What Happened on October 7?
Let us review what transpired one year ago on October 7, 2023.
Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip entered Israel, unprovoked, to murder, rape, torture, kidnap, and terrorize innocent Israelis. This attack was far more than an act of war, as evidenced by Hamas’ brutality toward innocent Jewish civilians, including young and old, babies, Holocaust survivors, and other non-combatants. These were crimes against Jewish people and against humanity.
On this tragic Sabbath, Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 250 innocent victims, and began what has become a seemingly endless war in Gaza. As with any war, far too many blameless people on both sides have been killed and are suffering displacement from their homes, even one year later. This conflict has led to the terrible loss of life and injury to thousands of Gazans because Hamas victimizes its own citizens, using men, women, and children as human shields.
The hostages kidnapped on this fateful day were treated with inhumane cruelty. We have since learned many of the more than one hundred hostages remaining in Gaza have already died. Some are lost and cannot be found. This is heartbreaking, especially for their families.
The Fallout from October 7
The attacks on Israel intensified on April 14, 2024, when Iran launched a direct attack on Israel by sending drones, rockets, and missiles to strike civilian and military targets within Israel. This attack was torturous for all Israelis who endured the long wait for the missiles to strike and the bombs to drop. Most Israelis could not have known Israel and her allies would destroy 99 percent of the rocket and missile barrage. Still, Iran’s direct attacks raised the stakes and added to the threat of a regional conflict.
The war intensified when Hezbollah, perched on Israel’s northern border, started shelling those within the reach of its rockets and missiles, which are more powerful than those of Hamas in Gaza. We also see another mounting war, even more ominous than the one in Israel and Gaza, plaguing Jewish people today. There is a growing, global wave of online antisemitism along with increased attacks upon Jewish people throughout the world. The numbers speak for themselves as antisemitic incidents against Jewish people living outside of Israel have tripled over the last twelve months.
The actions of Hamas were antisemitic in nature. There is a long history of Islamic antisemitism beginning with the Koran and other early Islamic writings, and we believe this tragic history of Islamic antisemitism influenced Hamas terrorists to commit those horrible atrocities against innocent Jewish people last October.
Let’s face it—angry adherents to the jihadist principles promoted by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups simply hate Jewish people!
Messiah, Our Ultimate Hope for Peace
Even though the conflict and impact of October 7 is ongoing a year later, it would still be beneficial to pause for a moment of reflection. Let’s consider what happened on this tragic Saturday and consider how we should continue to respond to the growing problem of global antisemitism.
I hope thinking this through together will help us today and tomorrow as we draw closer to the glorious day when the Messiah Jesus will return and reign as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace. As the prophet Isaiah wrote,
And He will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. (Isa 2:4)
We know the Bible teaches the end of days, as described by Jesus himself, includes wars and rumors of wars that will escalate and intensify, like birth pangs, until He returns (Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13). So, the hostilities in the Middle East horrify us, but we also turn our eyes to a greater day promised by God of an enduring peace. One day our Redeemer will return to save His people and establish His kingdom of peace and righteousness. We believe this promise, and, by His grace and in the power of His Spirit, we should live today in light of tomorrow (Acts 1:9–11).
Four Lessons to Learn from the Past Year
Our commitment to Israel and Jewish people must be founded upon Scripture.
Our commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel should not fluctuate with the news cycle, or the reporting of our favorite channel, or trusted websites. The news about Israel and the war is constantly changing. The actions of the Israeli government are hard to track and evaluate, as is true for our own country. It can be exhausting keeping up!
As believers, we know there is only one unchanging source of information we can turn to for comfort, inspiration, and a deeper, unbiased understanding of the swirling events we read about each day: the Word of God! Our position on Israel and the role of Jewish people in the plan of God should be biblical. As I told a friend as we were speaking about this issue—with tongue firmly planted in my cheek—“There is actually quite a bit written about Israel and the Jewish people in the Bible!”
The Bible is God’s final word on Israel and Jewish people. Though we might have slightly differing points of view of God’s purposes for Israel, the Scriptures are still the best source for information to better inform us of God’s plan, which is the lens through which we should view the conflicts in the Middle East. The Word of God should certainly guide our prayer life. We can all agree with the psalmist who firmly says to regularly “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps 122:6).
I am encouraged by some very significant trends about the Israel-Hamas war through a survey we did last March. It appears many American Christians believe we should support Israel because she has a right to defend herself and because Israel is the best ally the United States has in the Middle East. These are good reasons to support Israel, and many of us believe this, but the foundation for our ongoing support needs to have a biblical rationale, or it can easily be undone. Christians need to think biblically in all areas and believe God’s word is the final authority on all matters, including how we understand the role of Israel and Jewish people in God’s plan (Genesis 12:1–3, 15:18; Acts 1:6–8).
The attacks of October 7 were driven by a festering hatred of Jewish people by classical Islam, intensified by a radical jihadist Islam.
Historic forms of antisemitism are now re-packaged with political and human rights verbiage, viciously used for hundreds of years against Jewish people before the modern State of Israel was established. We see this on the right, the left, and in Islamist extremism. All too often the newer and more politically-oriented arguments against the modern State of Israel obfuscate the underlying antisemitic arguments, tropes, and conspiracy theories.
For hundreds of years the rights of Jewish people were severely limited in many countries. My people were forced to live in ghettos in western Europe and the Pale of Settlement in eastern Europe where Jewish influence could be more easily controlled. This strategy of geographic exclusion and Jewish containment enabled governments to keep Jewish people away from the mainstream culture. In North Africa, Spain, and a variety of Arab countries, Jewish people were heavily taxed by Muslims who controlled the political systems. Sometimes, Jewish and Muslim communities lived together peacefully, but there was always a reason why Muslims felt superior to their Jewish neighbors. As Islam grew and spread throughout the Middle East, traditions developed in the Muslim world identifying Jerusalem as a Muslim and not a Jewish possession.
