen to what Jesus Christ said to the Jewish people of his time:

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:39-40)

To totally understand the impact of the words above, we must not forget that the one who is speaking is Jesus Christ.  Many do not realize that the word CHRIST actually means MESSIAH. So it is Jesus the Messiah who is doing the talking.  Jesus is the one who was sent from the Father above to preach the Kingdom of God, and ultimately become the BLOOD ATONEMENT for the sin of mankind.

Jesus the Messiah encouraged the Jewish people to search the scriptures (their very own Torah) because they thought they had eternal life. Jesus then made it clear to them that their own Torah testified about him, but they still would not come to him, that they might have life.  Please do not miss this folks, because Jesus was telling the Jewish people that the very life and salvation which they desired, could only be found in him.  Jesus went on to say this to them:

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:45-47)

Jesus was pushing home the same point once again, that the scriptures (the Torah, the books of Moses) had enough in them to show that he (Jesus) was the prophesied Messiah. That is why Jesus told them, that if they believed Moses then they would have naturally believed him.  In the New Testament book of Acts there is a portion of scripture that will help us understand this better:

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:22-26)

The words above were spoken by the apostle Peter to the people of Israel after the miraculous healing of a lame man at the temple gate. Peter told the people of Israel that the man was healed by the power of Jesus Christ. Peter then told them that this same Jesus was “the Prophet” whom Moses spoke and wrote about in (Deuteronomy 18:15-18), and that those who would not “hear that Prophet” (Jesus the Christ) would be destroyed!  Peter then went on to say that all of the prophets (in the Old Covenant scriptures) foretold of the days which were taking place right then and there. Peter then went all the way back to Abraham to show the people that all the people of the earth (that includes absolutely everybody) would be blessed through Abraham’s seed (offspring)  and that seed (offspring)  is Jesus Christ.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of ONE, And to thy SEED, which is CHRIST. (Galatians 3:16)

In plain and simple language, the Jewish apostle Paul  told the people that Jesus Christ was, and is, the promised seed (offspring) by whom ALL of the nations of the world would be blessed. Paul told them the very same thing that Peter told the people of Israel after that awesome miracle.  The whole of the Old Covenant scriptures pointed to the time when Jesus the Christ (Messiah) arrived on the scene.  The message that Peter gave regarding that “Prophet” is right in line with the salvation or damnation message that Jesus gave after he rose from the dead. (Mark 16:15-20)  The words of Jesus Christ below, become absolutely meaningless if a Jewish person could be saved without faith in Jesus Christ, by living in light of the Torah.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Jesus declared that NO MAN would be able to come to the Father unless thay came through him, because the Father is the one who sent him.  That means that there will not be any person Jewish or Gentile (the rest of the world) who would be able to go to the Father (in heaven) unless they come though the Son whom he sent. Peter spoke along those very same lines when he spoke to the people of Israel:

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:10-12)

Could the scriptures be any clearer than this? The people of Israel are being addressed here by the apostle Peter and he told them that there was no other name by which they might be saved outside the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Read it again. Peter was speaking to the children of Israel there and the message that he gave them back then has not changed one drop since that time!

The passage below was written by the Jewish apostle Paul:

But God forbid that I should glory, save (except) in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:14-16)

Paul made it clear in that passage of scripture that he gloried only in the cross of Jesus Christ, and then he linked those who would walk according to that same rule to the “Israel of God.”  Paul also wrote the following:

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: (Romans 9:6)

Paul was obviously putting a difference between the people of ethnic Israel and those of the “Israel of God” who recognized Jesus as the Messiah!

David Brog stated, at the CUFI convention the other night, that Christian theology demands that Christians stand with Israel. I would like to tell Mr. Brog that my theology demands that I stand for the truth, and that I preach the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.  Any Gospel preacher who is worth their salt would tell him the same thing.  Jesus declared the truth plainly and with boldness and to water down the message of the gospel is a fatal mistake: 

And he (Jesus) said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. (John 8:23-24)

The Lord Jesus Christ told the Jewish people of his day that he came from above (heaven), and that the consequences of not believing that he was the one who was sent from the Father (the Messiah), would be to die in their sins.  The plain and simple truth is that every person who sat at that convention, whether Jew or Gentile, who rejects Jesus Christ as their Savior, will die in their sins and end up in hell. To preach anything other than that is to preach a bogus gospel. If ever there was a people who are responsible before the Lord it is the Jewish people. To declare that God has not given them the necessary revelation is nothing less than mind boggling. The Jewish apostle Paul consented to the murder of Christians before he was saved (Acts 8:3, 22:4, 26:9-11).  He then made a complete about face and preached that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah).  He wrote the following words: 

 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

Paul, the Jewish apostle of Jesus Christ, tells us that the gospel was to go the Jew first. In fact Paul identified those who are the children of Abraham:

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)

That very same Jewish apostle Paul told us that there is absolutely no difference between the Jew and the Greek (Gentile).  No difference! The only ones who can be called the children of Abraham are those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. John Hagee spoke about the Jewish people living in light of the Torah, but the Torah contains the Ten Commandments which stops and silences any person from justifying themself before a righteous God! (Romans 3:19-20)  In fact the Torah contains everything about the sacrificial system which is gone forever. The Bible declares that there is NO atonement for the soul without the blood.