Various Muslim and Middle Eastern mischaracterizations of Jewish people are well known and have fueled a depth of hatred against Jewish people going well beyond the seventy-five-plus years of modern Israel’s existence. There is no denying October 7, 2023, elevated this historic Islamic antisemitism, harkening back to the seventh century, to a new genocidal level. Hamas terrorists dehumanized Israelis through torture, rape, and other horrific acts of violence.
Embedded anti-Jewish sentiments in the Muslim world in general were exacerbated by the Iranian revolution, social media, and the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948. Adherents to Hamas’ violent ideology are not only hostile to Jewish people but also to the Bible, Western civilization, and God Himself.
We need to pray for even the most violent of jihadists and not return hate for hate. Let’s encourage missions among them as the best way to bring about peace in the Middle East and to protect the values we cherish is to bring the gospel to those who oppose us. When people come to Jesus, their lives and worldviews are transformed. We do need to love our enemies, whoever they might be!
The devil is behind this world’s hostility toward Jewish people.
However, we must come to grips with the spiritual battle we face today in the Middle East. As Bible-believers, we recognize Satan’s hand in shaping modern antisemitism. The Scriptures teach us the source of antisemitism is the devil himself. Antisemitism, called “the oldest hatred,” has plagued the children of Abraham since his call from Ur of the Chaldees (Gen 12:1–3).
When God called Abraham to father the chosen people, Satan made Jewish people the target of his fury. The evil one has tried to eradicate the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in every age and in endless ways to prevent God from using Israel as His instrument of redemption and blessing through the Jewish Messiah. We cannot view antisemitism as merely some type of nationalistic, political, or ethnic hatred but, rather, as a cosmological effort on the part of the devil to destroy Jewish people and disrupt the plan of God.
True Christians need to take up spiritual arms to fight this spiritual battle, as Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
By God’s grace, believers worldwide must exhibit love toward Jewish people and oppose antisemitism because we believe in the Bible, the Jewish Messiah, and the covenants God forged with the sons and daughters of Israel. This is critical today because, more than ever, the Jewish community needs real friends amid this rising sea of antisemitism.
What a wonderful testimony it would be to Jewish people if Christians stood against the enemies of Jewish people, testifying through our actions how those who follow the Jewish Messiah love Jewish people.
Believers in Jesus should act on behalf of Jewish people and oppose antisemitism.
There is a very popular statement attributed to the brilliant Jewish scientist, Albert Einstein, who was very concerned about antisemitism as he lived through the horrors of the Nazi period and was one of the scientists saved by the Allies: “If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”
This reminds me of the words of Isaiah, who wrote: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning” (Isa 62:1). We cannot remain silent when Jewish people are under siege! God still has His holy hand upon His chosen people; they are still the apple of His eye. We are speaking of the Savior’s earthly family, and if we love Him then we must love His people!
God will never allow His chosen people to be destroyed (Amos 9:8). If you choose to be an enemy of Jewish people and seek the destruction of God’s people, then you stand in opposition to God’s purposes in this world. He promised to bless those who bless Jewish people because through Jewish people He brings blessings to the world (Gen 12:1–3).
As followers of the Messiah Jesus, whether Jewish or Gentile, we recognize our humanity demands and even compels us to raise our voices and not remain silent about antisemitism. All racial hatred is antithetical to the biblical message and human decency, as the Almighty, blessed be He, created each of us in His image.
When the Jewish people are under siege, we must be diligent in standing for and with Jewish people. We must also remember the suffering of innocent Gazan families, whom Hamas leaders deliberately put in harm’s way, as Jesus died for us all!
So, let us take to heart the messages of this hour and commit to saying something and doing something, especially on behalf of Jewish people in Israel and around the globe.
What Can You Do?
It is time to act! Here are some practical steps you and your church can take to stand with God’s chosen people today.
Pray
As believers in Jesus the Jewish Messiah, we can pray for Jewish people. This is so important, and I hope you will consider holding a special time of prayer or even offering just a simple prayer on behalf of Jewish people at your services October 5–6 in commemoration of the first anniversary of the attacks on Israel of October 7!
Chosen People Ministries can provide your church with a short video or two, bulletin inserts, and other resources to effectively and sensitively bring attention to the Middle East crisis at your services October 5–6. Use this link to access these resources.
Reach out
Please consider reaching out to your local Jewish community to let them know you stand with Jewish people. If there are commemorative events on October 7 sponsored by your local Jewish community, try to attend and let your Jewish friends know you care.
Give
Please pray about making a special gift to Your Mission to the Jewish People to be used in proclaiming the good news today. We are doing so much to help our Jewish family and friends know Jesus is the Messiah and the One who brings ultimate safety and peace to Israel, to Jewish people around the world, and to our individual hearts.
Participate
Consider attending the Moody Summit against Antisemitism, sponsored by Moody Bible Institute and Chosen People Ministries, scheduled for November 9 in Chicago. Use this link to find out more.
As the Savior said, “Peace [shalom] I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). Jesus also said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
Please join us in bringing the message of the Prince of Peace to a war-torn and fractured world in desperate need of the hope and redemption only available through Jesus the Messiah—“to the Jew first” and also to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16).
Thanks for caring and for your generosity.
In Him,
Dr. Mitch Glaser (Romans 10:1)
P.S. For your gift of $50 or more, we will send you our beautiful 2024-2025 Messianic Jewish art calendar, which tells the story of Jewish people in the most creative and dramatic way!
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