THE NEW COVENANT REPLACED THE OLD COVENANT

Right before the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, he cried out “It Is Finished” (John 19:30) which means that everything had been fulfilled at that moment, and his death was the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. It was at that very moment that the veil in the Jewish Temple was torn in half, signifying that the Old Covenant sacrificial sytem was to be no more.

 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain (two) from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. (Mark 15:38-39)

Where is the Jewish Temple today? It is not to be found and there can be no atonement for the sins of the people without the shedding of blood.  The Temple sacrifices were not accepted in the sight of God after the ultimate, final and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That was the very purpose of the veil in the Temple being torn on half when Christ died. The high priest went into the temple and entered through the veil once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur-The Day of Covering).  The high priest took the blood from the animal sacrifices and sprinkled it on the mercy seat for the atonement of sin. But all of that stopped in the sight of God when Jesus, the great high Priest, entered into the true holy place in heaven. 

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)

The Old Covenant has been completely done away with and if somebody tells you something else then they are preaching falsehood to you. All of the sacrifices pointed to Jesus Christ. The Passover pointed to Jesus Christ also and that is why John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God:

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) 

Paul the Jewish apostle of Jesus Christ wrote the following words almost two thousand years ago:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his BLOOD we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)

The blood that was shed by Jesus Christ is now the ONLY blood that can reconcile a sinner back to God. Friends, that is the absolute Bible truth.  That was the very purpose Jesus Christ came to this world. The gospel message is still for both the Jew and the Gentile, but there is no special revelation or reservation for the “ethnic” Jewish person when it comes to salvation. In fact if there were a special revelation or reservation for the Jewish person, then everything that Jesus Christ preached meant absolutely nothing.  If a fair minded person will read through the gospel accounts they will see that Christ was dealing with the issues of the heart, and he was constantly rebuking the Jewish Pharisees for their outward form of religion.  The Jewish apostle Paul wrote the following also:

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (Romans 2:28-29)

It all has to do with the heart and nothing to do with a persons ethnic background. Jesus told Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, that he needed to be born again or he would not see the Kingdom of God.  Jesus did not say maybe, or could be, or should be, but MUST BE! The Kingdom of God is open to all people on planet earth, and their sins can be forgiven through the BLOOD of Jesus Christ.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:6-7) 

BEWARE OF THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES

John Hagee mentioned the fact that Christians are the wild branches that have been grafted into the  good olive tree, and he was obviously referring to the verses from Romans Chapter 11.  I am in full agreement with the truth that the Jewish people represent the good olive tree, but please do not forget to mention that this is speaking about the Jewish people who followed the Lord and recognized the Messiah when he came. The Jewish people who did not recognize the Messiah were broken off  branches because they rejected the very one whom God the Father sent!

The Gentile people who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have been grafted into the “good olive tree” and they are there along with the Jewish people who also believe in Jesus and recognize him as the Messiah.  For the past two thousand years Jewish people have received the very SAME Grace that the Gentiles have recieved and they have received eternal life in Jesus Christ. There is NO difference between the Jew and the Gentile.

Beware of the phrase “replacement theology” because it is a term used by Christian Zionists.  It paints a picture that portrays people who do not agree with their false theology appear anti-semitic. Do not be intimidated by that term, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the searcher of hearts and he knows what is going on inside your heart. 

BIBLICAL WARNINGS ABOUT AN ANTICHRIST SPIRIT

To declare that the Jewish people can still be in covenant with the Lord under the Old Covenant, living in light of the Torah,  is to agree with the Pharisees who rejected Jesus Christ two thousand years ago.  To declare that message is to oppose the very message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Not only that but the apostle John warned us about those who have an “antichrist spirit” and he described them as follows:

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:3)

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

 If you were to ask many of the Jewish people who were present at that convention meeting the other night, whether or not they believed that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, they would answer no without any problem at all.  The very reason that the Jewish apostles were persecuted and put to death by people like Paul (before he was saved) was because they preached Jesus Christ as the Messiah! So here we are almost two thousand years later, being told by a “Christian” minister that the Jewish people can be saved by living in light of the Torah. Once again I tell you that it makes the gospel message that Peter and Paul preached, and all the others preached, seem like a waste of time. After Paul was converted the Jewish people wanted to kill him, but the Lord preserved him. Many times Paul was beaten to a pulp, and even left for dead, but the Lord kept using him for his glory. In fact if Paul were a “bug on the wall” at that convention meeting he would have been aghast at what he heard.

IS WAR ON THE HORIZON?

Toward the end of this one hour television program, there was a man dressed in an Israeli miltary uniform who walked out from the audience, up to the front of the room, and then knelt down to pray. He was wearing a prayer shawl of some sort over his head. Then another man dressed in an American military uniform came from the audience and tapped the praying Israeli soldier on the shoulder, offered his hand to him , and they shook hands. Is there a message being sent here? What was this supposed to mean? Could this be a statement being made here? Is this some type of propaganda? Could there be another war on the horizon?

John Hagee is the Pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. He can be seen all over the airwaves throughout the world.  His preaching is often accompanied by very colorful video graphics which appear on a screen behind him.  He is known to preach against what he calls ”Isalmo Fascism” in no uncertain terms.  I thought that I was hearing things when I heard him talk in favor of a pre emptive attack on Iran. Wait a minute, did I hear correctly? Please tell me if I heard wrong.  Can we as Christians rightly call for an attack upon any nation, which would most certainly end up killing innocent civilians? What on earth is going on here?  What about the words of the master teacher and Saviour of the world Jesus:

  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)

Do you remember when the band of men came looking for Jesus at the place in the garden where he usually prayed? Do you remember what Peter did to Malchus? 

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. (John 18:10)

Sometime you can read a Bible verse and miss what really happened. Peter did not politely walk up to Malchus and start slicing his ear off.  It is quite obvious that Peter went to take the guys head off with a wild swing, and caught only his ear. But what did Jesus do after that?  Jesus actually healed the guys ear! (Luke 22:51) and then he made a prophetic statement:

Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.  Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?  (Matthew 26:52-54)

What about the words of Jesus Christ as he was dying on the cross?

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:33-34)

Sometimes we must take a few steps back and analyze what is going on, and ask ourselves the question, Is this the Spirit of Jesus Christ at work here?  Is it the Spirit of Jesus Christ that is calling for an attack against a nation or is it a “another spirit?”  Is it the spirit of Jesus that would call for an attack upon innocent Muslim people or is it “another spirit”? Where is the fear of the Lord in all of this?

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (John 18:36) 

Only time will tell what is going to happen in the following days.  We need to keep our eyes on the Lord like never before.  One thing I do know is that the Lord is merciful and that he abhors the killing of innocent people, and we have seen more than enough of that in recent years. That is what has stirred me to write this article. As Christians we like to take our stand on pro life issues such as abortion ( I am also pro life), but then we don’t even blink an eye when hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Muslim people are killed.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (Hebrews 13:13-14)

 THE JERUSALEM WHICH IS ABOVE

The scriptures tell us that HERE (on this earth) we have NO continuing city, and that includes the earthly city of Jerusalem. We, as Christians, are looking to the Jerusalem which is above (Galatians 4:26), not to the city in the Middle East.

But Jerusalem which is above is FREE, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26)

The Lord Jesus Christ had a conversation with a Samaritan woman, who was amazed that Jesus was even talking with her, because the Jewish people and the Samaritan people did not get along with each other. Jesus talked to her about true worship:

 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias (Messiah) cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee AM HE (John 4:21-26)

 The Lord made it ever so clear to this woman that physical location did not matter anymore, because God must be worshiped in spirit and truth. Jesus said the hour was coming AND NOW IS when true worshipers would worship God in spirit and truth, which means that the hour had already arrived. The Lord Jesus Christ then went on to inform this woman that he was in fact the Messiah. Now either Jesus was telling the truth or he is a liar.  If Jesus declared to this woman that he was in fact the Messiah, and that the hour had arrived when people could worship him from anywhere in the world, then I would not dare to tamper with the word of God.  That same Samaritan woman went back to her town and brought others back to hear Jesus for themselves and, as a result, many were saved.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him (Jesus) for the saying of the woman, which testified, He (Jesus) told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:39-42)

The same living waters (spiritual) that Jesus offered to this Samaritan woman has been offered to both Jew and Gentile alike, for nearly two thousand years.  There is no postponement, no other covenant, no other way, but the way which God has provided through his Son Jesus Christ.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)”